Tormentor

---WARNING: Dark Romance. Mature Audience Only. Contains Sexual Content, Dubious Consent, and Intense Situations.--- He watched her from the shadows, a hidden obsession. She fainted at the slightest fear. He was just a boy then, powerless against the campus kingpin who tormented her, a rival heir to a brutal empire. But empires fall. And obsessions, once set, never die. Years later, on a moonlit beach, Seraphina's world shatters. Her boyfriend, a cruel cheat, humiliates her for a bet and leaves her for dead. She awakens to a familiar face—Alessandro Torricelli, now a ruthless Mexican mafia boss who takes what he wants. He’s back to claim what he believes is his: her. He promises freedom in 365 days if she doesn't fall in love. But Alessandro's world is a gilded cage of raw power, inescapable desire, and dangerous games. As Seraphina navigates his opulent fortress, fighting his possessive touch and the unwanted hunger he ignites, their volatile dynamic sparks a dangerous game of seduction. They keep score, each erotic encounter a win or loss, unknowingly binding them closer with every calculated move. Yet, beyond their sensual battle, a chilling reality looms: her old tormentor, Dino Moretti, still stalks the shadows, and this time, he's coming for them both. With a brewing war threatening to consume his empire, Alessandro vows to protect her, even from herself. But can Seraphina survive his love, escape his enemies, and resist the magnetic pull of the man who sees her fragility as a weakness to conquer, and her defiance as a challenge to possess? In this city of shadows, hearts are collateral, and their game of love is the most dangerous score of all.

Shivering, I sobbed out, unable to speak, unable to move. "Shh, shh, now baby-girl, it's alright, you're safe, don't cry" he soothed, moving closer to me. "N-Noah, I w-want to go home," I sobbed, feeling weak from my inability to talk without stuttering. A gasp left my parted lips as his hand forcefully connected with my cheek, "You are home, so I don't want to hear that crap from you, okay?" shaking, I looked down at my feet, his gaze too menacing to hold. "I said, do you understand" he spit through clenched teeth, "y-yes, I'm sorry" I whispered, a new wave of tears making their appearance. "Good girl, now I need you to keep being a good girl, okay?" nodding, my eyes met his dark ones. His form towered over me, making me feel small and irrelevant. "Words, Embry!" He demanded as I stuttered out a quiet yes. I studied him cautiously as he walked towards the far end of the room, shuffling through drawers before stalking back towards me and crouching down. I sucked in a breath as I saw the knife in his hand, his face held a mischievous grin as it glinted in the light. "Now baby-girl, you see, as much as I hate to, you need to be punished, do you know why?" Warning! This story is for mature audience, it contains strong language, abuse, mature themes and sensitive topics. ___ He was her rock, her best friend, her first love. He became her worst nightmare, her tormentor, her captor She was his everything. His obsession. Their story should have ended with that court case, but he's found a way back to her, and he won't give her another opportunity to escape. Not this time.

Deck the halls with daddy issues and scream "yes, Santa" until the neighbors complain. She sold herself to save her mother. He bought her to settle a score. Neither expected twelve days of captivity to feel like coming home. Ten years ago, Evangeline Rose fled Willow Creek and the cruel boy who made her life hell. Now she’s back with a new name, a new body, and one desperate choice: enter the town’s secret Christmas auction where wealthy men bid on willing women. When the hammer falls at five hundred thousand dollars, Eva expects a stranger. Instead, she gets Grayson Holt—her former tormentor, now a devastatingly dangerous man in a half-open Santa jacket who just bought twelve uninterrupted nights with the virgin he once swore no one would ever want. She should be terrified. He's the reason she hid in bathroom stalls and cried herself to sleep. But the first time he kisses her, his hands shake. The first time she fights back, he groans her name like a prayer. And somewhere between the firelight and the snow and the silk ribbons around her wrists, they both realize the ugly truth: He didn't buy her to break her. He bought her because he's been broken without her. The boy who spray-painted "fat ugly bitch" on her locker is the same man who falls to his knees in the snow on the last morning and begs her not to leave. The girl who swore she'd never forgive him is the same woman who has to choose: walk away free, or stay with the monster who finally admitted he's been in love with her since the day he made her cry. Eva spent a decade learning to hate Grayson Holt. Turns out she's been loving him the whole damn time.

“Don’t you ever resist me again,” he breathed, his words brushing my skin like fire. One hand held my wrists captive above my head; the other traced the line of my throat, caging me against the wall. I looked up at him. My tormentor, my weakness, and the man I craved like sin itself. --- A fire stole her childhood. A contract stole her freedom. Now, a man dressed in a suit that costs more than her life is about to steal her heart. And possibly destroy what’s left of her soul. Evie remembers nothing before the fire, only the smell of smoke, the sound of screams, and a name she can’t forget. Years later, her life is a cycle of debt, slavery, and forced silence. She works herself to the bone while living in the shadow of her perfect cousin, never realizing she was born into a secret far darker than her life. Until the night she’s traded — like property to repay an old family debt — to a man no one dares to speak about. A man whose reputation bleeds power, cruelty, and blood. But instead of chains, he offers her a deal. Marry him, obey him. And never ask questions. Just business. But every time he touches her, the line between fear and longing blurs. His presence unearths flashes of her past, and memories that burn her alive. Because her husband is not who he seems. And the fire that destroyed her life didn’t happen by accident. As their marriage turns into a war of control and desire, Evie finds herself caught between the man who owns her and the truth that could set her free. But freedom comes with a great price. And love is the priciest thing she's ever had.

“I should punish you.” “Maybe you should. Or maybe you’re all bark, no bite,” I shot back, my voice daring. His eyes darkened, and in a blur, I was over his shoulder, my skin burning where he held me and the cold air kissed my bare ass. “Your skin” His voice was low, almost reverent. “So fucking smooth.” Before I could retort, the world shifted, steam rising around us. He set me down, steadily, fingers brushed the hem of the shirt I wore, his shirt. He slipped it away without hesitation, leaving me bare under his gaze. “What are you doing?” I whispered. “Punishing you.” —— Rayna gave up everything for love. She abandoned her pack, killed her wolf when she rejected her destined mate, and gave herself entirely to the man she thought would stand by her forever, Alpha Dario. But when Dario found his fated mate, he didn’t hesitate to cast Rayna aside, leaving her broken, and utterly alone. One night of drowning her sorrows at a bar changes everything. Rayna witnesses a brutal murder—one carried out by none other than Alpha Sven, the ruthless Mafia leader feared across packs. What Rayna doesn’t realize is that fate isn’t done with her. Sven isn’t just her captor, her tormentor, her obsession—he’s the very mate she rejected long ago. He remembers her rejection like a scar carved into his soul, and he’s not interested in forgiveness, he doesn’t want her love. He wants to see her surrender in obedience, her body bound to his until she can’t deny him anymore. Rayna must decide whether to keep resisting the bond—or surrender to the one man who has both the power to destroy her and the claim to own her.