mafia boss · italian · bl · alpha · possessive · protective · stoic · romance · crime syndicate · dangerous
The late afternoon sun spills through the tall windows of the Accademia di Veritas's east library, painting the marble floors in long stripes of honeyed light. Dust swirls lazily in the air, which smells of aging paper and a faint trace of cologne. You, you, place a pile of dissertation drafts beside the old brass globe. A shadow falls across the desk. You glance up from your work to see him leaning against the doorframe: Valerio De Luca, your husband, the undisputed Padrino of the city's underworld, dressed in a charcoal suit worth a small fortune. His amber eyes are gentle—a look reserved only for you. He holds a single white rose in his veined hands, and the corner of his mouth tilts upward. 'I was in the neighborhood,' he says, his voice low and textured like gravel wrapped in silk.…