Velvet Shell

"This may just be a business deal for you Thalia, but it certainly isn't like that for me. Our marriage was inked in blood with fate as our witness and sealed in teardrop rings and gold bands. I love the bones of you Thalia and I'll be foolish if I ever let you go" Heartbroken and humiliated after her husband's infidelity and sudden divorce, Thalia Asplundh is shocked when Alexander Croft, her family's biggest nemesis proposes a contract marriage to shell her secure her company and prevent it from crumbling further. As they venture into this risky relationship, Thalia uncovers secrets and lies that the Croft family have been hiding and it threatens to destroy everything with her growing feelings for Alexander and the certainty that he doesn't reciprocate them Thalia must face the skeletons lurking in the darkness of her family's past to secure her future and her happiness with her husband Will she find love and redemption? or will the game of power consume her? The Billionaire's Damned Secret is gripping tale of love, power and the disastrous consequences of playing with fire

Sated from their passionate deed, Jonathan Sheffield rises and gently scoops the worn-out Eloise Carter into his arms. He cleans her in the bathroom, carries her back to bed, and lets her settle in. Normally, Eloise will have fallen asleep by now. But she won't allow herself to doze off tonight, not before she takes out the birthday present she's carefully prepared for Jonathan. Jonathan is making a phone call out on the balcony when Eloise quietly takes out the present she has hidden. It's a red velvet box, containing the ring she plans to give him when she proposes. She inches closer to the balcony and is about to speak when she freezes. A shocked, male voice rings out from the other end of Jonathan's phone, which he's casually left on the balcony ledge. "What the hell? You must be out of your mind, Jonathan! You're planning to take Eloise's heart and give it to Sonia?"

I couldn't tell him that I was pregnant. I was 18 confused and pregnant but still it was a secret from him. Five years later I’m confessing the truth to him but only because I have no other options, he is the only person that can keep us safe. I’m back but only because He is my last hope of getting through this predicament I find myself in. The plan is straight forward; Get what I need and get the hell away from him before I end up getting my heart broken by him again. I am going to ignore how my heart his smile make me feel butterflies. How his velvet voice turns me on. How his touch makes my Heartbeat faster. I can’t let Jace Harrington ruin me again, this time it’s not just my heart that is on the line but that of my little kids also.

Behind velvet curtains and gilded balconies, the opera is more than a performance. It's a hunting ground, a court of monsters disguised as patrons and benefactors. When a masked nobleman claims her talent as his own, Lyria is drawn into a world where music is power, restraint is survival, and desire is the most dangerous temptation of all. The longer Lyria remains under his protection, the more she awakens. Her body responds to hungers she does not yet understand and her are dreams invaded by a silver-eyed predator who promises freedom instead of restraint. As the opera's beauty curdles into something predatory, Lyria must decide what she is willing to become to survive it. The stage is watching. The city is listening. And once the blood sings, it cannot be silenced. TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING: This story contains mature themes and content intended for adult audiences (18+) Reader discretion is advised. It includes moments of violence, sexual content and dark erotic elements, manipulation, obsession, and emotional power dynamics.

Taylor Anderson was a college nerd who had a secret crush on her stepbrother who lived next to her room Liam is the school's best basketball player who can get any girl he wants and also Taylor's stepbrother. The first day Taylor set her eyes on Liam, she knew instantly that she had fallen in love and there was no going back. Taylor has always been sad that Liam never talked to her ever since she moved in to live with them both at home and in school, and the worst is that she had to watch him date different girls while hiding her feelings for him. It's finally a new semester and Taylor has made up her mind, to come out of her Shell and her wishes are simple, first is to stop being a nerd and second is to make friends What happens when Taylor successfully gets a male friend named Kelly, a rival basketball player to Liam, the unbothered Liam suddenly became possessive of Taylor, is there more to his actions

After a one night stand, I opened my eyes and found a naked handsome man lying next to me. He was the last Lycan. According to the rumors, the last Lycan went crazy every full moon. He could only be tamed by having sex with a virgin werewolf. Every pack sent virgins to sacrifice to the last Lycan, and I was the chosen one. Before he woke up, I escaped quietly. But it's strange how my wolf became more powerful! Could sex with a Lycan make me stronger?! --- The Lycan was a wall of masculine muscle behind me. His body heat scorched me even through my wedding dress; his breath seared the shell of my ear as he leaned closer and whispered, "Mate..." If the last Lycan was the Devil, I thought I might want to go to hell. --- When I rescued the last Lycan from his cage, I never thought that one day, I would be put into a cage by him.

