Smoke And Steel

How does Iris, a boring college student pique the interest of Smoke, a not so human entity. There's a fine like between love and obsession, but he crossed that line long ago.

- "You would think a woman who has been on this Earth for centuries would know anger only brings chaos, she will start her own fire and complain about the smoke," Lilith said. -

They say fire is cleansing, a transformative type of destruction. After a forest fire, nature heals and grows stronger. It's forever changed but not destroyed. Fire is painful but beautiful, something that is warm but left unattended can be devastating. In the flames I was broken, destroyed, but in the ashes I was restored. Left floating in the grey, the smoke that led me through a divine transformation. Now I'm left adrift, the dark my only guide in the smoke, the blue of the sky, of his eyes, the only guide in the light. Forever torn and pulled between the two, unsure who I can trust and terrified to make the wrong choice. Not just my life hangs in the balance, but the lives and well being of all of humanity. It just might be too much for these wings to bare.

He came for blood. He stayed for the enigmatic boy on stage. Lucian Moreau is the cold, calculated heir to Europe’s deadliest crime empire. Sent to Barcelona to smoke out traitors, he never expected him—Jace, the hypnotic stripper with bruised eyes, a knife-sharp mouth, and a body made to tempt devils.

It happened on Thanksgiving Day. I was on my way to my girlfriend's house when a car slammed straight into mine. The road was deserted, not a single person was around. The doors were jammed shut from the impact, and flames were licking toward the engine. I fumbled for the safety hammer, only to find that someone had replaced it with a toy hammer shaped like a cartoon bear. Panicking, I called my girlfriend. But before she could even pick up, her ringtone started playing from the car that had just hit me. Luna Hill stepped out, hand in hand with her childhood sweetheart, Julian Ford. Julian put on a show of alarm. "Oh no, I'm such an idiot! My first time driving, and I already hit a car." When Luna saw that it was me in the crushed car, she quickly tried to calm him down. "It's fine. He probably did it on purpose." I pounded on the window, shouting for her. "Luna, the safety hammer's been switched out! Please, help me get out!" Julian burst into a grin. "Sebastian, that was me! The little bear hammer's adorable, isn't it?" Luna's face twisted in disgust. "You're fine. Stop being dramatic. Figure it out yourself." Thick smoke was billowing inside the car, and it was about to explode. I begged her to get me out. Julian chuckled. "Sebastian, are you cooking in there or what? That smoke's killing me!" He patted his stomach and said with a laugh, "Man, I'm starving. Luna, let's go home and eat." Luna hooked her arm through his and tossed a parting line over her shoulder. "Enough already. My parents are waiting for us to start dinner." Just as I was about to pass out from the smoke, I slammed my hand on the car's emergency button.

 Adopted by her father after her mother's death, Elena Woods was taken in by her father's legitimate family. A family who made it clear to her that she wasn't wanted. Circumstances led her to marry into one of the wealthiest families in New York City. After a few years of being married, Elena and her stepsister, Alana, were involved in a ghastly boat crash, and only one of the two sisters survived.  A woman comes into Lawrence's mansion two years after the accident.   It’s now left to Raymond, who is the overpampered heir to Lawrence Steel, to find out if the lookalike who just walked in or the woman he has been living with is his wife.   Which of the two sisters is the wife of the successor to Lawrence Steel?   Discover the answers in this amazing book that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The darkest corners of the world hold the secrets the leaders want you to forget. Deep inside a cabin covered with moss and shadows, those secrets are not yet forgotten. Under the moon, light glistens off of shining stones lining the porch and bundles of herbs drying from the rafters. Candlelight emanates from the interior and warmth surrounds the occupant. Inside this cabin was a forrest witch who was chanting a spell as she added herbs to a small caldron. Smoke rises and electricity fills the room. Her raven hair started to rise and the smoke turned glowing green. Leaves outside the cabin started swirling in the air raising around the cabin forming a circle. “None may find me where I reside, safe in the forrest this witch hides. Safe from the evil doers and safe from their men. None may ever find me again.” Cold. Like ice from an iceberg, his skin molded smoothly across his frame. The envelop in his hands was sealed by the Elder Lords sigil pressed into blood red wax. Slipping his long pale finger, breaking the seal, one word was inside. “Urgente.” His particular talents were once again needed.

On the wet sand beside the seashore, the strong, tall man was laying with a cigarette in his hand. His bike parked a few feet away from him. The environment there was serene and noiseless as no one was allowed then on the beach that he owned. It was not a big deal for a billionaire like him. He had a lot more than that. Wealth, power, the respect he had all of them but lacked the most important thing that couldn't be bought with money. He lacked inner peace. He inhaled the vinous smoke as the corner of his lips twitched in a sad smile. His eyes deceived him being moist and a lone tear slipped down his face on the sand. The sand sucked the water as soon as it fell on it, and he wondered if his pain disappeared in thin air like that. He breathed out a puff of smoke through his nose and mouth. Looking up at the sky with the sad smile plastered on his face he spoke up, "Why so hatred for me, ya Rab?" Miles away from him the girl with a cuddling baby in her arms uttered looking up at the sky, "I express my deep gratitude to You for sending this angel to me, Ya Rab."

Alana Steel, CEO of Steel hotels and the only heir to her parents' fortune, crosses paths one day with the most infamous playboy, Raymond Dalton. Raymond is the firstborn to his family and next in line to take over his family's company. However, they won't allow him to unless he gets married. When Alana's parents asks her to marry her ex-boyfriend, who broke her heart and trust, in a moment of desperation, she finds herself next to the playboy who was just as desperate as her. During their conversation, they find a solution that serves them both. One year of fake marriage that will help them both get what they want; Alana will get her parents off her back, and Raymond will get his parents fortune. But what happens when one of them can no longer control their feelings for the other?

My daughter has been kidnapped, and the kidnapper is asking for five million dollars as ransom. I can just about scrounge the money together, but the kidnapper makes it clear that he wants a life in exchange for my daughter's. He'll take the money and kill the person who brings it to him. I smoke throughout the night, my eyes bloodshot as I try to think of something. Then, I fix my gaze on my mother, who is now senile and insane.