Leandro was supposed to protect me. He failed me, covered me in blood and broke my innocence.
Leandro was to love me, but in the end, I knew we had no future.
So, I made a decision, and it has been five years since I last saw him. Now he stands before me, not only as my husband but as my Don.
My decision freed me but destroyed the Leandro I knew. This Leandro was covered by darkness and cruelty, and I was drawn to him like a bee to honey.
The more I get to know the man, the more it makes me question everything I know to be right and wrong.
But he is still the boy I knew and even though I needed him to love me, how long before I fall to the unmerciful side of Leandro Scavo, and truly love him?
*Broken Crowns is the first book in the Kingdom of Lies & Truths series and can be read as a standalone. It is a Dark new adult mafia romance that includes scenes that may be disturbing to some. (Mention of human trafficking, discussions of child abuse, graphic murder & torture scenes, strong sexual scenes, strong adult language and talks of blood). Recommended for readers 18+.
I gave a soft snicker as we stared each other down. Her eyes blinked with humor. She would not make it easy to get answers. “Why did you leave?”
“I thought that reason would be obvious to you.” She took in every inch of the house, as if avoiding looking at me, then her gaze fell on the balcony as if she could see right through it . . . at someone or something out there. Waiting. Watching. Her eyes lingered there as she said, “I told you back in Florida that I lost my innocence and you that night. I was scared every time I was alone. Every sound had me jumping. The sight of a small cut on my hand along with the blood that beaded gave me panic attacks.”
“I just never got comfortable with blood the way you obviously have. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want the guns around, the men, the knowledge of knowing anyone I married in this life could easily be taken from me in some turf war. That I could be used again to get to the man I would end up marrying one day.”
I waited patiently as she zeroed in on me. “You brought me back to the worst part of my life, and I’m alone in it because my best friend and cousin fear you, while my parents hate me.”
Hearing a tremble in her voice and tears running down her cheek, I took her hand and guided her out of her seat to sit into my lap. She circled her arms around my neck and cried over my shoulders. “They don’t hate you. You hate me. You think your parents could ever feel what you feel toward me?” She shook her head. “Then stop saying that. Give Federico time and the doors of the estate will open to you again.”
Sniffling, her arms tightened around me. “But Faye and Eden . . . they’ll never welcome me again. I’m married to you . . .”
She whispered that last part, but all I could hear was her scheming ways to get me to absolve the girls of their role in her lie.
Unsure if I was more amused by it or annoyed, I threaded my fingers through her hair—pulling just hard enough to get a whimper from her—and forced her to meet my eyes.
“Then it’s a good thing you have me for company.” Sighing in defeat, Emilia loosened her arms around my neck, and before she could stand from my lap, I gripped her hips and kept her there. “Keep patronizing me, Emilia. You haven’t met Leandro the unmerciful yet.”
“I have a good idea who he is . . .” Raising her hand to my face, she sketched my forehead to my temple and over my cheeks and nose. Her right hand brushed my midnight shadow before slowly sliding over my parted lips. “He’ll take what’s his by right. He told me that two nights ago.”
The soft undertone of her voice was entrancing. Her delicate touch aroused me, but her condescending words burned me. “You are testing my affection for you,” I said, cupping her cheek with the hand I freed from her hair. My thumb mimicked her fingers, and when I brushed her smiling lips, she opened them and flicked her tongue against the tip.
“Affection. Is that what you call it now?” she murmured, and I pushed my thumb into her warm mouth and exhaled when my dick pressed against my zipper and her ass. “Mmm.”
Writing under the pen name Empress Chang, she is referred to as an overly dramatic, outgoing yet shy individual by her friends and family. Half Chinese Jamaican, Chang was born and raised in Jamaica. She then migrated to the United States of America, three years ago where she is still scared of driving on the other side of the road!
Writing stories about her dogs and princesses at a young age, Chang discovered romance books in high school and started writing her own believing that romantic happy ever after’s are necessary for a healthy and happy life.
She is a huge believer in the simple things in life, and her life’s main goal is to be happy. This includes sunny beaches and junk food (of course)!
When Chang is not writing, she is usually reading, watching a series that has hooked her attention and demands to be binged, or is spending time with her supportive, loving husband.
Her company is failing. His plan could save it. Will their partnership move from business to pleasure?
Carla “Carl” Stevenson takes a special joy in running the local timber mill. But when the economy takes a downturn, selling the family business may be her only heartbreaking option. After a prospective buyer takes an interest, she’s horrified by his plans to raze the Frazier forest to make room for cheap cattle farming. To protect her home, she reluctantly turns to the town’s most notorious player…
Owen Cooper can’t believe Carl’s mill is for sale. But the construction company owner is even more shocked that “Carl” is actually a beautiful woman. Moved by feelings he never saw coming, Owen drafts an ambitious plan to save the mill owner’s livelihood… and maybe even win her heart.
