Book picks similar to
The Woman in the Trunk by Jessica Gadziala
mafia
dark
romance
contemporary
The Sweetest Oblivion
Danielle Lori - 2018
. . Nicknamed Sweet Abelli for her docile nature, Elena smiles on cue and has a charming response for everything. She’s the favored daughter, the perfect mafia principessa . . . or was.Now, all she can see in the mirror’s reflection is blood staining her hands like crimson paint. They say first impressions are everything . . . In the murky waters of New York’s underworld, Elena’s sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties. After his and Elena’s first encounter ends with an accidental glare on her part, she realizes he’s just as rude as he is handsome. She doesn’t like the man or anything he stands for, though that doesn’t stop her heart from pattering like rain against glass when he’s near, nor the shiver that ghosts down her spine at the sound of his voice.And he’s always near. Telling her what to do. Making her feel hotter than any future brother-in-law should. Elena may be the Sweet Abelli on the outside, but she’s beginning to learn she has a taste for the darkness, for rough hands, cigarettes, and whiskey-colored eyes. Having already escaped one scandal, however, she can hardly afford to be swept up in another.Besides, even if he were hers, everyone knows you don’t fall in love with a Made Man . . . right?This is a standalone forbidden romance.
Love Scars: Bad Boy's Bride
Nicole Snow - 2014
Nobody explained why I've been dumped in this run down house, or who this hulk with the filthy mouth is. All I know is he wants me, he says I'm his, and I'm ignoring my instinct to run like hell.When he pulls me into his embrace, I want to push closer to his warmth, his strength, his vicious tattoos.Can I trust him? Can I trust myself? Or will obeying his wicked words confirm all my worst suspicions?DAVIDSo sweet, so pure, so confused...I almost feel bad about claiming her. Almost.Too bad she's a Rossini, and I don't regret making her old man sign her over to me for one second. I was born a Strelkov, a killer and an outlaw, and I second guess nothing.The instant my hands are on her, I know I've made the right choice. The crazy ache in my lips when they're not on hers doesn't lie. Revenge is a dish best served hot, sweaty, seething with passion, and Anna's tonight's special.Yeah, she's gonna flip when I shove the wedding contract in her face. But I'm gonna make her my wife in every nasty, beautiful, permanent way I can, even if it means adding a few more scars to my skin and Anna's heart...
Beautiful Carnage
Caroline Peckham - 2020
Our fates were spun the night he tried to kill me and now he’s back to destroy me for good.It’s always been us versus them. The Calabresis against the Romeros.This city is ours but they vowed to take it from us. And when they couldn’t, they took me instead.Now I’m chained by the cruellest of them all; the man who wrapped his hands around my throat and tried to squeeze the life from me all those years ago.But I won’t fall prey to him. I’m older, fiercer and I’ve grown claws of my own.Rocco Romero thinks he can keep me captive, but he’s about to regret bringing a sleeping tiger into his home.ROCCOShe’s my greatest failure.The name that always haunts me.My dirty little secret.And when I had the chance to kidnap her from her wedding, nothing on God’s green earth could stop me.She’s mine. I could take her life, her body or her heart if I wanted to.But my brothers refuse to believe me.So when they bet I can’t make the little principessa fall in love with me, of course I step up to the challenge.And when she’s down on her knees, pouring her heart out, I’ll crush it in my fist.I’m lining the Calabresis up like dominoes. And she’ll be the first to fall.**Beautiful Carnage is a standalone mafia bully romance between one sexy guy and girl with hot scenes and alpha men causing havoc at every turn**
The Risk
S.T. Abby - 2016
Collecting the debts that are owed to me.Ten years ago, they took from me. They left me for dead.They should have made sure I stayed dead.Now I'm taking from them.One name at a time.I've trained for too long.I've been patient.I can't stop now.Revenge is best served cold...They never see me coming, until I paint their walls red.Logan doesn't know how they hurt me. He doesn't know about the screams they ignored. He doesn't know how twisted that town really is.He just knows people are dying.He doesn't know he's in love with their killer.No one suspects a dead girl.And Logan doesn't suspect the girl in his bed.They're looking for a monster.Not a girl who loves red.Not a girl in love.I'm a faceless nightmare.At least until I tell them the story they've pretended never happened.But in the end, will Logan choose them? Or will we watch them burn together?**Graphic**Adult language**Some triggers could be too much for the easily disturbed reader**Sexual content**Fucked up moral compass; read at your own risk.
The Bonus
A.J. Adams - 2013
Facing a lingering and painful death at the hands of the Zeta cartel, Mexico’s most brutal organised crime syndicate, she persuades their enforcer to claim her.Ex marine and dark ops expert Kyle Suarez is chief enforcer for the Zeta cartel. Ruthlessly efficient, he is feared by his enemies. When he claims Chloe, he simply expects to enjoy a well-deserved and disposable bonus.Has Chloe made a huge mistake, or will her choice prove her salvation - and his?Warning: This bad boy dark romance contains explicit scenes of dubious consent, graphic violence and sex. It is for adults only.This bad boy dark romance is a compelling tale of vengeance, murder, cartel violence and finding love in the darkest of times. It is the first in the Zeta Cartel novel series, and can be read as a standalone.
