Up Smoke

“He pressed me to the wall with one hand tight around my throat, the other sliding beneath the thin silk clinging to my skin. I should’ve been begging for help. Instead, my knees went weak when he leaned in, his mouth hot against my ear. ‘Does it hurt, darling?’ he whispered. I shook my head, even as his fingers left bruises. ‘Good. I like it when you take it.’ God, I hated him. God, I wanted him to never let go.” A DARK, EROTIC TALE OF OBSESSION, HUMILIATION, AND HUNGER. They called him the Devil, a sadist with a crooked smile and hands built for breaking men. In the underworld’s most perverse auction, Luca Ruelle is nothing but trembling prey, sold for a price no soul should fetch. Silk-wrapped, bare, choking on shame and smoke, he should be praying for rescue. But Kain Astor doesn’t rescue. He claims, corrupts, and devours. He teaches Luca how it feels to be owned. How pain can bloom where fear lives. How pleasure is just another kind of cruelty. Every command is a dare, every punishment a promise. Under Kain’s hands, Luca learns the exquisite agony of surrender, and the terror of how badly he needs it. He should be fighting for his life. Instead, he’s sinking to his knees, eyes glazed, lips parted, whispering the one word that seals his fate— “Please.”

Carina Sullivan believed in fairy tales…until hers shattered in the most humiliating way possible. She was abandoned by her fiancé just days before their wedding, Carina is left broken, jobless, and drowning in shame. One reckless night with a mysterious stranger was supposed to be her escape. But that man, He disappears like smoke…leaving nothing behind but a memory and a secret growing inside her. Two years after, Carina is barely surviving as a single mother working two jobs. When a powerful billionaire suddenly walks into her life, she realizes he’s the same man from that night…the father of her child. But he doesn’t recognize her. Dante Moretti is ruthless, rich, and dangerously attractive. He’s back in New York to claim revenge on the woman who once cost him everything. What he doesn’t know is that the woman he wants revenge on... isn’t Carina. As their worlds collide in passion, secrets, and betrayal, Carina is pulled into a whirlwind of emotions and lies. Love isn’t just a risk…but it’s a war. And Dante may not be the hero she needs... he might just be her greatest lesson. She gave him one night. He gave her a child. But can she ever trust him with her heart? Heart-wrenching. Fiery. Addictive. This is a story of pain, secrets, and a woman rising from her ruins to find her voice, her power, and maybe... her second chance at love.

To celebrate our daughter's eighteenth birthday, my husband, James Miller, decided to go nude cycling. I told him he was too old for that and would embarrass himself, but he looked at me with disdain and said, "Liliana, your life is so boring. You refuse to embrace new things." Then he brought the dog belonging to his first love, Sophia Lewis, and placed it before me. It was then I realized it was Sophia who had organized the nude cycling event. I felt my anger boiling beneath the surface as our son, Thomas, took the leash and handed it to me. "Dad, you can go have fun with Sophia. Mom will take care of the dog," Thomas said. But when the dog lunged at me later, Thomas protected it. Meanwhile, my daughter, Alice, fought to shield me. In the end, both Alice and I were bitten to death. James didn't even take us to the hospital. Instead, he dragged our bodies straight to the crematorium. Just before I turned into a wisp of smoke, I saw Alice rolling in the flames. During that time, James and Thomas were comforting Sophia. At that moment, I felt a deep rage—rage at myself for being so naive and for causing my daughter's death. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day when my son handed me the leash. This time, I was determined to make them all pay.

