I came for war. 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.
Isa
Rafael 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 series 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 and see the specific content warnings at the front.
He quirked a brow, that intense gaze of his turning unsettling as he stared down at me. “No,” he said, his lip twisting with the words. My pulse quickened, sensing that small hint of something that lurked beneath the surface. With a glance at the man standing next to the walkway up to and around the falls, I looked back to Rafael with a flare of my nostrils and purse of my lips.
I huffed in disbelief as I shook my head and fought back the surge of emotions within me. I’d been so fucking stupid to think he understood that my fear came from a place of trauma. From something not so easily overcome. Leaning into his space, I laid down the challenge I knew probably wasn’t my smartest move.
But something in the cruel set of his eyes made me want to defy him.
Something in the excited parting of his lips told me he wanted that too.
“Fuck this,” I snarled, turning on my heel and yanking my wrist out of his grip. Hiking my purse up on my shoulder, I strode down the road we’d entered in on and made for the main street. Once I had enough distance and found a safe place to settle, I’d call Hugo to come and get me.
But I’d be damned if I would get in that water with him.
“You don’t want to walk away from me, Princesa,” Rafael murmured at my back. The words crawled up my spine, insidious and menacing enough to halt me in my tracks, and I turned back to glare at him.
I swallowed my nerves, pushing down the budding fear that he brought with his carefully crafted words. Rafe could be terrifying when he wanted to be.
I just wasn’t sure if the frightening face was the mask, or if it was what really waited beneath the charming demeanor he gave me in all the other moments.
“And why is that?” I asked, pressing my lips together and turning back around to hide the slight tremble in them. He was the kind of man my grandmother warned me about with her stories. The temptation and lure of evil spirits, as they resided in people who looked just like us.
But evil couldn’t look like beauty carved in stone, could it? Even if it did explain why I burned when he touched me.
He stepped closer, until I felt the heat of his body at my back. He reached around me to grab my face and tilt it, so that I stared him in the eye with one of mine. “Because I’ll chase you,” he murmured, leaning down to touch his lips to my cheek in a slow brush of heat against my skin. His mouth slid up until his nose touched my hair, breathing me in deeply. He hummed just above my ear. “I think the real question is, what will I do when I catch you?”
I swallowed down the saliva in my mouth, clenching my eyes shut as I tried to think of an appropriate response to words like that.
What did one say, when the man she was falling head over heels in love with showed signs of being a monster?
“That isn’t funny, Rafe,” I whispered, stumbling over my own feet as he turned my body to face him. His hand gripped my hair harshly, tipping my head back until I met his unyielding gaze.
“Am I laughing, Princesa?” I shook my head slightly, wincing when his grip didn’t relent. “I promise you, I am far scarier than whatever you think lurks in that fucking water.”
He released me as suddenly as he’d grabbed me, taking a few steps away before he paused and looked back at where I stood, rooted to my spot and staring at him in horror. I looked to the road, watching as the man who stood guard puffed up his chest and stood a little taller.
It felt like I’d walked into a trap, and still didn’t understand even the basics of what it would mean for me.
A cage without walls. A pressing force on my chest.
“Don’t do it,” Rafael warned me, drawing my attention back to him. He held out a hand, waiting for me to take it. It was a test, I realized, as he forced me to decide my next move then and there. “I like it when you tell me no,” he murmured, making my breath freeze in my lungs as he tilted his head to the side and studied me. “I think I’ll like it when you fight me, too.”
Adelaide always had a love for reading and writing that she cultivated with years of passion and growth before finally publishing earlier this year. You can count on intoxicating alpha males with a twist of darkness who are captivated by the light of their women. Her romance typically involves dark romance themes, colorful language, plenty of steam, and graphic violence. Adelaide lives in her tiny house with her husband and two rambunctious hellions who she adores. When she’s not chasing all three of them around the house, she spends all her free time writing and adding to the hoard of plots stored on her bookshelf and hard-drive.
Title: The Dark Arts Author: Kitty Thomas Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
The Complete Duet
The Con Artist:
Art. Obsession. Twisted possession.
When starving artist Saskia Roth meets Lachlan Niche, a local art collector and tech tycoon, she has no idea how her life is about to change. One act of desperation, one con gone wrong, and she finds herself at the mercy of a powerful man she fears and despises–or so she thinks.
