Balanced And Barefoot

My body was drenched from the intense downpour, which also made the path and steps away from the sore spot damp. There was no umbrella to offer me some shade, so I was left cold and drenched in the bad weather. I follow the road barefoot, following its path to wherever it leads. My face was chilly and damp, and there were hot tears in it. It seems as though the sky eradicates my pain and hiding from everyone just how miserable and down I am at the moment. "How long would you walk? How many times do you have to cry just to laugh again?" We're strolling along this lengthy road in the pouring rain, he said as he followed me. He stopped in front of me, causing me to tumble as well. When I stared into his azure eyes, tranquility was all I saw. His warm smile gave me hope, all the while I was staring at it. "Your life's challenges would bring you storm clouds and torrential rain, but what would come next was your hope. It doesn't imply that fate wasn't on your side or that you are finished. A sunshine that might offer your life meaning. That way, destiny won't ever work against you again!" He seems sincere, but I'm not sure If I will believe in him. He turned away from me, which made me anxious. I tried to call his name, but he never answered. Nevertheless, it appears that he will also leave just like the others, leaving far from me, just like everyone else. "Seah, be that sunshine! ...In order to discover love, you must first learn how to love yourself." He spoke and then disappeared. Where should I start and when should I stop? I'm really confused and scared.

She gave up, she gave in. She forgot that she was on an airplane that was now accelerating for take-off. She was far more interested in her own personal take-off – one that Hunter was controlling with hard, deep thrusts inside her as his thumb gently stroked her clit. She opened her mouth against his throat, her breath coming out in pants now. As she approached climax, Sully gripped her chin between his fingers, forced her face up to his. Her release was muffled against his mouth and he swallowed her gasps and tiny whimpers; when she relaxed and sighed, he held her close, absorbing the aftershocks into his own body. Cordelia floated next to him, dizzy and breathless. **** Twelve years ago, Hunter Sullivan lost everything that mattered. Since then, his life has been built on distance, discipline, and emotional lockdown. Love was a luxury he failed to protect, and one he doesn’t deserve again. Or so he believes. Until Cordelia Patton walks into his life and dismantles his defenses with a single smile. Cordelia is already carrying too much: a sick child, a demanding job, and a future balanced on a knife’s edge. Her toughest assignment comes when she and Hunter are sent undercover as a married couple to take down a child-kidnapping ring. Pretending to be close to a man who refuses to want her may be the hardest role she’s ever played. Cut off from backup and relying only on each other, lines blur and emotions ignite. But when the case explodes and a criminal escapes, the danger turns personal... and Hunter is forced to face his greatest fear: losing the woman he never meant to love.

Sophia Turner is a powerful woman in her own way, head nurse of the most renowned hospital in the United States, with a knowledge of medicine that makes many doctors jealous. She is her own woman, knows what she wants, doesn't care what people think of her and many say she is strange or the perfect woman, she has her own money, likes to have sex, is passionate about role-playing, and doesn't take any crap. Those who know her say she doesn't exist, how can she do all this being single? But Sophia has been through a lot of things to become who she is now, her past few people know, but those who know admire her. Having a balanced life is the most important thing, her health comes before anything else, after all, she learned this after years of treatment (which still continues). Her life changes upside down when one day the Houroux family suffers an attack and their leaders end up in the hospital... Perseus is seriously injured and has a specific blood type, the same as Sophia and she helps to save him. As if this were not enough, Sophia feels an inexplicable attraction for the second-in-command, Achilles Lykaios. The woman doesn't want to get involved again with people like the Houroux family, people with a lot of money who had influence in many places and who could buy anything if they wanted to. But Sophia is not for sale, and yet... She has to overcome some past traumas and accepts the proposal to accompany Perseus' progress and goes with the Houroux family. Things are not as they seem... What secrets will be revealed? A new world opens up for Sophia, a world she imagined only in her fantasy role-playing books.

