Book picks similar to
Ricca (In Loyalty Lies Trust) by Esther E. Schmidt
mafia
dark
arc
alpha-male
Dark Russian Angel
Odette Stone - 2019
I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,And I witnessed a crime.The police are failing to protect me.And my chance of survival isn't looking good.Andrusha, is the cold and dangerous leader of the Vancouver Russian mafia,He's also my best chance to make it to trial alive.The only thing we have in common,Is our shared enemy.This man is everything your mom warned you about.He's ruthless.He's cold.And he likes to be in control.I should be afraid of him.I should keep my distance.So why is he the only one who makes me feel safe?Who will protect me from my protector?
Crescendo
Lana Sky - 2017
and how to thrive in the inferno. After five years spent under his controlling thumb, Daniela knows her position with a man like Vincent Stacatto is precarious, but as long as she plays by the rules of his "game", she's safe...Until she's taken by the devil. Kidnapped by a rival boss, Daniela becomes a pawn between two powerful forces, and just another casualty in a bloody game of chess. But to get to the top, and stay at the top, you have to fight dirty and hold nothing back, because the most dangerous piece on the board isn't the King. Contains Mature subject matter not suitable for those under 18.
Condemned to Love
Siobhan Davis - 2021
Will one life-altering night unite or destroy them? Bennett Mazzone grew up ignorant of the truth: he is the illegitimate son of the most powerful mafia boss in New York. Until it suited his father to drag him into a world where power, wealth, violence, and cruelty are the only currency.Celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Sin City should be fun for Sierra Lawson, but events take a deadly turn when she ends up in a private club, surrounded by dangerous men who always get what they want.And they want her.Ben can’t believe his ex’s little sister is all grown up, stunningly beautiful, and close to being devoured by some of the most ruthless men he has ever known. The Vegas trip is about strengthening ties, but he won’t allow his associates to ruin her perfection. Although it comes at a high price, saving Sierra is his only choice.The memory of Ben’s hands on her body is seared into Sierra’s flesh for eternity. She doesn’t regret that night. Not even when she discovers the guy she was crushing on as a teenager is a cold, calculating killer with dark impulses and lethal enemies who want him dead.Understanding the risks, she walks away from the only man she will ever love, stowing her secrets securely in her heart. Until the truth becomes leverage and Sierra is drawn into a bloody war—a pawn in a vicious game she doesn’t want to play.As the web of deceit is finally revealed, Ben will stop at nothing to protect Sierra. Even if loving her makes him weak. In a world where women serve a sole purpose, and alliances mean the difference between life and death, can he fight for love and win?A STAND-ALONE DARK MAFIA ROMANCE.
Savage Beginnings
J.L. Beck - 2020
Like a thief I came in the dead of night and stole her away from her protected castle and placed her in a gilded cage made of gold. The arrangement had been made. Her father knew I was coming, knew I had intended to make him pay. His empire was crumbling. He had no money, nothing of value to me, nothing except... her. Which is why he agreed. His precious, virgin daughter in return for a debt paid. He thought I would break her, kill her, he had no idea what I had really planned. She would become my wife. She would bear my children. She would bend to my will. And I would go to any lengths to keep her by my side. *This is a dark mafia romance that contains mature themes, graphic violence, and sexual content. This is a standalone with a HEA.*
Defying Her Mafioso
Terri Anne Browning - 2016
My brother’s best friend and second in command. And the only man I would give up everything for. I fell hard for the Mafioso at the tender age of eleven. This beast of a man who I knew made people disappear—and probably enjoyed every second of it—was also the sixteen-year-old boy who had picked me up after I’d fallen flat on my face during my dance recital and told me I was the best ballerina he’d ever seen. He’s watched over me, protected me like I was the most precious thing in the world to him. And then he sent me away. Scarlett Vitucci was many things:The daughter of the biggest Cosa Nostra boss from New York to Chicago. The sister of the man I would gladly take a bullet for. And the only woman I would ever love. Sending her away was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I didn’t deserve her or her love. For three years I stayed away, ignoring the gnawing ache that her absence left in my chest. Now, she was back and fighting what I felt for her was impossible. Letting her go had been a huge mistake. One I would never repeat.
Strength & Courage
Susan Fanetti - 2015
The Horde’s outlaw days ended with that war.Muse, like many of his SoCal brothers, was a member of an MC that was destroyed in that fight. A former Nomad enforcer, he’s struggled to be settled in a straight life. But Southern California is his home, his family is now Horde, and he has responsibilities. So he keeps his head down and does his best to take care of his family and responsibilities.Sidonie has recently moved to Madrone, the town where the Night Horde SoCal has set up its base, to begin her job as a social worker for San Bernardino County. It’s work she feels a sense of mission to do.Muse and Sid meet under stressful circumstances, on opposite sides of a dilemma. When Muse tries to bring her to his side, a fire catches between them.As their feelings for each other deepen, the work of the SoCal charter becomes dangerous again. But the club isn’t the only potential danger for Sid. Her own work carries risk, too.Muse needs to keep her safe. Sid needs to stand on her own. They won’t have a future together until they find the place where those needs merge and make them stronger.Strength & Courage is the first book in the Night Horde SoCal series. Though this series, and thus its backstory, spins off from the Signal Bend Series, and though key characters from that series appear here, this focus is on the SoCal charter. If you haven’t been to Signal Bend yet, you won’t be lost in Madrone.Note: explicit sex & violence.
