I never wanted chains disguised as vows.
But family blood demands payment, and mine bought me a penthouse cage overlooking Manhattan's endless lights. Thrust into an arranged marriage with him - that lethal shadow of a man, all coiled menace and hidden fractures, the enforcer who guards empires with his fists and claims wives with his mouth.
God, I fought it. Sarcasm my shield, defiance my weapon. "This is temporary," I spat on our wedding night, even as his hands pinned me down, sweat-slicked bodies crashing in a stranger's frenzy that left me ruined and begging. His low growls owned me, body first, heart clawing to catch up. Every thrust a paradox - hating the possession, craving the blaze it ignited low in my belly.
Now dawn strokes our entwined skin through floor-to-ceiling glass, bloodstained contracts crumpled nearby like yesterday's sins. He watches me sleep with eyes that see too much, his ruthless shell cracking just enough to whisper vulnerabilities no killer should have. My independence? Slipping through fingers that bruise and cherish in equal measure. Family legacy hangs by our fragile truce, my freedom the first casualty if betrayal spills.
I tell myself I'll escape this blistering need, walk away before he shatters my soul. But what if surrender is the only freedom left - his, mine, ours - in a world that devours anything soft?
A full-length mafia possessive arranged marriage erotic romance featuring a defiant reluctant bride and her lethal protector captor.
