Sinful Mafia Santa

by Alix Key

Of all the adult clubs in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.

Aeryn Reardon. My best friend’s little sister. The woman I’ve spent ten years trying to forget.

It’s the week before Christmas, the anniversary of the night her brother died on the hockey rink, sprawled before my skates. The night I lost them both.

Now she’s here, in my club, looking like a goddess in lace and Louboutins, and every promise I ever made to her brother melts like ice.

I should walk away. I should tell her to go back to Chicago and never return. But one glance at her haunted green eyes and I know I can’t. I need one more night, one more memory to replace the tragedy that defines us.

I need her.

The Diamond Ring Dark Romances

The Sinful Mafia Series

Sinful Mafia Santa
Sinful Mafia Deception
Sinful Mafia Seduction
Sinful Mafia Salvation

The Kidnapped Series

Diamond Solitaire
Rough Diamond
Conflict Diamond
Priceless Diamond

The Irish Mob Trilogy

Irish Brute
Irish Vice
Irish Reign

The Boston Mob Trilogy

Her Irish Savage
Her Irish Protector
Her Irish King

The Taming the Mob Princess Trilogy

Taken Enemy
Twisted Enemy
Tamed Enemy

Each series can be read on its own, but the books within each series should be read in order for the best heart-throbbing experience.

This book may not be suitable for all readers. A complete trigger warning can be found on the author's website.

If your favorite dark romance tropes are holiday romance, second chance, brother’s best friend, billionaire hero, mafia princess, explicit spice, angst and shared trauma, BDSM/power exchange, or hockey romance then this is the book for you!

103025ak

Genres: Romance, Novella

140 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 6, 2025

About the author

Alix Key was born in Potomac, Maryland, where she grew up making her twin brother and all her dolls act out her favorite fairytales. When an all-grown-up Alix discovered that very real dangers lurk in the woods, she figured out how to rescue herself. She now lives outside Dover, Delaware with her own Prince Charming. When not writing dark romance, Alix serves as the Chief Operations Officer of Diamond Freeport.

Enter the Diamond Ring — www.freemafiabook.com

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to thank Alix Key, author and Goodreads First Reads Giveaway for the eBook Kindle copy of Sinful Mafia Santa ~ Dismonf Ring: Sinful Mafia ~ Book 1 that I won in the Giveaway.

Aeryn Reardon, the only daughter of the Mafia boss of Chicago is back in New York the week before Christmas on the tenth anniversary of her brother Logan. She meets Gage Rider at his sex club and they reconnect after ten long years. In this first book they realize that they still feel the same way about each other that they did at the time of her brother's death.

They face their feelings for each other and the shared guilt about her bothers Logan's death. This is just the start of the rest of the story as her family will oppose her relationship and her independence from the Mafia Clan she was born into. Then her Captain also known as her father makes an impossible demand that will hurt both her and Gage. (A bit of a cliffhanger as it left me with wanting to know how this plays out for the couple.)

[Debbie Lyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

His BabyGirl!

I love this story and the other series too! Aeryn and Gage met fifteen years ago,but became a item ten years later but had to keep it hidden from her brother Logan.Both men played hockey but the day Logan found out about his sister and best friend was his last,the boys had gotten into a fight over Aeryn and so when there was a freak accident on the ice,Gage feels like it's fault still ten years later and it also broke up him and Aeryn. Ten years later Aeryn is in New York City just working in a restaurant until Christmas day and she will go home to her family and do what her father says. Aeryn wants to check out different restaurants and see didn't sights before going back home and under her father's thumb and she is also there to honor Logan.Her friend talks her in to going to a club and that's where she meets Gage and they catch up on old times and it's like it never ending but Gage is still feeling reasonable for the freak accident, he has alot of what it's Aeryn is ready
to give up on him and go back home but Gage ask her to wait he wants to talk one last time.It changes Aeryn 's plans and her life and maybe even Gage's life too if her father has anything to with it!This is heartbreaking, heart-wrenching and I'm glad that this couple got to have a second chance at love and to over come any obstacles that of kept them from each other!

