O'block Chicago

On Christmas people should be with their loved ones in the safety of their homes, but I don't have any loved ones, and I'm in the one place that I hate, where I swore never to come back, afraid that I'll get even more broken, and it seems that the more I try to get away, the more obstacles I encounter. "I know a shop not very far from here, and they have the best mechanics in town. If you want, I could come with you and give you directions, I'm heading that way anyway, and for your kindness, I'll make your biggest wish come true," Said the old crazy Santa that jumped in front of my car out of nowhere. "Can you teleport me from here? In another city, country, even on a deserted island? Anywhere but here?" I know that it wasn't nice of me to be sarcastic, but he's the reason why I have to prolong my say here. "No." His short answer was said in an amused tone of voice, but I don't find anything funny right now. "But that's just because that's not your biggest wish." He states it as a fact as if he's never been more sure of anything in his life. I bite my tongue and pray that I won't see the two people I used o love the most, and which now, I despise the most, the two people responsible for my nightmares and my broken being.

“Oh my darling Uncle”. I said while hugging him as he was backing me. “Uncle?”. A different voice asked and it seems to come from the person I'm hugging. He turned around with me in his arms and I stared into his eyes. Dark eyes. Uncle Max's eyes are blue, like mine. I let go of him immediately like I had been burned and blushed furiously. “Uhm, sorry. I thought you… were my uncle”. I told him. A chuckle brought my attention back to his handsome face. “Hello cutie, why do you think your uncle is here?” He said, his voice sending shivers down my body. *** Happiness Matthews, a 19-year-old college freshman, thought she had everything figured out when she left her small Texas town for the bright lights of California. But after a dangerous security guard targets her in her new apartment, she has to move in with Mason, her uncle's friend, who she met two years ago at his wedding. Mason, a man in his thirties still haunted by the woman who left him at the altar two years ago, never expected to share his home with his best friend’s niece. At first, their living arrangement seems like a temporary inconvenience—but the longer they stay under the same roof, the harder it becomes to ignore the magnetic tension building between them. As the lines between family and desire blur, Happiness finds herself drawn to the man who carries both charm and a painful past. But with every passing day, the unspoken rules become more difficult to follow, and a dangerous truth about Mason’s past threatens to tear them both apart. In a story where forbidden attraction and unresolved heartbreak collide, Happy must choose between loyalty, family, love, and her own future—before the stakes get even higher

In the glamorous world of Chicago's elite, Ava Reed, a shy bookworm on scholarship, finds herself entangled in a dangerous game of power and desire. When she crosses paths with Max Blackwood, the city's most eligible bachelor, their worlds collide in a whirlwind of secrets and deceit. Desperate to escape her hometown and protect herself from a menacing admirer, Ava strikes a precarious deal with Max, the billionaire CEO of America's newest investment firm. But their contract marriage is just the beginning of a tumultuous journey filled with passion, jealousy, and betrayal. As they navigate the treacherous waters of high society, Ava and Max must confront their demons and face the ultimate question: is their love worth risking everything for?

Maya runs away from home, escaping an arranged marriage to an unfamiliar city-Chicago. Attacked and robbed of everything, she's left with nothing-no money, no safety, no hope. When a strip club poster catches her eye, Maya makes a decision: one night on stage could earn her enough for a room, maybe even a way to survive. Instead, she meets Roman Volkov. Cold, ruthless, and untouchable, Roman is the Mafia boss who owns the city's underworld. He makes her an offer: one night with him, and she'll have more money than she knows what to do with. It should be simple. Just a deal. Just one night in Chicago with a man she'll never see again. But when the sun rises, Maya learns the truth: No one spends just one night with Roman Volkov.