Rallying their community around the audacious idea, Owen and Carl find their fates delightfully intertwined. But both their chemistry and the project hang in the balance when he suddenly walks away…
With the whole town at stake, will Carl and Owen save the mill and find their way to true love?
Rescue Me is the heartwarming first novel in the Frazier Falls romance series. If you like strong women, honorable men, and small-town love, then you’ll adore Kelly Collins’ charming tale. Buy Rescue Me to build a foundation of passion today!
Owen splashed water at my head. I returned the favor as he waded over and picked me up.
“What are you doing?”
“You can barely stand over here.” He lifted me higher out of the water. “I’m giving your legs a break.”
“Is that so?”
“Absolutely,” he replied. “One must be sure not to tire when in a precarious situation.” His arms tightened around me.
“I’m pretty sure I could out-swim you on a bad day.”
His brows reached for his hairline. “Is that a challenge?”
“Damn straight.” I pointed to the copse of trees at the bend. “First one from here to the trees upstream wins?”
“Done,” Owen exclaimed, immediately dropping me to get a head start.
“That’s cheating,” I called out before righting myself and working furiously to catch up. It didn’t take long because I was an excellent swimmer. By the time we reached the trees, I was in the lead by several feet.
He stared at me incredulously as he caught up. “Holy shit, you’re fast.”
“I know.”
“You hustled me good, Stevenson.”
“Hey, I told you I could out-swim you, Cooper. If you chose not to believe me, that’s on you.”
“What’s my consolation prize?”
“Why should you get rewarded for coming in last when I don’t get anything for winning?”
He sidled up to me in the water, gently pressing me against the bank. The barest suggestion of a current sent tiny pebbles ricocheting off my feet, the beat of them accurately reflecting the way my heart thumped inside my chest.
“I can think of something that might act as a prize for both of us,” he said suggestively, tracing the edge of my jaw with a finger, tipping it to line up my lips with his.
“How presumptuous of you,” I replied quietly, but I closed the gap between our lips immediately. He tasted of creek water and whiskey. Until now, I’d never have considered that an attractive combination.
As Owen leaned in and deepened the kiss, running his fingers through my hair and pressing his body against mine, I found I couldn’t get enough of it. Enough of him.
I threw my arms around his neck, desperate to get closer.
He wouldn’t be a client for much longer. In a few months, I’d be gone, and unlikely to see him again. It was now or never. I voted for now.
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International bestselling author of more than thirty novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.
Kelly has sold more than a quarter of a million books worldwide, and in 2021 she was awarded a Readers’ Favorite Award Gold Medal in the Contemporary Romance category for A Tablespoon of Temptation.
The moment I laid eyes on Penny, her innocent, submissive nature called to my dominant side. I immediately volunteered to guide her exploration into my dark and decadent world.
I’m also playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with an obsessed psychopath whose goal is to destroy me. When my worlds threaten to collide, I’m forced to call it quits between us.
Soon I discover I’m too late, and she’s caught in the crossfire. Now, I’ll do everything in my power to protect the woman I’m falling for.
“Who do we have here?” A deep, gravelly voice at my right drew my attention. My breath hitched and my body heated when I spotted the sexiest man I’d ever laid eyes on. I’d always been a sucker for a man with salt and pepper hair. Damn, he filled out that navy t-shirt nicely. My eyes traveled his full length before returning to his face. I flushed at the amused half-smile he wore at my perusal. It took me a moment to remember he’d asked me a question.
“Pe-Penny,” I stuttered, almost breathless as the heat in my face intensified. I don’t remember blushing this much before in my life. Fake it ’til you make itwas my mantra. I stood a little taller and attempted to gain the confidence I typically displayed with chauvinistic surgeons.
“I’m Marcus.” His secret smile remained as he reached out to shake my hand. When I placed mine in his, he squeezed it firmly, and I thought I felt his thumb gently caress mine, but he pulled away before I could be sure.
“Nice to meet you.” The words came out a little shaky.
“So, what brings you out to play with us today?” His voice dropped suggestively.
Maintaining my barely-there confidence, I answered his question. “I’m curious about domination and submission. I figured this was the best place to gain some knowledge.”
“Knowledge about what?” Marcus asked, showing true interest.
Everything. I wanted to know what it felt like to give up control.
To just feel and not have to think.
To be dominated.
To have someone fulfill needs I didn’t even know I had.
I wanted to find my happily ever after, damn it. Sadly, I didn’t know how to express any of this.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Whatever someone will teach me.”
“Sweetness,” he murmured, “I’d be happy to teach you anything you want to know.”
LK Shaw is the bestselling author of the sexy, sinful suspense. She resides in South Carolina with her high maintenance beagle mix dog, Miss P. An avid reader since childhood, she became hooked on historical romance novels in high school. She now reads, and loves, all romance sub-genres, with dark romance and romantic suspense being her favorite. LK enjoys traveling and chocolate. Her books feature hot alpha heroes and the strong women they love.
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