He Poisoned Himself So He'd Never Touch Me
Piper Hayes · Completed · 7.0k Words
Introduction
He looked me in the eyes, his own red, and swore he'd love me for the rest of his life. So I married into this century-old Italian-American Mafia dynasty.
But on our wedding night, the moment he touched me, he convulsed, coughed up blood, and collapsed.
The second time, an old condition flared up and kept him flat on his back for a month.
The third time, he nearly bled out.
Every time after that, the same thing.
The whole family called me a curse. Marked. Bad luck. The kind of woman who brings death to whoever gets close.
The Godmother gave me an ultimatum: get pregnant within a month, or sign the divorce papers and be shipped off to Chicago to marry the devil himself.
I was carrying a fertility tonic to his study, ready to beg him one more time, when I heard voices through the door.
"Mr. Kingsley, please, you gotta stop. Every time you don't wanna go near her, you shoot yourself up with that stuff. You're gonna kill yourself."
Damon was quiet for a long moment. Then, calm and flat: "Aurora is the only woman I love. I'd take the pain any day over touching her."
All this time, while the whole family called me a curse, the one who actually put it on me was the man I almost died for.
Damon Kingsley. After today, we're done. In this life or the next, don't ever cross my path again.
Chapter 1
Linnea's POV
Three years ago, I took a bullet for Damon Kingsley. It came within half an inch of my heart.
He looked me in the eyes, his own red, and swore he'd love me for the rest of his life. So I married into this century-old Italian-American Mafia dynasty.
But on our wedding night, the moment he touched me, he convulsed, coughed up blood, and collapsed.
The second time, an old condition flared up and kept him flat on his back for a month.
The third time, he nearly bled out.
Every time after that, the same thing.
The whole family called me a curse. Marked. Bad luck. The kind of woman who brings death to whoever gets close.
The Godmother gave me an ultimatum: get pregnant within a month, or sign the divorce papers and be shipped off to Chicago to marry the devil himself.
I was carrying a fertility tonic to his study, ready to beg him one more time, when I heard voices through the door.
"Mr. Kingsley, please, you gotta stop." One of his guys sounded desperate. "Every time you don't wanna go near her, you shoot yourself up with that stuff. You're gonna kill yourself."
Damon was quiet for a long moment. Then, calm and flat: "Aurora is the only woman I love. I'd take the pain any day over touching her."
All this time, while the whole family called me a curse, the one who actually put it on me was the man I almost died for.
Damon Kingsley. After today, we're done. In this life or the next, don't ever cross my path again.
—
"But boss..." One of his guys goes quiet, voice dropping like he can't bring himself to say it. "She really loves you, boss. You know that, right?"
"Shut up."
Damon sits on the couch, slowly turning the syringe between his fingers. His face gives nothing away. Just cold. Dark. Still.
"Love?" A short, humorless laugh. "A woman like her doesn't get to talk about love. The only reason I married her was because my mother held the succession over my head, and she took a bullet for me. That's it. Every time I see her throwing herself at me like that, it makes me sick."
"No woman except Aurora will ever carry my child. Any other woman who touches me makes my skin crawl. As far as I'm concerned, Linnea Hayes is nothing. She blocked a bullet. That's the only thing she's ever been good for."
Something in my head just stops. Like I've been struck by lightning.
A few hours ago I was on my knees in the meeting room while the family elders took turns tearing into me. Cursed. Marked. A walking curse.
I knelt there and tried to find words, but my throat wouldn't cooperate.
What was I supposed to say? That every time he got near me he'd convulse and bleed? That I wanted a child more than anything, but that man wouldn't even touch me?
It was Damon's mother, the Godmother, who finally ended it. "Linnea, this family has taken care of you for three years. Whatever you were owed for that bullet, consider the debt settled. We don't carry dead weight. I'll say this once: if you're not pregnant within a month, you sign the papers and go to Chicago. Knox Steele needs someone for an alliance. You'll do."
Knox Steele. Chicago's most feared man. Cold, ruthless, the kind who kills clean and never looks back. Being sent to him wouldn't be an escape. It'd just be a different kind of hell.
I came to his study with this tonic because I was willing to beg. Give me a child. Give me a way out.
But the bottle is still warm in my hands, and my heart has gone completely cold.
Aurora Marsh.
His dead brother's widow. Always so fragile. Always playing the victim. The woman he never got over.
Three years. Three years beside him, and I was never anything more than someone he could step on when it suited him. Every convulsion, every bloody episode, all that suffering he put himself through. It was never bad luck. It was never me. He was poisoning himself so he'd never have to touch me. And the whole time everyone in this family was calling me a curse, he was the one casting it.
I press my back against the wall and try to breathe.
My hand goes to my chest without thinking, right over the scar from that bullet. It feels like it's tearing open all over again.
Tears fall onto the back of my hand. I straighten up slowly.
Three years of hope, all of it drains out of me.
