Showing results by author "Zoe Blake" in All Categories

It was an innocent mistake; she knocked on the wrong door. It was mine. If I were a better man, I would've just let her go. But I'm not. I'm a cruel bastard. I ruthlessly claimed her virtue for my own. It should've been enough but it wasn't. I needed more...I craved it. She became my obsession. Her sweetness and purity taunted my dark soul. The need to possess her nearly drove me mad. A Russian arms dealer had no business pursuing a naive librarian student. She didn't belong in my world. I would bring her only pain. But it was too late...she was mine and I was keeping her.

I took her innocence as payment. She was far too young and naïve to be betrothed to a monster like me. I would bring only pain and darkness into her sheltered world. That's why she ran. I should've just let her go. She never asked to marry into a powerful Russian mafia family. Unfortunately for her, I don't care. I own her, and after three years of searching, I've found her. My runaway bride was about to learn disobedience has consequences...punishing ones. Nothing was going to keep me from claiming her before the eyes of God and man. She's mine now, and I'm never letting her go.

Being attracted to her isn't wrong…but acting on it would be. As the patriarch of the powerful and wealthy Cavalieri family, my choices come with consequences for everyone around me. The roots of my ancestral, billionaire-dollar winery stretch deep into the rich Italian soil, as does our legacy of ruthlessness and scandal. It isn't the fact she is half my age that makes her off-limits. Nothing is off-limits for me. A wounded bird caught in a trap not of her own making, she poses no risk to me. My obsessive desire to possess her is the real problem—for both of us.

When I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed. She's too smart for her own good, and it's going to get her killed. Against my better judgement, I put her under the protection of my powerful Russian mafia family. So imagine my anger when the little minx ran. For three long years I've been on her trail, always one step behind. Finding and claiming her had become an obsession. It was getting harder to rein in my driving need to possess her... to own her. But now the chase is over. I've found her. Soon she will be mine.

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.

I've started a new game, this one more sinister than the last. Every time she tries to fight what we have, I just pull her deeper into my deception. The slightest disobedience to my rules brings swift punishment. I've pushed her to the edge. She wants to kill me. The only problem is...she loves me.

Had she crashed into any other man's car, she could have walked away—but she hit mine. Upon seeing the bruises on her wrist, I struggled to contain my rage. Despite her objections, I refused to allow her to leave. Whoever hurt this innocent beauty would pay dearly. As a Russian Mafia crime boss who owns Chicago's most elite gambling club, I have very creative and painful methods of exacting revenge.

She couldn't have known the danger she faced when she dared to steal from me. She was too young for a man my age, barely in her twenties. Far too pure and untouched. Unfortunately for her, that wasn't going to stop me. The moment I laid eyes on her, I claimed her. Determined to make her mine… by any means necessary. I owned Chicago's most elite gambling club, a front for my role as a Russian Mafia crime boss. She was a fragile little bird who had just flown straight into my open jaws. Naïve and sweet, she was a temptation I couldn't resist biting.

The more she fights me, the more I want her. That beautiful, sassy mouth of hers makes me want to push her to her knees and dominate her. I'm a Russian arms dealer and she's an innocent college student who doesn't even know she belongs to me yet, but that will change when I yank those skimpy shorts down and spank her bright red. I will teach her not to show off what is mine. Then I will make her scream my name. I had no right to take her, but I dare you to try to take her from me.

I never thought a simple walk in New York City would lead me into the shadows of a sinister game. One moment, I'm fighting off attackers in a dark alley, and the next, I'm saved by a mysterious stranger. He drags me into a darkened building, his grip both protective and possessive. I should feel safe, but I can't shake the feeling that there's something dangerous lurking beneath his surface. Imagine my shock when I discover my rescuer is none other than Thomas Manwarring, the notorious prodigal son of the Manwarring dynasty, returned from Rome under a shroud of scandal.

When you are a son and one of the heirs to the legacy of the Cavalieri name, you need to be more vicious than your enemies. Sometimes, the lines get blurred. Years ago, they tried to use her as a pawn in a revenge scheme against me. Even though I cared about her, I let them treat her as if she were nothing. I was too arrogant and self-involved to protect her then. But I'm here now. Ready to risk my life tracking down every single one of them. They'll pay for what they've done as surely as I'll pay for my sins against her.

I came for my money. I took her instead. She's not the one who stole from me. She's a pawn caught up in her family's deadly game. It doesn't matter. Her innocence won't save her from me. I could just let her return the money, but as I stare down at the beautiful creature stretched out before me like a virgin sacrifice, I thank God for every sin that has blackened my cold heart. Because I'm going to make her beg, scream, and suffer for me. Then I'm going to make her mine.

I'm not interested in love. It's the chase that intrigues me. I saw her in the park, my pretty little prey. I intend to make her mine, and the closer I get, the more she will lose. Her friends. Her family. Her freedom. Each move will bring her further under my control until she has nothing left... but me. Am I playing a cruel game? Of course. But I warned you: It's not love that I want.

She was mine for the taking. So I did. When I walked in on my beautiful new assistant changing outfits in my executive office's personal bathroom, I did what any ruthless billionaire in my place would have done. I kissed her. Punishingly....

Keeping her safe was my job. Keeping her for myself became my obsession. She is a Russian mafia princess, kidnapped to be used as a pawn in a deadly turf war. I was hired to bring her home, but the moment I saw her I knew I must have her for myself. She can run, but I will always be watching from the shadows. Like a feral beast stalking his prey, waiting for the right moment to take what is mine. I am her protector, but no one can protect her from me.

Only a monster would kidnap a woman from her brother's wedding, but that's what I've become. Now this innocent girl is my captive. Mine to use and punish in the most shameful of ways.

The true legacy of the Cavalieri family, my birthright, ties me to a woman I despise: the daughter of the mafia boss who nearly ended my family. Making her both my enemy... and my future wife. The hatred is mutual; she has no desire for me to be her groom. A prisoner to her family's ambitions, she's desperate for a way out. My duty is to guard her, to ensure she doesn't escape her gilded cage. But every moment spent with her, every spark of anger, adds fuel to the growing fire of desire between us. We're trapped in a volatile duel of passion and fury.

With a single gunshot, she brings the violent secrets of my buried past into the present. She may not have pulled the trigger, but she still has blood on her hands. And I know some very creative ways to make her pay for it. I am as ruthless as my Cavalieri ancestors, who forged our powerful family legacy. But no fortune is built without spilling blood. I've earned a reputation as a dangerous man to cross and made enemies along the way. So, to protect those I love, I handed over the mantle of patriarch to my brother and moved to northern Italy.

For weeks, I've been watching her. Stalking her. Now, it's time to start playing with my beautiful little pawn. From the moment I first saw her from afar, I knew she would become my prized possession. I will gaslight her into thinking she is my obedient ward, trapped in the Victorian era. She is my unwilling captive, forced to play my sadistic game for her own survival. She will have no choice but to bow to my rules and discipline. In time, her memories of a modern life will fade. If not, she will pay a painful price.