A Soft Murmur

Jacopo's hands roved down my body, and he crushed me to his chest as the kiss grew passionate. A soft moan escaped my lips as I savored the feeling of his touch. His hard frame pressed against me, and I could feel the unmistakable bulge in the crotch of his pants. "You want me even though you know how bad I am for you," he murmured against my lips, his voice rough with desire. I nodded, unable to form words. The feelings I felt for him were consuming me, and I knew there was no going back.Sophia's passion and dream was to restore art. Accepting a job from a mysterious wealthy man led her into a secretive world of the mafia, art theft, money laundering, and blood. But even with the danger that now surrounded her, Sophia chose to lose herself in the arms of the heir to the dirty empire behind it all. Could she survive the passion of the Italian mafia and their business, or will she become a victim of their world?Vendetta and Vino: Tuscan Temptations is created by Amelie Bergen, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

His tie hung loose, his eyes darker than sin. The scent of whiskey lingered on his breath as he leaned closer. “Tell me to stop,” he murmured, the words brushing against my skin like a dare. “You’re drunk,” I said, staring into those grey eyes as my heartbeat filled the silence. He smiled faintly, his gaze trailing from my hair until it fell on my lips. “Drunk,” he whispered, his thumb grazing my mouth as if testing how soft it was, “but not blind. You want this as much as I do.” ----- After her husband’s mysterious death, Mara Lawson becomes the center of a scandal threatening to destroy the powerful Lawson empire. Elias Lawson, her late husband’s twin, is everything she should resist—dangerous, magnetic, and forbidden. David Hale, her ex-lover, the man who walked away once and now wants forgiveness… and another chance. Between the man who broke her and the one who could ruin her, Mara is caught in a web of passion, guilt, and secrets that could shatter them all. Because in the Lawson world, love is never pure—it’s just another sin waiting to be punished.

When I see someone asking for help in an assignment related to the entrepreneur course on the college forum, I join the group chat using a student account. I even help refine several financial models and market strategies because of my job's nature. Everyone in the group chat is excited, to say the least. Every day, they keep calling me a genius while urging me to improve the details of the whole assignment. Two months later, the assignment's quality is very close to perfection. But the group chat suddenly goes silent. I scroll through the chat history out of curiosity, only to find out that the students have already created another group chat. "That senior isn't an official teammate of ours. Let's not tell her about us using this assignment for an upcoming competition." "Precisely! Our names are the only ones on the list! She'd better not steal the credit during tomorrow's finals!" "With one less person involved, we each get an additional tens of thousands of dollars' worth of rewards!" As I look at the screen, I just let out a soft chuckle. It appears that this isn't an assignment at all. But unfortunately for these students, I happen to be one of the judges sitting at the judging station tomorrow.

"Why do I have to be so lucky?" The stranger smirked, moving closer to Eve. Eve bit her bottom lip, breathing hard as she heard his deep and unmistakably sexy voice for the first time. He was not doing anything to her yet, but the mere sound of his voice and his brown eyes slowly traveling down to her body made her burn with desire. Suddenly, she realized she should have done something during those years of being alone because, at this point, she was like a walking volcano at its highest alert level, ready to erupt. "I..." She forgot her name, even her purpose of being there. Maybe that was because she had forgotten herself and put others first, thinking it would mean a happy life. She was a single mother and hoarded problems like they were collections. Her problems grew faster than her children. When the stranger crushed her mouth with his soft lips, she kissed him back. Eve thought of becoming selfish, wishing him to fill that emptiness in her life, even for a while. She was already unhappy. What else could go wrong?

"This is my first time... it hurts... oh, it’s bleeding..." Allie winced as a cut from the kitchen knife throbbed on her finger. Liam glanced at her, his face full of concern, and applied the medicine with a sharp, almost angry tone: "I’ve told you not to go near the kitchen! Just tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll make it for you!" For Allie, her 20th birthday gift was discovering her boyfriend's betrayal with her best friend in bed. Furious, she turned her back on Nick and married Liam Hart, the city’s most influential and untouchable man. From that moment, she faced endless challenges: Nick’s constant manipulations, Liam’s family scheming against her, and the toxic people in their lives. Everyone sees Liam as the perfect, doting husband—no one knows the price she pays for his love. Exhausted, Allie faced Liam one night, her voice trembling with frustration: "Liam Hart, you are a monster in disguise." Liam, looking hurt, replied with a soft grin, “You wound me, darling. How could I possibly be a monster when I’m the one who’s supposed to protect you?”

