Jessica feels pressured when her grandmother passes and leaves her estate in the backwoods of Louisiana to Jessica. It was never her dream to move down south. She wanted to become a journalist in Denver, not the hills of the bayou. Though, to honor her grandmother, she moves into the quaint mansion nestled in the woods. There she's greeted by her cousin, Jacob, and his oddly handsome friends. It isn't until she's thrust into the middle of their secrets that she realizes she's the key to their survival and one of his friends has been starring in her dreams for months.
"Jessica."
I tore my heavy-lidded eyes away from the deep forest behind my grandmother's estate.
It'd been weeks since I had a good night's sleep. The green-eyed man in my dreams had sucked my body dry of rest. I was certain I had never seen him before. If I had, I would have stopped in my tracks.
He was tall, muscular, and full of secrets. As many times as I prompted him, he would never speak.
I would wake up with the feeling of being watched in my one-bedroom apartment back home in Denver.
Now, I was here. In the place where the dreams took place. Maybe it was just a coincidence. However, I hadn't been here since I was a little girl. Before my mother passed away and my dad moved us several states away.
"Jessica," Aunt Tasha said.
I blinked; attempting to draw myself out of the groggy place, I called my brain. She had on a black wide-brimmed hat with an oversized black dress. I wasn't quite sure how she wore it in the humid Louisiana heat.
I was warm in the black summer dress I wore. She insisted I wear a hat to block out the sun while burying my grandmother.
She'd been right. The sun was heavy during those thirty minutes of lowering Grandmother into the ground.
"Can you go grab the paper plates from the pantry?" she asked.
I nodded and unfolded my arms from around my stomach. There were tons of people I didn't know wafting in and out of the house today. I appreciated the food because neither Aunt Tasha nor I were in the mood to cook.
The pantry closet was full of canned vegetables and outdated appliances it seemed she never used.
I grabbed all of the paper plates and brought them to the kitchen counter full of casseroles and side dishes.
Several male voices were coming from the living room but I didn't venture there to see the culprit. I rubbed my makeup-free eyes until they burned.
"Excuse me, miss? Are you Jessica Lowery?"
I turned to see a somewhat familiar face hovering in the doorjamb. He'd been at the funeral awkwardly staring at me from a distance. Folding my arms, I leaned backward against the kitchen counter and swiped a piece of auburn hair from my forehead.
"I am. Who's asking?"
He took off his top hat revealing a comb over and an aged face. He was the same height as me, which was on the shorter side and wobbled with each step.
"I'm Mr. Henley, your grandmother's attorney. Do you have a moment to chat?"
Why would he need to speak to me? Aunt Tasha was her only living child. Maybe she left me something to remember her by. "Are you sure you need to speak to me?" I asked.
He nodded. "I'm very certain, Ms. Lowery."
I nodded and led him down a side hall toward the room where I knew Grandmother used to pay her bills. It had a small desk and two chairs. The smell of stale furniture hung in the humid air as dust particles floated in the sunbeams from the uncovered window.
I sat down and faced Mr. Henley.
He pulled out a folder and opened it on the desk between us. I didn't pretend to know what a will looked like but it seemed to me that was the culprit behind this meeting.
"Your grandmother was very specific about what she wanted to do with her estate."
I lifted both brows at him.
"Wouldn't it go to Aunt Tasha?" I asked.
He tilted his head. "Normally, yes, but since she stated for you to have it, then it's yours."
"Mine?" I repeated.
I couldn't imagine living in this Podunk town or taking care of such a huge place. Plus, it needed a lot of tender love and care that I couldn't possibly afford. I leaned back in the high-back chair and laughed. "You're sure?" I asked. "I can't live here, Mr. Henley. I just graduated from college. I plan to become a journalist in Denver."
Mr. Henley pressed his mouth into a thin line and intertwined his fingers on the desk. "Your grandmother was afraid that you may say that. When your father moved you up north, she was afraid you wouldn't want to come back."
I shifted nervously in my chair. She was right. There was nothing for me here.
"She asks that you live here for one year, give this place a try, and then if you don't find what you're looking for, you may leave."
What was I looking for? A job? A future? I was sure I wouldn't find it here.
I crossed my legs and leaned my elbows against the desk. "I'm-I'm not sure, Mr. Henley."
Aunt Tasha's heavy heels thundered down the hallway and she stopped cold in the doorway. "What's going on? Mr. Henley, didn't I ask you to wait until after the funeral to corner Jess?"
He huffed and shut the folder. "Her plane is leaving in the morning, Tasha."
Tasha's dark eyes shifted toward mine. "You're leaving in the morning, Jess?"
Embarrassment climbed my body. I wanted to get back home. I had job interviews next week, and frankly, being here gave me the creeps.
"Yes ma'am," I said softly.
