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

"Why would you not simply let me in?" My heart hammering between my ribs like a prisoner trying to flee, my voice broke as I watched Enzo. The flickering light from the far-off fires highlights the harsh lines of his jaw and the suffering in his eyes. It also creates shadows on his face.

His voice raspy and almost above a whisper, he added, "Because letting you in means losing you."

I tightened my hands, his words weighing down on my chest. Enzo, you cannot permanently keep me in the dark. Should you adore me—"

"I do," he said, his voice harsh and decisive. But Emilia, love cannot clean the blood on my hands. It does not make this planet any less harmful for you.

I moved forward, the distance between us packed with a crushing, electrifying tension. "I need you not to protect me. I need your faith in me. To feel that I can manage whatever truth you are so reluctant to share with me.

SHADOWS OF CHOICE