Cherry Picked

Anabel found out she was pregnant and dialed her husband's number to share the good news to him. They have been married for two years without a child. Desmond's mother had been accusing her of being barren and unproductive. When the call was picked, she was flabbergasted and broken. She was hearing a loud moan of feminine voice. "Ohh! Yeah! Don't stop fucking me! I love your fucking dick! Fuck me harder baby!" accompanied with sound of skins slapping against the other. She went home to confront her husband and end up receiving a divorce paper. Desmond divorced him for a lady his mother was rooting. Few months later when he found out that his ex-wife is a billionaire heiress and she is pregnant with twins, he went crazy!

I'm hospitalized after a car accident that nearly costs me my leg. Meanwhile, my fiancé is too busy in the room next door taking care of his first love. She's only faking a sprained ankle. From that same room, I hear Johan Rivera's mocking voice. "Raelyn? She's just a pawn the old man picked for a political marriage. She's not even good enough to be your stand-in." In that moment, something in me finally breaks. I watch the news coverage of a rising business star who's surrounded by reporters and flashing cameras. He's also my childhood friend who has pursued me for ten years. I calmly send him a message. "Christian, does your offer for a contract marriage still stand?"

I was reborn. Right back to the day I adopted Peter. The wind cut sharp, baby cries slicing through the cold. That's when it hit me—this was the day Stuart Pete, my oh-so-loving husband, dumped his illegitimate child right in my path after work. He knew me too well. The second I picked the kid up, he'd spin it into an adoption, making the boy ours. Last time, I fell for it. This time? I walked away without a second thought. Later, I heard the kid got pneumonia from being left out in the freezing cold—fever so bad, it wrecked him for life. I laughed until my stomach hurt. What I didn't see coming? Peter was reborn too—about to experience the life he was meant to have.

Jezzebelle D’aramitz was born half human half vampire, her father was a High Council Member to the King. Her life, one big mess up. With vampires always telling her she would never go far and always constantly being picked on with her half human side she never thought she had a chance at love. King Zephyr is 1000 years old, never wanted love or a family. He has ruled his Citadel with an iron fist refusing to let others get close. Until a certain child with the ability to defy all rules caught his attention. But a betrayal cost Jezzebelle exile into the human world, can the two survive until the truth is out or will both of them suffer in the darkness away from the love that made them strong.

“You have a wife?” I exclaimed, throwing the newly ironed suit at him. He picked it up, scowling at me for wrinkling his clothing “You met Christine?” I opened and closed my mouth repeatedly, shocked by his nonchalance. “We made love!” “We fucked, Abigail, and that has nothing to do with Christine. She’s my wife and you’re just a body for my pleasure. Now, if you’d get out of my office.” When Abigail Hayes starts working at a new office, she is instantly attracted to her boss. Fortunately for her, her boss is just as attracted to her. One thing leads to another and they have sex, only for her to find out the next morning that he is married. Will she continue this forbidden relationship? Will she agree to be his mistress?

As I took my newborn daughter from the nurse, I heard the voice of the baby in the next bed echoing in my head. “Don’t take her, Mommy. I’m your real baby!” The doctor and nurses did not seem to hear a thing. I thought I was hallucinating due to my fatigue, so I continued nursing my baby girl. “How dare you cry, you burdensome wretch? I’ll pinch you if you keep crying!” The baby’s grandmother picked him up and walked outside, but the voice came again, crying, “The mean old lady is taking me away. Mommy, look over here quickly! Look at the birthmark on my left ear!” I froze. My first child, who had died in an accident, had a birthmark on his left ear.

“Are you married?” I bit my tongue at the question that I have been dreading since I saw him in the boardroom. “Answer me!” His angry yell startled me. I couldn’t fault him for being mad. How do I begin to explain it? If I tell him the truth, we will lose the deal and if I continue with the lies, he will see me as a cheating woman. Either way, I am going to lose so I picked the better choice for me and for my company. “Yes, I am married.” ***** For Maeve Fitzgerald her night with Alessandro Marchesi was pure passion and the best night of her life that can only be one night. For Alessandro, it was so much more. Maeve was sure they will never cross paths again but fate has a different plan and it’s about to change her life forever.

When my grandpa fell gravely ill and needed treatment abroad, the elders in the family decided to choose a junior to accompany him. They picked my cousin, but my mom tearfully pleaded with me to take her place. "You're a doctor. Caring for your grandfather is second nature to you. Bianca is an orphan, frail and delicate. She can't handle such a grueling task." To save her distress, I agreed to go in Bianca Pittman's stead, embarking on a five-year stay abroad. When my grandpa finally recovered, I boarded a flight home, eager to reunite with my family. But as I landed, a post on my mother's social media froze me in my tracks. [My daughter is getting married! Thank you all for your blessings!] But I was her only daughter. I couldn't help but wonder who she was referring to.

Tia has always been labelled a spoiled brat, but this perception is misleading; it’s a carefully crafted act. As the youngest in the Alpha pair of the Cherry Ridge Pack, she feels overlooked while her brother, Simon, is groomed for leadership, and her sister, Hilary, is pampered and praised as their perfect daughter. Her loyal companion, Meadow, is her hidden blessed wolf, a gift she received after surviving a trafficking attempt. One morning, Tia discovers her family and pack brutally slaughtered. Realizing her only refuge lies with her arranged mate, Delta Allan Price, the cousin of the Alpha at Ravens' Peak Pack, she sets out on a dangerous journey. Miles Roberts, Beta of the Fisher Brooks Pack and twin brother to Alpha Tyson, is haunted by the death of his true mate, Hilary. Yet, he refuses to accept that Tia, the sister who has always owned his heart, is lost to him and begins searching for her. However, dark forces are at play, as a villain plots to reclaim their territory. With allies and enemies everywhere, will Miles find Tia in time to protect her? Will they confess their feelings for each other? And will the Goddess unleash her Dark Sister to punish those who have defied her laws? RECOMMENDED: THE ALPHA BEAST'S REBEL WOLF (Book#1 of the Dark Sister of Vengeance Series) as characters reappear. *NO S/A* The book contains the following warnings: Violence, Betrayal, Murder, Crude language and Sex. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL!! ©2025/ T. MURPHY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!!!

Warning... or Invitation? That choice is yours. This isn’t a fairytale. This isn’t about sweet kisses beneath cherry blossoms or soft smiles under the stars. No. This is raw, This is reckless, This is “Burning Embers: Scorching Tales of Desire” A collection of BL short stories carved from lust, laced with obsession, and kissed by chaos. Each chapter stands on its own, a world where strangers become addictions, roommates cross lines, enemies blur into lovers, and the line between want and need snaps without warning. These men don’t fall in love. They fall into temptation. They crash into each other like lightning against the sea, loud, unforgiving, and beautiful in their destruction. You’ll find no gentle romance here. Only the ache of fingertips brushing where they shouldn't, the weight of glances held too long, the gasp before the plunge. This is for the ones who know love isn’t always tender. That sometimes, the most unforgettable stories are the ones written in bruises and longing. This is for those who crave stories that leave a mark, who don’t flinch when desire gets messy, when hearts bleed a little before they beat as one. Not for the faint-hearted. Not for the clean-handed. This is for the bold, the brave, the ones who dare to touch the flame even if it burns. So turn the page. Step into the fire. But don’t say I didn’t warn you--- Because once the embers catch, they never go out.