Adeline I was already regretting this blind date when my ex walked into the restaurant-hand in hand with his new girlfriend. The urge to disappear hit me hard, so I did what any self-respecting woman would do . I ran to the ladies' room, unfortunately for me , it was a men's room... and so I had no choice but to climb out the window. Except I didn't exactly stick the landing. Instead, I tripped, tumbled into the dumpster, and almost got shot by a criminal who was on the run from a hot cop. --- Kenneth I was staking out a notorious drug dealer, waiting for the perfect moment to move in. Everything was going smoothly-when a woman fell-yes, fell-from the restroom window and almost got shot by the suspect. The suspect bolted. My cover was blown. And the woman? She looked up at me with the most stunning eyes I'd ever seen... and then tried to run. I caught her before she could get away. Annoyed as hell, I slapped cuffs on her. She was livid. I was livid. But the only thing worse than losing my target? The fact that I couldn't stop staring at her. And I had a feeling that wasn't going to change anytime soon.
ADELINE'S POV
My date lifts the butter knife a few inches off the table and takes yet another look at his reflection on its shiny surface.
He nods slightly to himself, satisfied that he is as gorgeous now as he was when he last looked-five minutes ago.
I knew this date was headed downhill once we sat down and he ordered for me.
Mushroom and Garlic pasta.
I hate mushrooms especially when they are cooked with garlic. I decided not to make a big deal and just order something else.
I signal to the waitress for another menu while my date looks at his smile on the surface of the knife, yet again.
Oh please, please let there be Arsenic on this dinner menu. I scour the menu-but unfortunately, there is no Arsenic pill that I can quietly swallow and end my life with, thereby escaping this horror show of a first date.
"How's your pasta? It's a specialty here. They only make it for select clientele such as myself," my date says.
"I don't like mushrooms. I tried to tell you that, but-"
"It's not like the others you've had. Here, try it," he says, reaching for my fork.
I pull my head back, but he follows me. I reluctantly open my mouth and let him feed me. It tastes awful.
I wait for him to look at his refection in the knife again and then I spit the mushy pasta into my napkin. As you can tell by now, I'm very classy.
"Jimmy, my sister tells me that you do a lot of charity work. What are some of the programs you work with?" I ask, determined to find something in common with him.
"Oh, no. I don't do charity. I mean really, people need to stop begging, go out and get a job already, am I right?" he says with a boisterous laugh.
"Mel told me she met you at the benefit to aid Haiti."
"Yeah, one of clients gave me a ticket, so I had to make an appearance. But other than that-it's not my thing."
"Charity isn't your thing?"
"No, but you know what is my thing?"
Crawling into children's rooms at night to swallow them whole?
"What is your thing?" I ask out loud.
"You," he says with a cocky smirk.
It's all I can do not to roll my eyes. Jimmy is a real estate mogul. One that my sister said was my type. But the truth is she probably saw his black card and thought, well, it was worth a shot.
But the fault lies with me. I knew better than to let my sister, Mel, set me up. This is not only my first date since Robbie , it will most likely be my last.
"Adeline, stop moping around the house. Robbie and you are over. Get out into the world," Mel said. She was right.
In the past few months since Robbie and I broke up, I happily gave my life over to Ken & Jerry ice cream and Netflix.
So I pushed myself. And in order to make sure I left my house, I made my sister change my Netflix password and swear she wouldn't give it to me until I started dating again.
I turned back in to Jimmy , hoping this date can still be salvaged. He's in the middle of sharing his latest venture-selling a twenty-million-dollar home to the latest Hollywood starlet.
"Her people were so happy with my work, they invited me to her movie premier next weekend. Now, I can't promise you will be my plus one-I mean, I do have two other dates lined up next week-but don't fret, sweetheart, so far, you're in the lead."
Seriously, someone shoot me.
Now.
In all fairness, I'm not sure I make the best person on a date. For one thing, I tend to live in my head-a lot. In addition, I'm also kind of a nerd.
I suddenly feel my purse vibrating. I don't need to look at it to know who's texting me. My sister has a superpower-she can always tell when my date is about to go up in smoke. That's usually when she texts me.
Mel: "Stop daydreaming and flirt with Jimmy"
"This guy sucks. This date sucks. Give me my password"
"Only after you have gone on at least a dozen dates," she writes.
"Give it to me now or I will never babysit for you again. You will spend the rest of your life at home-no hotel sex for you and Alex."
"Damn you!"
"Password. Now."
"Fine. My-Sis-is-the-best."
"Nice try," I text.
"Okay, okay. It's Millie's favorite snack," she admits.
I pull up the Netflix app on my cell, key in my niece's info, and suddenly, I'm in.
Yes! I stand up from the table and prepare to give him my standard sorry-this-won't-work-for-me speech, but he's not even facing me.
He's looking over at the waitress and flashing her his best "soap opera smile." She blushes shyly, looks down at the floor and then back up at him. She's giving him her "come do me" look.
