Novels by Jiji

Charlotte's POVI literally could not stop replaying the scene from Matthew's room in my head.No matter how hard I tried to focus on getting my makeup done or helping with the wedding dress, my mind just kept looping back to that exact moment.More than anything, the words my brother had shouted kept ringing in my ears. He said Matthew was going to treat me like the others. Like the rest of his past fiances.Those words bothered me a lot. Like, a normal amount of brotherly worry is fine, but the way Scott said it made it sound like I was just another name on a very long list. It made my stomach twist into knots.Sitting in the bridal suite, listening to everyone laugh and drink champagne, I felt like I was making a grave mistake of some sort. Like I was blindly walking right into a trap that everyone else could see but me.But honestly?

Matthew's POVI didn't even think about it. The exact second Scott shoved that door open, my body just moved on its own.I stepped right in front of Charlotte, completely blocking her from his sight. I could feel her trembling slightly behind me, and it made my chest tighten. Scott looked absolutely losing it.His face was red, his veins were popping on his neck, and his breathing was so heavy I could hear it from across the room. He looked at me, then tried to peer over my shoulder to glare at Charlotte."What the hell is this, Matthew?" Scott demanded. His voice was shaking, loud enough to wake the whole damn house if he kept it up. "What is happening here? Answer me!""Scott, man, calm down," I said. I kept my voice low, trying to play it cool even though my heart was hammering against my ribs. "We need to speak later. This isn't the time.""Calm down? You're telling me to calm down?" he spat, taking a step closer into my space. "In your room? With my sister? Like this?""Look at t

Charlotte’s POVThe air was thick and smelled like old coffee and bleach. I blinked, trying to clear the fog from my head, but everything felt heavy. This wasn’t my room. This wasn’t Matthew’s room either. The walls were a sickly shade of grey, peeling at the corners, and the light overhead flickered with a buzzing sound that made my teeth ache.I knew this place. I knew the way the linoleum floor felt under my shoes and the way the distant sound of a radio played static-heavy music. It was a police station.How did I get here? I tried to turn around, but a heavy hand landed on my shoulder. It wasn't a gentle touch. It was firm and cold."Keep moving," a voice barked behind me.I stumbled forward, my heart hammering against my ribs. I wanted to scream, to ask what was going on, but my throat felt like it was filled with sand. I couldn't make a sound. The person behind me shoved me again, harder this time, and I went flying through an open door.The heavy iron gate slammed shut with a

Charlotte’s POVI kicked the duvet off my legs for the tenth time tonight. My room was dead quiet, the kind of silence that usually makes me fall asleep in seconds, but tonight it felt like the walls were closing in on me. The air conditioning was humming at full blast, yet I felt like I was burning up.It was all his fault. Matthew.Every time I closed my eyes, I wasn't in my room anymore. I was back in his arms. I could still feel the way his hands gripped my waist and the rough texture of his voice when he whispered my name. My skin felt like it was on fire just thinking about the way he looked at me that night. It wasn't just a casual hookup; it felt like a collision. And now, hours later, the phantom sensation of his touch was making me ache in places I didn’t even want to admit to myself.I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, burying my face in the pillow. “Stop it, Char,” I muttered into the fabric. “Get a grip.”But my brain wasn't listening. It kept replaying that one moment

Charlotte The morning came with more noise than the day before.I could hear voices in the corridor before I had fully woken up, someone laughing, a door closing, the particular kind of energy that moves through a building when everyone inside it is preparing for something. I lay still for a moment and let the sounds settle around me, and then I remembered what day it was and got up.Scott's wedding was tomorrow. Today was the last full day before everything changed, and the resort knew it. By the time I came downstairs, the lobby had already shifted into a different register, louder and warmer, with clusters of people gathered near the entrance and a steady movement of new arrivals coming through the doors with overnight bags and bright expressions. I recognised some faces from photographs Scott had shown me over the years and others I had never seen before, and all of them carried the same easy excitement that comes with being somewhere celebratory with people you are glad to see.

Charlotte The sunlight came through the curtains before I was ready for it.I lay still for a moment, staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet of the room and letting my mind catch up with the rest of me. The sheets were soft and the pillow still carried the faint warmth of the night before, and for exactly three seconds I felt completely at ease, the way you only do when you are half-awake and the world has not yet had a chance to remind you of anything important.Then it did.I turned my head slowly to the other side of the bed and found it empty, the indent still there in the pillow, the duvet pulled slightly to that side. Matthew was gone, which was both a relief and something else I did not have a name for yet. I sat up carefully, pulling the sheet around me, and looked at the room in the early morning light. Everything was exactly as it should be. Nothing had been broken or overturned. The world had continued to exist in its usual arrangement and yet something felt fun

