There Are Worse Games To Play

“Think you can run, princess? Not in this life or the next, you’ll never escape me!” — Pedro “Please Pedro, f*cking die!” — Aelia ——— This man is obsessed with me and at the same time it’s not me he’s obsessed with, instead it’s my appearance but not mine! His deceased first love! But no matter how many times I yell “I’m not her!” He doesn’t seem to listen. He’s too consumed with owning me as a replacement for his dead lover to understand common sense! Oh, did I forget to mention that Mr. Tall, handsome and dangerous is married?! I want to escape him, I want to flee if it means going to the ends of the earth but all my attempts are futile. Even if I BEG he won’t let me go, WORSE yet, even if I BREAK! SERIES NAME: MAFIA’S PET (Vol 1)

"Let's just say I'm tired of playing games and want to quit this? I want to be close to you because I like you. I want to know if we both like each other or I just misinterpreted your actions?" "No, you're right," she admitted. "But just this afternoon you said I was a complication you didn't need." "Over-analyzing is second nature to me. It helps me more often than I care to count. But not this time." "It doesn't seem like that," she said deliberately. "Maybe you just realized that there is no good chance of success in a relationship with me." "I don't care about the future. The only thing that matters is what's here and what's now." He stepped towards her, then another, until he could almost inhale the scent of her skin. "What can you say, Lara?" He asked hoarsely. "Are you ready to take a risk with me?"

“Kau sudah tiba?” tanyanya. Perempuan itu adalah sosok Claretta yang sangat Altair rindukan. “Altair?” ucap Altair. Perempuan itu tertawa kecil dengan menutupi mulut dengan tangannya. “Terdengar aneh jika seseorang memanggilku dengan namaku sendiri,” ujar Claretta. “Mungkin banyak pertanyaan yang akan kamu lontarkan kepadaku,” ungkap Claretta, “tapi sebelum itu tolong Altair, terbiasalah dengan tubuhmu yang baru, aku sudah lelah dengan tuntutan sebagai penerus pengendali Mana, yang aku inginkan hanya bagaimana rasa memiliki seorang ibu.” sambung Claretta. Claretta menengadahkan wajahnya ke langit. “Kau pasti tahu banyak informasi tentang duniaku sekarang karena kau adalah orang yang cerdas dan tangguh,” ujar Claretta lagi melihat wajah Altair. Wajah mereka saling menatap Altair tidak bisa membalas perkataan Claretta Altair yang merasa tidak adil dengan pertukaran tubuh seenaknya yang dilakukan dewa kepada mereka berdua. Muncul perasaan iba di dalam benak mereka masing-masing seperti mengerti rasa sakit, penderitaan mereka dan kesedihan. Claretta mengambil kedua tangan Altair, air matanya tidak bisa dibendung. Dengan tersenyum Claretta berkata,”Mungkin karena aku sudah berada di tubuh seorang wanita jadi perasaanku menjadi lebih sedikit sensitif.” “Maukah kamu merelakan hidup kita yang sekarang?” tanya Claretta dengan harap. Altair menggenggam tangan wanita kecil itu, kini hati Altair menjadi goyah karena sebelum dirinya bertemu dengan pemilik asli tubuh Altair, dia berniat untuk memukul kepala orang tersebut yang dengan sesuka hati meminta kepada dewa untuk menukarkan tubuhnya tanpa izin. Angin sejuk berhembus, menerbangkan beberapa kelopak bunga di sekitar mereka mengibaskan rambut panjang milik Claretta. “Ternyata, aku sangat cantik.” batin Altair. Altair meletakkan tangannya di atas kepala Claretta dan membelai kepalanya seraya berkata, “tidak apa-apa.” ucap Altair dengan tenang. Akhirnya mereka saling mengikhlaskan satu sama lain dan memutuskan untuk menjalani kehidupan mereka sekarang masing-masing, mereka terpisah oleh sebuah cahaya. “Aku akan menjaga ibumu Altair sebagaimana ibuku sendiri karena aku sangat menyayanginya.” ujar Claretta yang hanya terdengar suara.

“Rule #1: Don’t fall for the roommate. Rule #2: Seriously, don’t fall for the roommate.” *** After an incident that shattered her confidence, Phoenix wants nothing more than to disappear. So, when her twin brother makes her a crazy, bizarre but deliciously sinful offer, she slips on a uniform and takes her place as his twin ‘brother’ at Harrison Park Academy — a chance to restart and feel in control, just until she feels okay again. But HPA has its own rules—and none of them account for bathroom phobias, shared dorms, or accidentally locking eyes with your ridiculously attractive new roommate. Justice is intense, loyal, and way too perceptive for her comfort. Worst of all? He’s the one person she can’t seem to avoid… or stop thinking about. He’s just irritating enough to make her blood boil. But he’s also kind in the quietest ways, and she’s falling, fast. Now Phoenix is navigating locker room close calls, midnight showers, secret crushes, late-night parties with their sister all-girls’ school across the lake and an escalating rivalry between the athletes and the academic elite. Her lies are stacking higher than her jump shots, and with each game, the stakes get heavier. Everyone thinks she’s just another boy chasing a spot on the team. But she’s playing for more than victory. She’s playing to feel like herself again. She’s playing to forget what happened last year. And if anyone finds out who she really is, it won’t just be her cover that’s blown— it’ll be her entire world. Phoenix is one step away from getting exposed. And when you’re living a lie? One wrong move is all it takes to lose the game. How long can she keep playing it straight?

