City Tattoo Sleeve

Selena has always been a down-to-earth level-headed girl, the type to prioritize responsibility for everything. Even after she ends up stuck carting her toxic soon-to-be-ex around the streets of Akron. That is until a mysterious stranger in golden glowing Egyptian tattoos runs into her on the street. After a few colorful words and the strange man helping her carry her soon-to-be-ex to her car. She is dumbstruck when he touches her and both their hands begin to glow resulting in a strange golden luminescent tattoo identical to his appearing on her wrist. Freaked out Selena quickly thanks to the man, who now seems furious at the sudden appearance of the mark on her. Then takes off thinking she would never see him again. Only to run into the man the next day, to her surprise he claims that he is an alien from a long-forgotten race. A race that once came to earth long ago and created the humans, and a demigod race she and twelve other families are descendants of. Now she is tasked with trusting him to keep her safe as one of her mates. She has no idea if she should should trust him, but the only thing she can be sure of is she needs to survive. That means trusting him to keep her safe from the mercenaries of his race.

After years of struggling to survive, Akayda Jordan finally lands her dream job — personal assistant/secretary in one of the best companies in the whole of California. To celebrate her new beginning, she decides to give one last “performance” at the elite club she’s about to leave behind. One night. One masked encounter. One forbidden act. But fate twists cruelly. The man she had danced for in the dark turns out to be her new boss — Damian Knight. He’s engaged. She’s desperate to keep her secret buried. But when Damian starts sensing something achingly familiar about his new assistant — the scent of her perfume, the way she looks away when he stares too long — the walls between them begin to crack. But he was sure the girl with the big glasses was not the girl with the mask and firefly tattoo who had woken up a hunger in him. Soon, professionalism turns into tension. Tension turns into temptation. And the closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous her secret becomes. Because if Damian ever discovers she’s the masked girl he’s been searching for… she might lose not just her job, but her heart.

In the fifth year of being exiled to a deserted island in the international waters by Chelsea Herrera, I finally learn how to stay extremely humble. When Chelsea brings Derrick Carpenter, a university student she keeps, and a Doberman to the island just to pick me up, I get down on my knees as though it's the most natural thing to do in the world. Then, I wipe the sand off Derrick's shoes with my sleeve before bending over to use my back as their stepstool. "From now on, you're in charge of taking care of Ricky. He and Dobey are your family now." I nod with a small smile. After Chelsea has usurped my family's businesses and forced my parents to jump off a building, she chooses to abandon me on a deserted island so that I can learn to obey her commands. She has succeeded in everything she's done. By the time I finally get to return to the familiar villa, everything there has already changed. I wake up at 4:00 am every morning in order to prepare a nice breakfast for Dobey the Doberman. After that, I groom it properly. At 9:00 am, I've prepared the outfit Derrick will be wearing for the day. Then, I'll travel to a boxing gym so that I can serve as his human punching bag. At night, I prepare some alcohol and snacks while listening to Derrick and his friends laughing at me. They then proceed to discuss how to tame me, the formerly arrogant scion hailing from the ex-richest family in the elite society.

My name is Addison Calder. During my first heat as an adult werewolf, Morgan Flint suddenly announces that he wants to end things. I can't stop crying—not from a broken heart but because the torment of my mating cycle is consuming me from within. Gripping his sleeve tightly, I lean closer, attempting to kiss away the tension. Impatient, Morgan shoves me toward his older brother, Tucker Flint. "Hey, Tucker. Addie's drunk and losing it. Can you help calm her down?" As Tucker steps forward, Morgan leans in and whispers, "Keep an eye on her. Don't let any other men get close. I'm only breaking up with her for now. Once I'm done fooling around, I'll get back together with her." Tucker nods and gently lifts me into the car. "It hurts, doesn't it?" he says softly. Overwhelmed by the pain, I clutch his tie with tears streaming down my face. "Please… Help me," I plead. Tucker's pupils contract, his voice low and hoarse. "And how exactly do you want me to help you?" In a flash, I lean in and press my lips to his. "Kiss me… or let me kiss you." Our passionate kiss melts away much of the tension gnawing at me. Noticing Tucker's reddened ears, I grab his tie once more. "Will you take me home?"

For ten years, my family had called me a jinx. When I was three years old, my dad claimed that he lost a major project because he had to take care of me due to my illness. My mom wanted to buy me sweets, only to end up getting hit by a car in front of a candy store. That was how she hurt her arm. My older sister, Siena Bell, often claimed that she screwed up in her tests simply because I kept breaking her pens. One day, my mom invited a shaman named Mr. Reyes over. After inspecting the house, he contemplated for a while. "This child is affiliated with misfortune by nature. She's a walking jinx who absorbs the entire family's luck." He then added, "But if she has a life of misfortune, you will regain your luck." At first, I felt aggrieved and tried to fight back by throwing tantrums. I tugged at my mom's sleeve while arguing loudly, "I'm not a jinx!" But my mom just looked at me calmly. There was a hint of eerie calmness in her eyes. She said, "Mr. Reyes said that you have to accept your fate. Someone has to bear the sacrifices no matter what." Her icy words doused out the hope in my heart. In a way, this twisted dynamic actually worked. My dad's business went steady, whereas Siena started getting better grades. At one point, I even started thinking that I was a real jinx. But… why was it that my family was haunted by more misfortune after my death?

