Novels by Yukiwrites

Rosa’s POV“You slapped Raffaele?” Kylie’s voice cracked, eyes so wide I could see the whites all around. She was perched on the edge of my couch like she might bolt any second, hands twisting in her lap. “Rosa… you actually slapped him?”I dropped onto the armchair across from her, elbows on my knees, face buried in my palms for a second before I looked up. “Kylie, I might die tonight, but I swear I won’t go down without a fight.”She stared at me like I’d grown a second head. News of the gunfire at the gym had spread like wildfire. It read that there were shots fired, no suspect caught, everyone evacuated…the usual chaos. Of course the cops were calling it a random drive-by. Of course Raffaele walked away clean. And of course I’d told Kylie the truth the second she burst through my door twenty minutes ago, wild-eyed and clutching her phone like a lifeline.Now the weight of it was crashing down on me all at once.I was fucked.Completely, irreversibly fucked.“Is he that scary?” I

Rosa’s POVMy mouth was still hanging open like an idiot when I finally found my voice. “What the hell are you doing here, Raffaele?”He tilted his head, that infuriating half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth like he’d been waiting for the question all morning. “I’m here to see you, of course.”Mateo cleared his throat behind us, shifting his weight. “Rosa, maybe we should—”“Later,” I cut him off without looking back, fingers already curling around Raffaele’s wrist. I yanked hard, dragging the six-foot-three wall of trouble toward the locker room corridor. He let me pull him, amused, like a panther deciding to humor a kitten.I shoved open the nearest door, hauled him inside, and slammed it shut. The echo bounced off the tiled walls. We were alone in the dim fluorescent light, surrounded by the faint smell of sweat and liniment.He glanced around, then back at me, smirk widening. “Wow. I didn’t know you liked enclosed spaces.”I rolled my eyes so hard I almost saw yesterday.

Rosa’s POVI was literally flexing my leg muscles, ready to launch a knee straight into Raffaele’s groin if he dared come one single centimeter closer, when he suddenly pulled back smooth as silk, gave me one last long look, then said, “I’ll see you later, sweetheart,” before flashing that smile, one that hit me, slow, lazy, dangerous. God, if he wasn’t just as hot as he annoyed the living hell out of me. I blinked stupidly for a second, brain short-circuiting, then spun around and stormed back into the penthouse before I could do something monumentally dumb like chase after him or, worse, grab his shirt and kiss that smirk right off his face.Inside, the living room smelled like expensive candles and a hint of Luca's cologne. Kylie and Luca were wrapped around each other on the massive sectional, kissing like teenagers who’d just discovered lips existed. I made the loudest, most dramatic gagging noise I could manage.“Eww, my eyes. Take a break, would you?”They broke apart fast.

Rosa’s POVI knew the second we pulled up to the penthouse that my stupid little Kylie act was about to crash and burn spectacularly.I tried everything. I crossed my arms, planted my feet, told Raffaele I wasn’t stepping foot inside that glass tower because “I have my own place, thanks very much.” He just raised one perfect eyebrow, opened the passenger door like a gentleman assassin, and said, “Get out of the car, Kylie, or I carry you. I know you live here.”I got out. Fast.The elevator ride up felt like a funeral procession. Him leaning against the mirrored wall, arms folded, watching me like I was a puzzle he already solved. Me staring at the floor numbers like they owed me money.The doors slid open.And there she was.“ROSA!!” Kylie shrieked, bare feet slapping marble as she flew toward me, tears streaming, arms wide. “You’re alive! Oh my God, you’re alive!”I let out the fakest, squeakiest “Yaaay” in history, mostly because Raffaele’s stare was burning holes through the back

Rosa's POV My heart was slamming against my ribs so hard I could feel it in my teeth. Two men stood over me, cursing in some sharp foreign language, words snapping like whips, faces twisted in anger.They were pissed at each other, at me, at the whole damn situation and I was just sitting there on the cold concrete, wrists tied tight behind my back, trying not to let them see how scared I was.My name was Rosa Stewart, and I was about to tell you exactly why these idiots were cursing themselves stupid in a tongue I couldn’t even recognize, but before I could even get the first sentence out in my head, the door crashed open with a bang that echoed off the walls.Bright light flooded in, blinding after hours of shadows, and a tall figure stepped through, moving like he owned the darkness itself.I squeezed my eyes half-shut, praying it was Luca, please let it be Luca, let him have come to fix this mess he’d dragged me into.It wasn’t Luca. He looked like him?There was no time to figur

