Don Matteo Russo

Don Matteo Russo

kaylaroosie · Ongoing · 64.6k Words

541
Hot
891
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Every night begins the same way.

Candlelight. Steam curling over marble baths. Her body trapped between silk sheets and a man who owns her life. Matteo Russo’s hands are ruthless, possessive—claiming, testing, reminding her who holds the power. Desire burns sharp and dangerous, turning hatred into something filthy and irresistible.

Lila Moreno was kidnapped to pay her father’s $3 million betrayal.
A Palermo nightclub dancer dragged into a forced marriage with Sicily’s most feared mafia don.

She swore she’d kill him.

By day, she plots. Steals secrets. Turns allies against each other. Seduces rivals just to watch them fall. By night, their war turns physical—control versus defiance, rage colliding with need. Every touch is a challenge. Every kiss tastes like violence and surrender all at once.

Then the explosions start.

Bombs ticking down. Enemies closing in. Bodies pressed together while death waits outside the door. Passion becomes reckless. Addictive. Impossible to stop.

The truth shatters everything—her father once saved Matteo’s life. A rival family plans his execution. And Lila is carrying his twins.

When Matteo falls into a coma, the captive takes the throne.

Lila orders bloodshed. Executes traitors. Rules the empire meant to destroy her.

She was taken as a debt.
She stayed for power.
And now, she owns both the man who broke her…
and the mafia that will burn for her.

Chapter 1

Lila POV

I woke up to pain in my wrists and a the smell of gun oil and sea salt. My own black lace scarf, the one I wore on stage at Club Nero, was stuffed between my teeth. It tasted like sweat and my cheap perfume.

I lay on my back on a big bed, silk sheets under me, cool and slippery. My arms were pulled up and tied to the headboard with red silk ropes. It was tight, not enough to cut skin, but enough to burn when I moved. My legs were free, but my dancer heels were gone, my fishnet stockings ripped at the knees. The short black bodysuit I danced in clung to me, sticky with dried sweat.

Moonlight peered through tall open windows as the white curtains moved in the wind. I could hear waves crashing from a distance. When I tugged at the ropes, I heard a slight crack in my shoulders but the knots didn’t move. Whoever tied them knew what they were doing. I tried to scream but only a muffled grunt came out.

The room was huge, decorated with marble floor, gold lamps on the walls, a fireplace, paintings of ships and storms. My blurry eyes searched the room, then I found two. One carved wooden door and a glass door leading to the balcony. Both were closed.

Then the footsteps came slowly from the hallway and the wooden door opened. A man walked in, tall and broad shouldered. His liked shirt hugged his muscles and was unbuttoned all the way to the waist, exposing his wild traditional tattoos, his hair messy like he had been in a fight. Then a thick scar cut straight through his chest.

He stopped at the foot of the bed, his eyes locked on mine.

“You’re awake,” he said. His voice low and rough, with a thick Sicilian thick. “Good. We have a wedding to plan.”

I shook my head fast and the scarf slipped a little so I spat it out and it fell wet on my chest.

“Who the hell are you?” My voice cracked. I hated that it did.

He smiled slowly. “Matteo Russo.”

The name hit me like a slap. Russo. The Russo cartel. He was always associated with drugs and bodies in the harbour. Everyone in Palermo whispered it.

I pulled at the ropes again. “Let me go.”

“No.” He stepped closer and sat on the edge of the bed.

He reached out, pressing his thumb on my neck, right on the pulse. “Your father stole Three million from me and he ran. You will have to repay the debt.” He smirked.

My Dad. Enzo Moreno. I hadn’t seen him in six months. Last time, he packed cash in our tiny apartment and kissed my forehead. “This will keep you safe, Lila.” Then he was gone.

I swallowed. “I don’t have your money.”

“True. But you have you.” His thumb slid to my bottom lip. Pulling it down slowly. “Your body, blood, name... all mine now.”

I bit his thumb so hard that his blood filled my mouth, but he didn’t move or blink. He just watched me, then laughed out loud. “Fight all you want, piccola fiamma. My little flame. You’ll wear my ring at dawn.”

He stood and walked to a table and poured red wine into a glass, his eyes never leaving me as he drank.

I twisted my wrists, the silk cutting deeper. “My sister. Sofia. If you touch her...”

“I won’t.” He set the glass down. “If you behave.”

He pulled out an old worn leather book from his back pocket and tossed it on the bed beside m, then I turned my head to see my dad’s handwriting. I saw numbers, dates, three million euros, Russo cartel and a red thumbprint at the bottom. Dad’s thumbprint. My stomach turned.

“He signed in blood,” Matteo said. “His word were his debt.”

I kicked at him and my foot hit the book, sending it to the floor, but he didn’t flinch.

