Renaissance And Baroque Artworks

"This brutally romantic mafia love story will grip you!" ~#1 New York Times bestselling author Helen Hardt Arranged-marriage, age-gap, Mafia/cartel romance Capo to the Luciano Famiglia was my birthright. The cruelty needed to succeed in this life has been beaten into me since I was a young boy. My father, Vincent Luciano, taught by example and with the slap of his hand. My independent streak took me down paths my father would never have gone. With our enemies gaining strength, it is my idea to attempt an alliance with an unlikely bedfellow. The Roríguez Cartel and the Luciano Famiglia are improbable partners, yet even Vincent Luciano can’t deny the possible benefits. The only way to solidify the deal is for me to marry Catalina Ruiz, the eldest daughter of Andres Ruiz, a top lieutenant in the Roríguez Cartel. Catalina is young, beautiful, and thinks she understands the path she is being forced to follow. There is no way for her to know the monster she is about to wed. A man doesn’t become a made man at thirteen if he is capable of love. That emotion is beyond my scope of expertise. Saving the famiglia is my goal. And once this alliance is made, ours will be but the first of the brutal vows exchanged. Have you been Aleatha’d?

Calvin and I had been married for seven years. While packing up some clothes, I found a cheap lighter in the pocket of his jacket. Everything he wore, from the inside out, had been carefully chosen by me to highlight his refined taste and status. However, in that girl’s Twitter photos, he looked like a college boy, dressed in cheap clothes and wearing a digital watch that cost only a few dollars while kissing her. Using a throwaway account, I casually liked the post and commented, "A perfect match." Then, I turned to Calvin and said, "How did I never realize you had such a thing for bargains?"

Self-made billionaires Zane and Trey have been a club of two since they were eighteen. They’ve done everything together: play football, fall in love, even get smacked around by their dads. The only thing they haven’t tried is seducing the same woman. Executive chef Rebecca Eilert learned early on not to trust anyone. She raised her brothers by herself—with no adult being the wiser. Her knack for cooking kept a roof over the twins’ heads. Now she’s damned if it won’t pay their way through Harvard as well. Add in running Trey’s latest restaurant, and her plate is way too full for romance. That’s an attitude the bad boys intend to change. Zane and Trey have set their sights on the sexy chef. When their hearts enter the equation and they both fall for her, this committed twosome faces their hardest test of all.

What if time was turned back to when the wrongs hadn't been done against you? what if you were given a second chance? what would you do to avoid the impending disaster? what would you chose, love or revenge? Mira wakes up One Year before her untimely death that happened in her first life.How will she use this chance given to her?

"Our heart beats only with their permission." For as long as she can remember, the bookworm Synecdoche Rochet, 23, has lived a simple life in Maharlika Nation—hiding in the grasses and grains of District G to avoid the terrifying power of the Embassy and its ruthless Ambassador. In a dystopian world that is controlled with surveillance, Synecdoche Rochet embarks on a mission to get back their rights on their district's valuable resources—the grains. When she discovered her intellectual ability, she found herself drawn to the charismatic Giovanni, the long-lost Ambassador's privileged son together with other intelligent students, Ulap, Token, and Keithwarth. They found themselves being the tributes on the 2nd Maharlika Spelling TwistBee—trapped in the Word Arena. An annually commemorated game where each district will represent one letter in the Alphabet, spell the given English words not verbally, but by beating other competitors who have letter tattoos on their arms. The rules are to Spell and beat them. Within the competitor's reach, the team-up of Synecdoche, Giovanni, Ulap, Token, and Keithwarth isn't a coincidence, it's a conspiracy. What if Synecdoche's age will be reversed? Will they use their intelligence for vengeance? Will they compel love and trust to survive the competition? Is their life the price or the prize? "Even the shortest word has the longest meaning."

Being forged from the trauma that clings to your soul like an additional layer of sin has an elegance to it. When my father and I buried my sister, falling in love with her first love wasn't on the agenda. Don Alessandro Valentino has something I want. Something he refuses to depart with and no matter how much pain he inflicts upon me, I will never give up. I vowed to never let him win. I thought I had escaped his grasp, but his torment had only just begun. Despite everything, he still held the power to manipulate my heart and make me crave to be possessed by him. As secrets come to light and the truth is exposed, can I surrender the battle and surrender what I've been fighting for all along, without hesitation? --- He tore his lips away from mine, peering down at me, brushing the pad of his thumb along his lower lip—smearing my touch as far as it would travel. “You taste like mine.” He said in a cold and condescending tone. Then he left. He walked out of the wine cellar without a second glance over his shoulder as Riccardo locked the door behind them.

" Urg! Harder Mike me harder"I screamed in the female restroom in my workplace. I was currently being by one of my colleagues from the ground floor. Let's just say I love being hard, In my , and my . Yep, I'm an office but I don't give a . During the day I worked as the marketing manager at Carter's Holding company and by night I worked as a stripper at a club making lots of cash and I loved it. Lynn Swan was an office , she has every male in the city of New York, Single or Married, and was known for being the best too. That was until one day when she met a Bibillionaire Alexander Pierce who wanted a simple down-to-earth girl to marry, would he be able to change her or would she continue her ways?

Cathy Wilkins' life has never been simple. Heartbroken and lost after her boyfriend of three years leaves her without a word of explanation, Cathy is left to pick up the pieces of her shattered world. Overwhelmed and desperate for a change, she decides to climb the town’s mysterious mountain, determined to debunk the rumors of monstrous men lurking at its peak. What she finds at the top is beyond her wildest dreams and darkest fears. In a secluded world far from her own, Cathy encounters a creature both terrifying and alluring, challenging everything she thought she knew about love and life. Will Cathy find the strength to face the unknown and embrace a love that defies all logic, or will her journey end in heartbreak once more? Join Cathy on a breathtaking adventure of self-discovery, passion, and the timeless search for a love that can conquer all.

When you have status in a wolf pack then your life is set. You have privilege, you have pretty much everything you can ask for. I used to have that. Until my father, the head warrior, died protecting the Alpha and then all of a sudden we were nothing to the top pack leaders. That was 5 years ago now. I still wonder how my mother managed to live through the death of her mate. She’s the strongest woman I know. Especially after having our house taken off of us, our car, our entire life taken away. When I got to school, I was pretty soaked from the rain and I went inside and went straight to my locker. I could hear a bunch of kids coming down the hallway towards me, and I turned my head slightly to look at them. They were friends that I used to have, and friends that I always refused to have because they were spoiled assholes. One of the guys that was closest to me elbowed me and shoved me into the locker and the rest of his friends started laughing. “Dickhead.” I yelled. And they all stopped. But he slowly turned around to look at me. “What did you just say, trash?” He asked. “You heard me.” I said, turning to face him head on. “I outrank you bitch. You don’t walk away from me. Never forget that.” He yelled. “Fine.” I said, without changing my facial expression at all. So he relaxed a little and pulled back away from me to look at his friends. But then one of his friends yelled at him to look out and when he turned back around to look at me, I punched him straight in the nose.

In a world where hard work and ambition can lead to unforeseen tragedies, Kathy Thompson's story takes a captivating turn. Blinded by others' misconceptions, she met an untimely demise in a tragic accident. But that was just the beginning of her journey. Reborn with a quest for vengeance, she navigates the treacherous path to reclaim her status, thus, reaching her career's peak. Eventually, fate brings her face to face with Dominic Hendersen—a man who could hold the key to a love she never thought possible…