MARIA

I walked down the aisle in white—ready to marry the mafia prince.

I walked out the wife of his father, the king.

I trembled when the ruthless monster claimed my innocence.

Now I ache for the touch I was raised to fear.

They said it was for my family. For honor. For survival.

That Matteo Davacalli would protect me.

But he is cruel. Silent. Distant. Built like a god. Broken like a man.

He looked at me like I was his salvation—a reprieve from his sins,

or an escape from the love that still owns his heart.

I told him not to touch me. And he didn’t—

not until I...

MARIA

I walked down the aisle in white—ready to marry the mafia prince.

I walked out the wife of his father, the king.

I trembled when the ruthless monster claimed my innocence.

Now I ache for the touch I was raised to fear.

They said it was for my family. For honor. For survival.

That Matteo Davacalli would protect me.

But he is cruel. Silent. Distant. Built like a god. Broken like a man.

He looked at me like I was his salvation—a reprieve from his sins,

or an escape from the love that still owns his heart.

I told him not to touch me. And he didn’t—

not until I begged for it, craving the hands of a man who still dreams of her.

But I’ve seen his hands shake when I cry. I’ve heard his breath hitch when I whisper his name.

His body is fire, seeping into my skin, branding me, making me crave more.

And God help me, I do.

But this world doesn’t allow happy endings.

And I hold a flash drive hiding the one secret he’d do anything to keep me from.

I need to run…With everything I couldn’t say

Because the night I finally gave him my body…

he gave me something I can never take back.

MATTEO

In another life, I would’ve watched her marry my son.

But in this one, I claimed her at the altar as my bride.

Barely twenty-four. Untouched. Trembling in white. My best friend’s daughter.

She thinks I forced her. Maybe I did.

But it was the only way to keep her alive.

I am a man of control. Of duty. Of chains I locked around myself long ago.

Chased by ghosts and love long buried, I shouldn’t care.

But she ignites something in me no one else could—mercy.

I did something unforgivable. And now I need redemption.

I should stay away. But when she looks at me with those wide, tear-soaked eyes—

begging for answers, begging for love I was never meant to give—

I can’t. I won’t.

I know wanting her is dangerous. But God help me I want her more than my next breath.

She was the one thing I should’ve resisted. In the end, I never even tried.

But if she knew what I’ve done. She wouldn’t just hate me. She’d run.

Some oaths are written in blood. Others… in betrayal.

And I killed the only man she ever loved.

But now

I’d bleed to have her heart.

Readers Note: The Kings of Blood and Vows series delivers full-length, high-heat standalone mafia romances featuring ruthless, possessive alpha men, forbidden marriages, age gaps, surprise babies, deadly secrets, and the fierce women who bring them to their knees.