Raphael

Raphael
Blood on my hands is just an occupational hazard.
But at home, I'm just a single father trying to raise my five-year-old son away from the violence.
Finding a nanny who can accept my lifestyle without asking dangerous questions has proven impossible.
Until Annie Harper walks through my door. Twenty-one, perceptive, and completely undaunted by the darkness that surrounds me.
I should keep her at arm's length.
In my world, attachment is a liability enemies can exploit.
Instead, I find myself drawn to her innocence, to the way she sees past the monster to the man beneath.
For the first time since joining Dante's empire, I'm facing a threat I can't eliminate with force: the possibility that some things are worth risking everything for.

Annie
I know what dangerous men look like.
My father was an undercover cop who taught me the signs. The vigilance, the violence, the power that radiates without effort.
Raphael Conti has all these qualities and more. Standing six-foot-six with muscles barely contained by expensive shirts, he's clearly more than just a driver for the Veneziano Family.
I should decline this nanny position. Walk away from his home with its excessive security and the little boy who needs stability that his father's lifestyle can't provide.
Instead, I say yes.
Because beneath his dangerous exterior, I see something familiar. A man living in two worlds, just like my father did. A man protecting what's his at any cost.
I never expected to feel drawn to him. Never thought I'd find myself wondering about the blood on his knuckles or the shadows in his eyes when he returns home late.
They say curiosity is dangerous in his world.
But what if the danger feels like a truth I've been searching for all my life?

Raphael is a short, sweet, and steamy instalove romance with a happy-ever-after. It can be read as a standalone or together with the rest of the books in the Veneziano Family series.