AriaHis lips were hasty in their movements, devouring mine like he was trying to get nectar from them. His palm traveled around, resting on my hip as he poured everything he had into the embrace.I did nothing but comply, so overcome by how amazing it felt. He moved with such precision that I was rendered useless, silently begging for more of him.There were other men I had kissed before, but never like that. Never with such fiery passion that it was almost tangible. The whiskey made it easier to stomach just how overwhelming it was to be so close to him, to feel him, and to taste that electricity between us.Roman was intimidating in many ways, but from how he kissed me, there was nothing left to fear. It was a side of him I had yet to discover, and it was unbelievably worth it.His tongue flicked against my lower lip, sparking pleasure through my sensitive skin. I shivered, caught off-guard by it, yet eager to part my mouth for him.Our tongues clashed as I gripped his black tee a
AriaI couldn’t take the mortification any longer and brought my lips to his, wanting to get the hard part over with. Our lips melded eagerly as he inhaled sharply, gliding his palms up and down my back.Wiggling my hips above his, I tried to find that rhythm from before, grinding against his cock. But my hips were stilled by his strong hands.With a rush of movement, I was scooped up and laid out across the couch, left confused as he moved down my body, pressing kisses down my stomach.I took in a sharp breath as his tongue glided down my skin, fingers hooking into my panties. In one sweep, they were removed, and nothing was left between the two of us.Roman kept going until he was level with my core, and that teasing tongue continued.Black rimmed my vision once he flicked it against my clit, immediately making me arch away from the couch. His hands secured my hips down, making sure I didn’t move too much.A throaty moan fell from my lips, overcome by his impeccable skill. He focuse
He’s the ruthless king of the New York Bratva. She’s a lethal assassin sent to end him.He rules with blood-stained hands and an unforgiving heart.She’s fueled by vengeance, trained to strike without mercy.He’s untouchable.She’s the chaos he never saw coming.He’s her target.She’s his obsession.Their worlds collide in a storm of blood, betrayal, and forbidden desire.When enemies become lovers, the line between passion and destruction blurs.Will their fire consume them—or will they burn the world down together?***Chapter 1: Busted [Enora] “You’ll be dead in two minutes.” The man, whose time of death I’d just pronounced, pulled his face from a stripper’s cleavage and looked at me with eyes full of disgust, as the disco lights flashed green, red, and blue on him. “Who the fuck are you?” he asked, his Russian accent thick. “Me?” I smiled, because I thought it was only fair for a soon-to-be corpse to be surrounded by cheerful faces. “Enora, but some call me Portator
[Nikolai]I have no issue killing women for one reason: my enemies have no gender. But no woman had ever had the balls to point a damn gun at me—until now. This tiny woman standing in front of me with her ass pressing against my dick was the first one. And she hadn’t just pointed a gun; she’d dared to try and kick me in the balls. The thought sent adrenaline through my veins as I tightened my arms around her small neck, threatening to squeeze the life out of her if she moved the wrong way. Her white hair reeked of strawberry and lavender, masking the stench of alcohol, death, and nitroglycerin. I wrapped the length of it twice in my hands, yanking her head back painfully. She stiffened, her trembling legs betraying the fear she tried to hide. I wondered if she was cursing me or swearing to kill me. Not that it mattered. The chances of me fucking her life out of her were far greater than her taking mine. “Go, malysh (Little one),” I whispered hoarsely in her ear. “Tell him
[Enora]Nikolai Lantsov was killable, and that was all I needed to know. He was like every other egotistical man in the mafia world, looking down on women and feeling impenetrable. Too bad his death would be at the hands of a woman—me.I’d probably thank him before I killed him; I’d always hated my long hair because my papa had a weird obsession with it. When drunk, he’d call me Isabella. Was that my mother’s name? If he loved her, why ensure I had nothing to remember her by?Nikolai’s pale blue eyes and large frame filled my mind. I’d sworn never to get blood on my own hands, but if it meant ridding New York of a tyrant, I’d have a blood bath. My father was just as bad, but I couldn’t kill him—not yet. First, I’d use his power to destroy Nikolai. Ricco’s death confirmed Nikolai wasn’t immortal. Loyal to papa for 27 years, Ricco deserved more than a simple *okay* before papa sent me a second job: a mother and her son, Pedro. As the breeze carried the scent of roses, I imagined a
[Enora]The laughter from the foyer was poison to my ears. Papa had told me he’d signed me off like property, but not who my soon-to-be husband was.I glanced at the ice bucket arranged with unopened whiskey, swallowing my saliva to keep from grabbing a bottle and gulping it down. I was curious—desperate—to meet my new owner. Knowing Papa, I’d be surprised if my groom was a prospect, but the deep, old voice from the foyer suggested otherwise.A whirlwind swept my thoughts to Nikolai. Not that I liked him—he was forty-two, almost twice my age. Yet, with dark gelled hair and toned muscles beneath his suit, he didn’t look his age.My God, what was I thinking?The voices drew closer, spiders creeping up my spine. My jaw dropped as Mario Luigi, Papa’s underboss, entered. Older than Papa by six years, he even had a son ten years my senior. Maybe I’d marry the son, not him.“Enora,” Papa called. Mario kissed my hand disgustingly. “You’re just as beautiful as always,” he said, eyes on my
