Bound To The Mafia King

Grace “Oh my God, girls, it’s been forever since we did this!” Stella squealed and clinked her strawberry margarita against mine so hard pink liquid dropped over the rim. “No boyfriends, no drama, no curfews, just us, tequila, and terrible decisions.”Laila leaned back in the booth and twirled a strand of her dark hair around her finger. “Speak for yourself. I’m ready for terrible decisions. Preferably involving tall, tattooed terrible decisions.”Kristy rolled her eyes but grinned. “You’re disgusting.”“I’m honest,” Laila shot back. “Grace, back me up. You’ve been single for, what, nineteen months now? Time to live a little.”A hearty laugh escaped my lips and cheeks already warm from my second cocktail. “I’m living plenty. I’m here, aren’t I? That’s living.”Michelle nudged me with her elbow. “Barely. You still blush when a guy looks at you too long. You’re basically a Victorian novel heroine stuck in 2025.” She chuckled and I rolled my eyes at her words. “I like being old-school,

AUTHOR The air in Club thickened the moment Adrian Valente’s lips left Grace’s. Everyone was in shock and what Adrian Valente had said, sent shivers down their spines. “ You just made the biggest mistake of your life, Grace. “ Enough. Kristy finally found her spine. “Enough, Grace- you’re drunk,” she snapped, voice cutting through the stunned silence around the booth. She stepped forward and her own hands shook only a little, and gripped Grace by the arms. With one firm tug she pulled the girl back.A gasp escaped her lips as Grace stumbled. Her legs were shaking, and she collapsed against Kristy’s chest. Her arms looped around her friend’s neck in a sloppy, needy hug. A soft, broken whimper escaped her throat. A half giggle, half sob.“Girls, come on,” Laila hissed, already scooping up purses and jackets. “We’re leaving. Now.” The girls quickly gathered their stuff ready to leave when two men approached him. Tall. Suited. Expressionless.“ Adrian. It’s time to leave. “ A man appro

Grace‘ Adrian Valente- ‘Sunlight stabbed straight into my skull the second I opened my eyes. I whimpered, low and pathetic, and tried to roll away from the window. My arm stretched out as I tried to relax my stressed muscles but,it was a big mistake. A sharp, throbbing pain exploded behind my eyes like someone had taken a hammer to my temples. I groaned louder and instantly curled into a ball under the blanket for a second before forcing myself to sit up.My vision blurred as I felt the room spun once, then settled. Barely. I dragged a hand through my hair. Feeling the tangled, greasy, disgusting texture- and caught my reflection in the full-length mirror across from the bed.Jesus.Mascara had raccooned down my cheeks in black streaks. Lipstick was smeared across my chin like a bad crime scene. My eyes were puffy and red and my hair was sticking up in every direction. I looked like I’d been hit by a truck full of regret. I looked awful.I groaned again, louder this time, and not

GraceMy heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it might crack them. My eyes widened at the sight of him. He was coming down the stairs.Each step was deliberate and unhurried, like he had all the time in the world because he already knew I wasn’t going anywhere. Each step he took seemed to race my heart even more than before.Those grey eyes never left mine, not for a single second. Darkened. Burning. Possessive in a way that made my stomach flip and my skin crawl at the same time.Fear. That was what I felt. A real, cold fear snaked through me. I knew danger when I saw it. And danger was walking straight toward me.I had to get out. Now.I stepped back, my heel catching on the edge of the dance floor. Frederick’s hand was still on my waist, but I barely felt it. My pulse roared in my ears. And I could hear my inner thoughts shouting at me to escape. I turned sharply, ready to bolt. “Grace?” Frederick’s voice cut through the music, confused. His fingers tightened on mine an

GraceUniversity felt like torture today.My head was splitting. It was the sharp, pulsing pain right behind my eyes that hadn’t stopped since I woke up. Every time I moved, it throbbed harder, like someone was tapping nails into my skull. I hadn’t slept. I could not. Not really. All night my mind kept replaying flashes of last night. The Elite Club, those red lights, smoke, strong hands pinning me to a wall, a low voice whispering my name like it already owned me. That familiar stranger- had crawled inside my brain and refused to leave. I tossed and turned until dawn. My cheeks burned, heart raced, body restless in ways I didn’t want to admit.How could I feel this for a stranger? A … stalker!? Now I was slumped over my desk in the back row of my third class. My hoodie was pulled up, trying- well more like failing to look like I was taking notes. My pen hadn’t moved in twenty minutes.Stella leaned over from the seat beside me and voiced a dramatic whisper. “You look like death war