[2026 Watty Awards shortlist] On the surface, Elaine Castillo and Dante Cyril are one and the same. The only children to two billionaire fathers, they are each the heirs to their families' self-made business empires. Elaine is armed with wit, a prestigious education, and the ability to read her enemies like open books. Her only downfall is a dark past that is being used against her in a blackmail-fueled bargain with her father's right hand man. The only way to escape this unwritten contract is to protect her father's business by getting answers out of their largest competitor - who just so happens to be protected by the Italian mafia. Dante lacks interest in ruling his father's kingdom. He thrives on the laid back lifestyle, filled with fast cars and loose women, he has always enjoyed. When his father dies to tragic and suspicious circumstances, Elaine and her father are at the top of his suspect list. Will the two be able to sort out their differences for the sake of their families' billions, or will they find themselves risking it all out of pride? In this grueling dark romance, you can expect to find yourself biting your fingernails, swooning, and sweating all at the same time.

There is nothing more beautiful than watching an innocent angel fall apart at my sinful actions. I'm going to ruin her. •••• "You know," she whispers, "Everyone would be disgusted by the things I would let you do to me." I smirk. She's made for me. "Tell me," I said, "Tell me what you would let me do." I rub my thumbs across her cheeks. She grins up at me, looking so fucking pleased with herself. "Can I show you instead?" -------- Amorette Ávila is just trying to support her family and make something of her life. She meets a man who changes her perception of all things. Augustine Eros is a dangerous man, one who kills and controls crime, and that scares her. She wants to look out for her brother, but that only leads her closer to the man she fears. However, he finds something in her he's never found before, and he's addicted. She sees through his rough facade, and her curiosity seems to drive her interest. She's an angel to him, and he thrives off of it. She is his drug, and he wants to overdose on her.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩ 𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. ..⃗. ☁️ 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦. "Why are you always looking down? My face is right up here." He gently held my chin in between his fingers, tilting my head up so that our eyes could lock in on each other. "You're so pretty, you make nervous," I quietly confessed. A blush made its way on both of our faces, making laughter fly past my lips. He's so cute. He shook his head and brought the blunt in his hand to his lips, taking a long drag. I curiously looked up at him through my lashes, secretly wanting to try it. As if he knew what was going through my mind, he gripped my face in his hand and bent down, pulling us closer together. My heart thumped against my chest, begging to be let free. "Uh-" He cut me off by placing his lips on mine, making my eyes widen when I felt him allowing the smoke to blow into my mouth. "Inhale," he instructed. ೃ⁀➷ 𝐀 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲; 𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫. ..⃗. ☁️ 𝐀 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.

#𝟏 in the 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐝 series When an independent girl moves to the big city, unknowing of whose city she's just stepped into. - Mafia romance - Employee and boss - Possessive

Maya applied pressure to my wound. I hissed from the pain. "Stop fucking around." She rolled her eyes at me. Maya finished tending my wound, wrapping it with a bandage. As she got up to put the first aid away, I stopped her. My thumb rubbed against the cool skin of her hand. I pulled her to sit on my lap. My fingers ran through her hair. "You're doing it again." I ignored her, sinking my chin into her shoulder. "I have no idea what you're talking about." I placed small pecks on neck. Her breathing turning heavy. "Stop. Someone could walk in." "And? You think they want to watch? Shit, I would." _____________________________________ ~Maya Castillo~ Escaping her traumatic past, Maya and her brother, Santiago, run to New York. In hopes to run her family business one day along side with her brother, she takes a college program at NYU. But when a anonymous person threatens her, Santiago turns to a past trusted friend. His price for protection? Her. ~Noah Slade~ In Manhattan, Noah is feared around the entire city. New York bows to his feet. He works in multiple businesses and is known in the mafia world as well. When a old friend from high school comes to him for protection, he comes face to face with his friend's sister once again, knowing exactly what he wants in exchange. ~ H I G H E S T R A N K S ~ #6- badass 8/24/2022 #8- ongoing 10/31/2022 #6- maya 5/3/2025 #1- maya 5/4/2025 #5- enemiestolovers 5/8/2025 #5- interesting 5/14/2025

**Book 2 of the Darkest series ** She's a cold hearted killer. An assassin for the U.S government, their deadliest weapon. Her only drive? R e v e n g e. & he? He just wants the love of his life back. By any means necessary. **UNEDITED**

Aurora Gomez is a 22 year old girl, who had to learn how to survive on her own after the death of her parents. She's a law student by day and a stripper by night, how else would she pay for tuition? She hasn't felt anything in years, she's practically numb, until an unfortunate encounter connects her with a man who evokes nothing , but pure hatred from her. Lorenzo Romano is the 30 year old leader of the Italian mafia, the Dón. He's ruthless and merciless. He's a busy man who hardly comes into the city, until his reign is being threatened and the only one who can help him is Aurora. The woman who he hated at first sight. Not to mention she can't stand him either. **UNEDITED**

Book 3 of New York series (Does not need to be read as a series) His hand travelled further up my thigh causing my skirt to move along with it. I bit my lip even harder. "Now Adalyn ,if I do this, there's no escaping me. You're mine after. No one else. Only mine. Meaning no other man or woman will ever touch you like I do. Never. Only me. Do you understand?" I brought my eyes up to his and nodded my head. He squeezed my upper thigh and I let my lip go to gasp. "Use your words my sweet girl. Do you understand?" My breaths came out hard and heavy. My chest heaved up and down rapidly. "I understand Axel. I understand." His smirk deepened. A loud moan escaped my mouth and I arched my back off the bed at the feeling of his warm hand suddenly cupping my flower. "Good girl. My good girl." He huskily whispered in my ear. ****** A shy, harmless girl with a deep past meets a man she doesn't recognise. The pull she feels towards him is indescribable. A well-known, ruthless CEO that has had a life of gold casts his eyes on a girl that instantly enraptures his attention. #32 business #13 soft #46 cute #443 love #1 quiet #3 kinky #1 soulmates #2 shy #3 beautiful Cover made by @AnonymousssN

She was hired to clean his home, not unravel his heart.Dante lives in a world of violence, power, and control. Amore doesn't belong there-but neither does her softness.Still, something about her quiet defiance draws him in.Secrets fester, danger looms, and love becomes the riskiest game. As enemies close in, desire turns dead. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

𝓥𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓪 𝓡𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓸 and 𝓐𝔃𝓻𝓪𝓮𝓵 𝓔𝓿𝓪𝓷𝓼 have despised each other since the very first moment they set their sights on each other. Verena can't stand his posh British accent, devastatingly handsome face and the gentlemanly facade nearly everyone at their college seems to fall for. Behind the posh accent, handsome face and polite manners, something dark lurks beneath the surface. Verena knows about this darkness inside him because not only does he show his true colours around her, but the darkness that resides deep inside her soul rears its ugly head anytime he's within view. It's not until one night at a masked party on campus, where Verena finds herself in an unexpected situation that she likes more than she's willing to admit, that everything changes. When she finds out who the person behind the mask is that made all her darkest desires come true, she's furious and conflicted by all her emotions. Verena is left fighting her desires and her hatred. She isn't sure what is going to win in the end, she just knows that she'll make him pay. - ‼️this story will have a lot of grammar issues so if you can't handle that then please don't read it because hateful comments will be deleted.‼️ ⚠️ This book is dark compared to her innocence and therefore isn't for the faint of heart. I would suggest reading the trigger warnings in the introduction for anything that might cause you any harm.⚠️