Lingered Antonyms

"You should be scared," I whispered, brushing my fingertips along her spine, slow and teasing, then down over the swell of her ass. My palm lingered, gripping one cheek possessively. "Because you've just given yourself to the devil." I leaned down, my lips brushing her ear. “And the devil? He doesn’t believe in mercy." .... I should have known better than to sign his contract. My new husband was never meant to be real. He was supposed to be a name on paper, a shield against the vultures circling my late husband's empire. An arrangement with an expiration date. But Killian Cross doesn't let go. He's ruthless, obsessive, and dangerously possessive. The kind of man who doesn't just own his empire. He owns everything in his grasp. And now, that includes me. I thought I could play his game and walk away unscathed. I was wrong. Because my contract husband has made one thing clear. I belong to him now. But what happens when the shadows surrounding him become my prison? What if love isn’t enough for the hell awaiting us? Will I be able to save him when he needs me? Or will we both drown in the raging tempest?

On the third anniversary of our engagement, my fiancé—Dominic Corleone, heir to one of the most powerful Mafia dynasties in New York—told me he was not ready to form a new family so that our wedding would have to postpone. I told myself to wait for some time, the bond between the Corleones and the Valentinos—our families’ sacred alliance—would hold us together. But what followed were his endless betrayals and tortures. I walked into a bridal boutique and saw him laughing with Liliane, the childhood friend who always lingered too close. I watched him destroy the wedding gown I had spent months designing—then crush my hand beneath his heel until it bled. And when I thought I had hit rock bottom, he proved I was wrong—by getting behind the wheel and running me down. He thought I’d beg and cling to him, terrified of losing the Corleone name and privilege that came with it. But instead, I made one phone call and insisted firmly on canceling the engagement. However, that call didn’t just end a marriage arrangement. It unearthed a secret that had been buried for over a decade…and turned a marriage born of duty into a story of dark devotion.

“I am hopelessly in love with you, Mein Engel” Dante kept his face buried in Cassandra's neck as he spoke. Her skin tingled, his hot breath brushing mildly against it. His voice was a deep baritone yet reassuring and steady. She found herself succumbing, her eyes fluttering close. Everything about him oddly drew her in his demanding presence, the intoxicating aroma that lingered around him, and those deep blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through her, as if they could uncover every secret she kept. But that wasn't right. That man was my husband's father, twice her age, and the whole thing felt off. What would the whole world think of Cassandra Adler, daughter of the Chairman of Delsu Investment, if they find out that she is pregnant with her father-in-law's child? And what about Dante? Surrounded by societal norms, enemy threats, and the fact that he already has a family, will he abandon the child and his developing feelings for a woman half his age? “He’s my husband’s father… twice my age… and now I’m carrying his heir. If the world finds out, it won’t just ruin me, it could destroy us all.”

On her wedding night, Moza gave herself to the man she believed was her husband. ​But as the heat of their passion lingered in the dark, a gravelly, unfamiliar whisper shattered her heart: ​"I am satisfied. You have finally healed me." ​That voice didn't belong to her husband. ​In a single night, Moza’s life was destroyed. Stripped of her dignity, she was divorced and cast out into the cold, carrying the secret child of a stranger she had never seen. ​Four years later, Moza returns. ​She is no longer the broken girl they discarded. Steeled by a mother’s love and a thirst for the truth, she infiltrates the legendary Limantara Mansion. But she doesn't come back as a wife or a socialite, she comes back as their maid. ​Inside the mansion’s walls, she is at the mercy of five brothers. The Limantara heirs are the city’s most dangerous predators: handsome, ruthless, and intoxicatingly powerful. ​Somewhere among these five masters hides the man who took her innocence... and the father of her son. ​Now, trapped in their world and bound by their rules, Moza must play a deadly game of cat and mouse. Will she find the man who ruined her life and take her revenge? Or will she end up truly owned by the very men she’s supposed to destroy?

He tilted her chin up, his touch deceptively gentle. “You’re trembling,” he whispered, brushing his thumb over her lips, slow enough to make her shiver. “Is it fear…” his gaze lingered on her mouth. “Or me?” Her pulse stuttered, betraying her. He was too close, and her body didn’t seem to remember which feeling came first, terror or desire. **** Elena Castellano never thought her father would trade her freedom to keep her safe. But after a violent attack changes everything, she is forced to marry the one man she has every reason to be afraid of, Stefano Bernardo, the ruthless heir to one of Milan’s most dangerous families. To the world, it’s a union between two powerful families. To Stefano, it’s the sweetest revenge. Stuck in a marriage built on deceit and danger, Elena must fight not only for her freedom but for her life, because Stefano’s revenge runs deeper than she ever imagined. And if she truly wants to live, she must face the truth; the real danger isn’t her husband’s revenge, it’s falling for him. He married her to destroy her family. But she might become the death of him – literally.

