My father sold me in a contract I never signed. My husband says I'm his. I say he'll have to prove it.
I became a Sokolova at my father's funeral.
An arranged marriage. A seven-year-old contract. A debt paid in flesh and vows.
Alexei Sokolov—the youngest brother, the patient one, the "kind" one—is now my husband. And he expects me to accept it. Accept him. Accept this life I never chose.
But I'm not some docile bride who'll submit because a piece of paper says so.
I'll fight him every step of the way. Make his life hell. Prove that patience has limits and kind men can break.
Except Alexei isn't breaking.
He's watching me with dark eyes and darker promises. Giving me everything I demand while taking everything I didn't know I wanted to give. Being patient—until I push too far.
Then he shows me exactly what kind of Sokolov he really is.
The patient brother. The understanding one. The one who waits.
Until he stops waiting.
When enemies target me to hurt him, I discover the truth: Alexei's patience isn't weakness. It's strategy. And when it finally runs out? When he stops asking and starts taking?
I learn that the gentle ones are the most dangerous of all.
And that I don't want gentle anymore. I want him. All of him. The patience and the possession and the dark promises he's been holding back.
I want my husband. Completely. Finally. Forever.
A dark mafia romance featuring arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, a patient hero who snaps spectacularly, external threats, spy games, and a bride who discovers that surrender can be the ultimate choice.
I became a Sokolova at my father's funeral.
An arranged marriage. A seven-year-old contract. A debt paid in flesh and vows.
Alexei Sokolov—the youngest brother, the patient one, the "kind" one—is now my husband. And he expects me to accept it. Accept him. Accept this life I never chose.
But I'm not some docile bride who'll submit because a piece of paper says so.
I'll fight him every step of the way. Make his life hell. Prove that patience has limits and kind men can break.
Except Alexei isn't breaking.
He's watching me with dark eyes and darker promises. Giving me everything I demand while taking everything I didn't know I wanted to give. Being patient—until I push too far.
Then he shows me exactly what kind of Sokolov he really is.
The patient brother. The understanding one. The one who waits.
Until he stops waiting.
When enemies target me to hurt him, I discover the truth: Alexei's patience isn't weakness. It's strategy. And when it finally runs out? When he stops asking and starts taking?
I learn that the gentle ones are the most dangerous of all.
And that I don't want gentle anymore. I want him. All of him. The patience and the possession and the dark promises he's been holding back.
I want my husband. Completely. Finally. Forever.
A dark mafia romance featuring arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, a patient hero who snaps spectacularly, external threats, spy games, and a bride who discovers that surrender can be the ultimate choice.
Used availability for Cora J Riley's Purchased Bride