Grab A Bite

On Christmas Eve, Gabriel Caldwell, my three-year boyfriend, invites me to go home with him for a nice feast and to spend the holidays together. But before I can even get a bite, I get drugged instead. "If I can't pay them any money at this rate, they'll chop my hand off, Evelyn! Seriously, I don't have any choices left but to deliver you to them! "Don't blame me for this, Evelyn. Blame yourself for having such rotten luck in life by looking just like the woman of Mr. Kensington's dreams. "By then, my debt is cleared, and you might live an extremely cushy life as a rich man's wife! Isn't this a win-win situation for us?" While I'm still groggy from the drugs' effects, I get delivered to an extremely familiar-looking estate by Gabriel's family. First things first, if I'm not mistaken, this must be my uncle, Sebastian Kensington's estate. Secondly, my uncle adores his older sister—my mom—so much to the point that he's never fallen for any other woman except her in this lifetime. And last but not least, all my dad did back then was roll his eyes at my mom once before Uncle Sebastian had him sent to a faraway continent. Well then, I wonder who's the one that'll be cursed with rotten luck after they deliver me to my uncle's hands? Gosh, it's so hard to guess!

"Fuck!," she moans as my finger slides fully inside her, her body responding instantly. "More," Elisia demands, breathless. "Really?" I taunt her. "Beg. You know how this works, Elisia. I'm in control, not you." "I'm not begging you," she retorts, though her voice wavers. Without hesitation, I pull my finger out, leaving her aching for more. I begin teasing her, running my finger along her slit, knowing she'll eventually break. "I'm going to kill you," she growls. "Oh, really?" I mock, pulling my hand away entirely. She sighs, realizing I'm serious. "Theo, please," she whispers softly. "Not good enough," I say, sucking on her neck, leaving my marks. "Please, Theo, touch me," she whimpers, her voice more desperate as I bite into her skin. I stop and smirk against her neck, savoring her submission. I pull back, admiring her. She's a beautiful, needy mess, just for me. "Was that so hard, Sia?" I tease, enjoying the control I have over her. They were forced into a marriage, but fate had other plans. What started with resentment turned into something deeper. She wanted to hate him, but he replaced all her anger with tenderness. "It's hard to explain," I sigh. "I'll listen, baby," he whispers, resting his forehead against mine. "Just talk to me, please."

Sold like a circus animal. Collared, forced into misery and self-hatred. With a single blow, she hopes to change her life, only to find herself trapped again. Ocean has no idea what freedom means, but she desires nothing more than a taste of it. The secrets hidden from her will unfold before her eyes, no one can escape the truth. ~~~ The book excerpt: "Here, I have a key to your heart," I left the key in my palm, metal, and skin together. I stumbled upon the ancient artwork in the locker rooms. It caught my attention because it resembles a dagger, so I took it and waited for the perfect opportunity. "Silly girl, that is not the key to my heart. Pathetic attempt." Vladimir growls in disgust. If I'm lucky, I'll be free by the end of the night. Taking the first step toward my destruction, I grin and move my hips in time with the slow music in the background. Vladimir swallows, his Adam's apple bobbles in his throat. The vampire's eyes focus on the crook of my neck as I stop directly in front of him. I place my palm on his chest, guide my fingertips down to his abdominal muscles, a corner of my lip twitches in disgust. When he closes his eyes, I take the opportunity to plunge the key directly into his heart, smiling as his eyes shoot open and he looks down at me in horror. "Are you still convinced I don't have the key to your heart?" I ask, grab him by the collar, and pull him closer. My lips nearly touch his ear as I whisper, "It fits."

