State of Affairs ⚖︎ "You missed a talking point on page four, Governor," I said, sliding the briefing file across his heavy mahogany desk. Tennyson didn't look at the file. His dark eyes stayed locked on my mouth, completely devoid of the golden-man charm he'd just fed to a crowd of thousands. "Lock the door, Milan," he murmured, his voice low and exhausted. "You have a press briefing in ten minutes, sir. And your wife is waiting in the lobby." He stepped around the desk, invading my space until the scent of cedar and expensive bourbon swallowed me whole. His hand brushed my waist, his thumb pressing possessively against my hip. "I don't care," he breathed, his facade finally shattering. "Lock the damn door." 🏛️ To the world, 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬 is untouchable. He is the state's golden man, a devoted husband, and a man with a spotless reputation. Everyone worships the ground he walks on. Everyone except his executive assistant, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐚. Milan has a strict two-year plan: survive the Governor's temper, secure her recommendation letter, and catch a one-way flight to Washington, D.C. Her job description: hand him his black coffee, fix his crooked ties, and treat the most powerful man in the state like a normal human being. But her immunity is exactly what breaks him. Behind the heavy oak doors of his office, Tennyson sheds his perfect mask. He is cynical, ruthless, and spiraling into a dark, desperate obsession with the only woman who doesn't want anything from him. He becomes addicted to her warmth and slowly to her. As late nights at the office blur into a secret arrangement, Milan thinks she has the situation under control. But she doesn't know that Tennyson's public life is a PR lie. She doesn't know that the Governor has absolutely no intention of letting her go. 'Cause what the Governor needs, the Governor gets.

Nia Carter, 20 Nia is the kind of girl who can turn a five-minute conversation into a forty-minute conversation without even realizing it. She's a psychology major, a complete nerd when it comes to human behavior, and has an embarrassing amount of fun at the library. She color-codes her notes, gets genuinely excited when she learns something interesting, and has a habit of talking to herself when she's studying. She's also very pretty, although she doesn't always seem to know it. Her biggest problem? She overthinks everything. Especially Elliot. Elliot Hayes, 22 Elliot is the exact opposite. He's quiet, observant, and doesn't waste words just to fill silence. He's an engineering student who's usually found in the library, an old coffee shop, or somewhere on campus where nobody can bother him. He's British-American, has a dry sense of humor, and has perfected the art of looking mildly annoyed when he's actually amused. People tend to assume he's cold. He's not. He's just selective. And unfortunately for him, Nia somehow becomes the one person he doesn't mind talking to.

Tasha Clarke is twenty-seven and stuck. What was meant to be a temporary job at a golf club has stretched into years of serving drinks, forcing smiles, and enduring the leers of men twice her age. With her best friend Nyla's wedding on the horizon, Tasha can't help but feel left behind. Nyla has love, stability, and a future. Tasha has routine and a gnawing hunger for something more-something dangerous enough to make her feel alive again. Across the ocean, 30 year-old, Ignacio Montoya prepares to step into Seattle for the first time in years. His empire stretches across continents, claiming cities like New York, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles in blood and power. But Seattle remains unscarred-a weakness he intends to remedy. On the surface, Ignacio comes as a best man, to toast the wedding of his oldest friend. Beneath the tailored suit, however, lies a predator's intent. He sees Seattle not as a city of celebration, but as prey. Ignacio Montoya is a storm-silent until he breaks, relentless once he does. While Tasha aches for change and Ignacio charts his conquest, fate coils their paths together. What begins as a wedding celebration will unravel into something far more dangerous: a collision of hunger and power, yearning and control. When the storm finally reaches her, Tasha Clarke's life-and Seattle itself-will never be the same.

Malika Danai is pressure. Friendly, social, and loved by all, Malika thrives in college and is often seen as a mirage - seemingly real and attainable but disappears when approached. She's a party girl to the core. Loves to drink, flirt, and explore with her best friends, Ayana and Isabella. Her beauty is undeniable. With curly black hair cascading over her shoulders and golden-brown skin that glows no matter where she's at, Malika's presence is impossible to ignore. Her dark brown eyes often sparks with mischief, and her full two-toned lips often curves into teasing grins that hints at secrets she rarely shares. Malika excels at a lot of things but she was never the study type. She prayed the night before exams and hoped that her grades would at least give her a passing score and somehow, that always worked. Until now... Her grades are barely holding on- good enough to pass, but not good enough for a sorority like the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA). She wants to join. No she needs to. It's the only way she can prove to her mother that she's worth it. And she'll do whatever it takes. Even if it means casting her pride aside to get help from the boy who loathes her existence. Meanwhile... Theo Sinclair is a weapon. An academic weapon that nobody can beat. Coming from an old money family where the expectations and bars are set high, Theo surpasses them all and is often pushed towards greatness by his family. Yet he has a big flaw: boredom. Because of his uncaring attitude towards everything and everyone around him, Theo is often alone. Deliberately avoiding attention and validation from peers; he thrives in the silence and rhythm of his own scheduled routines. He has only one rule; 'Never let myself feel things I can't control.' To him, parties are ratchet and vile. An enigma vastly contrasting his reverence for solitude, silence, and carefully ordered thoughts. So when he's pushed into an unwanted arrangement, he resents the intrusion because slowly, his rule...

