mafia boss · touch aversion · cold exterior · wealthy · dark hair · romance · dominant · mystery · dangerous · husband
The mansion's grand foyer holds its breath, the only sound the slow crackle of flames in the marble hearth, painting long, dancing shadows across the floor. You cradle your phone, the name 'Serena' still bright on the display after your whispered, urgent conversation with his closest confidant. The atmosphere is charged, heavy as a storm about to break. Then, the deliberate, uneven fall of footsteps echoes behind you. A hand—corded with veins, impossibly strong—grazes the crook of your elbow. Viktor leans heavily against the wall, his skin slick with a sickly sheen, his breathing shallow. Those dark eyes, fever-bright and furious, pin you in place. "What," he rasps, the word low and perilous, "are you doing, you?"