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

"You cannot keep treating me, Enzo," I screamed, my voice shaking with a mix of despair and rage. The low light of the cavern danced over his sharp features, creating black shadows reflecting the turbulence in my chest. "You withdraw every time I feel I am near to understanding you. When you refuse to allow me in, how am I expected to trust you?

Turning, Enzo tightened his jaw and balled his hands into fists. His voice low but firm, he added, "I'm doing this to protect you, Emilia." You assume I want to exclude you? There is no choice for me.

"You always have a choice," I said, coming forward. Though the distance between us seemed like an unreachable abyss, I persisted in not allowing him back-off. "You are the one advised to fight. When you wouldn't even tell me what's at risk, how can I fight for us?

SHADOWS BENEATH THE SURFACE