THE BETRAYAL
Zakarian Syndicate Series - Book Two
by Ruby Bloom
Excerpt Reveal
Release Date: February 5, 2025
Cover Design: Erick Centeno
Genre: Mafia Romance Standalone
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, dark romance, forbidden romance, surprise pregnancy, arranged/forced marriage, opposites attract, her first time, alpha hero, alpha heroine, HEA
THE YOUNGEST DAUGHTER OF A POWERFUL MAFIA FAMILY.
AND HER OH-SO-SERIOUS BODYGUARD.
CAN FORGIVENESS BE FOUND AFTER CROSSING THE LINE OF DUTY?
Arpina Zakarian has been treated like a princess all her life. Allowed to get away with being a brat, coddled and cosseted and never pulled up on her rude, demanding behavior. Aspiring to marry a good-looking Armenian man, and wallow in all the wealth and frivolity of that lifestyle, she doesn’t take life too seriously. Promised to another Armenian family’s oldest son in Las Vegas, she feels like she’s hit the jackpot.
The only condition; she has to spend 6 months living in Vegas and dating her future husband first.
And her stick-in-the-mud bodyguard has to come with her.
Ardian is less than pleased when he is tasked with escorting Arpina around the bright lights of Vegas. He wants to be strategizing with the Syndicate, the right hand man to the head of the family, as should be his place. Not babysitting the naive, little brat youngest daughter who is determined to cause trouble at every opportunity.
Pina is set on partying and fliting about Vegas like she owns the place, and trying to ditch Ardian at any opportunity. But when she realizes all is not as it seems with her new arrangement, she finds herself turning to her only connection to home, her last thread of safety; Ardian.
But Ardian isn’t just battling Pina’s childish ways, he’s fighting the ghosts of his past actions that keep coming back to haunt him. His shameful betrayal. He’ll do anything to atone for it. Trailing around trying to keep Pina out of trouble is a task he’ll approach with the utmost diligence to prove his loyalty if it means his past can be forgotten. Forgiven.
But events in Vegas begin to unravel, he finds himself having to step up and take care of Pina in a way he never expected. And that’s when he realizes he is at risk of the biggest betrayal of all. Betraying himself.
Can they let go of the past to embrace new alliegances, or will pride cause them to lose faith in each other?
TRIGGERS: Profanity and adult themes, minor references to alcoholism and drugs, pregnancy, profanity, gun shot wound and death.
He liked to be rough with women in bed, he knew that. He made it clear that’s what it involved if any woman wanted to be with him.
But this was next level. This was starting an ache within him that he knew he wouldn’t be able to relieve. It was exciting him.
And then she had done something that had completely knocked him down. She had reached a hand up, stroked him, sighed wantonly in his arms, then kissed him.
And his world had spiraled out of its axis and he’d found himself kissing her back. Touching her. Reaching down into her little panties and finding her core.
And fuck him, if she wasn’t all wet and ready for him. And he’d pushed, giving to her, reveling in giving, in her melting more and more into him, becoming a part of him, attaching herself to his heart and soul. Fuck it. And he’d pushed until she’d exploded.
He was right along with her, her spasming and gasping in his arms, he was so close, he was about to follow her into the cosmos, he was-
“Ardian!” She had spun around, gasped, and unmasked him.
And that was when something inside him snapped. He felt it. Something moved, and it could never move back again. He wasn’t sure yet if it was good or bad, but it was profound.
He cleared his throat. Unsure what to say, what to do. She continued to stare. Wide eyed, panting still after her orgasm. Hair all over the place.
He panted too, his hard-on refusing to bow out of the occasion, even though it was obvious relief would not be coming his way anytime soon. Fuck, the hard-on she’s been grinding her tight little butt into seconds ago. The hard-on he had wanted to slip inside that hot, warm little cunt of hers and pound her into the next fucking galaxy-
“Ardian, I… it’s, just I…” She stuttered, biting her lip, searching his face for an answer.
He didn’t have one. Fuck it, he had nothing. No explanation of that, no warning, no clue what had happened or what was coming next.
