Freeze Framing

I lifted my head from Rhys's arms, his strong chest rising and falling against my cheek. Silk sheets tangled around our naked bodies, the air thick with the scent of our passion. After a passionate night with my childhood friend, the Mafia heir, I was jolted awake at three in the morning by the shrill ring of a phone. It was the Don, ordering me to bring Rhys back to the estate for an arranged marriage. I figured it was just another heiress trying to claw her way into the Griffin family, so I kissed his forehead, pressing myself against him and whispering with a low laugh. "Rhys, what's your plan for this boring princess?" He arched an eyebrow, wrapping a lazy arm around my waist. "Baby, make sure you pick out a good tie for me. I need to make a good impression on my future father-in-law." Seeing me freeze, Rhys sat up and shot me a casual glance, his voice laced with indifference. "Maeve, what's with that reaction? We're just having fun." "You didn't actually think you were going to be the next Donna of the Griffin family, did you?"

Warning: This is an erotic novel that contains a possessive alpha male who can't keep his hands off his woman. "Trying to escape?" a voice boomed from the hall, causing me to freeze at the familiar voice. I spun around to see Giovanni's gaze fixed on me as he leaned out of the wall, a huge cigarette in his mouth. My heart raced, but I maintained a stoic expression, "I was going to the restroom." Giovanni raised an eyebrow, not believing me. "The restroom is on the left, while you're taking the right leading to a back exit," his tone laced with suspicion. I faked a shocked expression. "I didn't know," I lied. Giovanni neared me, slowly backing me against the door. "You see, I haven't marked you, and I would be terrified if you got lost," he said, his voice filled with an unsettling threat and amusement. He began peeling off the tiny straps of my dress from my shoulders, his eyes growing darker. "Do you have another pair of underwear?" I trembled, "Yes, Why?" "Because, my darling, I'm about to rip this one," he replied, his eyes glinting darkly.

Four years after being kidnapped and changing her name to keep up the ruse of her death, Serenity is forced to return to her old life by her overbearing father Unfortunately for her, along with her dysfunctional Mafia family comes the once love of her life; Alexander Moretti and a mysterious threat intent on killing her Facing an unknown enemy, Serenity and Xander must find a way to navigate the complicated waters of their relationship and keep her alive long enough to get to the bottom of it, but what happens when her family is destroyed leaving Xander no other option but to become the Don of the Mafia? Will Serenity stick around even after she finds out his part in her family's destruction? *** Serenity exited the bathroom clad in a robe with a towel in her wet hair when a chill ran down her spine. The barrel of the gun against her temple made her freeze and let out a shaky breath as the towel dropped from her hands when they raised. Turning slowly, Serenity came face to face with Alexander and just as quick as the panic came, it subsided. Serenity released a heavy breath and Xander's gun fell. "Serenity!” He stared at her with wide eyes

It's Thanksgiving, and I'm waiting for Zeke Jones to come home after cooking up an extravagant meal. When Zeke returns, he doesn't even glance at the meal I've prepared for him. Instead, he proceeds to pack a bag. "I can't celebrate Thanksgiving with you this year," he says. I take another bite of my turkey and say nothing. At the stroke of midnight, Zeke's first love posts a new photo on her social media page. In the photo, she's lying on Zeke's back with a bright smile on her face. The moon outside the window is bright. "Happy to spend Thanksgiving with good company," her caption reads. Instead of hysterically questioning Zeke about the post, I just tap on the "like" button without reacting in any way. Zeke calls me. His voice sounds panicked as he tries to explain himself. "Please don't misinterpret the post. I will definitely spend Thanksgiving with you next year…" I freeze for a few moments, letting out a small laugh. I don't offer him a reply. Next time, he says? Oh, Zeke, I'm afraid there won't be a next time.

My first day back home and my husband's secretary was already flexing her muscles, trying to grab my antique right out of my hands. Before I could get a word out, she smacked me across the face. Twice. She sneered at me with a look that could freeze fire. "This piece caught my eye, and I'm being nice to you. Better apologize and thank me, pronto!" I moved to confront her, but before I knew it, her bodyguard had me pinned to the ground. She looked down at me like I was nothing. "Trying to challenge me? I'm Mrs. Collins of the Collins family here in Riverton City. You're nothing! One word from my husband and you're out of here!" Passersby started chiming in: "Aren't you going to bow down and beg? She's the apple of Mr. Collins' eye." "Play your cards right, and maybe you'll still be scrubbing toilets in Riverton City." I was ready to set things straight when her title hit me like a ton of bricks. The Collins family of Riverton City? When did Eric get another wife? I dialed Eric's number and laughed calmly. "Eric, since when did you secretly marry someone behind my back?"