“You try to run,” he said, “I find Sofia. You try to kill me, I kill your father. You scream, I gag you again. You behave…” He leaned over me. His face inches from mine, his breath warm with wine and smoke. “You live. Maybe you’ll even like it.”

I hated the heat that crawled up my neck when he came close. Hate, not want. I would never want him... or so I thought.

He straightened and walked to the balcony, looking out at the sea. The moonlight casting his shadow long across the floor.

I studied him for a few seconds. He has more scars on his hands and neck, maybe even his back, from knife, bullet burn... he wasn’t soft like the men who watched me dance. This one killed.

I pulled at the ropes again, quietly this time and my left wrist slipped a bit. The silk was smooth, maybe if I twisted...

He turned and caught me. “Don’t.” Just one final order.

He walked back and knelt beside the bed and his hand moved to my hip, finding the old scar there from a stage fall when I was nineteen.

His thumb traced it slowly like he owned it. “Every mark,” he growled. “Every curve. Mine.”

I jerked away, the headboard creaking. He smiled again. “Sleep. Dawn is soon.”

Then he walked away and I was alone again.

I lay still in the silence, listening to the waves, the wind and my heart beating hard against my ribs.

I thought of Sofia, she was just nineteen and innocent. If I ran, he’d find her and if I fought, Dad would die. I needed to play smart.

I twisted my wrist again slowly this time and the silk loosened just a little.

Suddenly, I heard gunshots. Pop. Pop. Pop. It came from away, down the cliff.

Matteo’s door flew open somewhere in the hall and boots on marched on the marble floor. Then I heard shouts in Italian. There were more gunshots, closer this time.

A window shattered downstairs, then everywhere went silent again. I pulled harder and the left rope slipped, freeing my hand.

I froze again and listened, then I heard footsteps running towards my room. The door swung open and Matteo stood there with a gun in hand and blood on his cheek. I knew it wasn’t his.

“Someone wants you dead,” he said. “Or me.”

He looked at my free hand, narrowing his eyes. “Looks like the wedding just got interesting.”

He stepped in, closed the door, locked it and then smiled.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

He Never Loved Me, Until I Left

He Never Loved Me, Until I Left

34.8k Views · Completed · Joy Brown
In order to rush to comfort his assistant whose apartment was leaking, Richard signed his name hastily without even glancing at the documents on the table.
I put away the divorce agreement with a wry smile.
When he and my son completely disappeared, he finally panicked.
Three months later .
He knelt down on the streets of Chicago in despair, begging me to remarry him.
My six-year-old son looked coldly at his biological father and said, "Get lost, you bad uncle! You don't deserve to be my dad!"
I Loved You in Silence, You Betrayed Me in French

I Loved You in Silence, You Betrayed Me in French

33.6k Views · Completed · Joy Brown
I swear, I hate my husband.

At my birthday party, my husband whispered to his mistress in French that he missed her. His voice was low, but I heard it all—the black lingerie, the bit about how pregnancy makes you more sensitive. His French clients around us were laughing. He turned and put his arm around me, claiming he was just helping his clients come up with sweet nothings.

He doesn't know I understand every single word. Just like he doesn't know that inside my body, I'm carrying his other surprise. And his mistress—she's pregnant too. Two wombs, one secret.

Confrontation would be too cheap. Tears are worthless. I quietly started cataloging the hidden networks my father left behind, activating the Swiss accounts.

In seven days, Zoey Smith will cease to exist. And what will my husband's reaction be?
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother

Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother

2.2m Views · Ongoing · Harper Rivers
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother.

"What is wrong with me?

Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?

It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.

He’s my boyfirend’s brother.

This is Tyler’s family.

I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.

**

As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.

Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.

When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.

I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.

**

I hate girls like her.

Entitled.

Delicate.

And still—

Still.

The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.

Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.

I shouldn’t care.

I don’t care.

It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.

It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.

I’m not here to rescue anyone.

Especially not her.

Especially not someone like her.

She’s not my problem.

And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.

But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate

Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate

1.1m Views · Ongoing · Becky j
"Mate is here!"
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
Omega Bound

Omega Bound

1.6m Views · Completed · Veronica White
Ayla Frost is a beautiful, rare omega. Kidnapped, tortured, and trafficked to rogue clans and corrupt alphas to do with as they pleased.  Kept alive in her cage, broken and abandoned by her wolf, she becomes mute and has given up on hope for a better life until one explosion changes everything. 

Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life. 

Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
The Human Among  Wolves

The Human Among Wolves

646.1k Views · Ongoing · ZWrites
"You actually thought I cared about you?" His smirk was sharp, almost cruel.
My stomach twisted, but he wasn’t finished.
"You're just a pathetic little human," Zayn said, his words deliberate, each one hitting like a slap. "Spreading your legs for the first guy who bothers to notice you."
Heat rushed to my face, burning with humiliation. My chest ached — not from his words alone, but from the sick realization that I had trusted him. That I had let myself believe he was different.
I was so, so stupid.
——————————————————
When eigteen-year-old Aurora Wells moves to a sleepy town with her parents, the last thing she expects is to be enrolled in a secret academy for werewolves.
Moonbound Academy is no ordinary school. It's here young Lycans, Betas and Alphas train in shifting, elemental magic, and ancient pack laws. But Aurora? She's just...human. a mistake. The new receptionist forgot to check her species - and now she's surrounded by predators who sense she doesn't belong.
Determined to stay under the radar, Aurora plans to survive the year unnoticed. But when she catches the attention of Zayn, a brooding and infuriatingly powerful Lycan prince, her life gets a lot more complicated. Zayn already has a mate. He already has enemies. And he definitely doesn't want anything to do with a clueless human.
But secrets run deeper than bloodlines at Moonbound. as Aurora unravels the truth about the academy - and herself - she begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Including the reason she was brought here at all.
Enemies will rise. Loyalties will shift. And the girl with no place in their world...might be the key to saving it.
Accardi

Accardi

867.3k Views · Completed · Allison Franklin
“I thought we discussed this earlier, Weakness? I warned you. His death is on your hands.”
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.


Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
A pack of their own

A pack of their own

1.8m Views · Completed · dragonsbain22
Being the middle Child ignored and neglected, rejected by family and injured, She receives her wolf early and realizes she is a new type of hybrid but doesn't know how to control her power, she leaves her pack with her best friend and grandmother to go to her grandfather's clan to learn what she is and how to handle her power and then with her fated mate, her best friend and her fated mate little brother and grandmother start their own pack.
Game of Destiny

Game of Destiny

1.2m Views · Completed · Dripping Creativity
Amie's wolf hasn't shown herself. But who cares? She has a good pack, best friends and a family who loves her. Everyone, including the Alpha, is telling her she is perfect just the way she is. That is until she finds her mate and he rejects her. Heartbroken Amie flees from everything and start over. No more werewolves, no more packs.

When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.

Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.

When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
Surrendering to Destiny

Surrendering to Destiny

712.1k Views · Completed · Allison Franklin
Catherine is not only a rogue half-breed, she is also the result of mate-bond infidelity, was abandoned as a baby and, to top it off, she can only shift during the full moon. When Catherine left the only pack she'd ever known in order to escape the new alpha, the last thing she expected was to find her mate... let alone for him to be the mouth-watering, heavily tattooed, lead warrior of the most feared lycan pack on the continent.

Graham MacTavish wasn't prepared to find his mate in the small town of Sterling that borders the Blackmoore Packlands. He certainly didn't expect her to be a rogue, half-breed who smelled of Alpha blood. With her multi-colored eyes, there was no stopping him from falling hard the moment their mate bond snapped into place. He would do anything to claim her, protect her and cherish her no matter the cost.

From vengeful ex-lovers, pack politics, species prejudice, hidden plots, magic, kidnapping, poisoning, rogue attacks, and a mountain of secrets including Catherine's true parentage there is no shortage of things trying to tear the two apart.

Despite the hardships, a burning desire and willingness to trust will help forge a strong bond between the two... but no bond is unbreakable. When the secrets kept close to heart are slowly revealed, will the two be able to weather the storm? Or will the gift bestowed upon Catherine by the moon goddess be too insurmountable to overcome?
Shattered Girl

Shattered Girl

858.5k Views · Completed · Brandi Rae
Jake's fingers danced across my nipples, squeezing gently and making me groan in pleasure. He lifted my shirt and stared at my hardened nipples through my bra. I tensed, and Jake sat up and moved back on the bed, giving me some space.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Was that too much?” I could see the worry in his eyes as I took a deep breath.

“I just didn’t want you to see all my scars,” I whispered, feeling ashamed of my marked body.


Emmy Nichols is used to surviving. She survived her abusive father for years until he beat her so severely, she ended up in the hospital, and her father was finally arrested. Now, Emmy is thrown into a life she never expected. Now she has a mother

who doesn't want her, a politically motivated stepfather with ties to the Irish mob, four older stepbrothers, and their best friend who swear to love and protect her. Then, one night, everything shatters, and Emmy feels her only option is to run.

When her stepbrothers and their best friend finally find her, will they pick up the pieces and convince Emmy that they will keep her safe and their love will hold them together?
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

1.3m Views · Ongoing · Louisa
[Dear readers, if you loved this book, be sure to read my new recommended read: Cheating Husband, Vengeful Me.]
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.

On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...

Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.

George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.

His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"

Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.

When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.

"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"

George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible."

Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."