[Curvy Girl Book Nerd (Jen S) · Rating 5 out of 5]

SINFUL MAFIA SANTA is a prequel to the Sinful Mafia series. It's a short and steamy, slightly dark, kinky, BDSM, Dom-sub, mafia princess gets her brother's best friend second-chance Christmas darkish romance. It is the beginning of Aeryn and Gage's love story. Aeryn is a chef and a mafia princess, the only daughter of the head of the Irish Mob in Chicago. Gage is a hunky billionaire who owns a professional hockey team and sex club in NY. He was Aeryn's first love and her late brother, Logan's, best friend. Logan was a professional hockey player, along with Gage. He was killed on Christmas Eve 10 years ago in a fluke accident. Now, Aeryn is in New York as a last hurrah of sorts before she has to return to the family business. When she walks into the sex club, Kynk, she is surprised to see Gage, the owner. The two still clearly care for one another, but carry alot of guilt and hurt from the past. As they rekindle their romance and resume their Dom-sub relationship, things get steamy. Can they make love work this time? Their chemistry was pure fire and we ended on a happy note for our couple, but end in a bit of a cliffhanger with the Irish Mob. I don't know how I'm going to make it almost a year before the next part of their story comes out. This was my first book by this author but definitely not the last. I loved it.

[MrsL · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've met Gage Rider before; he's part of the Diamond Freeport group.
He was also Logan Reardon's best friend before he got killed playing ice hockey. They were both professional players but Gage hasn't been able to go back on the ice since that dreadful game 10 years ago. He blames himself because he and Logan had a terrible fight just before the game after Logan caught Gage with Aeryn, Logan's younger sister, in a very compromising position, but to Logan it looked like Gage was hurting her.
Aeryn and Gage haven't seen each other since then.
She's back in New York for a final visit before going back to Ireland to be a good Irish mafia girl. but before then she wants to be a bad girl and goes to Club Kynk with her ex, and friend, Will.
Guess who owns Kynk?

A second chance for both our main players. Will they be able to rebuild what they once had? Will Aeryn still go back to Ireland? Will Gage let her go?

A great read, as always, from this author. I was able to read the bonus scene and this sets the scene for the next book in the series which I'm looking forward to but have to wait until next year to read.

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too short. I wanted more plot and what was going to happen with her dad and family.

[Lisa Tutty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best kind of Novella. Fast paced, all the steamy romance, cut to the chase. Aeryn and Gage’s story begins. A new Diamond Ring mafia series. 10yrs have passed since they have seen each other & her brother, his best friend passed away in an accident. They bump into each other at Gages club and she can’t seem to stay away. The instant they saw each other again the sparks fly. But the bonus chapter has me gasping “NO!” Don’t let it happen! Now having to wait for the rest of there story is going to be agony. Alix has done it again. Has me hooked!

[Lenna Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically this is a start story for a bigger one. This ends with getting a bonus chapter of 2 pages when you sign up for a newsletter, which is basically a phone call from her boss aka her father to have Gage fix some games of his team so they don't get the Stanley cup... leads to another book that's due to be released a year from now in 2026, Sinful Mafia

Never a boring page, Gage is strong and knows what he wants but he's also living with his past. Aeryn she's also a strong willed woman until her father commands her loyalty to his family, no matter what her heart wants he makes her choose. All she wants is to own a restaurant worthy of her knowledge and what all she learned from others to try in her place but can't. She wants to finally let go of her brother's ghost after 10 long years but being in New York and going with her friend to a kink club and running into her first and only Love Gage her heart wants more but afraid.

Aeryn (Erin) Reardon, 33, youngest and only daughter of 5, is still being told what to do by her father, Caption of his South Side Squad. He was her to open her own shabby diner to laundry his money but she wants her own Michelin Star string of restaurants. But daddy gave her a deadline to say goodbye to her dreams and her brother Logan in the last place he played hockey before his throat was cut with a skate's blade. (I personally think someone was paid to do it and make it look like and freak accident).

