My father was always a gambling man. Unfortunately, he never could pick winners. When the wolves closed in, he chose himself, like always. He traded his freedom... for mine. He forced me to marry. Now Dante Bellanti owns my body. I'm just another possession for a man who already has too much. So I won't let him have my heart. But you know what they say about gambling.

I thought I was trying out to be the Zoric's newest model, but Luka was auditioning wives. The last time I saw Luka Zoric, he left me stranded in his bed. This time, I'm the one holding the cards.

I've been to a million parties with my crush, but he's never acted on it til now. Ford Malone could have any woman in Chicago, so why fake a relationship with me? The world knows him as the heir to a real estate fortune, but to me he'll always be my best friend, the man who saved me from my bullies as a boy. I'm as surprised as anyone when he announces our engagement, but I'll play along. Nothing has to change except the way we behave—the way we touch—in public. But his private touches change everything. Soon the crush I've hidden for so long is threatening to swallow me whole.

On my 18th birthday, my father, the senator, gives me the gift he thinks every little girl dreams of. The man of my dreams, and the wedding to match. Stefan Zoric is heir to an elite worldwide modeling agency. Practically a prince. My arrangement is simple, as far as sham marriages go. I give him my virginity, behave as the perfect wife, and he'll pay for the college degree my father found irrelevant. But I don't want to be the perfect wife. I want him to want me the way I want him.

I hate Dante Moretti. He is cold, calculating, and vicious. It’s no secret that he wiped out his former fiancée and her entire family on the eve of their wedding. He’s the kind of evil that makes even devils cry. But that’s not why I hate him.

I’ve sworn off men to focus on my dream job that starts on Monday. But my best friend talks me into a final night of fun—a blind date. I only agree because the guy is going to work as a doctor in Africa. It’s the best date of my life. Dr. Africa makes me laugh and swoon, and I want to give him a thorough physical examination. He turns into Dr. One Night Stand, and I’m not sad about it. Monday morning, I’m enthusiastic and excited, until I bump into...you guessed it.

Forgive me. Those were the first words Santos Augustine spoke to me before we sealed an unbreakable oath. A contract signed in blood binding me to him as payment for my father’s sins. Wearing the mask of legitimacy, this powerful crime family has returned to Avarice to punish those who have wronged them and take what they’ve always been denied, a place among the elite. Forced to marry my enemy, I’m thrust into his world of secrets and betrayals. My husband is a dangerous man. And he has dangerous enemies. But it’s when I’m attacked that his fury is unleashed.

Holt Sebastian is royalty in our world. As CEO of the Sebastian News Corp, he’s the man with all the power. The man who decides if I’ll always just be a local television anchor or if I’ll be the rising star of my own show.

Charming. Devastatingly handsome. Ridiculously rich. Kristoff Baldwin came without warning. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and before I could even realize the impact he was making, I was too far gone, despite knowing the consequences of falling. A future together was the impossible dream. My past haunted me and even he had ghosts of his own. Then everything changed when his past came after me and my daughters.

Eleven years ago, I met him. A year later, I was betrothed to him. Now he’s come to claim me, slaughtering anyone standing in his way. My husband-to-be is a monster from a family as ruthless and powerful as mine, a man who deals in violence and destruction...a man terrifyingly like my father. For more than a decade, he’s stalked me, shadowing my life. I fear him. I hate him. Worst of all, I want him. My name is Alina Molotova, and Alexei Leonov is a fate I can’t escape.

One wardrobe malfunction. Two people who don’t belong together. Three awful words: “Be my wife."

Michael Byron Domenico Sovrano. Lord of the underworld. Master of all the criminal masterminds who ever crawled the underbelly of Sicily's notorious mafia company. Who just happens to be hot and snarly, and with a demanding manner, gulp! My father owed him, so he took me as payment. He gets what he wants, and I am his new obsession. To take. To break. As if I'll let him. He's out to destroy me, but I'll go toe-to-toe with him every step of the way. I'll do everything to make him fall for me. Until he springs the ultimate surprise.

When Cristiano Grigori came for me, he didn’t come alone. He brought his army to kill the soldiers at my door and took me for himself. He put his ring on my finger and marked me as mafia property. His property. Cristiano is my enemy. He’s also the only man with whom I’ve ever felt safe. Protected. But I have to remember that he married me with one purpose in mind—revenge. I would be the bridge to his real enemies. I can’t let myself forget that he isn’t the hero of this story. His hands are covered in blood. I saw that with my own eyes.

A chance meeting brings Jen MacNeill into my life - the woman born to reign at my side. A new don reigns over Manhattan. But though I won the war, peace isn’t easily brokered. Over a decade of avenging my father’s death, I made many enemies. To each and every one, Jen’s a target. But I’ll paint New York City red before I let them harm her. I just never imagined I’d be in the line of fire first.

I live in a world where secrecy reigns. A Society rooted in power, wealth, and long-held dynasties. Where men are Kings, and women are pawns. For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamt of escaping the shackles of my expectations.