Velvet Shell

"You think you can hunt us in our own territory, little star?" Cain's voice is velvet wrapped around steel as he and his brothers flank me in the shadowy alley. "We know exactly who you are." I was a cop. Then my brother's mutilated corpse turned up in a ditch and every piece of blood-soaked evidence screamed the Vultures MC's name. Three ruthless brothers who ruled through fear, pain, and absolute dominance. So I dyed my hair blonde, erased my identity, and walked straight into the devil's den. Their bar. Their territory. Their world of sin and savagery. I'd destroy them from within or die trying. But nothing prepared me for Cain's predatory stare that strips me bare with a glance. Or Jax's twisted smile that promises delicious torment. Or Ryder's brutal hands that pin me against cold brick while his breath burns against my neck, whispering dark threats that make my body betray every principle I've ever held. Now I'm drowning in their intoxicating darkness. Leather, blood, and raw masculine hunger that consumes everything in its path. They're marking me, claiming me, breaking me down piece by piece until I can't remember who I was before them. When I finally uncover the shocking truth about my brother's murder, everything I believed shatters. The real killer has been hiding in plain sight, and now I'm caught between two deadly worlds. My oath as a cop and my surrender to these beautiful monsters. But when the lines blur between justice and vengeance, between duty and desire, how far will I fall before I lose myself completely?

Just then, he pulled her closer to him and placed his hands softly on her waist. Belle’s heart was racing faster than it had ever done before. She couldn’t believe what was happening. He was taller than her and she loves a man who was taller than her. Ronnie’s brain reeled from sensory overload. Belle’s honeysuckle scent,her red velvet lips, shoved him to the brink. It had been a long time. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman the way he wanted her. He leaned forward, looking into her eyes, he whispered in her ear with a soft voice; “Can i kiss you?” Belle was almost trembling but not because she was afraid. It was because she had waited for this moment and it was finally happening. She stared right back into his eyes and nodded in consent. Ronnie smiled at her softly. She could tell he was pleased by her approval. He pulled her closer again. This time, so his body was brushing against hers. Her boobs were touching his broad and chiseled chest. He could see her black bra through the dress she wore which showed off her cleavage. It drove him wild seeing them. She felt him nudging at her lower thighs. He felt really big she thought. He breathed deeply as he ran his hands through her hair and face. He softly held her chin up closer to his face so his lips could touch her soft moisturized lips and then he kissed her. Her lips felt so soft he couldn’t stop kissing them. She wondered if she had finally found the perfect guy to prove to her friends she’s a real lover girl and not a nonchalant girl who hates or doesn’t really care about love.

“You’re mine now,” Nero’s voice was low, rough velvet that sent chills down her spine. “No one touches what’s mine. No one even thinks about touching what he can't afford- his life.” A flicker of heat curled through Amara’s body despite herself. “Don’t kid yourself ” she shot back. “This marriage exists only because of our children.” He gave a short, dangerous laugh. “Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night whenever I hear you orgasm at the thought of me every night?” ~~~~~~~~~` Two years earlier, Amara had spent a single reckless night with Nero De Santoro — the man whispered about as the most ruthless crime lord in Italy. That night left her with more than regret; it left her with his twins Determined to keep her children safe from his violent world, she vanished without a trace, raising her daughter in the shadows. But when her children fell dangerously ill, Amara’s desperate search for help forced her to face the one man she swore she’d never see again. Nero was stunned to learn he had a daughter — and cruelly clear about his terms. If Amara wanted his support, she would have to marry him. What began as a cold-blooded arrangement soon twisted into something neither could control. Amara expected to despise him, but behind the walls of his power, she glimpsed pieces of a man she didn’t recognize — protective, haunted, almost tender. Every argument, every stolen glance, every night they shared blurred the line between hate and hunger. Until Amara uncovered a devastating secret — a connection between Nero De Santoro, her husband, and the tragedy that had destroyed her family years ago. A tragedy that had made her turn her back on her Mafia bloodline..........

Cassidy never imagined her world would collapse on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. She came home early—just ten minutes early—because she forgot her sketchbook. Ten minutes. That was all it took to destroy everything. Because when she opened her bedroom door, she didn’t just catch her boyfriend cheating. She caught him with her mother. The betrayal hit harder than any heartbreak she’d ever read about in her romance novels. Humiliated, shaking, and unable to breathe, Cassidy did the only thing she could—she ran. Straight into the neon haze of the city’s wildest nightclub. She didn’t plan on drinking. She didn’t plan on dancing. And she definitely didn’t plan on meeting him. Dante Ashford. The dangerously handsome billionaire heir with a voice like velvet and a stare that feels like sin. He didn’t ask if she was okay—he asked her name like he was already claiming it. He touched her like he had every right. He kissed her like he’d been waiting for her his whole damn life. One shot turned into two. Her pain turned into recklessness. And one devastating night turned into the hottest mistake of her life. A one-night stand with a man whose name she never learned. Cassidy thought that would be the end of it. Just a secret she’d take to the grave. Until her mother announced she was getting married. And Cassidy came face-to-face with her new “family.” Dante—the stranger who’d had her pinned to silk sheets, whispering sinful things in her ear—is now her stepbrother. Worse? He remembers everything. Every kiss. Every moan. Every broken piece of her she tried to forget. And Dante isn’t the type of man who lets go. Not of the past. Not of secrets. And definitely not of her.

