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10 stories
A Marriage Most Inconvenient by zeen2805
zeen2805
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Forced into marriage by duty and obligation, The Duke and Duchess of Rothbury parted ways a week after saying their vows under the explicit understanding that theirs was a marriage in name only. There would be no expectations of love, fidelity, or romance. The Duke hates the American Heiress who married him only for his title, completely unaffected by the senseless tragedy that had made their marriage necessary in the first place. When an illness forces him to retire to the country, he makes sure to choose the property where his wife wouldn't be. Except that she is, and she is still as insufferable as ever. The Duchess resents the man who killed her youthful dreams of love and abandoned her to live his bachelor life unencumbered. When she is jilted by her lover, and faced with inevitable ridicule, she decides to retire to her beloved estate in Cornwall, where she runs an orphanage. Never once does she expect to run into her cold, selfish, insufferable arse of a husband! Forced into each other's company by circumstance, the couple begin to unravel their individual prejudices. Resentment turns into respect and friendship. Respect and friendship soon turn into attraction and affection. Was love closer than either one of them could ever have imagined? And that begged the question; can the Duke win his wife's favor, or is it far too late to make their marriage a love match? Cover by MuniWilliams.
Roses & Ruin by Heartmyart
Heartmyart
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Evading her darkened past and fleeing Russia for a second time, Lexi has no idea just how relevant it'll be to her future after meeting Anthony Rizzo, the handsome man in a sharp suit and mysterious bruised knuckle. And Anthony, of the Rizzo crime family, after being turned down is looking for something simple. Physical. But after crossing paths with Lexi his life will turn to anything but... -Dark Romance- Potential Standalone in the interconnected series: BlackHeart Series
Thorns & Wreckage by Heartmyart
Heartmyart
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Lexi Rizzo tries to navigate her new relationship with Anthony Rizzo, while also plotting revenge on the entire Petrov empire. Domani De Luca is trying to change for the better. To be the man Mia Fiore deserves. Only, when Lexi asks him for help in taking power and vengeance, he finds himself struggling between what he knows best and who he loves most.
His Sinful Heiress [Mature Read] by Sylvia-Norcroft
Sylvia-Norcroft
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𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥. When faced with a choice, Lord Henry Clarke decided to become a famous and accomplished archaeologist rather than a happily married man to the woman of his heart. Now, at the age of one-and-forty, he lives a comfortable life as a bachelor, working as a professor at the University of London and paying regular visits to his two devoted lovers. His life takes an abrupt turn, when his childless older brother commits suicide, making him the next Duke of Grantchester. Yet that's a minor obstacle compared to the fact that he'll also have to marry to keep the money in the family... Miss Sabrina Hartley has New York at her feet... and perhaps all of America! But only one person knows who's behind the pseudonym that pens the most daring and bestselling erotic novels. When, at the age of one-and-thirty, she sees her younger cousin get married, she decides to turn the fiction of her stories into reality. However, her plans are soon thwarted by a series of telegrams from England - in order to keep half of her vast fortune, Sabrina must marry the current Duke of Grantchester as a direct result of an old agreement between their late fathers, Mr Hartley and Lord Clarke. Despite her best friend's warnings, Sabrina somewhat naively sets off to see if she can be happy in England... ...only to discover to her dismay that Henry is a cold and starchy man, his family reject her out of hand, and even the weather is dreadful almost every day! Will she find a way to her husband's heart or will she fulfill her darkest and most forbidden fantasies in the secret embrace of someone else?
An Inconvenient Arrangement by zeen2805
zeen2805
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Forever changed by his capture at the hands of the French, Viscount Carlisle is no longer the naive, carefree idiot who left the shores of England. He has spent eight years trying to find the man who betrayed him, but his plans are thwarted by the tragic death of his partner, leaving Rafe with the custody of his partner's eight-year-old daughter. A child who may hold the key to unraveling the entire mystery that has haunted him for so long. Worse still, this brings him face to face with his ward's aunt- an old friend who makes Raphael's blood run hot. She knows him better than anyone else, she accepts every dark crevice of his soul without a single thought. She absolves him and tempts him into wickedness. He knows well that he cannot afford to let her in. Weaknesses got you killed in his business. The sooner she's out of his hair, the better. However, every day in her company has him softening until he cannot bear the idea of letting her or his ward go. Still reeling from her brother's death, Sylvia Heartwood finds out that the custody of her niece has been awarded to the most notorious reprobate in London and she will not stand for it. She forces herself into his household hellbent on proving that she is the better custodian for her niece. Only she is not so sure she can remain immune to the charm of this feckless libertine and his smoldering kisses and fiery embraces. Suave, carefree, and incredibly insufferable, Sylvie is resolute to never fall in love with him, but somewhere under the bluster she begins to catch glimpses of the boy who picked seashells for her and held her hand during thunderstorms, and all of a sudden, Sylvie's heart is in danger of being lost once again. With a villain lurking in the shadows, can Carlisle keep his newfound family safe? Cover by Muni Williams
Deviant Prince [Romano Brotherhood, #2] by mysamar
mysamar
