Mastering Skills

“Nicco's fingers didn't stop their magic dance. His index finger was rubbing my nub, pressing down and stroking up when he used his thumb to slide into my core. That was enough to send me over the edge and I gripped the sides of the couch, arched my back and opened my mouth in a wordless shout while his fingers milked me. Finally, the spasms stopped, and I lay back, limp, looking over at Nicco, mortified that I could smell my arousal. Nicco pulled his fingers out, showing me the sticky juices that coated them. Then he put a finger in his mouth, sucking my nectar as I watched.” Tired of the nightly abuse, sixteen-year-old Hope runs away from her stepfather, changes her name and hits the road in an old minivan. She is homeless but surviving, trying to keep at least one step ahead of her past. One moonlit night four years later, fate places a stranger on the side of the road that needs her help. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to him. Alpha Nicco is New York City's youngest crime boss. He's also the alpha of a pack that is actively involved in his sketchy business deals. He doesn't have time for relationships, especially one with a human, but the moon goddess has a sense of humor and has chosen Hope to be his mate. Someone is stealing from Nicco and Hope has the skills to help him figure out who it is. Despite the danger she's ready to help, but Nicco has reservations. After all, she's just a human and she could never be the Luna he and his pack needs. . . . or could she?

Aurora is an orphaned pup, who had everything working against her since the pack she grew up in was raided. Through a happy coincidence, she and her sister were rescued by the Beta of a kind pack: the Midnight Protectors. But they are no ordinary group of werewolves. They are highly trained with special skills that make them exceptionally dangerous to any threat: but especially to vampires. When Aurora stumbles onto a mysterious cavern housing tombs, she can't possibly understand what she's unlocked. Her new pack has many secrets she has yet to understand and the biggest one is that they are housing the male destined to be her true fated mate. Javed is a thousand year old vampire stuck in the body of a seventeen year old male. His boyish good looks are incredibly misleading, no one should mistake how deadly he in fact is. And the lengths to which he would go to have his mate. Excerpt: As I leave dinner and move to walk back inside the packhouse, the cold chill from nights ago hits me. The very thing that set that fateful night in motion. The sun has just set and the air is thick with humidity. I have gotten used to this climate which is all the more reason the cold strikes me as bizarre. My eyes move to a post that sits just in front of the door, the crest of the pack is burned into it. “The Midnight Protectors; Light in the Dark.” I had seen it many times now, but never questioned its meaning. When the cold air hits my skin again, it makes me shake uncontrollably. I force my back to stiffen. “Not again,” I whisper, as I quickly move inside and go to my room. Locking the door.

He closed the gap between us and his hand travelled to my waist, pulling me closer to himself. His cologne filled my nostrils and he cupped my face in his hand gently. The look in his eyes whenever he looked at me always seemed like he was watching something so ethereal and now wasn't any different. I was supposed to hate him, to not be able to stand him. But why was I letting him do this? And why did I like it too? Love it even? He smirked at me, leaning down with our lips almost touching, his minty breath fanning my face. "I'm fucking addicted and obsessed with you if you haven't noticed." He paused as he studied me while I took a deep breath. "Are you sure you can't stand me?" He asked. "Or are we going to keep on lying to ourselves, babydoll?" ~ Vittoria Belluci, popularly known as 'Lilith' is short tempered, bossy, fiesty, poor social skills and a beautiful resting bitch face. Roman Argentero, Brooklyn's popular mafia don known for his playboy status, cockiness, flirtatious behavior but also ruthless and finally his Greek god appearance. A one night stand in the past, an arranged marriage, a stupid bet, a hatred she has for him and his family, and an addiction he has to her. Will she find out how her sister died? Or who keeps wanting to kill off her family? And doing all that with a fragile promise to herself to not fall in love. What happens when a Belluci falls in love with an Argentero who is already addicted to her?

