Shattered Throne: A Dark Mafia Romance: War of Roses Universe (Mice and Men Book 3)
Page 31
His favorite lairs are the boathouse, or the deserted crypt, or the east wing. I could always hear the bluebirds chirping throughout the grounds, no matter which corner of the estate he deemed my chosen cell.
My ears strain, searching for that faint, familiar song. This time of year, they’re nearly deafening, able to be heard in even the farthest reaches of Winthorp Manor.
Two seconds. Three.
I hear nothing.
“Take off the blindfold.”
The harsh rasp of syllables steals my breath away. I know anger on Robert. On Robert Sr. Even on Briar. They stutter. They shout. They scream.
None of them ever exude their impatience to the point where I can sense it in the air. Or taste it: copper on my tongue. This man isn’t a Winthorp.
The realization coaxes my body into action. My sore fingers finally contort, trembling after what must have been hours of captivity. Whoever tied my blindfold snagged bits of my hair in the process and every tug on the knot at the base of my neck rips tiny strands loose from my scalp—comparable to my pathetic hopes being ripped from underneath me one by one.
I don’t hear the bluebirds.
I can’t smell Robert’s favorite cologne.
When I finally get the knot loosened enough to uncover my eyes…
I see hell.
Mother used to say it was beautiful, forsaking the teachings of the local priest. “Hell is a rose,” she used to murmur, her gaze turned inward, wistful and distant. “A flawless one, with all the life sucked out of it. The thorns have become knives. Its leaves have swallowed up the stalk. It’s grotesque. It’s deadly. But never forget that, underneath the violence, it’s still beautiful.”
He is beautiful. Or he was once. Blond hair draws my attention first—a sun-kissed gold in places, darkened with age in others. It’s been clawed back from his face into a ponytail longer than mine was before Briar trimmed it. His eyes are that dangerous color between blood and brown. Like a flame, they catch the light filtering in through a sloppily boarded-up window beside him. His face is angular. Chiseled. Stone. Every feature is sculpted to convey just one emotion: determination. The way an owl might watch the mice scurrying underfoot in the stables. Or the way Robert used to look at me.
The way the devil looks, I presume, as if he has all the time in the world. More than ten hours.
An eternity to torture me.
~ Continue Reading XV ~
A Word from the Author
Hey there!
Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed the story, please leave a review and recommend the book to any friend you think would love this twisted world. You’d have my eternal gratitude. Even a short sentence goes a long way!
Then, come join the rest of us dark romance lovers in my Facebook Group where you can get snippets, sneak peeks of upcoming books and even help vote on aspects of future novels.
Come to the dark side:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lanasbeautifulmonsters/
WANT MORE STUFF TO READ?
Join my newsletter and get a free book! Plus, you get to stay updated with any new releases, random giveaways and exclusive sneak peeks!
https://www.lanaskybooks.com/newsletter
Other Novels: https://lanaskybooks.com/books/
Free Book - Join My Newsletter
Join my newsletter and get a free book! Plus, you get to stay updated with any new releases, random giveaways and exclusive sneak peeks!
https://www.lanaskybooks.com/newsletter
About the Author
Lana Sky is a reclusive writer in the United States who spends most of her time daydreaming about complex male characters and legless cats. She writes mostly paranormal romance, in between watching reruns of Ab Fab and drinking iced tea. Only iced tea.
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
PAINTED SINS DUET:
A Touch of Dark
With a killer on her trail, this sheltered socialite has no choice but to turn to her father's sworn enemy.
Could the tension building between them be entirely due to lust, or the trappings of a greater scheme...
One driven solely by revenge?
PAINTED SINS DUET:
A Taste of Sin
IS HE A HEARTLESS MONSTER?
The more she’s subjected to his charms, the deeper Juliana falls under Damien’s spell. But the promise of protection and security may come at a higher price than she’s willing to pay...
OR A RELUCTANT PLAYER?
The reclusive billionaire has his own secrets, and his relationship with Juliana may threaten to send his precarious house of cards crashing down...
Will their bond survive the chaos?
Or will they both be destroyed in the end?
SAVAGE FALL DUET:
King’s Men
She will do anything to save her family’s crumbling business empire—including selling herself to the billionaire responsible for the destruction...
