Our first meeting was at a nightclub, and it was something straight out of my most romantic fantasies. My ovaries exploded at the sight of the Russian God. And by God, I mean he was ripped, tall, dark, and deadly attractive. There were enough sparks between us to light up a city. Then an explosion blasted through the nightclub, and we got trapped together for three hours, sharing our most personal details...everything but our names. Two years later, our second meeting is the complete opposite of the first. It's clear Misha Petrov, a Russian enforcer for the bratva, despises me.

Running away from home at 17 wasn't easy. Let's face it, though, nothing before or in the ten years since has ever been easy for me. And I'm doing okay—sorta. I just need to keep scraping by, living under the radar. Staying out of people's way, off people's minds. When a man walks through my open patio door, stepping boldly into my home and my life, I should be scared, frightened, terrified. I must be more broken than I realized because I'm none of those things. I'm intrigued—and I'm wondering if the way to take control of my life is by giving in to him.

Working as Ruslan Oryolov’s personal assistant is the job from hell. After a long day spent tending to the billionaire’s every whim, I need some stress relief. So when I get home that night, that’s exactly what I do. Problem is, my thoughts are still stuck on the bosshole, who’s ruining my life. That’s fine—because of all Ruslan’s many sins, being gorgeous might be the most dangerous.

I never wanted a wife. No one is safe with me. No one is good enough for my daughter. But if I want to rule over the wealthiest crime family in New York City, I only have two weeks to find one. When Elsie broke into my home, I saw an opportunity, so I forced her into a marriage she didn't want. No one crosses me, not even someone as beautiful as Elsie. She may fight me with that smart mouth, but she will obey me–or return to the hell she came from. I told her she was mine for a year. Then she'd be free.

Sold to the mob. Four words I never thought I'd utter. Worse, it was my father who did the unthinkable. When the creditors come to collect, I'm handed over to the most ruthless man in New York City—Luca Valentino. The head of the notorious Kings is as gorgeous as he is lethal. Dark, possessive, and violent. Nothing like the boy I grew up with, my dead brother's best friend.

Konstantin wasn’t the type to be ignored. He commanded his criminal empire with an iron fist but he had secrets of his own. But I was Tatiana Nikolaev. I’d never bend to a man’s will or be used as a pawn. Not again. The moment I tempted the fates and played with fire, life spiraled out of control. My only way of survival was to trust again. But could I?

My fiancé is screaming at me in public. I'm used to it. My role here is to look pretty on his arm and to play nice so he doesn't hurt my sick daughter. What I'm not used to is the man who comes to my rescue. Adrik Tasarov is a tall glass of gorgeous. He's got a jawline that could cut glass and eyes that could melt steel. Best of all: my fiancé is absolutely terrified of him. So when Adrik asks me to dance, I say yes. When he asks me to do a little more than that, I say it again. Then comes the make-or-break moment. Adrik offers me a fake marriage to get me out of my real one.

Mia Lorenzo wasn’t exactly my top choice for a wife. She is 14 years younger, a hopeless romantic, and in line to become the head of the family that just orchestrated my father’s murder. Too bad my father's dying wish was for me to marry Luca Lorenzo's daughter. I will unite the two families for my father’s sake, even if it’s just to find proof that they killed him. The only problem is my brand-new wife. That auburn hair, those bright blue eyes, and the way my gut twists whenever I see another man go near her.

Steal back a lost painting and risk the wrath of a powerful mafia boss? Yup, I did that. In the seductive and shadowy underworld of Venice, one man rules with an iron fist. Ruthless mafia boss. King of Venice. Antonio Moretti. I stole his priceless masterpiece, intent on returning it to the museum it was stolen from. And Antonio caught me.

I'll show everyone I'm a threat, and they will fear me. For my family. I have to protect them. The second I hear the name Damien Vetrov I know I'm in trouble. He's an arrogant Russian God. I have zero intention of bowing to him. Ever. Attractive and lethal—he's such an intoxicating mixture. Every second we spend together, the pull between us becomes stronger, and my fear grows. While my body wants him, my head knows better. He has the power to kill my family.

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.

Arrogant bosshole with some dirty secrets. Sounds tempting, right? Wrong. Kirill Zaitsev is anything but tempting. Sure, he’s tall and broad and muscular in all the right places. And sure, he’s richer than several small countries. And yes, fine, his eyes do make me feel loopy, and he does smell like mint and musk, and there’s also the way his jaw clenches when he… Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah. Bosshole. Dirty secrets. Anyway, all those things sound fine and dandy. For a little while, I thought so, too. Then I learned who Kirill really is—a killer, a tycoon, a mafia don.

Tall, rugged, and focused on destroying my family, Brody O'Connor's the one person I need to avoid. He seduced me on purpose, and now I’m paying the consequences.

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.

My father never intended to honor his promise to marry me to the most despised crime lord in Corsica. He thought that handshake would be long forgotten. Until Angelo Russo shows up at my sixteenth birthday party and demands his due when I turn eighteen. A man to whom no one dares say no is determined to take what he considers as his, especially when he’s told he can’t have it.

