Touched

Kayla Stone has been married for two years, but somehow, she’s still a virgin. Her husband has never touched her. He humiliated her, controlled her, broke her; but just never took her body. So on one reckless night, desperate to feel truly wanted, a drunk Kayla surrenders her innocence to a stranger in a New York lounge. That stranger happens to be Gabriel Pearson. Her husband’s uncle. The same man who wrecked her heart eight years ago and disappeared to Italy. On the night the ruthless kingpin of the Italian mafia world returns to New York, he visits a lounge and runs into none other than his drunk niece in-law. Kayla Stone. The same woman he has deluded himself into thinking he has gotten over for the past eight years. That night, he makes an earth-shattering discovery when pushes inside her and meets the barrier her husband never claimed. His nephew’s wife was untouched, until him. How was that even possible? This night of passion which was supposed to be a mistake, steers something dark and possessive within Gabriel. Kayla wasn’t his to be claimed, but fuck the consequences.

On my twentieth birthday, my father asked me to draw from a box of straws. It was to pick a husband between William Smith and Austin Smith to inherit North Town. The short straw represented Austin, while the long straw represented William. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the long straw. However, I was certain that I did not want to marry Austin. I drew straws for three years, but it was to no avail. I had no choice but to tamper with the straws to marry William as I wished. However, ten years into our marriage, he was no longer gentle and kind. He had turned into a really cold person. He neither returned home nor touched me. Even when I threatened him with a knife, he refused to talk to me. Despite feeling hurt, I was unwilling to let him go. That was until I watched him kick away the only medicine I had for my asthma while I was writhing on the floor. “I was the one who switched out the straws. There was no long straw, yet you forced me to marry you. Mandy died from a broken heart, so you should pay with your life.” When I opened my eyes again, I was holding a short straw. I calmly said, “Since it’s the short one, I choose Austin.”

“You’re drunk,” he said, smirking. “Yeah,” she admitted, then reached out and touched his shirt. “But I still want to have sex with you.” Vincenzo tilted his head slightly, like he was studying a new toy. "You were about to go after my bodyguard, huh?" he said. His fingers suddenly cupped her breast, slow and confident. “And yet, you look more like a virgin than a pervert.” That sobered her up a bit. “I—what?” Before she could say anything else, she blurted, “I want to have sex with you. I’m all yours tonight.” Vincenzo raised a brow, then smiled. “If that’s what you want.” He stood up, lifted her into his arms effortlessly, and carried her through a side door. Her arms looped around his neck as her heart pounded so hard she could barely breathe. He kicked open a private room. Inside, he pressed her against the wall and kissed her—hot, commanding, full of hunger. She melted into it. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and for the first time in her life, she didn’t care who she was supposed to be. She was just a girl kissing a stranger.

At the Mafia Alliance Academy, reputation is the only currency—and mine was bankrupt in a single morning. One planted file, one flawless performance, and a few crocodile tears from Elena Rossi, the “fragile” scholarship student, were all it took. Overnight, I fell from the heights of the elite to a pariah branded a cruel bully. The ultimate betrayal? My fiancé, Luca Valenti—the future Don who once swore to be my blade—stood by her side, looking at me with nothing but cold contempt. They called me cruel. Entitled. A rich girl bullying someone who had nothing. What they didn’t know was that I could hear the venom dripping from Elena’s mind. While she played the victim, her thoughts laughed—mocking the Academy’s stupidity, sneering at how easily she had Luca wrapped around her finger. I stayed silent… until the Truth System awakened. Now I can broadcast her twisted thoughts to anyone I choose. And without hesitation, I linked her mind to Luca’s. So while Elena clings to his arm, crying about her “shattered dreams,” Luca hears everything— her plans to destroy his family, her contempt for his protection, and her disgust at being touched by him. The girl he chose is already tearing his world apart.

On my wedding night, I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after a tampered condom left me in excruciating pain. The surgery took over twenty-four hours, and the story spread like wildfire. My husband, Alexander, let it be known that anyone who managed to photograph me in my post-surgery state would be rewarded with ten million dollars. Overnight, I went from being a billionaire's new wife to the laughingstock of every elite circle in New York. The next day, Alexander's childhood sweetheart Dahlia showed up at my door. That was when I learned the truth: she'd coated the condom with industrial-strength adhesive as part of what she called a "social experiment." She didn't show a shred of remorse. Her tone was flippant and cruel: "It was just an experiment. I mean, how was I supposed to know you'd react like that? Besides, we both know you were never good enough for Alexander. So drop the act." Alexander stood beside her, his gaze cold and dismissive: "If it weren't for the marriage contract, no one would've touched you. You know that, right?" What he didn't know was that the woman he was calling a slut had saved his life more times than he could count.

