Velvet Shell

Harry DuBois is the name everyone knows. At 6'4", sharply dressed, with silver at his temples and a velvet voice, he commands attention the moment he enters a room. Owner of DuBois Fine Arts & Jazz Lounge, the town’s cultural heartbeat, he offers a haven for music, poetry, and taste. Women adore him, men envy him, and all assume he’s living the dream. But Harry is haunted. Beneath success lies a past that won’t let him go, a tragedy he never speaks of. For Harry, love isn’t just risky, it’s dangerous. He’s a single father to Naomi, his teenage daughter, the only light he’s allowed to stay. Yet even with her, there are walls. When new art curator Elena Rivera arrives from New York to partner with his lounge on a revival series, a celebration of Black art, music, and history. Harry is drawn to someone he hasn’t been with in decades. But Elena has secrets, and she’s starting to notice cracks in Harry’s perfect image. As past and present collide, Harry is forced to confront the pain he has buried for over 25 years. A love lost, a betrayal unforgiving, and a night that changed everything. The question is: can Harry finally allow himself to feel again, or will the past claim him once and for all?

Ellie is a shy, lanky teenager, thrust into a world she doesn't belong in; a place whose students are worth more than their weight in gold. So Ellie 's plan is simple; keep her head down and focus on her studies. Be invisible. But her plan shatters the moment she spills grape juice on Carter; the school’s golden boy, untouchable because of the power his family name possesses. Ellie 's life implodes. What begins as an accident quickly spirals into a literal nightmare. Carter makes Ellie his target, and the torment rapidly escalates until one evening they reach a humiliating agreement. Over time, lines blur adding a delicious layer of confusion to their twisted dynamic, one that neither of them care for. But just when she thinks he can't take it anymore, salvation comes from an unlikely source; her favorite teacher, one he has secretly admired. As this forbidden relationship blooms and Carter is fended off, Ellie can take a deep breath again. Everything is finally ok. Until it isn't. The ultimate betrayal leaves Ellie shattered, sitting amidst the broken pieces of her recently found happiness. She becomes a shell of her former self, shutting out everyone trying to reach her, which shockingly includes Carter. Why? Why is he suddenly desperate to get in touch with Ellie ? And will he succeed? Or will it not matter anyway because she's too far gone?

The annual ranking of the most popular Werewolf Academy professors had just been released and, once again, my Alpha mate, Trevor, took the number one spot. In an interview with The Wolf Tribune, he touched the bond ring on his hand and gave a helpless smile. “If my Luna sees this, she’s probably going to get jealous again tonight.” Everyone said that he was hopelessly in love with me. However, in the blink of an eye, rumors about him and one of his students, Rin, were spreading through the entire pack like wildfire. Trevor kissed me, coaxed me in bed, swore that he only admired Rin’s talent and promised to let me decide her fate. Hence, I arranged for Rin to study abroad in a neutral territory. Who would have thought that she would be ambushed at the border by rogue wolves on her second day away from the pack. Her wolf spirit was shattered and she was left a broken shell of herself. The whole pack was rife with rumors that I had set a trap out of jealousy, trying to destroy her because she was close to my Alpha. Even Trevor did not trust me. He rushed off to be by Rin’s side that very night. When he came back, he had already removed his name from our mate registry and instead registered himself with Rin. I uttered the words, one by one, “Trevor, let’s end our bond.”

The night before our wedding, my Alpha, Charlie, was attacked by rogue wolves on his way to pick up my wedding dress. He survived, but the doctor diagnosed him with severe PTSD and no memory of me. Any mention of our wedding made him collapse. Around the same time, I found out I was pregnant. "Perhaps the child’s arrival might awaken the part of him that truly loves you," the doctor said. I clung to that hope，until I overheard them at the pack training grounds. "Faking PTSD to dodge the wedding? Damn, Charlie, that’s next-level." One of his brothers laughed. "You really pulled it off, man. Playing the tragic Alpha just to shake off that boring little fiancée? Genius." "Shut up!" Charlie snapped, but there was no real anger in his tone. "I love Eve. I’m only lying to her this once. Let me have my fun at The Velvet Bite a little longer, and then I’ll marry her." "Especially her cousin, Lisa," another voice jeered. "Damn, Charlie—a brothel and the fiancée’s family? That’s low, even for you." Charlie chuckled. "You don’t get it. Those women… I can’t live without that feeling. It’s addictive." My hands shook as I tore the ultrasound report into pieces. Without a word, I turned and walked away. That night, at the pack hospital, I made an appointment for an abortion.

Twenty five years old Alexa Martinez was forced by her mother to marry a man who is many years older than her. Without any option, she decided to marry him. At first life was good but as soon as she gave birth, everything changed. The man started to disrespect her in front of the kids and also cheat. Humble and naive, she tried her level best to bear up with his humiliation but her life changed the moment her best friend Bella dragged her in the club. In the club she met a devilishly handsome stranger whom she had a one night stand with. However after this one night stand she instead got "Obsessed with cheating" . MARK WATSON is aggressive and rude. He abused Alexa a lot and things got worse when she gave birth . He began to cheat and disrespect her in front of the kids but then he regretted it later when he realized it that Alexa had finally got a man who is young and richer than him . EXTRACT : " I can't stay in this bar, am married with three kids " , l reprimanded myself as I tried to think of something that I could do to stay the hell away from this temptation. " Let me get out of this club right now , this isn't right " , With my mind warning me , l instantly picked up my half filled up glass and jumped off the velvet leathered stool .

