Steph Starry

She returned to bury her father. Instead, she was forced to marry his enemy’s son.

Rosalind Marlow returns to New York to settle her father’s affairs, once one of the city’s most feared mafia bosses, only to find he died beside his greatest rival… and left behind a contract binding her to the rival’s son.

Viktor Marino is cold, calculating, and infuriatingly magnetic.

Rosa has no intention of becoming anyone’s pawn, not in grief, not in business, and definitely not in bed. But Viktor plays a long game, and with every stare, every challenge, he pulls her deeper into a world of secrets, power, and heat.

She was raised to be untouchable.
He was born to conquer.

And in the space between vengeance and desire, who is going to lose control first?
(Contains mature and dark content)


EXCERPT
“It was hard to focus when his palm teased my folds, circling my cl*t until I could barely breathe.

‘Why would you want to leave this behind?’ he growled in my ear, his chest rumbling against my back.

Because I can’t trust you. Because I don’t know what I want.

‘Because it’s cruel,’ I whispered.

And then he pulled away, leaving me trembling, desperate, and furious.”

❦

Also by the author: Hunting the Hybrid Queen (dark shifter romance).

Maeve❀ x Nikolai❦
“Whatever freak of fate this is,” he snarled, “I’ll take solace in knowing I, Nikolai Dragomir, claimed you first… Bride.”
His tongue brushed my fresh mark.
My legs puddled. Eyes rolling back.
“Stop that,” I moaned.
It should have hurt—but gods, it felt good.
He lifted me easily, groaning against my skin.
“Don’t drink me again, don’t…” I begged.
I wouldn’t survive it.

❀ ❦ ☽ ❀ ❦ ☽ ❀ ❦ ☽

Maeve❀ x Bastian☽
His hips jerked, muscles trembling. I froze.
A glimpse of him—thick, flushed—burned through me.
Before I could look again, Bastian yanked me into the bath.
My dress soaked instantly, nipples aching against the fabric.
I straddled him, shaking.
“This is the second time you’ve tried to drown me…” I gasped.
“For every burn you give me, I’ll douse that fire inside you tenfold,” he hissed.

❀ ❦ ☽ ❀ ❦ ☽ ❀ ❦ ☽

Maeve spent her whole life powerless and hunted. To protect her human mother, she breaks the law and seeks out a vampire for forbidden lessons in seduction.

She never expects to crave him.

But the full moon changes everything.

A second man steps from the shadows.
The fated mate chosen for her by the goddess, whose touch awakens something dangerous in her blood.

Now Maeve is bound to two men:
One destined by moonlight.
One chosen by desire.

And the fate of their world hinges on a secret buried in her blood that men would kill, hunt, and die for.

Torn between forbidden love and fated duty, can her heart survive the choice?

❀❀❀❀❀

🌑 Adult Dark Fantasy Romance (18+)
🔥 Fated Mates
🔥 Reverse Harem / Why Choose
🔥 Hybrid Heroine
🔥 Royal Bloodlines & Power Struggles
🔥 Dark Magic
🔥 Emotional Trauma + Healing Arcs