“Hreshtak,” he said with a hoarse voice. He called her the Armenian name for angel. It had started as a joke, it was meant to be ironic, because she wasn’t an angel, she was a bratty terror and Aridan was constantly tasked with cleaning up the maelstrom she left in her wake. But in that moment, it felt like she could be an angel, for him. He felt a funny, silly, almost drunk hope bubble up in him. His angel. She could be his angel. She was his.
But no, she could never be his. He was a low born servant to her family, basically. And he’d just betrayed them.
He was nothing and she was everything. He couldn’t ever let himself slip like that again. He would fight it, he would deny it, he felt the walls closing in. Even though they were outside, that panic welled up in him again. His breath whooshed out of his lungs as his panic attack took hold.
He tried to hide it, he turned away, head down, hiding in his head in his arms. He gasped for air, he was drowning in it all. The betrayal. He was such a traitor. He betrayed his family, he shot his own brother. He betrayed the Zakarian’s, the family that his father and his father before that had worked for.
And now he’d done something he shouldn’t have with the youngest daughter. He’d felt things he shouldn’t have. He’d touched her where he shouldn’t have. He’d let her in where he shouldn’t have. He hated himself. He didn’t hate her, he hated himself for letting her get to him, in whatever way she now had.
He was spiraling out of control and he had no idea how to pull up, how to maneuver out of the tail spin he was in. The nose dive. He gasped and gasped, and faced away from Pina and couldn’t bring himself to look at her, to imagine what she would be thinking.
Deep breaths. Deep. In and hold. And out. And in again. And hold again. And out. Slowly.
He did it again. Each breath lasted a second and a century at the same time. He felt the night return to him, the noises of people passing by further away, and cars, and music. He saw the streetlights now. He felt her. Watching him. Her face, unreadable.
“I’m taking you back home, Pina,” was all he managed to croak out of his sore throat.
But there was no coming back from this. He knew that. He would fight it, of course. Life was a fight and Ardian had always faced odds stacked against him. He couldn’t let any of this happen again. The panic attack, the kiss, fuck, the explosion of aches in his chest that he felt she left him with in her wake. None of it. And yet, he already knew, things couldn’t go back. He hated that he no longer hated her. He hated that she could never be his.
AND HER OH-SO-SERIOUS BODYGUARD.
CAN FORGIVENESS BE FOUND AFTER CROSSING THE LINE OF DUTY?
Arpina Zakarian has been treated like a princess all her life. Allowed to get away with being a brat, coddled and cosseted and never pulled up on her rude, demanding behavior. Aspiring to marry a good-looking Armenian man, and wallow in all the wealth and frivolity of that lifestyle, she doesn’t take life too seriously. Promised to another Armenian family’s oldest son in Las Vegas, she feels like she’s hit the jackpot.
The only condition; she has to spend 6 months living in Vegas and dating her future husband first.
And her stick-in-the-mud bodyguard has to come with her.
Ardian is less than pleased when he is tasked with escorting Arpina around the bright lights of Vegas. He wants to be strategizing with the Syndicate, the right hand man to the head of the family, as should be his place. Not babysitting the naive, little brat youngest daughter who is determined to cause trouble at every opportunity.
Pina is set on partying and fliting about Vegas like she owns the place, and trying to ditch Ardian at any opportunity. But when she realizes all is not as it seems with her new arrangement, she finds herself turning to her only connection to home, her last thread of safety; Ardian.
But Ardian isn’t just battling Pina’s childish ways, he’s fighting the ghosts of his past actions that keep coming back to haunt him. His shameful betrayal. He’ll do anything to atone for it. Trailing around trying to keep Pina out of trouble is a task he’ll approach with the utmost diligence to prove his loyalty if it means his past can be forgotten. Forgiven.
But events in Vegas begin to unravel, he finds himself having to step up and take care of Pina in a way he never expected. And that’s when he realizes he is at risk of the biggest betrayal of all. Betraying himself.
Can they let go of the past to embrace new alliegances, or will pride cause them to lose faith in each other?
