The Empire's Ruin

I fumbled with the lock, my pulse hammering. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t want this. "Alaric," I breathed, but his name barely made it past my lips before his hands were on me—hot, demanding, unstoppable. "Tell me to stop," he murmured against my throat, his fingers sliding beneath my dress. "Tell me you don’t want this." I opened my mouth—to argue, to push him away—but all that came out was a soft, shuddering gasp as he found the one place that betrayed me. His dark chuckle sent a shiver down my spine. "That’s what I thought." __ Betrayed and humiliated at the altar. Isla never planned to ruin herself in the arms of another man. But heartbreak led her straight into the grasp of Alaric Voss—powerful, ruthless, and twice her age. One night. No names. No future. Or so she thought. Because when the sun rose, Isla came face-to-face with her new boss—the same man who had just claimed her in every sinful way possible. Now, resisting him is impossible. He’s everywhere—watching, teasing, owning her with every smirk, every touch. She swore it was a mistake. He swears it’s just the beginning. And the more she fights him, the more she realizes the truth: She was his from the moment he laid eyes on her. And Alaric Voss doesn’t let what’s his slip away.

Then, with deliberate slowness, he reached for a small black bottle. “I thought you would prefer the gentle way,” he murmured. “Guess I was wrong.” The poison burned down my throat—Deadly Nightshade. It was once my favorite. I had used it to end others. Now, he was using it on me. “Sometimes,” he whispered, “the person you once loved is the one who finally kills you.” ~~~~~ Brinda Virginia’s life has always been a battle—against fate, against her own fire, and against a heart that beats too weakly to match the storm inside her. Abandoned as a child and raised by the only woman who ever truly loved her, she’s now facing her biggest loss yet. Her stepmother is dying. And the clock is ticking—seventy-two hours. That’s all the time she has to save her. But then he returns. Francesco Dante. Her past. Her ruin. A man cloaked in shadows, bearing a twisted bargain—submit to him, body and soul, or lose everything. To save the only family she has left, Brinda must surrender. But submitting, in a world ruled by power, lust, and betrayal, is never truly submission. Because this man doesn’t just want to own her—he wants to unmake her, unravel her, and turn her fire to ash. And the most devastating part? She might just let him. And love, in this kind of story, always draws blood.

Hatice Natividad just wanted a fun night out with friends. But after a few too many drinks, someone dared her to kiss a random guy. Drunk and laughing, she did it. She kissed a stranger. He kissed her back. One thing led to another, and they ended up in bed. The next morning, Hatice woke up sore and confused. Beside her was a man. Naked. Asleep. She screamed. He opened his eyes. And to her horror, it was her cold, serious, and insanely attractive professor!

Anna Langford loved him once. She died for that love—betrayed and broken, watching Jackson Blackwell turn his back on her. But fate gives her a second chance, rewinding time to the moment before it all began. This time, Anna isn’t the same naive girl. She’s determined to protect her heart and take down the man who destroyed her. But as she steps back into Jackson’s world, the cracks in her memory grow wider… and the truth doesn’t seem so clear. When his rival, the dangerously charming Harris Liam, offers her safety—and something dangerously close to love—Anna must choose between the man she once trusted and the one who tempts her to start over. In a world built on lies, can she risk her heart again… or will love be her downfall?

Riya Lance was born into power but never freedom. Daughter of a ruthless hotel tycoon and heir to a fading fashion empire, her life was nothing but a cage wrapped in gold. That cage shattered the night she stood before all and declared her divorce, blowing apart the merger that bound her family to the feared Moreau dynasty. She was betrayed, ambushed, and thrown into the sea. She should have died. Instead, she survived; scarred, with broken memories and a burning need for revenge. With new allies in the shadows, Riya rose again, building herself into a ghost powerful enough to strike back. But the deeper she digs, the darker the truth becomes. The Moreaus were only pawns. The true mastermind is the Don; an unseen hand tied to her near death experience, her father’s sins, and the only man she ever trusted: Mateo Rutherfurd. Once her guide. Now her rival. As empires crumble and buried secrets rise, Riya must choose; between love and vengeance, blood and freedom. Because reclaiming her legacy will cost her everything… and survival may demand an unbelievable sacrifice.

