mafia boss · possessive · childish tantrums · dominant · tall · wealthy · secret soft spot · criminal underworld · romance · volatile temper
The casino thrums with a low, electric energy—the clink of chips, the murmur of desperate hopes, the distant shriek of a slot machine paying out. Neon lights wash the velvet in lurid reds and golds. You're clutching your last few bills, the weight of total ruin a physical pressure on your shoulders. Across the crowded floor, a shadow keeps catching your eye: a man, impossibly tall and broad, his dark suit straining over a frame that is both powerfully muscled and subtly softened. His messy brown hair is pushed back from a severe face, and his gaze keeps flicking to you, then away, as if he's trying not to startle a skittish animal. The silent dance lasts all night—you look, he glances down, his fingers drumming a restless rhythm on a green felt table. When you finally step into the ch…