CarmenI woke up before anyone else did For a few seconds, I just lay there staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet. The clubhouse was not what I had expected when I agreed to this whole thing. I had pictured something loud and dirty, filled with men who did not care about anything. But the room I was in was plain and clean. A bed, a lamp, a small window with grey morning light coming through it. That was it.I sat up and pressed my feet to the floor. My dress from last night was folded neatly on the chair in the corner. I did not remember folding it. I pulled on my clothes slowly, thinking through the night, trying to make sense of where I was and what came next.I had told myself before any of this started that it would be simple. One night, one payment, and then I would go home and figure out the rest of my life. That was the plan. I was good at plans. What I was not good at was what happened when a plan started to feel more complicated than it looked on paper.By

VEXDawn filters in through the curtains, waking me from sleep.I sit up in bed with a semi. Clearly, my cock doesn’t want to forget about the events of last night.It’s like I’m fourteen all over again, going to bed having wet dreams.I knew Carter was going to be trouble the moment I met him at initiation. He was a socially accepted millionaire when he joined us, and we prefer to avoid that sort of demographic here at the club.But he gave us his sob story and had money to hand over, so Grizzly gave him a chance to be a prospect.A year later, here we are, minutes away from being in the shitter.The bastard outbidded Conrad fucking O’Neill, and now I have a beautiful woman sleeping soundly in the bed next to me.I force myself out of bed and throw on some clothes. It’s still early in the morning, so the main room is quiet. I bask in the peace and pour myself a cup of filtered coffee.After working in law enforcement for way too many fucking years, you come to realize that people are

Carmen“Let’s just say that Venom Vultures is a motorcycle club, plus benefits.”“What kind of benefits?”“The kind of benefits that don’t come with rules. You can do whatever you want.”“Within reason,” Carter chips in.Vex flashes his friend a calculating glare. “Then tell me—what was your reason for bidding all of this money on a girl?”“I don’t see you complaining,” Carter counters.Vex looks me up and down and smiles. “I’d never dream of complaining. Carmen is priceless.”Flattered, I’m sure.I take a sip of gin again. “I don’t understand. If you want a girl, why not head out onto the Strip and find one the normal way?”Skipper gets there before Vex. “Things here can get complicated. You have to understand, the world of Venom Vultures is a dangerous world to be in, especially for outsiders. At the auction, we have a deal. We have one night with a girl if we bid high enough, and then we go our separate ways…” Skipper’s eyes trail over my half-naked body.Why am I getting the urge

5CARMENMillionaire and creep?I shouldn’t be surprised. Men who have money tend to spend it on female company.But I don’t know why Carter Trescott needs to be here when he has a face as insane as his. Women were throwing themselves at him the night we met. One even offered him money, I’m pretty sure.So, why is he paying for something he can get for free?Carter composes himself after the slap and leads us away. He brought friends to the auction. Two equally good-looking men who I’d probably let into my panties if the circumstances were different.Their names are Vex and Skipper, and they wear the same ridiculous clothes as Carter.We head away from the auditorium and file into the elevator when it arrives.I scoot as far away from Carter Trescott as possible. I don’t care how divine he smells. He’s still an asshole. An even fucking bigger one than before.I can’t stop myself from asking, “Are we going to continue standing in silence, or are you going to tell me why you’re attendin

CARTERThat was quite the show.I almost want to applaud Carmen for her spectacular Broadway performance.Vex elbows me in the side like I’m suddenly the enemy. “What the fuck?” he hisses in my ear. “How much have you had to drink? Put the blackboard down.”Vex can’t tell me what to do. He’s not in the police force anymore, even though he still acts like it from time to time.“I know her,” I murmur under my breath.“Keep your voice down.” I return my gaze to the auctioneer and give him my best smile. I dread to think what I look like right now. It probably looks like I’m constipated.The auctioneer reads the number aloud and I confirm.What else was I supposed to do? Let Conrad O’Neill, the devil in disguise, have his way forever with the girl I got to know first?She shouldn’t be here.Why the fuck is she here?“Are you gonna tell us how you know her?” Vex asks.I go back to staring at her on stage and hoping this isn’t karma.The night I spent with her is symbolic. I don’t expect the

CARMEN“Four hundred dollars?” Sadie holds the cash in her hand like it still belongs to me. “I can’t take this much.”“It’s not a tip. I need you to stay the night.”They’re very dramatic. Eight inches to be exact.There was a time before Otis when I was on the Strip six days a week, shaking my ass and going home with strangers.It’s a good thing I saved these babies for a rainy day.I frown. Is Sadie a mind reader as well as my go-to nanny? “What do you mean?”“Stripping.”I laugh, ready to shake my head and tell her she’s got it all wrong.“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”“But it’s dangerous, Carmen. What if you get hurt?”“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing, and it’s just for one night. Besides, I used to do it all the time.”“Totally, when I was around your age. Twenty-one and free.” I stop myself before I sell a profession I actually have no experience in. “But I don’t recommend it. You’ll end up on the lap of a Chanel-wearing monster who claims to be a man. And th