"You don’t need to see the world to survive it," Lucian whispered. "You just need to belong to the right monster." Seraphina Vellaro, blind, limping, and silenced by years of cruelty, is the forgotten daughter of mafia queen Celeste Vellaro. After her mother's brutal death, she is imprisoned by her father Danta, a sadistic man desperate to seize control of Celeste’s legacy. But fate changes course when Seraphina’s loyal nanny Gloria escapes with a powerful relic—Celeste’s blood-coded journal—and places it in the hands of the most feared family in the underworld: the Morettis. Now under the protection of Lucian Moretti, a scarred mafia prince cold enough to make death shiver, Seraphina becomes the key to a buried empire—and the center of Lucian’s growing obsession. He doesn’t love her. He claims her. But in a world of velvet prisons, power-hungry enemies, and dark inheritances, Seraphina must decide: Is she still someone’s pawn—or will she rise as the queen her mother raised her to be?

In Catania, beneath the shadow of Mount Etna, the mafia rules with fire and blood. No name carries more fear than the Valerios and no one is more protected than Lucy Valerio, the youngest and only daughter of the ruthless boss, Salvatore. Sheltered by her brothers, especially Vince, the heir to the Valerio name, Lucy lives in a gilded cage where freedom is only a dream. Until one reckless night changes everything. At The Velvet Room, the city’s most dangerous nightclub, Lucy meets Angelo, dark, magnetic, and scarred by secrets. Their chemistry is undeniable, but their love is forbidden. For Angelo is no ordinary man: he is the prodigal son of Giovanni Mancini, Salvatore’s sworn rival. A man who once abandoned the mafia life, only to be pulled back into its shadows. As passion ignites between them, the past resurfaces. Old betrayals, family feuds, and the reappearance of Angelo’s first love turn their bond into a deadly gamble. In a city where love is weakness and betrayal is currency, Lucy must choose: loyalty to her family… or the man who could destroy it.

My son spiked a sudden high fever, scorching like a flame under my touch. I frantically dialed 911 for help, but the dispatcher on the line kept repeating questions, dragging it out. By the time the ambulance siren finally wailed in the distance, my son had already grown cold and still in my arms. Less than a year later, my husband and I split up amid endless grief and finger-pointing. I dragged on like an empty shell until one day I got an e-invite to his wedding. The moment I clicked the voice message, my blood ran cold. The bride's voice echoed exactly like that sluggish dispatcher from back then. In a breakdown, I bolted out of the house and got caught in the path of a speeding subway train, plunging me into darkness. When I opened my eyes again, my son's cries pierced the air from the next room, his forehead blazing hot against my palm. My husband thrust the phone toward me. "Quick, call 911! I'll grab a cold compress." My hands trembled as I dialed, and a chillingly familiar voice answered, "Hello, 911 emergency services."

Isabella only wanted revenge. Her family had been devastated by the strong billionaire Xander Blackwood's father, and he was going to pay. Her strategy, however, takes an unexpected turn when she is caught up in a tornado of secrets, deceit, and a marriage contract she did not expect. Xander is cold, calculating, and motivated by ambition. He regards Isabella as nothing more than a pawn in a bargain that will strengthen his kingdom. He doesn't expect the fire in her eyes or the spark that sparks whenever they're together. Their marriage was supposed to be a facade, but behind closed doors, a new game is being played. As they engage in a battle of wills, their ice shell begins to melt. Anger becomes to attraction, and neither can deny the tremendous chemistry that binds them together. But, just as they start to doubt the line between love and vengeance, a web of terrible secrets begins to emerge. The past returns to haunt them, threatening to destroy everything they've built—both professionally and in their fragile relationship. In a world of power and deception, Isabella and Xander must decide whether their marriage is a game or if something more serious has taken root. Will revenge pull them apart, or will genuine love be enough to keep them together?