Book picks similar to
Second Best by Sam Crescent


mafia
romance
arranged-marriage
age-gap

Dark Protector


Celia Aaron - 2017
    Charlie shone like a beacon in a world that had long since lost any light. But she was never meant for me, a man that killed without remorse and collected bounties drenched in blood.I thought staying away would keep her safe, would shield her from me. I was wrong. Danger followed in my wake like death at a slaughter house. I protected her from the threats that circled like black buzzards, kept her safe with kill after kill.But everything comes with a price, especially second chances for a man like me. Killing for her was easy. It was living for her that turned out to be the hard part.Author's Note: This is a full-length romance novel. It's not a super-dark read, no trigger warning. Explicit violence and hot sex included. HEA, no cheating.

Richer Than God


Amelia Wilde - 2020
    And I'm the only one who can save her.In a life like mine, there is only danger dressed up in money and power. I'm a monster in expensive suits and an opulent home. Brigit is an innocent angel with only the clothes on her back.She's on the run from a nightmarish arranged marriage, and I'm her only hope in the city. If she works my business she'll be able to buy herself a new life.But the moment she steps into my life is the moment she's trapped forever.She thinks she can tempt me and slip away like a thief in the night. She thinks I can make her mine and then let her go.She's never been so wrong.Richer Than God is an intense dark billionaire romance. It is the first in a breathtaking new trilogy.

Belles & Mobsters: Luciano


Eva Winners - 2021
    Heartless. Ruthless.A criminal. A monster. A murderer.Belles and Mobsters were never meant to be together. And I still fell in love with him, only to be torn apart. Lesson learned.I escaped with nothing but the clothes on my back and my best friend at my side. We hid in plain sight, and started a new life. Just as life became normal again, we were found. Dragged back into the underworld. This time the stakes are much higher. Failing is not an option.If only he wasn't my demise.

The Deal


Stella Gray - 2019
     The man of my dreams, and the wedding to match. Stefan Zoric is heir to an elite worldwide modeling agency. Practically a prince. My arrangement is simple, as far as sham marriages go. I give him my virginity, behave as the perfect wife and he'll pay for the college degree my father found irrelevant. But I don't want to be the perfect wife. I want him to want me the way I want him. I want him to confide in me. But Stefan has secrets that he holds close, dangerous secrets. And soon I'm wondering what kind of devil have I made a deal with?

Monster in His Eyes


J.M. Darhower - 2014
    He has a way of commanding attention, of taking control, of knowing what I'm thinking before I even do.It's alarming and alluring. It's dark and deadly. It's everything I've ever wanted but the last thing I truly need. Obsession.It doesn't take him long to draw me into his web, charming me into his bed and trapping me in his life, a life I know nothing about until it's too late. He has secrets, secrets I can't fathom, secrets that make it so I can't walk away, no matter how much I beg him to let me go. I see it sometimes in his eyes, a darkness that's both terrifying and thrilling. He's a monster, wrapped up in a pretty package, and what I find when I unmask him changes everything.I want to hate him.Sometimes, I do.But it doesn't stop me from loving him, too.

Crime Lord's Captive


Mia Knight - 2016
    She created a new identity and has been living a quiet life, but that’s at an end. He’s found her and is bringing her back to where she belongs. As Lyla navigates through the dark secrets of her past, she’s forced to face a man who won’t accept no for an answer from the woman he still claims as his.

Making Her His


Lucy Leroux - 2014
    Her name is Elynn. Alex Hanas couldn't believe that after so many years as a widower, his father was getting remarried. To make matters worse, the American gold digger had a kid—a daughter named Elynn. After months of avoiding it, Alex goes to brunch with every intention of giving his father's new family the deep freeze. But he can't pull it off with Elynn's anxious green-grey eyes locked on him. That was the day his life changed. Four years later, Alex is as close to Elynn as a stepbrother can be. But that's not enough for him. He wants more...and he's done waiting. Making Her His is a complete stand-alone novel of 68,000+ words.