You think I disgust you. Fine. Keep all that love for Aurora Marsh.
But Damon Kingsley, three years of this ends right now.
I turn and walk away, slipping into the dark at the end of the hall without a sound.
I pour the tonic down the drain. Along with the last of whatever I still felt for him.
At eleven that night, Damon pushes open the bedroom door.
The overhead light is off. Just the faint glow from the lamp by the bed.
I'm sitting on the edge of the mattress in my nightgown, completely still.
Any other night, I'd have heard his footsteps and already been on my feet. Going to him. Taking his jacket. Asking how his night went.
Tonight, I don't move.
He hesitates, just for a beat. Then that familiar expression settles back onto his face, warm and soft and practiced.
He crosses the room and takes my cold fingers in his hand, voice low and careful. "Linnea, I'm sorry about what happened tonight. I'll handle my mother. Tonight... I know I can. Let's try for a baby. What do you say?"
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
Bound by Fate, Freed by Choice
Her escape leads her to Alpha Rowan, the commanding leader of the Blackwood Pack, who offers shelter, protection, and an unexpected chance at a new life. But Rowan’s fierce and jealous fiancée sees Lyla as a threat, and the pack’s charming Beta is drawn to her quiet strength.
As a dangerous attraction simmers between Lyla and Rowan, they begin to unravel a dark web of secrets that implicates Kaiden and threatens both their worlds.
With her hidden power awakening, Lyla must navigate treacherous loyalties, face the alpha who shattered her, and decide: Will she follow the destiny fate forced upon her, or claim the love and strength she has chosen for herself?
Glimmerdrop: The Crownwake Series
"This is your last chance to push me away."
At the fiercely hierarchical Haldorian Academy, magic-less commoner Hettie just wants to remain invisible. But Zadok, the academy's most untouchable elite, backs her into a corner she can't escape.
His fatal obsession sparks ruthless revenge: Dana, a high-tier wind mystic, turns paper into deadly blades during combat class, nearly blinding and disfiguring Hettie in a bloody attack .
The massive class divide and brutal bullying force Hettie to draw a line, demanding their romance be kept strictly underground .
That forever unattainable golden boy pinned her against the tree trunk, his scalding and aggressive kiss accompanied by a hopeless surrender: "You're going to be my doom ."
Worse still, Hettie discovers her parents’ dark secrets are dragging her into a deadly conspiracy of betrayal . Survival clashes with forbidden desire. In this deadly, cross-class temptation, whoever gives in first is doomed!
The CEO's Unspoken Love
Before I could answer, he moved closer, suddenly looming over me, his face inches from mine. I felt my breath caught, my lips parting in surprise.
"Then this is the price for speaking ill of me to others," he murmured, nipping my lower lip before claiming my mouth in a real kiss. It began as punishment but quickly transformed into something else entirely as I responded, my initial rigidity melting into compliance, then active participation.
My breathing accelerated, small sounds escaping my throat as he explored my body. His touches were both punishment and pleasure, drawing shudders from me that I thought he felt reverberating through his own body.
My nightgown had ridden up, his hands discovering more of mine with each caress. We were both lost in sensation, rational thought receding with each passing second...
Three years ago, to fulfill the wish of his grandmother, I was forced to marry Derek Wells, the second son of the family that had adopted me for ten years. He didn't love me, but I had secretly loved him all along.
Now, the three-year contractual marriage is about to end, but I feel that some kind of sentiment has developed between Derek and me that neither of us is willing to admit. I'm not sure if my feelings are right, but I know that we can't resist each other physically...
Mates: Regrets and Redemption
With my heart in pieces, I sought solace in the last place I expected—my Alpha's arms. One night turned into a dangerous entanglement, and now my Alpha refuses to let me go. As the Alpha’s obsession grows, I'm caught in a web of desire and fear.
Curtis, the boy I once loved, still holds a promise I made, but the Alpha’s powerful presence pulls me deeper into his world. Should I forgive Curtis and keep my word, or should I risk everything for a chance at something wild and unpredictable with the Alpha who won’t take no for an answer?
“There are no limits between us,” he chuckled, the mirth sparkling in his gorgeous eyes. “And all of this stems from the night you gave me both pain and pleasure. I’m simply returning the favor.”
He took two steps forward, and I stepped back. “But…” The memory of what I had done filled me with fear, and I knew I had to get out of there. “I…”
“No, Firecat.” He placed an index finger on my lips. “This will take your mind off that son of a bitch.” His strong hands pulled me by the waist until I felt his hard manhood.
Let Them Kneel
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.
But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.
Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.
When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.
For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.
Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.
But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.
And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.
Especially him.
She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.
Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
From Sacrificed Slave to the Dragon King's Obsession
His fangs glinted as he gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. Dragon scales shimmered along his neck, breath scorching my skin.
"Your Majesty... I beg—" He shoved me onto the bed. Silk tore with a sharp rip, cold air rushing over my exposed body.
