The Sweetener: A Dark Captive Romance
A Sweetener - an additional benefit or incentive provided to make a deal more appealing.
Emma Davies, an accountant at Simmons Holdings, has her life thrown into turmoil when her CEO, her inspiration and the woman she admires most in the world, Harriet Simmons, gives her to Xander Gutiérrez as a sweetener to complete a difficult deal.
Not to work for Xander Gutiérrez, but to be owned by him. To eat what he tells her to, to drink what he tells her to, to dress how he tells her, to go where he says. And she must never ask him about his business.
Dazed, Emma has everything taken from her, and Xander drags her into a luxurious yet dangerous criminal underworld where wealth, deals and death go hand in hand.
Xander is calm, handsome, with a hint of danger. A man who reveals little of himself. A man whom Emma inexplicably has an insane instant attraction to. A man whom she, confusingly, is equally afraid of and feels safe with.
Unexpectedly, Xander makes Emma feel protected. His kiss makes her feel wanted. When she sleeps with him, he dominates her and makes her feel desired. Yet whenever Emma thinks she is becoming close to Xander, he pulls away to make clear to her he owns her.
Why?
As Emma's feelings for Xander grow stronger, it is a question Emma increasingly needs an answer to.
Only after the hitman, El Murciélago, kidnaps Emma as leverage against Xander does she discover who Xander is and what he really wants from her.