Hooking up with her best friend's brother is Sam's childhood crush come true, but to have a future together, she'll have to overcome her past. ***** Sam Larson has always known Mason Wells is off-limits. He's her best friend's brother, and their family took her in when she needed somewhere to go as a teen. She thought she'd let her crush go, but seeing him at his sister's wedding brings all those old feelings back. And then some. Hooking up is one thing, but to have a real relationship, Sam will have to wrestle with the past she fears if she's going to have the future she longs for. [[Word count: 60,000-70,000]] Cover designed by @OutofMyLimit17 Content Warning: This book contains references to drug use, childhood neglect, and intimate partner abuse.

When Ashley wakes up next to the billionaire Tristan Montenegro, her life spirals into more than she could have ever bargained for. *** Ashley works as a maid at one of the most prestigious hotels in New York. To make ends meet and to save her family from the debt her drunk father left, she works two jobs. What happens when she crosses paths with Tristan Montenegro, heir to the biggest hotel chain in the country, a total ladies' man and not to mention, he is also her boss. What happens when her ex-boyfriend storms in on the two of them and knocks him out? In an attempt to save her job, she cares for him throughout the night. But there might be a problem, he wakes up with a splitting headache with no memory of the previous night, not to mention, she is laying next to him half naked. He thinks of her as a floozy who is only after his money and fires her from her job. What happens when the two of them meet again two weeks later and she spits out the words: "I'm pregnant." This might lead to many problems she never expected, not to mention, a shot at falling in love. Can true love ever survive amongst so many lies? ©Essi T K (2022)

Raised in the Mafia, I have known no other life other than cold calculated violence and discipline. A life where brutality is praised and weakness is ridiculed, I became the best of my parents and the worst the world has ever seen. Young and still gaining control of my mafia, love is never an option for me, that is until one night at a Mafia ball where I spy a woman who has me to my knees. I want more, more, more. She's reckless and cunningly beautiful. Too good for me and yet the only one for me. We fight for survival and for each other because neither one of us will let go. ------------------------- I sat in the back, legs apart and looked at her with my head tilted. She licked her lips and squeezed though the front seats all the while looking at me. I pulled her towards me and she chuckled as she sat on my lap. Her legs were either side of me and her breathing was ragged. I ran my hand down her cheek and pulled her into me. I kissed her lips and soon our tongues whirled around. Hungry and rough. She held her head back and I began to plant rough kisses onto her beautiful neck. "Am I a bad influence?" She breathed. Her hands were on the back of my neck. I stopped kissing her and looked up at her. "Everyone needs a little bad in their lives." I whispered back making her smile. My hands found her waist and I noticed her short dress had ridden up exposing her thighs. She wore it to tease me and I loved it. Fuck, I loved her body. She breathed into my neck and I pulled off her dress in one slick motion. My hands were all over her back, feeling her, touching her. Her soft skin drove me crazy. ------------------------- BE AWARE: Trigger warnings: MATURE CONTENT 18+ (SMUT) SWEARING VIOLENCE/GUN VIOLENCE SELF HARM/SUICIDE (REFERENCES) EXPLICIT LANGUAGE REFERENCES TO RAPE SMOKING/ALCOHOL/DRUGS BLOOD/DEATH/GORE ©️ All rights reserved ™️ The Walnut Tree BOOK TWO OF THE MAFIA SERIES