Onyx Coffee Fayetteville Novels & Stories

Elena had once believed that silence could mean safety. That a gentle hand and a warm cup of tea placed quietly on her desk every morning could be a form of love. Lucien was never cruel—not in the obvious ways. He remembered how she liked her eggs, noticed when she swapped her perfume, and sent flowers on days he knew she wouldn’t expect them. He raised her like one would raise a pet—softly, without question. And Elena, foolish in the way only the very lonely can be, mistook his quiet affection for devotion. She told herself he was reserved. Mysterious. That love didn’t always wear its heart on its sleeve. But when the old flame returned—the one who spoke his language without needing to try—Elena saw it. The difference. He looked at her like a man who had found his lost religion. And Elena? She had simply been convenient. No tears, no scene. Just papers on the breakfast table, beside the eggs he cooked perfectly. She didn’t accuse or beg. She only asked for freedom. He didn’t sign. He chuckled. A soft, dismissive sound. “A cat raised indoors doesn’t know how to survive on the street, Elena. You’ll come back." But she didn’t. She disappeared, like smoke—except she didn’t vanish, not really. She lived. She wore colour again. Laughed at bad jokes. Let strange men hand her coffee and ask for her number. Lucien? He watched. He watched her become someone without him. And it drove him mad. The night he cornered her outside the gallery, rain in his hair and desperation in his eyes, he looked like a man undone. "Elena," he breathed, "please. Look at me. Just once." She did. Calm as ever, and her love already gone.

Crimson Bloomed: Ascend Post - Apocalyptic Horror | Action | Yuri Harem | Coming - of - Age | Rated R | Mature Content | Slow Burn The city looked like it had been devoured — chewed up by fire, time, and whatever came after — then spit back out in jagged pieces. Dead drones dangled from power lines like rusted ornaments. Neon signs flickered above fractured pavement, their broken scripts glitching into gibberish. Down the block, a half - melted smartcar burned slow, casting warped shadows across the skeletal remains of a coffee bar. Behind a crumpled tram car, someone crouched low, breath tight in her lungs. The shrieking hadn’t stopped. It came again — sharp, bone-deep, the kind of sound that latched onto your spine and refused to let go. She checked the signal jammer at her hip. Still blinking. Still active. Not for long. They were tracking her. She moved fast — boots silent over broken glass, slipping through the breach in an old laundromat’s wall. Her body moved from muscle memory now: slide through, duck left, over the washer, don’t look at the corpse slumped by the dryer. Out the back. Up the fire escape. On the rooftop, she halted. Not alone. Someone was already there — silhouetted against the bleeding sunset. Combat jacket. Short - cropped hair. Pulse rifle slung casually over one shoulder like it weighed nothing. Like this was just another rooftop, just another war. “Don’t move,” the voice snapped. She lifted her hands slowly. “I’m clean.” “Everyone says that.” “Scan me.” beat. Then the girl stepped forward, rifle still raised but gaze locked in. Dark eyes, sharp, searching — not just for weapons, but tells. Fear. Lies. She lowered the rifle half an inch. “You’re lucky you’re cute.” That wasn’t the line she expected.

WARNING: This book contains BDSM themes, emotional abuse, manipulation, explicit sexual content, and G×G scenes. Reader discretion is advised. Ashley has spent her entire life surviving. By day, she hides behind forced smiles and coffee orders. By night, she dances beneath neon lights, selling fantasies to strangers while struggling to pay off the mountain of gambling debts her abusive mother left behind. College is her only way out. Then a wealthy client offers her an outrageous amount of money for a private dance. Desperate, Ashley agrees. Until she walks into the room and sees Kayden Devereaux. Her high school bully. The boy who made her teenage years a nightmare. The boy who pushed her so far she once thought death was easier than facing another day with him. Ashley is ready to leave, but Kayden stops her with an offer she can't ignore: One month. Complete control. Two hundred thousand dollars. She hates him enough to say no. But hatred won't pay her debts. So she signs the contract. Days later, her entire world shatters. Her mother marries the dangerous man they owe money to, wiping out their debt overnight. And Kayden? He's now her stepbrother. Forced to live under the same roof, Ashley finds herself trapped between fear, anger, and a dangerous attraction she refuses to acknowledge. She should end their arrangement. She should stay away from him. But Kayden has never been the type to let her go. As obsession replaces hatred and dark secrets begin to unravel, Ashley discovers that Kayden isn't just the villain from her past. He's been pulling the strings of her present all along. And now, the devil who ruined her life wants to own her heart too.

