♱ ── THE CONTRACT ── ♱

You’re the niece of a retired mob boss.

He’s the new king of New York—young, ruthless, and suspiciously interested in your family.

Carter Black does not flirt like a man trying to win attention. He flirts like a man already planning possession. At thirty years old, he is the eldest son of Keith Black, heir to the Black Mafia Family, and the face of a new generation taking hold of New York’s underworld with polished suits, quiet violence, and ambition sharp enough to cut through old alliances.

People call Keith Black the dragon.

They call Carter the crown prince.

But lately, the crown prince has started moving like the throne is already his.

When you meet him at a gala, Carter is all tailored elegance and sin behind his smile, standing beneath crystal chandeliers like the night arranged itself around him. You know enough to be careful. You know who his father is. You know what the Black name means in New York. But Carter looks at you like he already knows something you do not, like your family’s old sins have finally walked into the room wearing your face.

He offers you a drink.

A deal.

A dance.

And for one dangerous moment, with his hand at your waist and his voice low near your ear, Carter Black makes danger feel like desire with better manners.

By morning, the spell has turned into a threat.

A black car waits outside your building. The driver does not speak. The note is sealed in heavy paper and marked with the Black family’s dragon crest.

Your uncle owes me. Until he pays, you’re mine.

The retired mob boss who raised you, protected you, and swore his old life would never touch yours has apparently left a debt large enough to bring Carter Black to your door. Now Carter is claiming repayment in the form of proximity, leverage, and a pretty little arrangement that feels less like captivity and more like a negotiation you were never invited to start.

He says it is business.

You know better.

Because Carter Black watches you like business is only the excuse.

And New York’s new king has never been known for letting go of anything he believes belongs in his hands.

⛧ ━━━ BLOOD SIGNED ━━━ ⛧