Showing results by author "J. L. Beck" in All Categories

I didn't plan to ever attend an event, but I needed the money. I thought it was nothing more than an adult version of hide-and-seek. I had no idea how wrong I was. Nor did I know I’d meet my worst nightmare that night: Andrew “Drew” Marshall, popular-as-hell football star and a Greek god among mere mortals. To anyone else, he would appear to be normal, a good guy. But that night I saw the cruel, dark monster hidden underneath. He was the epitome of evil, the leader of the Disciples, and I was his newest obsession.

I made a mistake. At sixteen years old I fell for the wrong man. Callum Torrio. Ruthless billionaire. Dangerous villain. My best friend's father. At twenty one, I gave up hope that he would ever notice me. He’s twenty years older than me and an arms dealer for the mob. The smart choice would be to forget he ever existed. But that’s not possible. His icy blue gaze, sculpted physique, and huge rough hands play a vivid part in my dreams.

Betrayal cuts the deepest. I would know better than anyone. They never suspected me to be the villain. That didn’t matter anymore, though, because I didn’t just want revenge, I needed it. Leaving my old life behind, I knew I could never return, but there was something … no, someone I had left behind. Scarlett. Kind. Innocent. Fragile. She was a light in the darkness of my life. Back then, she was always meant to be mine, even if having her meant breaking every single rule. Now, enemies or not, she would still be mine.

They say the truth will set you free. That’s a lie. The truth got me locked in an ivory tower, a victim of my new husband’s rage. If I’m going to survive, I’m going to have to make Enzo fall back in love with me.

Shattered. Broken beyond repair. I’m the shell of the woman I used to be. The deeper I fall from reality, the worse things get. Only there’s one person who refuses to let me derail. Romero Pierce. Calloused. Sinister. Lethal. He’s my father's second in command, and so goddamn handsome it’s disgusting. Assigned the duty of being my babysitter, aka personal bodyguard, he thinks he can protect me, but I don’t want his protection. What I want is security, safety, freedom. Everything changes when I choose to leave and find myself in the very town where my father grew up.

The deal was sealed the moment she stepped onto that stage. It was like seeing a ghost: sunshine-blonde hair, pale skin, azure eyes that held a thousand secrets. I didn’t know what caused her to end up on that auction block, and I didn’t care. All I knew was that I had to have her - no matter the cost. A million dollars later, she became mine. Mine to break. Mine to use. Mine to keep.

The bet was simple. You draw a name from the hat. That's the girl you have to seduce. The girl you have to make fall head over heels in love with you. It wasn't hard for him to do, in fact, it was something he did all the time. He was known for breaking hearts. Sex was just that, sex. And it didn't take him very long to get a woman on her back. And then he drew her name: Jules Peterson. His former best friend, first kiss, and first love. She shattered his heart into a million pieces three years ago. She left him right when he needed her most.

The second our eyes connected, I felt the shift in the air. The crackle of fire igniting between us. He was dark, dangerous, and secretive. He came into my life like a storm, ripping apart everything I believed in, everything I thought I knew. With his mischievous smirk, stunning looks, and alluring behavior, I should’ve ran as far away from him as I could. But I was stupid. I trapped myself in his web.

He was more than a bully, he was what living nightmares were made of. It started as a childish game played between two friends, which ended in heartbreak. She knew him once. A long time ago they may have even called each other friends. That was before she moved away, before her mother married his father, and before an entire life fell apart. She lost friends, popularity, and a future. This was supposed to be a fresh start, but it was real life hell.

She was a tiny little lamb who claimed my heart with one fearful look. I was her captor, the man responsible for breaking her, for preparing her for auction. She was taken, plucked right off the street, and brought to me to be sold at the next auction. Rescuing her from my men was never part of the deal, and neither was bringing her up to my room. Yet, night after night I did this, refusing to give up the way she made me feel. When I’m with her I feel less like a monster. I can remember the man I used to be before the mob got to me, before all the bad tainted my soul.

