The Billionaires’ Duplicitous Desires Trilogy by L. Law a/k/a L.A.A. Law
Come enter into the world where one night of reckless abandon plunges Ann into a world of deception, intrigue, murder, and revenge where nothing is as it seems and she is the red flag in a tug-o-war of powerful businessmen who will dominate her, protect her, or strip her bare.
Dominated by Duplicitous Desires
While attending the charitable event, Ann is knocked off her feet by billionaire businessman, Stephan Greystone. His steel eyes flare with fiery desire inflaming her core and igniting an insatiable hunger for a man she can never have. As a stunning woman joins him and his eyes turn cool, waves of self-doubt and insecurity to crash over Ann prompting her to flee.
Just once, she wishes she could be a confident, sexual siren like her best friend, Alice, who inflames passion. As Alice begs Ann to experiment and enter games of erotic seduction planned for later in the evening and indicates Stephan will attend, Ann is consumed by an inexplicable need to win this man who would never take her in real life, and engage in one night of reckless passion.
Never did she expect that her hopes of catching an impossible dream would lead her into the arms of a man who derives pleasure from inflicting pain and spur her descent into a world of deception, intrigue, murder, and revenge where nothing is as it seems, and the only people surrounding her are those with an agenda to unlock information from her past that even she does not know she has or strip away all that she has known.
Captivated by Duplicitous Desires
As devastating secrets are revealed, so too are new enemies whose duplicity and control over Ann’s life has led her to suffer more than she could have ever envisioned. Running from those who fought to control her leads Ann to revelations she never envisioned and forces her to make the hardest decision of her life leaving her vulnerable.
Ann’s heart breaks as she separates from the man who brings her to life. As the duplicity mounts, enemies from her mother’s past join with adversaries of Stephan and Ann’s present to destroy those who threaten their criminal existence. Fighting to escape the control, Ann searches for answers in the past and engages in a deadly game turning her enemies against each other while unintentionally ensnaring those she desires to protect.
As lines are drawn, Ann sees those she trusts the most suffer and Stephan shot. Ann finally brings to light the information that should send her enemies to their destruction and free those who have become important to her. Unfortunately as an old flame returns to claim the man who has finally made Ann’s heart whole, Ann puts his happiness before her own and flees into the cold dark night in search of a new existence, one without her heart and soul.
Freed from Duplicitous Desires
Three months have passed since Ann escaped and changed her name to Noone, because that is exactly who she feels like as she fights each day to move beyond her inability to engage with those around her. Despite joining a company where the owners, Renee and Rossi Fiore, specialize in developing new images and treat their employees like family, Ann keeps herself on the outskirts, a casual observer of the life around her, but one in which she cannot engage.
When asked by her bosses to assist with a pitch to a client who can send their business into the stratosphere, Ann unwittingly catches the eye of the client’s son and protégé, Jason. In doing so, Ann finds herself pursued by another high-powered man who wants to pull her from her self-imposed hell.
Jason Stewart has secrets that caused him to walk away from the woman he loved and keeps him separated from his family. While working to establish a new image for a resort destination, he is drawn to the lost soul of another whose very essence calls to him in a way that no other woman has since the day he walked out on Deanna. In forcing Ann out of the shadows and into his life, will two souls who ache for those they believe are lost forge a connection or will the secret that Ann uncovers in Jason’s life and the threat from her past lead to a relationship that neither of them thought possible?
The Billionaires’ Duplicitous Desires Trilogy is a complete box set where the reader can enter the world of intrigue, deception, murder and revenge surrounding the mysterious Ann Stanton, a woman who is not aware of who she truly is and the valuable information she holds until she begins a dangerous dance with Stephan Greystone, an alpha billionaire with secrets of his own, and a man who can lead Ann either to the answers she desires or the destruction she fears.
Reviews of the first book:
CathyLynn
Wow but UGH
I was totally enthralled with this book. I could not put it down, wanted to see what was going to happen next. I found out that I will have to wait for the next book for the other plots to be revealed. Right from the start you are drawn in and wanting to see what happens. There is Alice who tries to get Ann to let go and play the games. I liked the way it was written. Great book cannot wait to read the next in the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Vic
Suspenseful Read
This book is a dark suspenseful romance with mystery, intrigue, and well developed characters. It immediately catches your attention and I found it impossible to put down until the last page. Beware, this book does have a cliffhanger and I am anxious to read the next book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
(Please note that although this review mentions a cliffhanger, that only applied to book one – not the trilogy being advertised now.)
