Married To Danger
In the Chicago mafia, refusing a powerful man is the same as signing your own death warrant. At twenty-one, Valentina is forced into marriage with Adrian DeLuca— the cold, feared underboss whose first wife died under mysterious circumstances. The rules are clear: obey, stay silent, and never ask about the past.
Adrian doesn’t want love. He wants a wife who looks perfect at his side and a mother for his children. Nothing more. Their marriage is built on duty, fear, and carefully maintained distance until Valentina begins to see the cracks beneath his ruthless control.
The DeLuca mansion is full of secrets. Locked rooms. Unspoken rules. A five-year-old boy who hasn’t spoken since his mother’s death— until he whispers something that changes everything.
“I still see my mom at night.”
What begins as a marriage of survival turns into a dangerous search for truth. As Valentina uncovers what really happened to the woman who came before her, she realizes the greatest threat may not be the man she married, but the one everyone believes is dead.
In a world where loyalty is deadly and love is a weakness, Valentina must decide who to trust before the truth destroys her marriage… or her life.
A dark mafia romance about forced marriage, forbidden secrets, and the woman who refused to stay powerless.
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Chapter: CHAPTER 51VALENTINA I tried to wait up for Adrian. I really did. The fire had burned low, throwing lazy shadows across the living room, and I’d curled up awkwardly in the armchair facing the fireplace. I told myself I’d close my eyes just for a minute, but exhaustion won out, and the warmth of the fire pulled me under. I woke to the ghost of a touch. Cold fingers brushed my arm, and I startled upright, disoriented and heavy with sleep. The room was dark except for the faint, flickering glow of dying embers. Adrian stood over me, a shadow among shadows, smelling of smoke, gunpowder, and whisky. “I told you not to wait for me,” he said quietly. His voice carried that tight, clipped edge he used when he didn’t want me asking questions. “What time is it?” I mumbled, my voice rough with sleep. “It’s late.” I blinked against the dim light, trying to make out his face, to read the tension I could hear but not see. Reaching for him, my fingers brushed his arm only to find the fabric stiff and
Last Updated: 2026-02-03
Chapter: CHAPTER 50VALENTINA After Adrian left, I sank onto the sofa with my phone still in hand, feeling the echo of our earlier conversation in my chest. My heart hadn’t stopped racing since he’d told me about my uncles. In our world, a fall from grace almost always meant a bullet to the head, and that was exactly what had happened. Sofia sat on the rug, fascinated by a noisy picture book that barked and mooed every time she touched it. Stefan was beside her, half focused on his game, half distracted by the sound effects. Every now and then, he’d steal a glance at his sister’s toy, and for a brief moment, there was peace between them— no tears, no tantrums. Just two children in their own small world. Milo hopped up beside me on the couch and curled into a soft ball of fur. I started to stroke her absently, letting the rhythmic motion ease the tension in my body, though not the heaviness in my chest. I should’ve felt grief for my uncles, but I didn’t. They’d been cruel men, even by mafia standards.
Last Updated: 2026-02-02
Chapter: CHAPTER 49ADRIANDespite the cold weather, we took a stroll along the beach the next day. Sofia was strapped to Valentina’s front in the sling while Stefan and Milo jogged along the edge of the water. The dog barked at the waves, trying to snap at the frothing water.What a stupid thing, but it made Stefan and Valentina smile, so it could stay for now. Seagulls soared over our heads. Valentina held out her hand, and I linked our fingers after a moment of hesitation, worried about Stefan’s reaction, but he didn’t seem to care. His attention was on the dog and the ocean.My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out to find a message from Damien.[Call me ASAP]Frowning, I pushed the phone back into my pocket. The wind was roaring too loudly for a phone conversation.“What is it?” Valentina asked.“We need to head back to the house. I need to call Damien.”Her face fell, and for half a second I considered ignoring Damien’s message, but I’d told him not to bother me unless it was important. “Oh,
Last Updated: 2026-02-01
Chapter: CHAPTER 48ADRIANIt had been three months since the last time I went to my beach house.The last time I went, I’d longed for peace and quiet after Serena’s funeral. I’d come alone without Sofia and Stefan because every look at them reminded me of the woman I wanted to forget.Valentina’s eyes widened in awe when we pulled up in front of the splendid white bungalow on the beach. Gemma owned the house beside it, but we rarely visited this place at the same time, even if she’d been insisting on a family vacation for a while. Sofia had fallen asleep in her seat, but Stefan’s face flashed with recognition. He’d loved this place in the past. I worried even that might have changed.The wind nipped at our clothes. November wasn’t the best time to spend time outside around here, but I wanted to show Valentina this house. I wasn’t even sure why. It would have been more impressive in spring or summer.Another gust of wind tore Valentina’s black cowboy hat from her head. My hand lashed out, snatching the t
