Polished Smiles

Everyone has gathered around to play games together. The current game requires all players to transfer red wine to each other via our mouths. Before my fiance, Teodoro Lamperti, is able to transfer the wine to me, his female best friend, Cristina Ghedini, shoves me away before kissing him on the mouth right away. "What are you doing? Today is Serafina's big day, you know!" Teodoro might be complaining on the outside, yet he's patting Cristina gently on the back. The atmosphere in the villa becomes eerily silent. Everyone stares at me as I sit on the floor in a wretched manner. Cristina merely smiles nonchalantly. Then, she leans against Teodoro's shoulder. "Don't be so petty, Serafina. Teodor and I are as thick as thieves since we were kids. We're used to sharing everything together." Teodoro begins advising me as well. "It's just a game, Serafina. You've always been gracious, haven't you? Don't act like a sore loser." Everyone thinks that I'll explode into rage and flip the table of food over, like I had done in the past. But this time, I just draw to my feet and take off the engagement ring. Then, I slide it onto Cristina's finger. "This ring is yours now. Congratulations on your marriage. Remember to invite me to your wedding."

For twelve years, Sophia Banner has worked tirelessly to keep her family's farm from foreclosure. Every payment is a small victory, until her sister, Daphne drains the money for a modeling opportunity that turns out to be a scam. Daphne isn't sorry. The bank doesn't care. And Sophia is out of time. Her solution arrives in tailored suits and effortless charm. Andrew Ashford—her witty, rich-as-hell employer, the man she delivers groceries to weekly. And… the man her sister, Daphne has been infatuated with for years. He's also the man whose eight-year-old nephew she tutors. When a medical diagnosis rattles Andrew's carefully managed life and sets his volatile family on edge, he decides appearances need fixing. What he needs is a fiancée. What he offers is one million dollars for one year. The money would save Sophia's farm outright. And the image of a diamond on her finger, of Daphne forced to watch—sharpens the temptation to a dangerous edge. Sophia agrees. She steps into Andrew's world of obscene wealth, jealous socialites, and an overbearing chaotic family that treats appearances like currency. Fake kisses are expected. Convincing smiles are mandatory. The problem is, Andrew plays his role too well—and the reasons behind this engagement begin to feel far from innocent. Because Andrew Ashford didn't choose Sophia at random. One year. One million dollars. And a lie that's starting to feel dangerously real.

Warning... or Invitation? That choice is yours. This isn’t a fairytale. This isn’t about sweet kisses beneath cherry blossoms or soft smiles under the stars. No. This is raw, This is reckless, This is “Burning Embers: Scorching Tales of Desire” A collection of BL short stories carved from lust, laced with obsession, and kissed by chaos. Each chapter stands on its own, a world where strangers become addictions, roommates cross lines, enemies blur into lovers, and the line between want and need snaps without warning. These men don’t fall in love. They fall into temptation. They crash into each other like lightning against the sea, loud, unforgiving, and beautiful in their destruction. You’ll find no gentle romance here. Only the ache of fingertips brushing where they shouldn't, the weight of glances held too long, the gasp before the plunge. This is for the ones who know love isn’t always tender. That sometimes, the most unforgettable stories are the ones written in bruises and longing. This is for those who crave stories that leave a mark, who don’t flinch when desire gets messy, when hearts bleed a little before they beat as one. Not for the faint-hearted. Not for the clean-handed. This is for the bold, the brave, the ones who dare to touch the flame even if it burns. So turn the page. Step into the fire. But don’t say I didn’t warn you--- Because once the embers catch, they never go out.

Panni never intended to steal her twin sister’s life. She only agreed to help with one simple favor—pretend to be Annie for a single meeting. But the moment she stepped into an elite private restaurant and faced Jinyan Lu, the cold, brilliant CEO of Lu Corporation, she realized nothing about this meeting was simple. Jinyan, still bound by his late grandmother’s dying wish to “find someone who will stay by your side,” had prepared a contract marriage proposal. He believed the woman sitting before him—Panni in disguise—was the one who had already agreed to the arrangement. Bound by fear, circumstance, and her sister’s disappearance, Panni reluctantly stepped into a life that wasn’t hers, signing a contract that would entangle her fate with a man who trusted no one. As she plays the role of the polished, confident twin, Panni struggles to hide her true identity while navigating the cold walls of the Lu family mansion, the scrutiny of the company board, and the unspoken expectations placed upon the future Mrs. Lu. But her biggest challenge is Jinyan Lu himself—distant yet unexpectedly protective, calculating yet quietly vulnerable. What begins as a practical arrangement slowly turns into a dangerous emotional territory neither can control. When Jinyan starts falling for the woman he believes is Annie, Panni is torn between duty and desire, truth and revival. Every moment she stays by his side deepens the lie… and the attachment. But secrets don’t stay buried forever. When the real twin retraces and hidden agendas threaten the fragile bond forming between them, Panni must decide whether to walk away—or fight for a love built on borrowed identity.

