Title: Corrupt Me
Author: Jillian Quinn
Series: Philly Corruption #1
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: January 17, 2017
***Currently 99cents***
Summary:Izzie Rinaldi has everything going for her. All she has to do is make it through her senior year of college, and then she’ll be off to law school, one step closer to assuming her position at the head of her family’s empire. After a chance encounter with the campus bad boy, Izzie can’t get him out of her head.
Luca Marchese, the smooth-talking son of the most notorious man in Philadelphia, is used to getting what he wants. He hasn’t forgotten the girl he knew as a child, and now that he has Izzie’s attention, Luca will stop at nothing to have her.
Luca’s defiance of the law turns Izzie on more than she cares to admit. She wants Luca to corrupt her in every way possible, despite his reputation as the king of one-night stands. Their attraction is undeniable, but their desire for one another isn’t enough for Izzie to overlook visits from federal agents and the potential ruin of her family.
Linked to Luca and a criminal underworld, Izzie discovers she’s more like him than she thought. But a future with Luca could mean swapping her diamond bracelets for a pair of handcuffs.
*Corrupt Me is a standalone novel that is the first book in the Philly Corruption series.*
Face up on the coffee table, a copy of Philadelphia Magazine haunted me. Grandfather’s cold dark features stared back, giving me an eerie feeling, as though he were in the room with us. Even at a distance, he frightened me. He sat in a gold throne, dressed in a black Gucci suit, his elbow on the arm and his fist resting under his chin. Angelo Rinaldi III had the power to kill you with one look.
The headline read, Everything Rinaldi Touches Turns to Gold.
That part was true, given his string of successful mergers and acquisitions. He had taken his father’s profitable holding company and turned it into a multibillion-dollar conglomerate. One day, that would be my legacy—sitting atop my seat of power while glaring beneath me as my cold heart devoured everyone around me. I didn’t want to turn into Grandfather, but I had a feeling that the Rinaldi aura would settle so far beneath my skin, it would creep into my bones.
I came from a long line of assholes. There was no nice way to say it. Philadelphia Magazine had done a four-page spread on how our family made our money. Of course, they’d left out the real story—the one that would have blown the lid off our secrets, the story only a handful of people knew. Investors wouldn’t take too kindly to racketeers investing their hard-earned money.
I chugged half the mug, the warm liquid running down my throat, and threw the magazine on the floor with a sigh. “Luca’s such a Preston. I can’t believe I offered to let him meet up with us. Can we go somewhere else instead?”
“Five years later, and you still call all guys Preston. It’s time to come up with a new name. And there’s no way in hell you’re canceling. I’ve been wanting to hook up with Hunter since sophomore year. Don’t ruin this for me.”
“They’re all Prestons. The more money they have, the worse they are. It’s just a fact.”
Silvia had dated dozens of men like Luca and Hunter. For illustration’s sake, I would call them Preston, after the first snobby rich kid who had broken her heart. Even his name, Preston Greyson, screamed pretentious. I mean, c’mon.
I used boys when I wanted and on my terms.
Luca was wrong on so many levels and not because of his familial connections. If anything, knowing they operated outside the law turned me on. His defiance of authority, the way he’d gripped me in the quad, his erection pressed against my thigh had made me wet with anticipation.
Why did the wrong thing always feel so right? Was there something inherently evil inside me, trying to break free?
I glanced at Silvia as I flipped through the channels. “What do you think? Should I hook up with Luca?”
Everyone on campus, for the most part, knew the Marchese family ran the Philadelphia crime family. I’d caught him staring at me during classes, and I’d dodged him any chance I could for the past three years.
But, today, I’d straddled him, and I’d liked it. He could have taken me on the lawn, and I would have let him.
And, now, I had Luca on the brain. Everything about him screamed danger, and I wanted him to corrupt me in every way possible. A red flag waved above my head, but I ignored it. I remembered him from when we were younger—though I’d never admit it. Doing so would mean my family was just as crooked, and in the eyes of investors, we had to appear squeaky clean. We had a public image to uphold.
