Fierce Queen

Three years after a secret weekend in the Swiss Alps, Alora Sorenson thought she’d completely moved on from the mysterious man who turned her world upside down. That is until Edward Prescott walks back into her life: richer, more powerful, and even harder to resist. As the billionaire owner of the world’s largest casino empire, Edward is the definition of untouchable. He’s a dark, commanding force in a world of high society, luxury yachts, and ruthless enemies.

I've always shot for the moon, but if you'd told me I'd be earning seven figures at twenty-four, I would never have believed you. And if you'd told me that I'd earn every penny of that success by selling my body and my soul, I'd have laughed in your face. Still. Here I am at Seraph, an elite agency that recruits only the most well-educated, accomplished and discreet women. Our area of expertise? "Full service" executive assistants to the most powerful men in the world.

What do you do when your boyfriend cheats on you six days before your brother’s wedding? The same wedding where you’re the maid of honor and the man who obliterated your heart eight years ago is the best man? I can tell you what you should not do. You should absolutely not have an emotional meltdown and let your soon to be sister-in-law find you crying into a glass of pink wine. Because then she will tell your overprotective big brother that you’re heartbroken (even if you’re not), and he will take it upon himself to ask the one man he trusts above all others to look out for you.

Three months ago, I almost got hit by a car. The guy behind the wheel was as gorgeous as they come. We got to talking and… well, things got a little carried away, if you know what I mean. But when it was over, we went our separate ways. Except, not quite. The little plus sign on this pregnancy test tells me our story isn't over. But that's a problem for another day. First, I have to go to my sister's engagement party. When I see who she's marrying, my jaw hits the floor.

After being a soldier, working as a bodyguard should have been simple: Keep the owner of DC’s ultra-secret club safe, don’t think about his midnight eyes or his devil’s smile, don’t surrender my body to his wicked desires. But I underestimated Mark Trevena and the power of his dark, seductive world. I underestimated the hold he’d have on me, the way I would do anything for him at all. And so when he asks me to escort his soon-to-be bride home, I can only—miserably, broken-heartedly–say yes.

I hate Dante Moretti. He is cold, calculating and vicious. It’s no secret that he wiped out his former fiancée and her entire family on the eve of their wedding. He’s the kind of evil that makes even devils cry. But that’s not why I hate him. I hate him because he has taken the only thing I have left in this miserable world – my freedom. He has chained me to him because of a debt that I don’t owe. I just have the misfortune to share the bloodline of the man who does. And now I’m trapped in his gilded cage and the only thing I have left to do is run. And I try. I really do.

I should have run the other way. Paid my tab and gone back to my room. But he was there. And he was…everything. I figured, what’s the harm in letting passion rule my decisions for one night? So what if he looks like the Devil in a suit? I’d be leaving in the morning, flying home to my pleasant but predictable life. I’d never see him again. Except I do. In the last place I expected. And now everything I’ve worked so hard for is in jeopardy.

You want to know the secret to everlasting happiness? Never fall in love. That was the wisdom my father imparted to us James boys after our mom died, and it’s a piece of advice that’s served me well. Until dear old Dad asks me for a favor over Sunday brunch. No big deal, right? I love making my old man happy. Except this “favor” is a lot more complicated than picking up his dry cleaning. Dad wants me to marry and provide a few heirs for the James empire, and he’s even done me the courtesy of handpicking my bride-to-be. Lucky me.

I was upgraded to first class on a flight from London to New York. The food, champagne, and service were impeccable. The blue-eyed man sitting next to me, even better. He was suave and intelligent. We talked and laughed, and something clicked. Fate took over and the plane was grounded, and we had an unexpected stopover for the night. With no plans, we made our own.

One visit to my father in prison—convicted for a murder he didn't commit—and I've attracted the attention of the last man I'd ever want knowing that I exist.

I met him, the man of my dreams. On the worst day of my life. Catching my boyfriend out was bad. Coming out of the club in a daze, I stumbled upon a situation which was worse. Much worse. And it would have been deadly, too. If he wasn’t there to save me. My unsuspecting hero. He was rugged, wild, and powerful. The way he looked at me set me on fire.

Our first meeting was at a nightclub, and it was something straight out of my most romantic fantasies. My ovaries exploded at the sight of the Russian God. And by God, I mean he was ripped, tall, dark, and deadly attractive. There were enough sparks between us to light up a city. Then an explosion blasted through the nightclub, and we got trapped together for three hours, sharing our most personal details...everything but our names. Two years later, our second meeting is the complete opposite of the first. It's clear Misha Petrov, a Russian enforcer for the bratva, despises me.

Running away from home at 17 wasn't easy. Let's face it, though, nothing before or in the ten years since has ever been easy for me. And I'm doing okay—sorta. I just need to keep scraping by, living under the radar. Staying out of people's way, off people's minds. When a man walks through my open patio door, stepping boldly into my home and my life, I should be scared, frightened, terrified. I must be more broken than I realized because I'm none of those things. I'm intrigued—and I'm wondering if the way to take control of my life is by giving in to him.

Being the twin of a movie star isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Eva is glamorous, sweet, and everything I’m not. Believe me, every person in my life has made that crystal clear. The press calls me the Ice Queen, leaving pack after pack broken in my wake. I wish it were true. All I’ve ever wanted was a pack—to be loved and cherished the way an Omega was meant to be—but now I’ve given up hope. Every group I meet wants a copy of my sister. Let’s not even mention the ones who called me by her name.

When your eyes land on a complete stranger on the train, and the world around you stops. When the stranger says hello, and your heart stops, too. When the universe answers your prayers and he's there, next day, on the train. A man so powerful—brooding with darkness and secrets. I knew there was going to be more. I wanted more. When the stranger is reading one of your favorite novels, and you're reading one of his. When you think the universe can't be any kinder, but it truly delivers the jackpot of all jackpots and two opposite worlds collide, as though it was meant to be.