TRIGGERS: Profanity and adult themes, minor references to alcoholism and drugs, pregnancy, profanity, gun shot wound and death.
Add to your TBR List!
But this was next level. This was starting an ache within him that he knew he wouldn’t be able to relieve. It was exciting him.
And then she had done something that had completely knocked him down. She had reached a hand up, stroked him, sighed wantonly in his arms, then kissed him.
And his world had spiraled out of its axis and he’d found himself kissing her back. Touching her. Reaching down into her little panties and finding her core.
And fuck him, if she wasn’t all wet and ready for him. And he’d pushed, giving to her, reveling in giving, in her melting more and more into him, becoming a part of him, attaching herself to his heart and soul. Fuck it. And he’d pushed until she’d exploded.
He was right along with her, her spasming and gasping in his arms, he was so close, he was about to follow her into the cosmos, he was-
“Ardian!” She had spun around, gasped, and unmasked him.
And that was when something inside him snapped. He felt it. Something moved, and it could never move back again. He wasn’t sure yet if it was good or bad, but it was profound.
He cleared his throat. Unsure what to say, what to do. She continued to stare. Wide eyed, panting still after her orgasm. Hair all over the place.
He panted too, his hard-on refusing to bow out of the occasion, even though it was obvious relief would not be coming his way anytime soon. Fuck, the hard-on she’s been grinding her tight little butt into seconds ago. The hard-on he had wanted to slip inside that hot, warm little cunt of hers and pound her into the next fucking galaxy-
“Ardian, I… it’s, just I…” She stuttered, biting her lip, searching his face for an answer.
He didn’t have one. Fuck it, he had nothing. No explanation of that, no warning, no clue what had happened or what was coming next.
“Hreshtak,” he said with a hoarse voice. He called her the Armenian name for angel. It had started as a joke, it was meant to be ironic, because she wasn’t an angel, she was a bratty terror and Aridan was constantly tasked with cleaning up the maelstrom she left in her wake. But in that moment, it felt like she could be an angel, for him. He felt a funny, silly, almost drunk hope bubble up in him. His angel. She could be his angel. She was his.
But no, she could never be his. He was a low born servant to her family, basically. And he’d just betrayed them.
He was nothing and she was everything. He couldn’t ever let himself slip like that again. He would fight it, he would deny it, he felt the walls closing in. Even though they were outside, that panic welled up in him again. His breath whooshed out of his lungs as his panic attack took hold.
He tried to hide it, he turned away, head down, hiding in his head in his arms. He gasped for air, he was drowning in it all. The betrayal. He was such a traitor. He betrayed his family, he shot his own brother. He betrayed the Zakarian’s, the family that his father and his father before that had worked for.
And now he’d done something he shouldn’t have with the youngest daughter. He’d felt things he shouldn’t have. He’d touched her where he shouldn’t have. He’d let her in where he shouldn’t have. He hated himself. He didn’t hate her, he hated himself for letting her get to him, in whatever way she now had.
He was spiraling out of control and he had no idea how to pull up, how to maneuver out of the tail spin he was in. The nose dive. He gasped and gasped, and faced away from Pina and couldn’t bring himself to look at her, to imagine what she would be thinking.
Deep breaths. Deep. In and hold. And out. And in again. And hold again. And out. Slowly.
He did it again. Each breath lasted a second and a century at the same time. He felt the night return to him, the noises of people passing by further away, and cars, and music. He saw the streetlights now. He felt her. Watching him. Her face, unreadable.
“I’m taking you back home, Pina,” was all he managed to croak out of his sore throat.
But there was no coming back from this. He knew that. He would fight it, of course. Life was a fight and Ardian had always faced odds stacked against him. He couldn’t let any of this happen again. The panic attack, the kiss, fuck, the explosion of aches in his chest that he felt she left him with in her wake. None of it. And yet, he already knew, things couldn’t go back. He hated that he no longer hated her. He hated that she could never be his.
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THE VOW
Zakarian Syndicate Series - Book One
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She lives in the UK and works in the mental health field by day, and writes erotic romance by night!
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