I am Marcello Dellucci, new don of the Dellucci Mafia. And my devilish reign over the city has only just begun. But when a beautiful girl steps onto the auction stage I forget everything I'm supposed to be. I want to claim her, no matter the cost. So I buy her body and take everything she has to give. Now she’s my pet, my Kitten… My Harper. And I'm not ever letting her go.

When he invited me to join him for a drink, I thought Alessandro was an ordinary guest at my family's hotel. I didn't know I belonged to him until he told me right there in the restaurant. I thought I had a say in the matter. But when I stood up to leave, it just earned me a sore bottom for the plane ride to New York, where our wedding was already planned for the next day. But I was soaking wet for him before he even walked me down the aisle.

Alessandro De Luca comes from a rival mafia family, and I'm supposed to hate his guts. Except that now, I'm waking up married to him. Alessandro sees me as a pawn in this arranged marriage. I mean nothing to him... So why do I still feel like he owns my heart when he claims me every night?

My rock bottom is a warm beer in a smelly country bar, an empty wallet, and nowhere to sleep. A few days ago, I made a terrible mistake. I stole something valuable from very bad people. And now they're here, armed to the teeth, about to put me out of my misery. Except they don't. Because an unexpected stranger swoops in out of nowhere and saves me. Anton Ulianov. Six and a half feet of broodiness, arrogant as hell, he's the dictionary definition of "D.A.N.G.E.R." And he takes out my attackers like he's taking out the trash. One thing leads to another, and I end up in his bed.

If my parents had it their way, I’d be off at college. Instead, I’m drowning in secrets, every one of them involving my brother’s best friend. Hayes Wilder is a walking red flag, warning me to stay away. And yet, all I can think about are his calloused hands on my skin. He’s a total player, on and off the ice, but right now, the only playing he wants to do is with me. Sneaking around isn’t easy, especially when you live in a small town where nothing stays hidden. And when our secret ends up in the wrong hands, decisions and regrets come as a package deal.

We were from two completely different worlds: I was molded to follow the rules; I was the good girl living the sheltered life at St. Mary's Boarding School. But fate brought us together. Somewhere along the way, following the rules became a choice. The lines became blurred, and I was given a taste of rebellion in a package of wild blue eyes and hot, lingering touches. Our plan was set. I would escape St. Mary's, and he would stay. Isaiah warned me that we'd go up in flames if we veered from our plan. Except there was no we about it. Isaiah Underwood let me fall right into the ashes.

The moment I saw Natasha Page standing at the altar, waiting for a fiancé whose lies had already cost him his life and put hers in danger, I knew she would be speaking her vows today after all. To me. I could have claimed her that night, ravaging her quivering virgin body as brutally as my lust demanded. But I made her beg before I tore off that beautiful dress and took what belonged to me. Because I don't just want her vows. I want her heart.

My name is Zayn Bronsyn, and I think I screwed up. I wasn't supposed to fall, especially not for her. She's in a league of her own, and I'm just her brother's scumbag friend. The last time I saw her, she was thirteen with braces. Now, she's back from boarding school with an hourglass body that'll bring me to my knees. If Easton finds out I hooked up with his sister, he might actually kill me. She's too innocent, too perfect for a guy like me, but I can't resist dragging her into my messed-up world. Amelia Donovan might be the one to revive my blackened heart.

I walked into the wrong hotel room...to a naked man fresh out of the shower. Now, I'm pregnant with his baby. I should've left as soon as I saw him. He was too beautiful to be real. I got halfway to the door… And then he saw exactly what I was trying to hide.

I'm locked in a cage in my wedding dress. How did I end up here? Three days ago, I was a normal girl living a normal life. My adoptive parents came over to my apartment for dinner, just like they do every week. But this time, they brought bombshells. They tell me I'm not who they said I was. And all those dance lessons, those etiquette classes? They weren't just for show. They were to groom me. To mold me into what I'm about to become—the forced wife of a don. Then, with my jaw on the floor, they opened the door and let the nightmares in.

My family's legacy is spread out in front of me, just waiting for me to seize it. If it weren't for one outdated rule, I'd be the owner of the Hayden Cattle Company and my aging father could retire. When Dakota Wright shows up to buy and develop twenty acres of Hayden land, I see more than a pretty mouth and strawberry blonde hair. I see a way around the decree keeping me from getting what I want.

He came into my life like a raging storm. The man I despised. The killer with no conscience. I fell as hard as a woman like me can fall. When he bleeds, I feel his pain. When we kiss, I taste his tragedy. When he kills, my heart is stained with all the colors of his vengeance.

You know the story where the hero comes in and saves the day, rescuing the heroine right in the nick of time? This isn't that story. Instead of a knight in shining armor, he's a sexy, tatted-up Bratva boss with a reputation for being brutal and fierce. Vasily finds me after I've already been brought to my lowest—broken by cruel men until I barely recognize myself. He doesn't offer me salvation. He offers me protection and revenge. And I gladly take it. Because I don't need a knight in shining armor. I need a villain who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.

Nicole Fox presents Book 1 in the Groza Bratva series.

It’ll be easy, my father said. When we move to a small town in the south, we’ll own it, my brothers said. After all, my family is rich as sin and used to getting whatever they want. How hard could it be? Except, when we arrive in Faulkner, someone already owns this town. The Darling family. They are every bit as wealthy as we are, and they’re not happy with our new money moving in.