When Sullivan witnesses her parents being brutally murdered by Justin Lowell, her father's best friend and colleague, her entire world is shattered.
She swears to make Justin pay price for what he did and applies for law school to become a lawyer. It is not easy because she doesn’t want any money from Justin, who is also her legal guardian.
As she navigates the challenges of college life, Katerina keeps a secret: her part-time job at Penthouse Club as an exotic dancer to pay her way through school. But one fateful night, her double life is threatened to be revealed when Justin Lowell walks into the club with Victor Skrovonski, a notorious mafia boss.
Katerina's reality spins out of control as she becomes entangled in the dark crime underworld. A terrible mistake leaves her in dire need of help, and it's only Justin who steps forward to offer support. But their relationship is complicated; he can be cold and distant one moment, then unexpectedly kind the next, leaving Katerina questioning everything about him.
As they grow closer despite the danger surrounding them, a forbidden attraction blooms. Katerina begins to wonder: Does Justin have two personalities or is what she’s believed for the past six years a lie?

Claimed by My Dark Guardian by Lyra TaleSmith, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Claimed by My Dark Guardian

I didn’t think much of what I was looking at. Elodie… with some random guy… right here, making out with him in public. I stepped back one foot at a time and watched for a reaction. I remembered Justin’s kiss, how it felt on my lips, how it completely consumed me. Elodie was consumed, too, so she wasn’t going to see me. 


I’d never seen this guy before. I didn’t think he was a classmate. Was he from Waterfall? I stayed there, frozen, feeling stupid for being in this position at all. I should have left before the striptease. There was too much at stake. I had too much to lose to be doing this to myself. 


I hoped hard that she wouldn’t see me and turned around slowly. I walked away from her and thought she wouldn’t see me in between the contrasting seizure-inducing lights and the heavy bass music. At least, I didn’t think she would.


Chapter 25: Consequences