One lesson I learned very early in life was to be cheerful, to be agreeable, to do as I was told and ask for nothing, and to never ever complain. Smile Maddie. Be happy Maddie. Don't make trouble and maybe they'll love you. I grew into an adult who took care of others and never expected that those I loved would take care of me in return. I gave and never asked, never expected, never demanded. Smile Maddie. Be happy Maddie. Don't make trouble and you'll find someone that will love you. And then one day, a Dragon walked into my workplace and turned my world upside down with a single wink. Having grown up watching his father treat his men like they were disposable, just meat bags to be fed into the grinder, Dragon was determined to be different when he became president of the Dragon's Inferno MC. He cares about his people. He takes care of them. He was upfront with me, taking care of his MC and those he considered to be his would always be his priority. And I agreed to that, I joined him in that mission, throwing myself into becoming the perfect old lady of the prez. Smile Maddie. Act happy Maddie. Take care of them and maybe they'll love you. Smile Maddie. Be happy Maddie. Don't complain and maybe he'll love you. I told myself I was independent. I was strong. And I didn't need my Dragon to take care of me. And I almost believed it. Almost. But now I'm watching him with her. I'm watching him comfort her. I'm watching him listen to her, support her, reassure her. I'm watching him take time from his day to check in with her. I'm watching him worry about her. I'm watching them become closer right in front of my eyes. I'm seeing every thoughtful gesture he does for her. And me? I'm not happy. I'm not smiling. I'm done being agreeable. Fuck not causing trouble. I'm about to set my Dragon's world on fire. And then I'm walking away. She can have him. For the first time in my life, I'm choosing myself.

"She forgot who she belongs to. She forgot her duty. Tonight, she will remember." Then his teeth sank into my mark. A white-hot bolt of pain tore through me, ripping a cry from my throat. The bond flared violently, not with the warmth of connection but with raw, punishing dominance. He bit down again, harder, his growl vibrating through my bones. I sobbed, clutching at his arm, but he didn't relent. Each strike of his fangs was a reminder, a claim, a warning branded into my flesh. Around us, a few from the pack wept-some openly, some in silence-but none dared step forward. Ezekiel's chest rose and fell in ragged breaths, his teeth bared, my blood streaking his lips. His golden eye burned down at me, furious and unrelenting, his hand still anchoring me upright though my legs trembled. "If this is what it takes," he snarled, his voice carrying across the silent village, "then I will do it every night. Every dawn. Until there is no doubt in you, no hesitation left. I will mark you again and again until your body remembers who you belong to."

PUNCH, SLAP, KICK, Repeat. This it the order they liked to use while beating me. It was the same everyday. After breakfast beofore they left to do their various tasks. I never really cared though I mean I deserve it. I'm a bad girl. I don't do whatever they say when they say it even though they waste their energy on beating me to make me a better person and I can't even cook their meals or clean their house to their satisfaction. I would beat me too if I were them. So what if I'm out for days sometimes and they never let me leave the house I deserve it.

Her heaven was a quiet life. His hell was a kingdom of shadows. Rain Carter has one mission: protect her daughter, Amber. At twenty-two, she's built a fortress of silence and safety, complete with a fiancé who offers the stability she craves. She's buried the memory of the man who shattered her heart four years ago-the man who looked like an Adonis and acted like a monster. But when Amber's life hangs in the balance, Rain's carefully constructed world shatters. Her daughter needs a bone marrow transplant, and there is only one match in the world. Damien Black. Known as the "Beast" of the corporate world and the undisputed King of the Underworld, Damien doesn't do mercy. He doesn't do family. And he certainly doesn't remember the girl he coldly cast out of his office years ago. When Rain reappears on her knees, begging for his help, Damien expects a scam. He expects a payout. What he doesn't expect is a DNA test that proves the silent, grey-eyed angel in the hospital bed is his own flesh and blood. Now, the Beast wants what is his. He wants his daughter. He wants the woman he once rejected. But Rain has a fiancé, a legally binding custody agreement Damien signed in cold blood, and a heart guarded by iron walls. In the underworld, happiness is a mirage and redemption is bought in blood. Damien is about to find out how far a monster will go to reclaim his throne-and the family he never knew he needed. When you think the story has ended, the nightmare is only just beginning.

