Slow Dancing

In a bid to assess rare resources, our expedition team ventures into an uninhabited desert, only to be suddenly faced with a heat wave that reaches 158 degrees Fahrenheit. Becoming so dehydrated that I'm close to fainting, I hurriedly open my backpack to dig out the electrolyte drink I prepared beforehand. The bottle is already about to touch my lips when I realize it's half filled with urine. I turn my head, just in time to see my husband's childhood sweetheart guzzling the electrolyte drink. Just as I'm about to lose my temper, my husband yanks on my sleeve. "Don't be mad. I was the one who gave your electrolyte drink to Maddy because she's nearly dehydrated. In the meantime, you'd better just make do and drink this, okay?" By then, black spots are dancing in my vision. Squeezing the bottle of urine, I hiss through gritted teeth, "I'm already dehydrated, but instead of letting me rehydrate quickly, you're telling me to drink this. Are you trying to kill me?" Immediately, a displeased look crosses his face. "Stop talking nonsense. Maddy isn't like you and doesn't train her body every day. She absolutely can't handle such high temperatures. Isn't it only right that she gets the electrolyte drink? "Besides, urine can rehydrate you, too. Why are you still making a fuss at this point?" Realizing that he cannot be reasoned with, I decide to send out a distress signal and seek help before I fully lose consciousness. "Severely dehydrated and near death. Expedition operations suspended. Immediate rescue required. Also reporting the presence of a robber within the team—please contact authorities as soon as possible."

The death of her sister shocked Belle but that didn’t stop her to step into the mystery of her sister’s murder. But what if those murderers aren’t done by a supernatural being? Belle’s sister died the day before her marriage. People claimed she had killed herself but Belle didn’t believe the investigation and decided to take it by herself. Everything comes down when she had no rules, and the only way for her to find the bottom of the mystery was to call up a demon. Except, this demon is a willful, selfish, and as handsome as devilish he was. Extract: In fear, Belle tried to dash but a hand had sneaked out from the black fog, holding tightly to her elbow. What followed the tight grip on her arm was a voice that sounded deep— deep enough to sound as though he hell was shallower compared to him. "Now, now, where are you running, little prey?" Belle didn't know what she had done. She didn't know what force had caused her to activate what she did. She didn't know what had happened either as her mind was slow to grasp her surrounding. But there was one thing she knew after staring back at the bright red eyes across her. She was looking at a demon. She had called a demon.

WARNING!!! THIS IS A TRUE SLOW-BURN ROMANCE. If you're looking for instant heat or early smut, you won't find it here. This is a slow, emotional, character-driven romance where every moment is earned. The fire comes later… and it’s worth the wait. Still here? Brave soul. Let's see how long you last. She woke from a two-year coma… into a billionaire’s revenge. Aria Williams opens her eyes and discovers she’s been forced into a contract marriage with Damon Stone, a cold, calculating billionaire who believes she’s her identical twin—the woman who stole millions from him and vanished without a trace. To him, she’s Ava—the liar, the thief, the woman he’s vowed to ruin. Only, Aria is innocent. She’s been in a coma for two years, unaware of the chaos her sister left behind. Now, trapped in a life that isn’t hers, she must navigate Damon’s wrath, her own fear, and the dangerous pull of a man who swore he’d never feel anything again. But as Aria fights to survive in a twisted game of mistaken identity, passion flares, secrets unravel, and the line between love and hate begins to blur. Because the most dangerous lie of all isn’t the one told to her... It’s the one she’s telling herself.

The day before our wedding, Luke Murray got wasted. On the ride home, he looked right at me and slurred, "Cassie, don't bring the kid to the ceremony. Arya can't know I'm the dad." I hit the brakes. Hard. He smacked into the seatback, halfway sobering up. When he finally realized it was me, he just... froze. Then he said real slow, "Guess you heard. Wedding's off—for now. Cassie doesn't want marriage, but the kid's mine, so I gotta step up. She's your bestie, right? You probably feel bad she's doing this alone. So once he's in school, I'll come back and marry you." I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "...That's fine. I don't mind." He didn't say a word when we got home—just grabbed his suitcase and left. I wiped the last tear off my face, sat on the bed, and just stared at nothing. Then my phone lit up. My childhood friend's voice cracked on the other end. "Arya, don't marry him. Please." I didn't say anything for a sec. "Okay."

"Tell me, Mr Blue. Was it worth it? Is it worth it? Will it be worth it?" It wasn't and it never will be. Not in Erin's eyes tinted blue. Not in the eyes of the hopeless young man doomed to the clutches of fate; doomed to eternal pain. Did beauty lie between the cracks of fate? Does the Moon know of the Sun who died every night to let the Moon breathe? Erin, a poor, hospital bound boy just wants to be like everyone else, to love someone. Every day, he escapes to the virtual world with his wings of freedom, creating his own reality where things goes the way he wants. That world gave him a real, painless body, with infinite possibilities. Life got that much harder when, Uriel, a rich boy enters this realm and steals Erin’s world. The man who says the ugliest of words with the smoothest of tones. Does he help Erin, or dig him deeper? OR Erin wanted love and got pain instead. Things changed, and so did Uriel. INCLUDES: futuristic virtual reality, Persian mythology (minor), romance, sci-fi, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, rich/poor dynamic, mythology, distance, cold families, battles, quests, stars and moon metaphor. WARNING: includes mentions of depression, swearing, and sexually explicit content.