I get picked up by the cops in the middle of the night for street vending. While questioning me, they pull up my file. One officer eyes me suspiciously through my mask and asks, "What's a Clairefield University graduate like you doing selling stuff on the street at midnight?" I freeze and lean over to look at the file. The ID number matches mine, but the photo has been replaced with one of Madison Bass. That's when it hits me—20 years ago, I was the one who got accepted to Clairefield University! Dazed and numb, I stumble home only to hear my husband, Joseph Gunther, speaking on the phone. "Madison, don't worry. I won't let Lucy interfere with your life. Just go abroad in peace." It's him! Joseph helped Madison steal my identity and my future. My stomach twists. I turn to confront him, to expose the truth. But before I can, he strangles me to death with a belt. "I'm sorry, Lucy. You can't ruin Madison's future…" When I open my eyes again, I'm back in the classroom. Our homeroom teacher is handing out university application forms. This time, I'm taking my life back.

One day, a wealthy couple is invited to give a speech at my university. My childhood sweetheart, Henry McGregor, tugs me along, eager for us to sneak out to the cafeteria and do some part-time work. He tells me to go grab the empty bucket from the shelf. But just as I take a step, a flood of messages suddenly appears in front of my eyes. [Don't touch that bucket! It's filled with scalding soup that Henry prepared. He wants to ruin your face!] [Three years ago, Henry had his first love impersonate you, becoming the long-lost daughter of the Wright family. Now, he plans to disfigure you so you'll never be able to return.] [You'll endure severe burns all over your body and undergo countless skin grafts. In the end, the fake heiress will poison you by swapping your medicine.] [Meanwhile, that scumbag will marry into the Wright family. Along with the impostor, they'll drain the Wrights of everything they have.] [You need to go back right now and let Mrs. Wright see your face. This is your only chance to reclaim your rightful place as their daughter!] At that moment, I hear Henry urging me again to hurry and move the bucket. As I glance at the flood of messages once more, I freeze, stopping dead in my tracks.

The appointment of Susan Moore as the Broadcasting Channel's executive director has forced out the station's more valued news anchor, sparking heated discussions throughout Hayworth. Susan herself is standing before me right now. She wants to sell her jewelry. As the manager of a luxury boutique store, I'm here to inspect the goods. "These are pieces my partner commissioned for me. I have so many that I'm tired of them." One of them is a diamond-encrusted necklace, featuring a pigeon-blood ruby in the center, worth a few million. There are also several similar gifts on the table, with the crocodile skin bag the least eye-catching one. I smiled. "Your husband must really love you." I set about verifying the purchaser's ID and signature as part of a routine procedure. However, I freeze in place at the sight of the name. "I'm not his wife," she replied, bringing the coffee cup to her lips. "We're just each other's first loves. He said he missed out on 15 years of my life, so he gave me 15 gifts. Isn't that romantic?" It is romantic, indeed. However, it's my father's signature. For 30-plus years, I assumed that my father was a dull man who had never once surprised my mother.

For three years, I’ve been stuck in a contract with a man who calls himself my fiancé, a chronic cheater who treats me like a trophy and a tool. But everything changed the night of the auction. I went only because I heard whispers that a sacred artifact, a relic tied to my pack’s downfall, would be up for bidding. That relic could save us. I needed it more than my next breath. What I didn’t expect… was him. Damon Cross. The man every Alpha in the city feared. The man who could freeze a room with one look and burn it down with the next. To my wild shock, he was my fiancé’s powerful, ruthless uncle, and the one man I should never want. He unexpectedly got the artifact I wanted. I rushed after him and seeing him head to his car, I yelled. “Hey!” He stopped. Looked down at me with heat in his gaze as I ran up to him, panting. “Give it to me,” I said, holding out my hand. He stepped closer, shadows clinging to his shoulders. “Can you buy it for double the price?” I blinked, his coldness like a slap. Did he not remember me? Then the smirk came. “Tell me, my lovely ex-girlfriend.”

When Isabella De Rivera runs away from home to escape an arranged marriage to a powerful Filipino-Italian tycoon, she ends up in the arms of a mysterious stranger she meets at a club. He brings her to a hidden place he calls the Red Room, a space filled with sexual equipment chains, whips, sling chairs, and desires she doesn’t yet understand. Drawn to him despite her fear, Isabella gives herself completely to the man who makes her feel seen for the first time. But the next morning, everything changes. Her father’s men find her and drag her home. The wedding will happen whether she wants it or not. Broken and numb, Isabella walks down the aisle in silence… only to freeze when she sees the groom’s face. It’s him—the stranger from the club. The man who took her breath, her trust, and her innocence. Bound by a vow to the man who claimed her body and bought her life, Isabella enters a war zone. Her husband, Sergio "Serg" Medici, harbors a ruthless history he can't bury, including a former wife determined to win him back and a young daughter who doesn’t know Isabella exists.