Embracing Arms

"You make it sound like I did something wrong?" Niklaus says with a sly smile before stepping back to avoid the punch I swing at him. His hand grabs my wrist tightly before he spins and presses me back on his desk, with my upper body facing him. His hips press against my parted legs. "Really...Luci, I missed you like crazy. How can you say such harsh things to me?" He says with a pout. Wait…wait, what is that pressing against me? "You crazy b*stard." I all but scream the words, but the manic excitement in his eyes doesn't waver as he forces his hips against me. Eight years ago, novice recruit Lucien Sinclair had the perfect partner and brother-in-law anyone could ask for; everything vanished in the blink of an eye when the 'perfect' man, Niklaus Heinrich, turned out to be the perfect devil, an arms dealer masquerading as the perfect CEO to the largest company in Ferndale. What happens when the two are forced to work together again? {This is a stand-alone book}

The room is dimly lit, the air is filled with the smell of sex and alcohol; the guy laying next to the girl is panting heavily. She on the other hand is laying next to him, all curled up; soft whimpers are coming out of her lips. The guy wraps his muscular arms around her waist and pushes her a little away from him. She opens her eyes halfway through and stares at the guy, his hair sticking to his forehead due to the sweat; his dark brown eyes are closed. His sharp features are glistening, when the little rays of the sun hits his face that is coming in through the window. Forwarding her hand, she caresses his thin lower lip with her index finger and closes her eyes. "Get out." He says in a harsh tone from beside her. Her eyes flutter open completely hearing his harsh words; she always thinks why he acts so badly with her? Retracting her hand back to herself she sits up, her lower belly aches in the bitter sweet pain. A groan comes out of her mouth and her hands go straight to on top of her lower belly, to caress it. His clothes and hers are scattered around on the floor. The entire room is a mess, the bed sheet is all crinkled; pillows are off the bed.

Seven years ago Chantelle Jones was betrayed by her boyfriend and someone she thought was her best friend. She caught them both in bed in her 18th birthday! Betrayed, hurt and thirsty for revenge, she ran into the arms of the boy next door. Shy and quiet Nolan Pierce. She suddenly realized she has made a mistake and leaves Nolan confused and dazed. Seven years later while working as the secretary of Penelope Quinn, famous model and business woman, hoping for a chance to get a gig and build an empire of her own, she runs into Nolan again.... only he is not the Nolan she once knew. He now controls his father's empire. Gone was the geeky kid from next door, Nolan Pierce was the next most eligible bachelor. Their encounter would resurrect bitter memories. For Chantelle, Nolan is the father of her son but he can't know that. And keeping her son secret would become even more difficult when Nolan makes a proposal "Work for me and I will make your dreams come true." Sparks will begin to fly and old enemies would resurface but what would be their fate?

On the day of my wedding, I stood on the stage, while my fiance, Jake Stevens, passionately kissed his assistant, Chloe Xanders, in front of everyone. He held her in his arms and said earnestly, “Chloe, don’t worry. Even though you’re not my bride, you’ll always have a place in my heart.” Chloe, who was overwhelmed with emotion, threw herself into his arms and wept as she said to me, “Lily, Jake and I are deeply in love, but fate just didn’t work out for us in this life. Please take good care of him.” Gossip instantly spread around us. Just as I was feeling helpless, my fiance humiliated me further and called me nothing more than a doormat. Watching the two of them clinging to each other, I could not take it anymore. I canceled the wedding on the spot and left for abroad the same night to join my best friend. The next time I met Jack, I had already moved on with someone new. When he saw me interlocking my fingers with my new love and kissing him passionately, his eyes instantly filled with burning jealousy.

Raisa had always imagined that her household was a happy one, but an incident where her husband, Arka, turned out to be hiding a big secret behind their household. It started with a contraceptive that Raisa found in her husband's suitcase that led to other suspicions that led her to find out that her husband had been having an affair with their next-door neighbor. Raisa devises a plan to avenge Arka's betrayal and also her affair with Maya. She deliberately let her husband play with fire in their household and made him suffer in the aftermath. On the way to exposing Raisa's husband's lies, the woman reunites with her former boss. A billionaire who is handsome and also concerned with Raisa who is none other than Maya's husband. Will Raisa fall back into the billionaire's arms?

Everything North Campbell believes about her life is a lie. She doesn't discover that until the night her father dies, and she learns he wasn't her father. He kidnapped her as a baby from her birth parents, Jim and Carol Allis. They seem ecstatic to find her, but she quickly learns they, along with their powerful dragon-shifter ally Pytor Douglas, have nefarious plans for her. She runs straight into the arms of another mysterious group, and they tell her she's a Trueblood—descended from all the mythic races and capable of great power. She's at risk, but the Council assigns her six bodyguards, and the Oracle has seen her future husband is among the six. North is dragged from realm to realm to learn how to use her powers. That task seems impossible—almost as impossible as choosing just one man from among the six mythics entrusted with her protection. How can she choose between a vampire, an angel, a demon, a witch, a dark elf, and a wolf-shifter when each of the men is perfect for her in different ways? Dare she risk everything and choose them all? Will she have a chance to make the decision, or will Pytor's group get her first?