_____
THE MORE TREACHEROUS THE LIE…
Ten years ago, Snowy Hollings did the unthinkable: she betrayed the love of her life.
Now, when her family's fortune is decimated overnight, the popular socialite is in for a rude awakening: you reap what you sow.
…THE HARDER THE FALL.
Mysterious newcomer Blake Lorenz despises everything that Snowy Hollings stands for--and he's determined to destroy her piece by piece.
When all is said and done, this ruthless corporate king will stop at nothing to torment the redheaded beauty.
She had it coming, after all.
And, when he's through, she'll be lucky if there's anything left to ever make whole again.
SAVAGE FALL DUET:
King’s Horses
THE HARDER THE FALL…
Ten years ago, Snowy Hollings betrayed the love of her life…
Or did she?
Blake Lorenz has finally broken the Hollings heiress but revenge doesn’t taste quite as sweet as he’d hoped. And as the murky depths of his past begin to come to light, the more he’s forced to realize that he may have made a grave mistake.
…THE MORE BRUTAL THE REDEMPTION.
Destitute and disillusioned, Snowy is trying her best to piece her broken heart back together. But Blake isn’t the only man on her trail, desperate to claim her.
No good deed goes unpunished, after all.
And the truth has a way of destroying even the most resilient of hearts…
BDSM BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE
CLUB XXX
Maxim: Submit
In this dark mafia romance: she assumed he was just another client--but this vicious billionaire doesn't just play the game.
He makes the rules.
_____
Pain is the most potent drug and Frankie Marconi is addicted to the burning sting of it. Maxim Koslov, a deranged crime lord with a tormented past, is more than willing to deliver the dose she needs.
But when lust becomes obsession, Frankie begins to realize that there is only one way out of this dangerous game of Russian Roulette...
And Maxim never loses.
CLUB XXX
Maxim: Obey
Under the dangerous Maxim Koslov's spell, Frankie Marconi finds herself falling deeper and deeper into a world of violence and sin. But the rabbit hole of chaos can only go so far. When cruel reality threatens her cocoon of pain, can she rely on Maxim to help her withstand the onslaught?
Or will she goad him into finally ending their twisted game...
Once and for all.
CLUB XXX
Maxim: Surrender
In the final round of their twisted game, Francesca and Maxim have the ultimate choice to make: surrender to their dangerous attraction, or succumb to the many dangers driving them apart.
With her heart at stake, Francesca must weigh her family’s safety over her own, and trust that Maxim can truly triumph over his past trauma…
Or it will be game over for them both.
CLUB XXX
Vadim: Control
A desperate divorcee on the hunt for some no-strings kinky fun.
A brooding, sexy billionaire with a penchant for manipulation and mind games...
What could possibly go wrong?
Brother of the fiercest crime lord in Fair Haven, Vadim Gorgoshev has survived horrors most men couldn’t imagine in their nightmares—and he’s learned to thrive in the chaos.
But the master of control meets his match when a fiery redhead crosses his path.
Will the obsessive Vadim maintain the upper hand or will the reckless Tiffany turn his world upside down?
CLUB XXX
Vadim: Corrupt
With Vadim’s control stretched to its breaking point, he aims to turn the tables by enacting Tiffany’s wildest fantasies—whether she wants him to or not.
The harder she finds it to resist him, the more she becomes swept into his growing family, forced to reassess her previous boundaries.
But when Vadim’s past comes back to haunt him, the chaos threatens to ignite their budding relationship…
And destroy it for good.
CLUB XXX
Vadim: Conquer
When a ghost from Vadim’s past returns to haunt him, he resorts to his worst instincts—putting his relationship with Tiffany to the test.
With no end to his paranoia in sight, Tiffany is forced to decide once and for all whether to conquer their shared demons together...
Or protect her heart by walking away for good.
MAFIA ROMANCE
BEAUTIFUL MONSTERS
Crescendo
Daniela Manzano has spent the last five years learning how to please a powerful mob boss. But after a rival kidnaps her, she becomes a pawn in the dark games of two dangerous men.
___
You don't become the fiancé of one of the most powerful mafia bosses in the city without understanding exactly how gritty and depraved the world truly is... 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 captive by the devil.
Kidnapped by a rival crime lord, 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.
It's the queen.