This isn't a love story, but almost a love story. Irina and Eric share a world through dreams and time travel. They have a strong mutual understanding about the feelings they have for each other, at the same time understanding that they cannot be together. Eric: I open my eyes and find myself standing alone in an empty room. The ceilings and the walls are neatly painted white. And the floor is composed of polished light brown wood. And there is a dark brown framed window at one corner where the light comes from. A bright yellow and pale red orange light tells me the sun is setting and soon it will be dark. Eric is a ghost who always appears in Irina's dream. Irina: I open the door to the bedroom. There is a dark brown framed window at one corner where the light is coming from. The yellow orange light passes through the open window. I see Eric standing right there on the spot captured by the yellow light. ‘You came back.’ I said. He stood there looking me in the eye. I almost died. Irina is a time traveler who may or may not change his fate. They alternatively tell a bitter sweet story. Love doesn't always mean together, sometimes it is deeper apart. Eric: I stand alone in the rain looking at the dark sky where all I can see is water, for it is both the rain and my tears flowing to my face. Irina: And suddenly it is no longer my reflection I see inside the mirror. What I see now is a figure of a man. I draw closer to see him clearly. But the closer I walk towards him, the farther I become from him. I couldn't get close.

It only took a moment to burn everything down. For five years, Isla Merrick played the part—soft-spoken wife, graceful hostess, quiet shadow to Callum Braxton’s powerful presence. She became what the world expected: dutiful, polished, harmless. Then came his cold declaration: “Let’s get divorced.” No emotion. No explanation. Just a clean cut—like a business deal. But Callum never knew she had been waiting for that moment. Planning for it. Beneath the composed surface, Isla had been sharpening the edges he once dulled. Because Isla Merrick had a past—and it wasn’t the scandal the tabloids spun. It was deeper. Sharper. Before she was Mrs. Braxton, she trained at Summerdell—an elite, off-the-record martial arts academy. Whispers of crime and prison blurred the truth, but Isla stayed silent. She had bigger plans. Three years later, she returns—not to reconcile, but to reintroduce herself. Isla Merrick now runs a luxury fashion empire, famous for turning scandal into power. And when she steps into the country’s most elite gala, draped in elegance and authority, Callum barely recognizes her. But she recognizes him. Before he can speak, a figure joins her—Dorian Kane. Ruthless investor. Public obsession. His hand rests on Isla’s waist like it belongs there. “Just so we’re clear, Braxton,” Dorian says coolly. “She’s not yours. Not anymore.” For Callum, it’s the beginning of a reckoning. For Isla, it’s the first breath of freedom. She isn’t the woman who once begged to be loved. She’s the woman who knows she never needed to be. And this time, she’s not just rewriting the story—she’s owning the ending.

Love was never supposed to be this dangerous for Valerie Lawson. Born into wealth and groomed to carry the legacy of her mother who built one of the largest companies in the country she became a force of power. She was the woman everyone admired. The woman every man feared to approach. From the polished floors of luxury board rooms to the flashing headlights of black tinted convoys Valerie lived in a world where she controlled every situation at the snap of a finger. But beneath that perfect exterior there was a secret she buried deep inside. A secret that shaped the entire path of her life and turned her heart into a guarded fortress. Her family portrait had once been perfect. A loving mother. Two beautiful twin daughters. But darkness crept into their home the moment her father allowed insecurity to corrupt his soul. Instead of valuing his successful wife, he resented her. He felt small watching her empire rise. He felt like a guest in a palace built with her brilliance. Not having control, he sought validation elsewhere. He brought another woman into their home. planned it like a secret meeting but fate rarely allows betrayal to stay hidden. That day when Valerie and her twin sister were supposed to be in school tragedy struck. Vera fainted and her mother rushed to pick her up refusing to call her husband because a small voice in her heart whispered that he should not be trusted. After treating her daughter she returned home quietly hoping to surprise her husband with good news about their little girl. Instead she walked into a horrifying betrayal. Her husband was in their marital bed with a strange woman. The scene shattered her soul. She demanded a divorce and vowed to take her daughters along.