[Nikolai]The first thing I noticed was the way the tips of her hair made contact with her shoulder. Most men liked women with long hair, but I liked mine to be distinct—short hair with smoky eyes was my kink. And that was exactly how she looked when she walked into my club, fearlessly.Enora Patrizio didn’t strike me as a woman who would be stupid enough to walk into a den of vipers, so there could be only two reasons she would do so.One: this was a fucking trap, probably set up by Carlos Patrizio.Two: she was actually stupid.I preferred to go with the first option because the second wasn’t only very unlikely, but it was safer never to underestimate your enemies. And as it seemed, I had more enemies than friends.Our gazes were locked on each other, hers cautious, mine observing. Her gray eyes glittered something sad in the disco lights, her lashes were wet, her black mascara smeared beneath her eyes. She looked nothing like she did when I first met her a week ago. I supposed th
Enora paused when she reached the couch and spun to face me. “It’s nothing.” She sat down and stared at the walls that were the color of her eyes. I knew she was lying by the way she avoided my gaze.“Do not lie to me, malysh.” My voice was harsh with rage and this strange thirst for blood—blood of the one who hurt her. I stood from my swivel chair, went to her, and dragged her up from the cushion before examining her back. Red and purple lines crossed each other countless times, and the skin around them was crimson, darker than red.I ran my finger on them, causing goosebumps to appear on her skin. “Who did this to you, malysh?” I asked again, hearing the roar in my voice.Enora swallowed. “It’s nothing.” It was something, and it all made sense. Her entering my territory even after I’d threatened to kill her the next time we meet, her bare feet, her pale face, and misty eyes.“Listen, malysh.” I tilted her chin up and peered straight into her gray eyes. “The day I find out who di
AriaI couldn’t take the mortification any longer and brought my lips to his, wanting to get the hard part over with. Our lips melded eagerly as he inhaled sharply, gliding his palms up and down my back.Wiggling my hips above his, I tried to find that rhythm from before, grinding against his cock. But my hips were stilled by his strong hands.With a rush of movement, I was scooped up and laid out across the couch, left confused as he moved down my body, pressing kisses down my stomach.I took in a sharp breath as his tongue glided down my skin, fingers hooking into my panties. In one sweep, they were removed, and nothing was left between the two of us.Roman kept going until he was level with my core, and that teasing tongue continued.Black rimmed my vision once he flicked it against my clit, immediately making me arch away from the couch. His hands secured my hips down, making sure I didn’t move too much.A throaty moan fell from my lips, overcome by his impeccable skill. He focuse
AriaHis lips were hasty in their movements, devouring mine like he was trying to get nectar from them. His palm traveled around, resting on my hip as he poured everything he had into the embrace.I did nothing but comply, so overcome by how amazing it felt. He moved with such precision that I was rendered useless, silently begging for more of him.There were other men I had kissed before, but never like that. Never with such fiery passion that it was almost tangible. The whiskey made it easier to stomach just how overwhelming it was to be so close to him, to feel him, and to taste that electricity between us.Roman was intimidating in many ways, but from how he kissed me, there was nothing left to fear. It was a side of him I had yet to discover, and it was unbelievably worth it.His tongue flicked against my lower lip, sparking pleasure through my sensitive skin. I shivered, caught off-guard by it, yet eager to part my mouth for him.Our tongues clashed as I gripped his black tee a
Aria Color flooded my cheeks upon hearing that he could so easily recall what was in my notes after having read them, but I pushed it down and nodded, paying close attention.Roman ran me through it, showing me parts of the weapon and how it worked. He did so with expert precision, letting me know that he clearly had a lifetime of experience with it all.His fingers did nimble work, somewhat splicing my attention away from the demonstration. I swallowed hard and silently told myself to focus, even if my mind began to wander, thinking about how close we were standing to one another, or how I could feel his arm brush against me from time to time.I felt depraved for even noticing it.Remembering myself, I followed along as Roman showed me more of the armory, picking up the occasional weapon and going on to describe it for me. It seemed like second nature for him to ramble on about the family business while pride gleamed in his eyes.It was clear that he loved his family, and he cared d
