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Dominico

Dante hands me a rag, the blood on my hands dripping onto the dirty concrete floor as I head toward the vehicle parked just outside the warehouse.

"Wow, I haven't seen you this angry in a while." Dante's words don't need elaboration.

Usually, I left the dirty work up to him or Nero, but after seeing the state of Lily's body, rage needing an outlet had brought me here. Lorenzo was unfortunately at the receiving end of that fury, not that he didn't deserve it. Sex trafficking was not a business the Sante family was involved in, no matter how lucrative it unfortunately was. Lorenzo dabbling in that on the side would tarnish the whole Sante name, something he understood now, his body beaten to within an inch of his life. The same doctor who had stitched Lily's arm up six months ago was working hard to ensure he survived, as we needed more information from him. My rage had been such that restraint on my part had been lacking, me not having the patience to wait for him to spill the beans slowly.

A huge sex trafficking syndicate was taking over the city, my city, with powerful players at the head of it. We have spent months trying to figure out who was behind it, with dead end after dead end leaving us no closer to the answer. Even the cops and FBI in our pocket were in the dark on this one, telling me that whoever was behind this had substantial reach and money to pull this off.

Wordlessly, we climb into the vehicle, Dante issuing Matteo instructions to take us to Bronze, one of my go-to clubs after a stressful day. Booze, cigars, and women usually numb the lingering effects of a day like today. My mind, however, immediately goes to a petite black-haired flower, one who had made me spill words today that I have never spilled to anyone. I have never comforted anyone. Women's emotional states were of little concern to me—all except this one.

Seeing that tear slip from her eye as she stood before me, vulnerable, sad, broken, did something to me. I recognized the scars on her body as I had similar ones, my body used as an ashtray in the same fashion, the whip marks from a leather belt decorating my skin the same way it did hers. Little cut marks from the blade of a knife deep enough to leave a scar on the canvas we called our bodies. We were snipped from the same cloth.

"No, take me home," I say to Matteo, knowing the need to see Lily is driving this change of plan. I canceled our dinner tonight, the one I had mentioned to her in the boutique earlier. After what happened, I knew being around her was dangerous, that I should keep my distance, yet here we are—me, giving up a night of all my favorite things to see how she was doing.

Except, after today, I had a few new favorite things to add to my list. The sound of Lily as she came all over our fingers. The taste of her after I popped that come soaked finger in my mouth when I left the changing room. The look on her face as she watched a man fuck another man, that innocence coupled with curiosity. A woman like her could spoil a man if he weren't careful. Be spellbound by her. Yet the scars on her body told a different story, one I wanted to know.

Dante looks at me questioningly but doesn't dare say anything as we alter our course.

"I want you to get me all the footage from that incident with Lily six months ago. Actually, go back as far as you can. I want all the footage since she moved into the penthouse. Have our guys scour it for anything suspicious." Dante nods in response, his fingers typing furiously on his cell as he issues instructions to our tech guys.

Though I can tell Dante wants to ask me about my interest in Lily beyond the scope of using her to gain a business advantage, he keeps quiet. The rest of the car ride is filled with updates on business items, and he wisely steers clear of that topic.

A while later, Matteo drops me off, and while I would like to look for Lily immediately, a quick look at my bloodied hands and blood-splattered suit has me rushing to my bedroom instead. I don't want her to see me like this. I don't want to scare her, and a part of me reluctantly acknowledges that I don't want her to know the monster I truly am. Ange de la mort. Angel of death.

After the quickest shower, I pull on some slacks and a T-shirt. When I arrived, my housekeeper informed me that Lily was in the drawing room, preferring to eat dinner while reading a book. I'm glad she felt comfortable enough here to explore the place. No doubt the plethora of guards stationed around the mansion and the size of the property had piqued her curiosity as to who I am, me still astounded that she didn't know.

Quietly opening the door, I enter the room, my eyes searching the area and finding her curled up in a chair close to the enormous window. The curtains are pulled back, light from the stars illuminating her face, which is relaxed in sleep. Something she wasn't getting enough of, as indicated by the shadows under her eyes, which were even prominent now.

She doesn't stir as I approach or when I release the book lying on her chest from her grasp. She is dressed in old, worn pajamas. The store we were at definitely not stocking sleeping clothes or catering much towards comfort. Matteo told me that, all in all, he brought two small bags containing her belongings. Pitiful, really, but then again, she was building her life up from scratch in the shadows. He also found her stash of money hidden under a loose floorboard in her apartment—a fairly obvious place to stash it, in my opinion. There was enough money for her to buy new clothes and furniture, which told me she must be saving toward a goal. Instinct told me it was to run and start fresh. I couldn't have her doing that, so for now, I would keep her money safe until whatever this was ended.