"Genie" His voice was barely a whisper, his breath warm against the shell of my ear. "This is so wrong, we can't be doing this." His lips find their way back to mine, trailing the bottom lip with his tongue. "So so wrong" He pulled my lower lips in, biting on them. I stifled a moan. "I know," I managed to say. I could feel the warm slickness ache between my legs. "We shouldn't be doing this. You're my step brother." My body doesn't agree with what my mouth is saying. I snuggled closer into his chest wanting to feel the heat of his bare body against mine. I want his mouth against mine, ravaging me like he had done before. We have gone too far to back out now. "Take me, Ryder" Those were the words he needed. Only those three words. Suddenly, he grips the back of my thighs and lifts me up, forcing my legs to wrap around him. Planting me against the wall, he peers up and look straight into my eyes "You're mine" Then his lips came down on mine. I'm yours. I whispered back in the back of my head. ******** Ryder Saint, for years, has bullied me. Reasons? None. It was like he signed a contract from heaven to make my life hell. From the moment he set his eyes on me, he added my name to his list. Don't be fooled by his last name. It's a charade, he's not anything like it. Everything about Ryder Saint smells evil. His heart, dark. His soul, dark. His aura, dark. Except his face. I should have neglected him like I always have, but I couldn't when our parents decided to tie the knots and he became my stepbrother. He and I, under the same roof.

"I’ll make you beg and cry out my name, Father Hale. You won’t even be able to face the altar without remembering how you came apart on my tongue." Vincente terrifying voice admitted curling around the crucifix at my throat as his rough, unforgiving fingers, pinned my wrists above my head. His thigh shoved between mine, spreading me open, and the heavy press of his cock ground against the thin barrier of my underclothes. Mine answered before I could stop it, swelling shamefully through the thin clothes that clung like a second, traitorous skin. "Feel that?" he whispered, rolling slow, merciless circles that tore a broken sound from my throat. "That’s your body confessing louder than any prayer." I tried to twist away, but the movement only dragged my hips harder against him. "Please," I gasped, the word cracking open like a wound. "Vicente —God—" "God’s not here," he growled, his teeth grazing the shell of my ear. "Only me, you don't call God when you are about to sin." His hands slipped under me working on me. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, but the moan slipped out anyway, raw and ragged. "Say it. Say you want me," he demanded, his thumb circling the slick head until my vision blurred. "Beg me to stop. Or beg me not to." A sob tore free as my body arched, chasing the pleasure I hated myself for craving. "Please...Vicente—" He swallowed the broken plea with his mouth, teeth and tongue, sucking the faint copper of my own blood. When he pulled back, his eyes glittered like black glass. "Oh." He smiled, "You mean I can continue?" And my last hope to get him stop chattered.

He catches my wrist as I try to flee, spinning me back against his chest in the empty hallway. "Running from me again? That's not very stepmother-ly of you." His lips brush the shell of my ear, and I shiver. "Let me go, Klaus," I manage, though my body melts into his touch. "Before someone sees…" "Let them," he murmurs, his hand sliding up my thigh beneath my skirts. "Let the whole kingdom see and know that you are mine, damnit!” ***** She wore a veil and a lie when she walked into the palace as the Alpha King's bride. But revenge has a way of getting complicated when your fated mate is your new stepson. Margaux should be dead. Her mate rejected her, and the Alpha King slaughtered her family—but she survived, and now she's back wearing someone else's face. Her plan is simple: marry the King, gain his trust, and destroy him from within. What she didn't plan for was him. Klaus recognizes her the moment their eyes meet across the throne room, mate bond blazing to life despite the years and lies between them. He's the King's son. Her stepson now. The man who shattered her heart. And he's making it very clear that he doesn't care about scandal, propriety, or the fact that she belongs to his father—at least on paper. He never stopped wanting her. He never stopped loving her. But Klaus doesn't know the whole truth: his father murdered her family in cold blood, and Margaux won't rest until she's bathed in the King's destruction. She should be focused on vengeance, not the forbidden heat that ignites every time Klaus corners her in darkened hallways. She should hate him for abandoning her. She does hate him. So why can't she stay away?

Leon Vincent, the shark of Warren Street, is the one who raised me. Twelve years ago, a fire tore through the orphanage and took everything from me. He was the one who pulled me out of the flames and gave me a second chance at life. To repay him, we make a weird deal—a 99-debt contract. I have to either obey him or be abandoned 99 times. After that, the debt will be cleared. Every time he goes on a date with some high-society socialite, he'll toss another insanely expensive piece of jewelry into my safe. In just two short years after turning 18, I've accumulated 96 diamonds in my safe, each one marking the 96 times he's cast me aside. One day, his fiancee, Elena Harrington, sends me a provocative email. "Dearest Isabelle, Leon and I are finalizing the wedding invitations. Do you think velvet with gold foil or matte leather would be more elegant? The ceremony's early next month. Can't wait to see you there! Love, Elena." Right after that, Leon calls, asking me to pack his bags for the summit in Parienne tomorrow. I simply send the wedding gift I've prepared in advance—a seven-figure emerald necklace—straight to his darling Elena without any words. That night, Leon returns to the apartment and finds out what I've done. He praises me for being considerate. Late into the night, he pulls me into his arms with rare tenderness. Nothing is left between us; no clothes, no holding back. He whispers that he wants to give me a special kind of reward, one that only I can carry. Somehow, Elena discovers my pregnancy. She stands on the balcony of Vincent Estate, screaming like her life depends on it. "Leon, I'm begging you! Don't let her have that baby! If you do, I'll jump!" The cold and proud Leon begs me, for the first time, to get rid of the baby. Everyone at the party awaits my breakdown, but I just smile softly and nod. "Alright. I will." He whispers in my ear, "Our marriage is just a business arrangement. I don't even like her. Once we're divorced, I'll give you another baby." What he fails to realize is that it was never in my plans to keep this one. There are only three more times left before I pay off this life debt from when he pulled me out of that fire all those years ago. After the 99th time, I board a ship bound for Azara to join a medical research mission. From that moment on, my life will be mine alone to live for.