"You're either brave," Aaron said quietly, his accent thickening just enough when he was irritated, "or you have no sense of self-preservation." I didn't look away. His dark eyes burned - calculating, controlled, dangerous. The kind of Alpha who didn't need to raise his voice to be obeyed. The kind who was born into power and sharpened by it. "Maybe I just don't scare easily," I said smugly. A muscle ticked in his jaw. Slow. Controlled. He stepped into my space, close enough that the air shifted, close enough that I could feel the heat rolling off him and smell the faint scent of coffee on his breath. "You should," he murmured, eyes focused on my lips. ⸻⸻⸻ Xavier has one rule: survive. After being betrayed and left for dead by his own pack, he doesn't trust Alphas. He doesn't trust loyalty. And he sure as fuck doesn't trust powerful families who smile too easily. Aaron D'Amico is everything Xavier avoids - a strategic, dangerously composed Alpha raised in legacy and control. His pack is strong. His leadership is unquestioned. And his mother's influence runs deeper than anyone realizes, even him. He doesn't make reckless decisions. He doesn't let emotions interfere. And he doesn't lose control. Until Xavier. What starts as irritation turns into a battle of dominance neither of them expected. But beneath the tension simmers something more dangerous - quiet political maneuvering, shifting loyalties, and a matriarch who watches every move. Because in this pack, power isn't taken with claws. It's taken with strategy. And the Alpha who prides himself on discipline? He's about to meet the one wolf who refuses to behave. WARNING ‼️‼️‼️ CONTAINS MATURE AND SEXUAL THEMES

*Smut After her mate's brutal rejection, healing prodigy Sandra surrenders to a dangerously seductive stranger in a dark alley, only to discover he's her uncle Marcus. Trapped by blackmail in his isolated house, forbidden desire ignites between lessons. But Marcus harbors a deadly secret about her father's death. ----------------- “Fuck, Sandra,” he growled, thumb brushing over my nipple through the fabric until it stiffened, aching. “Vanessa’s right upstairs. If she hears us—” “I don’t care,” I panted, rocking up against him, chasing that thick pressure. “Make me forget today. Just tonight. Please.” I’m going straight to hell,” he muttered, then closed the gap. His mouth took mine slow this time, deliberate, like he was memorizing the taste of me. I sighed into it, hands sliding up his chest to grip his shoulders. He tasted like black coffee and smoke and sin, and I wanted more. He tugged me closer, one hand fisting in my hair, the other splayed low on my back, pressing me against him. Heat flared low in my belly, spreading fast. I shifted, trying to ease the ache between my thighs, and he groaned against my lips, grip tightening. His tongue traced the seam of my mouth; I opened for him instantly, meeting him stroke for stroke until we were both breathing hard. He tilted my head back, lips moving down my throat, teeth grazing the frantic beat of my pulse. I gasped, nails digging into the muscle of his shoulders. “We should stop,” he rasped against my skin, but his hand was already pushing under my thin tank top, calloused palm gliding up my ribs. “We should,” I agreed breathlessly, then dragged his mouth back to mine, kissing him deeper, hungrier.

On the day I'm about to quit the game, I see countless live comments flashing across my vision. "Yay! The male supporting lead is about to quit the game!" "Now, the male lead won't have to worry about getting exposed for using the male supporting lead's game account to get into online relationships with others!" "Our darling male lead is too smart, after all! Whenever he goes on dates, he often uses the voice chat function in the game. That's why the male supporting lead is still kept in the dark!" "Holy shit, Henry really is lucky!" "To think that he used Vincent's max-level account to flirt with the four richest female players on the server!" "Later at 2:00 pm, he'll be meeting his first date partner, Yvonne Johnson the cold and aloof campus belle, at Cosmic Coffee!" "Tomorrow, he'll be meeting up with the top assassin in-game! The day after that, he'll go on a date with the second-highest paying player of the game! Wow, his time management skills really are amazing!" The "Henry" whom the live comments are referring to is Henry Luster, my roommate. So, he's been flirting with four of the top-tier rich female players while impersonating me, huh? More live comments streak past my eyes at that moment. "Why isn't the male supporting lead leaving? Yvonne is already waiting for the male lead right now!" "This is their first romantic date as the leads of this story! I can't wait to watch it unfold!" As I turn to look at Henry, who's styling his hair before the mirror, I suddenly realize that I'm the supporting male lead whom the live comments are referring to. My lips curl into a small smile. Since Henry has been using my identity to become a virtual casanova, then it's not wrong of me to attend each date in person on his behalf, right?

He wasn’t searching for love. He wasn’t ready for him. But some things—like family, and falling—happen when you least expect them. When Ezra Anderson's sister dies, he inherits three young children and a crumbling rural property he's nowhere near prepared for. Overwhelmed, heartbroken, and freshly dumped, Ezra turns to the one person he shouldn't: Sebastian Brown—the gentle, steady Omega child psychologist he once shared one reckless night with... and never dared to call back. Sebastian offers a safe harbor. Routine. Warm hands and a softer kind of strength Ezra didn’t know he craved. What starts as survival—two men building a life for three grieving kids—soon strains under the weight of something deeper. The Omega in Sebastian draws Ezra like gravity, making every glance burn and every touch linger. The lines between family and something more blur until Ezra can no longer pretend. One night becomes two. Secrets slip into routines. And somewhere between sneaking into beds at night and morning coffee, Ezra faces the one truth he swore he'd never have to: He might not be as straight, or as strong, as he thought. As his Alpha instincts pull him closer to Sebastian’s Omega warmth, the world outside keeps pressing in. Desire stops hiding. And when the outside world comes knocking, Ezra is forced to choose: Keep pretending... or hold on to the only thing that feels like home. SNEAK PEEK: “I’m not in love with you. I just… don’t know how to breathe when you’re not there.” - Ezra “I’m not gay. I’m just yours.” - Ezra “You keep saying you’re not mine… but you keep choosing me.” - Sebastian “You’re allowed to love me, you know.” - Sebastian NB: 18+ (Tissues highly recommended.)

