Number Nine

Ayla, my wife had just returned home from a business trip when I received a call from the hotel she had booked there. The hotel receptionist sounded a little embarrassed as she explained, “Hello, is this Ms. Jewell’s husband? I’m calling from the front desk. I see that we forgot to bill you for some incidentals. It looks like your room used all eighteen condoms from the amenity kit. I apologize for the oversight. The total comes to 35 dollars. Can I get a card number over the phone to close that out for you?” My mind went completely blank. Hadn’t my wife gone on that business trip on her own? Why would she have used condoms? Suppressing my inner turmoil, I gave Ayla a call. “Honey, the hotel just called. They said there was a little issue with your room. They asked me if you had someone staying over with you?” She sounded clearly exhausted as she replied with a weak voice, “Oh, right. A lady couldn’t find a hotel room, so she crashed with me for the night.” I chuckled and asked her to rest. After hanging up, I drove directly to the hotel. “35 dollars, right? I’ll pay it in person.”

Sebastian - He is the richest man in this world. At the age if 33 he has accomplished everything any man has ever wanted. His other identity is an assassin that could be compared to no other. He is known as the deadliest human, however he only targets those that deserved his wrath. Only his most trusted men are aware of both his identities. He set rules for himself and those around him. His number one rule is never to fall, whether that is in business, as an assassin or to in love. He does not require it nor does he need to provide it. His family and his companions are his utmost responsibility. Hannah - She is the epitome of beauty. She has been guarded and protected from this world. Yet she is the most intelligent being of her time, she has gained qualifications at the mere age of 18 what no other man has gained. This is all she can do as she has been restricted from gaining other experiences which has left her socially inexperienced. What happens when she possesses a certain feature which has been marked by Sebastian as his mortal enemy. He will stop at nothing to make her feel like an outcast and to remove her from the lives of those he is most protective of, yet can he protect himself.

Karen had invested her last penny in the business she had recently established and was eagerly awaiting the promised funds from her benefactor to take it to the next level. "Maybe he forgot. I should remind him," she thought, and promptly sent a text message: ‘I hate to sound desperate, but my finances are tight.’ After sending the message, she realized she had used the wrong number. She quickly started typing, ‘Please ignore the...’ when an alert popped up on her phone: ‘Five billion dollars transferred to you by Roger Dawson.’ Roger? The first name sent a chill down her spine, but the last name left her puzzled. "Roger? Could it be Tonia's bodyguard?" That was his number, but when did his name change? Her phone rang immediately, and the name she had feared for months echoed in her ears, his voice filled with emotion yet calm like a winter breeze. "Karen, stay put, I'm on my way to you." The call ended before she could process it. He was the reason she had fled, refusing to sign the divorce papers. Her love for him was unrequited, his heart belonging to her adopted sister, but what hurt more was the feeling of being traded between friends like a commodity. She would rather die than return.

Roxanne seems to have the perfect life. Fairytale romance, doting family, a passion for the violin. The only imperfect areas of her life, like her elder brother's best friend, Florian, with whom she had shared her first kiss years ago, is carefully tucked away and paid no attention. That is until after she receives a call from an unknown number the night before her wedding. Damien, her fiance was supposedly taking some time with his friends at a country house, but after the caller prompted her to check the exclusive strip club in downtown California, Roxanne's blood runs cold. She drives all the way there, and to her greatest disappointment and heartbreak, her fears are confirmed, as the first sight to greet was her fiance and three other women all bent over. The sight is nauseating, and she could barely make her way out of the club when suddenly, Billionaire heir and her brother's best friend, Florian, appears out of nowhere. He offers to take her home, but during the drive, Roxanne changes her mind. The last thing she wants is to go home right now. The first thing on her mind was revenge, and she had the perfect person driving her. She would allow herself to use him for that one night, but was she really using him?

What is a girl to do? Ebony is the last sister of her litter to find her mate. It’s difficult when you’re a forest ranger in the depths of a provincial forest to find a mate. Her station’s been vandalized while she’s away visiting family. Video evidence proves a wolf did the damage. She knows the shifter’s male, because no mundane wolf is that size or can open a can of soda and leave it on a table. She gets news the next morning. Three new rangers are headed her way. She’s got six weeks to get them acclimated to the job and location. What is she to do? Three new rangers, and an unknown number of rogue wolf shifters in her domain? It’s a recipe for disaster. What she doesn’t expect is the rangers are the rogue wolves, and they have designs on her, not her domain. Benedict, Franco, and Peter. They do everything together. They work, live, and love together. They aren’t looking for their own mates. The one mate they are looking for is a red ranger wolf. How will Ebony deal with the knowledge there are three male wolves determined to share her charms for the rest of her days? Will she choose one? Or take them all? Does she have a choice? All while training them on the job. There are hot days and steamy nights in the forest where the shifters find their passion.

