The farm boy next door would have been perfect for me…if not for the arrangement he’s made that’s standing in our way. Everything in my life is falling apart, and following a brutal thunderstorm, that includes my patio. A girl in my situation has nothing to lose, but as it turns out, accepting the help from a cocky, smug, shamefully hot farm boy to repair my property can actually make things worse. Because Matthew is dangerously much more than a dexterous man providing me with creative inspiration. He’s also my dirty little fantasy. And completely off-limits. Because he struck a deal with my neighbor: take her daughter’s hand in marriage, and she’ll save his family’s plantation - an offer that will be off the table if he changes his mind. Falling for a man who’s spoken for is a fool’s errand, and it’s not on my agenda to get my heart broken a second time. So all I can do is wait until his work for me is done, and then cut all ties. But my dirty fantasy soon turns into a cruel nightmare when he sneaks into my room and catches me with my hands down my pants. Either I’ll marry the guy, or I’ll die of humiliation. Better to start digging my grave, I guess.

From USA Today Bestseller Elodie Colt comes a slow burn mafia romance full of suspense, angst, raw passion, and a hot Alpha who stands above the law. For fans of Natasha Knight, A. Zavarelli, and Rina Kent. She’s only a pawn in the kingdom he rules, but soon she will become so much more… People avoid me. Too blunt, rude, and brutally candid, they say. Well, that’s what you become when the nightmares devour you. A girl who needs tattoos to hide what can’t be erased, a shrink to cure what can’t be cured, and a sketchpad to escape a reality that always catches up to her. I hate people in general, but I hate men with a passion. I will never marry, never fall in love, and never kiss anybody. This is my choice, and I get along just fine. Until Daniel DeLuca. His name makes crime lords cower in fear and cops look the other way. Whenever his eyes burn into mine, something weird happens inside me. Something that scares the shit out of me. He’s a bomb detonating in my pathetically dull life. A rich-ass mobster wearing Armani, a dozen rings on his fingers, and an air of power that oozes more danger than the poisonous snakes he’s keeping in his office. His soul is as black as mine. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to him. We live in the same darkness. And only the darkness can show us the stars.