My whole life was mapped out, designed for me, before I was even a twinkle in my old man’s eye. I am the heir to the Valentino throne. A kingdom built with blood and dirty money. But one I’ll rule all the same. My father was the youngest Don to ever be crowned king. However, with any luck, the controlling bastard will drop soon, allowing me to beat his record by a few years.

Tearing off the gilded veneer of elite privilege exposes the sordid scandals, dark secrets, and taboo desires of New York's jaded high society in this dark romance series from best friends and USAT bestselling authors Zoe Blake and Alta Hensley, writing under their new pen name, Blake Hensley.

The moment I see Alyssa enter my club, I knew I wanted her. Even as she sat across the bar with another man—I knew I’d make her mine. The moment our skin connected every cell in my body exploded like fireworks. That moment sealed her fate. I was keeping her. When someone threatens to take her away from me. I’m ready for war. I don’t have to go to hell and back to save the woman I love. I’m already there, my soul stained with the blood of those who thought they could cross me. I promised her we would always have a tomorrow together, I don’t break my promises.

When Harlow is a witness to her best friend’s murder by the serial killer terrorizing June Harbor, she grows frustrated with the police’s lack of progress and decides to take matters in her own hands. She soon falls headfirst into an intricate plot of deception, dark family secrets, and one dangerous criminal who is dead set on making her his.

Being the eldest son has always been a blessing and a curse. I was raised to be one thing and one thing only. A monster. My father did everything in his power to make sure that’s exactly what I became too. He wasn’t expecting that the monster he created would be the one to take him out though. Now I’m in charge. Of the family, the empire. Everything. I’m learning real fast that being the boss isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The first order of business was finding a new place to live.

I thought I was late for my cousin’s wedding, but the wedding turned out to be for me... If I’d known the sexy arrogant guy in the elevator was my future husband, I probably would have turned and ran. My own father sold me out, promising my hand in marriage to Alexei Koslov, a sexy, arrogant bratva boss. The last thing I want to do is get married, but nobody says no to the Koslov bratva.

Pretending to date my handsome new housemate was already a bad idea, but then I discover he’s no ordinary guy—he’s a mobster in hiding. And in this story, he’s not the hero, but the wicked villain. Rowan Miller isn’t used to hearing the word “no.” I guess when you’re 6’5, gorgeously tattooed, and sculpted like a Michelangelo masterpiece, women tend to throw themselves at you. But in a small town like Darkwater Hollow, a reputation as a womanizer will catch up with you—and your business—eventually.

It’s complicated. Two years ago, he broke my heart when he left me to do his father’s bidding. After months of crying, I finally accepted he was gone and wasn’t going to look back. That maybe he’d never loved me at all. I never wanted to see Luca again. Now, a cruel twist of fate has signed me over to him in a heartless deal. I’m his. He thinks he did me a favor, but I feel like I’ve been given a death sentence. He doesn't want to get married because he still loves me. No, he did it for money. More power.

Arrogant, dangerous, and unbelievably skilled with his tongue, Luka is a ruthless bratva boss who has a reputation for playing it fast and loose. And I've fallen right into his possessive hands. He might be exceedingly handsome and wealthy, but that doesn't forgive him for being a notorious criminal mastermind. Maybe I should've thought twice before crawling into bed with him. And perhaps it would've been wise to use protection instead of getting lost in his fierce gaze and perfect abs.

The ruthless mafia king is no stranger to violence, but when he lays his eyes on my bruised and battered face, he's furious. I thought my makeup was thick enough to cover the beating I suffered until my inappropriately flirtatious boss noticed. As a cocktail waitress in his casino, I've always been on Mr. Salvato's radar, but now he's obsessed, demanding to know who hurt me and why, intent on making them suffer.

When he invited me to join him for a drink, I thought Alessandro was an ordinary guest at my family's hotel. I didn't know I belonged to him until he told me right there in the restaurant. I thought I had a say in the matter. But when I stood up to leave, it just earned me a sore bottom for the plane ride to New York, where our wedding was already planned for the next day. But I was soaking wet for him before he even walked me down the aisle.

It's the dog's fault, really. If this untrained Great Dane I'm walking had any manners at all, I never would've ended up here: With my leash wrapped around the most gorgeous man I've ever seen. Lucky for me, the guy is a good sport about it. (Although his joke that “Dogs take after their owners” hits a little too close to home when Rufus starts humping his leg.) He leaves me with his business card and a smile that makes my knees weak.

Hockey has always been my sole focus, getting to the playoffs, winning the Stanley Cup—that’s my number one goal. I won’t let the fact that I’ve just been traded to a new team derail my future. Nor will the daughter of the so-called King of Canada, aka my new boss. Aliyah, the gorgeous, feisty brunette who’s just been assigned as my official “babysitter.” Although, when you're trapped in a room with a temptation like her, there’s only so much restraint one man can have.

I wake up chained to the bed of a stranger. He says I’m his wife. I have nothing—no money. No friends. No escape. He’s everything I never imagined: ruthless, calculating, feared. A beautiful monster with a face like a god’s, cold and untouchable. A mafia kingpin whose wealth could buy empires and whose power makes the world tremble. My captor. My husband.

Lev Zarkov is a real-life monster. No, correction, he's actually the devil. Except, when I first meet him, he's simply the mysterious, handsome man traveling next to me on a first-class flight to New York. And after being dumped at the altar by my loser fiancé who vanished into thin air the morning of our wedding, when things get flirty between me and the mysterious stranger, I think, why not? Surely, I deserve one night to forget. I mean, where's the harm in a little indulgence, right?

