Lessons in Corruption

This one is for y’all who like your mafia men reforming but still dangerous—Cormac is giving broody, guilty, touch-her-and-die professor with a whole criminal past he’s trying to outrun (spoiler: he can’t). You’ve got that forbidden professor/student tension, a one-night-stand-to-oh-no-that’s-my-teacher meet-cute, and then the marriage of convenience that turns into real feelings way faster than either of them can handle. Scarlett isn’t a doormat either—she’s rebuilding after a toxic mess and she actually pushes back, which makes their dynamic hit harder. It’s angsty, spicy, and very “go on, ruin your life a little” in the best way—one-click if you love redemption arcs with teeth.

Book Description

My professor by day. My husband by night.

I’m the good girl.
The quiet medical student determined to live up to my father’s legacy.
Or at least I was until everything fell apart.

After escaping a manipulative relationship that nearly destroyed me, I’m left rebuilding my life from scratch.
And needing a place to live.
That’s how I ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Where a stranger with darkness in his eyes gives me the best night of my life.
For once, I stop pretending I don’t crave danger, too.
To be bad. Just once. One night.

Until that ONE night walks into my classroom.
Dr. Cormac O’Rourke.
The school’s new pharmacology professor.

The infamous ex-pediatric surgeon with a criminal past is teaching the one class I need,
or I’ll fall even farther behind.

When he tries to force me out, I threaten him with the one thing powerful enough to make him back down:
My father.
His boss.

We call a truce. And keep our hands to ourselves.
But that falls apart spectacularly.

I just want to be bad.
He just needs a wife to put his life back in order.

The only woman he wants?
Is me.

Lessons in Corruption is the final book in the Astoria Royals Series. And takes place during The Quinlan Empire series, but it can be read and enjoyed as a complete STANDALONE.

Tropes:
đź–¤ Irish Mafia
đź–¤ Professor/Student
đź–¤ Age Gap
đź–¤ Single Father
đź–¤ Marriage of Convenience
🖤 Boss’s Daughter
đź–¤ Forced Proximity
đź–¤ F*ck It
đź–¤ No 3rd Act Breakup

Genre, Tropes & Kinks Triggers ⚠️ DETAILED TRIGGERS ⚠️ (contains spoilers)

Content Warnings

Heads up: this one includes past addiction/recovery themes (plus alcohol/drug use mentions), and Scarlett is coming out of a toxic relationship with emotional/psychological abuse, manipulation/gaslighting, and domestic violence elements referenced in reviews. Cheating/infidelity is also mentioned by readers as part of the backstory mess. There’s also harassment/stalker-ish behavior from the ex (people call out him continuing to hassle her), so go in with eyes open if that’s a tender spot.
Book Meta
Publication Date2026-05-22 Relationship Pairing(s)MF Darkness Score6/10
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