Colson Whitehead Underground Railroad

On the day of my birthday, I'm burning with a fever that almost hits 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of that, I've called Tristan Graham more than a dozen times. He never picks up any of them. In the end, my dad has to take me to the hospital. When we walk past a corridor, he suddenly stops in his tracks. "Mr. Graham? What are you doing here?" I raise my head to see Tristan and Madison Franklin walking from the OBGYN department. Their fingers are tightly laced together. Tristan is even carrying a bag of medication. Birth control pills as well as ointment meant to be used on private parts can be seen in that bag. My mind goes blank at that moment. All I can do is stare at Tristan. As soon as our eyes meet, Tristan frowns slightly at me, though his gaze only lingers on me for a second before he turns to look at my dad. "I'll be hosting a banquet in the garden tomorrow night. Remember to decorate the garden nicely." Dad quickly accepts the order. "Don't worry, Mr. Graham. When Luna's fever breaks out, I'll deal with this task right away." Tristan is momentarily stunned by Dad's words. When he notices my unnaturally flushed cheeks, he instinctively takes a step toward me. But that's when Madison tugs his sleeve. "Stop wasting precious time on a gardener's daughter, Tristan. Let's go. I'm still in pain, you know." Tristan stops in his tracks instantly. Then, he leaves with Madison. Later on, he pays for my hospital bills. Our seven-year underground relationship that's considered a taboo is also paid off as well.

"You wouldn't dare!" David spat, his eyes filled with anger as he glared down at Rihanna. It was that intimidating look, the kind that made men tremble and women flee. But not Rihanna. She met his gaze with equal intensity, her chin raised defiantly. "You know me better than to say that." she retorted, her voice dripping with determination. "You're mine!" David growled, his grip tightening on her shoulders, forcefully pinning her against the wall. "Mine, and no one else’s.” "I don't belong to you. I'm not some possession!" Rihanna snapped back, her anger palpable. She despised it whenever David asserted his control over her. “Yes you do. You are mine and listen to me princess, I promise you that any man who as much as touches your hair wouldn’t live to tell the tale.” ******* In a world of power, passion and danger, David, a ruthless billionaire and leader of an underground drug cartel, commands fear and respect. With his irresistible charm and stunning looks, he effortlessly captivates those around him. Meanwhile, Rihanna, a computer whiz seeking freedom from her controlling ex-boyfriend, finds herself drawn to a mysterious stranger at a nightclub. Little does she know, he's not just any man - he's David, her ex's uncle and the enigmatic head of a feared criminal empire. In an act of revenge for her friend, Rihanna unknowingly sets off a chain of events that threatens to bring down a multibillion-dollar corporation, not realizing that the man she spent the night with is its owner. Fleeing for her life, she escapes the country, only to return two years later and come face to face with her fate. As their paths intertwine once again, Rihanna realizes that her life is about to be plunged into a fiery abyss.

Shantali Jackson awakens from cryostasis to discover she's been asleep for over 600 years. A working-class woman from the pre-collapse era, she finds herself in a sterile medical facility, where staff address her as royalty and claim she's the beloved of Prince Costa—a man she barely remembers meeting at Le Glow Club one fateful night. As fragmented memories surface, Shantali learns the devastating truth: she and Costa were never willing participants in the preservation program. After publicly defying their arranged marriages to choose each other, they were declared enemies of the state and forcibly preserved by the Emergency Preservation Committee. They've been awakened seventeen times for six centuries, only to have their memories wiped when they refused to comply with the Council's genetic breeding program. This time is different—the memory suppression technology is failing, and ghostly echowisps (manifestations of psychic trauma) guide them through their escape. With the help of Marcus, a resistance member, they flee to the underground networks where Shantali discovers shocking truths: her half-brother Elliot became a resistance leader, Costa's parents have been working to undermine the Council for centuries, and the outside world has been habitable for generations. The couple escapes to Haven's Gate, one of seven thriving Eastern Sanctuaries where humanity has rebuilt naturally. But freedom is short-lived when they learn Dr. Thorne and other preservation specialists are using extracted consciousness data to create a new form of control—artificial minds programmed for obedience. Refusing to remain passive victims, Shantali and Costa make a bold choice: they'll pose as desperate refugees seeking re-preservation, walking willingly into Dr. Thorne's trap to stop his plans once and for all. Their love story becomes humanity's last hope against a system that would sacrifice free will for genetic perfection. A tale of choice, resistance, and the power of love.

