I’m cast away on a tropical island with a dirty, damaged alpha-hole.
Women swoon over him.
I’m not one of them.
I hate him.
And I see right through those indigo-blue eyes.
Brash is hurting.
But that doesn’t
give him the right to be a douchebag.
Especially now that I’m all he’s got here.
A mafia princess who knows how to set someone straight.
I will bring him to his knees.
If only he’d stop making me weak in mine.
His strong arms have become my refuge.
And his gorgeous smile, my hope.
He tells me that I belong to him.
That he’ll protect me in this dangerous place.
But what happens if my heart is at risk?
Who will save me then?
From international bestselling author SC Daiko comes a thrilling new standalone romantic suspense novel, a spin-off from BRUTE, BEAST and Nanny and the BRATVA BOSS.
The current was strong and pulling us away from the wreckage. I kept my arm around Aly, lifting her face. I creased my forehead, trying to work out our flight path.
Where the fuck were we?
An ice-cold shard of panic pierced the pit of my stomach. I tried to ignore it. Fucking impossible. For the first time in my life since I was a child, events had overtaken me. Were out of my control. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do other than try and survive.
Aly moaned and I whispered, “I’m here. You’re safe.”
She shivered and I held her close to share my body heat. Not that there was much of that. I was chilled to the bone.
I looked around again. We were surrounded by nothing but rolling waves.
Stay calm. I repeated the words to myself like a mantra.
Hours passed, it seemed, although I wasn’t sure. I felt completely disoriented. Aly had passed out again; I kept checking her pulse. My eyelids grew heavy and I wanted to doze off, but we’d be separated.
The sound of splashing. A pod of dolphins had arrived, eyes flickering with curiosity.
“Hey, guys,” I managed to rasp. “Come to rescue us?” I laughed at the absurdity of my question. With a wave of their tails, they left in obvious pursuit of some lunch.
The current took us further and further away from where the plane had gone down.
More splashing. Rhythmical this time. I swept my gaze around again and a slow smile of relief spread across my face. I let out a whoop. The sound I’d heard was the noise of waves hitting the barrier reef to
an island. I could just see it in my peripheral vision.
I kicked my feet so frantically my shoes came off. Using the arm not holding Aly, I swam hard, fighting the current that was sweeping us parallel to land.
Kick, kick, kick.
I spotted a break in the waves and managed to propel us through it into the calm waters of a lagoon.
My lungs burning, I kept swimming until my feet touched the sandy bottom.
With the last vestiges of my energy, I heaved Aly out of the water onto the shore.
I turned her onto her side and tilted her head backwards. Then, totally wrung-out, I collapsed next to her.
Tonight, Zoe wasn’t wearing the halter-neck dress. She appeared in figure-hugging jeans and a blue cotton blouse that set off the topaz in her beautiful irises. After declining a glass of wine, she sat next to me, shooting me a look from under her dark lashes.
Mrs K arrived with our starter course, a fresh vegetable salad made with cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. She served us and returned to the kitchen.
I swirled the wine in my glass. “I’m sorry if I was a little abrupt when we said goodnight yesterday.”
“Abrupt? You were more than abrupt.” Her eyes flashed. “You were downright rude.”
“I’m not a nice man. I don’t do ‘nice’. I can’t.”
“Why?”
Ever forthright.
“If I show any weakness, I’ll be finished.” I lifted my fork and speared a tomato.
She took a sip of water. “Being nice isn’t the same as being weak, I don’t think.”
“You are right, rybka. It isn’t.” I shook my head. “I guess I’ve just gotten out of the habit.”
She chewed some salad and swallowed. “Were you horrible to your wife? Is that why you got divorced?”
“None of your concern,” I snapped, slamming my hand down on the table. Dishes rattled and the water in Zoe’s glass sloshed over the edge.
She shot me a withering look. “There you go again, being a prick. I’m only trying to understand you, Taras.”
He’s a Russian mafia kingpin. Deep, dark and dangerous. Good and evil at war within him. I’m caught in the cross-fire, but I want to be here. A cold-hearted man, or is he? I’m about to find out.
