Talking Clock

“Hmm... Rhea, is it? Nice name.” I froze as I heard the husky voice, and I felt tremors running down my spine. I slowly raised my head and met the bluest eyes I had ever seen... Bluer than the ocean… So blue that they seemed to twinkle like twin pools of sapphire. I ran my eyes over his entire figure. He was wearing a suit but didn’t look like the typical businessmen. For one thing, he was not clean shaved, and had a five o’clock shadow on his face. And I couldn’t figure out if his hair was stylishly messed up, or he just didn’t bother to do anything with it at all. Either way, it looked good. Too good! And those lips.. I was brought out of my fantasies when those oh so kissable lips turned up into a smirk. Uh huh! I bit my lips, trying to bring myself out of the lust-filled haze I was falling into. There was just something about him, something so magnetic that I was losing all control of my thoughts. There seemed to be an aura of power and danger surrounding him. If I didn’t know any better, the one word I would say was ‘otherworldly’... but I knew better and just stopped myself in time from uttering the words ‘What are you?’. ------------------- From the day she woke up without memories two years ago, Rhea had always thought she was a normal human girl. What happens when she realises she was never a human, but a goddess? Suddenly her once boring life becomes all too exciting when she finds herself in the middle of Gods, demons, and a mysterious wolf protector. Add a handsome stranger whom she can’t seem to get her mind away from, Rhea is in for a lot more than she bargained for...

It's my first day undercover at my future husband's dessert shop, and chaos walks in with fake lashes and two-inch nails. "I want an ice cream. Heated." I paused. "Just checking... You want your ice cream hot?" She gave me a look like I'd failed kindergarten. "Yes. Hot ice cream. Are you slow?" Deep breath. Zen mode. Customer-first service smile. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Ice cream has to stay frozen, or it just turns into—well... milk. If you want something warm, we have hot tea or coffee." "I'm pregnant!" she screeched. "Pregnant women crave weird things! Plus, my doctor said I can't eat anything cold! Are you trying to kill my baby and me? Is that what this is?!" People started turning their heads. Fantastic. A whole audience. I kept my voice low. "Ma'am, I can refund you." She suddenly smacked the counter, knocking the scanner sideways. Her nails shot past my face like tiny knives. "What kind of attitude is that?! A pathetic cashier talking back to me? I'll call my husband and get you fired!" Then, she leaned in like she was about to reveal a royal bloodline. "Guess what? I'm the boss's wife." I blinked. If that was true, I really needed to stop thinking about helping my boyfriend to open 3,000 franchise stores.

Joel Gleason, my childhood sweetheart and fiancé, promised he'd marry no one but me. But then, to help Jenny Swisher, my adoptive sister, get through her depression, he secretly married her. I didn't hesitate for a second before agreeing to marry Conrad Lennon, Jasselton's most untouchable heir, who'd been in love with me for years. After seven years of marriage, he still spoiled me rotten. He clung to me every night like he couldn't get enough. And there was nothing he wouldn't do for me. I really thought I'd found happiness at last. But one day, after we'd slept together, I heard him talking to his best friend. "Jenny's an international best actress now. When are you dumping Jean?" "It doesn't matter. I wouldn't end up with the person I love either way. Besides, I have to keep an eye on Jean. I can't let her ruin all the happiness Jenny worked so hard for." I booted up the computer in Conrad's study and stumbled upon a hidden folder. Inside were over 100,000 photos of Jenny, plus 100 unsent love letters. I'd been fooling myself long enough. It was time to wake up. I got myself a fake body and got ready to start a fire. That was it. Conrad and I were done for good.

I got into a car crash with my adoptive sister. The first person to rush to the scene was my childhood sweetheart, Jay Porter—the guy I'd been secretly seeing for two years. But Jay went to her first. He didn't even look my way as I sat there, bleeding heavily on the side of the road. I grabbed his hand, desperate to tell him I was pregnant. He just shook me off. "Sorry, Emma. Julia's delicate. I have to get her to the hospital now. Just wait here for the paramedics." By the time the rescue team got me to the hospital, I was out of immediate danger. But my baby... was gone. I wanted to confront Jay, to demand an explanation. Instead, I overheard him talking to a friend. "You played Emma this whole time, just for Julia's sake. Don't you think that's going too far?" Jay's reply was cold. "So what? Julia's just the Bourne family's adopted daughter—she's never been as protected and cherished as Emma, the precious heiress. That's exactly why it has to be me. I'll protect Julia. For her, I'd do anything." So it was all a lie. Every bit of love he'd ever shown me was just an act. After I was discharged, I went straight home and called my father. "Dad, can you make it so I never existed here? Erase all my records from this country."

I had anemia, so getting pregnant was not easy for me. My husband and I tried for ten years, and we finally had a son. When our son turned eight, he got into a car accident. The doctor said that he needed a blood transfusion, but his blood type was A. Both my husband and I were type O. My husband started to suspect that the child was not his and did a paternity test right away. The result showed that the boy really was not his son. I could not believe it and asked for another test, but the result was the same. My mother-in-law accused me of cheating and called me horrible names. My husband asked for a divorce and told me to leave with nothing except my son. We were kicked out of the house and ended up living in a cave in the mountains. A sudden rainstorm caused a landslide, and my son and I were buried alive inside. After I died, my spirit stayed near my husband. I heard him talking on the phone. “Don’t worry. I made her leave with nothing. We’ll get our marriage certificate tomorrow.” It turned out he had been seeing another woman for a while and had planned everything to make me leave with nothing except my son. What I could not figure out was how he managed to fake the paternity test in front of everyone. Luckily, I returned to the past. I woke up on the day of my son’s car accident.

