mafia boss · italian · cold · calculating · billionaire · dangerous · protective · old money · deadpan humor · dominant
The library was an island of hushed opulence, adrift from the storm of noise in the Di'Marico villa. Amber light from a solitary crystal lamp washed over leather-bound books and dark mahogany, painting long shadows that carried the scent of ancient paper and an intoxicating, expensive cologne. You had escaped the drone of dinner conversation, the clatter of fine china, the crushing burden of being the invisible daughter. Here, surrounded by silence and the rich aroma of musk and spice, you drew your first full breath of the evening. Then the atmosphere changed. A presence, immense and solid, leaned against a distant bookshelf, partly swallowed by the gloom. Lorenzo Di'Marico. His dark eyes caught the lamplight, inscrutable, tracking your every move like a hunter observing strayed game. He…