As her desire for him grows, life as his captive becomes something more… something that could both transform her and destroy her.
The Escape Artist:
Claire was held captive for 43 days by a man who did unspeakable things to her.
Three years after her escape, she gets her revenge. The only problem is, she’s got the wrong man.
God help her if he escapes.
(Includes Saskia and Lachlan’s complete HEA from The Con Artist)
Claire pushed the memories away, gripping the leather arm rests, willing her heartbeat and breathing to calm. That was him. She had him in a cell. That was the guy. He had a scar where she’d cut him. How could he lie to her with such a straight face when they both knew he had that scar and how he’d gotten it?
Because he’s a sociopath, Claire. He isn’t like normal people.
She couldn’t let herself forget that—what he was. She couldn’t let herself be tricked by the beautiful monster into setting him free and losing her own life. She got up and went to the kitchen, taking another bottle of beer from the fridge. This one she drank all the way down until a light pleasant buzz of calm skated across her skin. She took a long, steadying breath and grabbed the broom and dustbin.
When she returned to the cell, at least the arrogance had left his face. Maybe he was starting to understand his situation, that the tables had turned and he was now at her mercy. Let him lie about things, as long as she could wipe the smug smile off his face.
She silently swept up the shards of the beer bottle. The last thing she needed was for him to have a weapon. That had been his mistake with her after all.
“You can still let me go,” he said. His voice was so gentle and soothing. Calm and reasonable.
He’d never spoken to her like that in the basement. Of course not, he’d had the power then. He has to placate you now.
Claire just laughed. “Right. I’m going to let you go so you can hurt me again. Am I supposed to believe you’re reformed? After me, you stopped torturing and killing women? You realized the error of your ways?”
“What’s your name?” he asked, changing tactics. “My name…”
“Shut UP! If you speak your name I’ll kill you. I swear to fuck I will. I NEVER want to hear your fucking name. EVER. Don’t you try to humanize yourself. You’re a fucking monster, and you know it!”
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly, holding his hands up in surrender.
No he wasn’t, he was placating her.
“What’s your name, then?” he said, trying again.
“You know my fucking name. You used to hiss it in my ear while you were…” she trailed off, unable to say the words. She turned away from him and took a deep breath, quickly wiping the tears that threatened to spill over. She was not going to cry in front of him anymore. She’d cried all the tears for him she would cry.
She had the power now. Not him. NOT him. But she was shaking. She could feel the light tremors in her arms. He must be able to see them. He was the one chained up, and he was going to break her again.
Never.
“It’s okay if you don’t have it in you to hurt me. I don’t think you’re that kind of person,” he said gently.
“Just shut the fuck up!” she screamed. “I should starve you, just like you starved me for the tiniest act of defiance.” She turned back to finish sweeping the stray shards into the dustpan.
“Look at me,” he said.
It was a fucking command. He thought he could order her around when he was the prisoner? But she turned and looked at him.
“I would never starve you. Ever,” he said, holding her gaze in his.
He’d already starved her, and they both knew it. These head games… she had to regroup her strategy or he was going to get inside her head and mess with it. If she lost her nerve… if he got free again, he’d kill her this time. She was already in too deep. She had to get her shit together and finish this. It was the only choice.
KITTY THOMAS writes dark stories that play with power and have unconventional HEAs. She began publishing in early 2010 with her bestselling COMFORT FOOD and is considered one of the original authors of the dark romance subgenre.
To find out FIRST when a new book comes out, subscribe to Kitty’s New Release List: KITTYTHOMAS.COM
Title: Tristan Author: Jennie Lynn Roberts Series: The Hawks #1 Genre: Fantasy Romance
His redemption might be her downfall…
Tristan has nothing left to lose. His best friend’s betrayal cost him everything. Now, he’s going to take it back. All he has to do to get the Hawks reinstated to their rightful position at the palace is track down the traitor’s younger sister and turn her over for execution. But Nim’s not the girl Tristan left behind years ago; she’s a stubborn, loyal, beautiful woman, and he can’t stop himself from wanting her.
Nim fled with nothing when the king’s favorite came for her. All she has left is the conviction that her brother is innocent—and her determination to free him. She’ll do anything…even if it means convincing Tristan to help her. But the man he’s become is a far cry from the boy she fell in love with so long ago. He’s formidably stern and deeply untrusting. She’ll just have to hope he still has a heart under that battle-scarred exterior.
