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.

“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.

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.

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…?

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.

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…

Sierra Bennett thought she was doing her father a favor—fake dating his star hockey player to buy him time with the pack elders. One dinner. A few public appearances. Simple. Then she touched rival alpha Sebastian Crane and had a vision of blood on ice. Suddenly, Sierra discovers she's not human. She's a late-blooming wolf with psychic abilities, and Asher Kane isn't just her fake boyfriend, he's her destined mate. But Sebastian knows her secret. He knows she's actually his niece through her mother's hidden Silvermoon bloodline. And he's willing to use pack law, blackmail, and a death challenge to claim both Blackpine territory and Sierra for himself. Now Sierra has four days to master her wolf abilities, learn to play college hockey, and decide if she's ready to complete a mate bond that will change her life forever. Because when Sebastian moves the challenge up and her own mother's betrayal puts everyone at risk, Sierra must choose: run from the destiny she never wanted, or fight for the mate she's falling for. Some bonds are worth fighting for. Even if it means facing the monster who shares your blood.

Lyra Cross knew exactly what she was doing when she walked down that aisle. Marrying Killian Maddox wasn’t love, it was strategy. A peace treaty in a leather jacket. The Crimson Fangs’ princess had just one mission: infiltrate the Iron Revenants, spy on the enemy, and burn their empire from the inside out. What she didn’t plan for was Dominic “Grave” Maddox. Her new father-in-law. Forty-two. Billionaire. Biker king. Deadly in every way that mattered. One kiss from him, and the mission started to crumble. Somehow he saw through her lies, stripped her walls bare, and made her forget who she was supposed to be. The way he looked at her wasn’t right… it was sinful. And when he touched her, it felt like a war she didn’t want to win. Back home, her father and her biker-boyfriend Marcus were waiting for the signal. They thought she was still their weapon. But Grave made her something else entirely. His. Now she is trapped between blood and desire, vengeance and addiction because the man she’s falling for isn’t just her enemy… he might be the monster who killed her mother. When that truth comes out, it won’t just break their twisted bond. It will start a war that leaves nothing but ash and sin behind.