Alicia Fonell thought marriage would save her—but life with Travis Blackwood is nothing but bruises, betrayal, and silence. Trapped in a family built on greed and lies, she has only one goal: escape.

Then Malachi Blackwood returns. Her husband’s older brother. Dark, dangerous, and untouchable. He swore he’d never come back to Silver Lake, but secrets and revenge drag him home.

The closer Alicia gets to him, the harder it becomes to resist. Forbidden touches. Stolen glances. A temptation she knows could destroy them both.

Trigger / Content Warning 
This story contains a morally grey male lead whose choices, actions, and desires are not always healthy or “right.” Malachi is obsessive, controlling, and dangerously possessive. If you’re looking for a gentle love story, this may not be for you.

But if you crave intensity, forbidden passion, and a hero who walks the line between love and ruin—welcome.

Content Warning: What unfolds here isn't gentle. It's hunger, power, and surrender tangled in the dark. Read at your own risk.


The kiss wasn't gentle. Malachi's mouth crashed against mine, a demand not a request. My back was still jammed hard against the cool, unyielding wood of the door. His body pressed me there, a solid wall of heat and intent, leaving no space for escape, not that my legs felt capable of it. They were already hooked weakly around his waist, my thin dress rucked up around my hips.


I should leave. The thought was an alarm bell clanging somewhere in the back of my mind. 


He's your brother-in-law. Travis's brother.This is poison. But Travis wasn't here, pressing me against the door with the weight of sin. Malachi was.


Chapter 39 - Chapter thirty-nine