When a self-made beauty boss tries to leave her toxic past behind, she crosses paths with New York's most feared kingpin who's already decided she'll be his, whether she's ready or not.

𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺 "𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯"

Lena Blackwell works in an illegal after-hours Black & Tan club in Bronzeville where she seduces twin brothers Smoke and Stack. Each brother has qualities she likes and she embarks on an illicit affair with both. All is well until one of the twins starts catching feelings.

"How are you supposed to keep your man with your hair in that mess, Tamia?" "And has your hair been looking like that all week?" She went on talking about my hair now, considering it was blown-out instead of well kept, hot combed and straightened the way that she liked. "No, mama." I dragged, annoyed completely now with all of my peace gone in this moment. "I just got out of the shower and I just finished washing and blow-drying my hair." "I'm going to hot comb it and then flat iron it when I'm finished doing my skincare." "Yasin's not going to be home until tomorrow probably anyway." I threw in there but of course she wouldn't chastise him about why and where.

"If loving you is wrong, I don't wanna be right." - Toxicilations 11:19 09/30/2021 - 10/10/2021 *old plssss don't read*

"Beautiful things don't ask for attention." In a world that thrives on conformity, August is an anomaly. Raised in a secretive overbearing family, she was chosen to leave its hidden grounds-not for freedom, but for duty. Sent to college to become the strategic mind for her generation behind the family's growing empire, she tries to move through the world like a ghost, draped in gothic shadows with secrets too heavy to share but her style is just too much to go unnoticed by judging eyes unscathed. Then she meets Kason through his older brother. A rising rapper with a reckless charm and a hunger for something real, dealing with battles of his own, he's instantly drawn to August's eerie demeanor and the quiet storm that lingers behind her dark mysterious eyes. She's nothing like the women he's used to-unbothered by trends, and untouched by the need for validation. The more she resists, the deeper he falls, his infatuation turning into an obsession he can't shake. One he cant let go of. As their worlds collide, the slow burn of their connection threatens to ignite everything August has been taught to suppress. With her past closing in and expectations pressing down, she must decide if she's willing to defy everything she's ever known for the chance at something dangerously real. In a society that demands she fit a mold, August stands in defiance. Unfortunately, love has a way of making even the strongest question their silence. STARTED; February 22nd , 2025 PUBLISHED; MARCH 18th, 2025 FINISHED; MAY 27th, 2025

𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

I was a boy when I met her and loving her taught me how to be a man. ** This book features MATURE THEMES including violence, strong language, sexual content and potentially-triggering fictional scenarios. Please read at your own discretion. ** BOOK TWO OF THE STAY DOWN SERIES ON @RE2RAW