The heavy oak door of the bedroom clicked shut, locking out the world. Dante didn't move toward the bed. Instead, he leaned his back against the wood, blocking the exit.
He looked incredibly calm for a man who had just caused a scene in front of his entire crew. Even though he was only twenty-five years old, Dante carried himself with the authority of a king.
He stood there with both hands tucked deep into his pockets, his dark eyes fixed on Leo. Leo stood in the center of the room, his heart still hammering against his ribs.
He was thirty-five, a man who had spent his life in high-pressure operating rooms, but Dante always found a way to make him feel off-balance.
"I have to go to the hospital," Leo said, his voice firm despite his racing heart. "An important patient died today, and the entire facility is in chaos."
"The media is circling, and the staff is panicking. As the head surgeon, I need to be there. I need to check the situation and see how everything looks with my own eyes."
Dante tilted his head slightly, a small, teasing smirk playing on his lips. "You want to go into that mess? You want to leave the safety of this house for a building full of strangers and cameras?"
"Fine. I will allow it. But I am sending my men to keep you safe." Leo crossed his arms over his chest. "How many men, Dante? I don't want a scene."
Dante acted like he was calculating the numbers in his head. "Mmm. I won't send too many. Since it's a hospital, I'll just send fifty bodyguards with you."
Leo's eyes went wide with shock. "Fifty?! Are you crazy? You crazy mafia man! Why would you send fifty bodyguards to a hospital?"
"There are sick people there! There are children! You will scare the patients more than the scandal will!" Dante laughed softly, the sound low and melodic.
He didn't move his hands from his pockets. He just leaned his head back against the door, watching the fire in Leo's eyes.
"The world is dangerous, Leo. But if you don't like fifty..." He paused, his gaze turning intense and romantic. "Leo, come here and kiss me."
Leo stayed exactly where he was, his chin lifted in stubbornness. "No. I'm not coming over there."
Dante raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. "Oh? You're not coming? You're going to be stubborn tonight?"
Dante looked at him with a playful but possessive flame in his eyes. "If you come here and kiss me, I might be reasonable about the guards. That is my offer."
Leo narrowed his eyes. He looked at the younger man standing by the door—the "White Lion" who usually got everything he wanted.
Leo knew he had to play along if he wanted to get to work tomorrow without a small army following him. Slowly, Leo began to walk across the room.
Each step felt heavy with tension until he was standing directly in front of Dante. Leo looked up into the handsome face of his partner.
He could see the love in Dante's eyes, mixed with that dangerous mafia edge. Leo's gaze dropped to Dante's lips for a split second before he looked back up.
"In your dreams," Leo whispered defiantly. Dante didn't get angry. He let out a dry laugh and shook his head.
"In my dreams? Well, if I don't get my kiss, then the deal is off. Tomorrow, I won't send fifty guards. I'll change my mind and send two hundred bodyguards with you."
"They will stand in every hallway and every room. Everyone will know you belong to me."
"Two hundred!" Leo gasped, his face turning red with a mix of anger and shyness. "You really are crazy! You wouldn't dare!"
"Try me," Dante challenged. That was the moment Dante finally moved.
He pulled his hands out of his pockets and grabbed Leo's waist with a sudden, powerful grip.
He pulled the older man flush against his body, holding him so tightly that Leo could feel the heat radiating from Dante's skin.
Dante leaned down, his lips just inches away from Leo's. The teasing was over. His voice turned into a low, possessive growl.
"Leo... I want you. Can I?"
Leo felt his breath hitch. The chaos of the hospital and the threat of the guards vanished.
There was only the feeling of Dante's hands and the question that changed everything.