Last Updated: 2026-01-31
Chapter: CHAPTER 47VALENTINAMy eyes widened. Adrian bit down on my throat then lavished the spot with his tongue. “Aren’t you worried Sybil might see us?”“She’s gone home.” His growl vibrated against my skin. Holding me up with one muscled arm, and the pressure of his strong body, he slipped his hand between our bodies. The hiss of his zipper sent a shiver down my spine a moment before he shoved my panties aside and entered me in one hard stroke. I arched, half in pain, half in pleasure. It was the first time he took me without much preparation.His mouth pressed against my ear. “I thought I was clear on how I felt about your clothes. Didn’t I tell you to stop wearing those over-the-knee socks and ridiculous dresses?”I met his gaze, grinding myself against him, chasing the pleasure even as my body fought to accommodate Adrian’s length. “Is this my punishment?” My lips teased up into a challenging smile.Adrian’s grip on me tightened as he thrust up again, driving me against the wall. I dug my heels
Last Updated: 2026-01-31
Chapter: CHAPTER 46VALENTINAAdrian kept his promise. The next day he came home at dinnertime. To be honest, I was surprised. I hadn’t thought he’d keep a promise that he’d given with my naked body on top of him. Maybe I had my own trust issues to work through too.He looked surprised when he walked into the kitchen where we had dinner the last few days. Sybil stood from where she was seated, obviously unsure how to act. Elia stood as well and inclined his head before he grabbed his plate and headed through the backdoor, probably toward the guard house. He and I had cleared things up in the morning after Adrian informed him that I knew what was going on. Elia had been awkward after that, obviously embarrassed, but I’d told him that he’d done his job and that I wasn’t angry. It wasn’t like he could’ve said ‘no’ to Adrian after all.“Why don’t you eat in the dining room?” he asked. Sofia grinned when she spotted her dad. Her fingers and cheeks were smeared with smashed peas, but Adrian didn’t seem to mi
Last Updated: 2026-01-31
Chapter: CHAPTER 69ALORA 4 YEARS LATER Four years. It didn’t sound like much when said out loud, but living it was different. Four years was enough time to learn the rhythm of peace, enough time to rebuild trust one small moment at a time, enough time to breathe without expecting the next disaster to roll in like a storm. Four years was enough to fall in love with life again. I watched the time pass in the eyes of my children. How they developed their little bodies and I heard their first words and they started to walk and run. And today, our life smelled like sunshine, damp earth, and the laughter of two toddlers who had absolutely no fear and no sense of caution whatsoever. “Ace! Storm! Get down from there before you fall and break something!” I called from the bench near the playground. Neither of them listened. Storm with her wild curls bouncing like she’d swallowed a thunderbolt, climbed the wooden fort with all the feral dedication of someone twice her size. Ace followed behind h
Last Updated: 2025-11-17
Chapter: CHAPTER 68ALORAMy home hadn’t been this peaceful in a long time. Over the next few weeks, it had become my sanctuary. A place I no longer feared entering.My parents and I had been working on our differences, and it felt like we had finally reached common ground. My father stood near the long dining table, sleeves rolled to his elbows, trying to help my mother with a basket of vegetables they’d insisted on bringing all the way for me. He was failing miserably.“Dad,” I called, biting back a laugh. “You’re bruising the tomatoes.”He turned immediately, eyes softening when he saw me. “Alora.”Just my name. But it always felt deeper than that when he said it with such affection. Affection that I wasn’t used to.He walked over, brushing a thumb across my cheek. “You look tired.”“And you look like someone who should never handle vegetables,” I countered, pulling him into a hug.He huffed a small laugh. “Still my daughter.”“Always.” I stepped back and nudged his arm. He was silent for a beat. “He’
Last Updated: 2025-11-17