Amber Cole is a 31-year-old stripper. With her prime years in the industry slipping away, she’s aware that soon her looks will no longer be enough to make the money she needs to survive. Struggling with her self-worth and looking for a way out, Amber’s world is about to be upended when she meets Ryan Carter, a cold, successful businessman from Chicago. Ryan, reeling from his fiancée's betrayal, is forced into a bizarre deal by a clause in his late grandfather’s will: he must marry and stay married for one year. When his best friend, Tom, suggests he hire a stripper to pretend to be his fiancée, Ryan reluctantly agrees. He picks Amber, offering her $500,000 for her time. Unaware of the deep complexities of her own emotions, Amber agrees, seeing the money as her ticket to a fresh start. Despite their differences — Ryan's polished world of wealth and Amber's gritty, down-to-earth life — they are drawn into a tense, fiery dynamic that forces both to confront their prejudices and assumptions. Amber start their arrangement, initially unaware of the emotional journey she’s about to embark on. As she undergoes a transformation, both physically and emotionally, Ryan begins to question his initial perception of her, discovering that beneath her tough exterior, Amber is more than just a stripper. As the months pass, their relationship evolves from contractual obligation to something far more complicated. Sparks fly, but so do their insecurities. Amber finds herself falling for Ryan, but can she ever be the woman he needs her to be? And can Ryan truly let go of his past and embrace the real, messy woman Amber has become?

Candice Harper’s world shatters when her mother remarries billionaire Sanna d’Agostino just weeks after divorcing her beloved father. Uprooted from New York to a glittering Los Angeles mansion, the 17-year-old senior vows to endure one year of this gilded cage before escaping to college—and freedom. But freedom becomes a distant dream the moment she locks eyes with her new stepbrother: Mantovani d’Agostino, the infamous mafia underboss hiding behind a polished facade of wealth. Mantovani is a storm wrapped in control—ruthless, volatile, and haunted by a darkness he refuses to name. Ordered by his father to play English teacher at Candice’s elite academy while hunting the sheriff dismantling their empire, he plans to despise the innocent girl invading his world. One glance at her fragile beauty among the lilies, however, ignites a forbidden fire he can’t extinguish. She’s off-limits. She’s, his stepsister. Yet every shared breath in their opulent prison tightens the noose of desire around his throat. As Candice navigates a life of bodyguards, paparazzi, and a mother obsessed with status, she’s drawn to the brooding enigma who fleas from her presence yet watches her like she’s prey. Strange midnight visits, heated glances, and whispered commands blur the line between protection and possession. Mantovani fights to bury his hunger, but the mafia’s shadows creep closer—enemies circle, secrets unravel, and a single misstep could destroy them both. In a world where loyalty is blood and love is a death sentence, Candice and Mantovani must choose to surrender to the inferno threatening to consume them… or burn the empire down trying to resist.

"I slam into him and he screams. A hoarse, broken, beautiful noise bursts out of him as I drive in all at once, a harsh, staking claim. He’s gripping me so tight I can barely breathe. He’s fire. He’s home. He writhes, his hands clawing at the sheets. I force myself to be still, to wait and let him stretch, to let his body take me. I’m buried so deep I feel like I’m touching his soul." Kieran Arnulf is an Alpha with a target on his back. Inheriting a pack broken by his father’s cruelty, he's determined to rule with mercy rather than fear. But to the vipers on his council, mercy looks a lot like weakness. When a massive, tattooed warrior from the enemy Redmaw pack surrenders at his gates, Kieran makes a controversial choice. He allows the wolf to come inside. Alexei Basov is dangerous, insolent, and far too attractive for Kieran’s peace of mind. He claims to be a defector with vital intel on an impending war, but he looks at Kieran like a meal he’s dying to devour. He’s a brawler who solves problems with violence, a stark contrast to Kieran’s polished diplomacy. As assassins strike from the shadows and political tension reaches a breaking point, Kieran is forced to rely on the one man he shouldn’t trust. Alexei appoints himself Kieran’s shadow, protector, and personal tormentor. But the tension simmering between them is more than just political. Behind closed doors, the power dynamics shift. Kieran discovers that the only place he can truly let go of control is in the arms of the savage wolf who wants to claim him.