22-year-old Serena is a student at the University of California Art Institute. She has an uncontrollable desire for sex and would offer it as a price to get anything she wanted. She meets Vincent, a young billionaire, playboy, and crypto investor at a club and they both have a one-night stand. Unknown to her, Vincent is her new boss at her new job. He makes her fall head over heels for him, using his charm to manipulate her. 28-year-old Vincent is a dropout from the University of California Arts Institute. He made his money through crypto and forex trade. He meets Serena in a club and they both have a one-night stand. Serena turns out to be his new Secretary, but Vincent uses the opportunity to get closer to Serena, manipulating her for his sexual gratification while having true in-depth feelings for her. Will Serena's sexual history ruin her chance for real love? How long will Vincent manipulate Serena for his sexual gratification? Will she escape the grips of Vincent, or will she find solace in their twisted sex life?

Autumn Rain has lived her whole life isolated from the rest of the world. Born into vampire slavery, Autumn has never known a life outside of it. So, when her 18th birthday comes along and her vampire caregiver/ owner tells her she has to leave, Autumn has no idea what to do or where to go. As her new journey begins, it quickly goes downhill but thankfully two handsome men won't be too far along to help her through the rest. Secrets will be revealed and she will quickly discover she is far more different than she ever could have imagined and little does she know the impact her life will have on the future.

"I'll make you fall for me," Alexander whispered, his breath hot against Isabella's ear. "By the time our contract ends, you won't want to let go." Isabella's life was already complicated enough - a struggling hotel worker by day, anonymous artist by night, all while caring for her sick sister. The last thing she needed was to get tangled up with the notorious playboy heir to a luxury resort empire. But when Alexander offers her a deal she can't refuse - a contract marriage to secure his inheritance - Isabella reluctantly agrees. It's just business, after all. As they navigate the world of five-star hotels and high society, unexpected sparks fly. But Alexander's ambitious half-brother Nathan is determined to claim both the company and Isabella for himself. Caught between two powerful men and buried secrets from her past, Isabella must choose: The devil she knows? The tempting stranger? Or the freedom she craves? In this world of wealth and betrayal, love might be the most dangerous game of all. Will her heart survive the game of love and power? Will Isabella follow her head, her heart, or her art?

Ethan Hale never thought desperation would drive him here. He was suffering from a failed engagement, rent was overdue and his pride was hanging by a thread when the discreet contract landed in his lap. A year of surrender to a man who can buy and break anyone? Insanity. Dominic Blackwell isn’t just anyone. He’s ruthless. He’s magnetic. He’s a billionaire with a hunger for control that borders on obsession. And he wants Ethan… body, mind, and soul. What begins as a business arrangement quickly turns into something darker, something Ethan swore he wasn’t capable of craving. Every touch leaves him raw, every command strips him bare, and every night pushes him deeper into a world where pain and pleasure blur until he can’t tell the difference. Ethan told himself he was straight. He told himself this was just about money. But Dominic has a way of dragging out the parts of Ethan he never dared to face: the fantasies, the submission, the need to be owned. One year. That’s all Ethan agreed to. But in Dominic’s arms, rules are broken, lines are crossed, and one year might not be enough to survive…or to let go.

Dangerous, sexy, and arrogant, badboy billionaire, Dominique Gray always gets his way; in the boardrooms and even in the bedroom. His arrogance is twice the size of his bank account and he walks like he owns the universe. Running away from her past and the life she’d hoped to forget, Robyn Denver fled from Italy to New York City, hoping to start afresh as a practical nurse in one of the most prestigious hospitals in the state. A new life, a new place, and a new identity. Everything is going as planned, not until Robyn crosses paths with Dominique Gray, one of the country’s most influential and powerful figures. He’s everything she’d vowed to stay away from, but yet she hates the fact that he brings out the woman in her she’d locked and long suppressed. He’s alluring, manipulative, domineering, all of everything she loathes, but yet she can’t resist the billionaire’s charms. Dominique wants the one thing he knows he can’t have, but yet he’s not willing to back down. Robyn Denver is everything challenging and feisty, and one thing Dominique Gray loves is challenge. After a heated and passionate one night together in a masked charity event, Robyn walks away with Dominique Gray craving for more. But what happens when Dominique Gray wants the one thing Robyn isn’t willing to give? Her heart. And when the past Robyn has been running away from disrupts her new life, will Robyn let her heart cherish the one best thing in her life or will her past keep them apart? *** CONTENT WARNING: This story is rated for a mature audience and includes explicit sexual content, sexual language and violence.

A sizzling, modern reimagining of Beauty and the Beast – with a billionaire twist!Lily Frazer would do anything to save her father’s struggling arts center - even take on the infamous billionaire Calder Cunningham.When Lily breaks onto the Cunningham estate, she only wants to find and reason with the arrogant, brooding Calder. Then the worst happens, and she finds herself trapped with him, stranded at his palatial mansion during a terrible storm.As it turns out, Calder is willing to give her the money he promised, but there's a catch: she must win it from him. And the games he has in mind aren't exactly . . . innocent.Can Lily survive his wicked games of cat and mouse?Due to explicit scenes, this steamy romance is rated 18+.His Wicked Games is created by Ember Casey, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.