Deadliest Desire

An Age Gap, Brother's Best Friend, Dark Romance (Tempting Love, Book 2)

Matteo

Daniella is my best friend’s younger sister—sweet, innocent Little Russo—and the one woman I should stay away from.
But when she unknowingly marries a man who’s out to destroy her family, she lands herself in danger she can’t escape, and I’m the only one who can protect her.
My first mistake? Insisting she move in with me.
Because the more time I spend with Daniella, the more the light threatens to break through my darkness, making me want things I’ve rejected for most of my life.
I should reject her too. Keep her away from me as much as from him.
That’s the problem with our arrangement though …
Her husband is bad.
Me? I’m worse.
I’m rough, ruthless, and nothing close to what she deserves. I can’t give her the white picket fence she desires.
But she doesn’t see the blood on my hands, or that I’m not husband or father material.
All she sees is the man who’ll burn down the world to save her.

Please note: Deadliest Desire is not a mafia romance. The book is a dark romance because of its content. Since dark romance can mean different things to different listeners, please check the detailed content warnings on my website. Your mental health matters.

©2025 Nikki Ash (P)2025 Pink Flamingo Productions

🖤🔫

Thank you to the author for my copy.

Rating: 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis: A man protecting his best friend’s sister from a group trying to seek revenge because of her family's actions, just can’t help but fall for her.

Tropes:
🖤Dark Romance
🔫Open Door Spice
🖤Forced Proximity
🔫Learning Disability Rep
🖤Morally Grey MMC
🔫Curvy FMC
🖤Brother’s Best Friend

Thoughts: I am really enjoying this darker series by Nikki as it covers such a variety of deep rooted trauma. It is full of so much suspense, morally gray MMC’s, curvy FMC’s, and really interesting and intricate story lines. I can’t wait to read what happens next.

Narration: I loved the narrator choices for this story, they really helped with bringing the story to life.

Matteo and Daniella...

Deadliest Desire is the second book in the Tempting Love series. It is a forced proximity, friends to lovers, brother's best friend, dark, romantic suspense. This is Matteo and Daniella's story. It is full of angst, whit, trauma, healing, spice and so many emotions and feels. I am obsessed with this series and cannot wait for more.

Gideon Frost and Mia Tucker did a fabulous job with these character and this story.

A Dyslexic Fighter meets Best Friend’s Little Sister

This series really said “hold my beer” with book 2.

Matteo’s story has so many layers and I was so ready to be fully in his head. His dyslexia, his toxic father, and how boxing became both armor and escape? That hit hard. I loved that Nikki Ash didn’t just gloss over his learning struggles—it shaped who he is, how he sees himself, and why power and control matter so much to him.

And getting that arrest scene again but from Matteo’s POV, I loved to see how his brain worked. The setup, the betrayal, the jail fight, I was on edge the whole time.

Daniella surprised me in the best way. Watching her realize her husband isn’t who she thought he was felt painfully real, and I loved how Matteo became her safe place without trying to own or rush her. The forced proximity was doing WORK, and Matteo being absolutely, irrevocably down bad for her?? Chef’s kiss.

Tropes:
Best Friend’s Little Sister
Reformed Playboy
Mafia
Age Gap
Forced Proximity

CHECK TW!!!

Book 2 - Tempting Love

This is book 2 in Ash's Tempting Love series. While this can be a standalone, I love this ties in Sweetest Sin (book 1) with several repeat characters. This book focuses on main characters Daniella and Matteo. Daniella is Matteo's best friends lil sister so she's off limits for that alone, not to mention the age gap but now that Daniella is not the baby sister he remembers and she managed to captivate him like no other. Changing him from his playboy ways, he's committed to her before he even realizes it and while he initially protects her because of his best friend, soon he's protecting her because she's his. A sweet, steamy romance that has plenty of danger and suspense and so much more. Well written, perfectly narrated and well balanced. I can't wait for more!

This book was given to me for free at my request and I voluntarily provided this review.

Loved it

This audiobook is narrated by talented voice actors Gideon Frost and Mia Tucker . Dani and Matteo's story was portrayed so beautifully by Gideon and Mia. Dani is Matteo's best friend's little sister. So there is also the wonderful age gap and forced proximity tropes. Matteo was the perfect protective MMC and Mia did need rescuing from an awful husband. I enjoyed the romance and suspense of the storyline. The narrators captured the essence of the story and brought these characters to full color for me.