"I would die for her. I would kill for her. I would bleed to death for her if she told me to. I would bleed red. I would bleed any color she wanted me to for her."

In Savannah, Georgia Elle Sinclair, a refined Black debutante, and Luke O'Connor, a rugged White mechanic, come from two different worlds destined to remain apart. But when a chance encounter brings them together, their forbidden romance sparks a love connection that challenges them for the unexpected.

I was drowning in her kiss. The intensity of it filled me with sensations I'd never felt before. I taste her and I realize I've been starving. I have loved before, but never quite like this. I have kissed before, but never did it consume me like this. It lasts for a second, maybe a minute or maybe even an hour, I'm not sure. I'm drowning and drowning and sinking to the bottom of the ocean in her kiss, in her soft embrace. I never thought I could feel wanted like this before and it's intoxicating and it's swallowing me whole. It started off passionate, but we got desperate. The kiss got deeper as we got hungrier, it feels like even my hands can't bring her close enough to me. - LEIGHTON VALAK .. and in which, emotionally unavailable Alea John gets paired up with the rich golden boy on campus, Leighton Valak for a tutoring opportunity- what could go wrong? Or, in simpler words.. An unloveable boy and a girl who cannot love. highest rankings #1 - sadromance #1 - bwwm #1 - banter #1 - badboygoodgirl #2 - bwwm #2 - drama #2 - maybesmut #3 - maybesmut #6 - opposites #10 - enemiestolovers #23 - banter

*Synopsis* Rain Jameson has always felt the overwhelming burden of expectation, a weight that has shaped her life from an early age. Living in the suffocating shadow of her older sister, she has faced a relentless barrage of comparisons that have intensified her mother's grip on her. Her mother, a woman of unwavering ambition, has meticulously crafted Rain's life, still at the age of 22, dictating every detail in pursuit of perfection. The one sanctuary she has found amidst this chaos is figure skating-a graceful art her mother introduced her to when she was just a child. The icy rink has become Rain's refuge, a place where she can express her true self as she glides effortlessly across the surface, mastering spins and leaps that leave spectators breathless. As her senior year at Boston University approaches, she pours her heart and soul into the skating team, balancing her studies with intensive training and dreaming of a future that could break her mother's tight grip. Across campus, Beckham Wade stands at the center of attention as the legendary star of the hockey team at 23. From the moment he took his first steps, the rink has felt like his second home-a place where he trains tirelessly, his skates carving arcs in the ice. Inspired by his father, once a famous player himself. He embodies the essence of a natural athlete, his muscles toned from practice and gameplay, filled with the exuberance of youth. Days are spent honing his skills, while nights blur into wild parties where laughter echoes and adrenaline reigns. He grapples with the envy of his male peers, many of whom view him as a rival rather than a friend. As winter unfolds, Rain and Beckham are drawn closer on the rink. A spark ignites between them, hinting at a chemistry that's hard to ignore. Yet, as their feelings grow, they stand at a crossroads, aware that what could blossom into something beautiful might also cost them the very sanctuaries that define their lives

I don't do one night stands. I don't wake up in strangers' beds. I don't creep out of mansions at nine in the morning with my heels in my hand. And I definitely don't lose entire nights to alcohol and end up naked next to a man whose name I don't know. Except I did. All of it. **** "Do you have a boyfriend. A fiancé. A husband." "No." "Good." Just that. Good. Like it was information he'd needed and now had. **** Syrus King is dangerous, possessive, and used to getting exactly what he wants. I was supposed to be a mistake. A blackout. A bad decision. A name I'd never have to say out loud. But he found me. And he already knew things about me I'd never told anyone. **** ⚠️ Mature themes: violence, dark content. No explicit sexual content.

Journey never planned on falling in love, and Emilio never planned on slowing down. What begins as quiet coffee visits turns into something deeper. Intentional. Devastatingly real. For the Long Way is a slow-burn romance about choosing each other, building a life between two worlds, and learning that the most powerful love is the one that waits, stays, and commits fully.