Series: Bellandi Crime Syndicate #5
Publication date: December 30th, 2021
Synopsis:
Broken men don't fall in love.
We linger in the darkness, consumed by the sins that define us.
Irina is the sole reason my heart beats. She's everything that matters in a world filled with evil that a woman so good and pure should never have to see.
She'll add another scar to my collection -- this one engraved on my heart.
When she's taken by our enemy to use for his vengeance. Even knowing she can never be mine, I'll stop at nothing to see her safe.
The Irina I rescue isn't the same feisty woman they stole.
Her soul is broken. Her heart is hollow like mine, because of the things she's seen. She needs me in a way I've never known.
And I will destroy the man who shattered what's mine.
Scarred Regrets is a full-length standalone romance, but the series presents a better reading experience when following the suggested order.
This series contains dark elements, including over-the-top antiheroes who do as they please. Read as your own discretion.
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Excerpt
Her hand brushed against a white line on her upper thigh, drawing my attention to the cluster of them and away from the place where she slid her fingers over herself. She glanced up at my face when my hand stilled, her own fingers following suit as her piercing green eyes landed on mine. I clenched my jaw, taking my hand away from the button of my slacks to clench it in a fist at my side.
"Butterfly," I growled, a warning in my voice that sent her hurrying to grab her robe off the floor. I closed the gap between us before I realized I'd moved, grabbing her by her pretty little neck and raising her until she stood up straight again. She stared up at me, her lips parting open and filling me with the desire to feel them on mine again. My hand tightening on her throat, her own grip shifting up to claw at the ink on the back of my hands as her breathing restricted.
I needed to be inside her. Needed to have part of me be a part of her, but considering the panic threatening my racing heart and what I'd seen on her thighs, that couldn't happen.
Only the fact that I was very clearly in control, that my grip was on her throat and she was the one who was vulnerable, kept the demons at bay. She opened her mouth wider, my name coming out in a harsh rasp as she struggled to get enough air.
"Scar," she begged, her body going limp until it was only my hold on her neck that kept her on her feet. If I didn't control my impulses, the violence surging in my veins, I'd hurt her.
I'd break her.
I reached around her with my other hand, grabbing the tumbler of scotch resting on the end table next to the sofa where she'd likely say to work herself up to her strip tease. Watching and waiting for her reaction, I drew a sip into my mouth and let it rest there.
I let the burn consume me, then I dropped the tumbler back to the table and leaned my face over hers. Tipping her neck back until her face was parallel to the ground, I tightened my grip just enough that she gasped.
Her mouth flew open in shock, another plea in her eyes as they filled with tears.
She'd find no mercy with me. No protection from the monster she'd awakened with the sight of her scars. I spit the scotch into her open mouth, watching as she struggled to swallow it at her unnatural angle.
When she finally worked the scotch down her restricted throat, something settled inside me. I was inside her. Part of her. And if I gave into the monster inside me, she would never be able to cut me out.
I loosened my grip on her throat, touching my forehead to hers while she blinked back tears. "Now," I growled, dropping my other hand to the raised white lines covering the tops of her thighs. "What the hell are these and who do I have to fucking slaughter?"
Bloodied Hands by Adelaide Forrest (Bellandi Crime Syndicate #1) -
Forgivable Sins by Adelaide Forrest (Bellandi Crime Syndicate #2) -
Grieved Loss by Adelaide Forrest (Bellandi Crime Syndicate #3) -
Shielded Wrongs by Adelaide Forrest (Bellandi Crime Syndicate #4) -
Settled Scores by Adelaide Forrest (Bellandi Crime Syndicate #6) -
Adelaide fell in love with books at a young age and quickly discovered her love for writing soon after. Since then, she's become a self-professed plot hoarder of over 300 book concepts.
After receiving her degree in Psychology, Adelaide traded out her boots to be a stay-at-home mom. In 2019, she added author to those job duties after a lifetime of dreaming about it.
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