Gage Rider, owner of a kink club, hockey team (the one and last he played on with his best friend), Has loved Aeryn for a decade but knew her for 15 years. He's a Dom who showed Areyn her Submissive side for a month before his best friend Logon found out the same day he died. Gage carries his past into his present and still live with the trauma of trying to save Logan but couldn't from the hockey fight that lead to the 'freak' accident.

[Michelle Frater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being back in New York for Christmas is a bittersweet time for Aeryn. It’s been ten years since her brother’s death, a wound that still aches, and this holiday marks the end of more than just the year. She’s preparing to pack up her dreams and return to Chicago at her family’s request, leaving behind the life she thought she’d have. But when a friend drags her to a kink club for a much-needed distraction, Aeryn runs headlong into the one man she’s never been able to forget. Gage, her brother’s best friend and teammate, her secret lover, her former Dom. For one unforgettable month, he showed her the intoxicating freedom of submission... until the night everything fell apart. Caught by her brother just hours before his fatal accident, their affair ended in guilt and grief that neither has ever escaped. Haunted by the fight he had with Logan and the loss that followed, Gage hasn’t set foot on the ice since that night. Yet seeing Aeryn again reignites something fierce and undeniable. He knows he should walk away, but he’s never been good at denying her. Their chemistry still burns, and one of my favorite moments was when Gage pays nearly two thousand dollars just to give Aeryn a private skate on a closed rink. A breathtaking gesture that says everything he can’t put into words. At its heart, this is a story of two people haunted by the same tragedy, rediscovering each other after a decade apart, and daring to believe in a second chance. Despite what the title might suggest, Aeryn is the “mafia princess” here, torn between family duty and forbidden love. The question is whether their connection, and their courage, will be enough to defy her father and claim the future they were always meant to have.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Michelle Mease · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok I wanted something quick and smutty to ready amd this one was on my kindle so I decided to read it. It is only 130 pages and a dark Christmas BDSM mafia ties romance. I will say it was not at all a fabulous read or honestly that great of a story. But I did notice the author has a full book she has written to complete their story. It maybe better.
One thing I will say about mafia romances, especially the Irish ones, is the way they talk. I get it. Its the accent in book form, but it really annoys me. This maybe way I don't read a lot of mafia romances. But the story itself has potential. It is a brother's best friend, second chance romance. And I love a good dark BDSM romance with a good sex club trope.

She is in New York City looking at restaurants with a friend of hers who she was helping out. Her friend takes her to a sex club where she just so happens to run into her brother's best friend. Her brother died 10 years earlier in a freak accident during one of his hockey games. And her brother's best friend and owner of the club and her were sleeping together among other things at that time but keeping it a secret until they were found out. Then the accident happened and then they went their separate ways. Her blaming him and him blaming himself. But after 10 years, they run into each other again and time seems like it hasn't passed. They almost pick up where they left off. Almost. But this time he owns the sex club, and they both know they like the Dom/Sub roles. But at the same time she is going back to Chicago on Christmas day and maybe they shouldn't start something up. But you know how it goes. They shouldn't but they do.

It was an ok read. And I give it a ⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars. It was meh to me. And the smut wasn't all that great either.

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd give it a 1.5

I didn't really enjoy this very much. I couldn't connect with the characters, the story line was just subpar to me, and towards the end, I just felt it was too long... and it's not a long book. Her brother's death was the most interesting part about this story. Maybe if the mafia stuff played into it a bit more or if the other side characters had a bigger role (like her ex-boyfriend/best friend), I would have enjoyed this more, but they weren't and I didn't. In fact, the MFC is supposed to go home to her mafia dad (this is mentioned multiple times and is a big plot point as to why she's even on her last vacation in New York), but in the end she just ignores his request and stays with the MMC and the story just ends without us getting any sort of resolution to it. This book just doesn't seem thought out, and in the end, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

[GKP2460 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Aeryn Reardon and Gage Rider's story and it's a great, fast-paced, second chance, brother's best friend journey that draws you in so fast. Being reunited after 10 years means this couple has a lot to catch up on and not just things they've missed with the family. Sinful Mafia Santa is a fun, light read that's perfect when there's not a lot of time. Absolutely enjoyed this story from start to finish and definitely recommend reading it!

