Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Friday, July 30, 2021
Original Sins by Faith Summers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Original Sins by Faith Summers is part of the Dark Odyssey series. This book can be read as a standalone because I haven’t read any of the others. I dove into this book just knowing it was a Mafia romance not knowing that it involved two men and one woman. At first I was unsure of how I was going to feel about this book because that isn’t my typical forte of reading. I must say Faith handled these characters very well though. I ended up thoroughly enjoying the book and finishing it in one sitting.
I am still unsure of how I feel about Evie. I get the entitled Princess vibe because she really and truly refuses to do anything for herself. She lets the men in her life absolutely control her every move. If her father says jump she basically says how high. Yes she is completely defying him but not openly. It took me a while to warm up to the way she let them walk on her I guess you could say.
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Title: Original Sins
Series: Dark Odyssey #6
Author: Faith Summers
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Release Date: July 30, 2021
BLURB
What is the price of living...
My father dealt his last blow to control my life on my eighteenth birthday.
He crushes my dreams when I’m told I have to marry a man I loathe.
Intent on saving myself from a terrible fate, I do the one thing I can to get the money I need to escape.
Enter the virgin auction and agree to do whatever my owner wants for thirty days.
I just never expected to be owned by two of the most dangerous men I know.
Both work for my father in the criminal underworld, but they don’t know who I am.
I’m their dirty little secret no one must know about, and they are mine.
But then all hell breaks loose when we get found out.
That’s the moment I truly have to worry about escaping.
Original Sins is a Dark Mafia Ménage Romance in the Dark Odyssey Series. The events are set prior to Book 1 (Tease Me) but can be read as a complete standalone.
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AUTHOR BIO
Faith Summers is the Dark
Contemporary Romance pen name of USA Today Bestselling Author, Khardine Gray.
Warning!! Expect wild romance stories of the scorching hot variety and
deliciously dark romance with the kind of alpha male bad boys best reserved for
your fantasies.
Dive in and enjoy her naughty page-turners.
AUTHOR LINKS
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Hidden Beauty by Amelia Wilde
Hidden Beauty by Amelia Wilde is the secomd book in The Beauty and The Beast trilogy. I highly suggest reading these books in order.
Haley and Leo are your modern say Romeo and Juliet. They are from dueling families. The intensity of their relationship and family drama will keep you intrigued for the duration of thia amazing read. If you love a good dark romance with anlove hate relationship you will thoroughly enjoy this series. im literally holding on by the seat od my pants waiting in the thirs book.
Title: Hidden Beauty
Series: Beauty and the Beast Trilogy #2
Author: Amelia Wilde
Publisher: Dangerous Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 11, 2021
BLURB
Haley Constantine traded her life for her father's safety. Now she's trapped in a castle with the Beast of Bishop's Landing.
Her own family wants her dead.
The only man who can save her is the one she can't trust.
Dangerous. Tortured. Furious. Leo Morelli wears a mask of cruelty to cover up a lifetime's worth of scars. He's been injured, but that only makes him fight harder. The only thing he cares about more than revenge is the woman he’s come to love.
HIDDEN BEAUTY is the second book in the Beauty and the Beast trilogy from USA Today bestselling author Amelia Wilde.
PURCHASE LINKS
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EXCERPT
“What do you think you’re doing?”
I swallow against a dry mouth. “Leo, I should go.”
“The fuck you should. What are you talking about?”
“I know it seems bad.” My words tumble out on top of one another, and once again, I’m the girl with her back against the wall, facing off with the Beast of Bishop’s Landing. Only now I know he can be hurt. He can be wounded. “It is bad. But I have to talk to Aunt Caroline. I have to try and make her see reason.”
Leo stares at me like I’m a stranger. Like he’s never seen me before. Like I didn’t hold him in my arms and beg for him to live. “There’s no talking to that bitch.”
Tears well up in my eyes. Damn it. I wasn’t going to cry, but it’s all so close to the surface. “I know it was Caroline who hurt you. She’s the one who made those scars on your back.” I gulp down a sob and stifle it. Suffocate it. I’m not doing that. I won’t. “You told me yourself that you almost died. And now she tried to kill you again.”
The horror in Leo’s eyes transforms. It sharpens until it could cut me and bursts into flame. He stalks toward me and the hairs on the back of my neck rise. My body stills. There are three options in the face of a deadly predator. Flee. Fight. Freeze. I couldn’t run for the door if I wanted to. I don’t know how I ever did it before.
Leo stops with inches to spare. I’m not afraid of him, I’m not, but I’m trembling under my pink coat. Okay. I am afraid. But not of him. Not only of him. Of the way I feel right now, shaky and lightheaded and on the verge of tears from a love that feels completely out of control.
He waits, and I stand there like a fool, staring at the front of his shirt. There is a bandage underneath. A bullet wound. From putting his own body between me and a gun. A tear slips down my cheek and falls to the carpet. I’m too hot in the coat, too hot standing this close to him. Now that there’s a closed door between us and the rest of the world, I’m torn between bravery and the urge to fall apart and let him catch me.
My own fallen angel takes my chin in his hand and tips my face up, his grip hard and possessive. “Look at me.”
“I am looking at you.”
But I’m not. My eyes are still caught on his shirt—on the fabric concealing where he was shot. Leo gives my chin a terse shake. “Okay,” I whisper, meeting his eyes. Gold-streaked darkness waits for me, clear as the night sky. His gaze is sharp as a shot. Pain glimmers there, hidden behind the fiery beauty of those eyes. It’s not concealed behind a haze of painkillers. My pulse races at the contact. The heat of his fingers on my face is second only to the burn where his eyes meet mine.
“You,” he says, his tone deliberate, “are not going anywhere.”
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AUTHOR BIO
Amelia Wilde wrote her first story when she was six years old, a narrative strongly inspired by The Polar Express. When she was nine she wrote her first novel-length work, all in one paragraph.
Now, Amelia is all about that love. Her romances feature unique, independent heroines and alpha heroes who are strong of heart and body. Readers have described her work as “emotional,” “intense,” “phenomenal,” and “like a child scribbled with a crayon,” which she takes as the highest praise.
AUTHOR LINKS
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Steel Empire by Bri Blackwood
Title: Steel Empire
Series: Broken Cross #3
Author: Bri Blackwood
Genre: Billionaire Dark Romance
Release Date: May 6, 2021
BLURB
Our bond is steel.
We began to rebuild what we had,
Because I’m determined to make things right.
Someone is out to ruin me,
And they’re using Anais to do it.
Danger threatened to take her from me forever.
But what they don’t know,
Is when someone threatens what is mine,
There will be hell to pay.
Steel Empire is book three in the Broken Cross series. It is the final book in Anais and Damien’s story. Themes in this dark and sexy series may not be suitable for all readers. Steel Empire is the final book in a trilogy and is not a standalone. Read Savage Empire and Scarred Empire before reading this book.
PURCHASE LINKS
Free in Kindle Unlimited
EXCERPT
The demons that haunted my nightmares were supposed to remain there.
Yet, they had materialized into the real world and stole what was mine. There wasn’t much I feared, but my life had been turned upside down twice in recent weeks.
When Kingston alerted me that there was an incident involving Anais and her father and that his team was rushing in, my heart felt as if it were being strangled. It took precious moments for me to reach Rob and head down to the car because there was no way I would stay at my office waiting for word on what happened to Anais. Every second that passed without word made my mind race, wondering if the moment she walked out of my parents’ home would be the last time I saw her. After I was told that although James had been shot, Anais was fine and they were transporting her to a safe house, I felt as if I could breathe again.
Once it was confirmed that Kingston had Anais and she was safe, I knew that everything was going to be fine. I trusted Kingston with my life, and I knew that he would do everything in his power to make sure that Anais was okay.