•She ain't a good girl! She is the girl you don't want to mess with! ________ •He is a loved good guy in this world of hyped-up bad boys! Unless! Unless! You cross her way for the bad girl has wrapped the good guy around her little finger and makes him sin! BUT!!! •What happens when the trust is broken? '''The magical spell of euphoria is distorted and piercing pieces of betrayal unfurls making you bleed.''' __________ "Addiction is fucking heart-wrenching!" She stated taking a long drag of the cigarette which was held in between her lips. Then she blew out the smoke and jumped on the bonnet of the car. "Put this away then!" He raised his finger towards the cigarette. "Not this," she affirmed inhaling nicotine once again. "It's addiction is helpful to drown all other horrifying addictions." A pregnant pause engulfed them. The only sound was the whispering of wind with the shedding leaves of trees. The autumn had prevailed the green life likewise their souls were also shedding off its color, painfully. Agonizingly slow. "I'm always here for you!" He whispered. "I know!" Under the faint moonlight her self-pitying smile could be seen. "Besides these drugs you are the only one who is here for me." He did not say anything back for he knew she won't reply now. He too sat on the bonnet and taking the cigarette from her he inhaled the smoke. ___________ Find who the enigmatic warrior is or is that you?

For centuries, the Moon Rocks Pack has lived under a curse: no Alpha of their bloodline may ever have a mate, and no Luna will ever rise beside them. Lyra Thompson was eight years old when her world burned. A rogue wolf attacked her pack, leaving flames, smoke, and chaos in its wake. Her parents’ last command echoed in her ears: Run. Find the Moon Rocks. Too small to fight, too young to shift, Lyra fled into the night — a lost pup alone in a world that had already taken everything from her. The Moon Rocks Pack took her in, raising her as one of their own. They gave her safety. They gave her guidance. But even among wolves, fear has a way of lingering, and Lyra carries the scars of that night — a fear of fire, a wariness of rogue wolves, and a quiet, unshakable sense of loss. Now, one week before her eighteenth birthday, the pack prepares for Oscar Knight’s ascension as Alpha. Strong, disciplined, and raised to believe he will never have a mate, Oscar has accepted the curse as his burden. Until the full moon rises. Until Lyra turns eighteen. The bond that should not exist ignites between them — fierce, undeniable, and powerful enough to shatter a centuries-old curse. But destiny comes with consequences, and the rogue who destroyed Lyra’s past may still be hunting. The Moon Rocks Pack was never meant to have a Luna. Until her.

“That’s your stepbrother, Ivan,” her mother said as they stopped by the pool. His legs were in the water, a cigarette between his lips, smoke curling into the sky. And right then, Gianna knew she hated him. She hated men who smoked. Or drank. Or reminded her of the father whose scars still lived beneath her skin. After six months away, Gianna Vale returns home to find everything changed, her mum has remarried the alpha of the Wolfe pack— a new house, a new name, and a new problem: Ivan Wolfe. Cold. Arrogant. Impossible to ignore. She wants to hate him. She tries to. But one look is all it takes — one heartbeat, one spark — and the bond between them ignites. Ancient. Unbreakable. Forbidden. They’re mates. A truth neither of them asked for… and one they can’t escape. Because in the Wolfe Pack, love like theirs isn’t fate — it’s a curse. If two fated mates from their bloodline unite, one is to die or become rogue. And when one reckless moment crosses that line, the mark changes everything. And that curse runs deeper than Gianna ever imagined — tangled in her family’s past, in long forgotten memories , and in secrets that were never meant to surface. Now desire becomes danger, loyalty becomes war, and Gianna learns that some destinies were written long before they were born. She was supposed to stay away. He was supposed to reject her. But fate never plays fair.

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ This book contains feral mate bonds, primal claiming, blood-soaked org*sms, and possessive men who do not share well but are about to learn they have too as the first Triad mate bond in millenniums though just to be a myth is about to tie them all together. If the words “bite,” “knot,” and “mine” make your toes curl, welcome home baby. Bloodbound: The Vampire Trials They told her the Trials were to prove her worth. They didn’t mention the blood-drenched battles… The savage power pulsing under her skin… Or the three dangerously obsessed men who’d be fated to crave her like a curse. Valkhara came to win and nothing else. But surviving means enduring brutal magical Trials, evading death at every turn, and resisting the feral hunger clawing through her bond. Sevrin: the cold, brutal vampire king with eyes like stormclouds and a voice that commands along with magic that can control blood Azric: the mind-reading menace who whispers her filthiest thoughts right back to her. Daxos: a war god wrapped in smoke and muscle, made to mark, knot, and conquer. Each one touches a different part of her soul. Each one claims her in ways she never saw coming. And the deeper they sink in, the more power she unlocks. But this isn’t just about lust or love, it’s about vengeance, destiny, and ripping the truth from the council’s cold, dead hands. Because Valkhara isn’t just bonded. She’s becoming unstoppable. Other Info

