Brush Strokes

"Why do you hate me so much?" Amara asked, her voice shaking. "I've never done anything to you." Where power, passion, and painful memories collide, Amara Denz never imagined the same man who made her life a living hell at Lyons College would be her ruthless, charismatic boss. Now CEO of a thriving tech empire, CEO Leo reigns with cool efficiency—but beneath his shining exterior blazes an undeniable, forbidden desire for the very woman he once tormented. Amara Denz is desperate. Desperate to find employment to pay for the mounting bills, desperate to bury the pain of her abused past, and desperate to preserve her shattered pride in a company where every glance from Leo sends unspoken tension her way. Torn between old wounds and an incendiary attraction that she cannot deny or manage, Amara must navigate a landscape of office politics and personal demons. “Work hard, be loyal, and maybe you’ll earn my respect,” Leo declares with a provocative smile during their first meeting. But as the day unfolds, every accidental brush, every lingering look, transforms the mundane into a battlefield of raw emotion and sensual challenge. Set against the high-stakes halls of Baze, this scorching dual-perspective story of redemption and revenge tracks two individuals whose entwined destinies compel them to confront a past defined by brutality—and a present filled with desire. Can Leo demonstrate that he's reformed, or will the wounds of their past continue to keep them apart? And will Amara's need to transcend her past enable her to gamble everything on a second chance at love?

… Her pack had betrayed him and she needed to pay. She was going to pay! He let go of her hair and grabbed the back on her neck, his eyes trailed down to her exposed neck and collar bone. The princess dress she had on showed a lot of that caused him to gulp nervously. His twitched in his trousers, the butterflies in his stomach rose. He buried his face in her neck and inhaled her sweet pheromone. Reign quivered in fear. Electric sparks exploded in her body when she felt his lips brush against her collarbone, down to her that was exposed. “Please…” she cried, but he didn’t stop. He raised his hand and placed them on her firm , causing her to jolt in fear. He squeezed the left and circled her hidden in the fabric of the dress with his rough fingers. Pain seared through her as he kept squeezing her and trailing hot down her . Reign could only cry and wish that it would and soon. “Hermione Reign Angelis.” He called her full names as he backed away from her, his voice void of any emotions. Reign crawled backwards on her , trying to get away from the tyrant, but stopped when her back hit a hard surface behind her. It was the wall. There was definitely no running away from her oppressor. “Your parents orchestrated the assassination of my beloved mother and even after that, they have the audacity to deny it to my face…”. She is his mate turned slave… will he able to look past his hatred for her and see who the true enemy is?

Jessica-Lyn Kilian has a new Alpha and one would think it's sad that her Alpha is dead. He was her brother. After years of abuse and isolation, she has hope. Only it's dashed by this intimidating man. He tars her with the same brush as her brother. Blaming her for not alerting the authorities of their plight. He demands to take control as his right. Jessie's brother had attacked his pack and died. Alrick Johannsen of the Silver Ridge Pack has just returned from battle to save the Ruling Council(NARC). His pack is under attack by a fool and he dies. Alrick doesn't get the satisfaction of putting his miserable hide down. The law forces him to deal with the ruins of this pack. Victor of Iron Hill Pack has a sister. She claims not to know his illegal activities. Since she didn't inform anyone of those activities. Alrick is holding her responsible. He decides suddenly to punish her. She will serve him until he decides what to do with her. Jessie has three choices. Place herself at the mercy of NARC, accept his punishment, or leave. Leaving is death, her brother's actions saw to that. As a rogue, NARC or Alrick will kill her legally. Alrick told her there was no place for her in his pack or any other. What will she do? How will Alrick respond? Will their bond bloom into a soulbond? Or will the discovery of her brother alive destroy it? After all, Alrick must by law hunt and kill Victor. (This is a standalone novel from the world of A Black River Pack Series. It all starts in His Brother's Mate.)