Giorgo Romero, the Don of the Romero family, gets ambushed by a suicidal madman who has bombs strapped to him. When that happens, my husband, Fabio Lopez, and his troops have already gone to a fashion show with his childhood sweetheart, Reina Digiorno, so that they can protect her there. Instead of pressing the signal button on my ring, I launch myself at Giorgo despite being heavily pregnant. Just like that, I'm able to protect him from the explosion with my body. In my previous life, I had pressed the button. Fabio had ditched Reina in favor of hurrying back to the scene to save Giorgo's life. Because of his contribution, he gets elevated to the position of Underboss. But Reina got mad at Fabio for leaving her in advance, resulting in her crossing the highway out of pure spite. That was how she got hit by a car and died. While Fabio didn't say anything, he chose to send me to an underground auction house on the day I went into labor. "The Don had so many soldati protecting him! Why did you force me to come back in the first place? Isn't it because you just want the glory of being the Underboss's wife? "If it wasn't for you, Reina wouldn't have died! You must go through a thousand times the suffering she did!" I could only watch as the guests bid for my organs one by one. Not even my newborn's umbilical cord could be spared from the auction. In the end, I died from an infection that had occurred while my organs were being removed. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Giorgo gets ambushed.

All of it started in an auction where I didn’t know that will change my life entirely. “Where a-am I?” Unlike the girls that have been bought by these men, my bidding started at a jaw-dropping amount. I never thought that a girl like me would start bidding at $20,000 in an underground black market like this. I was just looking down, hearing the surprising amount they are willing to bid just to have me only until the bidding went up to million. A man who's in his 60's came, betting almost a million dollars which made the crowd silent. I thought that the old man will be my owner but I was wrong when a man was strong enough to oppose him, betting ten million dollars just to have me. "Can you just b-bring me back to my h-house?" I spoke, breaking the silence. "I won't waste fucking millions just to free you, woman. You will serve your purpose to me," he spoke out using his thunderbolt tone. The thought of fleeing away from him slipped off my mind as the tension between us has been added by a fuel in a scorching fire, a fire that we built and a deep connection we both agreed. I should be scared of him, I should be running away but the contrary was happening. I just found myself on his bed, naked whilst he was drowning me with his poisonous kisses. “I promise to keep you safe… and won’t let you slip away from me, Amore.” People say love is the most important thing in this world. At first, Ares didn't believe as he only see it as a hindrance but when he experienced it for himself, he could no longer get up on Mariana's scheming fire burning around him.

After falling into the trap set by her step mom and sister,Natasha White ends up having a one night stand with a stranger losing her Fiance overnight to her stepsister,Kassidy. Natasha White, strong willed,beautiful and smart lady ,potential heir to the company loses her chance of getting married to her sweetheart Keith as he ended up with her step sister Kassidy. she was rejected by Keith who deemed her a whore ,struggling to keep her family inheritance from her step mom who would not hesitate to kill her,she ends up capturing the fancy of Italy's biggest Mafia leader Luca Marchetti. Luca Marchetti,That name was a threat to the Underground world,he's heartless,a possessive freak ,His Cold aura sent fears in the heart of people,who were even afraid to speak of him, He wouldn't hesitate to spill the blood of his enemies. He built a wall around his heart vowing not to fall for a woman ,he believed falling in love meant been weak and vulnerable for his enemies but not until he met Natasha White who captured his cold heart ,making him believe in love. After discovering that she was the woman who he had a one night stand with,He could not let her go for the second time. Fighting off the monster inside of him who wouldn't hesitate to kill Natasha because she was destroying the other him. Can Natasha fall for Luca?who's whole existence was a danger to her,She wasn't a fan of men who were possessive of their women,but Luca was something else. Can she be able to fight for her inheritance without breaking down? Would she able to forgive Keith who was pretending to be a nice guy but had secrets lurking in the shadows?

Evangeline Grace Meadow. Everything about her life was going so perfectly—almost exactly as she had planned in her notebook—and she was proud of all the achievements she had gained in her 27 years of life. Getting a job as a full-time doctor at Seattle's largest hospital, living in the luxury apartment that every person in Seattle dreams of, having a handsome fiancé who loves her—at least that's what she believes. However, her perfect life turns into the most painful misfortune when she finds out her fiancé is cheating on her in front of her eyes. Until one night, when she was trying to release all her pain, she met a mysterious man with a sharp smile and eyes as blue as the Caribbean sea. A brief encounter. A brief conversation. That man—Exel… his touch... his gaze... his fingers that gripped tightly in the most perfect spot Eve could imagine. All of it burned Eve to the bone—making her willingly beg for the next touch. Unfortunately, both Eve and Exel know that their brief encounter on that one hot night will never happen again—and there shouldn't be. Yet again, one short night managed to change her life. She meets Exel again under... very different situation that makes them bond because of her pregnancy that happened without them knowing it. So what happens when Eve finds out that Exel's life isn't as beautiful as his smile? Not as bright as the light of his eyes. Instead, Exel lives in the darkest underground life—a life full of danger and real horror. But what if Eve was curious about those dangers? What if she was tempted by the sweet sin Exel's offered? * * * When Everyone called her Eve because her name was Evangeline, but he called her Angel because she is his real angel.

