Eyes Wide Open

“I do not want to stay here! Tell that to your lord!” She yelled at him. “He will take me back to Dragonsbane right now or I will bring this whole castle down!”---- Once every six hundred years, a ruling descendant of Axeris must offer up a pure breed daughter of Khione to the ancient spirits to keep the seal over the undead army of Osyron from breaking open and unleashing the wrath of the blood thirsty god upon the people of Astaroth and the other six kingdoms. Lord Ryder's rule falls under this year and he has his eyes set on Lyra, a pure breed descendant and princess of Dragonsbane, but there are complications when he tries to get her, she cannot remember him and he cannot offer her up if she is not in love with him. Time is running out, the seal is very unstable and everything seems to be working against him as he is soon caught up in a whirlwind of impossibilities and forced to make a difficult choice. There are secrets and twists as this is a tale woven into a maze of labyrinths, with each turn unlocking a new and unpredictable play out, until he is left standing against all he had ever believed in.

My breathing rate slowly increased on seeing his outstretched hand, and out of my gritted teeth, I asked, "Did you poison this food?" There was no slight change in his face as he answered me coldly, "I would rather choke you to the bed with my bare hands, Senorita. That way, you'll curse out my name" My eyes dimmed for a moment. Was this devil in an armani suit still talking about murder? "Now, open your mouth!" He commanded and my stomach rumbled in protest. My lips vibrated and I tried to hold the hot tears forming inside of my eyes. I couldn't stay longer with this hunger. As long as I'm not submitting to be his slave then I could come to a compromise. .. .. Her name is Sofia Di Marco; surviving heir of a powerful mob family. After a decade of hiding from the Italian government She finally steps out to start a new life but she bumps that new life into a mystery billionaire man who turns out to be the King of the New York Underground. That was his identity, but to her, he was Mr. Pompous; the raging green-eyed Devil in an Armani suit.....

“Shut your fucking damn mouth!” Zach’s voice echoed through the room, raw and sharp with anger. Madison didn’t flinch. If anything, the fire in her eyes only burned brighter. She had been pushing his buttons for days—emotionally, mentally. And it tore at him, deep down where no one could see. “I thought you liked it open,” she said with a wicked smirk, sauntering toward his desk like she owned the place. His body betrayed him, twitching at her dirty words. Of course she knew exactly what to say. She always did. “I’m not quitting!” she snapped. “I am a doctor. A damn good one. Who do you think you are to tell me to give that up?!” Zach rose from behind his desk, calm yet dangerous. His hands moved to open his suit jacket, revealing that familiar tension in his shoulders—the one that made her heart race. “Wha—what are you doing?” He closed the space between them in two strides. “I’m your Daddy,” he growled, low and close, “like you cried out last night. And you… you’re mine.” And then his lips crashed into hers before she could breathe another word. ~~ Darly Madison—respected surgeon, focused, disciplined, and just a little stubborn—had her world under control. That is, until her best friend dragged her to a luxurious night party at one of the city’s most exclusive hotels. One night. One mistake. One man who turned her world upside down. Zach Westley. Mafia boss. Dominant. Dangerous. Possessive to the core. She thought it was just a one-night stand. He had other plans. Now her life as a surgeon collides with a dark underworld she never saw coming. And whether she likes it or not… she’s been claimed by the Mafia.

The first thing I do after coming back to life is swap out every single pair of my husband, Augustin Reed's boxers for those in black. In my past life, my sister-in-law, Sephine Fidel, cheats right under our roof on my brother, Jonah Merrick. And when I catch her and tell Jonah the truth, she turns it all on me. Then, two pairs of men's black boxers, not Augustin's, appear in my bedroom. I try to explain, but Augustin slaps me across the face and calls me a whore, while Jonah looks at me like I'm filth. "I know you hate Sephine. You've never shown her any warmth since she married me, but I didn't think you'd sink this low to cheat in your own house and frame her for it…" He disowns me while Augustin files for divorce. I remember stumbling onto the streets in a daze, only to get run over dead by a speeding truck. When my eyes snap open, I wake up to the day Sephine brings her lover into our home.

Oliver Harding and I are on our way to get a divorce when a truck rams into our car, making us turn turtle. Before I lose consciousness, I hear him say, "If I get a second chance at life, I'll definitely accept Zara's confession. Living a life of excitement with her is what I truly want." When I open my eyes again, I'm taken back to the day I got engaged. As in my past life, Zara Cox stands before Oliver with a bouquet and asks him whether he wants to be with her. He doesn't even spare me a glance as he drops to one knee before her. He holds out a ring and says, "I love you, Zara. Will you marry me?" Brilliant. He must have been reborn, too. I give them my blessings, and he and Zara live the exciting life he wants. But later, he falls to his knees before me. Tears stream down his face as he asks whether I can marry him again.