"I kissed you because I wanted to, make no mistake about that. I have never regretted, in fact, it has given me some hope." he was more candid than she expected. The fact that he wanted to kiss her was beyond her. "Hope?" she echoed. Unable to fully comprehend where the conversation was heading. "I have an arrangement I would like to propose." he was blunt, his voice strong and serious. There was no longer any hint of the gentleman she witnessed the day before. "What kind of arrangement?" she found herself hanging on his every word, it was clear who controlled the state of the conversation. "A temporary one...between us." he waited for her reaction but Ivory herself was unsure of how to react or respond. She had never found herself in a situation such as this and she thought the likelihood of it actually happening was nil. "I want you, Ivory, in more ways than one. Last night proved that you may have the same desires." He crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

Four days after my death, my four-year-old daughter finally sensed that something was terribly wrong. The fridge door slammed into her forehead when she tried to get a snack. Normally, I would've been there in a heartbeat—arms open, kisses ready, whispering, "You're okay, sweetheart, Mommy's here." But this time, I just lay on the bed, cold and still.​ She didn't understand. She thought the sweet treat would make me respond. So she held the final piece of chocolate up to my mouth. "Here, Mommy. Have some chocolate..." But I didn't even blink. She climbed into my arms, clutching my clothes tightly. "Mommy... Mommy, wake up..." She waited for me to stroke her hair, to tell her that everything was going to be fine. There was only silence.​ Completely lost and scared, she found my phone. "Daddy, why is Mommy still sleeping?" she asked, her voice filled with desperation.​ In response, Oliver sent a photo of himself having Christmas Eve dinner with his childhood sweetheart. His voice was icy cold when he replied, "She's just sleeping, not dead. It's Christmas Eve, and I'm busy. Tell her to stop playing games and come apologize when she's done sulking." Then he hung up.​ But when the truth finally hit Oliver—when the coroner's report came, when the police knocked on his door right in the middle of his laughter, when he realized I'd been lying dead for four days while he toasted—he broke.

…He caresses my check and I close my eyes and lean close so as to get more of his touch. "Catania, why is your pheromone doing this to me?" He asks calmly and this time around, I open my eyes. "Because… because you don't want to accept the…" my sentence is caught off by the feel of his lips colliding with mine. A thunder of emotions strike within me as he kisses me passionately, like he owns me, loves me. I return the kiss with all my might as I decide to forget everything that is going on and enjoy the moment. Without breaking the kiss, he gently pulls me into his big muscular arms and further intensifies the kiss. His lips are warm and soft. They are partly sighted, allowing my tongue to slip inside. Our bodies are pressed together heatedly as I our lips joined with each other's. I can taste our shared breath and feel the taste of our combined heartbeat. Warmth blossoms in my chest, igniting it as Alpha Nolan leans in close, with his lips brushing tentatively. This is my first kiss ever. The smell of his perfume is dizzying and it causes butterflies to dance in my stomach. My eyes are close and they seem to have gotten stuck. I want to open them, I want to get a better look at Alpha Nolan's dark brown eyes, I want to admire his crazy vampire hairline. I have the feeling this is never going to happen again and that this might even ruin what is left in my life, so I want to open my eyes and bear some witness but I can't, because I am so tired and his mouth is so soft… He cannot ignore the connection even if he wanted to…

The stench of silver dust filled the air, and every breath seared my lungs. My broken body lay twisted among the jagged rocks of the abandoned silver mine, where even the strongest werewolf would feel their strength waning. Beside me, my mate’s first love, Sophia, whimpered softly. A shallow scrape marked her knee. The tunnel was collapsing. Only two people could pass through the exit at a time. Lucas did not hesitate to scoop Sophia in his arms and abandon me. His golden eyes, once filled with unwavering loyalty toward me, now burned with something colder—indifference. I reached out, my fingers trembling as they grasped the hem of his clothing. My voice was hoarse with despair. "Lucas… please… don't leave me here." “I am your mate. I’m carrying your pups.” He glanced at me with a clenched jaw and broke free, shoving me back onto the silver-laced ground. Agony burned through my veins, consuming my soul like fire. “Are you serious, Ava?! After pushing Sophia into this damn abyss and getting her injured, you still dare to compare with her.” “You know what?! You deserve to be left here and reflect on your mistakes!” With that, he vanished into the light, and the tunnel collapsed behind him. His words cut deeper than silver ever could, and the last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me was the sound of their retreating footsteps.