At a time when Business seems to be crumbling for Mr O’Brian Baker, he is left with no other option than giving up his daughter in an arranged marriage to his best friend’s son. Emily Baker, who has had her entire life planned out for her by her father refuses to fall into one more of his schemes as she runs away and ends up working in a small Bakery. Things turn out to be tougher than she enticed and she runs back home. Her father once more forces her into getting married to his friend’s son. With no choice left, she gets married to a man who hates her for tying him down. Her husband, Vincenzo Woodhouse is a very arrogant man who changes women like handkerchiefs, but even the toughest of men have a soft spot. What happens when both of them learn to love each other only to get separated by their ever-persistent enemies? Follow them as they learn to fight for their love despite the various barriers.

Valerie Du-Pont has been through more than she can talk about. Her one attempt at love and normalcy turned out to be a joke and left her humiliated and pregnant. However she vows not to let that experience change her and she moves on. Years later and on the day she achieves her dream, she runs into the one responsible for her problems. What happens next is a battle, one that Valerie is determined not to lose. Carter Sullivan Cole has it all, the perfect looks, billionaire status and killer instinct. He's perfect except for one flaw from his past, A mistake that haunts him. Unexpectedly, an opportunity to rectify that mistake arises and he takes it only to receive life changing news. He's a father, and he plans on being a present one even if it means getting married to Valerie. Now Valerie might fight back all she wants, but Carter has never lost a fight especially as this is shaping to be the most important fight of his life

My parents made a terrible mistake, and I'm paying miserably for it. Growing up in a strong pack, I should've been living my best life. But after my parents' treason and their death, I'm labeled a traitor, an outcast. I suck it up because I deserve it. But when I'm accused of a crime I did not commit, I know I can't continue living like this. Then I have my first shift, and I'm mated to someone who doesn't want me. Somehow, I'm captured and sold to the most vicious and dangerous shifter in the country, Theo Gavi. But despite the unnerving attraction I feel when I'm in his presence, despite my wolf's yearning for him, I can't bring myself to be close to him. I shouldn't. Not when I have been hurt before. Right now, I would do anything to be free—to live my life on my own terms.

"I want you to feel everything I shall do to you tonight, everything." Another kiss followed, tracing a line from her stomach to her lips. He then lifted his face to hers, capturing her mouth in a deep kiss, his lips coaxing hers open. As he did, he pressed a block of ice to her lips, guiding it with his mouth, the coldness sharp and foreign against her. The chill of the ice struck her, yet it slowly melted, mingling with the warmth of his breath as he kissed down her shoulder, his face burying into the soft curve of her neck. A soft moan escaped her lips. “Yes, dearest, do it—moan for me.” -- Determined to make the Alpha who forced her into marriage jealous, Magdalena turned to another man, unaware that it was the Alpha himself in disguise. But what happens when the truth comes to light? When she realizes the man she fell for was him all along? Will she walk away from the deception, or stay, knowing her heart has already chosen him? Note: This is a dark werewolf romance containing explicit content.

Scarlett, a determined writer, gets a job at the city's largest entertainment company, hoping to free her family from the grip of poverty. But her dreams take an unexpected turn when her path crosses Cade, her rude and seductive boss. Desperate to become CEO, Cade proposes a deal: financial assistance for Scarlett's family in exchange for a contract marriage. Torn between her hatred for Cade and her family's dire needs, Scarlett faces the test of her values. Will she compromise her principles for the sake of those she loves? Or will she find a way to loosen this tangled web of ambition, power, and unexpected attraction? Characterization

Gia O'Leary, the stripper who makes the crowd go wild, has spent years hiding behind the allure of the Black Swan mask. No man has ever touched her, no one has ever seen her true face. But when a ruthless Alpha sets his sights on her, all her carefully guarded secrets threaten to unravel. Now, Gia is left with two choices—submit to his dangerous desires or risk losing everything. Levi Edelman, the powerful yet cursed Alpha of the ClawVille Pack, has one mission: find the woman destined to break his curse. Time is running out, and playing fair is no longer an option. When destiny brings him to the defiant Omega who was never meant for him, he does what any Alpha would do—he takes. But what begins as a ruthless pursuit quickly sparks an uncontrollable desire in both of them.