My back hits the cold glass of the penthouse window, the city glittering a thousand feet below us. Sebastian’s hand is at my throat—not tight enough to hurt, but enough to remind me who I belong to. “You were talking to him,” he says, voice low, dangerous. His other hand is braced beside my head, caging me in. “You smiled.” “It was just—” “Don’t lie to me, Ocean.” His thumb brushes the hollow of my throat, and my pulse jumps so hard he feels it. “You’re mine. Every glance. Every breath. Every inch of you.” I should be furious. I should tell him I’m not his property. But then his mouth is on mine—rough, consuming, tasting like the whiskey he hasn’t let go of since the gala. I moan before I can stop myself. That’s all the permission he needs. His hand slides to my waist, fingers digging in as if he’s afraid I’ll vanish. The heat between us ignites like dry kindling. It’s dangerous. It’s too much. It’s everything. When he finally pulls back, his eyes are dark enough to drown in. “One year,” he murmurs. “That was the deal. But you… you’re making me want forever.” And in that moment, I know the worst truth of all— If Sebastian Velez decides to keep me, I won’t even try to run.

Plot Summary: ‘…well, for starters, I think he shouldn’t be here, in my apartment, making me all uncomfortable and squirmy. And I also think he shouldn’t be talking about Ciara’s wedding. Isn’t there some kind of unwritten rule where you should never talk about your ex’s marriage?...’ *** When Ryan Shelby, the hot talk of NYC appears on Tiara James-Lemptons’ doorstep, there is only one thought in her mind. Flight. He is hot, he is dark, he is single – finally –, but he is danger. Like the flame that draws the moth, he burns, and when he makes an offer for her to be his fake girlfriend, like the moth to the flame, she finds it hard to resist. She isn’t the only one doing the resisting, however. Ryan is drawn to Tiara, to the girl that has always been on the side. The girl that has somehow morphed from that lanky college girl to the curvy but slender 23-year old, staring back at him with wide eyes and a luscious mouth. He had always had a thing for her, right from college, it was what brought the fight to his relationship with Ciara almost regularly. But up till now, he has always kept his feelings – and dick – in check. Does he want revenge on Ciara Lemptons? Or does he just want to find a way to deal with his growing feelings for Tiara? And how on earth could he prove to her that he isn’t some two-faced jerk that could play both sisters?

For six years, my stepbrother Draven, the heir to a mafia family, and I have been in a secret relationship. Every night, his hands would trace every curve of my body with desperate hunger. The way he would look at me in those intimate moments made me believe I was the only woman who could ignite such passion in him. Until a month ago, when I found out I was pregnant. The day before Valentine's Day, I snuck into his study, planning to surprise him. Through the crack in the door, I heard him talking to Nico, the family's consigliere. "Aren't you tired of your little stepsister, Jasmine? The engagement is right around the corner. You haven't actually fallen for her, have you?" A cruel smirk played on his lips. "Fall for her? She was an easy target who fell right into my lap. It would've been a waste not to take a bite." "Her mother drove mine to an early grave. These six years have been her penance. And she's deserved every moment of it." "Besides, I've said it before. My wife will be Bianca Tyler, and no one else." "Marrying her secures the Tyler family's port smuggling routes. That's all that matters." So, what I thought was love was nothing more than an elaborate act of revenge. Every one of his embraces was a calculated lie. Fine. It was time for me and our unborn baby to disappear from his world completely.

Confused, shocked and petrified Eva asked that man why he wanted to kill her. She didn't even know him."W-why d-do you want to k-kill me? I d-don't even know you." Eva choked, as his hands were wrapped around her neck tightly. "Because you are my mate!" He growled in frustration. She scratched, slapped, tried to pull the pair of hands away from her neck but couldn't. It was like a python, squeezing the life out of her. Suddenly something flashed in his eyes, his body shook up and his hands released Eva's neck with a jerk. She fell on the ground with a thud and started coughing hard. A few minutes of vigorous coughing, Eva looked up at him."Mate! What are you talking about?" Eva spoke, a stinging pain shot in her neck. "How can I be someone's mate?" She was panting. Her throat was sore already. "I never thought that I would get someone like you as mate. I wanted to kill you, but I changed my mind. I wouldn't kill you, I have found a way to make the best use out of you. I will throw you in the brothel." He smirked making her flinch. Her body shook up in fear. Mate is someone every werewolf waits for earnestly. Mate is someone every werewolf can die for. But things were different for them. He hated her mate and was trying to kill her. What the reason was? Who would save Eva from him?

On the eve of the Eva's seventeenth birthday, the story begins. Her father's enemies are abusing her. Alpha's daughter, Eva, is the protagonist of the story. Her pack was killed. She was the only survivor. Due to her young age, the pack that slaughtered her family decided to turn her into a slave She was mistreated and hungry since she was a child, and she did all kinds of menial tasks. When confronted with insults, the heroine was obstinate, fighting back and talking back. She still retains Alpha's blood in her bones, despite being a slave. When she became an adult and her powers awakened, she secretly intended to flee this pack. She still believes in love and hopes that the moon goddess will provide her with a mate who will cherish and protect her at this time. The pack's leader's son, Alpha Liam, knew the Eva once was his chosen mate at his 18, but he despised her low status on the one hand and was pulled to her beauty on the other. He looks down on her and plays around with other girls, influenced by the pack members. On her eighteenth birthday, the Eva's wolf awoke, and she realized that Liam was her mate, and she was furious because Liam was the son of her father's assassin. Alpha Liam reject Eva. Eva released. However, the wolf within her is a little depressed. Alpha Liam's mother and her daughter assaulted Eva again while she was preparing the inheritance ceremony for Liam. Eva was saved by an Alpha from another pack. This was Alpha Raquel. He was invited to participate in the inheritance ceremony of Alpha A