Forged In Fire

Drama First-Person POV Contract Marriage Hate to Love Mafia Hero/Heroin Protective

In Chicago's underworld, power is currency and loyalty is bought in blood. Jameson Connelly needs a wife to claim his throne. Catarina Vitale needs an escape from her gilded cage. Their arranged marriage should be simple—a business transaction, nothing more. Except nothing about this is simple. To the world, Catarina is the perfect Italian princess: refined, untouchable, ornamental. The truth is far more dangerous. She's been trained since childhood to wield blades with lethal precision, her family's most lethal weapon hidden behind designer dresses and polite smiles. When Jameson discovers her midnight blade work and weapons collection, all bets are off. He's grumpy, commanding, and impossibly sexy—everything she shouldn't want. She's lethal, sarcastic, and hiding secrets that could shatter his world. The attraction between them is instantaneous and absolutely forbidden. But their marriage has painted targets on both families' backs. Rival factions circle like sharks, and assassination attempts multiply as quickly as the stolen glances between newlyweds. When Jameson's uncle emerges as a threat from within, Cat must decide how far she'll go to protect the man she's sworn to resent. And Jameson must choose between the empire he's always wanted and the woman he never expected to need. In a world where trust is weakness and love is a liability, they'll have to forge something stronger than steel to survive. A gritty slow-burn mafia romance featuring grumpy meets curvy, sharp banter, dangerous secrets, and the kind of tension that burns hotter than any fire.

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Chapter: Morning After - Shower & Realities

CATARINAI woke to sunlight streaming through the windows, warm and golden across the sheets.For a moment, I just lay there, disoriented. My body felt heavy, sore in ways I'd never experienced before. Not the sharp pain of broken ribs or the dull ache of bruised muscles—this was different.This was the kind of soreness that came from being thoroughly, completely claimed.I shifted slightly and felt it—the tenderness between my thighs, the pleasant ache in muscles I hadn't known could be sore.And I was naked.Completely, gloriously naked.Jameson's arm was draped across my waist, his body warm against my back, his breathing slow and even.I needed to move. Needed to get to the gym and start rebuilding my strength. Four weeks of limited movement had left me feeling weak, and I hated it.Carefully, I tried to slip out from under his arm.

Última atualização: 2026-06-23

Chapter: The First Time

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: THE FIRST TIMEJAMESONI locked the door.The sound of the bolt sliding into place was final. Definitive. No more interruptions. No more waiting. No more excuses.Just us.Cat stood in the center of my bedroom, the midnight blue gown clinging to every curve, her dark hair cascading over one shoulder. The moonlight streaming through the windows caught the fabric, making it shimmer like water.She was breathtaking.And she was mine."Four weeks, Cat," I said, my voice rougher than I intended. "I've been waiting four weeks for this."She turned to face me fully, and I saw the nervousness in her eyes—but also the desire. The want."So have I," she said softly.I crossed the room slowly, giving her time to change her mind. Time to tell me to stop.She didn't.When I reached her, I cupped her face in

Última atualização: 2026-06-22

Chapter: The Gala & The Promise

CATARINAFour weeks later, I sat in Dr. Sullivan's office watching him cut away the cast that had been my prison for what felt like an eternity."Almost there," he said, his voice cheerful. "How are the ribs feeling?""Better," I said. "Still tender, but manageable.""Good. That's what I like to hear." The cast saw whirred, and I felt the vibration through my arm. "You've been following the physical therapy exercises I gave you?""Every day."That was a lie. I'd been doing them twice a day, desperate to regain my strength as quickly as possible.The cast finally split open, and Dr. Sullivan carefully removed it. My arm looked pale and thin compared to my other one, the skin dry and flaky.But it was free.I flexed my fingers experimentally, then rotated my wrist. A dull ache, but nothing I couldn't handle."Take it easy for the first few days," Dr. Sullivan wa