The day I marry Navy Captain Dean Aldridge, I hear his stepsister Shirley Pierce's inner voice. "Diane is so beautiful and graceful. I wish I could be like her, but I'm nothing more than an unwanted burden in this family… "I really adore her, though. I saved up my allowance to buy her a bracelet as a wedding gift, but I'm afraid she'll think it's unlucky and refuse it." In my last life, those words had filled my heart with pity. I'd accepted the bracelet and even taken Shirley under my wing, teaching her to read and write. But not long after my wedding, my health began to deteriorate for no reason. It wasn't until I lay dying that I discovered the truth—the bracelet Shirley had given me was cursed, and she'd deliberately made me hear her inner voice. She'd long been in love with Dean and was determined to make the Aldridge family hers one day. Now, when I open my eyes again, I find myself back on my wedding day.

"F-Fine," she said and squeezed her eyes shut. "I'll do it." To keep her job and pay her nephew's hospital bills, Evelyn agreed to a one night stand with a casino client. In the dim corridor with red lights, someone grabbed her waist, the evil chuckle hot against her ear. No. She didn't want this. That smelly man! She didn't want him! There was a door right before her and she squinted her eyes. What did it say? The wordings looked too long to be the 'exit'. "Stay still," the man growled behind her and started to pull her away. "That's the presidential suite. Our room is right-" She elbowed him with all her strength that he yelped and let go of her. Panic set in her heart as she ran to the exit room right in front of her. She grabbed the door handle and was about to push it open when it was suddenly yanked open. Evelyn lost her footing and fell face first into a hard brick! What kind of wall was warm and smelled so sweet, enough to keep her temperature cool?

I was auctioned like an object. Sold to the highest bidder. I thought the worst was behind me—until I met them. The infamous Alpha twins, Zarek and Zade. One was cold and ruthless. The other watched in silence, but his dark eyes burned just the same. “A human? This is going to be interesting.” Zarek’s mocking laugh rang out in the open space. “She’s not fit to be our mate.” Zade’s voice was calmer, but no less cruel. They didn’t want me, yet they refused to let me go. Trapped in their world, I became nothing more than their possession. Their personal maid. Their plaything. But I wasn’t weak. I had spent my entire life surviving, and I wouldn’t stop now. I would escape. Even if the price was my heart. But the deeper I fell into their dangerous world, the more secrets unraveled. The twin alphas weren’t just drawn to me by chance. There was something buried in our past—something that made them obsessed with keeping me. And when the truth finally comes to light… I may wish I had never been sold at all.

"I’ll make you beg and cry out my name, Father Hale. You won’t even be able to face the altar without remembering how you came apart on my tongue." Vincente terrifying voice admitted curling around the crucifix at my throat as his rough, unforgiving fingers, pinned my wrists above my head. His thigh shoved between mine, spreading me open, and the heavy press of his cock ground against the thin barrier of my underclothes. Mine answered before I could stop it, swelling shamefully through the thin clothes that clung like a second, traitorous skin. "Feel that?" he whispered, rolling slow, merciless circles that tore a broken sound from my throat. "That’s your body confessing louder than any prayer." I tried to twist away, but the movement only dragged my hips harder against him. "Please," I gasped, the word cracking open like a wound. "Vicente —God—" "God’s not here," he growled, his teeth grazing the shell of my ear. "Only me, you don't call God when you are about to sin." His hands slipped under me working on me. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, but the moan slipped out anyway, raw and ragged. "Say it. Say you want me," he demanded, his thumb circling the slick head until my vision blurred. "Beg me to stop. Or beg me not to." A sob tore free as my body arched, chasing the pleasure I hated myself for craving. "Please...Vicente—" He swallowed the broken plea with his mouth, teeth and tongue, sucking the faint copper of my own blood. When he pulled back, his eyes glittered like black glass. "Oh." He smiled, "You mean I can continue?" And my last hope to get him stop chattered.

“I’m s-sorry *hiccup* I won’t try to run again *hiccup*” Kayla pleaded when she saw him coming towards her like a grim reaper. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as he closed the last of the distance between them, backing her into a corner of the room. She closed her eyes and covered them with her palm, unable to endure his dark gaze. He curled his fingers around her arms and pulled them back, but a frown set on his face when he saw that her eyes were still closed. “Look at me Kayla...” he demanded, his voice thick with the need to see her golden-brown orbs. He let go of her hands and cupped her face. “Open your eyes...” he tried a little gently this time. Kayla ever so slowly lifted her eye lids, giving him the sight that he had been deprived of. A rare smile flitted on his lips when his eyes collided with the most stunning pair of pearls that adored the girl that he had become obsessed with. “Will you *hiccup* p-punish me?” she asked. “For what you did, you deserve a punishment. Don’t you think so, Malyshka?” he smirked as he caressed her bottom lip with his thumb. Even even before she could say another word, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, gaining a surprised yelp from her. “W-what are you *hiccup* doing!?” she felt scandalized to be hanging upside down on his muscular torso. “You’ll find out soon enough” he stated coldly and strode towards the bed. And upon reaching it, he transferred her onto the mattress. “And now for the punishment...” he muttered as he leaned onto the bed and hovered above her, sending a cold shiver down her spine.