/0/68781/coverbig.jpg?v=65d19d6cc8fd19ff0990ac7a6a74b941)
Alessia Ford, an ambitious young woman disillusioned by her family's betrayals, leaves everything to rebuild her life far from her past. She lands a job in the financial empire of Nathan Drake, a billionaire with an icy charm and a fearsome reputation. Alessia, with her sharp mind and natural audacity, intrigues Nathan from their first meeting. But why does this man, used to dominating the business world, seem troubled by a simple employee? While he proposes an arranged marriage for mysterious reasons, Alessia accepts, driven by the need to protect herself from her own family demons. However, as soon as she settles into the luxurious Drake villa, she realizes that Nathan hides much more than a simple financial interest behind this contract. What is he trying to escape or protect? Why do menacing glances fall on her at every gala? Between corporate secrets, all-consuming jealousies and a budding love, Alessia will have to discover the truth before the stakes of this contract become completely beyond her control.
The pouring rain hammered against the coach windows, a monotonous cadence that seemed to underline the tumult in Alessia 's mind. She stared at the landscape passing by behind the fog formed on the window, a mixture of gray and green under a threatening sky. She had left her hometown in the early morning, leaving behind her familiar streets and now foreign faces. His decision, although carefully considered, carried the bitter taste of bitterness and betrayal.
The argument with his family a few hours before still resonated in his head, each word, each accusation, like a blade that sank a little deeper.
"You are selfish, Alessia , totally ungrateful! » his mother had shouted, her face red with anger.
"Maybe, but at least I won't spend my life trying to meet your impossible expectations anymore," she retorted, her voice trembling with suppressed rage.
His father, sitting in his worn leather chair, said nothing. As always. Her silence, this weapon so subtle and yet so brutal, weighed heavier than all of her mother's invectives. It was this silence that had widened the gap between them over the years, a chasm that no words could bridge.
When she slammed the door of the family home, her heart beat wildly, not from fear, but from a strange exaltation mixed with anguish. She had just burned the bridges, and yet, a wind of freedom was already blowing in her mind. She was no longer Alessia Ford, the docile girl always ready to bend. She was becoming something else, someone else.
His arrival in the city took place in torrential rain, like a chaotic baptism into this new chapter of his life. She had taken refuge in a small cafe to look through the documents for her interview scheduled for the next day. Nathan Drake's financial empire. Just the name commanded a certain respect. Nathan Drake, the icy charming tycoon, whose reputation as a business shark made even the most daring people shiver. She had never seen a single photo of him in the media; he was as discreet as he was influential. This mystery intrigued him as much as it intimidated him.
She had landed this interview thanks to her impeccable record, but also, she knew, thanks to a mixture of luck and nerve. There were many applications for a position at this company, and rumors had it that Nathan Drake chose the finalists himself. Why had he withheld her name? A question that would remain unanswered, at least for the moment.
The next day, dressed in her carefully pressed gray suit, Alessia entered the lobby of the Drake Building. Everything about this place exuded wealth and power. The immaculate marble columns, the sparkling chandeliers, the employees in perfectly tailored suits... She suddenly felt very small, like an intruder in a world that was not hers.
At reception, a coldly beautiful woman guided her to an elevator, barely giving her a glance. Alessia felt her sweaty hands against her briefcase, but she raised her head, determined not to show any weakness.
The elevator doors opened on the 37th floor, and she was immediately greeted by an assistant who asked her to wait in a meeting room. The minutes passed, each second making the already tense atmosphere a little heavier. Then the door opened, and he entered.
Nathan Drake.
He was not at all what she had imagined. She had expected an older man, perhaps slightly paunchy, with the kind of smugness that those with too much power often display. But Nathan Drake was the complete opposite. Tall, slender, dressed in a perfectly fitted black suit, he gave off an almost oppressive aura. His gray eyes pierced like a blade, cold and calculating, but gleaming with formidable intelligence. His face, although severe, had a beauty that could have belonged to an ancient sculpture.