She stirs as I pick her up, her body curling into mine as her hands palm my chest. An empty plate is lying on a table next to her. Good, she needs to eat more. She is far too skinny, and the weight in my arms is meager. She wakes up fully as we walk down the passage toward the room assigned to her, the one right next to mine. Big whisky-colored eyes dart around my face, her body only stiffening slightly before relaxing.

"You're back. I thought when you left so abruptly earlier that I wouldn't see you again," she says, her eyes still searching my face. I don't know what she is looking for, but she won't find it. I don't have what she needs. After what happened in the dressing room, I instructed my men to bring her here when she was done. I needed to eliminate my rage, and sticking around there would not ease it.

"We will be seeing a lot of each other," I say as I gently push the door to her room open with my foot.

I place her on the bed, pulling the covers over her body.

"Sleep. We have a long day tomorrow," I say, turning around to leave the room.

"Please. Won't you stay until I fall asleep?" Her words stop me in my tracks only long enough to say, "I don't do that," before I walk out.

I head to my study, hoping to get some work done but unable to as her soft words play over and over in my head. I don't sleep in the same bed with women. I don't stick around and wait for them to fall asleep. We fuck, and they leave. This is the way it is. After an hour of reading the same document repeatedly and still not knowing what it says, I shove the document off my table in frustration, giving in to the incessant niggling in my mind.

Retracing my steps, I find myself in front of Lily's door, the guard down the hall looking at me curiously before looking away. This was bizarre behavior. I fucking knew it. He knew it.

Sure she is asleep, I enter her room, hovering over her before moving to the other side of her bed. I climb under the covers, telling myself I will just stick around for a few minutes to make sure she doesn't have a bad dream or something. That must be why she wanted me to stay, to begin with.

As I get comfortable, her tiny body rolls over. It's like she can sense me there, and she snuggles closer, her head finding the perfect spot in the crook of my arm as her leg drapes over mine, her arm hugging my broad chest close to her. It is hard to describe, but how she feels against me is how I imagine two puzzle pieces slotting into each other would feel. Each shape is made perfectly so there is no gap between where one starts and the other ends. This is how it feels to have Lily lying against me.

For a moment, I don't move, I don't breathe, my heart almost missing a beat as the moment solidifies itself as an important one for me. Fuck, this was a bad idea.

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Gathering of the Eastern Packs. A mandate I cannot refuse. And one that changes my life forever.
Ava
I'm a rogue. Happily have been since the age of eighteen when my mate, and the Alpha of my old pack, rejected me.
Living amongst the humans for the last nine years with my bestie and staying far away from the werewolf world that showed me nothing but abuse and heartache changes with one event and one sniff.
The King of the Werewolves, my second chance fated mate... strong, dominant, and the sexual tension between us is off the charts.
But with wet panties comes the bubbling up of long-hidden secrets and a man I would rather forget, The Butcher. I have something he wants, and he will stop at nothing to get it.
Braiden
At thirty-four years old and still, with no fated mate in sight, I have finally chosen my Queen, a carbon copy of my mother.
Until I scent her.
My mate, the white wolf, is an exact match to my black one. She just has to realize it.
My Queen wants none of this world, her past standing in our way, along with secrets that reveal our connection long before now.
With every fiery interaction, I can feel her resistance crumbling. Soon, she will see that there is no escape.
She is mine. She is The Alpha King's Queen.

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Dark Mafia Romance - Corrupting Lily

Check out my dark mafia romance with weekly chapter updates on Sundays and a chapter or two loaded early on Patreon. It is called Corrupting Lily, and you can find it here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/371550201-corrupting-lily or on my profile.

Six months ago, Lily barely escaped with her life, forcing her into hiding. But when she is discovered by Mafia boss Dominico, will this little flower be able to bloom in the shadows or be forever corrupted by the darkness?Little Lily Valentine is hiding, biding her time until she has saved enough money to move far away from her past and start fresh, where no one knows her. Where he can't find her. But when Mafia Don Dominico Sante walks into the club where she works, he knows there is more to the little flower who blushes at his words and reacts to his touch, not with fear but desire. He only intended to keep her as a pawn in the game of power he was playing and corrupt her in the process. But as time goes on, he realizes she may very well be the Queen he has been looking for. With a powerful syndicate on the rise in his territory, a rumor of his replacement in the works, and powerful players with a connection to Lily's past in the mix, will Dominico risk it all for the little flower that blooms in his darkness? And will she let him?

This is a dark romance. Explicit sexual scenes and other triggering topics. Strictly +18.