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𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐄 is pretty sure her new neighbor is a serial killer. What else could explain his antisocial behavior, creepily minimalistic apartment, and that inhumanly emotionless demeanor? Not to mention the bloody body parts that have started showing up. It's too bad she's not scared of him. Or his unveiled threats on her life. But an emotionally scarred gangster on the run -- riding the brink of insanity and followed by a host of trouble -- is a lot more than she could've bargained for. 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐎 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎 is beyond redemption. Capo of the Romano crime family, the sociopathic Prince of Chicago, hell wrapped in a designer suit. He exemplifies cold precision and perfect control. His job has always come easily to him for the very same reason that his name is feared widely: he's incapable of emotion. But something horrifying and sinister is beginning to happen to him. And it turns out that pesky slipping sanity is the least of his concerns. Because his new neighbor is a ray-of-sunshine wildcard dipped in beauty like he's never seen, and she won't leave him alone. Worse, he can't decide if he should kill or protect her. Massimo doesn't count on Vivienne being the first person to look at him like he's human. Or demons from his past coming back to haunt him. Much less a new threat looming on the horizon. Or love. Especially not that. ♛ Deviant Prince is a slow burn, enemies to lovers, dark mafia romance. WARNING: this story gets very dark. You must check the CW in the intro. [ Book 2 in the Romano Brotherhood Series | COMPLETED ✔ ]
Frankie's Obsession by Sabrina_Iosif
Sabrina_Iosif
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[A dark mafia romance] In the great cosmic shit-show we call the justice system, there's the law... and then there's the counterweight. Forget Lady Justice, that blindfolded hack. She's just the statue out front. The real work, the greasing of the gears, that's done by a different kind of broad altogether. They've got a name for her: "The Dirty Lawyer". And let's be clear, they're not wrong. But to the six sons-of-bitches currently fertilizing a pine box forest, she's just Frank. See, Frankie operates on a different docket; a personal one: a list of names belonging to the pricks who turned her family into a memory. And she's been working her way down that list, real methodical-like. That was the plan, anyway. Then - he - had to show up and complicate the goddamn scenery. Hector Pierce. The society pages call him a businessman, a philanthropist. What they don't print is his real trade. The man is an artist whose medium is fear, and whose brush is a straight razor. The man has one rule: family. It's not a suggestion, it's a religion. So when a slick attorney with a death wish and a killer pair of legs starts sniffing around his family, she stops being a nuisance and becomes a problem. And Hector Pierce... he's a goddamn problem-solver. He looked her right in those two barrels of doom she calls eyes and promised to burn her world down to the foundation. And she should want to put a bullet right between his principled, stupidly gorgeous eyes. But his loyalty... that deep, caveman, "I'd-kill-for-my-blood" loyalty... it's a fucking distraction. To Hector, Frankie isn't just a threat. She's a lawyer who can argue a case on Monday and dispose of a body on Tuesday. Beautiful in a way that should be illegal. He's decided he's making her his. It's not a question of if, but a question of when the hell she would stop fighting him on it. [Book 2 in the Sins of the City series.]
Dark Saint [Romano Brotherhood, #1] by mysamar
mysamar
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A man claimed by the devil. A woman claimed by no one. Until him. 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎 is a monster. His family relies on him to torture and kill. It's his birthright, curse, and the most delicious punishment for a gluttonous sinner. He's no stranger to violence and depravity. Soldier of the Romano crime family, he might be stranger to everything else. 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐄 is an outcast, the hidden gem of the Genovese crime family, shunned by her father and forgotten by the world. She's utterly alone, until she finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kidnapped by the man with dark eyes, tattoos, and a soul to match. And he isn't planning on letting her go. The deviant killer with the angelic name, her intended torturer, the devil of the underground. Santo is quickly becoming something to Nina that seems impossible, something that neither of them are ready for. She threatens to uproot everything he's always known and been, and when secrets are revealed, when demons come out to play, it's not only a matter of how willing Santo and Nina are to salvage something that seems to be the only beautiful corner of both their worlds. It's a matter of whether any kind of beauty can survive in a world so dark. ✚ Dark Saint is a slow burn, enemies to lovers, dark mafia romance with mature content and dark themes. Read at your own discretion. [ Book 1 in the Romano Brotherhood Series | COMPLETED ✔ ] Featured on @Romance Featured on @StoriesUndiscovered
Casino Queen by Sabrina_Iosif
Sabrina_Iosif
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[A dark mafia romance] She survived her mother's poison. She survived her father's murder. Now Rosa Nera must survive the crown he left behind. As the new Donna of Kansas City's most powerful crime family, Rosa rules with a steel fist wrapped in black velvet. But the wolves are circling-a rival Russian faction wants her territory, her own underboss wants her in his bed, and someone in her inner circle wants her dead. Then she catches him watching. Konstantin-a line cook in her restaurant, standing in the shadows as she executes a traitor. He should be a loose end. A problem to eliminate. But there's something in his eyes. Dark and utterly unafraid. And when she looks at him, she doesn't see a witness. She sees someone she wants to own. She doesn't kill him. She offers him a job as her personal chef. Brings him into her home. Keeps him close. Too close. What Rosa doesn't know is that the man in her kitchen isn't who he says he is. Konstantin has no memory, no past, and no name. Just hands that cook like a chef and move like a killer. And what Konstantin doesn't remember could destroy them both. Because someone killed her father. Someone is poisoning her Capos against her. And someone is watching from the shadows, waiting for the Donna to fall. In a world of betrayal and blood oaths, the only thing more dangerous than an enemy at your gate is the man sleeping in your bed. And Rosa Nera has never been good at playing safe. [Book 4 in the Sins of the City series.]
Miami Prince by Sabrina_Iosif
Sabrina_Iosif
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[A dark mafia romance] My mother's blood paved the way for their perfect little fucking life. They built their castle on the ruins of everything they stole from me, turned my suffering into the price of their goddamn happiness. I was left in the dark, forgotten, like my pain was just some necessary sacrifice for their bliss. But now, it's fucking payback. They'll bleed for every stolen second, every shattered dream, every ounce of dignity they ripped from me. Their laughter will be drowned in their own screams, their city will choke on the blood I spill, and their world will burn under the weight of my wrath. I am Titus fucking Minetti, king of the East Coast. And I don't just rise from the ashes. I fucking own them. [Book 3 in the Sins of the City series.]