He sat down opposite her without a word, opening a file which he looked over quickly. The silence that followed was almost unbearable, but Alessia refused to look away.
"Miss Ford," he said finally, his deep voice echoing through the room like the whisper of a storm.
She nodded slightly, unable to say a word.
"Your record is impressive," he continued, finally raising his eyes to meet hers. "But this raises a question. Why you? Why here? »
His tone was neutral, almost disinterested, but there was a hint of challenge in his gaze.
Alessia took a deep breath, trying to control the frantic beating of her heart.
"Because I can," she replied, her voice surprisingly firm despite the tension.
A fleeting smile appeared on Nathan's lips, a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Able, you say? » he whispered, leaning forward slightly.
The conversation continued, each word a subtle duel, each question a test that Alessia was trying to pass. But there was something else, something she couldn't name. An electric tension, a current that seemed to flow between them, invisible but undeniable.
At one point, Nathan suddenly stood up, walking around the table to approach her.
"Do you know what it means to work for me, Miss Ford? he asked, his tone low and almost intimidating.
Alessia sat up instinctively, refusing to buckle under the pressure.
"That means I'll have to be better than everyone else," she replied, her gaze boring into his.
He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity, then nodded slowly.
"You start Monday. Don't be late. »
And just as abruptly as he had entered, he left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
As he exited the building, Alessia felt a strange mix of triumph and apprehension. She had gotten the job, but at what cost? Nathan Drake was no ordinary man, and working under him would be anything but an ordinary experience.
The rain had stopped, but the sky remained heavy with dark clouds, an omen of what awaited. And yet, despite everything, she couldn't help but feel a certain excitement. A new start, a new challenge. The jungle was waiting for her, and she was ready to fight.
Under the gaze of a fallen mafia, Elvie, a young woman with a troubled past and victim of a brutal ex, seeks to rebuild her life. Working as an assistant in the villa of the Corleone, an influential crime family, she tries to avoid conflict with the three Corleone brothers, all as dangerous as each other. But everything changes when Adriano, the eldest brother and heir, breaks his arranged engagement to embrace the war between enemy families and must quickly remarry. Cold and calculating, he sees Elvie as a simple piece in his game. For her, he is just another nightmare to flee. But as they interact, appearances crumble and unexpected bonds are forged. As her ex resurfaces, Elvie will have to choose between her new life, her secrets and the growing violence that threatens everything she has rebuilt.
Alice's life has been devastated by the betrayal of those she believed to be her allies. Five years ago, her fiancé, in the grip of a professional failure, convinced her to sacrifice her dreams to help him get back on his feet. But her best friend, hungry for glory and power, made a decision that would change their friendship forever, by secretly becoming a surrogate mother. When Alice's fiancé, now at the top of his career, left her, claiming that she no longer met his expectations, Alice, broken, accepted the proposal of the mysterious billionaire, Gabriel Hartman. Known for his coldness and indifference, Gabriel seemed to offer Alice an escape. What she didn't know was that he was the one who had orchestrated her best friend's request for maternity... But what if everything she thought she knew was just a decoy? What if, deep down, the price of her redemption is much higher than she imagined? Can the truth really mend broken hearts, or will secrets destroy everything in their path?
Zoe's dreams of marriage are shattered when she catches her fiance in a compromising situation with his best friend. Devastated, she seeks to recover what she has lost. That's when an enigmatic man, a warm billionaire named Maxime Delacroix, offers her an unexpected solution: a loveless marriage, a contractual alliance with the aim of destroying his ex's career. Although reluctant, Zoe accepts, ready to do anything to get revenge. But as their relationship grows, Zoe realizes that the stakes are more complex than she imagined. Between revenge and a budding passion for this distant man, she finds herself torn between her desire for justice and her budding feelings. How far will she be willing to go to get revenge without losing everything in the process?