At first, I believed that the worst thing that could happen was my father abandoning me in that store, but I was mistaken. I was kidnapped, sold, and betrayed by the only man I trusted: my father. And I was bought by Lucian Moretti, my childhood love, Luke, who I thought was gone. "Do you remember me, Jules?” His voice was velvet over steel, low, threatening, and hauntingly familiar. Julia hadn't heard Lucian Moretti's name in almost a decade, since the boy next door disappeared without a goodbye, leaving her with only a stolen summer and a thousand unsolved questions.  Now he was no longer the boy I used to know. He was Lucian Moretti, the man who had just taken control of her life.  Julia is lured into the shadows to settle a debt she never owed, and she ends up confined in the home of the city's most feared mafia don.  BCaptivity is just the beginning.  Lucian isn't just after her body; he's seeking the truth that she is unaware she is concealing. This truth has the potential to destroy his empire.  Their reunion is not nice; it is nasty.  His smile is not tender; it is poisonous.  And what games are they playing?  It concludes with one of them kneeling. But in the dark, the line between revenge and passion blurs, and Julia is unsure if she is his prisoner... or his obsession.  Lucian desires more than just retribution; he wants "her." This time, he won't let go.

Addy Walker once believed love was supposed to be loud—felt in bedtime stories, laughter in the kitchen, and the warmth of arms that made the world feel safe. That’s how it was before her mother died. Before her father changed. Grief hollowed him out. The man who once teased and protected became a shell—quiet, cold, unreachable. Then came the bottles. The slammed doors. The bruises. Addy, now eighteen, has learned to survive in silence—walking lightly, speaking carefully, hiding her pain beneath long sleeves and polite smiles. She works long hours to keep food on the table while her father sinks deeper into debt and addiction. One night, she comes home to a dark, freezing house—again. The electricity is off. Again. And she knows why. She confronts him, her voice sharper than it’s ever been. He denies it at first, but the truth is already spread across the kitchen counter in final notice bills and losing betting slips. He’d gambled away the electric bill money on a horse. The argument erupts. He screams, she stands her ground. When he slaps her, she doesn’t flinch. Something inside her shifts. She’s done waiting for the man he used to be. Addy packs a bag. She’s leaving—for real this time. No plan. No destination. Just freedom. But as she storms out into the rain, a long, black car pulls up to the curb. A man steps out—tall, broad-shouldered, older. His face is hard, almost frightening in the shadows, but he’s striking. Dangerous. And calm.

Sometimes love finds us in the most unexpected places—through the most unexpected person. At 40, Daniel’s life is a careful balance between raising his three children and running the family business. After losing his wife, he built a cold, impenetrable shell around himself—one he has no intention of breaking. Deanna, on the other hand, is full of dreams. With just one year left before earning her degree in Arts, she’s focused on one thing: making it to the opera stage. But when her best friend Harry begs for her help, her life takes an unforeseen turn. An outdated family rule threatens to keep Harry from marrying his pregnant girlfriend. The only solution? His older brother, Daniel, must marry first. To help him, Deanna and Daniel agree to a fake relationship—a temporary arrangement that should have been simple. But the pull between them is undeniable. She brings warmth into his cold world, while he offers her a love she never expected after a painful breakup. Together, they begin to build something real—something worth fighting for. Yet, not everyone wants to see them happy. Between outside forces determined to tear them apart and their own fears whispering doubts, their love faces an uphill battle. And with a 15-year age gap standing between them, one question remains: Can they defy the odds, or will reason win over the heart?

The room reeked of spilled champagne and poor decisions. Siena Blake blinked against the harsh morning light slicing through velvet curtains, her body aching in places she didn’t want to think about. She wasn’t in her bed. She wasn’t even in her house. And the man lying beside her—a stranger with a dangerously perfect face—was the proof. It was supposed to be her bachelorette party. One night of wild abandon with her friends before tying the knot with the man she’d loved since childhood. Instead, she had woken up in the arms of someone else, with no memory of how she got there. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst came later—when she found police outside her house, her father being dragged away in handcuffs, and her fiancé, Zane, sending her a venom-laced message: “You’re a whore, Siena. Return the ring or I’ll leak the footage.” Within hours, her life was in ruins. Her family disgraced. Her heart shattered. And the man from that night? Lucian Voss—the most feared CEO in the country—stood behind it all, either by fate or by design. What started as an accident would become her obsession. Because five years later, she’s coming back… With a secret child. A mission for revenge. And a dangerous deal with the devil who unknowingly fathered her baby.

“Me?” I asked, a smile playing on my lips. “You already have me.” His response was immediate, like he had been waiting forever to say the words. “Not the way I want. Not the way that matters.” ******** I sat in a bar, determined to drown out every single one of my sorrows after my marriage came to a painful crash, but he strolled in, all seductive smiles and an accent that rippled through me. Theon Murphy, a man made of dark chocolate, velvet kisses, and sin. That one night wasn’t supposed to happen, and I wasn’t supposed to walk into my first day of work to find my one-night lover seeking a care nurse for his grandfather. Me. Now we’re forced into a fake relationship that feels all too real, and every time he kisses me, the world stops and stills like a chaotic painting. When he makes a declaration, expressing his need to love me for real; would I be able to take the tattered fragments of my heart and piece them into something that deserves his love, or would the external forces creeping in on us arrive before I can make up my mind? My Billionaire Rebound is a book wrapped in layers of seduction, indecision and the crippling need to belong to someone trustworthy. Would Alina finally find her happily ever after? Or does fate have one more cruel twist up its sleeve?