I’m not supposed to fall in love with my husband. It’s not part of my plan. Forgive me. Those were the first words Santos Augustine spoke to me before we sealed an unbreakable oath. A contract signed in blood binding me to him as payment for my father’s sins. Wearing the mask of legitimacy, this powerful crime family has returned to Avarice to punish those who have wronged them and take what they’ve always been denied, a place among the elite. Forced to marry my enemy, I’m thrust into his world of secrets and betrayals. My husband is a dangerous man. And he has dangerous enemies. But it’s when I’m attacked that his fury is unleashed. It’s then I see what it means to belong to Santos Augustine. And although I know the safest place for me is in his bed, I can’t let myself fall in love with my husband. *Please note this age-gap, arranged marriage mafia romance contains references to past self-harm.

Gabriela Stefan Sabbioni showed up uninvited in my bedroom on my sixteenth birthday. He stood in the shadows smelling of whiskey and death and wrapped a broken, blood-crusted necklace around my neck. I thought he’d strangle me with it. That night, he left a message for my father. He said he’d be back to take something precious. I never delivered that message, though. I wonder if things would be different if I had because now, two years later, he’s back. And he’s not hiding in any shadows. He’s come to make good on his promise. He’s back to take that something precious. Me. Stefan Marchese is the manipulator of my family’s tragedy. I won’t just bring him to his knees. I’ll bury him for what he did. Taking his daughter is only the beginning. I’ll do it knowing I’m starting a war. I’ll do it knowing my enemies will become his allies. They’ll stop at nothing to destroy me and he’ll stop at nothing to get her back. I’ve never shied away from war, though. I’m not one to play nice and I don’t share my toys. I’ll demolish you if you touch what’s mine. And she is most definitely mine.

PART 1 OF A TRILOGY Beauty and the Beast. Everyone knows how that fairytale goes, right? How an egotistical motherfucker gets trapped into a spell by a wicked witch, because he looked down upon her, judging her by how she looked before even knowing her. Then having to break that spell, by having a woman fall in love with him in his monster form. Except, I’m no fairytale prince. We all know that all the happily ever after’s from the movies are bullshit. Happily ever after’s don’t exist. Especially for a motherfucker like me. A man who’s done so much wrong, seen things he shouldn’t have seen. Watched men and women get tortured, murdered, be ripped away from their goddamn families. My name is Luca Costello. I grew up in the toughest streets of South Manchester, you know, the area stretching from Hulme to Moss Side up until Longsight. I know there’s that fucking cliché that everybody spits out from around here. “I didn’t choose this life, this life chose me.” “Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten.” Except, I didn’t choose this life. Growing up, I was forced into this way of living. Postcode wars, Turf wars, competing for territory, gunning down any bastard who got in the way of business… It was all I knew. And it was all I was ever going to know. You can’t just leave the streets behind. Once you’re in, there’s no way out. Your past follows you wherever you fucking go. You don’t know how many enemies you’ve made. You don’t know whether the person staring at you from across the street is a stranger, or someone connected to somebody that you’ve crossed in the past. I wanted better for myself. Heck, I needed better. And I knew from the minute I met Zara Amelle, my life was going to turn upside down. She was sexy, bold, confident. A woman who knew what she fucking wanted. Too innocent for my world. But that didn’t stop me. I should have left her alone. I should have left her to live her life. Live her life without me. But she was like a fucking drug. Once I got one taste of her, I kept going back for more. Even if it killed us. They say if you keep dancing with the devil you’ll get burned. I’d been destined for hell my whole damn life. Living a life of sin, hurting so many people who didn’t deserve to be hurt. Except she was the opposite of me. She was like an angel. Who was going to save her from me? This is my story. She was the Beauty… And I was the Beast.

Beauty and the Beast. Everyone knows how that fairytale goes, right? How an egotistical motherfucker gets trapped into a spell by a wicked witch, because he looked down upon her, judging her by how she looked before even knowing her. Then having to break that spell, by having a woman fall in love with him in his monster form. Except, I’m no fairytale prince. We all know that all the happily ever after’s from the movies are bullshit. Happily ever after’s don’t exist. Especially for a motherfucker like me. A man who’s done so much wrong, seen things he shouldn’t have seen. Watched men and women get tortured, murdered, be ripped away from their goddamn families. My name is Luca Costello. I grew up in the toughest streets of South Manchester, you know, the area stretching from Hulme to Moss Side up until Longsight. I know there’s that fucking cliché that everybody spits out from around here. “I didn’t choose this life, this life chose me.” “Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten.” Except, I didn’t choose this life. Growing up, I was forced into this way of living. Postcode wars, Turf wars, competing for territory, gunning down any bastard who got in the way of business… It was all I knew. And it was all I was ever going to know. You can’t just leave the streets behind. Once you’re in, there’s no way out. Your past follows you wherever you fucking go. You don’t know how many enemies you’ve made. You don’t know whether the person staring at you from across the street is a stranger, or someone connected to somebody that you’ve crossed in the past. I wanted better for myself. Heck, I needed better. And I knew from the minute I met Zara Amelle, my life was going to turn upside down. She was sexy, bold, confident. A woman who knew what she fucking wanted. Too innocent for my world. But that didn’t stop me. I should have left her alone. I should have left her to live her life. Live her life without me. But she was like a fucking drug. Once I got one taste of her, I kept going back for more. Even if it killed us. They say if you keep dancing with the devil you’ll get burned. I’d been destined for hell my whole damn life. Living a life of sin, hurting so many people who didn’t deserve to be hurt. Except she was the opposite of me. She was like an angel. Who was going to save her from me? This is my story. She was the Beauty… And I was the Beast.

Six years ago, I did something I shouldn’t have done. Took something that didn’t belong to me. But there’s always a price to pay when you break the rules. I just didn’t realize she’d be the one to pay it. I am the son of Alpha. A hunter. I’d been sent to find Aria Hale and her family. They’d said it was to bring them home. But that was a lie. That was the night I learned what betrayal was. When those I trusted destroyed what I’d come to love. I never expected to see Aria again, but here she is, six years later, standing on my doorstep, looking for answers, trying to understand something that can’t be understood. I can live with blood on my hands. I can exist without her if it means keeping her safe. I just can’t live knowing she hates me.

Sofia I didn’t know Raphael Amado when he turned up on our doorstep demanding restitution for an old debt. My grandfather knew him well, though, and he quickly conceded. That restitution? Me. Six months later, on my eighteenth birthday, Raphael came to claim me. He stole me from my home, taking me to his Tuscan estate, where from the crumbling chapel to the destroyed vineyard to that dark cellar, the past stalked him like a shadow. Even the walls held secrets here and I’d need to uncover them all to survive. Because taking me was only the beginning of his plan. Raphael Sofia was the sacrifice to pay for her grandfather’s sins. She accused me of being the devil. And she’s right. But the truth was, he betrayed her. And when the time came to promise to love, cherish, and obey she spoke the words that would seal her fate. I do. We have a common enemy, though, my unwilling bride and I. But even the devil protects what’s his. And she’s mine. She just doesn’t yet know how much protecting she needs.

Bound by marriage to Damian, I sometimes wonder what he sees when he looks at me. Deer in headlights, I guess. What I see is clear. Darkness. Desire. Carnal want. A man with too much experience. The day he took me he told me I belong to him. On our wedding night he proved I did. And I believe him when he says he’ll keep me safe because he won’t let anyone touch what’s his. But I can’t forget what he is. Can’t forget the things he’s done. And no matter what, I can’t let myself fall in love with him.