A Dark Paranormal Romance | Fated Mates | Slow Burn Obsession He came to her in chains. But it’s her rules he’ll beg to obey. By day, Ronan Thorne is an Alpha shifter - commanding, ruthless, untouchable. By night, he's something else entirely: a feral beast cursed by a vengeful moon goddess after he dared to seduce her sacred virgin. Every sunset splits his soul, forcing him to live half a life—and leaving behind blood and desire he can’t remember. Desperate for control, he seeks out Eidolon, the most exclusive underground dominatrix club in the city. But he doesn’t expect Talia, a woman with a voice that stills the storm inside him and eyes that see too much. Talia doesn’t do emotional entanglements. Her clients submit. They don’t haunt her dreams. But Ronan is different. Dangerous. Addictive. And when she touches him, something ancient stirs inside her a legacy tied to the very goddess who cursed him. He wants to surrender. She was born to command. But what begins as a game of control quickly spirals into obsession, forbidden lust, and a choice that could destroy them both. Can she tame the beast without losing herself… or will she awaken a hunger no one can contain? --- Author's Note Welcome to Marked by the Beast — where dominance is delicious, secrets are deadly, and the line between pleasure and danger? Paper-thin. This story contains mature themes, dark romance, and explicit scenes that may not be suitable for all readers. If you're into primal bonds, forbidden heat, and a heroine who doesn't just tame the beast—she owns him— Then, darling, you're exactly where you need to be. Read responsibly. Hydrate. And don’t say I didn’t warn you. From your favorite dark romance author Elle Targaryen😉

She came to steal a plant. She left utterly destroyed and completely his. Aria Chen is a brilliant hacker, underground artist, and medical prodigy — but none of it can save her dying mother from a rare disease with only one cure: Vitalis Radix, a nearly extinct medicinal plant cultivated exclusively on billionaire CEO Damien Blackwood's private estate. Desperate and out of time, Aria does the unthinkable. She infiltrates his mansion as a maid under a false identity, planning to steal the plant and vanish. Get in. Get the plant. Get out. Until she meets him. Damien Blackwood is power incarnate — ruthlessly intelligent, devastatingly handsome, and dangerously observant. When he makes her his personal maid, Aria thinks she's found perfect access. She has no idea he's been waiting. He knows exactly who she is. And his punishment won't come from police or prosecution — it comes in whispered commands, in his hands claiming every inch of her virgin body, in a world of dark eroticism she never knew existed. She becomes addicted. To his touch. His dominance. The obsession that makes her question everything she came for. When he finally catches her in the greenhouse, the confrontation is explosive. "Did you really think I didn't know? You played your game, Aria. Now it's time for mine." Betrayal. Rage. And a passion that blurs every line. READER WARNING — Dark Erotic Romance: virgin awakening, dominant/possessive hero, power dynamics, morally gray characters, sex toys, punishment scenarios, exhibitionism, explicit content, and intense emotional angst. GUARANTEED HEA — but the journey is dark, twisted, and absolutely filthy. "Welcome to Blackwood Estate — where every rule is meant to be broken, every boundary pushed, and love is the most dangerous game of all."

I was his one weakness. Don Alex, the king of New York. And I was his queen. But days before our child was due, I was thrown into the Dockside Deathmatch—a cruel game broadcast for the underground world’s entertainment. The bullets flew, hidden traps lay in wait, and my every terrified, pathetic attempt to survive was broadcast live on giant screens. Then, I heard his second-in-command on the loudspeaker. "Boss, your wife's about to pop. You sure you wanna be here?" I froze. Alex was here? A moment later, a woman’s sugary voice dripped through the speakers. "Forget that bitch. Alex told me the only thing that mattered today was being here with me. Right, honey?" It was Scarlett. The Chicago Outfit's princess. Alex's childhood sweetheart from Chicago, a woman he had always pampered and shown a distinct bias towards. He had turned down her advances for years, but he never refused her whims. Today, she was in a bad mood and insisted on watching the deathmatch, so he was here to keep her company. I screamed for Alex, begged him for help, but he was convinced I was an assassin in disguise. Because Scarlett laughed and said the game needed to be more exciting. So he pressed the button. Vicious patrol dogs hunted me. My water broke, mixing with blood on the ground. I was in agony. The game hit its climax as more dogs and gunmen closed in from all sides. Everyone was betting on who would be the next to die. Alex smiled, his voice a low, careless drawl, "I’ll bet on that filthy pregnant woman to die." He didn't know the truth until I bled out on an operating table, our child dead with me. They say the ruthless Godfather shattered. Broke completely.