I gave a stranger my panties on a plane. Not because I'm reckless. Not because I do things like this. But because Damien Cross looked at me like I was something worth destroying himself over, and I wanted to be devoured. Four hours at 30,000 feet. That's all it took for him to unravel every careful thread of the life I'd built. One look. One touch. One whispered promise that I was his. Then he vanished. No calls. No texts. Just a breaking news report showing him married to someone else, while I stood in a hotel bathroom staring at a positive pregnancy test. Six years later, I've rebuilt myself. I'm a mother. A success. I've learned to survive without him. Until he walks into my photoshoot and recognizes the birthmark he once traced with his tongue. He says he never stopped looking for me. That his marriage was a cage he's finally escaped. That the twin boys I've been raising alone are his sons, and he wants his family back. But Damien Cross is a man who deals in empires and enemies. Someone close to him wants me gone. The threats start. The danger escalates. And I realize that loving Damien means walking into a war I never signed up for. He says he'll burn the world down to keep us safe. I'm terrified he means it. Some men are worth the fall but men are the wreckage. But Damien is both.

“I’ve always knew you’d be the man to fuck me to heavens.” The door opened on that comment and the man she least expected waltzed in. “Tell me, how many times have I f*cked you to heavens in your wild little imaginations, Gina?” …………… He was my father’s best friend, a father figure to me. But he’s also the hottest man I’ve ever seen alive. With his fit, toned, and athletic build. He has plagued my dreams more time than I can count. Fucking me to heavens and back, and when the chance comes to experience him. It doesn’t matter what it costs. I’m willing to let him ruin me.

Ferngrove must pay for their crimes of stealing an ancient jewel from a Fae High Lord, Valen, and harnessing the power within it. So every century, a daughter of the chief must be taken to Lyria, the realm of the High lord and there she will spend her remaining life paying for her ancestors crimes. After another century, Valen descends on the village once more, taking the beautiful daughter of the chief of Ferngrove, Maerwynn. And he imprisons her in his Court subjecting her to a cruel fate. As the days pass, Valen finds himself inexplicably drawn to Maerwynn, her unwavering strength and beauty stirring something long dormant within his dark heart and when Maerwynn, finds out she's more than a mere human and her destiny is tied to Valen, she gathers enemies like bees to honey. Determined to protect her from the dangers lurking within his own realm and beyond, Valen finds himself making sacrifices he never thought possible, defying the very nature of his being but nothing can stop the war coming. But nothing can stop the war coming, for it will consume completely. ************************* He fixes me with a steely gaze, his voice taking on a darker edge. "You have no business with my Court or any other Court in Lyria, to be precise. You're here to atone for the sins of your ancestors, and you will do so while knowing your place," he declares, his words cutting through the air like a knife. I swallow hard, feeling a heavy weight settle in my chest at his harsh tone and the gravity of his words. "And what is my place?" I inquire, my voice barely above a whisper. His gaze hardens, and his words send a chill down my spine. "My prisoner."

He’s seventeen. She’s twenty. Heir to a billion-dollar empire, Kade Kingston owns everything… except the one thing he wants most. Chelsea Lynch. She scrubs floors at Crawford Elite Royal, but every guy in school whispers about what they’d do to her if they got the chance. Kade doesn’t whisper. He acts. He was supposed to lay low—for six months, heal his injury and stay out of the headlines before the big leagues. Then he sees her. Beautiful. Untouchable. But not for long. She thinks he’s just another spoiled rich kid. She’s wrong. He’s a predator in a school full of wolves, and she’s the only thing he’s hungry for. He’ll ruin anyone who touches her. Break her defenses. And when she begs, he’ll make sure she never forgets who owns her. She’s older. Off-limits. But Kade Kingston doesn’t follow the rules. He makes them. And Chelsea Lynch is about to learn…Some lines are meant to be crossed. ********************** NB: “for those that have read *BINDING 13* and love it, just like i do, this is something similar, I just felt like pouring out my idea out here. I really hope you guys love it.”

I'm reading a book about a boy who bullies a girl, but they end up in love? Screw that; if it were me, I'd ruin the plot.