“You murderer!” No A resounding slap followed those words from Katrina’s Mother-in-law. The entire extended family gasped in shock but no one made a move to help. Not even Katrina’s husband, Damon Winchester. He just stood there, watching lazily, like he always did while his mother berated her for every little thing. But this wasn’t little, no. This was more than the fine china dishes that were one of the family’s heirlooms which Katrina broke last thanksgiving and earned her harsh insults from her mother-in-law. This was nothing like the family dinner she made last Christmas that caused half the kitchen to catch fire, needing a renovation. This couldn't be compared to that afternoon in summer, when she knocked over an antique vase while dusting, freezing as it cracked clean down the middle and her mother-in-law murmured that Katrina’s touch spoiled anything of value. No. This was the death of the only woman who loved someone as unlovable as Katrina. The woman who raised her. The woman who constantly fought for Katrina’s place in the Winchester Family even when she didn’t belong. Alana Winchester, Damon’s grandmother. Like every other thing, it was all her fault. Everything Katrina touched turned to ashes.

Charlotte always hoped for forever with her college sweetheart, Jonah, but after their marriage, the man she gave her heart took her freedom and turned her into a shadow of herself. He married another woman for her money and dumped Charlotte to the curb because of his greed. Broken, with no hope from anywhere, her savior comes in form of the man she least expected, her ex’s uncle. Xavier Roman is the wealthiest man in the state, a zillionaire whose income cannot be counted. He proposes a contract marriage to his nephew’s ex-wife in order to silence the ugly rumors surrounding him and she agrees out of desperation. In return, he promises to help her exert her revenge on everyone who wronged her, and spoil her beyond imagination. Driven by hate and jealousy, her ex-husband returns with his family, tarnishing her image in every way they can to get back at her, but she cannot be touched because of the man whose name she is affiliated with. What happens when she starts to want more than just his money? What happens when he realizes that it was never just business for him? How will she ever get over him, when coupled with his money, he shows her in more ways than one, what it means to be truly pleasured by a man…?

When my younger sister gave me a blessed pendant, I immediately hung it around the neck of a pregnant sow. In my past life, my sister and I got pregnant at the same time, and she bought an expensive blessed pendant from Tenezia to ensure my baby and I would be safe and sound. I was touched, and I wore the pendant every day. Months later, my sister and I went into labor at the same time. I gave birth to a deformed, dead fetus, while my sister gave birth to a healthy, chubby baby boy. My in-laws thought I had cursed my son to death and would also end up bringing misfortune to their family, so they drugged me and sold me to Tenezia. I was turned into a freak show and placed inside a vase to become a public spectacle for all who came to see me. It was only after my death that I found out it had all been my sister's doing. She had known from the start that there was something wrong with her baby, which was why she got me the blessed pendant to exchange the fates of our babies. When I opened my eyes again, I smiled as I stared at the round belly of the sow…

I’ve spent my whole life pretending I’m ordinary—because in a world ruled by Alphas, ordinary is the only kind of safe. Then Adam Blackwood stepped out of the forest with silver eyes and blood on his hands… and decided I belonged to him. I should have run. I tried. But the moment he touched me, something in my veins woke up—something ancient and hungry and wrong to the people who want power they can’t control. When I brought him back from death with my hands shaking and my heart breaking, the pack whispered the truth I’ve been denying my entire life: Healer. Now every Alpha with a grudge wants me. Some want my body. Some want my gift. Some want me on my knees, bound in ritual and blood, while they carve my fate into stone. And the worst part? Adam will burn the world down before he lets them take me. But loving an Alpha isn’t safe. Trusting him could ruin me. And if my power keeps growing—if the moon’s voice in my head is telling the truth—then I’m not just fighting for my life anymore. I’m fighting for my daughter. And for the bond that could either save us… or damn us both.

Morrigan Ryker's life has never been peaceful or quiet but she has always had her freedom. As a rogue werewolf she ran through forests and valleys freely, never staying in one place for too long. That is until one day she falls into a trap laid for rogue wolves by the Veil Fang pack. Zephyr Dusk is the Alpha of the Veil Fang pack, a cold-hearted and ruthless man. Everything Morrigan had tried so hard to avoid was all dumped on her,like a bucket of ice cold water,the moment Zephyr Dusk touched her. There was also Celeste Everleigh, Zephyr's ex-girlfriend and wannabe Luna. Who would do anything to make Zephyr hers again and become the Luna of Veil Fang pack. She was a rogue wolf who just wanted to spend her days running free and wild, without responsibilities or obligations. As the secrets behind her extraordinary abilities are unveiled she's faced with many questions about her parents’ identities. With her freedom at stake and a curse hanging over her head could she trust and accept the bond? If she kept running would she stay safe? And with another cunning woman in Zephyr's life is she willing to risk her peace and sanity just to be with him?