Thirty Sixth

️ WARNING This story contains explicit adult themes, steamy scenes, and a heroine who teaches pleasure for a living. If bold romance is not your taste, stop here. If it is, welcome. 18+ She is the expert. He is the virgin. Together they break every rule. Dr. Delilah Santos built her empire on desire. A world famous sex therapist who trusts skill over love, control over emotion, and success over vulnerability. Her heart is locked. Her reputation is flawless. Dr. Elliot Hayes is a genius physicist with one secret that could ruin his image. At thirty, he has never been touched. One accidental lecture leads to one reckless confession and a request that changes both their lives. Teach me everything. Their private lessons ignite a hunger neither expected. Professional boundaries blur. Obsession replaces caution. And when their arrangement explodes into public scandal, the world turns vicious. Enemies circle. Careers hang by a thread. The media tears them apart. But their connection refuses to break. A virgin who becomes dangerously confident. A woman who finally risks her heart. Forbidden lessons behind closed doors. Courtrooms, headlines, and a war for their future. Pregnancy. Marriage. Power. Forever. From secret desire to unstoppable partnership, this is the story of two people who gamble everything and build an empire from passion.

Despite Chuck Garrison cheating on me seven times, I forgive him. He willingly hurts me for his first love, Rebecca Kerry, even though we've been married for seven years. In the second year of his openly pursuing me, Chuck takes the blow in my stead when a robber tries to stab me. I then promise him that no matter what he does, I'll forgive him up to seven times. I don't expect his passionate love to change immediately after we get married. The first time happens on our wedding anniversary. Chuck lies to me, telling me that he has a meeting to attend. In reality, he goes to pick up Rebecca, who has just returned to the country. The second time happens when Rebecca lies about being sick. Chuck doesn't hesitate for even a second and leaves, even though he's celebrating my birthday with me. The third time happens when Chuck hires Rebecca as his assistant. I stumble upon them hugging and kissing each other when I turn the corner. The sixth time happens when I'm pregnant. An unexpected issue occurs, but Chuck is accompanying Rebecca, so there's no one to take care of me. In the end, I suffered a miscarriage. I spend countless nights crying alone after being neglected. I force myself to endure everything because of the promise I made. Out of the seven chances I promised Chuck, there is only one chance left. This time, Chuck orders me to transfer ownership of my company, Starlight Group, to Rebecca. I say nothing as I sign the acquisition contract, hiding a divorce agreement among the documents before handing the stack of papers to him. This is the last time, Chuck. We will not be seeing each other anymore.

On the train back home, I found a scathing post online. [My sister-in-law is pushing thirty but isn’t married yet. She comes home all the time. Would you be bothered by it?] The comments were numerous and ran the gamut of opinions. The post got wildly popular, and there was an argument between the poster and commenters. [It’s bad enough that she won’t get married. She wants to stay with us when she’s home. Shouldn’t she feel ashamed? I’m at the end of my rope. She even drank all my lemonade last time she was here. I really hate her. [She has no boundaries. I’ve been wanting to teach her a lesson for ages. I turned her bedroom into my walk-in closet. Let’s see if she can still stay here.] When I got to this point, I closed the post. It was lucky that I bought the house where my parents and brother live. Because of that, I would not be at risk of losing my own room. But when I got out of the train station, I received a text from my mother. [Sweetie, I booked you a hotel room. You don’t have to come home and stay this time.]

BLURB Maya Blackwood has spent five years as the perfect wife to a man who doesn't love her. But when a terminal diagnosis gives her only six months to live, Maya finally finds the courage to demand what she's never had: one month of being Alexander's real wife. Alexander Blackwood has spent those same five years resenting the arrangement that tore him from his true love, Isabelle Chen. Now that Isabelle has returned to claim him, he's ready to file for divorce—until Maya makes him an offer he can't refuse without risking a scandal that could destroy his family's reputation. Thirty days. One month to discover whether a loveless marriage can become something real before time runs out. But as Maya and Alexander begin to truly see each other for the first time, secrets, lies, and the manipulations of those who want them apart threaten to steal even this brief chance at happiness. And when Alexander finally learns the devastating truth Maya has been hiding, he must face an impossible question: Is one month enough time to fall in love with someone you've already lost?

Ariana Silverio lost her mother about 5 year ago now takes care of her brother and father in her place. Her father Kenneth has been trying to find a job to support his family but with no luck and now decided to ask his brother for help. His brother is the Alpha of Blood Rose pack and will only take his brother back if he becomes his Beta and sadly her father has no choice but to take it. After the moved back not only do they live in the same big pack house as the Alpha but now her and her brother will be in the same private school as the Alpha children. The private school only allows the higher rank children and even the Royal family as well. There are some exception of some witches intending the school as well. How will Ariana going to handle the change in her life? How will she hide about her wolf being different? Prince Marcus Heinrich is the son of King Alexander and Queen Aurora, next in line to be king of the east side packs. He’s the first male white wolf in the family blood line. The white wolf was created to protect the Moon goddess blood line, but no one has seen any sight of the silver wolf in thirty years or more. Will it be Marcus who finds the silver wolf as he is destine to?

