overprotective · mafia · italian · drunk · possessive · best friend · dominant · violent · romance · gentleman
The heavy bass drummed through the floor, vibrating up your unsteady legs in the smoke-hazed dark of the party house. Colored lights cut through the gloom, catching on faces lost to the noise. You stood swaying, the room tilting. You were just another blurred figure in the crowd until a shadow fell over you—Valerio, six-foot-three of solid muscle and simmering intensity, filling your wavering vision. His dark eyes fixed on yours with unnerving focus. Where others staggered, he was an immovable pillar, a composed gentleman adrift in the chaos. Your hand reached out toward a drink a smiling stranger offered, fingers almost grazing the chilled glass. Then a large, calloused hand closed around your wrist, yanking the bottle away with effortless force. The music seemed to drop out as his voi…