BOOK BLITZ
Title: The Mafia and His Angel: Part One
Series: Tainted Hearts #1
Author: Lylah James
Publisher: Limitless Publishing LLC
Genre: Mafia Romantic Suspense
Release Date: August 1, 2017

BLURB

Alessio…

Cold. Ruthless. Killer.

I am respected and feared by all.

I wasn’t put on this earth to love or be loved. I was put here to wipe out every last member of the damn Abandonato mafia, to pay them back for my mother’s death.

When I find a strange girl hiding, beaten, under my bed, I don’t let her live out of compassion.

She’s a trinket, my plaything.

Ayla…

I thought Alessio was only one more man who wanted to use me, hurt me, and throw me away. I don’t know what it is to trust anymore. I can’t find my heart under the pain.

Alessio found it. He touched it, and brought it alive again.

But if he discovers just how dangerous I am to him…I’ll lose my life.


GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35783057-the-mafia-and-his-angel


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Free in Kindle Unlimited


EXCERPTS

#1

My eyes widened as I tried to think. I brought a shaky hand to my throat and rubbed it gently, a gesture of nervousness and discomfort.
Option three was obviously not an option. I was not even taking it in consideration. Option two meant being homeless, no money, unsafe on the streets and very easy for Alberto’s men to find me. Option one meant that I would have money and probably a place to live. But there was only one problem.
I would be dead if he ever found out who I was.
With my eyes still locked on his face, I thought about my options. But most importantly I thought about my survival. And only one option could help me.
“One,” I whispered hoarsely, as I stared into Alessio’s eyes. He seemed surprised but then his lips stretched into a full smile.
And I just knew.
With that answer, I had signed myself over to him. I was no longer my own. I belonged to him.
Alessio stood up and walked slowly to me, his steps confident. When he was close, he reached out and touched a dirty strand of my hair.
“Good choice, Ayla,” Alessio said. The sound of my name coming from him made me shiver again. God, why did his voice have to sound so…intimate? My eyes widened with the sudden thought. No. No. Ayla. Don’t lose yourself.
“I’m glad that you decided to…work for me.” The way he said those words made my body freeze. He stared at me, his eyes intense.
Alessio stepped closer so that our bodies were pressed together. He moved his finger down my bruised cheek.
“I’ll make sure that you won’t regret this decision,” he whispered huskily.
Wait, what? Did he mean…? No, he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.
Oh, but he would. He was Alessio Ivanshov. Nothing had ever been denied to him. And I just said yes to his offer.
My breathing and the beat of my heart was too loud. I was sure he could hear it. Alessio bent down until his eyes were to my level.
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”
I swallowed and licked my lips quickly. His gaze followed my movement as his blue eyes turned from cold to hot. He licked his own, and then he whispered, “Not unless you want me to.”

#2

The kitchen was very similar to ours at home, except larger. The big cabinets were beige and there was a big island in the middle. The shiny counter-tops were made with a mixture of different shades of brown.
There were four high chairs placed in front of the bar and I saw two women standing there, wearing the same dress as mine.
They were definitely younger than Lena but older than me. Both appeared to be in their midthirties. They looked up when they heard us coming in. As I got closer, they looked me up and down as if they inspecting an object.
I felt my palm started to sweat in Lena’s hand and I grasped the bottom of my dress with my other hand.
“We have a new maid,” Lena announced excitedly.
“We don’t need a new maid,” the blonde woman said.
I saw Lena opening her mouth to answer but before she could say anything, a voice cut her off.
“Actually, you do.”
My back straightened at the sound of his voice and my body tensed. I swallowed hard when I saw the women’s eyes widened. They suddenly appeared skittish and quickly looked down.
Lena let go of my hand and swiveled around, hands on her hips as she stared at the intruder.
Not intruder. This was his house, anyway.
Licking my lips, I slowly turned around and made contact with Alessio’s blue eyes.
Blue and green, clashing together as we stared at each other silently. I felt my heartbeat accelerate as he kept his unflinching gaze on mine.
My stomach twisted in knots as I squirmed restlessly on the spot. I felt weightless and a weird feeling encompassed my body.
My stomach twisted again when I saw him taking a step forward, his big body moving smoothly. I sucked in a surprised breath when I realized that it was butterflies I felt.
His presence made me nervous. Scared. And giddy.