AriaSomething was eating at Roman, but I didn’t know what.Everything seemed to be going well between us, and I couldn’t help but wonder where things had gone wrong.Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Did he regret telling me more about the mafia?Unable to keep it to myself, I peered over at him and watched how indescribable thoughts moved through his eyes.“Is everything alright?”He met my gaze once more and swallowed, looking like he’d rather not say. But he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s just…family business things. My screw-up was a big problem that landed me in some hot water. How I fix this will determine what my brothers think of me.”My face softened at his words. “That sounds like a lot of pressure.”“That is correct,” he managed, staring off into some part of the room. It seemed to be bugging him, and it made me feel bad.I didn’t know how he managed to make me sympathize with him so easily, yet I just couldn’t help it. Despite how strange our circumsta
Something flickered in her eyes as she waited for an answer, seemingly vibrating with anticipation.For some unknown reason, a part of me didn’t want to tell her the truth lest she think I was some sort of monster, someone who couldn’t wait to shoot at any given time.I wasn’t some bloodthirsty goon, but I had taken my fair share of lives for my family. I couldn’t hide from that fact.“Yes,” I managed to get out, gauging Aria’s expression. “None were senseless. Everything I’ve ever done has been to protect my family, and if anyone gets in the way of that, we have our means of dealing with it.”Aria swallowed hard, studying my face closely. While she had tensed at my answer, she eased back into place. “That sounds like a difficult thing to stomach.”“It can be,” I said with a sigh, thinking back to the lives I had claimed, and the ones my brothers had taken as well. “But in the moment, when your brothers’ lives are on the line, it’s easy to forget you’re all human and fighting that sam
RomanTwo Weeks LaterIt had been a long day of work, and all I wanted was to become one with the couch.Having swapped my usual attire for comfortable joggers and a black tee, I was more than ready to forget about everything else. I walked into the living room, not surprised to see Aria already curled up on the couch and balancing the laptop on the side of her propped leg. She was completely focused on the screen, lost in her writing.She had come out of her shell a bit more in the few weeks that had passed, straying from the guest bedroom to linger in the living room. The laptop was never far, which was a relief. I was glad to see her getting good use out of it, even if she had been reluctant to at first.My attention went straight to the lavender sleep set that clung to her curves and accentuated her skin beautifully. The thin straps left little to the imagination, but I wasn’t prepared to complain about it. Half of her dark hair was held up with a clip, leaving her looking comfor
Aria That struck me harder than seeing all those bags on the floor.Immediately, guilt swam in my chest. I didn’t want to let that money go to waste, but it felt strange to accept. My financial struggles and difficult relationship with money made me consider how devastating it would be to let all those things go to waste due to my pride.I didn’t come from much and fighting every day to have enough in my account to cover everything had always been my reality.The thought of the laptop being tossed because of my inability to accept the gift made my stomach turn.Finally wrangling my mind into giving in, I sighed and hooked a finger around the handles. “It’s really too much, you know. Especially the laptop.”Roman chuckled to himself and leaned against the counter behind him, long legs crossed. He looked even more intoxicating than the day prior.“You seem keen on writing. Focus on that for now while I fix the mistake I made. And I won’t hear any complaints about it.”The sincerity in
AriaSunlight warmed the bedsheets while I lay there, staring up at the ceiling.I slept better than expected, and I quickly chalked that up to the bed being far more luxurious than anything I had experienced before. The guest bedroom was leagues better than any of the rooms I had in the past, and I couldn’t help but linger beneath those silk sheets.Plus, I was delaying the inevitable. Part of me didn’t want to get up and face my accidental captor. I didn’t know what to do or what to say.Thank you for the comfortable bed? And for choosing not to kill me?The thought of eating breakfast near him was unbearable, even if he was easy on the eyes.All of it made my skin crawl, and staying in bed was enough of a bandage to keep me there.Once my bladder was too full to ignore, I eventually hauled myself out of bed and made my way to the ensuite. It was ridiculously nice as well and was certainly the most extravagant place I had ever done my business in.Wiping the sleep from my eyes as I
Roman Our brother tipped his head in acknowledgment. I wouldn’t be surprised if he already had that information in the works.“Very well,” Nikolai said, downing the rest of his whiskey. The weary look dissipated from his eyes. “If you feel that is the best way to handle it, then I trust you know what you’re doing. But remember these words. Don’t make matters worse for yourself.”My brows furrowed, not understanding what he meant by it.“Keep to yourself. She might be your unexpected guest for a little while, but don’t let yourself get attached. Letting her become something to be used against you would be your undoing.”A crack of something hot moved through my chest as I took offense at his warning. I wasn’t one to get attached. The prospect of relationships and feelings was a natural deterrent for me, and I had no desire to find myself in such a position. My brothers knew that. Surely he was mistaken.Pushing through that slight irritation, as it felt like Nikolai had no faith in m