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

"Do you even love me, Enzo, or is it simply another one of your secrets?" My voice shook as I fixed my gaze on him; the echo of my words bounced from the jagged, frigid underground walls. Emotions I could no longer control—anger, betrayal, fear—bounded my chest.

His jaw clenched, his black eyes darkened with a grief he would not talk about. "You know I do," he responded in a quiet but strong voice. "If I did not, I would not be here."

"Then why does it feel like I'm only a pawn in your game?" I insisted, moving forward despite leg trembling. Though I could not stop, the earth under us remained unstable, fissures spreading like spiderwebs with every minute vibration. "You keep claiming you're protecting me, but all I feel is imprisoned—trapped in your lies, trapped in your world!"

CODT OF SECRETS