The slight tremble of my hand as I pulled at my tie told me my feelings about this were completely different. The item of clothing now felt as if it were restricting my breathing, a change from just before I entered my home. The headache that was starting to form would not deter me from what had now become my only purpose: saving her.
Someone kidnapped her and I would drag whoever did this through the bowels of hell to get her back. This was a war and there wasn’t a chance that I would lose.
I pulled my phone out again and clicked a single button to redial the number that I practically had memorized due to how many times I had seen it in the last hour, but I got the same thing every time: Anais’s voicemail. I called both Kingston’s and Carter’s phones and got the same result. Where the fuck is everyone?
I cussed at myself for not working faster. The extra security measures that were supposed to be in place weren’t due to be installed until Monday. I’m failing her.
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AUTHOR BIO
Bri loves a good romance, especially ones that involve a hot anti-hero. That is why she likes to turn the dial up a notch with her own writing. Her Broken Cross series is her debut dark romance series.
She spends most of her time hanging out with her family, plotting her next novel, or reading books by other romance authors.
AUTHOR LINKS
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Alliance by Natalia Lourose
Alliance by Natalia Lourose is a Mafia Romance about an arranged marriage in The Sinners of New Orleans series.
This book was dark and took me by surprise in some parts. I was thoroughly engrossed in Lana and Naz. The animosity and the spirals of the story will take you through a whirlwind of a romance. Even though Lana is pronised to someone else whom happens to be a monster. The Love Naz shows at helping Lana become who she is and escaping the lifetime of tourment that she has endured. This book is amazing.
Title: Alliance
Series: Sinners of New Orleans #1
Author: Natalia Lourose
Genre: Mafia Arranged Marriage/
Forbidden Romance
Release Date: May 5, 2021
BLURB
A sinner met a saint,
Two worlds collided,
And everything burned.
Lana
I’ve done everything right.
Playing the part of the demure famiglia daughter,
And hiding my pain beneath makeup and pretty dresses.
But marrying a man ten years my senior?
Whose words cut like knives,
And lips taste like poison.
This is the one thing I can’t do.
Ignazio
I’ve done nothing right.
I’m not a virtuous man,
I balance on the line between light and dark.
My past is littered with sins,
Each of them is haunting me.
I’m not worthy of the angel with long hair and hazel eyes.
And yet, I’d burn the city to the ground to hold her in my arms.
What’s a sinner to do?
Free in Kindle Unlimited
EXCERPT
“What are you trying to escape, bella?” He doesn’t put the car in drive, instead he removes his hand from the gearshift and turns his attention on me. His warm eyes penetrate me, seeing through my brittle exterior, past the façade that my family has created.
What am I trying to escape?
I play with the idea of telling him about my arranged marriage. About the ring that I have stuffed in my underwear drawer back home. About my parents who showed no sympathy when I came back to the kitchen with an angry red mark blooming on my arm.
Today, for the first time since her death, I felt angry with Lily. She met this man and took the easy way out; she jumped to escape him and with her escape she put me directly in the path of the lion.
I want to tell Naz all of this. All the thoughts spiraling through my head that led me to calling Molly and leaving my house tonight.
I don’t though, out of fear that he’ll call me naïve.
A stupid, silly girl.
I was raised in this town, in this family. I know how the game works, I know the power plays, and yet I thought that behaving and looking pretty would somehow exempt me from them.
And what would he say to me? There’s nothing he can do to change this, to fix this broken situation. He knows. I know he knows what my family plans to do. If he’s a true soldier, he’ll probably drive me right back home, dropping me off on the front porch with a bow.
Those deep eyes are studying me as the thoughts roll through my head, threatening to take over and send me back into a panic. His tattooed hand reaches up to his throat, his thumb and forefinger slipping over the St. Jude pendant. I don’t think he even notices that he does it, it’s just an instinct.
Naz is handsome in a bad boy way. He’s not the type of man my parents would ever approve of. The black ink that peeks out of his button-down shirt, working its way toward his throat, would give my mother a heart attack. Even his fingers are covered, the ink extending toward his nail beds. For some reason that I can’t place, it sends a rush of heat to my core.
