King of Souls by L.A. Cotton
Series: Verona Legacy #2
Publication date: August 11th, 2020
Synopsis:
Arianne Capizola is living a lie.
Angry. Abandoned. Afraid.
She'd rather spend her days locked away on her father's estate than with the guy who stole her innocence: her fiance.
Niccolo Marchetti is living a nightmare.
Broken. Banished. Betrayed.
He'd do anything to save the girl he loves, even if it means paying the ultimate price.
As the truth surround their legacies begins to unravel, everything they thought they knew shatters. But Nicco will do anything to protect the girl who taught him how to love, and she will risk it all to save the guy who stole her heart.
The clock is ticking as old and new enemies close in.
Only this time, their love might not be enough to save them.
*King of Souls is the second book in Nicco and Ari's duet. Due to mature content that some readers may find distressing, this book is recommended for readers 18+
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Excerpt
"Nicco!" Arianne clambered off the bed and rushed to my side.
"Wait." I held up my other hand to stop her. A dark angry storm was raging through me. I wanted to hit something, to hurt and bleed.
I needed it.
Dark rivulets of blood seeped over my hand, but I barely felt it. I was too wired. Too hungry for the kill.
"Let me take a look at it." Arianne stepped forward and I jerked back, like a caged animal being riled.
"Nicco, it's me. It's only me." She had me cornered with no way out. My body trembled violently as I desperately tried to hold on to my frayed rope of control.
"Nicco..." Arianne brushed the hair from my face. My head hung low, my shoulders hunched and tight. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to hunt him down and kill him with my bare hands.
"Come back to me." She gently lifted my busted hand and inspected the damage. "It needs cleaning. Let me see what there is." Arianne left me and went into the bathroom. When she came back, she had a small first aid kit. "I found it in the cabinet. Sit." Her gaze went to the bed, but I remained rigid.
"I need to stand."
"Okay. Hold still." She worked in silence, cleaning me up and bandaging my hand. My pulse began to slow, the tightness in my chest easing.
It was her.
Her touch, her calmness.
"I'm sorry," I choked out.
Arianne took my face in her hands and looked right at me. God, I wanted to drown in the dark pools of honey. "Talk to me."
"I want to kill him... I should have killed him."
"So why didn't you?"
It was the last thing I expected her to say, but I knew this wasn't about her, it was about me.
"It's not that simple," I released a heavy sigh. "If I'd have killed him... it would start something we might not be able to finish. I can't do that to the Family, to you."
She nodded, dropping one of her hands to mine and lacing them together. "I hate Scott for what he did to me. I hate him so much that sometimes I wish you had done it." Arianne took a shuddering breath. "But I want a life with you. I want a future. I can't have that if you're behind bars... or worse."
"If he hurts you again, I can't promise I won't do it."
Something flashed in her eyes, but before I could decipher it, Arianne kissed me. "I don't want to talk any more, Nicco. I want you to love me. I want you to make me forget about the monsters."
"Wait." I held up my other hand to stop her. A dark angry storm was raging through me. I wanted to hit something, to hurt and bleed.
I needed it.
Dark rivulets of blood seeped over my hand, but I barely felt it. I was too wired. Too hungry for the kill.
"Let me take a look at it." Arianne stepped forward and I jerked back, like a caged animal being riled.
"Nicco, it's me. It's only me." She had me cornered with no way out. My body trembled violently as I desperately tried to hold on to my frayed rope of control.
"Nicco..." Arianne brushed the hair from my face. My head hung low, my shoulders hunched and tight. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to hunt him down and kill him with my bare hands.
"Come back to me." She gently lifted my busted hand and inspected the damage. "It needs cleaning. Let me see what there is." Arianne left me and went into the bathroom. When she came back, she had a small first aid kit. "I found it in the cabinet. Sit." Her gaze went to the bed, but I remained rigid.
"I need to stand."
"Okay. Hold still." She worked in silence, cleaning me up and bandaging my hand. My pulse began to slow, the tightness in my chest easing.
It was her.
Her touch, her calmness.
"I'm sorry," I choked out.
Arianne took my face in her hands and looked right at me. God, I wanted to drown in the dark pools of honey. "Talk to me."
"I want to kill him... I should have killed him."
"So why didn't you?"
It was the last thing I expected her to say, but I knew this wasn't about her, it was about me.
"It's not that simple," I released a heavy sigh. "If I'd have killed him... it would start something we might not be able to finish. I can't do that to the Family, to you."
She nodded, dropping one of her hands to mine and lacing them together. "I hate Scott for what he did to me. I hate him so much that sometimes I wish you had done it." Arianne took a shuddering breath. "But I want a life with you. I want a future. I can't have that if you're behind bars... or worse."
"If he hurts you again, I can't promise I won't do it."
Something flashed in her eyes, but before I could decipher it, Arianne kissed me. "I don't want to talk any more, Nicco. I want you to love me. I want you to make me forget about the monsters."
Prince of Hearts by L.A. Cotton (Verona Legacy #1) -
About the Author:
Author of over thirty mature young adult and new adult novels, L.A. is happiest writing the kind of books she loves to read: addictive stories full of teenage angst, tension, twists and turns.
Home is a small town in the middle of England where she currently juggles being a full-time writer with being a mother/referee to two little people. In her spare time (and when she's not camped out in front of the laptop) you'll most likely find L.A. immersed in a book, escaping the chaos that is life.
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