"Scared?" He smirked, palm sliding down my waist, fingers tracing slow, burning circles. "Yet you shiver... not from cold."
I lunged for the candlestick, but he caught my wrist, pinning it overhead. His knee forced my legs apart.
"When your father gave you to me," his lips brushed my ear, voice a dark rumble, "you were already mine."
On the eve of freedom after ten years of servitude, Lina Valeria stood one night away from reuniting with her betrothed. But Dragon King Augustus condemned her to the Abyss Mines on false charges—a trap forged from obsessive desire.
Augustus Ashenwing, Supreme Sovereign of Skyhold Citadel, is ruthless and feared by all races. His obsession stems from ancient grudges and dragonkind's most dangerous instinct: possessive desire. He demands her submission, binding her to his throne as his consort.
From prisoner to queen, Lina battles him through court intrigue and twisted passion—fighting for her mother, her freedom, her dignity.
Yet this cold-blooded tyrant reserves all tenderness for her alone. He indulges her temper, bends his pride, compromises without limit—anything to see her smile. Gradually, her heart wavers. But loving him means betraying Kain, who waited eleven years. Torn between duty and desire, she drowns in agonizing guilt.
Love and hatred intertwined—a forbidden dragon romance in a realm of oppression.
Owned By My Cold-Hearted Psychotic Straight Boss
“Please, what?”
I ran my wet tongue through my dry lips. Voice barely above a whisper. “Please… please... please make me… make me… make me your little bitch.”
The words tasted bitter and filthy on my tongue. I hated myself for saying them. Hated how my cock twitched when I did.
“I can’t hear you, Jones,” He said, voice hard, low and commanding. “Louder.”
I swallowed again, eyes stinging. “Please make me your little bitch.”
“A little louder.”
My cheeks burned. I forced the words out stronger this time. “Please make me your little bitch.”
He smirked, slow and satisfied. The look in his eyes made my stomach flip.
“Good boy,” He murmured. “Now listen carefully, Jones. If you agree to this, you’re mine. Completely. You don't look at other men. You don’t think about them. You don’t even dream about them. Everything about you; your mouth, your ass, your cock, your body… even your thoughts, belongs to me. All of it. I get to treat and use you however and whenever I want. Rough. Gentle. Mean. Filthy. You take it all. And you praise me for it. Understood?”
I hesitated, heart pounding so hard I thought it was going to explode. The last bit of resistance flickered. My mind was screaming no; to get up, run and never look back.
“Well?” He urged, thumb still holding my chin.
I closed my eyes for half a second, detesting every inch of my being. Then I nodded, voice small. “Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes… I understand.”
“Good.”
...
Shane Blackwood is his name.
And he's a monster.
He's toxic, cruel and psychotic beyond your wildest imagination.
I knew all this.
And yet, I signed that stupid agreement.
And now... he owns me.
Completely.
There's no escape.
[This is a dark erotica MM. Rated 18+]
The Dragon's Last Fae Queen
“Prince? Dickhead? Asshole? Or stalker?” A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. “Maybe I should show you the one title I want you to use.” Before I could react, his hand closed around my chin, tilting my face up. His lips crashed into mine, hard, claiming, breath-stealing. When he finally pulled back, his voice was a rough whisper against my lips. “You could call me yours… because you are mine.”
A pack of their own
Aphrodite and the Cursed Mate Bond
She finds truth.
Aphrodite is not human at all. She is a rare white wolf, descended from an ancient Direwolf bloodline long believed extinct. The ritual meant to sever her ties awakens her wolf instead and with it comes the scent of five mates bound to her by fate.
The Alpha twins who once scorned her now cannot stay away. A human hunter walks beside her and proves that strength is not born of fangs or dominance. A cursed Wolf King holds the key to her past and her father’s imprisonment. And watching from the shadows is one who was never meant to interfere at all.
As gods fall, packs fracture, and war reshapes the world, Aphrodite must decide what destiny truly means. Is it submission to fate or the courage to choose her own path.
Love does not come in one form. Neither does power.
In a world ruled by gods and wolves, Aphrodite will become something neither ever expected.
Not a queen.
But the axis upon which the world turns.
The Unwritten Princess
My name is Mia, and everything I touch is dying.
The flowers beneath my mother's window turned black overnight. The herbs I gathered at dawn rotted in my hands. When the court wizard finally told me the truth—that someone cursed me, that my presence would kill everyone I love—I realized the prophecy everyone believed was never meant to save the kingdom. It was meant to destroy me.
So I ran. Not to fulfill some destiny, but to survive it.
Now I'm traveling with a hunter who lost his companions to the same curse I carry, chasing fragments of a prophecy the Fae sing differently. An elf took a baby from the palace the night I was born. And somewhere between the lies I've been told and the truth I'm hunting, I'm starting to suspect: What if I'm not the princess from the prophecy at all?
