Oranges By Gary Soto

I ran away with my new husband, Keith, chasing something—adventure, maybe, or just a way out of my dead-end town. He promised Vegas, bright lights, and fortune. Said he’d win big at the Moon Crescent Casino. I went along for the ride, naively thinking this was the start of something new. Instead, Keith lost everything. And I mean everything. And his genius solution? He sold me. To pay off his gambling debt, he handed me over like property—to a pack. Not just one man, but three. Wolves, apparently. Dangerous, intense... and off-the-charts gorgeous. Husk is tall, dark, and terrifyingly silent. When he does smile, it looks like it hurts him—and frankly, it gives me nightmares. Winter, with his pale hair and soft eyes, is gentle… on the surface. But there’s something immense in him, some power pulsing under his skin, like he could take control of my very soul. Then there’s Sky—moody, brooding, unreadable. He shifts between warm and cold so fast I get whiplash. They tell me I have to stay with them at the casino for thirty days. Just thirty days, and the debt is paid. Sounds simple, right? Except nothing about this is simple. And I know there’s a catch. So, I run. Only to find out—they need me. Not for money. Not just for fun. For something deeper. Something... ancient. Suddenly, I’m not the girl people overlook. I’m not the small-town girl with a too-big heart and nowhere to put it. I’m the key to something much bigger, something magical. And maybe, just maybe, these wolves aren’t my captors… they’re my future. I left to escape. But it turns out, what I needed most was exactly what I tried to leave behind.

Sloane Wentworth was looked down on by her Stepmom and siblings. But when she accidentally signed her marriage with Carlo Alistair, a third generation grandson and heir to a multi trillion dollar enterprise, everything is set to change. In a dramatic cycle of revenge and struggle for power, what will be the fate of a love story built on a lie?

When Mabel Jordan, a bartender scarred by a past betrayal, meets Steve Harrison, the billionaire CEO of Ryder Enterprises, the chemistry is instant and dangerous. Steve is a man who never loses control, but Mabel is the wild card he never saw coming. Unwilling to let go of her, yet terrified of the vulnerability she represents, he creates a single rule to protect himself from the very thing he desires most. "I can't give you the perfect relationship you want, Mabel. But I also can't let you go." He makes her an offer that is both selfish and brutal: an exclusive, no-strings-attached arrangement. "I want a relationship with no strings attached. Just sex. Only with you, no other woman." The rules are simple, but the most devastating one is a lie they both hope to believe. "You can’t fall in love with me, Mabel. If you do, it will be over." What begins as a reckless game quickly becomes a battle of wills and raw desire, where every touch is a lie and every kiss is a risk. Mabel struggles to guard her heart, while Steve fights to keep a soul he swore was dead. Can they survive a game with only one rule? Or will they be destroyed by the very feelings they swore to avoid?

During a mission overseas, I shielded my younger brother from an explosion—only to wake up months later, my body broken, my mind trapped in the void of a coma. Grateful for my sacrifice, he repaid me by marrying my wife. When I finally clawed my way back to consciousness and rushed home, I found my son kneeling on the ground, sobbing as his college acceptance letter lay shredded in his fists. My nephew loomed over him, slamming a steel pipe into his back. "Lick my shoes clean," he sneered. "Who are you to think you deserve an education?" And there was my wife clapping in delight, dabbing the sweat from my nephew’s brow like a doting servant. "You’re just like your deadbeat father," My wife spat. "Born to be my stepping stone." My eyes bloodshot, I tightened my fists. Every last one of them would pay for this dearly.

"You taste like warm sweet honey and I want more of you!" He growls as he presses his manhood into my hip. "Give yourself to me tesoro." [Treasure] His words are like fuel to my igniting fire. I want him, I crave him and when his lips start to suck on my heated skin I turn into a puddle of water when his hand dips into the top of my dress. He finds my breast and he kneads it, flicking my erect nipple has my panties moisten with arousal --- Vanessa Maddison: She is as gorgeous and flawless on the outside as she is scarred and tormented on the inside. Luca Venturi: Came storming into Vanessa's life like a raging blaze that burns everything it caresses. He's an Italian billionaire doctor who can have any woman he wants, but, he has his sights set on Vanessa. Intertwined by their secrets, they try to defy the odds. They make their own rules and quickly surrender to the exquisite power of possession. What began as a fling evolved into something far greater than either of them could have imagined. What will the Italian billionaire do to save Vanessa when they are thrown into a world they are both unfamiliar with time and time again?

Dorian’s eyes darkened with something dangerous as he watched her reaction. “You think you can stand on your own?” he whispered, his voice low and thick with intent. “ If you think is possible then, Prove it, little hybrid.” Before she could respond, his lips descended on hers. The kiss was fierce, almost punishing, as though he was trying to dominate her through sheer force. But what surprised Irwin more was her own response. Her body acted on its own, her lips moving against his, her hands gripping his arms as if she couldn’t bear to let go. Dorian groaned softly as his hands roamed down her body, pulling her closer. His touch was rough, possessive, and yet it ignited something deep within her that she had never felt before. Irwin gasped as he kissed her harder, his hands sliding under her clothes, brushing against her skin.

Isn't it amazing for you and your childhood best friend to attend college together? That's what Emma and Mila thought, not knowing that college days held a lot for them. What they had in mind was nothing like what they faced in reality. Mila has always been the extrovert, wise and reliable one while Emma was the introvert and naïve one. Despite their differences, the two girls had a strong friendship and an amazing bond that many people wished for. When Emma starts hanging out with her new group of friends at college, her friendship with Mila will go downhill and no matter what Mila does, Emma won't listen to her best friend. Things will get worse between the two girls and their friendship will get tested in many ways. Will their friendship be strong enough after all the things they will go through to make them hold onto each other?

Raine Vance has spent her whole life fighting to be taken seriously in her family’s empire. But after walking in on her fiancé in bed with her sister, she’s left humiliated, betrayed, and one mistake away from losing everything her grandfather promised her. Enter Adrian Throne. The boy she once hated. The man her parents despise. The billionaire heir who kissed her in a bar just to prove he could and then announced to the world that she was his fiancée. Now the entire city is watching their whirlwind engagement, but someone wants Raine dead. Between her family’s accusations, her sister’s venom, and Adrian’s dangerous protectiveness, Raine finds herself caught in a storm of lies, lust, and power plays. She swore she would never belong to him. But Adrian swore something too If someone tries to take her from him again… he’ll burn the world down.

I was only an Omega. Never meant to be seen. Never meant to be chosen. And definitely never meant to be fought over. When my pack is destroyed, I’m taken into the territory of the Vaelor twins, two Alphas feared for their power and known for their brutality. Noah Vaelor is cold, controlled, and lethal. He says I belong under his protection. Cassian Vaelor is ruthless, and smiling when he bleeds. He says I belong to the pack. I don’t belong to either of them. But when an ancient law awakens and my blood is revealed to carry the future of their legacy, their protection turns into possession and the rivalry between the twins becomes deadly. Bound by blood. Trapped by fate. And caught between two Alphas who would tear the world apart to claim what they believe is theirs. One will protect me. The other will destroy everything to take me.

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