Violent Delights


Jessica Hawkins - 2019
    An untouchable among thieves. Heiress to a life others have killed for, and one I'd do anything to escape. I vowed not to leave without Diego, my first love and best friend, but if his ruthless brother has his way, I won’t leave at all.Cristiano de la Rosa is a man as big and bold as his legend. Once upon a time, he was our cartel’s best soldier . . . until he became my family’s worst enemy. And a man like Cristiano will bend fate to his will to get what he wants—even if it means tearing me from another's arms.Because in the de la Rosa family, old grudges run deeper than loyalty, and betrayal is a three-letter word: war. But this feud isn’t between enemies—it’s between brothers. And I’m the prize.

Perfect Chaos


Nashoda Rose - 2014
    Have since I was sixteen and my world fell into chaos. But I found a way to endure, or rather it found me. Now I’m a prisoner of my own doing, hiding behind a false mask so no one sees the truth. Not even the man I want but can’t have—Deck. But I messed up and the lies are spilling over, out of control. Deck is unrelenting and will settle for nothing less than the truth. He demands everything from me—EVERYTHING—even if it rips me apart.DECKI kill for a living.Unyielding—It’s how I survive in my line of work. I bend people to my will…except Georgie.But that ends now.I've played her game for far too long. Now I think it's time we play mine.

Sergei, Volume 2


Roxie Rivera - 2014
    The Russian behemoth broke down the walls guarding her heart as easily as he kicked down her front door. After a wild, passionate love affair that's the talk of Houston's underworld leaves them facing an unplanned but very much wanted pregnancy, Bianca can't imagine a single day without Sergei in her life—and in her bed. Freed from the clutches of the Russian mob by her tenacious love, former enforcer and prize fighter Sergei Sakharov intends to give Bianca exactly what she wants. He's going to make that luscious, curvy beauty his wife and spend the rest of his life making her happy. Or, at least, that's the plan. But Sergei quickly learns that no one ever really gets out of the life. When unfinished business threatens the family he's trying to build with the woman who forever holds his heart, he'll have to make a hard choice. To protect his pregnant wife, there is no line Sergei won't cross.

Lev


Belle Aurora - 2015
    Having been told his entire life that he can't process or understand emotion, he considers it a big deal.When Mina Harris gets caught red-handed with a wallet that isn't hers, she falls apart. She's tired, lonely and hasn't eaten in days.Lev offers her an ultimatum... A nice warm bed, a hot meal and a job, or the cops.Mina takes her chances with Lev. After all, a person with nothing has nothing left to lose.***This book enters the world of the extended Leokov family which are introduced in Friend-Zoned, however, is unrelated...

Devil's Deal


Aleatha Romig - 2021
    As the daughter of my father’s rival and sworn enemy, her fate is to be my wife. Emma is in my world now. It's time she makes a deal with the devil.Have you been Aleatha'd?Enter the dangerous and mysterious world of New Orleans in this all new full-length romantic suspense novel, DEVIL'S DEAL. For a sneak peek into their first meeting with no spoilers, check out the enticing prequel, “Fate’s Demand” available everywhere. Rett and Emma’s intriguing story begins with DEVIL’S DEAL, book one of the Devil Series Duet, and concludes with ANGEL’S PROMISE. Don’t miss a word of this new and exciting duet.

Obsidian Liquor


Scarlett Dawn - 2014
    But when she’s caught red-handed by a man who kills for a living, her enmity rapidly turns to fear. Daniil Kozar isn't a man to trifle with, and Elizabeth is forced to strike a deal with the mafia king. Her every action is watched, and she needs to decide how to handle the gun-toting criminal--and his seductive charm.Daniil may be the devil her father warned about. Or he may be the sensual awakening Elizabeth never knew she needed. Somewhere, Elizabeth's dad is screaming a prayer...*Originally published in The Obsidian Collection**This work contains sexual material intended for readers 18+*

King of Lies


Whitney G. - 2020
    That I'm a mere pawn in his twisted game of chess.Despite the fact that my heart is still tethered to his, or the fact that he's still the most gorgeous and beautiful man I've ever met in my life (he can still make me wet with a single sentence), I have to focus on getting away from him.I have to accept that he's no longer the man I fell in love with.He's the king of lies...

Becoming Mrs. Lockwood


K.I. Lynn - 2017
    I’m just a small town Indiana girl that had a chance encounter with one of Hollywood’s golden boys. You may think you know where this story goes—not even close.Life is different. Marriage is hard. It’s even worse when you’re strangers.