She huffed and rubbed her temple. "The food is ready. We'll talk about all of this in just a little while."
Mr. Henley left the will on the desk and pointed toward it. "You look over this and please do not leave tomorrow without talking to me."
"Sure," I said.
Mr. Henley walked swiftly out of the room, leaving Aunt Tasha to glare at me. "I was hoping you could stay longer. Come on, I heated up that chicken and rice casserole. Jacob is here with a few of his friends."
Jacob was Aunt Tasha's only son. My only cousin on my mother's side. While my father had multiple siblings and a larger family.
Jacob stood with his back to me when I walked into the kitchen with Aunt Tasha. He looked over, and familiar brown eyes greeted me.
I smiled, so many memories surfaced from that mischievous grin. "Well, look what the cat dragged in. Good to see you, Jessica."
He bent down and hugged me tightly. He was taller than I ever thought he would be. I didn't remember his dad, David, being that tall before he ran off when Jacob was ten years old.
"Good to see you, too," I said pulling back to look at the three men standing in the room.
"These are a few of my friends."
I really tried not to gawk. They were all huge. Bigger than the boys back in Denver, for sure. I knew they said many boys south of the Mason-Dixon Line were corn-fed. This seemed to prove the point validly.
I waved politely.
"This is Liam, Aaron, and Seth," he said, pointing at each one separately.
"Nice to meet you," I said.
Aunt Tasha sliced through my glancing at them with a plate of food. "Here. You haven't eaten all day, you need it."
I took the plate and walked into the living room. A few older people from the funeral spoke to be polite while I made my way into the dining area. The high-back chairs and dusty table were the fanciest pieces in the house.
The memories of eating fried bologna and homemade biscuits brought tears to my eyes.
Jacob slid into the chair on the opposite side of the table. "It's really good to see you, Jess. It's been so long. Momma said you graduated?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I have interviews next week in Denver. It's a new world being tossed into the wild to fend for yourself."
He gave me his infamous lopsided grin. "I'm proud of you."
"Thank you," I said, pushing my food around my plate.
The front door opened, but I didn't look up from my plate. "What are you doing nowadays?"
"I've been working at the sawmill."
A shadow drew over the table and I glanced up above Jacob's head. Two of Jacob's friends had sat down and I hadn't even noticed.
But it wasn't their presence that shook me to my core.
It was the green-eyed man standing behind Jacob. His ebony hair was wind-blown as if he'd been running. The same intense glare from my dreams was brought to life in front of me.
I pinched my leg quietly to see if I was perhaps dreaming again.
No, this was real.
"About time you made it. Jessica, this is Mason. Mason this is Jessica."
I couldn't get my mouth to work. I just stared at him while everyone stared at me.
Jacob lifted a brow, drawing my attention away from this gawking man. "Nice to meet you," I whispered as Aunt Tasha made her way into the dining room.
"Alright," she said. "Mason, I left you a plate on the kitchen counter. You can join us. We're about to persuade Jessica to take over the estate."
Oh, God.
I couldn't even think straight with this man in the room. How would I state my case of not moving here and uprooting my plans?
Mason left the room and I let out a heavy breath. My entire body had lit fire at the sight of him. There was something magnetic. The other three chatting boys at the table were good-looking, but this man warmed me from head to toe.
Aunt Tasha sat her fork down. "Now, let's talk about the estate, Jessica."
Ava and her twin sister, Charlotte, couldn't be any different. Ava is a struggling artist who waits tables to make ends meet, while her sister runs a successful real estate agency in the city. Charlotte begs Ava to take her spot at a bachelor auction because she becomes ill to bid on a dream date with Fletcher Hines, Houston's most eligible bachelor. If only she would have known the reason behind his participation in the event.
Claire Summers is finally free of her bullied high school life and living on her own while she attends college. Finally free of her prison, she thinks her troubles are over, until her high school bully shows up and crashes her chances of enjoying her college years. Axel Davers realizes as soon as he steps foot into his first college class that his mate is in the room. However, it blindsides him when he sees Claire Summers, the one girl he loathed in high school, sitting there with a rebellious snarl on her face. Not only did he hate her growing up, but she's also human and doesn't know anything about supernaturals. Knowing he has no choice but to pursue his mate, he finds it harder than ever to break down that wall he built when he bullied her years before. When lycans begin to terrorize the neighboring packs and the college campus, Axel finds himself doing whatever it takes to protect his mate. However, Claire hates the sight of him, and even if she feels an invisible pull, she pushes him away until she breaks. She never realized that Axel held so many secrets, and when they come to light, her entire existence flips upside down, and she's bombarded with a truth she never knew was real.
