playing for keeps meaning

"Say that again," he smirks, his hand gently grasping my jaw. "My dear husband," I manage to say, my voice barely a whisper as I struggle to meet his intense gaze. "Oh, I love it when you call me that," he murmurs, before claiming my parted lips in a searing kiss. His hands slide down my thighs, spreading my legs wider, and in one swift motion, he plunges his length inside me. *** Alice's world crumbles when she discovers her husband's affair with her step-sister. The betrayal cuts deeper when he leaves her for his mistress. Desperate to escape the pain, Alice gets involved in a reckless one-night stand with a mysterious stranger, an event that could lead to something even more dangerous.

After knowing that her boyfriend cheated on her, Beatrice received an offer to be a substitute model for a mother-son advertisement. There she worked with Caleb and she didn’t know how much that child would change her life. Having all her future plans collapsed after the breakup, Beatrice was at a loss. And just like a twist of fate, Callum, Caleb’s father came into the picture. Because his son wanted Beatrice as his mother, he made a deal with her—a contractual marriage – but her role was only to be Caleb’s stepmother. Could she keep her role as a stepmother even when she started developing feelings for Callum?

"A child will be born of titanium blueScarlet red in all her gloryListen for every word is trueShe will be your victory."Kira Song has been a human slave since she was thirteen. Ever since the vampire takeover and the death of her parents, life has become nothing but a bother.When she's bought by Prince Dante Rosetti, an original Pureblood vampire, her life changes, especially with the resurfacing of a prophecy.With an impending war, a hot vampire Prince and a shocking revelation, she is thrust into the world of the supernatural.Will she able to survive?

Claudius has not had it easy when it comes to mates and love. He found his mate, only for him to die in his arms before he ever knew his name. Then, he allowed his heart to fall for another, only to be disappointed once again. Time went by, and Claudius thought he would never get a second chance mate. But one fateful day, he came across that beautiful scent again, the scent of a mate. That scent would belonged to an Alpha. An Alpha who refuses to accept Claudius because of what he is. A lowly dominant Delta 3, one who can't bear child and produce an heir. Claudius struggles, trying to win his Alpha's heart, only to be hurt over and over again... Little does Claudius know the Alpha is fighting his own battles within himself. He's fighting the bond, struggling to fight it as it starts to grow stronger. But he's determined to fight it, knowing his pack wants a luna who can produce an heir. What the Alpha doesn't know is that with every day that passes that he fights the bond, Claudius is getting weaker, and it's killing him. Will the Alpha stop fighting the bond in time and accept Claudius? Or will it take Claudius' death to make him realize everything he wanted was right in front of his face.

Because of his handsomeness and perfection, Demitri always became the target of women. His charm was beyond reason, always making him feel like a magnet on Earth. Not only that, as he hadn't yet found a prospective partner, his parents often tried to arrange him with his colleagues. Not wanting to be forced into a match, Demitri, by chance, encountered a mentally unstable woman who claimed to be his lover and decided to take advantage of her. He made an offer to the girl to enter into a contract marriage with him, in order to escape from his mother's matchmaking. So, how did their story unfold? How long can they endure the lie they made so explicitly? Follow their journey, only in the novel "CEO NOT FOR SALE!"

“Aren't you a bit curious as to what will happen if you refuse to adhere to the terms of the contract?” Ben asked from the window. But she didn't care at that point. She was done with whatever the hell this was. She got to the door and grabbed the handle, about to open it. “You..will..go..to..jail, Miss Ana.” She froze in her tracks. Did Remi just say jail? ***** Ana is a single mother who's running from her past, trying to provide for her child, and at the same time shielding herself from the clutches of a psycho-stalker. She meets Ben, a stranger, who's still reeling from a brutal betrayal in his past. But when Ben asks Ana to be his wife for 30 days, despite her baggage, she thinks he is crazy. However, as she spends time with the introverted but sexy billionaire, it turns out she is the one who’s crazy about him. Would they be able to look past their painful pasts and find a way to co-exist freely without the fear of being hurt a second time?

Everything was going well in the life of 27-year-old Lillian Porter. She lived in a nice rented house located less than an hour from the major architectural firm where she works. The company is directed by Adam Winters. Her boss was five years older than her and Lillian worked as her executive secretary, she was like his right hand, even though she hated him. All her "hatred" for him followed her from the first day working to him. Adam was extremely attractive and seemed to know perfectly well the power of his charm, since the first day he has been rude and arrogant with everyone around him, knowing that even so, he would draw desirous sighs from both of them. But that still wasn't the focus of all Lillian's rancor, the problem is that she hated the fact that not even she was immune to the charms of her powerful boss. First, she thought she would never have sex with him for the simple fact that he was her boss, nether fall in love, but after what she thought would never happen, happened. She feared she was wanting the terrible CEO Adam Winters in her bed again. How would things be at the company after a crazy night of love between them? Can love. emerge from hate?

Eri Sunville, an intelligent and hardworking female who needs to earn enough for her sister's surgery. She needs any job she can get at any moment and so when she gets the job as a secretary to famous and arrogant multi billionaire, Don Jones, she finds herself having to keep up with his behavior to earn for the surgery. Don Jones, an arrogant yet strikingly handsome CEO who cares about nothing else but the success of his company and will be getting married to his fiancee who has been kept anonymous to stir up the media. --- "Why are you late?" A deep and cold voice called. I had not even noticed the man sitting on the chair in front of the table that lay close to the wall. I stared at him and my goodness, was this how handsome Don Jones was. Nobody told me he was this hot. He had well defined jawlines, a prominent nose and high cheekbones that made me wonder how on earth a man could been so damn gorgeous. He had smooth and straight black hair that fell on his forehead. I only realized I had been staring at his full and perfectly shaped black eyebrows when they furrowed to form a frown. I stared at his eyes and he held my gaze with those devilish dark blue eyes.

Royal, a halfling with werewolf and witch blood, unwittingly becomes the mate of the cursed and power-driven Alpha Chase, who uses captives from a war as slaves and war tools. When Royal falls pregnant, someone frames her, leading to her banishment from the Crescent Moon pack. Saved by the caring Alpha Rico, she eventually gives birth to Alpha Chase's son. The prophecy of his birth brings prosperity and victory but only if he is by his father's side. Royal grows into a powerful and independent young woman, becoming a business tycoon, fighter, and healer. But her past catches up with her as Alpha Chase falls severely ill, and Royal, who has never stopped loving him, must use ancient herbs to heal him without him ever knowing who she really is. Will Chase be able to break free from the curse and recognize her his true mate or will he live with an imposter claiming to be his true mate and finally die in the hands of his son?

"I, Lucy Adams of the Crosswalk Pack have no intention of being the mate of the honorable Alpha and for this reason, I reject the mate bond between us, Alpha Darren Stones." * He was the Alpha, he needed his mate, a Luna to satisfy the people but he was rejected by his mate, publicly, it was unheard of. He was the Alpha, he should be the picky one and not his little mate. The humiliation from the public rejection was not something he would suffer as an Alpha so he came up with a deal, a deal that she could not refuse. "Accept me, become my bride and I will let your father live" But what happens when the both of them find out that Lucy's simple act of rejection had made the moon goddess grant the both of them another mate while they were still mated to each other?! Would they give up on their fake marriage and go for their mates? Or would they stay together and make things work?