Si Steel Reynandez ay kilala bilang ang MVP ng Miamiranda University. He was adored by many, not only because of his skills under the basketball ring, but also because of who he was. Maraming mga babae ang nagkakagusto rito dahil sa pagiging misteryoso nito. He was quiet, cold, and had no interest in women. He was basically an introvert who happened to be a skilled basketball player. Kung wala ito sa ilalim ng ring ay nagtatago ito sa madilim nitong silid. But that would soon change. Thanks to Kennary. Si Kennary ay anak ng labandera ng pamilya ni Steel, at malaki ang pagkakagusto nito sa binata. She was a top 1 student in her class and had big dreams for the future. Nagkaroon ito ng pagkakataong makuha ang cellphone number ni Steel dahilan kaya nagagawa nitong padalhan ng mga mensahe ang binata na noong una'y ikinapipikon pa nito. But eventually, Steel would get used to Kennary's existence and they would become regular text mates. Napansin ng ama ni Steel ang malaking pagbabago ng karakter ng binata, at noong nalaman nitong si Ken-Ken ang dahilan ay ni-kombinsi nito ang dalagang tanggapin ang part-time job bilang personal assistant ni Steel. In return, Steel's father would finance her college education. Ito na ba ang pagkakataon ni Kennary upang maging malapit sa iniirog? Mapapaamo ba nito at mapalalambot ang matigas na puso ng binata? And... would she and Steel go beyond text mates?

Nothing is ever going to be the same again. In a way I am glad, changes needed to be made, but for the people we have lost, there are some wounds that will never heal. My mate comes behind me and wraps me in a tight embrace. We have never been this close before. It feels like everything in the world, except the Goddess, has kept us apart. Let me step back. My name is Leah and I am the only daughter, only child of Alpha Benjamin of the Crescent Moon pack. We're a part of a cooperative pack alliance called the Concordat. I know, it's as pretentious as it sounds, note my eye roll here. All of our Elders got together years ago to come together for protection and to ensure the survival of our race. Our Concordat, yep say it as snooty as you can, was made up initially of 10 packs in the shadow of a vast mountain range. This alliance worked exactly as it was designed for about 5 generations. But the Elders became set in their ways and used to certain comforts. They stopped participating in regular pack training, only including themselves high rank training of the Alphas and Betas and begrudgingly dealt with the Lunas at the compound. Males were taught they were superior simply being male, not for any other show of merit. Women were seen, and that was only if dressed properly, and to produce strong male heirs. My father did not believe in females being lesser, so he trained me well from the time I could walk. I trained in secret, learning skills on and off the field. Let me take you on my journey through love, loss and truly knowing what it means to be a friend, lover, mate, leader and enemy.

The newly hired genius programmer was a proud woman who always thought she could turn the entire industry on its head. When an investor tried to pressure her into drinking, she flipped the table and slapped him across the face. "My worth is in my programming skills, not my ability to network. Asking me to drink with you is an insult." Enraged, Clint Warner immediately withdrew the eighty-million investment agreement. He even swore he would never work with us again. As the Head of Product, I scrambled to apologize. The situation was only salvaged after I drank so much that I ended up hospitalized. … Later, I complained to the boss and demanded that he discipline the new hire. To my shock, he dismissed the matter. "If the employee causes any problem, it's because the supervisor failed in their duty. The promised million-dollar dividend bonus is cancelled. Take this as your warning." Fed up, I wrote down Mary Hansen's name on the Counseling-Out List. She couldn't care less. "I have abilities you’ll never match, unlike a scheming bootlicker like you. If anyone tries to go after me, the project will be halted. Don't come crying to me when everything collapses." I did not argue with her then. However, when the Counseling-Out List was announced, I found my own name on it. The boss claimed it was a mistake to force me to leave. Then he promoted Mary to my position and even granted her the authority of a vice president. "You were only great because of the company's support. Mary's not the same. She's young and truly talented. She’ll lead us to greater heights." With a cold smirk on my face, I made my way to our competitor, taking the crucial piece of our company's technology with me.

after the Integration Accords were signed in the summer of 2031. a Turing point . The supernatural communities go public. After the war with the swarm the Supernaturals helped save the world treaties we're signed Celeste Valentina Morau and her team were heros mainstream schools started hosting supernaturals and then there were the supernatural schools that started letting humans attend like Aerie Academy later renamed Storm Academy in Utah was the first to integrate followed by Mooncrest Academy in Baton Rouge and BludHeaven Academy In Santa Cruiz followed suit then all the human schools. But this is my story because I just completed high school I'm now living in a abandoned building. but I just received an application form from BludHeaven Academy My name is Nico Black my parents died when i was a baby. raised in foster care abusive foster parents.the loser kid covered in scars bullied in school. I hated my life. And didnt care anymore. I looked at the application letter from BludHeaven the 13 major vampire families left earth in secret to continue to live in solitude so the vampire population on earth was much lower now so now they were looking to take on human mates the bloodmate board is the school wide system for ranking top candidates to date the legendary pure blood Vampires the shadow guard protect the campus and make sure that students stay safe some are humans familiars. the application asked why I wanted to join the school I wrote down I got nothing to lose. It asked what I could provide the school if I had any skills or talents. I put down I'll do anything you want even if it kills me don't know know if that's a skill or talent. My application was accepted I received my acceptance letter.

