It was the happiest day of my life. Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. Something blue. All I had to do was say my vows. Then they asked if there were any objections. And he stood up. Jaxon Steele. A face from my past. A face I never wanted to see again. So beautifully cruel, so agonizingly wrong. Just like his objection. Why is he back after all these years? Why did he stop my wedding? My questions are frozen when a gunshot rings out. There's blood on my dress. Jaxon isn't here for love. He is here for revenge. And he doesn't care whose blood he has to spill to gain it. What he wants? Ten years of my life for the ten years he served in prison. I loved him once, shame on me. Making me love him twice? Shame on him. But I was always fool when it came to Jaxon Steel. Would I give him ten years? Or forever? This is a full length Dark Second Chance Standalone Romance.

I’ve heard blood is thicker than water, but those people must not have ever been stabbed in the back by their family. At least water made rivers. All blood did was stain. My brother was a stain on my damn life. No matter how hard I scrubbed, his betrayal was still there. He set me up to take the fall on one of the biggest jobs we ever did together, and I did five years behind bars for fraud and money laundering. I’m out of prison now, and I’m ready to turn the river red. No one messes with me and gets away with it. I’m going to take everything that belongs to me. Including her. His ex-wife that he kept under lock and key like an animal. Last I heard, Gabriella Regio has the bite of a beast, and I can’t wait to set her free.

It was shocking how quick love could turn to hate. In a matter of seconds my life went from perfect to ruined. Trust became a mythical, make believe fairy tale. Eight-years of my life was destroyed because I trusted the wrong person. I wouldn’t be making that mistake again. At least, that was what I told myself. Life got lonely. And I fell in love with someone I had never met. Online. She lived across the country. That was so much easier than dealing face to face. It didn't make the relationship real. Until she showed up on my doorstep. Not looking a day over eighteen. Telling her to hit the road was easy, The Cruel Infatuation was not. Then another surprise showed up. And my life was on the brink of going up in flames yet again.

Promise me you’ll love again. I hear the last words my wife said to me every day. A promise I have never and will never fulfill. My heart is stone. Impenetrable. I don’t care. I spent twenty years in prison for a crime I didn’t commit. The punishment is what I deserved. For not being there for her. I’m on one mission now. And it isn’t to find love like I promised. It’s to kill the man that killed my wife. It’s near the anniversary of her death now and I’m in the woods, camping. Hunting. Keeping my skills sharp. And that’s when I happen upon her. She’s stumbling naked in the forest, cut, bruised, and half dead. I should give her to the authorities, but something about her makes the stone of my heart crumble a bit. But years ago, I made a promise I couldn’t keep. And this girl is better off without me. I’m tarnished. No matter what, no matter how tempted, no matter how much I crave her touch, I cannot give in. Promises are made to me broken. But can I live with broken promises? The more I convince myself that I can, the more whiskey says I can’t. Love is the worst bender you can go on.

I'm no saint. I served six years in prison for assault and battery. A crime I didn't commit. But nobody believed me. Especially not her. Heather Thomas. The Governor's daughter. Her sister was my supposed victim. She's here to put the final nail in my coffin. Something about Heather intrigues me. She's not like her sister. But, I should stay away from her. It's too dangerous.M y freedom is on the line. Maybe I don't care... She intrigues me. I want her to hear the truth. But how can I prove it, When everything is stacked against me? My Cruel Captivation may be my undoing.