The Taste of His Venom (eBook)

Dark Mafia Romance

Alessa Steel (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
250 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-0-00-098605-4 (ISBN)

Infos

Salvatore

I bleed for my empire, the 'Ndrangheta. As its ruthless Don, I clawed my way to the top, crushing any who dared to defy me. Love? That's a weakness I purged long ago, when I first tasted the power of true dominance.

Then she stumbled into my world - Sienna Fiore. With her sharp tongue and defiant spirit, she challenges me in ways no other woman ever has. I should have crushed her beneath my boot, but there's a fire in her eyes that's got me obsessed. Now, she's all I can think about. I want to break her, make her submit to my every twisted desire. She'll learn that in my domain, love is for the weak, and I'm the venom that will consume her.

Sienna

I'm trapped in the devil's web, and there's no escaping Salvatore Marino's cruel, magnetic pull. His raw, masculine presence haunts my every moment, his voracious gaze stripping away my defenses.

Imprisoned in this gilded cage he's built for me, I'm surrounded by the menacing power of his 'Ndrangheta empire. The way he watches me, unforgiving and dripping with venomous intent - it's as if he's trying to devour my very soul. Our connection is a battlefield of lust and rage, a toxic collision that threatens to be my undoing.

I know I should fight him, run before he destroys me. But part of me wants to let him consume me, to give in to the darkness that calls out to be claimed. Because in Salvatore's world, love is weakness, and I'm terrified I'm becoming his willing prey.

This is the first book of the Venom in Our Bloods Series. Reading order: The Taste of His Venom, The Mark of His Venom, The Burn of His Venom

Textauszug

I'M NOT READY

━━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━━

Salvatore

My brothers and I stand before the two caskets, everyone dressed in black, soldiers scattered to secure the cemetery where the Marino family has been laid to rest for ages. I glance at the watch my father gifted me; it reads five in the afternoon, and this chaos is unbearable.

Ginevra wipes her face, trying to erase all traces of tears. She is the most sensitive, the pampered one, and I know she is hurting from the loss of our parents because they meant everything to us.

Even though our upbringing was harsh, they always found time to love us as their children, not just as future mafia leaders. I feel my brother Leone's gentle nudge, a gesture of support; I sense them all close yet so far away.

I wasn't prepared to take charge of everything. As the eldest, I have new responsibilities, one of which is to restore order within the mafia. I can't forget my second objective: to avenge the bastards who murdered our parents. They were simply on vacation in the waters of Italy, ready to enjoy time together until they were ambushed, leaving the yacht drenched in blood.

Despite their flaws, and though I can never forgive Mom and Dad, I must exact my vengeance on Alessio Rinaldi.

It's just the four of us and the guards; there are no emissaries, no soldiers, no associates, no consigliere, or any other clan member to bid farewell to the heads of this empire we've sustained for so long.

—What are we going to do?

Domenico asks, clearly confused; this has all happened too quickly for us to process.

No one knew they would attack our parents.

No one knew things were about to change starting today.

"I don't have the strength to handle everything today," I reply solemnly, the knot in my throat tightening. "Go home, stay there, because the Rinaldi will be lurking to take us out. Follow the -fucking orders."

"Where are you going?"

My little sister grabs my arm when she realizes I'm about to leave before they bury our parents.

"I don't owe you an explanation," I shake off her grip. "Follow the orders."

"Hey, Salvatore," Leone interjects. "You shouldn't talk to her like that; she's hurting too."

"I don't give a -fucking; I’m not in the mood for nonsense right now."

I walk away from everyone because I need a -fucking drink to calm my frayed nerves. I head into the Marino mansion, pushing past people, and when they see me removing my tie, they wisely choose not to intervene, knowing I could snap necks at this point.

I slam the door of the private bar where business is conducted. The portrait of our parents remains untouched; I glare at it and immediately grab the nearest bottle of alcohol, hurling it against the wall.

I break down in tears, overwhelmed with frustration. They meant everything to me, despite their mistakes. They taught me to be ruthless, to be fair, to be visionary, and countless other things that I polished to become their pride. But not my own pride. I grab a second bottle, using a knife to pop the top off and pour myself a drink in a large glass, then approach my parents' portrait.

"Dante Marino and Iliana Marino," I trace my fingers over their names embossed on the frame. "Why the hell did you have to leave me? It is all going to hell because of my -fucking incompetence."

There’s no answer; I only see their wide smiles, gazing upwards, never downwards, because we never indulge in looking at those beneath us.

I take a large swig, letting the liquor burn my throat, where the pain I try to hide resides. Now I must do it all; I must become the Don responsible for the family, and I ask myself again.

Is this the moment?

I don’t know, because right now, I can’t hug Ginevra, I can’t talk to my brothers, and I can’t face these -fucking people waiting for new instructions.