His hair is slicked back, dark as black ink, and buzzed on either side. He looks well-groomed but there’s a few days’ worth of stubble that covers his chin and my mind wanders to thoughts of how it would feel between my thighs.
“Everything.” I finally answer his question. “I’m trying to escape everything.”
He moves a hand to his face, rubbing over his chin thoughtfully. I don’t want him to overthink this. I want him to take me home; I want to feel him between my legs, his mouth on my skin; I want to erase Davis’ hand from my body; I want to experience a man that I choose.
And I definitely did not choose Davis Lafontaine.
“Take me to your house,” I breathe. “Please.”
AUTHOR BIO
Natalia Lourose writes angsty romance about broken people figuring out life and finding love along the way. Television and far too much smut as a teenager left her obsessed with dark-haired bad boys who are moody and wear leather jackets. Tucked away in her office with a dog at her feet, two cats on her keyboard, and husband doing something she is always writing something, or trying to.
AUTHOR LINKS
Friday, March 19, 2021
Scout by Janie Crouch
Scout by Janie Crouch is part of the Linear Tactical series. This book was originally wrote as an Anthology but has now been extended. Let me tell you this extended version gives you all the nitty gritty details you missed out on. I absolutely adore this series and can't seem to get enough of it. I will cry when it ends.
Wyatt is a patient man and has been waiting for months to make Nadine his. He knows what he wants and the one thing he doesn't mean to do is lead danger directly to her again!
Nadine has a tramatic past and is in love with Wyatt but doesn't think he will ever feel the same way. She runs into him at a place she never would have expected to see him. So fate must have brought them together right.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Contingent by Alexandra Ayers is the second book in the desert eagles motor cycle club series. Max is the President of the MC. He is an awesome guy that raised his nephew but now has his own family. Max struggles with prioritizing his everyday life. He has to manage the club, a bar, be a father, and a husband.
Amy is a strong woman. She is a mother, wife and owner of a tattoo salon. She wants love and commitment from her husband who can't seem to understand his family needs more than five minutes at a time.
This estranged couple have been fighting the loosing battle of making a relationship work in todays world. Yet it seems one thing after another just keeps tumbling down and pulling them further and further apart.
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Title: Contingent
Series: Desert Eagles MC #2
Author: Alexandra Ayers
Genre: MC Romance
Release Date: March 19, 2021
BLURB
WHEN DUTY, DEVOTION, AND DANGER CLASH, ONE CHOICE CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING.
Max Pearce has trouble on his hands. Not only is the FBI investigating his motorcycle club, the Desert Eagles, for counterfeiting, he has a bar to run full-time and a marriage to save. He loves his wife, Amy, but he can’t seem to get his priorities straight.
Amy Seong is on the fence. Separated from Max, she’s lonely and unsure if she should start dating again. Although she’s met someone, Amy misses Max and can’t fight her powerful connection to him. But what good is it being married to a man who never has time for his family. Maybe that’s why their teenage son, Owen, has been extra moody lately.
With a life changing parole hearing looming and Owen’s new interest in girls and riding ATVs leaving her frazzled, Amy has to figure out her next step. And with his club under fire, the feds breathing down his neck, and his family in jeopardy, Max needs to get his priorities straight, or he’ll lose everything he cares about, including the woman he loves.
Max’s club family and real family are at risk, but there’s one thing he can do to change all that. Will he take the right step for all their sakes?
PURCHASE LINKS
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AUTHOR BIO
Alex is a California native who currently resides in the Bay Area. She has loved romance for as long as she could remember, from watching Titanic as young girl to True Blood as a teenager to Say Yes to the Dress as an Adult. After years of reading romance, she finally decided to try her hand at writing stories with characters that reflect the diverse world we inhabit. Outside of writing, Alex enjoys listening to podcasts while doing her makeup, reading comic books, stalking Beyoncé’s every move, and watching The Golden Girls with a glass of wine. She enjoys talking to her readers and anyone with a great sense of humor, so feel free to drop her a message anytime!