When my body is engulfed in flames, my firefighter father is watching a new movie with my sister. My mother is baking them a cake. I hear laughter in the living room, and I can smell the caramel popcorn in the kitchen. Today is my family's weekly family day—it's a day for my sister and parents to be with each other. The doorbell rings, and the perpetrator gives me a chance to ask for help. My limbs are bound, and stones fill my mouth. I stand at the door and desperately wait for my parents to open it. They don't get up. Instead, they sit on either side of my sister and hug her. "We promised you we'll only be with you on our family days. No one can disturb us." "What if it's Danica?" Ravenna Sutton, my sister, asks. "Her? She hasn't answered her phone in days—who knows where she's off being wild? I'll think of her as dead if she still doesn't return tomorrow!" Ravenna giggles. Mom feeds her some popcorn, and Dad discusses the movie's plot with her. The perpetrator drags me back upstairs and laughs mockingly in my ear. "Looks like I did something unnecessary. They genuinely don't care about you." Smoke permeates every corner upstairs, and the flames start to lick at my body. Mom and Dad protect Ravenna as they run downstairs. They have no idea their birth daughter is screaming in pain amid the blazing fire.

This is a BadBoy Billionaire series novel. Book 1: This story is about a two characters in a contract marriage... A simple girl from a humble background! A bad boy billionaire with a scandalized réputation ! They come together to play the 'It' couple but it's all just pretend, smoke and mirrors... Zeke hates the word love, thinks it's naive and deadly. While Blair thinks love is everything in the world, now she's supposed to pretend not to be in love with the man she's actually in love with? Book 2- The Greek’s Marriage Proposal. Blurb She was never his! She was his late brother's fiancee, But he had always desired and lusted after her from the day she was introduced, he has no idea why those green eyes sets ablaze a forbidden fire in him! He wonders if she felt the same way too! And now that one forbidden night between them seems to be the start of a road trip to consequences and guilt! Zion Zephyr Vasilakis is the eldest son of the Vasilakis wealth not the favorite of course! That title belongs to his twin brother Hermes Vasilakis! His parents favourite, the son they doted on the one they made him be responsible for! Hermes is like a bird while Zion was raised to be the fence around the building Hermes shouldn't fly out of. Now his brother’s fiancée is pregnant for him and that might just be the most ludicrous thing that might just happen to him! Now they are stuck together with a binding marriage proposal, Hermes parents believe the child belongs to their dear son! Could they risk the truth from coming out? Can they handle the backlash! The shock? Or the scandal!

This is the ninth year Dante and I have honored the Month of No Masters. The Corinni family's heir apparent believes this will make our relationship last longer. For one month after our dating anniversary each year, he is free, and we stay out of each other's lives. If either of us finds someone more suitable, we are to wish them well. If not, we go back to the way things were after a month. Around me, the men of the family are spraying champagne with abandon. "To another year of freedom! Congratulations to our Underboss on reclaiming his bachelor status!" "The family betting pool is open! Place your bets on the left if you think they'll still get married, and on the right if you think it's over for good!" Through the hazy cigar smoke, I sat on the corner of a leather sofa, a cold observer, as if this whole farce had nothing to do with me. Dante's hand was curled around Scarlett's waist as he brushed past me, whispering, "Don't get any ideas. You'll always be my only Donna." "I'm a kite. No matter how far I fly, the string is always in your hand." I pressed my cold fingers against the gentle swell of my belly, my expression a blank mask. Dante, this time at the family's betting table, I'm putting my money on "the end." I'm going to vanish from your world completely. That kite string you're so proud of? Tonight, I'm cutting it myself.