The Mafia's Doctor

"You resign from Manhattan Presbyterian tomorrow. You handle my injuries, oversee my men, and act as my partner for social events. In return, I pay your father's debt. In full."

The silence in the Rolls-Royce is heavy, broken only by the rhythmic hum of tires over asphalt. Dr. Seraphina Volkov-a brilliant thoracic surgery fellow at the finish line of her residency-looks up at Aiden Salvatore, the ruthless sovereign of the New York underworld. His fingers rest against her chin, radiating a coiled, terrifying power.

"Do I have a choice?" she asks.

Aiden doesn't answer. He just grins-a slow, predatory expression. It is the smile of an apex predator who moved his pieces across the board before she even knew they were playing.

"I don't know you," Seraphina states, her voice flatline steady despite the invisible contract sealing around her. "And you haven't specified the terms of this 'plus-one' arrangement. I am a surgeon, Mr. Salvatore, not a socialite."

"The terms are simple, Dr. Volkov," Aiden murmurs, his thumb brushing her jaw with lingering warmth. "You belong to my circle now. And in my circle, no one touches what is mine."

---

Forced to resign from her prestigious hospital fellowship due to her sudden underworld ties, Seraphina is thrust into Aiden's dangerous, high-society orbit. She has spent her entire life viewing the human body as a biological equation, meticulously training her facial muscles to remain frozen under pressure. Panic is an inefficient waste of glucose.

But as Aiden's dominant advances crowd her boundaries, the ice-cold surgeon begins to experience volatile, unfamiliar emotions that defy calculation. When the man made of absolute authority threatens to melt her armor, how will a woman who treats the heart like a mere muscle survive the sudden, chaotic friction of her own?

---

*Read at your own discretion. Mature audiences only.*