Liora's POVA year had passed in a blur of waiting tables, scrubbing floors at the local diner, and stacking shelves at the corner store until my hands cracked and my back screamed. Anything to scrape together enough for tuition.Mom had tried…God, she’d tried, picking up extra shifts at the nursing home, but it wasn’t enough. So I hustled. Applied for every scholarship under the sun, begged for extensions on bills, and finally, finally pieced together a fragile path to Blackthorn College. Environmental Science major. It fit…studying ecosystems, conservation, the wild things that lurked just beyond the civilized world. Felt poetic somehow, like I was chasing shadows in the forest.And Blackthorn? Prestigious enough to change my life, remote enough to feel like an escape.I zipped my duffel bag shut, the zipper catching on a frayed edge like it didn’t want me to go. Mom stood in the doorway of our tiny apartment, arms crossed over her faded floral dress, eyes misty but proud.“You sure

Liora's POV He took me again and again, through the long, hazy stretch of the night, until the line between pain and pleasure blurred into something I couldn’t name. Every time I thought I’d reached my limit, muscles trembling, breath ragged, body slick with sweat, he slowed down just enough to pull me back from the edge, only to push me over it again. His hands were everywhere, bruising my hips, tangling in my hair, pinning my wrists above my head while he drove into me with a rhythm that felt both punishing and reverent. I lost count of how many times I came undone beneath him, how many times his name tore from my throat like a prayer.By the last round, I was shaking, oversensitive, every thrust sending sharp sparks of too-much through me. My thighs burned, my core ached, but I still arched into him, greedy for the way he filled me, claimed me. When he finally spilled inside me one final time, a low, broken groan rumbling from his chest, I collapsed against the sheets, boneless a

Liora's POVMy body was a live wire, humming with need as Ronan hovered over me, his eyes burning into mine like he could see every secret I’d ever hidden. The air in the room felt thick, heavy with the scent of chlorine from outside and something muskier—us, tangled in this reckless moment. His belt was undone, jeans pushed low on his hips, and I could feel the heat of him pressing close, the tension between us like a storm about to break. My heart hammered so loud I swore he could hear it, feel it against his chest where my hands still clutched at himHe didn’t rush with me. Instead, he dipped his head, capturing my mouth in a kiss that was slower this time, deeper, his tongue sliding against mine in lazy strokes that made my toes curl. I sighed into him, my fingers tracing down his back, feeling the ridges of muscle shift under my touch. He tasted like forbidden things—smoke and sin and the kind of danger that made my pulse raceHis hand trailed down my side, fingers brushing the

Liora's POVMy breath hitchedHe was so close, closer than anyone had ever been.The air between us felt charged, like the moment before a storm breaks. His eyes, dark and unreadable, locked onto mine, and I couldn’t look away. My skin prickled under his gaze, the alcohol buzzing in my veins making everything sharper, hotter. I should’ve bolted, pushed past him and run back to the chaos downstairs, but my feet stayed rooted, my body betraying me with a heat I didn’t recognize“What are the odds,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the room, “of her walking into this room right now”I blinked. “Her?”“You.” He stepped closer again, closing the gap until I could feel the warmth radiating off his chest. “You seem frightened.” His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile, more like a predator spotting easy prey. “I’m obsessed with frightened”The words sent a shiver down my spine, but it wasn’t fear, not entirely. My hands were shaking now, visibly, and

Liora's POV It was a bad idea to be at a pool party. I mean, I wasn’t built for this. The music thumped so hard the glass doors rattled, bass crawling under my skin like it wanted to live there. End-of-year graduation. Everyone was screaming about college next fall like the world was handing out golden tickets. Normally I’d be home with my nose in a textbook or pretending my phone was more interesting than people. But Lisa, my best friend, the queen bee who could make a room full of strangers feel like they’d known her forever—had decided the entire senior class deserved to drown in her parents’ infinity pool.So here I was. Liora Vance. The charity-case shadow. The girl who got invited because Lisa refused to leave me behind.All around me, bodies glistened under string lights. Girls in barely-there bikinis laughing too loud, boys in board shorts flexing like they were auditioning for a thirst trap. Boobs bounced everywhere. Dicks got talked about like they were the main event. “G