Dangerous Appraisal
(2025)(The fourth book in the Valdris Chronicles series)
A novel by Adriana Steel
Fifteen years ago, his family's betrayal destroyed her world. Now he's proposing marriage.
Celeste Valdris learned early that survival means never trusting a Cross. When rival crime boss Evander Cross requests a meeting about "mutual business interests," she knows he's after her family's territory and political connections.
She doesn't expect him to propose marriage.
Evander needs legitimacy. Celeste needs protection. Their families need allies against enemies systematically destroying Northern California's criminal landscape. An arranged marriage would solve everyone's problems.
If they can survive each other first.
Proximity breeds dangerous attraction between the diplomat who refuses to be protected and the strategist who's spent years carrying guilt about her kidnapping. Every negotiation becomes foreplay. Every tactical decision requires trust neither should give.
But someone's been manipulating both families for decades. Someone who benefits from their warfare and will destroy any alliance that threatens operational control. Government conspiracy runs deeper than territorial disputes, and marriage might be the only protection against enemies they're just beginning to understand.
Partnership means shared everything—territory, resources, enemies, and consequences. It also means marriage based on strategic necessity rather than emotional choice.
Unless attraction becomes something worth fighting for.
Can two people shaped by family warfare build partnership strong enough to survive systematic manipulation designed to keep them apart?
Genre: Romance
Celeste Valdris learned early that survival means never trusting a Cross. When rival crime boss Evander Cross requests a meeting about "mutual business interests," she knows he's after her family's territory and political connections.
She doesn't expect him to propose marriage.
Evander needs legitimacy. Celeste needs protection. Their families need allies against enemies systematically destroying Northern California's criminal landscape. An arranged marriage would solve everyone's problems.
If they can survive each other first.
Proximity breeds dangerous attraction between the diplomat who refuses to be protected and the strategist who's spent years carrying guilt about her kidnapping. Every negotiation becomes foreplay. Every tactical decision requires trust neither should give.
But someone's been manipulating both families for decades. Someone who benefits from their warfare and will destroy any alliance that threatens operational control. Government conspiracy runs deeper than territorial disputes, and marriage might be the only protection against enemies they're just beginning to understand.
Partnership means shared everything—territory, resources, enemies, and consequences. It also means marriage based on strategic necessity rather than emotional choice.
Unless attraction becomes something worth fighting for.
Can two people shaped by family warfare build partnership strong enough to survive systematic manipulation designed to keep them apart?
Genre: Romance
Used availability for Adriana Steel's Dangerous Appraisal