For over thirty years, my wife Janet faked being broke—for her flimsy ex. When our son Asher landed in the hospital, I begged and borrowed from everyone I knew. Still came up fifty bucks short. Janet? Said she was tapped out. So my mom sold off her own meds to cover the bill—never told me. She died without treatment. I handled my mom's funeral alone. When I went to pick up Asher from the hospital, I found a stash of Janet's old shopping receipts. Custom suits. Million-dollar watches. A damn private jet. I grabbed them and stormed off to confront her. Asher cut me off. "Dad, Mr. Sackett's sick. Mom's just helping him out. Why are you freaking out?" I stared at the kid who only lived because my mom died. It felt like something cracked inside me. Janet barely looked up. "Connor's educated. He deserves the finer things. Unlike you—crying over fifty bucks like some househusband. See? I didn't give you the money, and Asher's fine." Fine. If that's how they see it, I'm done with this family.

Riley thought her mother’s new marriage would bring stability. Instead, it led her straight into danger. Her new stepbrother, Noah, is everything she should fear. He is tattooed, ruthless, involved with the mafia, and dangerous in ways she can’t resist. His grey eyes promise destruction. But Noah isn’t the only threat in the mansion. David, her mother’s husband and Noah’s guardian, is the most ruthless mafia boss of all. He married for one reason: revenge. And Riley is the perfect pawn. Now, trapped between a stepfather who wants to ruin her and a stepbrother who will kill to keep her, Riley’s heart is caught in a fight of loyalty, and forbidden desire. He’s her salvation. He’s her stepbrother. Loving him might cost her life. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• “Look at your phone, princess. You see the black Jeep across the street? I’m in it. You’ve got thirty seconds to walk out on your own, or Im going come in and carry you out over my shoulder in front of every single one of your little friends. And Ethan gets to learn what happens when he puts his mouth where it doesn’t belong. Clock’s ticking.”

I gave everything to save my fated mate, Alpha Austen. I even lost our pups. Twice. But he gave all the credit to his adoptive sister, Seraphina. He called me weak. Useless. He always chose her tears over my scars. He even stood by as her poison shattered my wolf spirit. As I lay dying, I watched him hold my killer and whisper, “I know it wasn’t your fault. This was her fate.” Then I opened my eyes. And I was back. Back before it all went wrong. This time, I’m done explaining. Done sacrificing. Right in front of him, I disguised a potion that would sever our mate bond as a "blessing elixir" and held it to his lips. “My love,” I said, “drink this. It’ll help you comfort your poor little sister.” He drank it without a second thought. In thirty days, under the Blood Moon, our mate bond will be severed for good. But only when I was truly gone did he finally regret it. He knelt before me, again and again, calling himself my fated mate. Begging me to take him back.

After Celine Anderson let her newly-promoted assistant take credit for my billion-dollar project for the ninth time, I handed in my resignation letter. I also refused to show up in the same place as her. Whenever she was interviewed by talk shows as a public figure, I would switch off all the screens in the building. I also got the security guard to stop her from entering even if she brought me a cup of coffee in the middle of a tornado. To see me, she purposely rescheduled three virtual meetings with foreign companies. So, I immediately bought air tickets to leave the country. I blocked her everywhere and formatted the hard disk that contained all of our memories from the past decade. When I was twenty, I studied with her in the university library. When I was twenty-five, I ate the cheapest bread with her when she first started her company. When I was thirty, I finally knew how to let go of things that no longer serve me. On the ninth time I was accused of sleeping my way up, I came across a photo of her and her assistant kissing. Meanwhile, I was sitting at our dining table with food that had turned cold. It turned out that our decade-long relationship had been a joke. However, it was fine. It was not too late to come to my senses.

He chose his mistress on our anniversary. He didn't know I was already planning my funeral. For three years, I was the perfect wife. I swallowed the insults from his family. I bore the guilt of our daughter’s death. Everyone blamed me. Yet, I loved Mateo Santiago with everything I had. Until the day I found out the truth. On the same day I discovered I was pregnant again, I learned my husband was expecting a child with another woman: my own step-aunt, Valentina. And worse? I finally discovered that he was the one responsible for our first daughter's death, not me. I didn't scream. I didn't fight. I simply texted him: "Your birthday is in a month. I’ll prepare a gift you’ll never forget." Thirty days later, Mateo Santiago watched my car burn at the bottom of a cliff. He buried an empty casket and cried for a wife he thought he loved. But Isabella Romano didn't die that day. She just disappeared. I was not alone anymore. I had another life growing inside me but then I stumbled upon a stranger. A stranger shadows feared. Dante Galante.