“Hmm…” Silvia slid her hand behind her head, staring up at the ceiling, as if it held the answer to my question. “I don’t know. He’ll just use you for sex and go on his way, like he does with every other girl.”
I filled my cup with more liqueur than coffee and set the hot carafe on the pot holder on the table.
Sex wasn’t about love; it was about power. And that came to mind as I responded, “Not if I use him first.”
The headline read, Everything Rinaldi Touches Turns to Gold.
That part was true, given his string of successful mergers and acquisitions. He had taken his father’s profitable holding company and turned it into a multibillion-dollar conglomerate. One day, that would be my legacy—sitting atop my seat of power while glaring beneath me as my cold heart devoured everyone around me. I didn’t want to turn into Grandfather, but I had a feeling that the Rinaldi aura would settle so far beneath my skin, it would creep into my bones.
I came from a long line of assholes. There was no nice way to say it. Philadelphia Magazine had done a four-page spread on how our family made our money. Of course, they’d left out the real story—the one that would have blown the lid off our secrets, the story only a handful of people knew. Investors wouldn’t take too kindly to racketeers investing their hard-earned money.
I chugged half the mug, the warm liquid running down my throat, and threw the magazine on the floor with a sigh. “Luca’s such a Preston. I can’t believe I offered to let him meet up with us. Can we go somewhere else instead?”
“Five years later, and you still call all guys Preston. It’s time to come up with a new name. And there’s no way in hell you’re canceling. I’ve been wanting to hook up with Hunter since sophomore year. Don’t ruin this for me.”
“They’re all Prestons. The more money they have, the worse they are. It’s just a fact.”
Silvia had dated dozens of men like Luca and Hunter. For illustration’s sake, I would call them Preston, after the first snobby rich kid who had broken her heart. Even his name, Preston Greyson, screamed pretentious. I mean, c’mon.
I used boys when I wanted and on my terms.
Luca was wrong on so many levels and not because of his familial connections. If anything, knowing they operated outside the law turned me on. His defiance of authority, the way he’d gripped me in the quad, his erection pressed against my thigh had made me wet with anticipation.
Why did the wrong thing always feel so right? Was there something inherently evil inside me, trying to break free?
I glanced at Silvia as I flipped through the channels. “What do you think? Should I hook up with Luca?”
Everyone on campus, for the most part, knew the Marchese family ran the Philadelphia crime family. I’d caught him staring at me during classes, and I’d dodged him any chance I could for the past three years.
But, today, I’d straddled him, and I’d liked it. He could have taken me on the lawn, and I would have let him.
And, now, I had Luca on the brain. Everything about him screamed danger, and I wanted him to corrupt me in every way possible. A red flag waved above my head, but I ignored it. I remembered him from when we were younger—though I’d never admit it. Doing so would mean my family was just as crooked, and in the eyes of investors, we had to appear squeaky clean. We had a public image to uphold.
“Hmm…” Silvia slid her hand behind her head, staring up at the ceiling, as if it held the answer to my question. “I don’t know. He’ll just use you for sex and go on his way, like he does with every other girl.”
I filled my cup with more liqueur than coffee and set the hot carafe on the pot holder on the table.
Sex wasn’t about love; it was about power. And that came to mind as I responded, “Not if I use him first.”
Jillian Quinn was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and currently lives in sunny Cape Coral, Florida where she still pretends it’s okay to drink hot chocolate and curl up on the couch with a good book, even when it’s ninety degrees outside. From an early age, writing and storytelling have been her passion. In her spare time, she loves creating fictional worlds and living inside the minds of her characters as well as reading and watching hockey.
Jillian is also a successful book blogger, dubbed by her followers as The Queen of Rants after making her blog, Rant and Rave About Books, a popular destination in the bookish community because of her honesty and passion for books.
Corrupt Me is her first novel with other young adult and new adult titles to follow.
***Currently 99cents***
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