I’d just set sail to escort the cargo to the border when a Category 8 typhoon warning suddenly blared. I steer the ship back in the direction of the harbor, only to realize that the ship has run out of fuel. The distress beacon has been dismantled, too. Immediately, I pick up the radio and call the maritime rescuers for help. As soon as the call gets connected, I hear my wife, Melanie Watkins' mocking laughter instead. "I've already rewired the emergency number so that you can never reach the rescuers. Have fun surviving in the ocean!" Her student, Darell Parker, is with her as well. "Remember when you made fun of me for not knowing how to swim, Clifton? Well, now you're given the chance to show off your swimming skills! You can swim all the way back to the shore on your own! You'd better not be as slow as the sea turtles!" The waves have almost capsized the cargo ship. If I can't get rescued anytime soon, I'll end up dying in the sea. I can only grit my teeth before pleading to Melanie, "No one can possibly swim back to shore! Help me call the maritime rescuers—" But she laughs coldly in return. "Why do you need the rescuers' help? Didn't you say one must learn how to protect themselves? Now swim! "If you think the waters are too cold, then swim faster! Maybe you'll feel warmer the faster you swim!" I give up on arguing with Melanie. After that, I head toward the cargo area with a blade in hand and get ready to sever the ropes tying the cargo down. Said cargo contains the ransom money that's capable of saving Ella Zimmerman, the daughter of Hugh Zimmerman, the wealthiest man in Starbury.

Scarlett Voss has one rule: get in, get paid, get out. No attachments. No exceptions. No mercy. When a mysterious client offers her the biggest payday of her life to seduce billionaire Xavier Blackwell and steal a file from his private server, she doesn’t hesitate. Men like Xavier are easy targets — too powerful to expect betrayal, too arrogant to see it coming. Except Xavier Blackwell isn’t either of those things. He knew about Scarlett before she walked through his door. He knew her name, her game, and exactly who sent her. What he didn’t know — what no amount of preparation could have warned him about — was how completely she would dismantle every wall he’d spent years building. What neither of them knew was how deep the danger truly ran. Because the man who hired Scarlett isn’t just a client with a secret. He’s a senator with blood on his hands, a confirmation hearing in twenty-seven days, and a willingness to destroy anyone who stands between him and untouchability. He’s already killed once to protect himself. He’ll do it again without hesitation. He’s also Xavier’s uncle. And he chose Scarlett specifically — not just for her skills, but because he saw what would happen between them before either of them did. Now Scarlett and Xavier are running out of time, running out of trust, and running toward each other in a situation designed to make both impossible. The con was supposed to be simple. The truth is anything but. Some lies protect you. Some truths destroy you. And some people are worth burning everything down for.

Lyra Halstead is a hardworking young woman who spends most of her time creating and helping her fiance Elias build his company. She was so preoccupied with making everything work that she know that one person she trusted most in the world was orchestrating her downfall. On the morning she completes the final update for Aegis, the software destined to save his company, she walks into his office to find him in the arms of her best friend. In that crushing moment, her love, loyalty, and career are stripped away, leaving her with nothing but rage and a fierce desire for revenge. With Elias taking credit for everything she had worked for and created and Chloe smiling in triumph at stealing what was valuable to Lyra, Lyra realizes that talk alone won’t bring justice. She had to hurt him as bad as he had done her. She knew to destroy a man like Elias she needed an alliance with someone who has all the resources to dismantle her ex fiance's empire. from the inside to the outside. The only man with everything she needs is Xavier Thorne. He is the only man who ever challenged her genius and the one adversary Elias fears. Seeking him out in the city’s tallest tower where he is Lord, she offers her skills and her secrets in exchange for the resources to destroy the man she once loved. Xavier approves aof her strategy. He was game. Lyra transforms into a powerful executive face, ready to infiltrate boardrooms and manipulate contracts to destroy Elias. Xavier carries secrets of his own, secrets that could change everything if they came out. When Lyra glimpses a photograph of his daughter, she finds herself staring at the child that had been stolen from a few years ago.