AUTHOR LINKS
GIVEAWAY
Betrayed Honor by Zoe Blake
Title: Betrayed Honor
Series: Ivanov Crime Family #3
Author: Zoe Blake
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Release Date: March 19, 2021
BLURB
Her innocence was going to get her killed.
That was if I didn't get to her first.
She's the protected little sister of the powerful Ivanov Russian mafia family - the very definition of forbidden.
It’s always been my job, as their Head of Security, to watch over her but never to touch.
That ends today.
She disobeyed me and put herself in danger.
It was time to take her in hand.
I’m the only one who can save her and I will fight anyone who tries to stop me, including her brothers.
Honor and loyalty be damned.
She’s mine now.
PURCHASE LINKS
Free in Kindle Unlimited
EXCERPT
I picked up one of the useless pieces of decor he had about the place to make it look like a normal home and not like the security surveillance headquarters it really was.
He raised his arm. Pointing a finger at me, he warned, “Don’t you dare!”
I threw it.
He ducked in time for it to smash against the wall behind him.
“Liar!” I cried as I launched another missile, a glass cylinder holding an unlit candle.
He lunged for me. I feigned right then left and bolted to the other side of the room, placing the sofa between us.
“You’re a fucking liar! You’ve been fucking lying to me this whole time!”
“Language!” he roared as he circled around. I kept out of arm’s reach, always keeping the length of the sofa between us.
I fired back, purely out of spite, the one phrase I knew would piss him off. “Poshol nahuj!”
Reaching down, he used both hands to shove the sofa. It easily slid across the polished dark bamboo floor, removing the barricade between us. He rose to his full, unbelievably intimidating height. A vein pulsed in his temple as his chest rose and fell with each agitated breath. I had angered the beast. Without the sofa between us, I was vulnerable and unprotected.
“Apparently,” Mikhail snarled, “my bad girl needs another lesson from me.”
There was only one option left for me. I turned and bolted for the front door.
He was right behind me.
Snatching my arm, he swung me around and used the force of his body to press me against the wall of windows. Behind me was a panorama of stars and the flickering lights from the boats out on the Potomac, a peaceful scene that belied the war brewing between us.
He pressed his fingertips into my upper arms. “Listen to me.”
Not wanting to listen to his excuses and lies, I clawed at his grasp, trying to wriggle away.
He shifted his hold to my waist and swooped down to capture my lips in an attempt to subdue me; I shifted my head to the side, avoiding him. It didn’t work.
Tightening his hold on my waist, he lifted me high off my feet. I was anchored against the glass with his hips, his hard cock pushed against my stomach. He released his hold and wrapped his hands around my jaw, forcing my head forward. He then took possession of my mouth. When I tried to keep my lips closed, he pressed his thumbs into the soft flesh of my cheeks, forcing my jaw open. At first, I returned his kiss, then I returned to my senses and fought back and bit his lip.
His head reared back. He swept his tongue across his lower lip, lapping up a tiny bead of blood.
He wasn’t deterred.
He captured my mouth again. I could taste the metallic tang of his blood. His fingers slipped into my wild strawberry curls, holding my head steady for his continued assault. He pressed his body tighter against my soft curves, refusing to give quarter till I accepted him and accepted his dominance over me.
He broke the kiss and breathed against my mouth. “You’re mine. Fucking mine.”
I knew the moment the fight left me when I felt the brush of the back of his knuckles down my cheek. Swallowing my capitulating moan, he deepened the kiss. He interlaced his fingers with mine and pressed my hands against the glass on either side of my head. The cold, hard surface brought reality crashing back. I desperately wanted to return to the warmth and ignore all else but knew that was not possible.
Using every ounce of strength I possessed, I pulled back. He ran a thumb over my cheekbone, feeling the soft warmth of my flush. I never wore makeup, but at this moment, I was certain my swollen lips looked as if they were bright with a kiss-smeared crimson lipstick.