Nueva Winter is a regular teenage girl. After getting asked out on a date by the hottest guy in her school, she believes life is about to get as good as it gets. But the date turns disastrous when Nueva gets attacked and bitten by an enormous dog-like animal. If that wasn't bad enough, her date leaves her abruptly without explanation directly after the attack. This event throws Nueva into an unknown world of werewolves, Banshees, and strange magic when an old legend speaks of the powerful Ice wolf, a white beast dormant inside Nueva's human body. Alpha Gray of the White Creek pack is so confident that she is the key to breaking the Alpha's curse that's robbed him of a mate-bond that he kidnaps her and brings her to his pack. There she has to learn how to defend herself and unlock the potentials hidden within. All while trying to survive the growing number of Rogues attacking and attempting to take over the White Creek pack by eliminating anything standing in their way. But can the human girl with the Ice Wolf break the curse and restore the power and strength to this weakening pack? And, when the time comes, will Alpha Gray be willing to let her go after he develops strong feelings for her despite the missing mate-bond, knowing he will send her to certain death.

At 4:00 a.m., my husband, Rocco, gently shook me awake. His voice was a low murmur, . "Alessia, my love, could you do something for me?" But his next words shattered the illusion. "Scarlett is hungry. Go make her some seafood soup." Scarlett was our maid, and she was also Rocco's pregnant goomar. "I just had fresh seafood delivered. Get to the kitchen and make her a bowl of soup. Just for Falcone's heir." I refused, my voice cold. His anger flared in an instant. "Don't be so unreasonable, Alessia." "Is it really so hard for you to make some soup?" I shook my head, silent. He stroked my cheek, a patronizing smile playing on his lips. "Fine, Alessia. So you've learned to defy me now." "Think carefully, Alessia. Do you really want to keep your place as a Falcone?" "And your position as the family's lawyer? Think about whether you still want these… then give me your answer." Seeing the arrogance in Rocco's eyes, the last ember of love I had for this man died. I took out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in a long time. "I want out of the Falcone family."

In order to save her family from hitting the rock bottom, Alyssa Graham was forced to marry a man she didn't even know and dramatically decided to get drunk. What she wasn't prepared for is to see Knox Volkov, her number one enemy and the man she rejected again after so many years. What surprised her more was the lust shining in his eyes mirroring hers.  One thing led to another, and what she thought to be a one night mistake turned out to be a disaster when he introduced himself as her fiancè instead of his brother. Knox would purposely put her life in danger,  prank her, and even fuck women in front of her to rub it in her face that he was the greatest man she lost. They hate each other, and they've been enemies since forever, but fate has another plan when Knox saw a masked Alyssa while she was dancing, ultimately earning his interest, not knowing that she was his biggest enemy.  Knox tortures her in the morning, and Alyssa dances for him at night, their eyes gazing at each other with hidden desire.  When lust and hate collide, and they find themselves giving into what their bodies want, but constantly fighting it, will they ever surrender to what their hearts truly desire?

Kierra Hail had already lost everything—her child, her marriage, her dignity. Betrayed by the man she once loved, cast aside for his mistress, and left to rot as he stripped her of everything she owned. But the cruelest blow? Her daughter’s death, a tragedy her husband could have prevented if he had only chosen her life over his secret lover’s son. Now, broken and gasping for one last chance at survival, Kierra dials a number she swore she’d never use. A man who calls her princess. A man who doesn’t forgive. A man who owns the underworld. Sebastian Novair—heir to the infamous Noir de Costas Syndicates and a merciless mafia king with blood on his hands and fire in his veins. Years ago, Kierra saved him. Now, he’s back to collect his debt—with interest. He offers her power, vengeance, and the sweet taste of retribution. But making a deal with the devil has its price… and he’s more than willing to make her pay in ways she never imagined. He’ll ruin her enemies. He’ll break her chains. And he’ll claim what’s always been his— her.

Sienna Peterson had the whole “happily ever after” thing locked down… or so she thought. She married her college sweetheart, mastered the art of casserole-making, and dove headfirst into suburban adulthood. Twenty-one years later? Her husband’s traded her in for someone who still gets carded, her kids are off to college, and Sienna is suddenly very single with a whole lot of free time. Cue the midlife plot twist. Who says your 40s can’t be fabulous? Who says you can’t date a ridiculously attractive and a billboard 26-year-old named Daniel Walter—who just so happens to be sweet, sexy, and seriously into her? Daniel may be younger, but he’s got his life together and his heart in the right place. Sienna, on the other hand, has no idea how she ended up in a situationship with a man who knows how to properly fold fitted sheets. But hey—he makes her laugh, makes her blush, and makes her feel more alive than she has in years. It starts off as just fun... but what if it’s more than that? What if age is just a number, and love is the surprise twist she never saw coming? One woman’s fresh start. One unexpected romance. And a whole lot of awkwardly hot moments.