Willow lost her mother when she was six years old from an attack by rogue wolves. She listened to her mother die while hiding in the kitchen pantry. She vowed that day to learn to fight to protect her pack and kill the rogue wolves that took her mother’s life. But female warriors aren’t allowed. When her father steps down as alpha, and gives his position to a new warrior, Willow is devastated. Any chance of her becoming a female warrior is gone. Especially when she finds out the alpha standing in her way of becoming a female warrior is her alpha mate.
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Dear readers, this book has resumed daily updates. It took Sabrina three whole years to realize that her husband, Tyrone didn't have a heart. He was the coldest and most indifferent man she had ever met. He never smiled at her, let alone treated her like his wife. To make matters worse, the return of the woman he had eyes for brought Sabrina nothing but divorce papers. Sabrina's heart broke. Hoping that there was still a chance for them to work on their marriage, she asked, "Quick question,Tyrone. Would you still divorce me if I told you that I was pregnant?" "Absolutely!" he responded. Realizing that she didn't mean shit to him, Sabrina decided to let go. She signed the divorce agreement while lying on her sickbed with a broken heart. Surprisingly, that wasn't the end for the couple. It was as if scales fell off Tyrone's eyes after she signed the divorce agreement. The once so heartless man groveled at her bedside and pleaded, "Sabrina, I made a big mistake. Please don't divorce me. I promise to change." Sabrina smiled weakly, not knowing what to do...
"Please trust me, I didn't do anything." "I don't believe you. I am rejecting you as my Queen and giving you the punishment of death." Alina was living outside her pack for five years. Her parents didn't try to contact her and always ignored her. Her best friend convinced her to go back to their pack and she agreed. But she had never imagined what was waiting there for her. She never thought she would meet her mate and had to face betrayal from everywhere. She had to pay for the crime which she never committed. Aaron Robertson is the king of Lycans. He is a very dominant and powerful King who not only rules Lycans but also rules other ranks of werewolves. Everyone is afraid of Lycans and he is the king of them. But who knew that he would get a mate who was just a simple Omega with no powers and strengths? He called her weak all the time but little did he know that his weak Omega would give him the biggest betrayal of his life for which he had to give her the sentence of death.
For as long as Emily can remember, she has wanted to overcome her shyness and explore her sexuality. Still, everything changes when she receives an invitation to visit one of the town's most prestigious BDSM clubs, DESIRE'S DEN. On the day she chose to peruse the club, she noticed three men, all dressed in suits, standing on the upper level, near the railing. Despite her limited vision, she persisted in fixating on them. Their towering statues belied the toned bodies concealed by their sharply tailored suits-or so she could tell. The hair of two of them was short and dark, and the third had light brown-possibly blond-hair that reached the shoulders. The dark, crimson background incised their figures, exuding an air of mystery and strength. They stood in stark contrast to the unfiltered, primal energy that pulsed through the club. Shocked by the desires these men aroused in her, she was disappointed to learn that they were masters seeking a slave to divide and conquer. She couldn't afford the fee, and she also realized that they were outside her league. Emily hurriedly left the club, feeling disappointed and depressed, unaware that she had also caught the group's attention. A world of wicked pleasure, three handsome men. Over the years, they have lived a life of decadence, their lavish lair serving as a stage for their most sinister desires. But despite the unending parade of willing subjects, one woman sticks out. A mysterious stranger with white porcelain skin and a killer body, a slave, a name with no address, the first lady to attract their eye and they will go to any length to obtain her no matter the consequences.
Anabel found out she was pregnant and dialed her husband's number to share the good news to him. They have been married for two years without a child. Desmond's mother had been accusing her of being barren and unproductive. When the call was picked, she was flabbergasted and broken. She was hearing a loud moan of feminine voice. "Ohh! Yeah! Don't stop fucking me! Fuck me harder baby!" accompanied with sound of skins slapping against the other. She went home to confront her husband and end up receiving a divorce paper. Desmond divorced him for a lady his mother was rooting. Few months later when he found out that his ex-wife is a billionaire heiress and she is pregnant with twins, he went crazy!
"I've warned you from the beginning. Don't marry him, but you won't listen." Darcy stood close to me and smiled with concern. "You're not a woman worthy of a man as handsome, rich, smart, and virile as Blaze." My whole body trembled at her words. "Have you no shame?" I asked. "Take a good look at yourself, Heather." She stared at me in the mirror. "You can't even glance at your ugly face. Do you think Blaze can endure a lifetime of gazing at that scar?" Heather Bailey got a surprise from her husband: a divorce agreement. After a year of marriage and facing ups and downs, she couldn't believe Blaze intended to divorce her. She was devastated when she saw him gazing lovingly at another woman. After signing the divorce papers, shockwaves caught her up. Her flower shop was burned to the ground. Her father's company collapsed, and her parents blamed her. She struggled to rebuild her life from the ground up and became more successful than ever. Having many customers from influential families, she started her revenge on Blaze. She won the very thing he wanted, but that was just the beginning.