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Rossi Mafia #1
Heartnapped
Jayla Simmons never imagined herself working in a place like Vice, but what's a girl to do when she has a child to support all on her ownH? Her disdain for the place isn't limited to her occupation. Her boss, Carter Rossi, has had a strange fixation on her since she started dancing at Vice, and though she's reluctant to admit it, she's drawn to him as well. Carter Rossi is tired of the cat and mouse game he's been playing with Jayla's since the day she walked into his club. The son of Don Antonio Rossi has been denied few things in life, and Jayla Simmons will be no exception. He'll have her by any means necessary.
-Excerpt-
I killed the engine, and braved the cold, not looking forward to climbing the two flights of stairs to my apartment. I scurried over to the bottom of the first flight of stairs, and reached out to grasp the railing. Instead of the frost-covered, metal rail, my hand came in contact with another hand that was much bigger than mine, and protected from the cold by a glove. I was then yanked away from the staircase, another gloved hand covering my mouth before I could scream. I fought futilely as my attacker pulled me into the stairwell; the sting of tears came, unbidden, to my eyes.
“Forgive me, Jayla,” was whispered into my ear before I felt a sharp pinch in my arm, and the world went black.
The fog of sleep began to dissipate, taking the numb feeling that had settled in my limbs with it. I opened my eyes to a scarlet canopy overhead. I sat up quickly, and almost instantly regretted it. My brain seemed to bounce against my skull, causing me to grip the sides of my head in an effort to quell the pain. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders, and shoved them away with a small cry of fear.
“Jayla, it's me,” Carter Rossi' voice called out to me.
Confusion, was what I felt initially. Where was I? why wasn't I at home, and why was Carter Rossi here holding me? I tried hard to conjure up images of my most recent memories. Images quickly flashed in my mind; each of them vague as if they were scenes from a movie I d recently seen instead of my own memories. I saw myself parked outside my apartment building. I watched as I hurried toward the stairs, and then I felt the bone-gripping terror as I was grabbed. The last thing I remembered was the prick of a needle, and then darkness.
“You drugged me,” I accused in a small, disbelieving voice. It was the only explanation.
“It was just a mild sedative, I promise,” he vowed.
“Who does that? What's going on? Why am I here?”
He reached out to touch me again, but I just scooted farther away from him.
“You better not have done what I think you've done, Carter Rossi.”
“I didn't do anything, except finally take what was mine,” he said taking a step closer.
“You re completely out of your mind,” I accused, and surreptitiously started backing toward the bedroom door.
“Don't bother with the door, Jayla. It s locked, and I have the only key.”
“Mr. Rossi, this isn't funny.”
“I agree, Jayla; there s nothing funny about offering your heart to someone only to have them repeatedly discard it like it's garbage,” he practically snarled.
“How long was I out?” I asked as I absentmindedly scraped my nails across the injection site on my arm.
Instead of answering my question, he took my arm gently in both of his hands and examined it. “I'm sorry for this,” he murmured sincerely.
“But not for kidnapping me?”
“No,” he confirmed.
“How long was I out?” I repeated.
“Twelve hours and forty-three minutes,” he answered easily.
I nodded my understanding. “So what now?”
“Now,” he drawled, “I make you fall in love with me.”
“Good luck with that,” I snorted.
“I won't need it.”
-End of Excerpt-
Look for my other work under Jessica N. Lane.
-Excerpt-
I killed the engine, and braved the cold, not looking forward to climbing the two flights of stairs to my apartment. I scurried over to the bottom of the first flight of stairs, and reached out to grasp the railing. Instead of the frost-covered, metal rail, my hand came in contact with another hand that was much bigger than mine, and protected from the cold by a glove. I was then yanked away from the staircase, another gloved hand covering my mouth before I could scream. I fought futilely as my attacker pulled me into the stairwell; the sting of tears came, unbidden, to my eyes.
“Forgive me, Jayla,” was whispered into my ear before I felt a sharp pinch in my arm, and the world went black.
The fog of sleep began to dissipate, taking the numb feeling that had settled in my limbs with it. I opened my eyes to a scarlet canopy overhead. I sat up quickly, and almost instantly regretted it. My brain seemed to bounce against my skull, causing me to grip the sides of my head in an effort to quell the pain. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders, and shoved them away with a small cry of fear.
“Jayla, it's me,” Carter Rossi' voice called out to me.
Confusion, was what I felt initially. Where was I? why wasn't I at home, and why was Carter Rossi here holding me? I tried hard to conjure up images of my most recent memories. Images quickly flashed in my mind; each of them vague as if they were scenes from a movie I d recently seen instead of my own memories. I saw myself parked outside my apartment building. I watched as I hurried toward the stairs, and then I felt the bone-gripping terror as I was grabbed. The last thing I remembered was the prick of a needle, and then darkness.
