It all started with a contract signed by him, then by me, while our families watched. While my father sat silent, a man defeated, giving his daughter to the Benedetti monsters. I obeyed. I played my part. I signed my name and gave away my life. I became their living, breathing trophy, a constant symbol of their power over us. That was five years ago. Then came the time for him to claim me. For Salvatore Benedetti to own me. I had vowed vengeance. I had learned hate. And yet nothing could have prepared me for the man who now ruled my life.

I’m the right-hand man of the mafia king. She’s a girl with a past she’s desperate to hide. But I need something from her. And I know she won’t help me. Not willingly. She’ll need some persuading. Lucky for her, I can do that. Something about this girl makes me curious, though, and it’s more than the scars that line her back. 

We're a match made in hell, Stefan and I. He took me to exact his revenge. I went from being a pawn to my father to being a pawn to Stefan. The only difference is I have a ring the size of a boulder on my finger and a husband I don't want. And the hardest part is I thought he was different. I thought I was falling in love. I guess my father was right. I'm not a very smart girl. Stefan is a powerful man. He doesn't play nice, not if you're his enemy. But I've learned one thing about my husband.

Stefan Sabbioni showed up uninvited in my bedroom on my 16th birthday. He stood in the shadows, smelling of whiskey and death and wrapped a broken, blood-crusted necklace around my neck. I thought he’d strangle me with it. That night, he left a message for my father. He said he’d be back to take something precious. I never delivered that message, though. I wonder if things would be different if I had because now, two years later, he’s back. And he’s not hiding in any shadows.

The Beast had Belle. Killian Black has me. How I got here doesn’t matter, even though he says it does. Says it was my choice. He doesn’t get it, though. It wasn’t ever a choice for me. And now, he’s changing the rules. The agreement was one month. For 30 days, I’d be his. He’s no longer satisfied with my body alone, though. He wants my soul, too. Wants every part of me. And even though I can pretend I’m safe when I lie beneath him, this man does something to me. Something wicked. A thing that will break me.

What happened on that island didn’t break me. It twisted me. Corrupted me. Made me into a monster. Although, I guess, it’s true what she says. You can’t become something that wasn’t inside you all along. This was always going to happen. I was always going to take Amelia Willow. History and destiny sealed her fate. Sealed both of ours. For months, I’ve been waiting. Watching. Preparing.

I knew little of Raphael Amado's history with my family, but when he turned up on our doorstep demanding restitution, my grandfather quickly conceded. That restitution? Me. Six months later, on my 18th birthday, Raphael came for me. He stole me from my home, taking me to his Tuscan estate, where from the crumbling chapel to the burnt-down vineyard, to the cellar that haunted him, the past stalked him like a shadow. It waited for him, hid behind corners for him and trapped him at every turn. As much as Raphael's cruelty terrified me, his darkness seduced me.

Erica Roberts was the maid of honor in my brother’s wedding and my next conquest. She was toned, tan, and sweet as pie. I should’ve known I’d end up breaking her heart. Still, against my better judgment, I took her, giving us both the best night of our lives. When I woke up the next morning, she was gone, not a trace of what had happened between us, and I realized then I’d broken my number-one rule. 

The feud between Weston Lockwood and me started at the altar. Only neither of us attended the wedding, and the nuptials happened decades before either of us was born. Our grandfathers had been best friends and business partners, at least up until my grandfather’s wedding day - when his bride-to-be blurted out she couldn’t marry him because she was also in love with Weston‘s grandfather.  

I was upgraded to first class on a flight from London to New York. The food, champagne, and service were impeccable. The blue-eyed man sitting next to me, even better. He was suave and intelligent. We talked and laughed, and something clicked. Fate took over and the plane was grounded, and we had an unexpected stopover for the night. With no plans, we made our own. 

She calls it a devil’s bargain. I call it a deal she can’t refuse. I was owed a debt and I expected payment. That payment? One night in my bed. My rules. The debt cleared, and she could walk away. There are worse things. And besides, debtors can’t be choosers. The night started as it should. She obeyed as she should. But then something happened. Something I was unprepared for. And what I saw changed everything. I broke my own rules after that.

Once upon a cold, dark night, a Russian killer stole me from an alley. I’m dangerous, but he is lethal. I escaped once. He won’t let me do it twice. The revenge is his. The betrayal is mine. But so are the lies to protect the ones I love. We’re cut from the same twisted cloth. Both merciless. Both damaged. In his embrace, I find hell and heaven, his cruelly tender touch destroying and uplifting me at once. They say a cat has nine lives, but an assassin has just one. And Yan Ivanov now owns mine.

USA Today best-selling author Jane Henry delivers a high-stakes, gritty story of forbidden romance, devastation, and taboo love that knows no bounds. She's barely legal. Under my protection. Fully off-limits. But all mine.

My orders are simple. Capture her. Marry her. Take her inheritance. Get rid of her. The bookish little recluse is worth more than she knows. She’s an unassuming librarian. I’m the brigadier of the Russian Bratva. She has no friends. I command a small army. She’s a modest woman. And now she’s mine.

Gypsy - Lucian West isn’t husband material. He's a stiff in a suit. Granted a hot one, but still. He’s one of the most hated men in America. An arrogant asshole. A ruthless attorney. He gets what he wants in the courtroom, and outside of it. Now, he wants me. For reasons I can’t fathom, he’s determined to make me his wife. He makes it clear he’s not above blackmailing me to put a ring on my finger. The man might be richer than sin with devilish good looks, but hell will freeze over before I ever give my heart to him.