She was his coworker. She was his close friend. She was his cousin. These were all things I knew. There were just a few crucial components to their connection of which I had been unaware. She had been his crush. And now he was hers.

As war erupts between the Greek and Sicilian mafias, the powerful Accardi family must fight to protect their empire. Accardi Obsession unravels a dark, multi-POV mafia story charged with forbidden chemistry, explosive family tensions, and an arranged-marriage pact that turns sworn enemies into something far more dangerous. *** The Sicilians trusted them. The Greeks tried to take their empire. Now, the balance of power hangs by a thread. In the third season, the Accardi family faces their greatest war yet - one that will test loyalty, love, and blood itself. Costa and Millie are fighting to protect the family they built together, even as war threatens to tear them apart. Rocco and Alessia are learning what it means to be married in a world that can take everything from you in seconds. And when a new marriage alliance is proposed, one Accardi makes the ultimate sacrifice, and enemies become lovers... or whatever you call it when hate gets complicated. There's a war brewing, a wedding on the calendar, and at least four people pretending they're not in love. The Accardis are back. Pray for whoever stands in their way.

(BOOK 1 Of the QUEENS OF CHAOS SERIES) Isa Valen doesn't believe in restraint. Two weeks ago, she did champagne, a sinfully accented stranger, and a night so consuming she ran before sunrise. She doesn't remember his face. She doesn't remember his name. But her body remembers the way he made it burn. When her sister runs to New York, Isa follows without hesitation. New city. New job. New distractions. Then she meets her boss. Erik Orlov. Billionaire. Bratva Don. A devastatingly gorgeous tattooed man built from control and violence wrapped in tailored suits. The first time he looks at her, something tightens in her chest. The first time he steps close, her pulse betrays her. She doesn't recognize him. He recognizes the curve of her mouth. The sound she made when he touched her. The way she ran. The night she can't remember is the one he hasn't stopped replaying. Now she works beneath him - in his office, in his space, in his world. Every glance lasts too long. Every accidental touch feels deliberate. Every breath between them feels charged. And Erik Orlov does not chase. He claims. Enemies circle his empire. Loyalty fractures. Power shifts. But none of it unsettles him like the woman sitting across his desk, pretending she doesn't feel it too. Until two pink lines appear. Because the only thing more dangerous than their chemistry... Is the secret growing between them. And this time, he won't let her run.

Book 7 of the Dark Knights series Chain: Twin sisters..Aria and Eva...one has been murdered....the one I've been fantasising about like no other. I'm in the crew that Butcher has tasked to protect the surviving twin....plain and boring little Eva. So why, when we're both alone at night, am I drawn to this elusive little nymph? She could never be mine...she's Eva..nothing like her fiery sister, the one I truly wanted. But when the bullshit's over, and Eva peels away the disguise to reveal Aria underneath, how do I prove to her that I'm not the asshole who thought he was too good for her dead sister?..

Book 9 of The Dark Knights series. Sheila - I love my Tiny, with all my heart...but his family?....I think they hate me as much as I hate them. I thought I'd seen the last of them, when Tiny said we didn't need to visit anymore. So when his whole family invades Abbot's Cove, Tiny's childhood best friend Molly, tagging along for the ride....you just know there's going to be trouble.. But it's when boundaries are already shifting, and tempers are already beginning to flare, that Molly drops her shocking revelations, about her past with Tiny. I don't know if I have it in me to forgive him....and when our oldest child is pulled into the mix, I don't think I want to see his face...ever again...

At midnight, on the most imparting day of her life, Charlie's life was shattered by her husbands betrayal. Trying to leave it all behind, she gets into a terrible accident making everyone believe that she has died. Derrick falls apart at hearing the news and regrets everything, so when she turns up alive and well, he will stop at nothing to get her back. Will she take him back, or will she move on with the life she initially sought after.