Cain
Lane Hart - 2017
Let me count the ways. I threw away my dreams when I was forced to fight and beat men bloody for her, but she doesn’t even know it. Whenever I try to protect her, she pushes me away. I’ve been in love with her for three damn years, and she only sees me as a friend! After one monumental f*ck up, nothing will ever be the same between us, and I know that I only have myself to blame. *Cain is a full-length, standalone MMA romance with a HEA.*
The Bratva's Baby
Jane Henry - 2019
My orders are simple.Capture her.Marry her.Take her inheritance.Get rid of her.The bookish little recluse is worth more than she knows.She's an unassuming librarian.I'm the brigadier of the Russian Bratva.She has no friends.I command a small army.She's a modest virgin.And now she's mine.
The Brave Line
Kate Stewart - 2017
With a fresh perspective on life, she trades her tragic past in California for the coastal waters of Charleston. Fueled by a new career as a dispatcher, she’s determined not to let her scars weigh her down. She apologizes for nothing, especially her insatiable need for a certain police officer.Rowdy is a newly minted sergeant dedicated to his job, but the life of a Charleston police officer has never been more dangerous. With his need to take order of a city spiraling out of control, the last thing he wants is an entanglement with a mouthy dispatcher. But, there’s just one problem. He can’t get enough of her.As the heat rises between the unlikely pair, so does the tension.Three months of summer was all it took to shake their foundations, rattle their walls, and bring them crashing down.It was lust.It was love.It was real.And it would have been perfect . . . if it wasn't already over.Note to reader:This book has several elements and explores topics that some may consider triggers. For mature audiences only. Explicit sex, violence and language. (less)
With Us
Layla Frost - 2017
My wild love affair was Netflix without the chill. I had no business dating the older man who looked as though he'd stepped out of an expensive advertisement.But he was determined to have me.Wickedly sweet, Theo gently and strategically pulled me from my rut, handing me the world in the process. Growing up with nothing, I suddenly found myself with everything. More than I'd even known to dream of.But shadows play tricks on the eyes, and life wasn’t always what it seemed. With Us…It was better.Warning: Recommended for readers 18+ due to adult content, language, and situations.
Ricochet
Keri Lake - 2015
I wish they had. Now I'm cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife.A promise—to avenge the wrong and set it right.I’m no longer Nick Ryder. I’m a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose—one who's seen the dark and violent truth behind the city’s flawless veneer.Michael Culling doesn’t know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I’ve kidnapped his beautiful wife.An eye for an eye—isn’t that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him.If she doesn’t destroy me first.
Willing Captive
Belle Aurora - 2013
Lily’s been living it for twenty two years. Her boring life is suddenly turned on its head when she’s rudely kidnapped from her bedroom.Or so she thinks.Nox Taylor is far too high up in his field to be assigned a babysitting job. There’s nothing more he wants than to complete his mission so he can be rid of the smartass tomboy, Lily.Day after day, Nox watches Lily and her strange ways. She’s unlike any woman he’s ever met. Getting close to the girl is purely for her own protection…right?Lily never imagined she’d make her first real friends in captivity. What lengths would she go through to keep them?**This is a stand alone novel and is unrelated to Friend-Zoned**
Hero
Leighton Del Mia - 2014
For years I’ve watched her from afar, but what started out as duty has become obsession.Cataline FordI work hard.I play by the rules.I’m content.My scars are quiet and invisible, and that keeps me hidden.Doesn’t it?One fateful walk home, I’m taken by someone I didn’t know I should fear. Captive and afraid, nobody will tell me why I’m confined to this hauntingly beautiful mansion. I’m given everything; I have nothing. He takes what he needs from me, and for that I hate him. But I might have loved him once.And just because you’re reading this doesn’t mean I survive him.
"Escape is now her singular obsession, the need for it all but physiological. But freedom is the only thing I can't give her, because I have an obsession of my own: her safety. Or, maybe now, just her."
HERO is a dual POV, standalone erotic novel. WARNING: meant for a mature audience due to dark themes including non- or dubious-consent.
Corrupt Kingdom
Ava Harrison - 2020
That he rules the underworld with an iron fist.A criminal. A murderer. A monster.He controlled fortunes and amassed empires.Our paths should never have crossed, but one poker game intertwined our fate. I woke up stranded on his island. Trapped.Forced to play a dangerous game of hate and lust.He said he took me to protect me. That he was saving me.But who will save me from him?
Transcending Darkness
Airicka Phoenix - 2015
But it was the only way to keep her family safe and all she had to do was sell her body and soul to the devil.Killian McClary wasn’t called the Scarlet Wolf for nothing. He’d been the head of the McClary Organization since he was fifteen and had built a reputation for being a ruthless son of a bitch when it came to running the city’s underbelly, not to mention merciless when it came to punishing those who betray him. He didn’t believe in weaknesses. Only results. Juliette, with her shy smiles and hot little body was a weakness unlike any other and yet he was powerless to resist one more taste of her sweet flesh.Two: Become his for a year.When given the choice between her life or her body, what could Juliette possibly do, but submit to a man whose very name invoked fear in the hearts of others? She just never anticipated falling for his dark, hungry eyes and clever hands, or the way the beast in him made her feel oddly safe and cherished.But what will happen when Killian’s dark past finally catches up to him and threatens the woman he can no longer imagine himself without? What will happen when both sides find themselves caught in a web of passion, lies and broken promises? Can Juliette tame the wolf or will her love for him devour them both?Three: Don’t fall in love.Boundaries will be crossed, loyalties will be tested and lives will be changed forever.