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read! Deliciously dark and gritty and so well written.

The characters were so very hawt together and complicated, complex and perfect for each other. Plot was intriguing, dark and delicious. World building was excellent and expertly wielded. Overall a great read and I highly recommend.

Grab a copy, kick back and enjoy!.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Merry Jelks-Emmanuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aeryn and Gage once had a connection, and it still sizzles after years apart. He was her brother's best friend, and the incident that happened before her brother's death changed everything between them. They reconnect after years apart. Will it lead them to rekindling the relationship they once shared and to happiness.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[A Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sinful Mafia Santa is a great Irish mafia Christmas hockey romance. The story was great, interesting, intense and steamy, emotional and enjoyable. The characters were intense, charming, and likable. I really enjoyed this romance.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[brenda hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed read this book I couldn’t put it down turning the pages. I thought the story was interesting and was well written that kept you reading. I can’t wait to read from Alix Key. I recommend.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sammye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short holiday story is part of the Diamond Ring Sinful Mafia series. It’s a best friend’s little sister, sports, second chance romance. Aeryn and Gage’s were meant to be. The plot was well written, s@xy and intriguing. I enjoyed it.

[BusyM3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and steamy read. This is a new author for me and I am looking forward to reading more from them. The story flows well and will keep you interested all the way through. The characters are likeable and have great chemistry.

I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amaya Okazaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

They loved before, but a freak accident caused them to part, now they are re-united and ofc the feelings are still there. They know they can't be together but can't stay apart either. It was a good read.

[Ladnamal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story that's a prequel to the main series. It was steamy and emotional and it ended in a sort of HFN but you get a cliffhanger if you read the bonus chapter online.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cheyenne Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a great read. the characters are good and the plot is great. a very interesing read but in a very good way.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sinful mafia Santa was Aeryn and Gage’s story. It was an entertaining, fun read. I received an early copy. And voluntarily leaving this review.

[Yetsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, short read that was enjoyable!

[Alix Key]

Dear Reader –

I am so excited to bring you my very first Christmas novella! This story has all the hallmarks of my Diamond Ring dark romances—true-to-life characters (check!) exploring deep emotions (check!) as they work through trauma and angst (check!) while finding the very spicy expression of their love (check, check, more check—trust me!)

If your favorite dark romance tropes are best friend’s little sister, second chance reunion, hockey, fairytale retelling (The Little Mermaid), or Christmas, then this is the book for you. But beware! A complete list of trigger warnings can be found on my website. (This novella is the first time I’ve needed to warn readers about “hockey equipment being used in ways never intended by the manufacturer”…)

Gage Rider is one of my favorite Diamond Ring heroes. Like many of my freeport tax haven clients, Gage is a Dominant billionaire. But Gage is especially, um, multi-talented. He owns entire blocks of New York real estate. He’s a former professional hockey player and the current owner of a team. And he owns an exclusive adult club, located in an abandoned subway tunnel in Brooklyn.

I’m very pleased to introduce you to Aeryn Reardon. She grew up in an Irish mob family in Chicago, the youngest of five children and the only girl. Fiercely loyal to her clan, Aeryn is a woman of contrasts. She’s a mob princess and a professionally trained chef, a loyal daughter and a business entrepreneur, and—most intriguingly—a classic submissive and a fiercely independent woman.

Gage and Aeryn were rocked by tragedy almost exactly one decade ago. The story of their reunion is a gift you owe yourself. If you’ve never read a Diamond Ring romance—welcome to the dark side. And if you’re a long-time fan of my alpha heroes and their strong-willed women—welcome back. It’s time to celebrate the Christmas season!

Binge in KU, buy an ebook, or pick up a paperback today! https://books2read.com/dring13

Love and diamonds —

Alix