Muttmummy
Excellent, but ends on cliffhanger
Excellent…..one of the best dark romances I’ve read this year.
However, it ends on a cliffhanger…one that leaves several essential plot revelations hidden.
As far as I can find out, there’s no sequel yet on offer…although author had title and potential book cover way back in 2015 on her blog.
Such a shame, as it makes reading this otherwise great book pointless.
Targeted Age Group:: Adult audiences only
Heat/Violence Level: Heat Level 5 – NC-17
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
This series was born because I could not stop myself. I could not help myself. Being late to the Fifty Shades of Grey party, by the time I learned of these books, all three were out and I indulged in E.L. James' world, staying up until the sun began to rise and I had to care for my family before heading off to work. Reading them quickly and moving to Sylvia Day's Crossfire series to fill the void that finishing E.L. James trilogy left in the late evenings when I just could not sleep, I quickly learned that sleep was overrated and reading after everyone else had gone to bed was beneficial. As I had yet to purchase a kindle, nook or tablet and being absolutely abominable with the internet, to the point where I could not download books to read on the computer without also ensuring that my laptop got a virus or some vicious malware that would keep the Geek Squad working for hours, I had to find a new avenue to quench my thirst for such stories. Being the middle of the night and without a bookstore, I shifted away from the final installment of a general audience series that I was in the process of publishing and began writing a fan fiction that had one erotic scene but is not erotica. As I wrote, a dark character with secrets and a mysterious woman who was unaware of her true past emerged. As the two crossed paths, they were thrust into a dark and dangerous world where things and people are not always as they appear. Unable to figure out how to post the fan fiction, the story grew and grew and now it is available to you.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
Stephan and Ann were born from an amalgamation of my love for not only dark and suspenseful romance books, along with contemporary romances, but also characters that I have met while working for a law firm. Learning how everyone has a story, whether fictional or real, that is not simply what is portrayed on the surface led me toward developing characters with secrets to protect, insecurities to overcome, and a passion which pushes them forward and opens up their hearts to love and the possibilities it brings.
Book Sample
Prologue
Throbbing temples and a piercing headache rip me from my slumber and serve as a stark reminder of my overindulgence in the fine liquors that flowed like water throughout the evening’s games. Lifting my sore and heavy limbs, I wince before brushing away the morning and wrenching my eyes open. Why am I outside? Frantically glancing around, terror engulfs me as I realize that I am not at my home but in a ditch surrounded by tall, thick-based trees. The damp, cold ground permeates my thin, satin cocktail dress, awakening my senses as image after image of strange men’s faces flash through my cloudy consciousness.
Although the last few adventurous months have me slipping far afield from my rational self, accompanying my best friend, Alice, to an erotic after hour’s party following the charitable event we attended was beyond the pale. Escaping trouble during my first encounter should have had me pushing thoughts of all such things out of my mind instead of indulging in the uncharacteristic desires that eclipsed all common sense.
Whether provoked by: the whispers of a dangerously mysterious stranger claiming to desire me as opposed to Alice, whose confident sexuality could lead men to hell with just the sway of her hips; my feelings of inadequacy stemming from the alienation of my birth father; or my one sexual relationship with a man who never once made me feel desirable, I could not escape the driving hunger to return once more, to nourish my starving self-confidence. Assuring myself that I would indulge in only one more evening of reckless abandon before picking up the pieces of my out-of-control existence to settle into a life I had grown accustomed to but failed to realize how truly comforting it was, I returned for one last game.
I never suspected that pursuing pleasure would lead me into the arms of a man who derives pleasure from inflicting pain and spur my descent into a world of deception, intrigue, murder, and revenge.
Forcing myself to my knees and rising quickly, my head spins wildly, heated blood courses through me, and the sonic boom of my pounding heart in my ears causes me to stumble toward the unyielding ground. Curling into a ball, forcing in shallow breaths as pain lances through my body, I fight to calm myself and think. Panic is not an option. I repeat this mantra until the ringing in my ears subsides and I force calming breaths into my lungs, slowing my racing heart. Sitting up, I gasp at seeing tears in my dress and the deep purple bruises covering my arms and legs. Do not start panicking again, my inner voice screams. Remember what your father always taught you. Forcing my mind to concentrate, his authoritative voice pierces my muddled thoughts. Ann, whatever situation you find yourself in, panicking only makes it worse and is usually what kills you.