When love and duty collide, will Tristan follow his orders or follow his heart?
Tristan, book 1 in The Hawks series, is a sexy, steamy, adult fantasy romance full of swords, shifters (kind of), and tons of action. But fair warning: This book is intended only for readers who love slow burn romance, fast-paced adventure, soul mates and found family—and characters who curse when they fight for survival. If that’s you, happy reading.
They’d been on the road for an hour, with the men bantering in low voices—mostly Mathos telling rude jokes and Tor trying to make him shut up—when something made Tristan focus on Nim.
At first, he wasn’t sure what he’d noticed. She had become more slumped during the afternoon, her head bowed. But something had made her seem even less steady. A spike of concern from his beast made him nudge Altair closer.
A moment before he reached her, she started to slide. Her body simply tipped to the side and she lost balance in a smooth, helpless glide toward the distant ground.
He pushed himself forward and over in one rapid swoop, leaning precariously in his saddle to scoop her up. She startled awake, half held in his arms, her body stretched between the two horses with her foot tangled in the stirrup.
He had her at a horrible angle, but he held her tight, forcing the horses close together as Rafael dashed forward and freed her.
Finally, she was loose and he could settle back into his saddle, heart still beating hard from the sudden burst of fear and speed, and the effort of holding her safe across the two horses.
He held her firmly in his arms as she stared up at him, shocked into wakefulness, silver-flecked blue eyes wide and startled, and he forced himself to curb his first impulse—to shout at her for riding half asleep, for frightening him like that—and managed a surly grunt instead. She felt his ire anyway, because her eyes narrowed, and she immediately started to twist and squirm to be put down.
He clamped his arms around her and gave her his most ferocious glare, but all she did was roll her eyes and redouble her effort. Gods, if she didn’t stop wiggling that rounded leather-clad bottom in his lap, they were both going to have a problem.
He frowned at her. “Will you kindly stop.”
“No. I want to get off.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why? So you can go to sleep in the saddle again?”
She turned to stare at him, nose in the air. “That was a mistake. I’m awake now.”
He turned and looked at Rafe, who gave him a quick shake of his head. As he’d suspected. “No. It’s not safe. You’ll just go back to sleep. You can ride with me, or you can walk.”
She huffed out an enraged breath. “You are so bloody frustrating! You know walking would take too long!”
His lips twitch as he suppressed the desire to grin. No one else ever challenged him.
She sighed again and then changed tack. “Anyway, it would be bad for your horse to carry the extra weight.”
He considered the massive stallion and the tiny woman in his arms and surprised them both by grinning. “He’s a warhorse. I think he can manage an hour or two.”
She mumbled something vicious under her breath, but she turned and lifted her leg over the high front saddle horn, then wiggled that torturous bottom closer so that they fitted together.
He gritted his teeth and took a few deep breaths, grateful that his heavy leather breeches would disguise just how much she was affecting him.
Slowly, she started to relax between his arms. The stiffness of her spine softened, and she leaned her back against him, her head tucked under his chin. The men’s voices lowered, as if they too wanted her to rest as they rode on through the weak afternoon sunshine.
He noticed the moment that her weight fell completely against him, but he was reassured by the slow rise and fall of her chest as she nestled against him. His beast stirred again, filled with a deep sense of connection. She was so beautiful. And the first woman that he and his beast had ever agreed on wanting. He felt it down to the most primal parts of himself, how right it was to hold her in his arms. How badly he needed to protect her and keep her close.
Jennie Lynn Roberts believes that every strong, kickass heroine should have control of her own story, a swoony hero to support her at every turn, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Because that doesn’t always happen in real life, she began creating her own worlds that work just the way they should. And she hasn’t looked back since.
Jennie would rather be writing than doing anything else—except for spending time with her gorgeous family, of course. But when she isn’t building vibrant new worlds, she can be found nattering with friends, baking up a storm, or strolling in the woods around her home in England.
If you want to talk books, romance, movies, reluctant heroes, or just about anything else with Jennie, feel free to contact her atwww.jennielynnroberts.com. But be prepared to settle in for a long chat if you bring up shifters, vampires, Star Wars, or The Princess Bride….