What were the odds that I'd just fucked my boss and been too buzzed, too horny to clock it? Impossible. Catastrophic. My life was like a ticking bomb of fuckups already; this would only make it explode. "Get a grip, Shayle," I whispered, shaking my head hard. It can't be. -------------- What would you do if you found out you only had four months left to live? In the case of Shayle Vale, she was the definition of a plain Jane; quiet, overlooked, and freshly dumped by a boyfriend who called her ‘boring’. But when the doctor drops her death sentence, she decides ‘boring’ dies today. She made a list; Quit her job, Lose her virginity to her hot next-door neighbor, get a tattoo and Do what the fuck she wants. But life doesn’t play fair. Her shitty boss refused to accept her resignation, her neighbor was allegedly still a virgin, and nothing on her list was going according to plan. Now Shayle’s plain, safe little life is spiraling into messy office wars, late-night temptations, secrets she never saw coming and a toxic love triangle. Will she tick off her last wishes, or will fate throw her off the list completely and into the arms of two sinfully attractive men instead?

Catriona Hugh is the weak, overprotected last born of the Hugh family. All her life, she has lived under the shadow of her warrior siblings, unprepared for the dangers of the real world but the real world has other plans for her. Everyone thinks the biggest problem is the enemy clans that plunder the outskirts of their territories and an alliance with the war alpha would solve the problem. So when the war alpha picks Catriona, the weakest wolf to be his mate, Cat must step up and finally shrug off her parent's overprotection to secure the alliance that they need. They couldn't be more different, she is fair where he is dark, small where he is huge, weak where he is strong and while she wears her heart on her sleeve, the war alpha has no heart to give. Caught between pursuing the love of the stone cold War alpha and settling for the easy love offered by his Beta, Catriona must choose and her choice will break one of thr strong proud men. But what if they have bigger problems than enemy clans and frustrated love? For a thousand years, ancient enemies have slumbered and now they rise with one purpose, to get to Catriona and the potent power that lies dormant in her blood. Alpha Kael has never met an enemy he couldn't vanquish, not until the woman he must protect above all else is in danger and he realizes that against ancient enemies, even he may not be enough to protect Cat. With Cat in danger, the alliance is in danger, the entire werewolf communities are in danger and worse, Alpha Kael must face his new greatest fear of losing the woman with enough love to heal the world... and him.

Petunia, a 19-year-old girl from a rural village in Limpopo province, moves to the big city of Johannesburg to study. She then falls head over heels for the popular guy on campus. Unfortunately, life in the big city is not as good as she thought. Will she be consumed by the glitz, the Glamour, and the dark side of the golden city?

I die in the corridor of the private hospital my husband established after being forced to give my heart to his true love. Before my death, my six-year-old son tearfully begs him to save me thrice. The first time, he holds my husband's hand and says I'm coughing up blood. My husband sneers. "Looks like she's learned tricks—she knows how to teach children to lie now." Then, he has his bodyguards kick my son out of the ward. The second time, my son grabs his sleeve and says I'm in so much pain that I'm incoherent. My husband frowns. "It's just a heart transplant. The doctor said she won't die." The bodyguards step forward and drag my son out of the ward again. The third time, my son grovels at my husband's feet and grabs his pants, sobbing and saying that I'm already unconscious. My husband is infuriated. He grabs my son by the neck and throws him out of the ward. "I told you Nadia won't die! I'll throw her and you out of the hospital if you come here and disturb Ruby's rest again!" My son gives his most previous item—a guardian angel pendant—to a nurse to save me. The nurse accepts it and arranges for me to be admitted to the last available ward in the hospital. However, Ruby Sharpe has someone stand before it with her pet dog. She says, "Sorry, kiddo. Your father's worried I'll be bored without my dog, so this ward has been set aside for my dog to stay in."

40 stories. 40 fantasies. 40 limits. Dive into a world where desire knows no boundaries and pleasure has no rules. This provocative collection features fourty standalone dark romance stories that explore the forbidden, the intense, and the utterly irresistible. From the mysterious masked stripper who reveals her true identity to the man who's been fantasizing about her for months, to the "therapeutic" massage that becomes anything but professional—each story delivers scorching heat, dominant heroes, and heroines who surrender to their deepest cravings. Inside this collection: A gym instructor who teaches more than just proper form A tattoo artist whose needle isn't the only thing that leaves a permanent mark A bus ride that becomes the most intense experience of a virgin's life A gardener who cultivates more than just the lawn A massage therapist with unconventional "treatment" methods And 37 more tales of obsession, possession, and raw, unfiltered passion Warning: These stories contain explicit sexual content, dominant alpha males, intense situations, and heroines who get exactly what they secretly crave. Each story is a standalone with a satisfying conclusion. Perfect for readers who love their romance dark, their heroes possessive, and their steam level set to scorching. Tags: Dark Romance, Explicit Content, Alpha Males, Forbidden Romance, Short Story Collection, Steamy Romance, Dominant Heroes