A LOVE MOST BRUTAL

Maxim Orlov is running out of time. At 38 years old, he’s spent the last decade trying to turn the Orlovs into a respectable crime family, but if he doesn’t make an heir, and quick, his horrid cousin is the next in line. With two failed engagements under his belt, Maxim is starting to feel desperate.

Meanwhile, Mary Morelli is floundering. As the youngest daughter and top enforcer of the Morelli crime family, Mary is a force to be reckoned with, but she’s beginning to crumble under the weight of trying to keep her sisters’ growing families safe. In a fit of anxiety, Mary comes up with the perfect solution: marry the Russian. The calculated union will be mutually beneficial, offering protection and power both ways, and conveniently passionless. To cement the deal, she vows to him that she will never, ever fall in love with him.

Maxim has been watching Mary for months, both fascinated and thrilled by her. A no-feelings-attached marriage to Mary Morelli is like a dream, but keeping his heart neutral proves harder than he expected as she worms her way under his skin and into his life. Can their marriage remain a business deal without feelings getting in the way?

Tropes

• Age gap (26 and 38)
• Arranged marriage
• forced proximity
• Mafia boss x Mafia enforcer
• Making an heir
• Yearning
• Feral woman x secret softie
• Open door spice
• Women’s wrongs
• 1st person, dual POV
• Bisexual FMC

Content/Trigger Warnings

• Violence (hand-to-hand, knife, and gun violence)
• Blood
• Murder and death (multiple dead bodies mentioned or seen) 
• Panic attacks
• Anxiety/OCD rep
• Death of a parent (historical)
• On-page Sex
• Pregnancy

Part of a series? Interconnect standalone?

• Second in a series of interconnected standalones, though it’s recommended you read the first for the timeline