Big & Rough Alpha Hitmen Series by Sara Hazel, Simone Black

I was sent to kill her. Dr. Alana Hart—brilliant criminology professor who dug too deep into the Ammirato Group's operations. One bullet, one less problem. Simple. Clean. Until I saw her. Curves that made my blood burn, intelligence that challenged my every move, and a defiance that awakened something I'd buried long ago. Now, instead of eliminating her, I've kidnapped her to my secure fortress. My employers want her dead, and a cleanup team is hunting us both... moreI was sent to kill her. Dr. Alana Hart—brilliant criminology professor who dug too deep into the Ammirato Group's operations. One bullet, one less problem. Simple. Clean. Until I saw her. Curves that made my blood burn, intelligence that challenged my every move, and a defiance that awakened something I'd buried long ago. Now, instead of eliminating her, I've kidnapped her to my secure fortress. My employers want her dead, and a cleanup team is hunting us both. I'm her captor, her protector, her greatest danger and only salvation. The tension between us is explosive, building with every glance, every touch. As bullets fly and our time runs out, one thing becomes I've crossed a line I can never return from. She's mine to protect. Mine to possess. Even if it costs me everything. I'm not supposed to be alive. The moment I uncovered the truth about the Ammirato Group, I became a target. Then he appeared in the shadows—tall, lethal, moving with the silent grace of a predator. Santino. The hitman sent to kill me who instead made me his prisoner. Now we're trapped in his concrete fortress while assassins close in. I should hate him. Fear him. Not burn for his touch, not crave the searing heat of his hands on my body. With every hour, the walls between captor and captive crumble. Every kiss, every explosive encounter reshapes who we are to each other. I'm a professor who analyzes criminal minds, yet I can't understand my own desperate need for this dangerous man. As our enemies draw closer, one question haunts When the bullets start flying, which will win—his duty or his desire? less

A curvy girl and alpha mafia hitman instalove romance novella from Sara Hazel. I came to this small town to disappear. To bury the blood on my hands and the shadows in my past. Taking a job at a romance bookstore was supposed to be simple—stack books, get paid, stay invisible. Then I met Lilac. Curvy, chatty, with a smile that makes me forget how to breathe—she's everything I've trained myself not to want. Too bright. Too hopeful. Too damn perfect. I should keep my distance... moreA curvy girl and alpha mafia hitman instalove romance novella from Sara Hazel. I came to this small town to disappear. To bury the blood on my hands and the shadows in my past. Taking a job at a romance bookstore was supposed to be simple—stack books, get paid, stay invisible. Then I met Lilac. Curvy, chatty, with a smile that makes me forget how to breathe—she's everything I've trained myself not to want. Too bright. Too hopeful. Too damn perfect. I should keep my distance. Men like me don't get second chances. We don't get happy endings. But every time she blushes, every time her eyes linger on my hands, I feel my control slipping. I want to worship every inch of her. I want to claim her, protect her, ruin her for anyone else. When my past comes calling, threatening everything we've built, I have a choice to run like I always have, or stand and fight for the only woman who's ever seen the man beneath the monster. She sells love stories for a living. I never believed in them—until her. I run a romance bookstore, but I never expected to star in my own love story. Then Cain walks through my door, all muscle and danger and eyes that make my knees weak. He's straight out of the dark romances I keep in the back corner—brooding, mysterious, with hands that could break a man or worship a woman. He takes the job as my assistant, and suddenly my quiet life is electric. The way he looks at me—like I'm something precious and delicious all at once—has me dreaming dangerous dreams. When he finally touches me, it's like every fantasy I've ever had come to life. He claims me completely, whispering promises that make me shiver. But there's a darkness in him. Secrets. A past that follows like a shadow. When that past threatens us both, I discover the truth about the man I've fallen for. My brooding, protective beast has blood on his hands and demons in his heart. But I've never felt safer than wrapped in his arms. They say love can redeem even the most dangerous man. I'm betting everything that they're right. less