BEAUTIFUL MONSTERS
Refrain
Some demons have angelic intentions...
Caught in the middle of a vicious gang war, Espi Vialle is torn between helping a woman with a twisted past or escaping a world of crime he’s ashamed to be a part of.
But when his own dark choices threaten to destroy what little hope of a future he has left, he’ll have to face his deepest fears and risk becoming the one person who has let him down the most.
His brother.
TRIAD ROMANCE
DRAGON TRIAD DUET
Moth
He thought he could make my life hell.
But it already was.
The one-time Hannah Dewitt tries to live a little, she winds up in the crosshairs of a local thug who seems hellbent on terrorizing her. As it turns out, there is more to Rafe than meets the eye, and their connection stokes her creativity like nothing else. Drawn to him despite the inherent risks, she can’t resist feeding the flames of this unlikely attraction no matter how hot they burn.
But Rafe isn’t the only monster in her life. Another looms in the background, and he won’t let her go so easily…
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
THE ELLIE GRAY CHRONICLES
Drain Me
When diagnosed with a fatal illness at the age of twenty-six, Eleanor Gray is resigned to her fate—at least until the enigmatic Dublin Helos appears and makes her an offer she knows she should refuse:
Life or Death?
With a decision as harmless as checking the wrong box on a mysterious questionnaire, Ellie is plunged into a dangerous world where souls are sold to the highest bidder and pleasure is fueled by pain.
The rules of this new life are simple: submit everything—mind, body, and soul. But the further Ellie falls under Dublin’s control, the more she comes to realize that it’s not just her sanity at stake, but her heart and a whole lot of blood too.
THE ELLIE GRAY CHRONICLES
Chain Me
Once again resigned to her fate as a spinster, Eleanor is unhappily alone — until Dublin Helos reappears on her doorstep with an offer she can’t refuse.
This time, the stakes are higher than ever, and as the true extent of Dublin’s deception is revealed, Eleanor is forced to choose between trusting the one man she should fear above all else — or risk losing her soul, and heart, in the process.
But what’s a little blood between lovers?
STANDALONES
Dirty Lyrics (Newsletter Exclusive)
All’s fair in sex, love, and Rock N’ Roll.
Star publicist Abby Newman takes only the roughest, toughest, and naughtiest rock stars under her belt. Her love of bad boys has warranted her a naughty reputation to boot—but her newest client, country crooner Jason Daniels, is anything but. In fact, Jason’s sweet, wholesome image isn’t in need of a cleanup, so Abby can’t understand why he’s so insistent on hiring her.
But, after a few clandestine meetings, she’s quick to realize that the Jason Daniels isn’t exactly the same man in real life that he pretends to be on the radio. In fact, he brings a whole new form of “bad” to the table, and before Abby can help it, she finds herself hopelessly falling under his spell.
After all, all’s fair...
Pretty Perfect
Numb. Addict. Liar.
Anya DeSotto’s dreams of becoming a professional ballerina are circling the drain, along with the last of her pills. Forced to discover ‘healthy’ ways to cope with her crippling lack of self-worth, Anya’s last chance at success comes in the form of Revend Marcus, a man nearly two decades her senior.
The owner of a prestigious international ballet company, Revend has no problem breaking Anya down to suit his own twisted idea of perfection. But when a shadow from Revend’s past looms over their futures, the resulting chaos threatens to destroy them both.
Though, sometimes, even destruction can be pretty perfect.
Crossed Lines
Psychopath. Borderline. Crazy.
Seventeen-year-old Maryanne Mayweather wears each term like a badge of pride. Expelled from her twelfth boarding school, she lands on the doorstep of her flighty aunt Elaine and Elaine’s husband James, one more screw-up away from being made a ward of the state.
Once a successful author, the last thing James Thorne wants is to care for his wife's bratty teenage niece, especially with his marriage falling apart. When Maryanne crafts an elaborate plan to defame and destroy him, they both discover that words are more powerful than either of them could imagine. And as their relationship goes down a path neither envisioned, the consequences are swift and far-reaching.
Some lines weren’t meant to be crossed.
Also by Lana Sky
The Ellie Gray Chronicles
Drain Me
Chain Me
The Complete Ellie Gray Chronicles
Beautiful Monsters
Crescendo
Refrain
Mezzo
Allegro
Club XXX