She breezed into my world like a latter-day Mary Poppins A sassy girl from England with the voice of an angel, and the body of a goddess. I need her in my life like a bullet in the brain. Everything about her tempts me, though. She’s an itch I want to scratch, but one I won’t be scratching. Except, the best-laid plans have a habit of going wrong. Soon I’ll learn what really matters, and that the worst lies are the lies you tell to yourself.
Advance reader reviews on Goodreads have been awesome:
“Nothing short of amazing… you can feel it with your heart
and soul,” Renee
“Loved, loved, loved this book,” Rhiannon Hall
“This book is full of brave action, seduction, respect and
admiration, danger, and very sad outcomes to be overcome,” Reva Parks
“…easy to read, it flowed so well,” A Book Lover’s Emporium
Book Blog
“… a great gripping storyline… an exciting five star read,”
Nico
“Their chemistry is sizzling… this story has all the feels,”
Joy Westerfield
“… the ride you will go on will be like a roller coaster,”
Donna, Goodreads reviewer
“… you don’t want it to end,” Kirsty Adams
“I was in love from page one,” Jenny Prose
“SC Daiko really outdid herself with this one,” Michelle
“Taras’ and Zoe’s story is one of the best I have read,”
Susanna Soto
“This story made me laugh, cry and forget how to breathe,”
Julie Workman
“SC Daiko, you did it again which is why you’re always on my
one-click list,” Lynne
“Great plot with tons of steaminess and alphaness,” Kelly
Williams
“The love just jumps out at you, Zillah Raven
“I couldn’t put it down,” United Indie Book Blog
“… this book is amazing. I wish I could give it more than 5
stars,” Helena Gant
“This is one of the best mafia stories that I have read in a
long time,” Tonya Sims Harper-Dixie
“SC Daiko hits it out of the park with The Nanny and The
Bratva Boss,” Chikap09
“The storytelling is spellbinding, and you will become part
of their world,” Jo-Ann Forrest
… an interesting love story that will stay with you
for a long time,” Linda Barrett
SC Daiko, aka Siobhan, is an award-winning, international
bestselling contemporary romance author. Originally from the UK, she now lives
in Italy with her husband and two cats.
It’s Christmas day and hubby and I are in Poland spending the holidays with our son, daughter-in-law and her family in the beautiful town of Poznan.
It’s been an awesome year for me, and that’s all down to you. If you’ve bought one of my books, left a review or recommended me to a friend then thank you. Writing romance stories for readers to enjoy is a privilege and you’ve helped make it possible for me to do so.
I have three books planned for you next year. I’m in the middle of writing ‘Nanny and the BRATVA BOSS‘, releasing in February, a spin-off standalone from the Sokolov series. I will complete that series with BRASH by late spring/early summer. The third book is a secret and I’ll fill you in later in the year. Watch this space! BEAST has been out since end of September and it has broken the record for most successful SC Daiko launch ever. I’m incredibly flattered and humbled that so many readers are enjoying Gleb’s story. And I’m thrilled to announce the audio book will be releasing before or shortly after New Year’s Eve. “This book has a little bit of everything in it, some dancing, hot sex, vodka, bullets flying and of course love. I really enjoyed reading BEAST and just couldn’t put it down,” Celeste, Beyond the Covers Blog Amazon USA: http://bit.ly/USBEAST
Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/UKBEAST
Amazon CA: http://bit.ly/CABEAST
Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/AUBEAST
Universal Link: http://viewbook.at/SCDaikoBEAST
That’s all for me for now. I’ll be back in the New Year with the cover reveal of ‘Nanny and the BRATVA BOSS’ when I’ll be giving away some great prizes: a $25 GC, audiobooks, signed print editions and more.
In the meantime, hope you’re having a Merry Christmas and I wish you love, health and happiness in 2019!!!
“Holy Beast! What a read! One of the best reads of 2018!” Donna “Unbelievably Raw, devastatingly beautiful and amazingly written,” Julie W “Such a beautiful sadistic and vicious beast; how can someone so bad be so deliciously good?” Clare H “A swoon-worthy read that will blow you away,” Linda