What makes a hero? They say a hero is someone that has given his life to something bigger than himself. I say a hero is no braver than an ordinary man, he is just braver for five minutes longer. All soldiers are brave, it's what they do with their bravery that makes them heroes. Am I a hero? Clayton Jackson dedicated his life to serving his country. Enlisting in the Marine Corps at the young age of eighteen, he never imagined following any other path. However, fate had other plans for him as a life-altering accident during his last deployment left him disabled and forces him to return home. Hiding in the small town he grew up in, Clayton tries to keep his secret from his loved ones at all costs. One day while seeking refuge from his troubled mind, his path crosses with Isabella Jones. Their connection is instantaneous as if the universe conspired to bring them together. Isabella, a mysterious and enigmatic woman, is haunted by the demons from her own past. As their relationship quickly blossoms, the unspoken truths between them threaten to tear them apart. When Clayton is presented with the opportunity to rejoin the Marine Corps, Isabella is faced with a decision: whether to accompany him or remain behind. Caught in this web of secrets and lies, they try to navigate their love through the murky waters, desperately hoping to find solace in each other's arms. But will love be enough to conquer the shadows that lingered in their hearts? Or would the truth ultimately be their undoing?

I’m the Vettori family princess. The only one. It was our fifth anniversary. A big dinner party at the estate. A waiter spilled red wine on my husband Marco, heir to the Rossi family. My best friend, Sofia, slapped the waiter. Hard. Then she was all over Marco, helping him out of his jacket. Her hand lingered on his waist. A second too long. I just stood there, watching. Sofia saw me. "I was just closer, that's all. Helping him clean up. Don't overthink it." I just smiled. Grabbed my glass. I went to make the rounds with the old dons from the other families. I would finish this night with my head held high. Later that night, Marco crawled into my bed, stinking of booze. His hands were on my waist. He wanted sex. I pushed him off. "The alliance is over," I said, my voice dead. "We're finished." Marco sobered up fast. His face went cold. "I'm trying to apologize here. You're divorcing me because Sofia helped me with my jacket?" I laughed. He didn’t get it. Not until I threw the proof of his betrayal in his face. Not until I cut him off from my family. Then he was on his knees, crying, begging me to forgive him.

This book has a mix of steamy erotic stories, each one with its own twist. Book 1: Best friends Yas, a woman consumed by her unrequited lust for her best friend Dian. What begins as secret fantasies escalates into deception, intense physical encounters, and emotional turmoil involving Dian's girlfriend, Trina. The story revolves around sexual tension between Yas and Dian, including themes of forbidden attraction, jealousy and the blurred lines between friendship and desire. Sneak peek: “Hot spurts of cum flooded my pussy, filling me up as he ground against me, milking every drop. His grip on my hips bruised, holding me in place while he emptied himself inside. The sound of her name on his lips hit me like a slap, even as the warmth of his release seeped deeper. Disappointment filled me, a sharp and bitter feeling in my chest. I was the one here, taking his cock, feeling him spill into me, but it was her he wanted, her he called for in ecstasy. He collapsed onto me, breathing heavy, oblivious to the truth. I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing a soft laugh as I stroked his back. The darkness hid my tears, but not the hollow ache settling in as the one question I dreaded lingered in my head, What is he going to do when he finds out?”

I felt his lips brush against my earlobe, a soft brush that suddenly made my toes curl. His breath lingered on my neck before he finally whispered, "I own you Crystal. The sooner you get to accept that the better for you. I'll make sure you submit yourself to me, be it the hard way or the easy way. And I'll break this ego of yours. I promise you" * * * * * * He was her beast and she was his beauty. He was addicted and she was his favourite drug. He was a sinner and she was his sin. In the blink of an eye, Crystal sees her entire life crumble with the death of her parents and she is forced to take a job that she would never have thought off to make ends meet for her and her sister and pay of her gambling father's debt to a crime boss-- being a stripper. Just a glance on the doe-eyed caramel skin beauty swinging her hips seductively on the pole and Leonardo already knew he had to have her as his. He had to claim her for himself. But he was everything she hated. She despised him and loathed his existence for the pain and anguish he had caused her and her sister. She swore never to succumb to him but what she didn't know was that he was also determined to show her that he would earn a place in her heart and life.

Escape the Night When Anya Kane escaped the darkness Virgil Branson was selling her into, she sought help from her boss, Gus D’Amato, a hot and hunky FBI agent. Six months later she is out of his office and in his bed, enjoying the most erotic sex imaginable and forging a bond with the man who makes every muscle in her body quiver. But things go dramatically wrong, and between bouts of thermonuclear sex that set them both on fire, Gus finds himself struggling to keep them both safe. Dancing with Danger Rachel Windsor knew nothing about Gabriel Peralta except that he was walking sex appeal and blew into her life without notice, here today then gone on a puff of wind. But while he was there he did things to her that even her fantasies hadn’t conjured up, driving her to orgasms that shook her like a raging storm. His mouth knew every inch of her body; the imprint of his intimate kisses lingered long after he disappeared again. Now he’s back again, his life unexpectedly on the line but even in the danger zone his sexual demands were more scorching than ever. Can they survive and find a way to make a life together? Because Rachel is determined not to give up the erotic lifestyle that binds them together. Hot and Dangerous is created by Desiree Holt, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.