Kathalina Ruiz never believed in fairy tales. Her mother's dying wish bound her to enigmatic CEO Thirdie Stone in an arranged marriage she accepted out of duty, not romance. Yet somewhere between quiet nights and fragile smiles, Kathalina fell deeply for her distant husband only to keep her love locked away, too afraid it would never be returned. For three years, their marriage balanced on politeness and silence. Then one stormy afternoon shattered it all. Kathalina walked into Thirdie's office and found another woman-half-naked-sitting on his lap. Without demanding an explanation, she signed the divorce papers he placed before her, his gaze as cold as the ink that sealed their separation. What she never knew was that Thirdie's betrayal was a lie... a desperate act to protect her from the dangerous threats circling his empire. Heartbroken and grieving, Kathalina fled abroad. From the ashes of her pain, she rebuilt herself into a celebrated jewelry designer, admired for her elegance and independence. But fate had other plans. Years later, her mother's lawyer makes a revelation she has inherited a vast fortune and controlling shares in Stone Corporation. The life and the man she tried to escape are waiting for her return. Back in the city where it all began, Kathalina comes face-to-face with Thirdie once more. Old wounds resurface, secrets linger in every shadow, and danger draws closer than ever. Now, she must decide to protect her heart from the man who once broke it or uncover the truth he buried......a truth that could change everything she thought she knew about their past. A story of love, sacrifice, and second chances, The Stones We Keep asks.....is it ever too late to believe in a love that never truly died?

So it appeared that she was to start paying her way on her back with this absolutely massive, broad-shouldered, tattooed, aptly-named wild warrior. Gideon was a large man, but this modern viking put him to serious physical shame; if Gideon’s dick had split her in half in agony, Iris could only imagine what this monster’s cock would do to her. She just hoped that he left her able to walk… and able to fuck the rest of the boys downstairs, because of course they’d be close behind. She knew there would be blood soaking and staining her thighs before things were done, long before they decided that they’d used her up. Stopping her jumbled thoughts, Iris slowly lowered herself to her knees. **** Liam “Viking” Callahan thought the job was done. Evidence buried. Debt paid to The Road Devils MC. Then he drives out of the Utah mountains with a secret in the back of his van: a terrified woman running for her life. Iris has spent six months planning her escape from Gideon and the Garden of Divine Light. She’s barefoot, freezing, and desperate enough to gamble on a stranger who looks dangerous... but still safer than the hell she left behind. So she hides. And prays. When the Road Devils discover Iris, the truth unravels: a cult, a tyrant, and a woman who fled into a winter night wearing nothing but a nightgown and borrowed boots. She’s broken, but not defeated. Iris wants her life back... her body, her choices, her fearlessness. The only man she feels safe with is the towering, gentle Viking. As trust turns into desire, neither of them sees the danger closing in. Gideon wants his “property” returned... and he won’t stop until he gets it.

When I took a bullet for Theo Moretti, the bullet grazed my temple, compressing the optic nerve and causing blindness in both my eyes. He kneeled by my hospital bed, pressed the family crest to his chest, and swore: “Sophie, I will be your eyes for life. If I break this oath, may I die a horrendous death.” I believed him. However, the day my sight returned, I saw Theo through the bedroom door, naked on our marital bed with the maid, Isabella. He gripped her waist and thrust violently, his voice hoarse in a way I had never heard, growling, “Bella… you really are the most seductive woman in all of Sicily…” “Theo, who else besides me could satisfy you like this in bed? Divorce that blind woman already!” Isabella nibbled his earlobe. “After all, I’m the one who truly understands you.” “Wait a little longer,” Theo panted. “I need time… Don Lucas just handed me control of the docks. If I divorce now, I’ll be left with nothing.” Rare snowflakes rained down outside. I walked barefoot out of the estate in a thin nightgown and sent an encrypted message to my father. “Father, send someone to pick me up in three days. I’m coming home.” Don Lucas, my father, never expected that the boss he had personally promoted would dare betray his daughter. He replied with a single sentence: “For daring to betray you, Theo’s dead.” What I did not know was that this message would ignite a storm that would sweep across all of Sicily. In three days, Theo Moretti, the man I had risked my life for and I had personally helped rise to power, would lose everything he held dear, including me.

Listen up, everyone!" I yelled to gain everyone's attention "Your trainer Antony, is going to be gone for the foreseeable future. YOU lucky ladies have the pleasure to be trained by me. Antony is a nursery teacher compared to the hell you will soon be facing by me" I stated authoritatively. "Little girl I have morning shits bigger than you" yelled a testosterone-induced jokester from the back causing snickers to erupt throughout the crowd. "Then I'd suggest eating more greens and lessening up on protein and testosterone. You do know that shit causes your willy to shrink up and fall off right" I retorted. I watched the man turn purple with rage before charging towards the stage. Immediately taking a side stance I prepare to take on the idiot Alpha 'gracefully'.  Kicking off the stage I performed my perfect Tornado barrel kick to the dumbass's head. Connecting with a loud crack and landing gracefully on my feet bowing to my audience of alphas, knowing full well that alpha is not getting up for a while. "Any more volunteers?" I said smugly. "Nope, alrighty then. So, going forward I am not someone to mess with. I do not take lightly to those who challenge me and I do not respond to assholes who think little ladies belong barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen. If you have those prejudices, I am more than willing to knock those thoughts clear from your head. And for jackasses like this one, off your head. Do I make myself clear?" Gabriella's family was cursed as she puts it. She cannot be commanded by any Alpha and for that, she cannot belong to any pack. From an early age, her father and 6 older brothers taught her how to fight, and turned trainer. Until she finds her Mate!