Última atualização: 2026-06-21

Chapter: Interrupted Passion

CATARINAA week had passed since the coordinated strike, and I was starting to feel almost human again.Almost.My ribs still protested every movement, and the cast on my arm was a constant reminder of my limitations. But at least the swelling around my eye had gone down completely, and I could move without wanting to scream.Small victories.I stood in front of the mirror in Jameson's bedroom, staring at the bra in my good hand like it was a personal enemy.This should not be this difficult.I'd taken down armed men. I'd survived a car crash that should have killed me. I could handle a goddamn bra.I slipped my good arm through one strap, then tried to maneuver the other strap over my casted arm. The fabric twisted. The clasp dangled uselessly behind my back, just out of reach."Son of a bitch," I muttered, trying again.The bra slipped.I caught i

Última atualização: 2026-06-19

Chapter: After The Battle - Healing Together

JAMESONDr. Sullivan arrived within the hour, his medical bag in hand and his expression professionally neutral despite the blood still staining my jacket."Let's have a look," he said, gesturing for me to sit at the dining room table.I lowered myself into the chair carefully, my shoulder screaming in protest. Cat hovered nearby, her good hand gripping the back of another chair, her eyes fixed on the blood-soaked bandage Declan had wrapped around me in the field."Mrs. Connelly," Dr. Sullivan said without looking up, "you might want to sit down. You're still recovering yourself.""I'm fine," she said, but I heard the strain in her voice."Cat," I said quietly. "Sit."She glared at me but obeyed, lowering herself into the chair beside me with a wince that told me her ribs were protesting.Dr. Sullivan cut away the makeshift bandage, and I felt Cat tense beside me as the wound was revealed—an angry, bleeding hole in my shoulder where the bullet had punched through."Clean shot," Dr. Su

Última atualização: 2026-06-18

Chapter: The Coordinated Strike

CATARINAA few days had passed, and I looked less like I'd been hit by a truck and more like I'd merely been in a serious bar fight.Progress.The swelling around my eyes had finally gone down enough that I could see out of both again—a small victory that I was pathetically grateful for. The deep bruising had faded from angry purple to a mottled yellow-green that was almost worse to look at.But my ribs still screamed with every breath, every movement, every goddamn shift in position.And my arm was still trapped in this fucking cast.I stood at the window of Jameson's bedroom—our bedroom now, I supposed—watching the sun rise over the compound. Today was the day. The coordinated strike against the Russians and Isaac.And I was stuck here.Useless."You're pacing again," Jameson said from behind me.I turned to find him already dresse

Última atualização: 2026-06-16

The Last Strike

Contemporary First-Person POV Playboy Sports Second Chance

Romance

I shoot to my feet and practically scream, “She?!? They’re sending a woman?” I suddenly hear the sound of heels clicking on the floor, and turn to see a pair of eyes I never thought I’d be seeing again. “Yes, Tate, they sent a woman. I’ve been hired to save your sorry ass,” she calmly states with a look of disgust in her ocean blue eyes. **** What will happen when Ashton Tate, the scandal-ridden MVP second baseman, comes face-to-face with his ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth Mason, whom the team has hired to salvage his reputation and career? Sparks are sure to fly when the two of them are forced to spend every waking moment together, in an effort to revamp his bad-boy image. Unresolved grudges, past heartache, and malicious former flames and rivals block the path to redemption at every turn. Can Elizabeth help Ashton find his way back to the man he once was, or is this his last strikeout?

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Chapter: Love And Memories

Elizabeth’s POV:If someone asked me to name the most frequently asked question this week, I would say it’s who my maid of honor and bridesmaids will be. You can only imagine the look of shock on their faces when I answer that I, in fact, don’t have a maid of honor or any bridesmaids.I am a woman who has spent the past three years handling male athletes and living out of suitcases. Even in college, I was always with Ashton and Malcolm. All the other girls tended to dislike me for that very reason.I haven’t had many opportunities to befriend other women, and quite honestly, I’m much more comfortable with male friends. It’s just who I am.So when Malcolm mentioned that the team wanted to have a bachelor party for Ashton, everyone assumed I’d be having my own fun little bachelorette party as well.Instead, I’m spending the time in my apartment packing up odds and ends that haven’t already been moved over to the penthouse. A dusty scrapbook falls from the shelf behind me, falling open o