Is this guy for real? Screw this. I'm out! I take my purse, place it on my shoulder, and march towards the door. I'm about to exit when a couple enters the restaurant, holding hands and smiling. It's Robbie and his new girlfriend!
Shit shit shit shit shit!
I can't let him see me. I'm not ready. This isn't the right outfit. These shoes don't send the right message. And I can only imagine what state my hair is in.
Okay, Adeline Berry. Keep it together. You are not here alone. You are on a date-a horrible one, but Robbie doesn't need to know that. Just go back to the table and look like you are having the time of your life.
I turn back towards the table only to watch what was once Jimmy's mild flirtation with the waitress progress into the actual exchanging of numbers.
Damn you Jimmy!
Robbie and his new super-hot model girlfriend are coming over. She's tall and has a long shiny "TV commercial" hair and lips that belong on makeup ads all over the world.
Bitch.
Here they come...No! I have to get out of here. Too late. He's coming my way.
A group of diners enter the foyer; I quickly duck behind them. I look around, and the only escape is the men's room.
"Hey, I think that girl over there is-Adeline!" Robbie says as he tries to get a good look at me from behind the crowd.
He comes closer, and I run to the men's room. He follows me in.
Seriously?!
I don't stop to think or reason in any way. I just open the window and hurl myself down to the dumpster below.
I land in the large metal bin filled with trash headfirst. My arm scrapes against a large glass fragment, causing a painful and bloody gash. I howl in pain as I place my hand over my wound.I frantically search for my purse, but it's nowhere to be found. I drag myself over to the side of the bin and climb out.
A few feet away, two dark figures are carrying on a conversation.
The alley is too dark to see them fully but I'm hoping they will see me as I wave my hand and call out, "Hey! Excuse me! Gentlemen, can I use your phone? I need to call a-"
"Get down!" someone shouts behind me. I turn just in time to see a large figure crash into me and send me flying to the concrete floor.
Shots are fired overhead, and the figure orders me to stay down.
Everything happens so fast, it's hard to know which came first-the sound of bullets, the shouting, or the sirens.
I shut my eyes and bury my face in my hands as if that could somehow stop the bullets from making contact with me.
"Vader is heading down Fifth Ave., cut him off!" he orders in a deep commanding voice on what sounds like a walkie-talkie.
"On it!" someone replies from the other end.
"What the hell is your problem, lady?" the man demands of me.
I open my eyes to curse him out like any true New Yorker would. I mean, yeah, he may have just saved my life but who the hell is he to talk to me like that?
But when I take my hand from my face, I find the most piercing ocean blue eyes looking back at me. His rich dirty dark hair and perfectly sculpted features cause my head to spin.
I look past his flawless face and down to his broad shoulders and burly yet agile body. There's a current of desire surging throughout my body that's so strong I have to close my eyes and remind myself to breathe.
Seriously, this guy has the kind of hotness that makes good girls lose their shit!
Luckily, I'm done with men. And yet, I hear a gasp escape my lips as I take him in.
Okay , okay , stay calm girl...
He was my first love. And my first heartbreak. Now, he's back-with a ring, a contract, and a proposition I never saw coming. Darius Ferguson is a name that turns heads. Billionaire. Power player. The kind of man who can make or break anyone with a single deal. The world sees him as untouchable, unstoppable. But to me? He's the boy who disappeared without a goodbye. The one who left me picking up the pieces of a heart he had no right to break. Now, years later, he's standing in front of me with an offer too tempting-and too dangerous-to ignore. Marry him. Be his perfect wife in public. Play the role until the ink dries on his biggest business deal yet. In return, he'll make all my problems disappear. One year. No emotions. No messy entanglements. Just a means to an end. It should be easy. Except nothing about Liam has ever been easy. He still knows exactly how to make my pulse race. Still watches me like I belong to him. And when he touches me, I forget every reason I swore I'd never let him back in. But this isn't real. It can't be. Because I refuse to make the same mistake twice. Even if pretending to be his wife starts to feel a little too real.
Everything has with a price. Including her. I'm Damien Anderson. I run this city. Control is everything to me. In business, in pleasure-I never give up the upper hand. So when a stubborn little thing dares to defy me, it gets under my skin. Makes me want to break her, own her, make her beg for everything I know she needs. That fire in her green eyes? I want to watch it flicker and fade into sweet submission. I give her an offer she can't refuse-thirty days in my bed, and her money problems disappear. No strings. No emotions. Just my wealth in exchange for her innocence. But Lily isn't just another deal. She's an obsession. A weakness I never saw coming. And now? I don't care about the contract. She's mine. And I'm never letting her go.