The Rinaldi have always been our worst enemies. We can’t be with any women because they will use them against us; we can’t throw a fucking party because they are always lurking, we can’t enjoy our lives, we can’t put our guards down. And all of this... all this stems from a conflict years ago when my grandfather killed Rinaldi's sisters.

Now he’s the last one standing; it used to be four, and now there's only one left, still trying to screw with me, convinced that he must kill all of ours until no one remains or until I’m the last one standing to fight.

The door swings open, and Leone steps in. I quickly turn to wipe my face.

"You’re in charge of all this now; you might be three years younger, but I won’t let you run the family into the ground just because you can’t control yourself," he asserts, as if I care about his bullshit right now. "Ginevra is only seventeen; she needs us now more than ever. Don’t worry, Domenico and I can handle things; I just ask that you don’t speak to her like that."

"She needs to toughen up, -damn it!" I shout as I turn to face him. "We can’t be coddling her all the time, telling her sweet stories and sipping tea whenever she wants. Our parents are dead, and now she has to do her part."

"What part, Salvatore?" He stands firm, confronting me like the bastard he is. "She’s only seventeen; You want her to just become a prostitute for our clubs or what? She fucking needs to grow up; she needs time, to find a place, and decide for herself what she wants to do in the 'Ndrangheta."

I wipe my lips with the back of my hand, take another large gulp, and push the glass aside. Right now, it’s not just him suffering; I am too, but I do it silently, which they dismiss because I’m not gonna be shedding tears all over the place.

They don’t care about me; they care about me keeping them afloat.

But who does that for me?

"All of you can go to hell for today; let me live, let me cry, and..."

"Get drunk? Do whatever the fuck you want, but when you come back, speak to me first before you talk to our siblings."

"I am the leader now!" I bark, enraged. "My parents are dead; I become Don, and you all have to follow my fucking orders because... because I just want to protect you!" I smash the glass against the table and slam my hands down on its edge. "I just want to be left alone... "

He approaches slowly, keeping his hands in his pockets until he rests one on my back.

"You can destroy yourself all you want; you have every right to do so, but it can’t go beyond today. We’ve already lost so much. You know damn well Alessio will not stop, he will continue with what we cherish most, and I’m talking about Ginevra."

"Yeah, -damn it, I know!"

Tears stream down my face; I feel the burn radiating through my body. Right now, I wish with every fiber of my being I could just drive to Apulia and tell that bastard to screw off, to fucking kill him with my own fists, for ruining my existence.

I hear Leone leave, leaving me alone. I assume in a few hours, Domenico will be here, followed by Ginevra trying to cheer me up. So, I decide to leave, before they even try.

At this moment, I don’t care if Alessio puts a bullet in my head.

Let him do it, because the pain I feel right now is unbearable.

Because everything will be lost once I take the reins anyways.

I get into my car to leave the house. We own several nightclubs where people enjoy themselves day and night. I don’t analyze things; I just arrive at the nearest one and park.

I push everyone aside in line, entering without hesitation and heading straight to the bar. It’s still early for some, but I can already count at least fifty heads dancing to the music.

"I don’t want to be spoken to in the private area; I don’t want even a -fucking mosquito buzzing in my ears."

I signal to the bouncer guarding the entrance to the private section, stepping in to take a seat on the plush couches. The waiter approaches with a covered tray; when he uncovers it, I see a bag of cocaine. I take it, waving him away.

I draw three lines on the surface, tracing them with my credit card, rolling up a bill from my wallet to lean in and snort the powder.

I inhale every last grain of white dust.

Letting it flood my brain, my system, I feel the effects within minutes. I close my eyes as the club's music plays, bobbing my head to the rhythm, recalling every wonderful memory I had while it was just me and my little responsibilities.

Now they have doubled, tripled, hell, I don’t want to think anymore.

*I Don't Need Your Name* by Rosenfeld echoes throughout the place, and I stand to survey the crowd below; more people have arrived. A couple of friends are having a blast, a pair dances while touching each other’s bodies, and a petite woman sits at the bar, staring into her drink.

What a bore.

I continue wandering, lost in the haze of the evening, but then—almost like a magnet—I find my gaze drawn back to her. The raven-haired girl. There’s something almost surreal about the way she moves, those red heels clicking against the floor with an elegance that makes everything around her seem to slow. Her legs seem to go on forever, each step a silent promise of something more.

She checks her watch, her fingers brushing against the sleek surface, and for a moment, I think I see a flicker of impatience in her eyes. She glances at the door, a barely perceptible sigh escaping her lips, but it’s the way her fingers linger on the rim of her untouched drink that pulls me in deeper. Restless. Her movements speak louder than words—her fingers tracing circles, betraying the unease that coils within...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 1.8.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 0-00-098605-4 / 0000986054
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-098605-4 / 9780000986054