Nyma, the Privileged Luna, never imagined her life would be dictated by an unbreakable mate bond. Raised in a werewolf pack where loyalty to a single mate was sacred, she struggled to accept her fate with Prince Adrain—the future Lycan King. Six months into their marriage, Nyma has balanced the weight of leading her pack and navigating the treacherous politics of the Lycan royal family. She sacrificed her claim to the throne, choosing freedom over power, earning the scorn of her mate’s family—especially Second Prince Lucian, the brother who still dares to claim her as his second mate. On the night of her baby shower, everything shatters. Secrets unravel, betrayals surface, and Nyma walks in on the ultimate heartbreak—her mate entwined with the one woman from his past he swore meant nothing. Now, with her heart in pieces and her child’s future at stake, Nyma must decide: fight for a bond that has only brought her pain or break free from fate and forge her own destiny? Love may be fated—but trust is earned. And Adrain has just lost hers. She survives. And then she takes everything. Left for dead, Nyma rises from the ashes with a single purpose—to reclaim the legacy that was stolen from her and make the ones who wronged her choke on their own betrayal. The young Luna was never meant to be a pawn in Lycan politics, and she sure as hell won’t be a forgotten footnote in Adrian’s story. She builds her own pack, her own empire. And when the so-called King and his family come crawling, desperate for the very heir they discarded? Oops. Her bastard just took their legacy.

I watched in both awe and horror as streaks of lighting escaped my fingers and brightened up the room. It was so beautiful but also slightly terrifying.  I had no idea how I was doing this or if it was even me. Do I have...powers? The word tasted bitter in my mouth and I quickly swallowed it back. No one must know about this. The people here are anything but nice.  The lighting died down and I sighed. I balanced my weight on a stool at the center of the room. I barely had time to relax before a deep voice resounded,  "What did you just do?"  I stiffened at the sound of the voice. I didn't need to turn around before I knew who it was. That voice had chased me up from bed at night.  I turned slowly to face the person. Alpha Perrin stepped into the light, an indecipherable expression on his face.  "You're...the cure." He said, ever so slightly. . . . As the least favorite child of her parents, Quinn was forced to marry a crippled Alpha to settle the war between the two packs, in place of her older sister. She has no idea how her life would soon change.  Despite his disability, Alpha Perrin is well known for his ruthlessness and unforgiving attitude.  Things took a different turn when Alpha Perrin found out that Quinn could cure him of his ailment. He decided to strike a deal with her. As time went by, the two of them started developing feelings for each other, and then disaster struck.  How would the two of them navigate their way through this hardship? Would this tear them apart for good or will they find their way back to each other?

Dr. Elara Vance's life is defined by exhaustion, crushing student loans, and grueling 30-hour residency shifts. Her passion for medicine is her singular focus until the brutal, careless discovery of her boyfriend Daniel’s long-running affair shatters her foundation. Seeking oblivion, she allows her best friend to drag her into Manhattan's elite world, where she collides with Liam Sterling, the notoriously private and ruthlessly efficient tech CEO. ​Their intense, desperate one-night stand is a blur of emotional destruction, a mistake Elara vows to bury. But weeks later, fate delivers an impossible complication: she is pregnant with the tech mogul's child. ​Liam, a master of cold, transactional risk management, moves swiftly to contain the scandal. He ambushes Elara with the "White Coat Contract," an impersonal legal offer promising immediate, full payment of her crippling medical school debt and complete financial security. But his protection comes with a crushing price: Elara must resign or significantly scale back her demanding residency. This requirement threatens to extinguish the medical career she bled for, forcing her to choose between stability and her identity. ​Forced into this high-stakes arrangement, Elara enters Liam's sterile, controlled world, furious at the man who views her life’s work as a liability. Yet, their forced proximity blurs the sharp lines of the contract. She brings chaos and warmth to his ordered life, and he, in turn, sees the fierce dedication that transcends her financial profile. With her professional life precariously balanced, Elara must decide if Liam’s love is worth the risk of losing her identity, and he must decide if his obsession with control is worth losing the only person who has ever truly challenged the sterile efficiency of his world.