Sacrificial

"I think you enjoyed at least part of your punishment last night, sweetheart." "No," I whispered, my voice barely audible, my eyes still on his hand, on his fingers as they drew small circles that made my toes curl on my exposed, sensitive skin. He moved closer to me, making a small gasp push past my lips as I looked up, our gazes colliding. "Relax. Do you know what the fun part is, Lana? It doesn't always have to be a punishment. It could be something... exciting too. Something you'll most definitely like." — To save her entire family from the Stravkos Mafia - which was the most powerful Mafia family in Tuscany, Italy - Twenty-two-year old Solana Williams agrees to take her sister's place and becomes a sacrificial lamb - becoming Abel Stravkos' wife. Theirs is just a mere marriage of convenience, but Solana is embittered, vowing revenge for all they did to her family. Abel Stravkos has no need of a wife, but with his cold-hearted father handling the helm of affairs, he's helpless to object. His heart isn't tied to this strange, beautiful, vengeful woman who's been forced down his throat. But the line between love and hate is thin, and Solana's staunch disobedience to his orders, fuels his need to control her in every way possible. Driven by revenge, and an undeniable passion sizzling just beneath the surface, it's only a matter of time before their attraction for each other becomes apparent, much to the dismay of his father and mistress who become forces, trying to pull them apart. Will they ever rise above obstacles lodged in their paths and get their happily-ever-after?

**Her Rock Sequel** Agape: noun. 1. The highest form of love. Selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional love; persists no matter the circumstance. One year later Ella and Declan are seniors. One year later Julian is locked up and Hayes is nowhere in sight. One year later Ella and Declan believe they can breathe again without having to glance over their shoulders every other second. This year Ella Emerson has rekindled her love for soccer after facing her past that tragically tore her apart. She has Declan Anderson by her side, the boy who mended her shattered pieces, and the same boy she's given her whole heart to. At last, life is safe again, their love is growing by the second, and now all they have to worry about is loads of homework. Or so they thought. As days pass, peculiar things begin to happen. But when these peculiar things become a pattern can they really keep brushing them off as coincidences? It doesn't take long until the past they thought they conquered sneaks up on them and begins to fiddle with their relationship. Lies arise, fights kindle, tension flares. Will they be able to take each individual punch thrown at them? Or will they crumble when things surpass the limits of difficult? * He then looks into my eyes, his face displaying all kinds of emotions. "Thank you," He whispers. "You're my Ellie, you know that right?" His thumb brushes along my face, setting fire ablaze wherever he touches. "Always my Ellie." My Ellie. Words don't seem to come out, my mouth agape. Always.

“Your body belongs to me, Kitten.” He rasped out, cold index finger reaching out to trace over my fluttering pulse. I took an hesitant step backwards, but he took one forward, closing in on me even further and making my breath hitch. “Say it.” I gulped and averted my gaze instead, clutching on my towel harder. His grip on my chin was firm as he tipped my head upwards. I trembled in immense fear. “My b- body belongs to you.” I stuttered shakily, and a dark grin broke out on his face, making my blood run colder. “That’s right. Now, take this off. I don’t think we’ll be needing this tonight.” —— When an underboss’ territory gets raided and his wife and eldest son gets captured, what better way to rectify the situation than to seek help from the most popular Mafia Don in Italy and give his only daughter away in exchange for said help. Catherine has a deep rooted fear of men, and had secretly planned on eloping before she comes of age in which her hand would be given out in marriage, but when the unexpected happened and she had to be the sacrificial lamb, she knew her entire life was doomed. Damien’s was cold, ruthless and emotionless. He had no idea of what to do with his new wife who trembled around him like a lost kitten– but, he knew he could never let her go. Ever since he set his eyes on her and saw the tears running down her flushed cheeks, he knew he had to have her, protect her and keep her all to himself. That might just be hard to do, since danger was never, ever far away from him.

Domenico Pietro de Cerintti, in the eyes of everyone was the good boy, the sacrificial lamb, the one who attended all the classes and obeyed all the rules, the one who would not let a puppy get run over by a car, the one who didn't have a girl in his bed every Friday night, the one who didn't smirk, the one who girls liked but never wanted, the one who girls used and dumped, the one who wasn't badass. He lived with that image, was content with it even with the bullying until a certain day when they crossed the line, the one line they were never to cross. He disappeared. And appeared months later, in college; the college that had a good percent of his highschool student in attendance; changed, for the worse. Rosetta D'armani, one of his mates in highschool and now his mate in college, who never bullied him but who also never saved him from the bullies. She was, as defined by the male folk, hot, sexy, drool worthy. She saw him on his first day back and lusted after him. She followed him, sought after him, chased after him with every breath in her. He made her lick his heels. After all he was badass now. He smirked now, he had girls in his bed not only every Friday night but every night, the girls wanted him, he used and dumped them now, he was badass. But oh...those bullies didn't know his definition of badass. Badass for him meant revenge. He would revenge on each one of them including his beloved girlfriend. He'd show them just how hot badass burned. One mysterious girl, one desperate girl, one perfect girl and one revengeful boy. ???

Before our marking ceremony, my fiancé, Adrian Conner, insists on bringing his childhood sweetheart along on our trip—all because Flora Wooledge says she also wants to see the northern lights. He switches my first-class ticket to Flora's name. He says, "I'll fly first class with Flora. You can take connecting flights by land. The doctor said it's not good for a pregnant woman to stay at high altitude for too long." I don't cry or argue. Instead, I calmly push him toward Flora. He snorts. "You've finally learned to behave. You're not as clingy and troublesome as before." After he leaves, I quietly sign the abortion consent form at the hospital. Then, I book a ticket to the southern hemisphere. In my past life, I begged and clung to him, hoping to keep him with our pup. But on that trip, Flora was attacked by rogue wolves and torn apart in the snow. Adrian kept a calm facade. Yet on the night I was about to give birth, he dragged me back home and cut open my belly with his own hands. He stood there and listened as our pup's cries slowly faded away. He poured all his hatred onto me. He believed I caused Flora's death and that I ruined his chance to become the Conner family's heir. To him, I was nothing more than a sacrificial pawn. In this new life, when I step off the private jet, I see Adrian standing there with his eyes bloodshot. He stares at my belly and asks, "Where's the pup?" Before I can answer, his half-brother wraps an arm around my waist. "Adrian, show some respect to your sister-in-law."