edwardsauthorsally

Sold to the highest bidder to pay off a blood feud, I never imagined I would be the pawn in my father's fatal game. Still, here I am before Enzo De Luca, the most vicious mafia leader in the city. Though appealing, he is cold, deliberate, and as lethal. Though my heart races just from his proximity, it is his touch that ignites me. My body betrays me and reacts to him in ways I am powerless over. And I melt as he softly, commandingly says my name.

Enzo loves neither me nor another. In his deadly kingdom, I am only another bargain, another transaction. But every time we are alone, the conflict between us snaps—desire becomes a terrible addiction. Although I detest him for everything he stands for, I yearn for the way he consumes me, body and soul.

He has made it quite evident—our marriage is more about power than love. Still, every angry gaze and every snatched moment in the shadow reveals something different. Benevolent underneath his icy façade lies something broken that appeals to the darkest sides of me. But depending on a man like Enzo may mean losing everything.

Bound to him now, for better or worse, I am caught in a world where loyalty is brittle and treachery carries a bullet. Our friendship gets more perilous the more truths about his empire I find. And as the past calls for us, I have to question myself: will our passion be the thing that ruins us both or can I survive loving a guy like Enzo De Luca?

Burning in his arms is me. But in his universe, I could roast alive.

OWNED BY MR MAFIA

"Are you really going to keep excluding me Enzo?" I demand, my voice a loud whisper piercing the repressive quiet of the hallway. Though his motions seem stiff, almost mechanical, my palm still grips his and my chest is heaving. "We cannot continue running like this." Not via them. Not in line.

His movements stutter, then he turns to face me, the thin, flickering light of the tunnel shadowing his features. His eyes are turbulent with emotions he is trying—and failing—to control. His jaw is set. His voice gruff, he replies, "I'm not shutting you out." I'm keeping you alive.

"By acting as though you have no interest?" I turn back and approach closely. "By behaving as every step we take isn't killing you inside?"

A HEARTS RECKONING