“You drugged me,” I accused in a small, disbelieving voice. It was the only explanation.
“It was just a mild sedative, I promise,” he vowed.
“Who does that? What's going on? Why am I here?”
He reached out to touch me again, but I just scooted farther away from him.
“You better not have done what I think you've done, Carter Rossi.”
“I didn't do anything, except finally take what was mine,” he said taking a step closer.
“You re completely out of your mind,” I accused, and surreptitiously started backing toward the bedroom door.
“Don't bother with the door, Jayla. It s locked, and I have the only key.”
“Mr. Rossi, this isn't funny.”
“I agree, Jayla; there s nothing funny about offering your heart to someone only to have them repeatedly discard it like it's garbage,” he practically snarled.
“How long was I out?” I asked as I absentmindedly scraped my nails across the injection site on my arm.
Instead of answering my question, he took my arm gently in both of his hands and examined it. “I'm sorry for this,” he murmured sincerely.
“But not for kidnapping me?”
“No,” he confirmed.
“How long was I out?” I repeated.
“Twelve hours and forty-three minutes,” he answered easily.
I nodded my understanding. “So what now?”
“Now,” he drawled, “I make you fall in love with me.”
“Good luck with that,” I snorted.
“I won't need it.”
-End of Excerpt-
Look for my other work under Jessica N. Lane.
- GenresInterracial Romance
260 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 2, 2014
5 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Jessica N. Lane
120 books27 followersHi; I'm Jessica. In a nutshell I'm just a hopeless romantic with a wandering mind and a big imagination who's grateful to God for her gift of storytelling. I've been blessed with a mind and imagination inclined toward all things artistic, so I think a creative career was always meant for me. I've been writing since I was a kid, but I didn't start seriously contemplating becoming an author until I was in college. The idea for this sprawling fantasy series that is now known as The Mythic Chronicles came to me when I was sixteen, and I got so inspired by this little half-formed idea that I wrote my first draft of the story that, 8 years later, became Book 1: Enchanted in about one month.. That first manuscript will never see the light of day because it was pretty terrible, but no worries, My skills have improved a lot since then. If you're up for a sprawling, fantasy series packed with plenty of magic, danger, romance, and adventure, the journey begins with Enchanted: The Mythic Chronicles Book 1. If you have read any of the books in the series, and enjoyed them, don't forget to write a review. Getting feedback from you guys is so rewarding. You can follow me on my various social media platforms (found on the "links" page) to stay in the know. I love hearing from you guys, so feel free to email me at darlingpen2 (at) gmail (dot) com. Thank you guys for all your love and support. I love each and every one of you. Welcome to the faemily!
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 28, 2015
Great start with a rather different twist to a Mafia tale.
Carter Rossi falls madly in love with Jayla, a stripper in his club, Vice.
After two years of admiring Jayla from afar,ah Rossi drugs and kidnaps her! The story takes of from there with Jorden, Jayla's impressionable yet
blunt "little miss" four year old daughter who
longs for a daddy, two burly 'cousins,' Francesco and and Leonardo, Rossi's mother, Laura and lot's sister, Leslie.
Oh I can't forget that Carter Rossi's father is none other than Don Antonio Rossi from Italy of the Cosa Nostra... bka Sicilian Mafia!!!
Carter Rossi falls madly in love with Jayla, a stripper in his club, Vice.
After two years of admiring Jayla from afar,ah Rossi drugs and kidnaps her! The story takes of from there with Jorden, Jayla's impressionable yet
blunt "little miss" four year old daughter who
longs for a daddy, two burly 'cousins,' Francesco and and Leonardo, Rossi's mother, Laura and lot's sister, Leslie.
Oh I can't forget that Carter Rossi's father is none other than Don Antonio Rossi from Italy of the Cosa Nostra... bka Sicilian Mafia!!!
December 5, 2015
As a persnickety lover of Interracial Romance fiction, I liked this book, but I also found that it needed a competent editor. The issues that I had with it were basically lag, uneven flow of the story-line, and a H/h couple that were TSTL.
Other than that, IMO, this author has a lot of promise, and I do hope that she will continue to work on her craft, and get connected with a great editor (i.e. JJ Murray, etc).
Giving this one: 2 stars.
Other than that, IMO, this author has a lot of promise, and I do hope that she will continue to work on her craft, and get connected with a great editor (i.e. JJ Murray, etc).
Giving this one: 2 stars.
July 23, 2015
Fast paced story that needs some work to help it flow better but it had me laugh a bit and also want to know what would happen in the next one.
