You You Take My Breath Away

My uncle’s rival, Emmett Meyer, saved me twice. The first time, I was drowning after a shipwreck—until he cut through the waves on a speedboat and dragged me ashore. The second time was after someone had slipped drugs into my drink. That night, I seduced him, a hardened man ten years my senior. In the dim glow of a private room, he guided my hand downward and growled, “I want you so bad, Babe.” He took me ruthlessly, ignoring my sobs and pleas. From then on, Emmett—the untamable “Prince of Silverbridge”—abandoned his reckless ways and devoted himself to me. Or so I believed. Then one day, he coaxed me into his Rolls-Royce and captured our tryst on camera. I flushed with embarrassment and secret delight. Later, as I hurried after him to return some documents he had left behind, I heard the sneers whispered in the hallway: “You’re so wild, Emmett. Everyone heard your girl moaning.” “Damn, the car rocked so hard I thought you’d break it.” “Hey, if Franklin Reed ever finds out that his precious niece has been your plaything for three years… think he’ll have a heart attack?”

What do you fear the most? Matthew's only fear is coming out as gay to his family, who are devoutly religious and consider homosexuality a sin. But when he heard from his doctor that he had less than three months left to live. Matthew decided that living his truth was more important than his fears. He planned on telling his family his sexuality, and also, confessing his feelings to his longtime crush, the son of a Deacon, Keith who was every lady's dream in college. But what if Keith is just like everyone else? Would Matt's last wish come true before the end of his days on Earth? And what happens when all that glitters does seem to be gold?

I had funded Tilly Jenkins for five years—and spent those same five years chasing after her. Just when I thought I had finally won her heart—when I believed she was ready to spend her life with me—I discovered the truth: the one she had loved all along was her childhood sweetheart, the boy who had grown up by her side. I, on the other hand, to her, was nothing more than a privileged elite who used money to grind her pride into the dirt. A few years into our marriage, she secretly transferred my assets away—and even had a child with that childhood sweetheart of hers. In the end, I died filled with resentment, trapped in a raging fire. The flames reflected the sight of the three of them together, smiling like a perfect family, while I cried myself to death in despair. After I was reborn, Tilly's childhood sweetheart shoved me hard, sneering with open contempt. "What do you take us for? Toys for rich people like you?!" I slipped my bank card back into my pocket at once. "Sorry, having money doesn't mean I'm brain-dead. I'm not interested in trashy toys like that."

Five years after we broke up, my ex-fiancé Bruce, yes the mafia one, suddenly called me out of the blue to announce our wedding date. I was speechless. Shocked, I blurted out, "Wait… didn't we break up five years ago?" He replied with his usual arrogance, "Break up? I never agreed to that. You left in a fit of anger. "And let me guess. You came back to the country only because you heard I was getting married. Out of jealousy, hoping to reclaim our engagement?" He even had the nerve to tell me to be magnanimous and accept Bella, the so-called 'perfect girl' who had spent the last five years by his side. I let out an icy laugh and hung up immediately. I had long been married to the most powerful Don of the strongest mafia family and had two adorable sons to show for it. Honestly, I had no idea what Bruce was thinking. Now, who even cares about him?

"Yes, apologize. I'm not the reason you're so tall, you don't even see the people below you, your narcissistic Highness!" I blurted angrily, with a hint of sarcasm. My confidence soon waned drastically and the regret bounced in. My first day in Brownston and here I was, already making trouble. "Mundanes and being problematic," he muttered, turning to leave immediately. That did it. I could have sworn a puff of smoke its way out of my ears accompanied by the overwhelming surge of anger that rose from the depth of my stomach. I hurled at him my saddle bag with all the energy my slim hands could gather and it landed right across his pale face. ** Alexis—a Trueblood who had lived forever in a void of endless time bumps into Dawn, a college student who sought adventure. Was his tedious life about to get more intriguing? What were the hardships that came with the existence of a mundane in his life?

Hakim was every girl's dream at Northwest High, and every guy's role model. He was hot, smart, popular, romantic and all, and every girl's dream was to get laid by him. He was living the dream life, but he had one single problem; Dante. Dante was the complete vice versa of Hakim. Soft, gentle, unnoticed, innocent, and these traits drew Hakim's heart towards him, and for that reason, Hakim hated him. He hated his lingering gazes and admiring glances, and he hated that he felt the need to hold him, to protect him, and for that reason he resolved to torment Dante, making his high school days unbearable. Dante was forever scarred by him, and his heart broke into pieces. Now, years later, after the two drifted apart, going on to their two separate worlds, Dante builds an image for himself, he is no longer the timid, innocent boy he was back at Northwest High, but is now a top corporate lawyer in the industry, and a fine one at that. What happens when he is hired by a law firm and finds out that his boss is no other person but Hakim? What will evolve as mysteries unfold and actual truth gets told?

Two opposite sides of the coin. That's how you can describe Ken Smith and Daniella Sparks. Yet how come they manage to find their ways to each others heart? No science can explain this for Ken. She made a preposition. "Just say I hate you and I'll leave you alone forever. But can you?"

For Jonina Samuels, it had always been a hard knock life. Between having an evil step mother and equally evil step siblings, she had lost hope in ever having a good or remotely peaceful life and she had braced herself to take whatever life threw at her.  Nothing really rattled her as she grew older, so when Prince Leonidas Sebastiani met her and tried to offer his friendship, it was like he had collided with a solid brick wall. How will he get her to come to the realization that she's not broken or unworthy of being loved properly?

The day CARL BRADFORD offered me the contract: "These are the laid-down rules; Rule Number One: You are not allowed to fall in love with me. Rule Number Two: You are not allowed to kiss or hug me, except if I want to, just to convince my father, which I wish will never happen." He didn't bother to hide the disgust on his face when he made the last statement. "Rule Number Three: No one is allowed to know about this contract, not even my brother. This is strictly between I, you, and my P.A. Is that clear?" I nodded nervously, wondering if it was the right decision as I clutched my stomach. This guy was unbelievable, and so full of himself, like he rules the world, and could destroy it with the snap of his finger. "You will get paid monthly as long as we don't get caught, for a year. If you want to ever opt out from this, get ready to pay me back." He said firmly. How on earth am I going to survive with this menace for 365 days? I inhaled deeply, and forced a smile at him. "I should get back to my boss, Daniel". His face twisted into a frown when I mentioned his brother's name. No one needed to tell me, that they were sworn enemies who will forever hate each other until one step downs, or preferable, dies.

The day before our engagement, Stellan Graves came shopping with me, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. I bought a chili dog from a street stall and held it up to his mouth only for him to swat it out of my hand, sending it flying to the ground. Fury flashed across his face as he snapped, "Ivy Stein, the Graves family needs a woman who can actually show her face in public. Stop buying cheap trash like this. You're embarrassing me. How do you expect my parents to accept you like this?" I picked up the food in humiliation, threw it into the trash, and nodded meekly for the sake of our four years together in college. "As you wish." … However, the very next day, he switched his fiancee to Amelia Lane. "Ivy, Amelia tried to kill herself just to marry me. She's in the hospital now. Once she's stable again, I'll come back and marry you." Four years later, he showed up at my tiny apartment with a diamond ring in hand. "Ivy, Amelia has already agreed to divorce me. We can finally be together. I told you before—once Amelia lets go of her obsession with me and stops hurting herself, I'll come and marry you." I frowned at Stellan's so-called heartfelt expression. I must have had terrible luck that day. Who'd have thought I'd run into this wacko when I'd come back to my place on a whim?! "Move," I demanded, shoving him out the door. "You're blocking the way. I need to pick up my kid from school."