Chapter: CHAPTER 67LILITHI paced inside the small cage until my legs ached, until the cold metal made my fingers numb. They hadn’t fed me. They hadn’t spoken to me. They hadn’t even looked my way since Vale locked me in.Fucking cowards. All of them!They didn’t understand what I could offer, how much they needed me. They were too stupid, too rabid, and too loyal to a dead man who got himself caught in the first place.This wasn’t my fault.I wrapped my arms around myself, hating the tremor in my hands. “This is temporary,” I whispered. “They’ll come to their senses.”The wind didn’t agree. It howled through the camp, rattling the cage like it was laughing at me.Hours passed before footsteps approached.Vale.He came with two others… the woman with the braid and a smaller man with sharp eyes who looked like he hadn’t slept in days.They stopped in front of my cage.Vale crossed his arms. “Are you ready to talk?”“I’ve done nothing wrong,” I said immediately. “You’re all working off a rumor, and you’re
Last Updated: 2025-11-17
Chapter: CHAPTER 66LILITHI walked the remaining way through the forest with only one thought in my mind. Power.They would respect me once they saw me. They had to. Emory had trusted me more than he ever trusted any of them. He told me everything. He shared every plan, every strategy, and every weakness in Sebastian’s pack. I was the only one who could take his place.I was the only one worthy of that position. They might’ve never had a female Alpha before. But it was time.Branches scraped my arms as I pushed through the last line of trees, and then the rogue camp finally came into view — a wide clearing filled with tents, smoke, and wolves who froze the moment they saw me.A dozen pairs of eyes turned toward me.All hostile.Good. Let them stare.I straightened my back, tossed my hair back, and lifted my chin. “Well,” I announced, stepping into the clearing, “I see hospitality hasn’t improved since the last time I was here.”No one laughed or even said anything.A man I vaguely recognized with broad
Last Updated: 2025-11-16
Chapter: CHAPTER 65ALORA“I can’t believe she escaped.”I turned to Sebastian, feeling tired. “I can. It’s Lilith we’re talking about. Were you really expecting anything else? It’s just sad that she took that poor boy’s life with her.”“I don’t even know where to start. What am I supposed to do?” Sebastian said quietly.“I don’t know. She’s gone. Maybe we should just leave it at that. I know she’ll never truly be gone, but what else can we do? Utilizing soldiers to go out and find her will just be a waste of time and resources. Let her be. And if she comes back, we’ll deal with it.” I sighed. Sebastian was quiet for a long while before he spoke. “Are you okay?”I nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah, just tired.”“Right,” he fiddled with one of the kids' toys. “So… Killian left.”The mention of Killian’s name made me feel a small ache, but I pushed it away. “He did.”“It was nice what he did, driving you all the way.”I nodded once, still not tapping into the emotions I was feeling. “It was.”We were sitting i
Last Updated: 2025-11-16
Chapter: CHAPTER 64LILITHThe cell stank of iron and damp. I could taste rust in the air every time I breathed. The torches burned low, sputtering occasionally, throwing ugly orange shadows across the walls. The guards had stopped talking to me hours ago. I’d stopped trying to talk to them.It wasn’t worth wasting my voice.They thought I’d given up. That I was sitting here, broken and afraid, waiting for whatever punishment the Alpha decided. They didn’t know me at all.Alora’s words still rang in my head like the toll of a bell. “You murdered Anna.”The nerve. The sanctimonious, self-righteous—I smiled, even though no one could see me.They were all so predictable. Catherine with her false grace, Alora with her trembling pity, Sebastian with his hollow guilt. And that stupid Killian, standing there like the noble wolf come to save the day. They thought they’d cornered me.They hadn’t even begun to see what I was capable of.The guards outside my cell were whispering again. I caught bits of it — “Alph
Last Updated: 2025-11-16
Chapter: EPILOGUE CHRISTIAN & HAZEL I chuckled as the doctor squirted the gel on Hazel’s tummy, making her squirm. Hazel always reacted to the cold. I kissed her and watched as the wand moved back and forth, and the image became clearer. “There’s your baby.” The doctor, Suzanne smiled, clicking and measuring. I held my breath as she turned on the sound, and I heard the heartbeat. The odd noise filled the room, the fast, steady sound like music to my ears. “You’re sure you want to know the sex?” “Yes!” Hazel and I exclaimed. “It’s a girl,” Suzanne announced. I laughed. “I’m surrounded. My own little harem.” Hazel’s eyes were focused on the screen. She tilted her head, looking confused. “It all looks good…” Suzanne’s voice trailed off. I frowned at the subtle change in the noise. It was faster, like an echo of itself, the strumming continuous. “Well, look who’s been hiding,” Suzanne mused and glanced over at us. She grinned and winked at me. “You did good, Christian.” She peered at the screen in
Last Updated: 2024-05-31