"They're coming, Benedicta. Grab all your stuff right now!" One second, I snapped my head around at the panicked Paul who clutched a towel around his waist. But when I looked back, the creature was gone. Shocked by the sudden disappearance, my eyes darted around in search of nothing. "Did you hear what I fucking said? Gather your stuff and let's go!" "Did you-did you see that?" I pointed at the empty window oozing in chilling air. As the breeze got stronger, so did my confusion. "Wake the hell up, Beni," Paul yelled, startling me off my trance. "What is wrong with you?" Without saying a word to Paul, I followed him like a doll as he led me out of the room through a secret passage. "Find them. They haven't gone far." That deep scratchy voice penetrated the walls. "Search the bushes. As ordered, bring her alive." —-------------- —-------------- Benedicta, a young girl sets out to retrieving a glowing stone buried in the depths of the earth, located near Beast Land, a terrifying place inhabited by massive werewolves known as the Lycans. Despite the danger, Benedicta is determined to find the stone, which is said to possess great power. Meanwhile, the Alpha of the lycan pack is cursed, and has been unable to produce an heir for thousands of years. Each time he chooses a pair of lycans to mate and produce offspring with, the pups turn into stone as soon as they are born. His Lunas (female werewolves) also die soon after the curse takes effect. When Benedicta crosses paths with the enraged Alpha, she inadvertently restores his youthful appearance, with just a STEP, triggering a rage that threatens to destroy them both. Hot tension rains down on them as the changes begin.

I turn down a dream research program at Hefford University just so I can stay and help my debt-ridden boyfriend run a burger stand. This time, he says he's serious. I give him all the money I've saved up over the years, hoping we can build a better future together. A few hours later, I discover he's forgotten two hundred dollars in the drawer. I grab the money and run out, hoping to catch him. What I catch is a scene straight out of a corny movie. The loan sharks who used to beat and threaten him are now bowing and nodding deferentially. "Sir, I guess we don't need to show up at your house anymore, right?" Kurt Saunders rubs his temples and replies, "Yup. Anna gave up her entire future for me. She even turned down an opportunity to study at Hefford just to help me pay off my debts." Before he even finishes, his childhood friend lets out a giggle. "Kurt, that's still not enough. You'll only know if she really doesn't mind being poor if she sticks around through a year of flipping burgers without any complaints." Kurt looks at her sly expression and lets out a helpless laugh. "Alright, we'll do it your way. One more year of pretending. Anna would never leave me anyway." I stand there, listening to the sound of my own heart shatter. Kurt, you think I'm giving up my future for you, but it's still mine, and I can take it back.

Ajay has been dating Aaron for two years. Their relationship is not perfect, but it meets the requirements of a good relationship. While vacationing at Aaron's aunt's island home, Aaron and his cousin Tyler throw a party. Aaron walks away to grab more drinks from the kitchen, but he has been gone way too long. Ajay decides to find him but is distracted by the mysterious, handsome partier named Jude. Jude had been watching Ajay all night. Unable to find Aaron, Jude suggests they go somewhere quieter, leading her to the guesthouse. Upon entering, they hear voices. Unfortunately, it's Aaron making out with another woman. As a result, Ajay takes vengeance and sleeps with Jude in the bedroom down the hall. Ajay's rendevous causes her and Aaron to break up. And their weekend trip is now a two-week vacation because Tyler caused them to miss their ferry home. With a few dollars in her pocket and nowhere to stay, Ajay asks Jude to help, but Jude has turned nasty and unwilling to accommodate her. However, seeing his cousin Micah's attraction to her, Jude decides to help out of jealousy. Although Jude's family owns the island and he lives alone in a lavish mansion on a hill, he makes Ajay stay fifteen miles away with his family in their Villa. Ajay believes Jude is doing this because he doesn't like her, but her thoughts are the furthest thing from his truth. After Ajay meets Jude, in a matter of minutes, things are not what they seem, and Jude is not who or what he appears to be. Explore Ajay's journey with Jude from lust to love, passion to hate, and mystery to the truth that hides within The Villa.

On our seventh mating anniversary, my Alpha mate, Ronan Thorne, abandons me once again for his secretary, Evelyn Stone's sake. This time, I don't kick up a fuss at all. Instead, I calmly draw out a silver dagger in hopes of ending my life. The moment the tip of the dagger is pressed against my neck, I feel someone grab my wrist all of a sudden. "Why are you hurting yourself? Who broke your heart?" I looked up in a daze, only to see the 18-year-old version of Ronan. He's so anxious that his eyes have gone red. At the same time, he keeps trying to embrace me. "Tell me who that bastard is! I'll make him pay!" I don't explain anything at all. Instead, I merely utter his name softly. After that, the current Ronan personally locks me up in the dungeon. He claims that I need to reflect on myself—that I shouldn't target Evelyn out of jealousy. Just then, the younger Ronan appears again. He stares at the older and cold-looking Ronan outside the silver bars, then turns back to look at me with disbelief written all over his eyes. I just nod in response. He clenches his fists tightly. Soon, a furious roar escapes his throat. "He's not worthy of being your mate! I'll kill anyone who wants to hurt you, regardless of who they are!" As opposed to the 28-year-old Ronan, the 18-year-old version of him loves me more than anything else in the world. Naturally, he will definitely stick to the promises he has made to me.

