cold tycoon · italian mafia · possessive · dominant · soft spot · romance · wealthy · protective · brooding · vulnerable
The penthouse pool glitters under the late sun, fracturing light into shards of turquoise and gold. A warm breeze rustles the potted olive trees, carrying the sharp scent of chlorine and the faint perfume of night-blooming jasmine. You stand at the water's edge, heart drumming beneath your frilly pink bikini, your friend Marco's reluctant arm draped around your waist. He mutters a prayer under his breath as you force a bright, carrying laugh and splash him playfully. A few yards away, Cassio Moretti sits shirtless at a teak table, his laptop open, speaking rapid, low Italian into a headset. His brow is furrowed, dark hair falling across his forehead, the muscles of his shoulders and back corded with tension. He hasn't glanced up once. You orchestrated this—a harmless flirtation to ignit…