Chapter: CHAPTER 169HAZELI crawled into bed with Christian, snuggled into his side, and rested my head on his chest. He groaned as he shifted.“Are you all right?” I asked, worried that I had hurt him.He nodded. “Colin warned me that getting the sensation back in my legs was going to hurt. He’s fucking right.”Between rushing after Valerie, walking for everyone, moving around the house with his walker, and sitting on Valerie’s bed as he read to her for over an hour, I knew he was exhausted. But when I asked if he was ready to sleep, he said he wasn’t. I felt the same way too. Mentally, I was still wide awake. “Do you want some pain killers?”“No. As weird as it sounds, I want to feel it. I never thought I would get to this point, so aches and all, I’m going to go with it.”I laughed softly. “You’re right, Christian. You are weird.”He dragged her up his chest,causing a little gasp of surprise to escape me.“You wanna help me forget about the aches, Hazel?” he murmured in my ear, biting my lobe. “Make m
Last Updated: 2024-05-31
Chapter: CHAPTER 168The room around me buzzed with activity. Voices, people moving, talking to me, trying to get my attention. I held my breath, scared that if I even so much as breathed, I would miss something important.My focus was on one thing. The doctor examining Valerie. I had insisted, and finally Hazel relented, seeing how upset I was about her. My wife glanced up, smiling as she lifted Valerie to her shoulder. She tilted her chin, letting me know everything was okay. A fact that she was certain of, but I needed to be sure. She handed Valerie over to me and escorted the doctor out and I relaxed, pressing a kiss to my daughter’s head. She looked up, wrinkling her nose.“Hi, Daddy.” “Hey, baby girl.” She patted my hand. “Boo-boo better,” she cooed. “Good.” “Yeah, Daddy feels better.” I brushed a curl off her face. “How did you know?” She pushed on my cheek with her tiny finger. “You Daddy again. You smile.” I dropped my head, pressing kisses all over her sweet little fa
Last Updated: 2024-05-30
Chapter: CHAPTER 167I had never tried to comfort a person still caught between being a young man and a grown-ass adult. I had never reached out and been the role model.It was another lesson I was learning.Dennis was emotional. Filled with apologies. Begging for forgiveness. Once I broke through his stuttering words and barely held-back sobs, I set him straight.“What happened was not your fault. You didn’t put me in this wheelchair, Dennis. None of it is your doing. You need to stop blaming yourself.”“I can’t.”“You can. Get some help. I’ll ask Randy to take you on. He is an amazing person to help you sort things out and get your head straight.” I barked out a laugh. “If he can handle my shit, he can help you.”“But he’s here.”“Yes,” I agreed. “Which is where you need to be. You have a life waiting here for you, Dennis. A job you’re good at. Friends. Family.” I huffed out a breath. “Don’t let that day define you. Move past it.”“The guilt,” he said quietly. “It holds me hostage. That I’m walking arou
Last Updated: 2024-05-29
Chapter: CHAPTER 166I grabbed her hips, guiding her. Pushing her up and pulling her back down. She sobbed my name, her back arching as her release washed through her. I watched as she lost herself in the moment. I had forgotten how beautiful she was in her release. The way her entire frame shuddered. How she bit her lip and lowered her chin as if sinking into the feeling. The breathiness of my name falling from her lips. And how it felt when her muscles fluttered, tightened around me, taking all I had—giving me so much more.My body strained, the urge to thrust and grind against her eclipsing everything else. An orgasm hit me, obliterating everything in its path. I saw stars, the ecstasy was so great. I opened my mouth in a soundless scream, and somewhere, deep inside, I felt a flex, the pinching of muscles not used for so long now gripping, then vanishing as fast as they had engaged. A long, agonized sound escaped as my entire being surrendered. The pain, the pleasure, the sweet torture of it all.Hazel
Last Updated: 2024-05-29
Chapter: CHAPTER 165CHRISTIANThe taste and feel of my wife chased away the last lingering remnants of my dream. Hazel wasn’t walking away. She was right here, with me, in my arms.Right where she should be.I kissed her deeply, seeking out her tongue with mine, stroking hard and deep. Reclaiming her mouth. Reclaiming her. I yanked her tight to my chest, pulling off the towel she had draped around her body. I pushed down the blanket that covered me, needing to feel her. I dragged her over my lap, groaning at the feel of her weight pressing down on me. Still kissing her, I slid my hands over her silken thighs, parting them and settling her so she straddled me.She pulled back, gasping. “Is this okay?”“Fucking yes, it’s okay.” I pressed my mouth to her neck, licking up the damp, elegant column of her throat. “It’s fucking perfect.” I murmured. “You’re so perfect for me, Haze. And I’m such an idiot. Everything that has happened, it only made you stronger, but not me… I got weak.”She grabbed my face, holdi
Last Updated: 2024-05-29
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