Raelynn Baker A woman who escaped the viciously blinding nights of forced prostitution. Snatched from the embrace of a comfortable life, she had to hold onto herself for survival. A true warrior who persistently fights against the dark memories of her past. Vincent Marino A man who runs the entire underground syndicate. Born and brought up in the treacherous darkness of power struggle, he rose to the top by challenging years of humiliation and brutally vanquishing every opponent in blood. Respect. He values it the most. Freedom. She longs for it from her own demons. Mirroring each other's gaze, forcing the other to back down, they lock horns when a chance encounter collides them. One is authoritative. One is headstrong. Each holding a story of their own and both trying to read each other. She has secrets that when break out would tarnish his respect and question his authority while he has rivals who when succeed would shove her back into her terrifying past. When love becomes a double edged sword, with danger lurking right around the corner, can the ignited flames of curiosity break the shackles of their past and melt the ice walls surrounding their heart? Ride along the melancholically beautiful journey of two souls in their pursuit of a home! Reading 'What is family?' will give you a better insight into the family dynamics of the Marinos, but it is optional. Disclaimer : This book contains violence and triggering content. I advise you to read it at your own discretion. Also, note that the female lead in this book is not weak or timid. If you're looking for a submissive female lead, this book is not for you.

Mafia Romance Book 1 of "The Veiled Desires" Series _______________________ 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫? _______________________ They say to fear the Devil. They say to pray to God in hopes of keeping the Devil away. But they don't know that the Devil can hear their prayers too. They say there is only good and bad. They say there is both a Devil and a God. But what happens when only the Devil, two negatives of the same kind become one? Not knowing that the other is also a Devil? She has a high pitched voice everyday. 𝑇𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑑𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡. He wears suits. 𝑇𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑑𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑. She's famous to the world because of her dad. 𝑆ℎ𝑒'𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑒. He is the most ruthless. 𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟 She never opens her heart. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 _______________________ 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 D𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰? _______________________ 18+, read trigger warnings. Tropes : Dark Romance Arranged Marriage Enemies to Lovers to Enemies to Lovers

An overachiever all her life, Erika Cox has a high-ranking Forbes status. For a woman that strolls through corridors of power and success fulfilling her grandmother's final wish to repossess their family heirloom should be a walk in the park. Except nothing comes easily from her nemesis' clutches. Heir to the Kingston Industries, Ryan Kingston could rule the boardroom with inimitable ruthlessness and still be called a gentleman if his arch-enemy is out of the equation. When Erika strikes a deal to work at Kingston Industries for a year in exchange for the heirloom, nothing could have prepared them for their history at Arkney University repeating itself. Neither could resist toeing the line between hate and heat. Lust and love. Rage and regret. Headless to the wounds of the past, they succumb to sensual indulgence behind closed doors. And as a mysterious entity threatens to destroy the Kingston Empire, can Erika and Ryan join forces despite themselves? »--•--« || HEAVY SEXUAL CONTENT! PROCEED WITH CAUTION||

Special thanks to @Jaygrfx7 for the cover!! -------------- 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒 & 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝟏 ❝𝐀 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥. ❞ Renata Vartanov had been through hell. Sold to a brothel and thrusted into prostitution at thirteen along with her then toddler brother, by her own father after the loss of her mother. Forced to sleep with men every other night to keep her brother safe from the brothel's caretaker who would beat him for her mistakes. She knew no happiness, she knew no joy except her brother. And when an opportunity of his freedom presents itself to her, she happily leapt at the prospect. Even though she would have to give up the tiny sliver left of hers. ***************************** ❝𝐀 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭. ❞ Vincenzo (Viper) Romano. Don of the Italian crime family and leader of the Romano empire. A dangerous man with a fiery temper, known to destroy his competitors and annihilate his foes in cold blood. Cold, cruel, and calculative. Those were the words he lived by. There was no room for remorse, regret, or romance in his world. Those three had almost broken him in the past. During a conducted arson at one of his foes' trafficking auction, where Renata was almost sold, she is brought into his world accidentally, with no way out. At first he detested her. It greatly pissed him off that she'd survived and he avoided her, vowing not to have anything to do with one of his enemies's whores. But how long can he resist her innocence, her smile, the torture her pain caused to his heart that he refused to acknowledge?

𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 & 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 Revenge Countless souls have fallen prey to its grasp, their lives shattered as deeply as those they sought to harm, if not more so. For most, mere death isn't the end It's not enough to satiate their thirst They crave retribution, wish for something beyond the grave. They want misery upon those who've wronged them. Long for the torment of those who've wounded them But at the end of the day, it's merely a wish, A burning desire for- well, nothing realistic, really For they are weak. Powerless Some may even deem them useless But then, there exist the select few- those who refuse to settle for anything less than the worst, denying death's grasp to unleash a living hell upon their enemies, Those who take matters into their own hands, seizing control & becoming the architects of their own vengeance, Now those, those are dangerous. For in their eyes, the concept of contentment is a foreign notion, replaced by a searing ache for more- More agony, despair. More misery, more wails. More destruction, chaos. People like him, they feed off of fear, thrive in causing pain. They're cunning, calculating, heartless But frankly, even the most twisted of them seem like harmless amateurs in comparison to him. He reeks of death Exudes darkness, sorrow Death is all that shadows his steps, making his existence a reminder of the inevitable fate that awaits his victims. And whispers in the Russian underworld speak of him as Mors- The god of death So, what happens when a girl, who abandoned her family, her life & the very empire bestowed upon her- just to escape the sight of death, catches the eyes of the reaper? What happens when he pulls her into the abyss of his world, intent on destroying all she has fought to be in pursuit of vengeance? And what happens when, as the day wanes, the embodiment of her deepest fear captures her eyes as well?

They tell me love is a pretty lie. A cruel deception. I wouldn't know-I've never been given the chance to believe in it. A daughter of the Cosa Nostra, passed from one husband to the next like a prized possession, I have learned one thing: a woman's value is measured in obedience. But then I come back, and he's there. Enzo Mancini. Silent. Ruthless. Untouchable. Except... I have touched him. Once, before the lies. Before the fire. Before he left me with nothing but ghosts of a boy who used to stare at me like I was his only sin. Now, he looks at me like I'm his reckoning. Like he's been starving. Like he'll ruin me all over again. The worst part? I want him to. Enzo Mancini She was never supposed to know the truth of that night. The blood on my hands. The fact that I let her believe I was the monster. I told myself I could let her go. That I could watch her slip through my fingers, fall into the hands of men who never deserved her. And I did. She doesn't know what I've done for her. How many bodies I've buried. How many sins I've committed in her name. She's everything I should stay away from. Soft where I am hard. Chaos where I am order. A temptation so dangerous, it should be a death sentence. But I can't stop. I can't stop watching her, wanting her, losing sleep over the way she lingers like a curse in the nightmares she inhabits. She calls me heartless, and like everyone, I let her believe it. She doesn't know that every step she takes away from me is another step toward a man who won't live long enough to touch what's mine. I saved her from the fire long ago, the same one I caused. And now, the flames are swallowing me whole. 17+ Mafia Dark Romance *Standalone*

Dimitri was Ayesha's greatest temptation, and she was more than ready to take a bite. Ayesha finds herself struck with an undeniable and growing attraction to one of the most famous men in her new town, Dimitri Adams. Falling for a man like him spelled disaster for them both, but how long could she deny how her heart raced at the sound of his voice, and how she grew breathless whenever he was near her? She knew all the problems. She was young and he was older. He was wealthy and she was a nobody in the town. But even with the threat of her own secrets coming undone, she can't resist going for the man who consumes her thoughts. Even if it meant setting both their worlds on fire.