Trope Tags

Dark Romance, Romantic Suspense, Fake Dating, Mafia Boss, Morally Gray Hero, High Stakes, Obsession, Forced Proximity, NYC Setting. Perfect for fans of Navessa Allen's LIGHTS OUT and Ana Huang's TWISTED LIES.

Desperate Gamble

Madison Cole, a poker phenom, is coerced by a possessive mob boss to infiltrate the life of an icy businessman. What begins as a fake-dating charade soon turns into a high-stakes game of betrayal, where her heart is the ultimate prize. Intense, seductive, and morally gray.

After one disastrous underground poker loss costs Madison Cole her family’s Queens home, she does what she does best: reads the table and makes the only play left. Marcus DeLuca, a polished mafia boss, offers to erase her debt if she infiltrates his estranged partner, Remy Locke, and steals back financial ledgers.

She bluffs her way into Remy’s real estate firm, expecting another monster in a tailored suit. Instead, she finds a magnetic mogul ruled by icy control, sharp instincts, and a betrayal-scarred past that taught him trusting can be too expensive.

When a skittish investor demands Remy appear settled down to close his biggest deal, he recruits Madison to play his girlfriend. The charade gives her the access she needs, but every staged date and touch makes the job feel like self-treason.

As Remy’s restraint cracks into a fierce protectiveness and scorching intimacy, Madison starts craving more than survival. But Marcus won’t release what he considers his, and with the lies unraveling, she's trapped between the man using her as leverage and the other who could destroy her the moment he learns the truth. With her heart in the pot, Madison must decide whether to play the hand she was dealt—or risk everything on the most desperate gamble of all.