SYNOPSIS The Wrong Pair of Eyes Mia Caldwell isn’t looking for anything. She has Ethan, warm, loving, six thousand miles away but counting down every day until he’s back. She has her studies, her routine, her carefully maintained life. She has a relationship built on a year of long distance and the kind of trust that costs something to keep. She isn’t looking. But then Ryder Holt walks out of a cafeteria door while she’s on the phone with her boyfriend and something in her chest moves without permission. He doesn’t introduce himself. Doesn’t flirt, doesn’t chase, doesn’t do any of the things she could easily dismiss. He just looks at her. Direct and unhurried and completely certain, like he’s already made a decision and is simply waiting for her to arrive at the same one. They get paired for a project and she finds out he requested her specifically, she’s bringing him coffee and losing arguments she should win and lying awake thinking about a man she has no right to think about while Ethan sends heart emojis from across the world and says he’s coming home early.Three weeks. She has three weeks to get herself under control. Ryder Holt has other plans. Possessive without touching her. Obsessive without saying it. He sees her in ways that feel both thrilling and terrifying and the closer he gets, the more Mia realizes the real danger isn’t him but how little she’s pulling away. The Wrong Pair of Eyes is a slow burn dark romance about desire arriving at the worst possible moment, loyalty cracking under the weight of something real, and a woman caught between the love she chose and the one she never saw coming.

Three days ago, I almost died. A birthday cake was needed for my sister, Rosa Esposito's birthday, so my dad told me to pick it up. He claimed that this was my way of making it up to Rosa for accidentally spilling coffee onto her new dress. When I was cornered in an alley by the thugs, I was in the middle of sending Rosa an apology text. They covered my mouth and dragged me into a van. That was when I heard them say, "Yup, that's her alright. That's the bitch named Rosa Esposito." I shook my head, trying to explain that I wasn't Rosa at all. But my name didn't matter at all when blows started raining down on me. That was how I spent the next three days in living hell. By the time I wake up in the hospital, my phone harbors a new family photo sent by Rosa. It features my dad, my older brother, Rafael Esposito, as well as my husband, Enzo Vitale. All three of them can be seen surrounding Rosa. When I was in the middle of getting pinned on the ground while feeling blades slashing my skin, these people were celebrating Rosa's birthday happily with her. Later on, Rosa smiles at my face. "Do you have any idea how much I hate that face of yours? I also hate how much better you are than me as well as the fact that everyone likes you more than me! "That's why I've robbed all of their love from you… be it Dad, Rafael, or your husband! You, on the other hand, deserve to be alone till the day you die!" At that moment, I've made three choices. First, I forge a miscarriage report. Next, I place a signed divorce agreement into a giftbox. Finally, I dial the number of my mentor, Sofia Bianchi. There, I agree to participate in a classified project research that will last for ten years without getting in contact with anyone. Since then, I, Valentina Esposito, have never existed in this world.

I'm the type who has the urge to overshare my life with him. It can be anything, be it the flowers blooming by the side of the road, the unpleasant coffee I end up having, or the sunset I've seen when I'm on my way home from work. Heck, when I think of Edwin Howell all of a sudden, I can't resist texting him at all. His replies are always short and perfunctory, though I suppose they count as a form of response from him. Hence, over the past six months, I've relied on these cold-sounding yet present replies to give me enough strength to deal with the engagement party, go wedding gown shopping, and choose the wedding venue all by myself. Somehow, I've managed to hang in there till the week before the wedding. But five days before the wedding, I discover an AI program that's installed within Edwin's computer. It can categorize every single sentence that I've sent to Edwin and extract the keywords. Then, it'll draft the most perfunctory responses that will never go wrong. If I miss Edwin, the AI will reply, "Mm-hmm." If I feel aggrieved, the AI will reply, "Got it." When I try to vent my frustrations to Edwin, the AI will reply, "Don't make such a big deal out of it." It turns out that Edwin isn't the one who has been responding to my need to overshare. The thing is, he has been texting another woman nonstop in another private chat. They talk about anything and everything under the sun, from exchanging simple good mornings and good nights to asking, "What are you having for lunch today?" and "Do you wanna go to the beach someday?" Finally, I realize that Edwin isn't the silent type who keeps his love in. If anything, he's the flashy type who will proclaim his love anywhere, anytime. It's just that… his love has never been mine to have. As for me, I've finally made up my mind to stop spending my life waiting for a response that will never come.