Lily thought she had a simple life, surrounded by her adoptive parents in a small town. But everything changed the day she learned that her real parents were industrial tycoons and that she had a twin brother, heir to a family empire. Welcomed into a world of luxury, she found herself facing a reality very different from the one she knew. Her brother, a cold and ambitious man, had always hated her. "You're just an intruder, Lily," he told her. But another secret resurfaced: a mysterious businessman claimed that Lily was the rightful heir to a huge hidden fortune. "It's time you knew the truth," he told her. Between betrayals and revelations, Lily must choose between wealth and family loyalty.
Lara Sanders and Ethan Cole had been together for five years, but Lara had never been his priority. Ethan, obsessed with his work, did not see the soul of the woman he had married. Lara had tried to rekindle the flame, but in vain. She had had enough. One day, she left everything: the house, the promises, and Ethan. Years later, Lara reappears. She has become a successful entrepreneur, an icon of the business world, and no one recognizes her anymore as the fragile young woman she once was. Far from the shy and discreet Lara, she is now a queen of industry, admired and respected. At a public event, a journalist asks her: "Lara, you are the most influential businesswoman of the moment. What is the key to your success?" Lara, with a mysterious smile, answers: "Never let a man define you. Take charge of your life. » The next day, to everyone's surprise, Ethan appears at Lara's door. The man she thought had been forgotten, who had let her go without a glance, returns with a surprising proposition: "Lara, I made a mistake. Can we start all over again... Together?"
Luca Moretti, an influential businessman, is forced to marry Amélie Lefevre, a woman he considers a simple family obligation. Already in love with another, he vows to make Amélie's life hell so that she will ask for a divorce. However, he does not know that Amélie is hiding a secret that could change his life forever. Behind her calm facade, Amélie is much more determined and intelligent than he thinks. What will happen when Luca finds himself caught in his own game? Will he succeed in breaking their union or will he succumb to the hidden truth?
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
Veronica is an eighteen-year-old omega who falls into an emotional breakdown when her Mate, who was soon to be the Alpha of the Sun crest pack, turns against her, hurls hurtful words at her, and rejects her on the night of the full moon festival because he and everyone in the pack, including her, thinks she is an omega. As if the pain of rejection, helplessness, and worthlessness wasn't enough, she lost her best and only friend to the cold hands of death when rogue wolves attacked their pack. Right in the presence of her mate, she was tagged as someone who always attracted problems and calamities anywhere she went and he turned a blind eye and watched as she was banished from the pack. With hatred for her life, she runs deep into the woods that were off-limits and jumps off to end her life, but in a turn of events, something else happens. What would her mate do when he finds out that Veronica is not who he thinks she is? Will she be able to forgive him? What fate lies ahead for them?
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
"Is it considered betrayal to develop feelings for your best friend's boyfriend? What about when fate intervenes, and he turns out to be your destined mate? You might think it's luck and thank the moon goddess for such a twist of fate. That's what I believed until the love of my life uttered those dreaded words: 'I want a divorce!' As I stared at the pregnancy test in my hands, I realized it was better to keep my secret to myself. My name is Violet, and this is my story."
"I'm going to tell you what I have in mind," he murmured. "First you're going to strip down until you're completely naked," he whispered against her ear. "Then I'm going to tie you up so you're completely powerless and subject to my every whim." "Mmm, sounds good so far," she murmured. "Then I'm going to insert a plug to prepare you for me. After that I'm going to spank that sweet ass of yours until it's rosy with my marks." She shivered uncontrollably, her mind exploding with the images he evoked. She let out a small whimper as he sucked the lobe of her ear into his mouth. God, she could cum with just his words. She was already aching with need. Her nipples tingled and hardened to painful points. Her clit pulsed and twitched between her legs until she clamped her thighs together to alleviate the burn. "And then I'm going to f**k your mouth. But I won't cum. Not yet. When I'm close, I'll flog you again until your ass is burning and you're on fire with the need for relief. And then I'm going to f**k that ass. I'm going to take you hard and rough, to the very limits of what you can withstand. I won't be gentle. Not tonight. I'm going to take you as roughly as you can stand. And then I'm going to cum all over your ass. Are you ready to be completely and utterly dominated?"