Part of the 'The Cost of Blood' Collection. This can be read as a stand-alone - - - "I do not love you and I don't want you anywhere near me. You are merely a business deal that will make me and my mafia more powerful" Vincenzo scorns as he roughly grips my chin so I can't look away from him. "I understand" I whisper gently as I stare into his cold, brown eyes. - - - Alexandria Rayne Castillo, the daughter of the Italian don and a medical student in America, would do anything for her family even if that means giving up everything. Vincenzo Lombardo is the new don of the Sicilian Mafia, after he watched his mother die all he cares about is his mafia and how he could improve it. He is known as vicious and destructive. What will happen when Vincenzo father arranges a marriage between the two?

[WARNING - EXPLICIT CONTENT] I tried getting out of his hold, but he had more strength in his finger than I had in my body. He flipped me over until my back was touching his broad muscled front. "Leave me, Ares," I pleaded. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me down as he squeezed me tight against him. His nose buried in my neck, inhaling my scent. It turned me on and I cursed my traitorous body for reacting this way. "You still wear that same perfume, the day I first met you." He ran his tongue on my neck. "Babe, since the first time I landed in this country, I knew I had to end you." And just like that I believed him. His eyes stormed liked twin hurricane about make landfall. He seemed like a perfect gentleman until his sinister lips made me ache with pleasure. I thought I would never meet him again, but fate had different plans for me. * SUITABLE FOR 18 + OR TEENAGERS WITH OPEN MINDS * cover by IvvyKy

"You're playing a dangerous game, Leah." Underneath those thick lashes peeked jade crystals, blazing with some daring spark that once again woke that primitive greed I could not control. "You're my wife now. I can have you whenever I please." I had leaned over her as she sat in the bathtub, all tumbling hair of gold and one daring smile that had my blood rush with mad desire; an erection that throbbed since the second I had interrupted her bath. Wrenching her gaze from mine, she ran her hand over her lathery bare leg. Damnation. She was playing my resistance. "Can you? Remember the rule?" A mere glance up at me and another wave of heat rushed up my legs. When she traced her wet finger over my jaw, I had to suspend that crippling necessity to scoop her in my arms right then, and take her to my bed for the night. "Six months.. One night. Who will break it first?" Those crimson lips moved in a way that had me pulsing with lust. A growl broke from my chest with the realization of her words. A rule I made up. Hell, it was supposed to be a marriage of benefits only. Six damned months only. And yet- "The rule stands for you only." I reminded. Why was I still dressed? Why in the hell was I holding back when she sat there naked in that tub, waiting for me to ravish her? "I will never beg for a night with you, Valentine." She said the obvious. "Because you'll do it first." *** |18+ Mature Content|

"I liked her before you two even happend." Royce has always been in love with his sister's wife. "You broke my heart, and all I want to do is break yours." Linette has always been broken hearted. Both need a relationship that means nothing. A relationship that's easy.

Allison Snow was ten years younger than Colton Pierce but that didn’t affect their tight bond. That was until he went to college and they had a silly argument. Now ... well, now it is been two years since she has seen his face - two, very long, years that nearly drove her into insanity. But he is back in town, however it is only because her mother begged him to come back, because Allison was not handling the loss of her grandmother all that well. When he walks back in her life, Allison knows two things for certain, she can’t let him know what she did when they stopped becoming friends and she most certain cannot tell him that she might be growing ‘romantic’ feelings for him... Yet, both of which are becoming seemingly impossible...

"What are you?" "Lethal." • • • Humans and Creatures. That's what mankind has come to. Some humans were locked up as infants and genetically altered for the purpose of making a stronger specie, and now their offspring have to be tested to see if they are safe to put out into the real world. Having been locked up in secure facility all of his life, Charlie is to be the first Creature to step outside into the real world. New to the world and to humans who aren't trying to poke a needle in him, he's scared as to what it has to offer. But also curious. Assigned to watch the first Creature and introduce him into modern world, Carly has gotten quite the job. He is like a giant 6'7 baby, and she has to teach him everything from eating with cutlery, to learning natural human behavior, to understanding such a difficult thing as love. He was just supposed to be an assignment, but the more time her and Charlie spend together, the more Carly had to admit he was so much more than just a Creature. Charlie is a brilliant, fast learning, curious specie with a big appetite, so what do you think will happen when such a creature is introduced to a thing like sex? One can only imagine...

Self-proclaimed weirdo April Hale and the notorious troublemaker Ryder Black have been living side by side for more than ten years. Both never attempted to communicate with each other, but on the night Ryder Black is thrown out by his own father, he asks her a question that might change both of their lives: "March, will you let me stay in your room?" He even got her name wrong. - A coming of age story about loss, the wonders of falling in love, and ultimately, pretending to be normal. Get inside April's distorted and yet humorous perspective, and watch as her tale unfolds into a shocking finish. COVER BY @RIVIIX

Maya, an innocent nurse, finds herself forced to accept protection from the Phantoms motorcycle gang, specifically the dangerous, irresistible biker, Jake Ford. ***** Maya has a normal life and a normal boyfriend, Sebastian. But one day she drops off a letter to a prison for a patient under her care, and finds herself being watched over by a dangerous, handsome biker. It turns out Maya is under the protection of Jake Ford, and despite her feelings for Sebastian, she can't resist the pull of Jake's strong arms, dark looks and chequered past. Soon criminals are coming after her, and Jake is the only one who can keep her safe. Will Maya hide behind her good-girl reputation, or let go and lose herself in the passionate world of Jake Ford? Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of violence and sexual activity, which may be triggering for some readers. [[word count: 150,000-200,000 words]] Cover designer: Ren T. Photographer: Michelle Lancaster Model: Jaxon Human

ʻʻWhat's forbidden is always the sweetest.ʼʼ This is a story where you're going to hate him. You might even hate her. The two people who are doing something very wrong in other people's eyes, but to them it's the most right thing they've ever done. He consumes her whole. He's a bastard and she hates him at times. But there's a thin line between hate and love. And she can't help herself but fall in love with him. Even if her love should never happen, even if she loves the man she should never have. He's not the man for her, she's not the woman for him. Yet they still let themselves get sucked into the depth of forbidden pleasures.

She wants to escape it all. She runs from it. She gets a chance to leave it all behind. And she does, without thinking twice. Gabrielle leaves France, her home country, when she finds an offer to babysit in London. She doesn't have a lot of experience with kids, but she's willing to do whatever it takes to just disappear from the world she somehow got sucked into. She comes to a rich family, who has a daughter and a son. She gets a big surprise when she arrives there. The little girl might be little indeed, but the son is nothing like she expected. He's all tall and broad with tattoos marking almost every inch of his skin. And he screams bad news. Alexander shows he doesn't like Gabrielle from the first time he sees her. However, they somehow just can't ignore each other as much as they'd like to, even though Alexander told Gabrielle to never involve in his business. But her being stubborn and fearless, she quickly finds out why people call him 'Sin.' *WARNING! This story contains a strong language and violence.* *The Literary Awards 2017 winner Cover by @ForeverIsland