Alpha Prince Valen, the next in-line to be Alpha King, has been Raina's childhood crush. For years she yearned for the attention that he never gave. Surprisingly, she got her wolf at age sixteen, which was the same day of Valen’s eighteenth birthday party. Among the pack members, family and friends, he looked her dead in the eyes and publicly denied finding his mate. - Distraught, ashamed and heartbroken, Raina kept the secret of being mated to Valen, until circumstances forced him to finally acknowledge their bond. - Sadly, things went downhill because something was devastatingly wrong with their bond. The old books declared them as unfortunate soulmates. A glimpse of the future has left her torn between the desire for her mate and the doom of their fate. - Forced to reject her and sever the bond, the painful separation exposed Raina to numerous challenges and dangers. - Will Raina and Valen have their happy ending or did the moon goddess have something else in store for them? Should she fight for her mate, or let the course of destiny unfold? - Find out as Raina embarks on a journey filled with heartache, revelation, and an uncertain future. - This is Book 2 from the Mates series. This might be read as a standalone, however, to understand the characters, you might want to read Book 1 - Mates: Regrets and Redemption © All rights reserved. - EXCERPT: He chuckled and lewdly continued, “Mmmmmm….right there....it will hit all those spots over and over." "Valen, stop." I breathlessly moaned and blushed. A rush of heat pulsed through my body. "Or when I put one hand around your throat…” He did the action, moving his lips to brush on mine. “.....and the other grips your hair, then your inner thigh, and then your cumming p**sy."

WARNING: Mature & Explicit Scenes. Her body is the price—his desire, the currency. Selene Vantorel never expected to be auctioned, but with her father's crushing debts and a stepmother who'd rather see her sold off than cared for, she has no choice. The one thing that still ties her to her late mother is on the line—the family estate. And to keep it, she offers herself to the highest bidder, no matter the cost. Mafia boss Raphael Delano is used to power and control, but when he lays eyes on Selene, his world tilts. There’s something familiar about her—something buried in the haze of his lost memory, triggered by the brush of her fingers against his skin. But beneath his curiosity, his desire for her touch burns like wildfire. She’s his, no matter what it takes. But this isn’t just about paying off the debt. She has a plan. She needs him to help her take everything back—her house, her family’s fortune, her revenge. In the darkness of his world, she knows he has the power to tear down her father’s empire. But she has a price of her own.“I want them to pay,” she whispers in his ear, her breath hot against his skin. “Help me get what’s mine, and you'll have my heart as well.”He leans in, brushing his lips against her neck, his voice thick with authority. "You’re already mine, Selene. But for you... I’ll destroy them all."Her enemies are about to become his, and in this dark, twisted game, the price of their love will be blood.

King Lucien Draven rules the United Packs with cold iron strength. He has crushed every rebellion and refused every mating alliance. Lycan law demands a king produce heirs with a royal female or face challenge to his throne. Male omegas are disposable tributes, never equals. Then Caelan Ashford arrives as tribute from a fading noble pack. The quiet, scarred omega expects death in the royal palace. Instead, his scent ignites the ancient mate bond the instant their eyes meet. The pull is raw, immediate, and utterly forbidden. Lucien fights the bond with ruthless control. He confines Caelan to the lower halls, assigns him to brutal training, and buries desire beneath duty. But every stolen glance and accidental brush erodes his restraint. The bond grows stronger, darker, impossible to ignore. Caelan hides a deadly secret: royal blood from the dynasty Lucien’s ancestors destroyed. His silver collar dulls his true scent, yet it cannot hide him from the king or from Prince Rowan Draven, Lucien’s charismatic and dangerous younger brother. Rowan sees Caelan as both prize and weapon. He offers protection and power in exchange for loyalty, circling like a predator while court intrigue thickens with assassination plots and rising rebellion. Torn between throne and heart, Lucien must decide how much he will risk for his forbidden mate. Caelan, trapped between two lethal alphas, navigates betrayal, awakening power, and a bond that could destroy the kingdom or remake it. In a slow-burning dance of denial and surrender, where every touch courts war and every refusal cuts deeper, one forbidden connection threatens an empire and two wounded souls who were never meant to find each other.

He’s my brother’s best friend. The golden boy of the ice rink. The one every girl in town dreams about, except I’ve been doing more than dreaming. I’ve been wanting him for years. But he’s forbidden. Not just because of my brother, who would tear the world apart if he knew what I felt, but because of what we are. Wolves. Bound by pack law. Caged by duty. And I was raised knowing the one rule that can’t be broken, never cross the line with someone who isn’t chosen for you. Except lines blur when he looks at me the way he does now. When his touch lingers too long. When his wolf calls to mine in a way I can’t ignore. On the ice, he’s ruthless, a star forward who plays to win. Off the ice, he’s reckless, dangerous, and everything I should run from. But one stolen kiss in the shadows changes everything. Suddenly, keeping secrets becomes as natural as breathing, and every game, every glance, every accidental brush of his hand is a war between what’s right and what we crave. Because this isn’t just about love, it’s about survival. Packs don’t forgive betrayal. Families don’t forgive broken trust. And if anyone finds out that I belong to him, the fallout won’t just destroy his career or my family’s name. It could start a war. He’s the one man I can’t have… and the only one my wolf refuses to let go.

