Why Do We Fall for Dangerous Men?
From Heathcliff to the Ricci brothers: why we love possessive romance heroes.
Do you love a dangerous, possessive man?
Yeah, well, me too. When I’m watching a movie or reading a book.
And yes, maybe for sexy times in bed …
But in my everyday life? Maybe not so much.
With Jacob Elordi playing Heathcliff in the new Wuthering Heights movie, the brooding, obsessive romantic hero is back in the spotlight.
Nearly two centuries after Emily Brontë created him, we’re still fascinated by men who love too fiercely, want too much and refuse to let go.
Why?
Heathcliff is jealous, possessive, frequently cruel and spectacularly bad at handling rejection.
He’s hardly the man you’d want your best friend to marry.
Yet generations of readers have fallen under his spell.
Perhaps the real question isn’t why we love dangerous men.
It’s why we love reading about them.
Why We Love Possessive Romance Heroes
In real life, a man who announces that you belong to him might be a very good reason to change your locks.
In romantic fiction?
Now we’re talking.
There’s something delicious about a powerful man who can command everyone around him …
…yet completely loses his composure over one woman.
He wants her. Only her. And he’ll move heaven and earth to make her his.
Of course, we’d probably have a few choice words for a man who behaved that way in our own lives.
But that’s the beauty of fiction. We can enjoy the fantasy without living with the consequences.
And nobody understands that fantasy quite like the possessive mafia romance hero.
Give him an Italian suit, a Manhattan penthouse and a rather dangerous weapon in his pocket.
Now introduce him to a woman who refuses to obey him.
Let the games begin.
Three Mafia Romance Heroes. Three Dangerous Propositions.
Meet Dante, Lorenzo and Luca Ricci, the powerful Italian brothers at the center of my Midnight Mafia series.
All three are accustomed to getting exactly what they want.
Unfortunately for them, love doesn’t take orders.
Dante: The Possessive Protector
Dante is the eldest brother. A powerful mafia don who believes in family, loyalty and absolute control.
Then he finds himself married to a woman who complicates practically everything.
He’s determined to protect her. Possess her. Keep her safely within his carefully controlled world.
But what happens when the woman he wants to protect has ideas of her own?
For a man accustomed to giving orders, falling in love is a particularly inconvenient development.
Lorenzo: The Arrogant Husband
If you love an arranged marriage romance, meet Lorenzo Ricci.
Lorenzo enters his marriage with certain expectations.
His bride will be beautiful. Agreeable. Obedient.
Then he meets his spirited, red-haired wife.
Oh, dear.
She’s got freckles, an ornery expression and absolutely no intention of becoming the obedient little wife he imagined.
What happens when a man who believes he holds all the cards discovers that his wife is playing an entirely different game?
Luca: The Master of Control
The youngest Ricci brother is a mathematical genius, an unexpected single father and a man fascinated by the intricate art of shibari.
Luca understands precision. Discipline. Control.
But neither his mathematical brilliance nor his carefully negotiated rules can prepare him for falling in love.
Especially with a woman who has absolutely no intention of making his life easy.
So, would You Marry Heathcliff?
Perhaps that’s the secret behind our fascination with dangerous fictional men.
We want the passion. The obsession. The extraordinary experience of being the one woman who turns a powerful man’s carefully ordered world upside down.
We just don’t necessarily want him supervising our grocery shopping.
That’s the wonderful thing about romance.
We can fall in love with dangerous men, enjoy every outrageous moment and close the book whenever we please.
Now it’s your turn.
Which dangerous man would YOU choose?
Dante, the possessive protector? Lorenzo, the arrogant husband? Or Luca, the brilliant master of control?
Or would you rather take the fantasy and leave the man?
Tell me in the comments. I’m curious!
About Sass Green
Sass Green writes possessive mafia romance featuring powerful Italian men, spirited heroines, arranged marriages and plenty of romantic complications.
Her Midnight Mafia series follows three Ricci brothers whose carefully ordered lives become considerably more complicated when they fall in love.
Meet the Ricci brothers, beginning with Midnight Mafia: Dante.
Available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.