Book 1 in the Sacred Bonds series. There are two kinds of scars on a man. The ones you can see, etched into skin by the Texas sun, and the ones you can't; the kind carved into a twelve-year-old boy watching his legacy get stolen at the barrel of a smile. For AZAD MARTINEZ, the memory is a film reel that never stops playing. The day his father was laid in the ground, his uncle, MALIK MARTINEZ, arrived to deliver his first lesson in family: it's a weakness. He threw Azad and his grieving mother out of their own home, the only home they'd ever known, the very dirt his father had sworn was a sacred trust. But Malik didn't just take the land. As a final, calculated act of cruelty, he took Azad's older brother, ZAYAN, dragging him away to be remade in his own corrupted image. Now, years later, the echoes of that day have become a relentless soundtrack. Azad has built a new empire from nothing, a legitimate agricultural powerhouse, but every success is shadowed by the ghost of what was stolen and the sound of his mother crying in the next room, her tears a silent prayer for the son she couldn't protect, begging for a forgiveness only God and his return can grant. But Malik isn't finished teaching lessons. He's back with a contract, wielding a forgotten debt from Azad's father like a holy writ. He offers a choice that is no choice at all, a move designed to break Azad's spirit completely and claim his hard-won empire. This is where the real war begins. This is a halal romance, a journey deep into the heart of what it means to love under the weight of duty, to seek revenge without losing your soul, and to find the impossible path to forgiveness when the wound is the only thing that reminds you you're still alive. This is a story of one man standing on the land he built, forced to choose between the vengeance that fuels him and the faith that could save him, all while the ghost of his brother and the cries of his mother threaten to pull his world apart at the seams.

❝Come on beautiful, how long are you going to pretend that I'm not the reason for that❞ His eyes glide down my body and stop at my thighs that had mindlessly pressed themselves together. "When you stop pretending I'm not the reason for that" I gesture towards his legs this time, his thighs parted and the hard erection showing through his pants. I can't help but clear my throat at the print. He stands up, with no shame. Not even trying to cover or adjust himself, he only walks towards me as I sit on the chair in his office. With the nudge of his foot, he parts my legs so he can step between them, lifting my chin with his index finger and I meet those enchanting eyes. He leans closer to my ear and his hand finds its place on my thigh, causing my skin to become warmer. "I'm not pretending beautiful, I will happily admit you're the one that gets me this hard any day." Grace Kennedy is smart, beautiful and kind. She's studying to become a doctor one day but before she can afford all the expenses, she works with her mother in her family's bakery. Mariano is a man of charms and far too handsome for his own good. Emerald green eyes that could be mistaken for the actual jewel itself. His entire life revolved around his four year old daughter and his younger brother. Grace couldn't ignore how shy she felt around him as she grew to see him even more. Doing her best to keep the charming man at arm's length, it was hard to do when he knew exactly how to rile her up. She was his Beautiful Addiction. Extended Description in Introduction!