After breaking my heart and publicly humiliating me, I vow to forget his existence. He has other plans, though, and vows to make certain I don’t. The only one I can turn to for help is a man I thought to be my enemy. Drew’s best friend Sebastian who claims to be my brother. He promises me security and protection. But no one can protect me from Drew. The faster I run, the more he chases. The harder I struggle, the tighter his grip becomes.

They call me a playboy. Society’s pretty pet. What they don’t know is I’m so much more. My only directive was to keep her hidden, and safe. After everything she’s been through I’m the last person to offer comfort and care. I have little experience with either. Both of us have been broken by our pasts. But mine is catching up to me, and I would deal with it as I usually do: with total decimation. But that puts her in the crosshairs, and that’s unacceptable.

He calls me prey. I call him a bully. Sebastian Arturo isn't just cruel, he's downright terrifying. With piercing green eyes, a body made for doing very bad things, and a charming demeanor, it's no wonder everyone thinks the world of him everyone except me. When I wake up with pieces of my memory missing, he's the only one who can give me answers. But he doesn't give me answers; instead, he tells me to stop asking questions, or else.

They call me a monster. Murderous and hateful. Beautiful but broken. Nothing can calm the ever raging storm inside of me. As the ruthless leader of the Doubeck family, there is a certain standard of brutality, I have to uphold. Then I meet her. Beautiful, innocent, and so very afraid. Valentina is a rival family's daughter, and the little temptress has purposely tangled herself in my dark web. She seeks me out, needing my help, but the price for what she wants will be steep.

I’m the shadows that reach out and take a bite. No one sees me coming, which is why I’m sent to do the things even our fearless leader won’t touch. After months of watching our enemies, it’s time to take them out. I’m ready to feel their blood on my hands, their worthless lives ground to dust. But I don’t get the chance when a dark haired beauty comes crashing into my plans, seeking sanctuary from our enemies. Now I’m stuck on guard duty, babysitting a mafia princess. As tensions rise, the flames of desire flicker between us. We shouldn’t cross that line.

Money. It’s the root of all evil and I need it bad. You could call it the wrong place, wrong time. To me the day I met Enzo was the day the old me died. When he kidnaps me thinking I’m the daughter of his enemy, the only thing I can do is pretend to be something I’m not. But the more I pretend, the deeper I fall. Enzo is dark, cruel, and menacing, but he’s protective, fierce, and determined. Soon he wants to forge a contract between our families, making me his bride, but he has no idea I’m not whom he thinks I am and when he finds out … well, I know I’m as good as dead.

Deranged and violent. Gorgeous but frightening. I’m a businessman, so when one of my debtors offers me his fiancé in exchange for a debt settled, I figure why not? The woman will be a quick sell. Repayment comes in the form of a beautiful but haunted young woman. The light in her tempts the darkness inside of me. Teases it, tortures it. I want to hurt her. I want to break her. I want to keep her. Luckily for Celia, she fails to see that there is no goodness in me.

Rivals since before birth, there has never been a time when my family hasn't hated the Lockwoods and their daughter Harlow. But she made it personal, no longer just a rivalry between our parents. Now she's here, at Bayshore University, without her family's protection. There's nothing to stop us from getting our revenge on her, no one to tell us enough is enough. And so my brothers and I have devised a plan. We'll break her, have her falling at her knees for us in no time, and then we'll send her back to her family with a warning: Cross the Bishops again and you'll pay.

She was a tiny little temptress of a woman that made my blood sing for vengeance. I should be punishing her, breaking her from the inside out after finding her in my father’s clutches. But when I discover the truth that she is just as much of a victim of my father’s wrongdoings as I am, I can’t follow through. I know then that I can’t break my little mouse. Not after she’s lured me in with her big blue doe eyes, strawberry blonde hair, and those pink painted lips that beg to be kissed again and again.

Notorious arms dealer Callum Torrio will do whatever he has to do to get the woman he loves back. A war between the crime families is brewing, and if they aren’t careful, they’ll end up right in the middle of it. Forced into hiding, Callum knows he must do whatever he can to keep Bianca and their unborn baby safe. Loving her makes him vulnerable, but letting her go…isn’t an option. When the truths to all their secrets are revealed, will they find happiness, or will the pain of their pasts destroy them?