Despite my grave circumstance, an “ugh” escapes my lips as a bizarre image of Brian sitting on his cloud, crossing his arms, and shaking his head flashes before me. The strange image allows me to release my anxiety long enough to steady my pulse, and I wonder if he somehow sent me the image to clear my befuddled mind.
Rising while forcing myself to take in slow deep breaths, I strain to listen for any sound that may indicate I am near a road, but all I hear is the rustling of windblown leaves. Hugging myself, I move forward. The graying sky offers no indication if it is dawn or dusk. My lack of attire will make an October evening, if I am where I fear, unbearable.
Moving slowly and carefully, my bare feet ache as the thick rooted brush pricks my soles. If I don’t find softer ground soon, at least the bloodied path I’m sure to leave behind will ensure that I don’t go in circles.
Wandering for what feels like hours, there is no sign of civilization. At least the brightening sky reassures me I have time before nightfall.
As the sun hits its peak, there is no sign of civilization or life beyond the small creatures crossing my path. Raising my face, hoping to warm myself, I cannot escape the chilling sensation that I have been dumped as food for the animals who will surely feast upon my rotting corpse if I fail to find a way out. My heart constricts. I fight to breathe. If fear grabs hold of me again, I will die.
Surely, Alice knows I am missing by now. Maybe my driver has alerted the police. Shaking my head, I have been too out of control since my return from Europe. My driver probably thinks I am on a bender. He is probably relieved that I spared him the ugly job of cleaning up vile vomit. Tears prick my eyes as I realize that Alice probably believes I retreated into myself to lament over the choices I made. Although I can’t remember the day, she says I disappeared on her in Europe after Barrett left, I’m sure she will attribute my disappearance now as just more of the same. I have turned into such a disappointment since my father’s death, well my stepfather, but he raised me since birth.
Brushing away tears, my hands glide over dirt, scratches, and bruises that mar my usual peaches and cream complexion. I really have lost my way, and not just because of my surroundings. My life has been in a tailspin since losing my stepfather, my rock, and anchor. Despite my fighting him every step of the way when I was eighteen to gain the inheritance my mother left for me, I now realize, standing amid what may become my burial ground, that he fought me to save me. He fought me to ensure that I didn’t become what I am now. His love, care, and discipline ensured that from the tender age of ten, when I lost my mother, until his death shortly after I turned twenty-three, I moved toward doing well, being productive, and staying out of trouble. He even quickly pulled me from the expensive boarding university after I ditched classes to party with my friends or recover from a severe hangover.
As fiduciary of my trust, he cut off all funds, ripped me from that world, and forced me into a local college where I had to earn not only good grades but also my tuition. He even had me help with the police force’s favorite charities. I always knew with him that if I ever wanted to see my money again, I would have to be productive on my own first. Although I graduated at the top of my class with a major in business finance and a minor in public relations and advertising, he did not turn my money over. I can still hear his words on graduation day. I am so proud of you, honey. I love you and you know that your money is always safe and here for you, but I want you to see it only as a backup, a safe haven that you can dip into after working hard to indulge in a trip or treat. Idle time can only bring you trouble, and you are better than that. You need to make your way, build your confidence and like the person you are. Otherwise, all the money in the world will not make you happy. Although I fought him then, I realize as I stand amid a crisis, I am at least physically stronger and force myself to move on. If only I had enough self-confidence when he died to continue on the path he set and enter a career or relationship that was not damaging to my shaky ego, I would not have sought the destructive existence over the past few months that led me down to this point.
Pushing my fear aside and drawing from that which he instilled in me, I look around and know that as the day drags on, it is not only a way out I must search for, but shelter and water. My stomach grumbles in protest, but I walk briskly and with purpose.
The graying sky alerts me I am running out of time and still have found no path to freedom. Another night in this interminable abyss as nocturnal animals begin their prowl will surely bring death to my already withering existence. My body protests, my mind becomes cloudier and cloudier, and my arid throat is so constricted that every breath brings an aching, strangling feeling. Stumbling toward a downed tree, hoping to sit and gather strength, if only for a moment, I trip on some undergrowth. As the world comes quickly toward my face, I know I am through.
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