Today was like the day I met him: Me, riding a bicycle and him, walking down the pavement. I grab the handle of the bicycle and watch him as he make his way towards me. I do not know why I feel nervous. A trickle of sweat drip on the side of my face, my heart beat fast and I could hardly breathe. He was meters away, until it grow shorter to a foot and then bam, he bumped into me and we fall down, him on top of me. This felt like a deja vù, like it was our very first encounter. We scurried to get up but ended up bumping our heads together. I glared at him as he got up, He didn't even offer me a hand. He didn’t even give me a second glance. He just passed by me. Not noticing me. Not even looking at me. I let go of the bicycle and turn to face him. I remove the helmet that I was wearing and grip it tightly before screaming, “YAH! My hands curled into a fist and before I know it, the helmet I was holding was already flying towards him.I raise my hand as if to save him but it collided on his head right before I could even react. It sounded a hollow thump and a pronounced groan. His hands made his way to the back of his head as he turn and face me. With those eyes that seem like it was murdering me, he chase me off and I hastily took my bicycle and ran. I couldn’t help but feel happy instead of guilty as he ran after me. This was like before. This was like that summer, that summer I met him.

The desk was hard beneath her. The cold wood bit into her spine as Vincenzo slammed into her again… so deep… so merciless… Yeah, he was…. Tearing through her innocence like it was nothing. Aurora moaned, as her nails rake bloody lines down his back. “I love you…” she sobbed, even as pleasure and pain ripped through her core. “I love you… I love you…” That was all she screamed… hoping the monster within him would listen… hoping his heart would choose her. “Say it while I break you,” he whispered into her ear. Yeah She was supposed to stop him, but her body craved him more… Brielle, his wife, was somewhere suffering, but she didn’t mind… Brielle could fuck off, at this moment… **** ****************************** Aurora Puro Pucasso, the daughter of General Puro Pucasso, has her life turned upside down. One moment she’s on her bed, the next she’s forcefully taken by Vincenzo West and made to act like his wife Brielle….and the mother to his psychotic child in exchange for her to live… As the line between reality and fiction blurs, Aurora struggles to separate herself from the woman she pretends to be… But When she thinks she has… Brielle return….And Aurora is forced to watch Vincenzo decide who he wants to stay… Every decision Vincenzo makes will ruin her… If he chooses her, her father’s life is in danger. If he doesn’t choose her… her life is in danger. Then what does fate have in store for her? What is fate choosing? You won’t want to miss this… Grab your popcorn and let’s enjoy this beautiful ride.

“We’re friends,” I said, voice barely steady. Aaron’s lips curled, slow and cruel. “No, we’re not.” “Friendship’s too pure for this.” His hand slid to my waist, hot and claiming as he yanked me flush against him. “Do friends kiss like this?” He kissed me. Hard. Possessive. “Or grab each other like this?” A squeeze to my ass. A gasp. “Or think filthy little thoughts?” His breath burned against my ear. “Touch themselves to it?” My cheeks flamed. My body betrayed me. “Stop lying, Venus.” His voice was a growl. “I feel it. Every time I’m near you.” I whispered, “But you don’t even like me.” His smile was pure sin. “I don’t have to like you to fuck you.” Then the offer: “Let’s get it out of our system. No lies. No strings. Just truth.” He grabbed my chin, eyes lit with hunger. “Say the word, princess.” A whisper against my lips— “I’ll ruin you.” And God help me… I wanted him to. --------- Aaron Sinclair needs a bride to claim his inheritance. Venus Astor needs a miracle to save her dying mother. What begins as a cold contract marriage spirals into a dangerous game of buried trauma, stolen identities, and forbidden attachment. He’s ruthless, closed off, and refuses to love. She’s resilient, lost, and refuses to stay unloved. But when secrets unravel revealing a stolen childhood, a tragic past, and a vengeful stepmother, their fake marriage is the only thing standing between them and destruction. In a world ruled by power and silence, will love dare to speak first or break them both instead?