He was the king. She was the one girl he was never supposed to touch. Luca Morteli built his empire with blood, bullets, and bone-deep silence. CEO by day, Mafia king by night, he rules with precision never letting emotions get in the way. But everything unravels the moment she walks into his office. Anna DeLuca. Too innocent. Too bright. And entirely off-limits. She's the daughter of his family's most loyal doctor. The baby sister of his right-hand man. A walking complication with green eyes that see too much. She doesn't belong in his world. But that won't stop him from claiming her. Even if it means breaking every rule. Even if it means dragging her into his darkness. Because once he touches her, he'll never let her go. And once she uncovers the man beneath the monster... There's no turning back. Cold hearts don't stay untouched forever. Especially not when fate wants to watch them burn.

James & Sophie *DUAL POV* For years, I kept my feelings locked away. He unlocked them with one kiss. He said he wanted me. He said it was only us. He also said we had to keep it a secret. I thought love was worth the silence, until I overheard him talking about how he really felt about me. Now I have a choice: stay shattered, or rebuild myself without him. And this time, I won't break. TW: Mental Health, Bullying

Eliana had dedicated her life to her family. To her spunky twin daughters who brought her both endless grief and honest joy; and to her husband Jesse, her high school sweetheart and the love of her life. She'd happily sacrificed her dreams for what she'd thought was a better future. Until suddenly... it wasn't. When late nights and unexplainable purchases and guilty excuses became their new normal, Eliana began to take note. To document. To investigate. Her husband may think otherwise, but this housewife was no fool. And this time - when the truth came to light, as it always does - Eliana would be the one pulling the strings. ---- HEA; dual-POV Content Warning: Cheating spouse, language

Ana Wintera is only seventeen years old when Azriel Ilyas Romanov, the Pakhan of the Bratva, the lord of Romanov Crime Dynasty, the Shadow King first lays eyes on her. And from that moment she becomes his. "Who are you?" she sniffs "Oh my malen'koye serdtse," he whispers, lips running along her wet cheeks, kissing away her tears. "I'm your everything."

Single mom Selina Sardi would do anything for her 6-year-old son. Eager to turn their new house into a real home for him, she's devastated when she discovers that the monster under his bed is not a figment of his imagination but the real deal. Elias Zwarteveen started his bogeyman career twenty-four years ago and he has been living in the same attic since. He would love nothing more than a change of scenery, but if he wants to move, he needs to rebuild his strength. The only way to do that is to consume plenty of fear. Selina and Elias strike a deal. She will feed him her fears for seven nights in a row, after which he will leave and never return. There's nowhere to hide in the small attic room and Elias picks up on fears Selina wasn't even aware of. Selina and Elias embark on a heated, emotional rollercoaster. What starts as a game of cat and mouse evolves into an intense yearning that will be hard to walk away from. Yet, that is exactly what they intend to do when the week is over. Seven Nights with the Bogeyman is a steamy monster romance with explicit sex scenes between two consenting adults, written for the ONC2024. Enjoy! ONC Prompt 5: Horror is in the eye of the beholder ONC2024 SHORTLIST & HONORABLE MENTION AMBYS 2025 FAVORITE PARANORMAL NOVELLA 1 in #ONC2024 feb.16 '24 1 in #opennovellacontest2024 feb.18 '24 1 in #bogeyman march 6'24 1 in #monsterromance may 2'24 1 in #romantasy may 28 '24 1 in #paranormalromance june 3 '24 1 in #paranormal may 15'24 6 in #lovestory July 2'24 12 in #darkromance July 2'24 1 in #speculative July 2'24

"Give me ten days, and I can give you ten reasons not to die." Evan paused. "And if I can't change your mind by then, you can go jump off that cliff."

𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯! Tragedy can happen to anyone, anytime and anywhere, and the saddest part about that truth is that tragedy is unavoidable. No one can prevent a natural disaster from happening. No one can prevent death from knocking on their doorstep - if it's an accident, or a sickness - it cannot be prevented, and it cannot be avoided. You never know on which day tragedy will come knocking on your front door. You never know who it would strike next - if it would be you, or someone else, or someone who is very close to you. The thing is, with tragedy, it doesn't ask questions before it strikes. It just does. River and Sophia were two people who experienced the same tragedy: loss, but their stories were very different from each other, but they shared the same pain of losing someone they loved, someone who was close to them. And now, suffering the aftermath of their tragedies - living with the guilt, the regret, and the grief of losing someone that was close to them, they have to try to overcome everything, before their tragedy ruins their lives forever. But will it bring them together or would it just be another terrible tragedy? [ word count 130K - 145K ] [ comments does contain spoilers ]

Aria Adkins only cares about three things: 1.) the bills piling up on her kitchen counter. 2.) getting her sister out of their dead-end hometown and off to college. 3.) keeping the bottle of Jim Beam out of her heartbroken, alcoholic mother's reach. Closed-off and content as one can be with a never ending routine of crappy part-time jobs and the task of cleaning up broken whiskey bottles, Aria is used to dealing with things by herself; especially after her father runs off and she's forced to step up to the plate and solely care for her dysfunctional mother and younger sister. At twenty-one, Aria sticks to herself and has no time for men, romance, and most of all, love. After witnessing the demise of her parents' train wreck of a marriage lead to a cycle of adultery, addiction, and abuse, she swears to herself that she wants no part in any of it. That all changes when she crosses paths with tall and tattooed New Orleans native Austin Delaney, who weasels his way into Aria's heart and refuses to let her maneuver life alone. First, he offers her a job. And then? The promise that he's not going anywhere. • Highest Ranking: #1 in New Adult Romance, #4 in Adult Romance, #22 in Romance •