“Why?” I whispered, the sting of betrayal bright in my eyes.
He took a deep breath and told me the jaggedly raw truth. “All I can say is, from the moment I met you, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that you were meant to be mine and mine alone. Part of that meant you were mine to protect.”
“So you snuck a security camera into my shop?”
His eyes hardened as he shifted his gaze away from mine.
Fuck. It was so much worse than just a single security camera. He and my brothers had probably been watching and monitoring every step I ever made from the moment I left Gregor’s house, seeking my so-called independence.
He took a step back and let me slide back onto my feet. From this position, he towered over my slight frame. “Baby, you are just going to have to trust me.”
“Trust you? I feel like I don’t even know you anymore, if I ever did.”
“I never had any cameras in your apartment. Just the entrances and exits and your shop.”
I threw my arms into the air. “Oh, well, that makes things all better.”
“I will not apologize or feel guilty for doing my fucking job, for wanting to keep the woman I love safe.”
I shook my head. “No! No. You can’t do that to me. You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to give me the cold shoulder for three years and then one day announce that we’re together and you love me because you’ve finally decided you want me. That’s not how this works.”
He slammed his fist against the window. The glass vibrated from the impact, and the starburst crack a few feet away lengthened. “Damn it, Nadia. You know why we couldn’t be together. It was for your own good.”
I shifted away from the window and backed up a few paces, needing space from him. I couldn’t think straight when he was that close to me. “For my own good. For my own protection. You’re no better than my brothers. Deciding what is best for me without even bothering to ask me!”
He started toward me. “I am what is best for you. I’ve always been what is best for you. Me and me alone.”
Picking up the nearest object I could lay my hands on — a blue glass bowl — and I shouted back, “Then you should have put a ring on it instead of just standing on the sidelines all these years.” I threw the bowl straight at his head and once again bolted for the door.
I didn’t make it two steps before he caught up with me. Grasping me from behind, he wrenched my body close to his own. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You’re not going anywhere.”
My hands balled into fists as I stomped my foot, trying to step on his toes and force him to release me. “Let go!”
Mikhail moved so quickly I didn’t even have time to protect myself. He spun me around in his embrace. His right hand struck out, wrapping his fist into a shock of my messy curls, then he wrenched my head back. His other hand went to my lower back, pushing me forward and against him. My hands rose to press back against his chest. He didn’t budge.
He stormed back. “You need to understand that as of tonight, things have changed. We’re together now, and I’m not letting you go.”
I twisted my head to the side. “We’re not together. All I’ve ever been to you is a security job.”
“You’ve been a whole lot fucking more to me than some stupid job, Nadia.”
His mouth swept down to capture my own.
PRAISE FOR BETRAYED HONOR
"The explosive plot is a nonstop roller coaster ride...steam literally seeps from the pages with the romance scenes. This is a series not to be missed. Zoe Blake delivers with this one. Download and enjoy!" – Nancy R., Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Just like the rest of this series. I seriously can't say enough good things about every one of Ms. Blake's Russian Mafia books. They're sheer modern day bodice ripper perfection!!" – Autumn Lee, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"You can't help falling for Zoe's brand of super dominant, grumpy cavemen; and admiring the women who have these bad boys wrapped around their fingers." – Anika Kay, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Her writing is so addictive and there is no way I can let go of this series. Mikhail and Nadia are amazing and pure fire together. Their tale hooked me in and didn't let me go until the very end! ...A must read for all the dark romance lovers!" – Abstract Books ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"OMG step aside Ivanov brothers Mikhail is in the house!! Mikhail is down and dirty!! He is going to set the pages on fire!! There is no sweet and gentle to him." – Terri, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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AUTHOR BIO
USA TODAY Bestselling Author in Dark Romance
She delights in writing Dark Romance books filled with overly-possessive Billionaires, Taboo scenes and Unexpected twists. She usually spends her ill-gotten gains on martinis, travel and red lipstick. Since she can barely boil water, she’s lucky enough to be married to a sexy Chef.
