Of two things I'm certain: When something sounds too good to be true, it is; and when Alexius Del Rossa makes you a deal, you run far away and never look back. Me? I didn't run. I stayed. I opened that envelope, and I accepted his offer. Why? Because my life was a mess and on a downward spiral to a big, fat nothing. And he just offered me everything in exchange for six months of my life. It was supposed to be a simple arrangement, but I learned the hard way that nothing is simple when it comes to Alexius.

It was a one-night stand with a bratva boss. I never expected to end up pregnant. Or run into him again three years later at my friend’s wedding. He knows I’m hiding something, but he has no idea that 'something' is his son. Before he can question me, the wedding is ambushed. He forces me to go with him so he can keep me safe. I need to escape so I can get home to my son. Whatever happens, I can’t let him find out about Sasha.

It’s complicated. Two years ago, he broke my heart when he left me to do his father’s bidding. After months of crying, I finally accepted he was gone and wasn’t going to look back. That maybe he’d never loved me at all. I never wanted to see Luca again. Now, a cruel twist of fate has signed me over to him in a heartless deal. I’m his. He thinks he did me a favor, but I feel like I’ve been given a death sentence. He doesn't want to get married because he still loves me. No, he did it for money. More power.

I wake up chained to the bed of a stranger. He says I’m his wife. I have nothing—no money. No friends. No escape. He’s everything I never imagined: ruthless, calculating, feared. A beautiful monster with a face like a god’s, cold and untouchable. A mafia kingpin whose wealth could buy empires and whose power makes the world tremble. My captor. My husband.

From the moment my twin sister set her eyes on Matteo, she decided he was the one. We were just kids, but that didn’t matter to her. In her heart, she believed they were destined to be together. So when their arranged engagement was announced, no one was surprised. At least, that’s what I thought. But lately, something had felt off. Wherever I went, Matteo was there. Lurking in the dark, concealed in the shadows, always watching.

I was never a beloved daughter. Only a prized possession to be kept in a gilded cage until my father was ready to trade. It was my duty, carved in stone and written in my blood that one day my virtue would be exchanged for an alliance. And now, that day has come. Gian Silvestro, heir to the Silvestro empire, will accept me as his wife. He will seal my fate with a kiss that holds a thousand promises. But to him, our vows only mean one thing: I am bound to him...and shackled to his hate.

Eriu Quinn is off-limits. Too young. Too innocent. And far too forbidden. Her father is the head of the Irish Mob. And I'm just her bodyguard tasked to keep her safe. She's my job, but she's also a maddening temptation. One I need to stay away from. But I underestimate that feisty little spitfire. She creeps under my skin. Pushes all of my buttons. Until I unravel...

He's a killer. A monster. A thief. He stole me; ripped me from a life I thought was mine, and forced me into his. There was no negotiating. No choice to be made. No way out. He says once I give him what he wants, he'll let me go. But I don't believe him. Taunting me, humiliating me, hunting me...it thrills him. He's addicted to my tears, and amused by my suffering. I know he won't stop until he breaks me. But I won't go down without a fight.

Kane Romano is the most handsome, powerful man I’ve ever met. He’s also the man holding me captive. My asshole of a step-dad found himself on the wrong side of the mafia, and then offered me up in exchange for his life. How does he have the right? I’m 18 years old, and my step-dad doesn’t own me. The problem is, Kane Romano agrees. Everyone knows you don't fight with a Romano, unless you want to end up in an unmarked grave. I should be scared, but every time I look into those dark eyes, I feel safe and protected.

I've always shot for the moon, but if you'd told me I'd be earning seven figures at twenty-four, I would never have believed you. And if you'd told me that I'd earn every penny of that success by selling my body and my soul, I'd have laughed in your face. Still. Here I am at Seraph, an elite agency that recruits only the most well-educated, accomplished and discreet women. Our area of expertise? "Full service" executive assistants to the most powerful men in the world.