One glance. One touch. One note of her mesmerizing voice, and I'm undone. Like a dream I never want to escape, she draws me in, wrapping me in her presence. Consumed. Overcome with need. Fueled by an unshakable desire to claim her as mine. One night, I take more than she's ever given, and it only leaves me craving more. Needing more. Desperate for more. She's the one I've waited for my entire life. And I'll be damned if I let anyone-our families included-stand between us. She trusts me. Yearns for me, just as I ache to possess her. Forever. But fate throws a twist we never saw coming. A curveball no one could have predicted. Still, I cling to her light. She's my Angel. Something about her-about us-makes me believe I've found heaven on earth. She's now my world and I'm never letting her go. Not now. Not ever.
My past is a locked door. Sealed shut. Guarded by the lies I tell to survive. A mask. A façade. A carefully crafted illusion. But no disguise is perfect. No wall is unbreakable. And he-relentless, unyielding- shatters through every barrier I built. He gets too close. Sees too much. Draws me in with a fire I can't control. Our connection is raw, reckless- a beautiful kind of destruction. But love is dangerous. Secrets are deadly. And there's one truth I swore he'd never know. One part of me I refuse to expose. Because he's just as fractured as I am. And together, we might be the only thing standing in our way.
He's not just a criminal-he's a king in the underworld. A ruthless leader who commands two of LA's most dangerous gangs. And now, I belong to him. Kidnapped. Trapped in a gilded cage with no escape. I should be terrified, desperate to run. But his touch is intoxicating, his presence irresistible. He says he took me for a reason. That my father wants him dead. Can I trust the man who stole me? Or is he playing a game far deadlier than I realize? The truth will shatter everything. And when it does, I'll have to make an impossible choice: Betray the family I've always known... Or surrender to the man who owns my soul.
"Hello , Nicholas" Eight years ago, Nicholas Chesterfield had made a wrong decision of choosing his father's attention and acceptance over Amelia and her father. He lost Amelia in the process and he regretted it ever since. Now as the CEO and partner in NW International, he needs to finalize a property deal but there is one major obstacle: Amelia is contract negotiator for the owner and she doesn't trust him. Amelia had sworn never to have anything to do with Nicholas Chesterfield again after her and her father lost everything years ago when Nicholas' father lied about his intentions for buying her family's resort. But now she's facing him across the negotiating table and sparks that had previously been stumped out re ingnite between them. Will Amelia be able to resist Nicholas' charm this time around or fall for him once again like she did years ago? Will they be able to put their past behind and act professionally? Could this deal be a second chance at love for both of them?
Charlee was left at the altar and became a laughingstock. She tried to keep her head high, but ultimately lost it when she received a sex tape of her fiance and her half-sister. Devastated, she ended up spending a wild night with a hot stranger. It was supposed to be one-time thing, but he kept popping up, helping her with projects and revenge, all while flirting with her constantly. Charlee soon realized that it was nice having him around, until her ex suddenly appeared at her door, begging for another chance. Her tycoon lover asked, “Who will you choose? Think carefully before you answer.”
Marriage was a bed of thorns for Stella. She lived like an overworked and unhappy slave for six years in her matrimonial home. One day, her uncaring husband, Waylon said to her, "Ayla will be back soon. You have to move out tomorrow." "I want a divorce," responded Stella. She left without shedding a tear or trying to change Waylon's stone-cold heart. Days after their divorce, they met again. Stella was in the arms of another man. Waylon's blood boiled at the sight of her looking so happy. "So, you couldn't even wait a while before jumping into another man's arms?" he queried distastefully. "And who are you to question my decision? It's my life, so I call the shots. Stay out of my business!" Stella fired at him before turning to look at her new man with shiny eyes. Waylon immediately lost it.
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.
Rachel used to think that her devotion would win Brian over one day, but she was proven wrong when his true love returned. Rachel had endured it all—from standing alone at the altar to dragging herself to the hospital for an emergency treatment. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up so much of herself for someone who didn’t return her feelings. But when Brian received news of Rachel’s terminal illness and realized she didn’t have long to live, he completely broke down. "I forbid you to die!" Rachel just smiled. She no longer needed him. "I will finally be free."
"You're my wife in name only, on paper only. My heart and love will never be yours." Edward made it clear to Daisy that she was nothing to him. They were both victims of family greed -- the marriage was arranged for them. Six years passed. She remained quiet, gaining a reputation in the army as a tough-as-nails colonel. When she walked into his life again, Edward fell in love with this woman, unlike any he had known. She surprised and delighted him. But will Daisy take him back? Can their son keep them together? Can the rift between them be healed? Pick this one up and find out!
WARNING: This Book Contains Explicit scenes And Adult Languages 🔞 Do you like reading steamy, naughty, dirty, and filthy romances?? If your answer is yes, get ready for the ultimate erotic excitement that will get your blood pumping and your ovaries twitching. This novel is a collection of short erotic stories. It contains all manner of sexual explicit including friends with benefits StepSister And Brother, Stepdaddy, Office, Stepmother, Lesbian, Teacher and student, Doctor and patient, domination Etc. If you are under 18yrs, this book is not for you.