AUTHOR LINKS
Title: Betrayed Honor
Series: Ivanov Crime Family #3
Author: Zoe Blake
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Release Date: March 19, 2021
BLURB
Her innocence was going to get her killed.
That was if I didn't get to her first.
She's the protected little sister of the powerful Ivanov Russian mafia family - the very definition of forbidden.
It’s always been my job, as their Head of Security, to watch over her but never to touch.
That ends today.
She disobeyed me and put herself in danger.
It was time to take her in hand.
I’m the only one who can save her and I will fight anyone who tries to stop me, including her brothers.
Honor and loyalty be damned.
She’s mine now.
PURCHASE LINKS
Free in Kindle Unlimited
EXCERPT
I picked up one of the useless pieces of decor he had about the place to make it look like a normal home and not like the security surveillance headquarters it really was.
He raised his arm. Pointing a finger at me, he warned, “Don’t you dare!”
I threw it.
He ducked in time for it to smash against the wall behind him.
“Liar!” I cried as I launched another missile, a glass cylinder holding an unlit candle.
He lunged for me. I feigned right then left and bolted to the other side of the room, placing the sofa between us.
“You’re a fucking liar! You’ve been fucking lying to me this whole time!”
“Language!” he roared as he circled around. I kept out of arm’s reach, always keeping the length of the sofa between us.
I fired back, purely out of spite, the one phrase I knew would piss him off. “Poshol nahuj!”
Reaching down, he used both hands to shove the sofa. It easily slid across the polished dark bamboo floor, removing the barricade between us. He rose to his full, unbelievably intimidating height. A vein pulsed in his temple as his chest rose and fell with each agitated breath. I had angered the beast. Without the sofa between us, I was vulnerable and unprotected.
“Apparently,” Mikhail snarled, “my bad girl needs another lesson from me.”
There was only one option left for me. I turned and bolted for the front door.
He was right behind me.
Snatching my arm, he swung me around and used the force of his body to press me against the wall of windows. Behind me was a panorama of stars and the flickering lights from the boats out on the Potomac, a peaceful scene that belied the war brewing between us.
He pressed his fingertips into my upper arms. “Listen to me.”
Not wanting to listen to his excuses and lies, I clawed at his grasp, trying to wriggle away.
He shifted his hold to my waist and swooped down to capture my lips in an attempt to subdue me; I shifted my head to the side, avoiding him. It didn’t work.
Tightening his hold on my waist, he lifted me high off my feet. I was anchored against the glass with his hips, his hard cock pushed against my stomach. He released his hold and wrapped his hands around my jaw, forcing my head forward. He then took possession of my mouth. When I tried to keep my lips closed, he pressed his thumbs into the soft flesh of my cheeks, forcing my jaw open. At first, I returned his kiss, then I returned to my senses and fought back and bit his lip.
His head reared back. He swept his tongue across his lower lip, lapping up a tiny bead of blood.
He wasn’t deterred.
He captured my mouth again. I could taste the metallic tang of his blood. His fingers slipped into my wild strawberry curls, holding my head steady for his continued assault. He pressed his body tighter against my soft curves, refusing to give quarter till I accepted him and accepted his dominance over me.
He broke the kiss and breathed against my mouth. “You’re mine. Fucking mine.”
I knew the moment the fight left me when I felt the brush of the back of his knuckles down my cheek. Swallowing my capitulating moan, he deepened the kiss. He interlaced his fingers with mine and pressed my hands against the glass on either side of my head. The cold, hard surface brought reality crashing back. I desperately wanted to return to the warmth and ignore all else but knew that was not possible.
Using every ounce of strength I possessed, I pulled back. He ran a thumb over my cheekbone, feeling the soft warmth of my flush. I never wore makeup, but at this moment, I was certain my swollen lips looked as if they were bright with a kiss-smeared crimson lipstick.