I think I always knew I was going to die young. Like I had this… silent, invisible clock ticking down to my final moments plastered above my head. Maybe that’s why I was so reckless, crazy. Why I sought after adventure. Why nothing scared me… Except, there was always this… feeling I couldn’t shake that something was in the darkest parts of every corner, under every bed, closet, or room, like a ghost watching me. Waiting to take me. My own, personal reaper. But it was always only during a lightning storm that I could see the outline of my reaper. No scythe.

Her father promised me life on the legal side if I saved his only daughter. I was her last hope. Something about this rich, spoiled princess captured me from the moment I laid my eyes on her. This green-eyed beauty made me want things I never had. She was untouchable. If I were decent, I’d keep my distance. But God knew I was the worst kind of sinner. She shouldn’t have wanted my touch. Now she was mine.

Unhinged. Charming. Dangerous. The brother of the man I’m prosecuting and now my stalker. I didn’t know Eoghan O’Rourke was a lawyer for the Irish Mob when I tried to put his brother in jail. And I shouldn’t have gotten drunk and yelled at him. I certainly shouldn’t have gone home with him. But I needed to get rid of my V-Card and a gorgeous mafia man who would never fall for a curvy womanlike me is the perfect one and done. Boy, was I wrong. Eoghan turns obsessed, jealous, and unhinged. I’m a prosecutor. He’s a criminal. We have nothing in common.

Cruelty is his middle name, and I'm at his mercy. My father has kept me locked away in an ivory tower. I thought he wanted to protect me, but he only wanted to protect his asset. An untouched, sheltered mob princess is worth a lot of money to the right buyer. My father's greed means Sicily is no longer big enough for him. I'm shipped across the Atlantic to Boston to marry a man I've never met, whose reputation for cruelty reaches as far as the shores of Sicily.

Capo to the Luciano Famiglia was my birthright. The cruelty needed to succeed in this life has been beaten into me since I was a young boy. My father, Vincent Luciano, taught by example and with the slap of his hand. My independent streak took me down paths my father would never have gone. With our enemies gaining strength, it is my idea to attempt an alliance with an unlikely bedfellow. The Roríguez Cartel and the Luciano Famiglia are improbable partners, yet even Vincent Luciano can’t deny the possible benefits. The only way to solidify the deal is for me to marry Catalina Ruiz.

Of two things I'm certain: When something sounds too good to be true, it is; and when Alexius Del Rossa makes you a deal, you run far away and never look back. Me? I didn't run. I stayed. I opened that envelope, and I accepted his offer. Why? Because my life was a mess and on a downward spiral to a big, fat nothing. And he just offered me everything in exchange for six months of my life. It was supposed to be a simple arrangement, but I learned the hard way that nothing is simple when it comes to Alexius.

He's a killer. A monster. A thief. He stole me; ripped me from a life I thought was mine, and forced me into his. There was no negotiating. No choice to be made. No way out. He says once I give him what he wants, he'll let me go. But I don't believe him. Taunting me, humiliating me, hunting me...it thrills him. He's addicted to my tears, and amused by my suffering. I know he won't stop until he breaks me. But I won't go down without a fight.

I was never a beloved daughter. Only a prized possession to be kept in a gilded cage until my father was ready to trade. It was my duty, carved in stone and written in my blood that one day my virtue would be exchanged for an alliance. And now, that day has come. Gian Silvestro, heir to the Silvestro empire, will accept me as his wife. He will seal my fate with a kiss that holds a thousand promises. But to him, our vows only mean one thing: I am bound to him...and shackled to his hate.

Enter the world of the Dark Obsession series where power, control, and manipulation reign supreme. Contains books 1-5. In this gripping collection, the boundaries of love and cruelty blur. This isn't a romance. It's a dark and twisted obsession.

Tearing off the gilded veneer of elite privilege exposes the sordid scandals, dark secrets, and taboo desires of New York's jaded high society in this dark romance series from best friends and USAT bestselling authors Zoe Blake and Alta Hensley, writing under their new pen name, Blake Hensley.