#3

Just when I was about to put it on, a deep rough voice came from behind me.
“I have to say, you have a lovely body.”
I shrieked loudly and swiveled around toward the voice. I tried to focus on the intruder but he was effortlessly hidden in the darkness.
I didn’t have to see him to know who it was.
I knew that voice. My body knew that voice.
Alessio.
I took a step back in fear, my nightshirt pressed against my body, hiding my nakedness from his eyes. Shaking from head to toe, I swallowed hard and my stomach started to cramp in fear— maybe in anticipation too.
Suddenly, the lights were on. I had to blink a few times to adjust my eyes.
Alessio was sitting in my sofa chair, leaning back comfortably. His left ankle was crossed on top of his right knee and there was a small remote in his hand, which he probably used to turn on the lights.
He wasn’t wearing a suit. But he did have his black slacks on and a black linen shirt, which was unbuttoned at the top, to reveal some of his chest.
His hard, muscular chest. I forced away the thought.
Keeping my eyes on him, I saw his gaze intensely focused on my body. There was no embarrassment. No awkwardness. Alessio was completely calm and confident as his eyes raked over my body.
“Hmm,” he muttered, looking thoughtful as he watched me.
He leaned back against the sofa. His muscles were clear beneath his shirt, making him look big.
I forced myself not to fidget, but it was hard. I couldn’t show fear. Men like him fed on fear. They used it to their advantage.
My fingers tightened around my shirt. My throat felt heavy and dry. When I started to feel lightheaded, I realized I’d been holding my breath for too long.
I let it out in a loud whoosh and then sucked in a deep breath again. But, it was pointless.
His heated gaze traveled all the way down my body. I was speechless and frozen where I stood. When my body started to warm up under his focus, I closed my eyes tightly. But the tingling didn’t stop.

#4

Alessio left me standing in a state of shock and walked out of my room without sparing me another glance.
What was that?
My fingers were still touching my swollen and tingling lips. They felt raw. I had never been kissed like that.
Oh, I had most definitely been kissed by Alberto, but with Alessio, it was different. Even though the kiss was possessive and hard, it felt gentle. He didn’t kiss me like he wanted to hurt me. Alessio kissed me like he wanted me to feel him, like he wanted me to enjoy it. It was sexy and it made me feel out of control.
I was out of breath and I couldn’t understand why. Why didn’t I find it repulsive?
I glanced around my room, breathless. I tried to find something, anything, that would ground me and help me understand what was going on. My mind felt rushed and my body tingled from his touch.
The affect he had on me was dangerous. I could easily lose myself in him. I couldn’t think straight around him.
He was captivating and demanding.
Ruthless, yet gentle.
Alessio was a dangerous man but when he touched me, my body responded without fear.
Fear was a constant emotion living inside of me. Slowly, I had started to feel nothing but fear. But with Alessio, his touch rid me of that fear. He made me forget why I should be scared.
Slowly, I sank down to my bottom and pulled my knees to my chest, folding my arms over them in a protective manner. Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath.
No matter how hard I tried to avoid him, he would always find me. I couldn’t deny him and I couldn’t stop him. If he kept playing me like he was, I would slowly lose myself until I had nothing left.


AUTHOR BIO

Lylah James lives with her parents and younger brother somewhere in Canada. She uses all her spare time to write. If she is not studying, sleeping, writing or working – she can be found with her nose buried in a good romance book, preferably with a hot alpha male.

Writing is her passion. The voices in her head won’t stop and she believes they deserve to be heard and read. Lylah James writes about drool worthy and total alpha males, with strong and sweet heroines. She makes her readers cry – sob their eyes out, swoon, curse, rage and fall in love. Mostly known as the Queen of cliffhanger and the #evilauthorwithablacksoul, she likes to break her readers’ hearts and then mend them again.


AUTHOR LINKS

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