“Why?” I whispered, the sting of betrayal bright in my eyes.
He took a deep breath and told me the jaggedly raw truth. “All I can say is, from the moment I met you, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that you were meant to be mine and mine alone. Part of that meant you were mine to protect.”
“So you snuck a security camera into my shop?”
His eyes hardened as he shifted his gaze away from mine.
Fuck. It was so much worse than just a single security camera. He and my brothers had probably been watching and monitoring every step I ever made from the moment I left Gregor’s house, seeking my so-called independence.
He took a step back and let me slide back onto my feet. From this position, he towered over my slight frame. “Baby, you are just going to have to trust me.”
“Trust you? I feel like I don’t even know you anymore, if I ever did.”
“I never had any cameras in your apartment. Just the entrances and exits and your shop.”
I threw my arms into the air. “Oh, well, that makes things all better.”
“I will not apologize or feel guilty for doing my fucking job, for wanting to keep the woman I love safe.”
I shook my head. “No! No. You can’t do that to me. You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to give me the cold shoulder for three years and then one day announce that we’re together and you love me because you’ve finally decided you want me. That’s not how this works.”
He slammed his fist against the window. The glass vibrated from the impact, and the starburst crack a few feet away lengthened. “Damn it, Nadia. You know why we couldn’t be together. It was for your own good.”
I shifted away from the window and backed up a few paces, needing space from him. I couldn’t think straight when he was that close to me. “For my own good. For my own protection. You’re no better than my brothers. Deciding what is best for me without even bothering to ask me!”
He started toward me. “I am what is best for you. I’ve always been what is best for you. Me and me alone.”
Picking up the nearest object I could lay my hands on — a blue glass bowl — and I shouted back, “Then you should have put a ring on it instead of just standing on the sidelines all these years.” I threw the bowl straight at his head and once again bolted for the door.
I didn’t make it two steps before he caught up with me. Grasping me from behind, he wrenched my body close to his own. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You’re not going anywhere.”
My hands balled into fists as I stomped my foot, trying to step on his toes and force him to release me. “Let go!”
Mikhail moved so quickly I didn’t even have time to protect myself. He spun me around in his embrace. His right hand struck out, wrapping his fist into a shock of my messy curls, then he wrenched my head back. His other hand went to my lower back, pushing me forward and against him. My hands rose to press back against his chest. He didn’t budge.
He stormed back. “You need to understand that as of tonight, things have changed. We’re together now, and I’m not letting you go.”
I twisted my head to the side. “We’re not together. All I’ve ever been to you is a security job.”
“You’ve been a whole lot fucking more to me than some stupid job, Nadia.”
His mouth swept down to capture my own.
PRAISE FOR BETRAYED HONOR
"The explosive plot is a nonstop roller coaster ride...steam literally seeps from the pages with the romance scenes. This is a series not to be missed. Zoe Blake delivers with this one. Download and enjoy!" – Nancy R., Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Just like the rest of this series. I seriously can't say enough good things about every one of Ms. Blake's Russian Mafia books. They're sheer modern day bodice ripper perfection!!" – Autumn Lee, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"You can't help falling for Zoe's brand of super dominant, grumpy cavemen; and admiring the women who have these bad boys wrapped around their fingers." – Anika Kay, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Her writing is so addictive and there is no way I can let go of this series. Mikhail and Nadia are amazing and pure fire together. Their tale hooked me in and didn't let me go until the very end! ...A must read for all the dark romance lovers!" – Abstract Books ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"OMG step aside Ivanov brothers Mikhail is in the house!! Mikhail is down and dirty!! He is going to set the pages on fire!! There is no sweet and gentle to him." – Terri, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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USA TODAY Bestselling Author in Dark Romance
She delights in writing Dark Romance books filled with overly-possessive Billionaires, Taboo scenes and Unexpected twists. She usually spends her ill-gotten gains on martinis, travel and red lipstick. Since she can barely boil water, she’s lucky enough to be married to a sexy Chef.
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