The evening wind and tranquility wiped away all the chaos that had been filling my mind for the preceding few days. It felt as though I had been granted a second opportunity at life, akin to that of a newborn kid. I'd always wanted to feel that way for so long, and that night was a very captivating time for me to begin with. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the breeze brush against my skin as I relived all the horrific events that had occurred. All the turmoil that seemed to escape reappeared in an instant. Tears rush down my cheeks as I feel my body shudder as a dreadful understanding dawns on me. It feels as if every second of my existence has been squandered, and as if the sense of despair and worry has taken over the little strand of sanity that exists for me as it pours through my veins and fills my spirit to the core. "You've got this. All you have to do is think that you can," I said to myself persuasively. "You can't, you just can't. You'll never be able to do it, and you'll have to live with the repercussions for the rest of your life," a familiar voice said. My senses begin to be overpowered by numbness. And with that, I realized I could not go away. The reality that this is my fate hits me like a ton of bricks. As I stretched out to wipe away all my tears, I felt thick moisture on my fingers and was terrified to find blood instead of tears. I felt as if my world was spinning before I could even scream. Then, all of a sudden, darkness crept inside me. And eventually sends me to oblivion.

Bella’s life takes a dark turn when her father’s debt to the Jacksons falls on her shoulders, and the price is paid in blood. Lucas, one of the Jackson brothers, steps in, claiming her as his wife to save her. But before the wedding, Bella finds herself drawn to Damon, Lucas’s enigmatic brother. The ceremony shatters when gunfire erupts, leaving Lucas critically wounded. As he lies in a coma, Bella and Damon grow closer, crossing a line they can’t undo. When Lucas finally wakes up, shaken by his brush with death, he pleads for a chance to make their marriage work. Damon, however, drops the bomb about their affair. Lucas whisks Bella away, determined to salvage what’s left, but secrets and unfinished business loom. Will Damon fight for her, or will Lucas prove he’s the one who can truly win her heart? While traveling through Europe, Lucas discovers Bella is pregnant, with Damon’s child. It’s a gut punch, but he decides he’s got to step up if he’s going to keep her. Just as things start looking up for them, life throws another curveball. A freak accident sends them tumbling down a flight of stairs, Bella breaks her leg, and Lucas fractures his spine, leaving him wheelchair bound. Determined to see him recover, Bella throws herself into rehabilitating him while secretly using her father’s hidden Swiss funds to build a company. Back in America, the family drama kicks into high gear. Bella’s accused of shoving Lucas down the stairs to get rid of him, because, of course, she’d risk breaking her own leg for that. Damon’s met with a version of Bella he doesn’t recognize, convinced she’s only staying with Lucas out of pity.

Once again the oxygen from my lungs was stolen at the sight of her. I cursed my night vision and knew I was going to be punished when I got home for what I was about to do. Just a kiss. One little kiss wouldn’t hurt, would it? I took a deep breath as I moved closer to her. She shifted nervously. “I-” I pulled her against my body, silencing her words with a passionate kiss. She gasped and I took the opportunity to thrust my tongue inside of her mouth. When she melted against me, I lost control. This was not the plan, but I couldn’t resist her. I picked her up before pressing her against the wall behind her. I know I had been warned against pursuing her, but it was too late for that. I had claimed her first kiss, and now I wanted all of her firsts. My hand moved under her short skirt to brush her wetness. I closed my eyes as she spread her legs. Fuck. I was screwed. I knew it was wrong. She was just a freshman who deserved her first time to be somewhere better than a closet full of musty coats with a junior who had a girlfriend. I pulled back to look into her eyes, trying to resist temptation. She touched her lips, and her eyes closed. Fuck. I was so screwed. I knew at that moment that she was going to be my first, too. ******** Sequel to Hunting Her Hunters. This is Osprey's journey to finding his mate. Follow his path that is full of twists and turns, misunderstandings, and a love so deep that it transcends the normal bounds of a mate bond from day 1.