They met during their childhood. A human and a beast. She should fear the red-eyed monster but her innocence prevailed. "Can you be my puppy? Your fur is so soft" She even finds the beast that is capable to slaughter her, adorable. But unknown to them, their meeting was a threat to both of their worlds. For decades, a line has been drawn between the human and the beast realms. Territories were marked to safeguard their lineage. No one dares to violate the implicit rule until fate and a prophecy interfered with their peace. Her world was cruel to her that despite being the daughter of the Duke, she was looked down upon by the royal peerage. She becomes an outcast in her own kingdom. Without a choice, she left home. And on her journey, she entered the realm forbidden to any humans. What awaits her in the realm of terrifying monsters her world had known? Will she remember the "puppy" she wanted for a pet? What would she do if she discovered it had turned out to be a ferocious Alpha beast? And will he, too, remember her? Or the untamed desire they both felt since their meeting will just lead them to the past they both forgot? Will they just let fate direct their tale or will their hearts dictate their fate?

A billionaire who hides his bleeding heart with a tough exterior and a soft, family oriented 24 year old woman. Who would have ever thought? Vanessa Higgins lives in constant reminder of how indebted she is to her aunt for taking she and her sister in when they lost their mum. But the ultimate favour was asked of her when she was asked to marry a man she barely knew to enable the family business. In an unexpected turn of events, she ends up marrying another man on that same day, a cold hearted billionaire who is willing to go to any length to have the debt he's owed paid back. Damien De Luca never imagined he'd be getting married when he woke up that morning. But after a look at Vanessa, he had to keep her around him, even if that meant entrapping her with her family's debt. He has married her alright, but not for the reason everyone thinks. What happens when his true reason dares to burst out? A marriage based on a contract might not be so bad after all, but what of a marriage based on lies, warped truths and secrets?

Adwith a cold-hearted CEO to the whole world. He is only soft and Loveable to his sister. The one who makes everyone plead in front of him on their knees can run behind his sister to feed her. The one who can make everyone beg for mercy can say sorry to his sister. He loves her too much. We can say she is his life. Aanya the girl who was pampered by her brother to the core where he can even bring anything on this earth within 5 minutes after she asked for it. She was a princess to him. In Front of him, she was crazy and still behaves like a kid whereas, to the outer world, she is a Xerox copy of Ishaan. Cold-hearted and reserved. She never mingles with anyone much. She doesn't have many best friends except for one girl. For her, the first priority is her brother. He is her best friend, father, mother, and caretaker. He is a guardian angel to her. What made Adwith hate his sister? Will they both patch up again? To know, come and read my story.

As I secured the safety rope, I discovered that the metal clip had been replaced with a flimsy plastic ring. My girlfriend, already on the soft ladder, dismissed my concern casually. "Ryan has got a ton of luggage. One clip isn't enough to keep it secure, so I gave him yours. Just wait for the next trip." In desperation, I pointed to the floodwaters surging past my chest. "But I can't swim!" "Cut the drama, okay?" she huffed. "You're a swimming champ. What's the big deal about treading water for a bit? Ryan is related to my boss, and if anything happens to him, my promotion is down the drain. Can't you be reasonable?" "Is his luggage more important than my life?" I shot back, lunging for the ladder. But she kicked me away. "I've checked. The water won't rise too fast. At worst, it'll reach your neck. You'll survive." Refusing to argue further, I watched the floodwaters rage higher and quickly pressed a special emergency beacon on my wrist.

"Ang mahalin ka ay isang pagkakamaling 'di ko na dapat isinugal pa, Flint. I swear, walking on that aisle is the worst thing I did my whole life. Ang unfair mo naman, Flint! Hulog na hulog ako, oh!" *** After Thalea's nerve-wracking hangover from a party the previous night, she was taken by her best friend to a church for her to marry the man that her best friend was supposed to share a vow with. Bossy, rude and kinda playboy. Irish Flint will surely never be good to Thalea. He is sweet and soft, next minute he became obsessive and rude. Living with Flint is maybe a misfortune for Thalea and the betrayal her best friend did to her is also painful; but one thing is for sure... she fell in love with the man she mistakenly shared a vow with, despite knowing the fact that Flint was not really meant to be for her in the first place — but to her best friend. "That was a beautiful pain though. Salamat sa pansamantalang pagpapasilong mo sa'kin." She murmured before slowly walking away from the person she once called home.