My whole life was mapped out, designed for me, before I was even a twinkle in my old man’s eye. I am the heir to the Valentino throne. A kingdom built with blood and dirty money. But one I’ll rule all the same. My father was the youngest Don to ever be crowned king. However, with any luck, the controlling bastard will drop soon, allowing me to beat his record by a few years.

The moment I see Alyssa enter my club, I knew I wanted her. Even as she sat across the bar with another man—I knew I’d make her mine. The moment our skin connected every cell in my body exploded like fireworks. That moment sealed her fate. I was keeping her. When someone threatens to take her away from me. I’m ready for war. I don’t have to go to hell and back to save the woman I love. I’m already there, my soul stained with the blood of those who thought they could cross me. I promised her we would always have a tomorrow together, I don’t break my promises.

Hockey has always been my sole focus, getting to the playoffs, winning the Stanley Cup—that’s my number one goal. I won’t let the fact that I’ve just been traded to a new team derail my future. Nor will the daughter of the so-called King of Canada, aka my new boss. Aliyah, the gorgeous, feisty brunette who’s just been assigned as my official “babysitter.” Although, when you're trapped in a room with a temptation like her, there’s only so much restraint one man can have.

Being the eldest son has always been a blessing and a curse. I was raised to be one thing and one thing only. A monster. My father did everything in his power to make sure that’s exactly what I became too. He wasn’t expecting that the monster he created would be the one to take him out though. Now I’m in charge. Of the family, the empire. Everything. I’m learning real fast that being the boss isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The first order of business was finding a new place to live.

The kingpin of all kingpins, a man who oversees all the gangs of Paris, President Martin's right-hand man. If I were smart, I would leave, but I'm pretty sure I'm already in love with this man...Adrien continues to challenge my divorce until Bastien gets involved. And like always, that man fixes all my problems. But little do I know, the Aristocrats are out for Adrien. My ex continues to ignore the warnings that Bastien gives, only giving them out of a courtesy to me. It's not my problem, and if Adrien wants to get himself killed, that's his prerogative.

Not only is my boyfriend dead, but he left me with a sizable loan in my name to a mafia boss. When Dimitri Federov, a handsome, loaded Russian playboy, appears on my doorstep, I panic. He wants money to repay the debt. Money I don't have. The prick offers me a solution—pay with my body. I turn him down flat, but the indecent proposal remains in my thoughts, forever reminding me of what could have been…

Nick Hudson has a dangerous reputation. That's what I need if I'm going to survive. Desperation makes me seek out a ruthlessly powerful billionaire. I need protection. He demands my virtue as payment. I’m falling into a world of luxury and sin. With every twist and turn, I need more. Except this is not a man to love. This is a man to fear. His obsession grows. So does the threat, until I'm trapped in a world of depravity. I'll need more than Nick's strength to survive. I'm going to need his heart.

I'm the governor's daughter, and he's a mafia boss in the Bratva. It was a no-brainer. I was forbidden to him and him to me. But when we met at his nightclub, I thought he was my prince charming. I couldn't fight my attraction to the tattooed Russian god any more than he could for me. Dante Levitsky is tall, dark, and dangerously handsome with Mediterranean blue eyes you could swim in forever. Our chemistry is the type people read about and wish for their whole lives.

No one knows what happens up at Midnight Manor. The home of the Voss brothers sits like a sentinel looking down on our small town, remaining a mystery. The four brooding billionaires rarely leave the confines of the iron gates, fueling rumors that have existed for decades. When my father dies, all the security I’ve known is ripped away, forcing me to come face to face with the eldest brother, Asher Voss. His outward beauty is just as I’d heard—it belies a predatory nature, irresistibly drawing me in.

Tall, rugged, and focused on destroying my family, Brody O'Connor's the one person I need to avoid. He seduced me on purpose, and now I’m paying the consequences.

I never imagined the protector I longed for would be a mob boss who demanded complete control. I shouldn’t have gone to Lucien’s office. Once I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t leave. He commanded me to kneel. Beg. Obey. I couldn’t help myself. One taste, and I craved more. Lucien vowed to protect me from his enemies...But who’s going to protect my heart from him?

It was supposed to be a one-night stand with a sinfully gorgeous stranger. A man I’d never see again. I was stranded, he had a hotel room (which I had broken into), and the rest is history. Until he shows up at my doorstep five years later with a marriage proposal.

I can buy my secretary’s submission—or I can take it the hard way. My ex-wife’s fatal car crash left me with a cruel gift: A daughter I never knew I had. I am a billionaire. A mob boss. A titan. Not a babysitter. I need a woman’s touch to help raise my daughter. My secretary doesn’t know it yet, but her life is about to change. Charlotte is gorgeous. Feisty. And best of all…desperate. So from now on, we’re going to do things my way. It starts with five little words: “Let me own you, kitten.”

Every summer, Mane Cantú came to Luna Harbor to visit his grandfather. When we were teenagers, we fell in love. We promised to be each other’s forever. He promised to come back for me. Spoiler alert: he broke all of the promises. I grew up, but that big heartbreak was it for me. All is well until Mane’s grandfather falls ill and all the Cantú family comes back to Luna Harbor. What’s worse is that Mane’s now famous. He made a name for himself with his band, and he and his perfect face dare to open a bar next to my store with his band mates.

When he invited me to join him for a drink, I thought Alessandro was an ordinary guest at my family's hotel. I didn't know I belonged to him until he told me right there in the restaurant. I thought I had a say in the matter. But when I stood up to leave, it just earned me a sore bottom for the plane ride to New York, where our wedding was already planned for the next day. But I was soaking wet for him before he even walked me down the aisle.