Killing Sarai
J.A. Redmerski - 2013
Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years.Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don’t go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another.While on the run, Victor strays from his primal nature as he succumbs to his conscience and resolves to help Sarai. As they grow closer, he finds himself willing to risk everything to keep her alive; even his relationship with his devoted brother and liaison, Niklas, who now like everyone else wants Sarai dead.As Victor and Sarai slowly build a trust, the differences between them seem to lessen, and an unlikely attraction intensifies. But Victor’s brutal skills and experience may not be enough in the end to save her, as the power she unknowingly holds over him may ultimately be what gets her killed.This is their story…
Sugar Daddy
Sawyer Bennett - 2016
Sela Halstead lost her innocence in a way that no sixteen-year-old should ever have to endure. She’s spent years trying to forget that night even while wondering about the identities of the monsters who brutalized her—until a telltale tattoo flashes across Sela’s TV screen. The incriminating ink belongs to Jonathon Townsend, the millionaire founder of The Sugar Bowl, a website that matches rich older men with impressionable young women. Obsessed with revenge, Sela infiltrates Townsend’s world, only to come face-to-face with a tantalizing complication: Beckett North, his charismatic business partner. The tech mastermind behind The Sugar Bowl, Beck always gets what he wants, in business and in bed. And yet, for a man who’s done every dirty thing imaginable, there’s something about the naïve, fresh-faced Sela that sparks his hottest fantasies. Because with her, it’s not just about sex. Beck opens up to her in ways he never has with other girls. So why does he get the feeling that she’s hiding something? In a world of pleasure and power, the shocking truth could turn them against each other—or bind them forever. Note: Sugar Daddy ends on a cliffhanger. Sela and Beck’s story continues in Sugar Rush and Sugar Free!
Tragic Beauty
Iris Ann Hunter - 2018
Two beasts. The one who owns her. And the one who wants her. *** I was sixteen when I made the deal. When I put my fate in the hands of Shayne McAllister, a man determined to break me. A man with black eyes and a blacker heart, who’s been obsessed with me since we were kids. And now that my father has passed, he’s coming to collect his debt. But before I become his, I see a chance to make a choice for myself, and I take it. I slip away, for one night. One dark, stormy night that goes horribly wrong. Until a stranger crosses my path. An angry stranger, with a harsh voice and menacing eyes, who grants me one night. One messed up, beautiful night, that changes everything, and spares no one. Because the stranger wants more. More than just one night. He wants me. What follows, is darkness. A darkness where secrets will be revealed, blood will be shed, and sacrifices made. My name is Ava, and this is my story. (This is a very DARK, contemporary romance/erotic thriller with scenes some will find disturbing. It is a story about love and obsession, about hope and despair, but most of all, it is about finding light through the darkness. For mature audiences only.) ***This is Book One of the BEAUTY & THE DARKNESS Trilogy***
Rip
Rachel Van Dyken - 2015
But I broke her, and now we both have to pay the price.I'm her nightmare. I'm her savior. And now that I have her signature on an ironclad contract, I own her body and soul. She doesn't remember me. She will. It's inevitable. Because as much as I know I need to stay away, for fear of unlocking the memories I helped her father bury--I can't. She was the apple in the Garden, dangled in front of me, her core so tempting and sweet. A voice whispered. Just. One. Bite. I bit. I tasted. I fell. Welcome to the world of the Russian mafia, where death, is your only future.
Lying and Kissing
Helena Newbury - 2015
Yesterday, I was just a CIA languages geek, safe behind a desk. I thought I wanted a taste of the action.Then I met him.Luka. Arms dealer. Russian mafia. A man who'll kill to get what he wants. And he wants me.Now I'm on a plane to Moscow with orders to "accidentally" run into him again. Seduce him. Sleep with him.I can’t control myself when I’m near him. And if he finds out who I really am, I'm dead. 18+ due to steamy scenes. Trigger advisory inside book.
Sordid
Nikki Sloane - 2016
He seemed exactly like me. Intelligent. Focused. Serious. But he’s not the man I imagined. His reality is cruel and dark. He traps me in his web, his power twisting tighter the more I struggle, until it’s hopeless. I can’t break free. As he drags me unwillingly into his filthy world, I can’t ignore the terrifying idea circling my mind. What if I belong here with him?
Until Tomorrow Comes
Adelaide Forrest - 2021
I left with an obsession.With one look, Isa captivated me. She consumed me, drawing me into her world without ever knowing the dangers of mine. I intend to make her mine, no matter what lies I need to tell to manipulate her into falling in love with El Diablo. It should be simple enough, but secrets lurk in the depths of her multicolored eyes, and I’ll do anything to understand what broke her before I had the chance.Because she’s mine to break.IsaRafael Ibarra tore through my life like a raging inferno.Consuming every part of me he touches, he promises to show me passion and the real Ibiza. Though our tryst can never be anything but temporary, I never want to leave the man who makes me wish things were different. But there’s a nightmare hiding within his multicolored gaze, a phantom rattling at the cages who wants to devour me, to take me and claim me as his. He’s temptation, pushing me toward sin with his wicked touch. But the sins of the flesh are different from the sins of the mind, and as much as I hate his secrets.I will never tell him my own.Until Tomorrow Comes is the first book in the Beauty in Lies trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. This is a DARK mafia romance and contains graphic violence, mature content, and elements that may be triggering. Please read at your own discretion.
Sweet Cruelty
Zoe Blake - 2020
Mine. If I were a better man, I would've just let her go. But I'm not. I'm a cruel bastard. I ruthlessly claimed her virtue for my own.It should have been enough. But it wasn't. I needed more. Craved it. She became my obsession. Her sweetness and purity taunted my dark soul. The need to possess her nearly drove me mad. A Russian arms dealer had no business pursuing a naive librarian student. She didn't belong in my world. I would bring her only pain. But it was too late…She was mine and I was keeping her.