Elena

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Elena lives an unusual—but well-ordered life—that her rich adoptive father, the FBI and a very hot stranger named Lucas have all just turned completely upside down. 

Born to a Dutch and African-American mother and a Spanish father, 29 year-old Elena Navarro Di Carlo is certainly beautiful, and she’s equally smart, starting with her ability to speak four languages. She also developed substantial survival instincts as she weathered an unsettled childhood with nomadic parents. Elena’s parents finally settled down when they landed jobs with the Di Carlo family, and when they died in a tragic car accident, the Di Carlo family adopted Elena as a teen. 

The powerful family, led by Giovanni Di Carlo, once cooked the books for organized crime but has been legit for more than 10 years. Elena now lives on the ancestral estate outside of Rome and helps manage the family antiquities business based in the city. With security always a potential issue, she’s also physically tough, trained in hand-to-hand combat and weapons … and always on a low level alert for threats.

Elena is shocked to learn that her father Giovanni has agreed to cooperate with the FBI because the statute of limitations has run out on his earlier misdeeds. He refuses to disclose what the agency has on him, and even worse, she’s part of the operation. The cover story? Giovanni pretends to hire a skilled—and undeniably sexy—soldier of fortune named Lucas Hunter Martin to join the Di Carlo security team. The problem? Elena and Lucas must pretend to be having a torrid affair although it’s common knowledge she doesn’t date Di Carlo employees. Well, not anymore, since a disastrous relationship two years ago with a former employee of the family … 

The goal? The FBI wants Lucas to infiltrate the neighboring Rossi family and their ticket for entry is Elena, who must convince Nicco Rossi, the prince of the family, to take Lucas off of their hands by adding him to their security team. Elena is initially reluctant because the Rossi are long-time family friends, however she soon learns not only is the Rossi clan laundering money for narcotics traffickers, they are responsible for her birth parents’ death. Nico Rossi agrees to hire Lucas onto his team—but only if Elena joins them on their upcoming jobs. Because she certainly has skills—and of course Nicco wants her to be his mistress despite his very pregnant wife. 

To protect and avenge those she loves, Elena and Lucas embark on a daring undercover adventure that propels them from Rome to Miami to Los Angeles. They must navigate an illicit underworld of cash, drugs, sex and murder in expansive estates, private jets, yachts, trendy night clubs and penthouse suites. And as much as Elena tells herself she’s only on a brief detour from reality, she seems to slip into espionage work as easily as she steps into her favorite stilettos. 

In the midst of this physical danger, she confronts dark secrets about herself and her family while she plunges into an erotic relationship with a dangerous man who matches both her wits and her insatiable appetites. Elena’s resolve to resist Lucas quickly crumbles, and as they indulge in a string of racy encounters, he desires true intimacy and is determined to win her over. But Elena prefers sensual games to dominate Lucas and to maintain her sense of control which feels like it’s slipping away in every area of her life.