At that moment a slow song came on and Aurora got close to him. "What are you doing?" he asked and backed away. "Just go along with it." she took his hands and placed them on her hips. Aurora put her arms around his shoulders and they swayed to the music. Her head rested on him and he simply followed her lead and they stayed like that for a while. Aurora didn't realize how exhausted she had been until she did that. For the past few days, so many things had happened and all this time she was pushing herself to keep going. She was especially tired after having to straighten her hair for hours. "Aurora," Caden called her gently. "Something needs to happen. I just saw another one of them enter." "Hmm," she murmured. Her arms felt weighed down on his shoulders. She felt like she was being swaddled. "Don't tell me you're getting tired?" he asked. Aurora chuckled. "I would not be this tired if it weren't for you. You're so big and you smell good. Where did you get your cologne by the way? I want it." Aurora looked at him and he was already looking down at her.

“You’re drunk,” he said, smirking. “Yeah,” she admitted, then reached out and touched his shirt. “But I still want to have sex with you.” Vincenzo tilted his head slightly, like he was studying a new toy. "You were about to go after my bodyguard, huh?" he said. His fingers suddenly cupped her breast, slow and confident. “And yet, you look more like a virgin than a pervert.” That sobered her up a bit. “I—what?” Before she could say anything else, she blurted, “I want to have sex with you. I’m all yours tonight.” Vincenzo raised a brow, then smiled. “If that’s what you want.” He stood up, lifted her into his arms effortlessly, and carried her through a side door. Her arms looped around his neck as her heart pounded so hard she could barely breathe. He kicked open a private room. Inside, he pressed her against the wall and kissed her—hot, commanding, full of hunger. She melted into it. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and for the first time in her life, she didn’t care who she was supposed to be. She was just a girl kissing a stranger.

WARNING!!! - Adult story (21+) - Slow burn romance (alur lambat) ***** Airin terkenal sebagai wanita baik-baik, dia anak yang sangat berbakti kepada kedua orang tua. Airin tidak pernah sekalipun membantah apapun yang orang tuanya perintahkan. Termasuk ketika Bapak dan Ibu menyuruhnya menikah dengan seorang pendatang kaya raya di desa mereka, Tuan Saka Januar Pradipta. Airin tidak masalah kalau Tuan Saka masih lajang, tapi pria berusia 33 tahun itu telah memiliki 3 istri. Yang artinya, Airin... akan jadi yang keempat. Namun apakah akan sesederhana itu? Tentu saja tidak. Karena Airin menolak menjadi wanita yang tertindas. Sifat yang selama ini mati-matian dia tutupi dari orang-orang perlahan mulai muncul. Airin bukanlah gadis baik seperti yang selama ini mereka pikirkan. Dia licik dan manipulatif, sayangnya tidak ada yang menyadari itu karena wajah polosnya. Kecuali... kecuali tentu saja Tuan Saka yang terhormat. Di hadapan suaminya itu, Airin tidak pernah bisa menutupi apapun. *** Start : 31/12/20 Finish : 31/08/21 2020 by Asia July

He’s the alpha king, my crush, my guardian. And he’s 20 years older than me. ** “How old are you?” “T-Twenty,” I bit my lower lip, stuttering on the lie. “I’m an adult.” I trembled but turned my head, allowing him to drag his nose along my neck and breathe in my scent. I didn’t know what I smelled like to him. Did I smell like I was lying? I held still. He shifted just a bit, seemingly retreating, and I flung my arms around his neck, holding him down. “Please, Alpha King,” I said. My voice trembled even as I tried to sound sultry. “I’m… sure I can please you.” “Do you know what happens when you lie to the Alpha King, little girl?” He knew. I should have known that he would know I wasn’t twenty. “You seem so deliberate, but I’m not interested in your offer. How about we play a game?” “A-A game?” He narrowed his eyes and gave me a slow, cruel smile. “If you win, I’ll grant you sanctuary.” My eyes widened with a spark of hope. “But if you lose….”

His eyes returned to me—slow, assessing. Then, without warning, his hands shot up and clamped around my throat. I gasped, instinctively clawing at his arms. He didn’t move. “Disobey me again,” he said, voice low, stripped of warmth, “and we won’t be counting next time.” Even shaking, I lifted my chin. “Then don’t mistake silence for obedience,” I said hoarsely. Carlino’s voice followed—calm, absolute, as if nothing had happened. “Lock her floor tonight.” That was when it settled. There was no mercy here. No exaggeration. Every word, every threat—he meant them. He wasn’t pretending to be the devil. He simply didn’t bother hiding it. --- She hates him. He refuses to let himself want her. Lina Gray never thought love would betray her. Until the man she trusted, traded her life to pay his debts. Delivered into the hands of Carlino Lacentra, the Mafia king whose name ends conversations. Lina is stripped of choice and crowned Donna to secure a throne she never asked for. In his world, power is law, loyalty is currency, and a woman beside the king is never just a woman.