TwentiesGirl

"I think you enjoyed at least part of your punishment last night, sweetheart."

"No," I whispered, my voice barely audible, my eyes still on his hand, on his fingers as they drew small circles that made my toes curl on my exposed, sensitive skin.

He moved closer to me, making a small gasp push past my lips as I looked up, our gazes colliding.

"Relax. Do you know what the fun part is, Lana? It doesn't always have to be a punishment. It could be something... exciting too. Something you'll most definitely like."

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To save her entire family from the Stravkos Mafia - which was the most powerful Mafia family in Tuscany, Italy - Then sixteen-year old Solana Williams agrees to take her sister's place and becomes a sacrificial lamb  - becoming Abel Stravkos' wife. 

Theirs is just a mere marriage of convenience, but now older, wiser and twenty-three, Solana vows revenge for all they did to her family by making Abel's life a living nightmare.

Abel Stravkos does not need a wife, but with his cold-hearted father handling the helm of affairs, he's helpless to object. His heart isn't tied to this strange, beautiful, vengeful woman who's been forced down his throat. But the line between love and hate is thin, and Solana's staunch disobedience to his orders fuels his need to control her in every way possible.

Driven by revenge, and an undeniable passion sizzling just beneath the surface, it's only a matter of time before their attraction for each other becomes apparent, much to the dismay of his father as well as both internal and external forces trying to pull them apart.

Will they ever rise above obstacles lodged in their paths and get their happily-ever-after?

The Mafia's Crazy Obsession

Fulfilling my promise to Lana had got to be the most liberating thing I'd ever done.

It took away the guilt I'd felt on that day I saw her for the first time; star-struck by those bright eyes that dimmed when her father announced the purpose of our visit with tears in his eyes. It took away the feeling of possessiveness — the need to control her. It took away a lot of things I wasn't proud of and left me with a warm glow in my chest. What it didn't take away, however, was my ever-increasing love for her.

Andre came over to the house the following morning and handed me the initial contract she and I had signed. I couldn't look at it — I set it aside and had him draw up a new one. This one wrote off any debt the Williams family owed any Stravkos, real or perceived, and the two families were no longer bound in any way. In any form. I also directed him, to make that part possible to be overturned in the future at any time.

Abel - Dance To Freedom