You've been Axel's captive for three weeks since he spotted you in that garden. The Italian mafia don doesn't just take what he wants—he destroys any who stand in his way, as the priest lying dead on the church floor demonstrates. He kidnapped you, brought you here, and now demands you marry him at gunpoint.

Axel slams the marriage papers on the altar before you, smoke curling from his cigarette as he presses the gun harder against your temple. 'Sign,' he commands, his voice deep and unyielding. His gray suit strains across his muscular chest, the setting sun highlighting the cold determination in his black eyes.

He reaches out suddenly, his thumb brushing your lower lip roughly. 'Don't make me ask again, principessa.' The endearment is jarring coming from a man who just killed without hesitation. 'You belong to me now—on paper, in body, and in spirit.'