January 14, 2015
Holy Crap, I cannot wait for the next part of this series. I am so pulled into this. It ended way to fast! Be warned this is a short story that will leave you begging for more. I love Jayla's character and Carter is something else. This is such a great start. I hope this just gets better and better. I don't know what to say with out telling you everything. I feel like I could go on an on here. But, if I did then you would know it all! Jayla has it hard being a single mom and I really felt for her character and the life she was being force to lead. I think Carter is going to be a very interesting character and I want so much more of him. Wow is about all I can say! Great start Jessica Lane, I can't wait for more!
August 6, 2014
Good Start
Good Start
I picked up this book solely based on the blurb. It sounded like an interesting premise for a love story. I enjoy a bit of edge and grit, so I was all in. I'm not going to complain too much. I hadn't realized that this was a short story. It's actually more of a portion of a serial, so I'm annoyed by the price. But that's besides the point.
I still am excited by the premise. I really like the characters and look forward to getting to know them better. I'm hoping the story will expand and become clearer. Carter is sex on legs and can kidnap me anytime. I'm begging for the next installment ASAP.
Good Start
I picked up this book solely based on the blurb. It sounded like an interesting premise for a love story. I enjoy a bit of edge and grit, so I was all in. I'm not going to complain too much. I hadn't realized that this was a short story. It's actually more of a portion of a serial, so I'm annoyed by the price. But that's besides the point.
I still am excited by the premise. I really like the characters and look forward to getting to know them better. I'm hoping the story will expand and become clearer. Carter is sex on legs and can kidnap me anytime. I'm begging for the next installment ASAP.
January 13, 2015
Jayla Simmons knew her boss had a thing for her, but as much as she was attracted to Carter Rossi she was never going to cross that line. As a single mother she kept her personal and professional life separate. Carter though has waited two years to be with the woman he loves, now he has decided to take matters into his own hand and win her love by kidnapping her.
I actually enjoyed this quite a bit. Jayla thinks Carter is crazy but part of the reason she never acted on her feelings was the hurt she endured with her daughters father. Carter is crazy about her, I can't wait for the next book.
I actually enjoyed this quite a bit. Jayla thinks Carter is crazy but part of the reason she never acted on her feelings was the hurt she endured with her daughters father. Carter is crazy about her, I can't wait for the next book.
July 23, 2014
I think this book was okay... it was so promising but fell FLAT. Not enough oomph or content.. she just fell in love with him, POOF! Like that. If this was a normal book with normal love at first sight encounter, okay I get it. But HE KIDNAPPED YOU for goodness sake. There should have been more resistance and resilience in my opinion.
December 27, 2014
I received this book as an ARC for a honest review. This book was short but jammed packed with info. I really enjoyed the read except for the fact that the Carter basically pushed his way in and gave no way out. Really a sweet gesture none the less. Jayla, on the other hand, I believe is in for the ride of her life. Can't wait to see the outcome of this series.
January 28, 2019
Toss Up
Nice story but you've read this type before. The story did progress at a fast pace which was good. My only complaint is that the hero seemed to be somewhat of an alpha, but the author never built on that. Although the hero and heroine had somewhat of an chemistry, the sex scenes were none existent. I guess I'm off to read part two.
Nice story but you've read this type before. The story did progress at a fast pace which was good. My only complaint is that the hero seemed to be somewhat of an alpha, but the author never built on that. Although the hero and heroine had somewhat of an chemistry, the sex scenes were none existent. I guess I'm off to read part two.
May 8, 2016
Great start to this series. H kidnaps the h bc he is crazy about her. Doesn't mistreat her. Was not a fan of the h's attitude. The biggest issue I had with this story was that there is no sex. Will be reading the next one soon.
January 7, 2015
* * * obsessed by books arc given for an honest review * * *
This book was a little strange, but good it was fast pace. Jaya gets kidnapped by carter who by the way is sexy, but they fall in love, it will be interesting to see what happens next. great little read.
This book was a little strange, but good it was fast pace. Jaya gets kidnapped by carter who by the way is sexy, but they fall in love, it will be interesting to see what happens next. great little read.
October 19, 2014
Awesome book.
August 23, 2014
The story was a good read, hate cliffhanger but can't wait to see what happens next. Hope it's not a long wait.
July 31, 2015
This book ended with a cliffhanger. I wish the author would have combined all four books.
July 31, 2015
Different
This is a very different mafia series and I think I like it. This 1st book makes me want to read on.
This is a very different mafia series and I think I like it. This 1st book makes me want to read on.
August 4, 2015
This book went entirely too fast and needs more plot to make it make sense. I mean I can't even think this is believable
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews