Angelo Lesca. The young Capo, as they called him. He was powerful in his line of work. He kept some friends, but more girls. He wouldn't admit that his high school sweetheart, the love his life, was the reason of his cold hearted power. But then, a young girl named Mercury shows up at his apartment, during a storm, claiming to need his help. She was the girl at his door.

𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧. 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥. Just when Aurora is finally taking control of her own life, everything seems to be falling into chaos. She leaves behind all that she's ever known to take a chance at life in an entirely new place. But America is nothing like England, and its inhabitants even more so. Trusting her brother to help her adapt, Aurora accepts his offer to stay with him and some of his teammates. Seven of them to be exact. She quickly comes to realize that her comfort-zone doesn't exist here, and everything is big, scary, and intimidating. Just like her brother's best friend. Maddox is Aurora's polar opposite, which explains the magnetic pull that he seems to feel for her. He knows that he's bad for her, that the bad in his life will only taint her purity, like a drop of ink in water. Maddox doesn't know what to think about the new girl, but he does know that he thinks about her way too much. He knows that he can't sit by while she struggles, and life in Greenville is sink or swim. Aurora's been thrown into the deep-end without a life preserver and the only thing keeping her from drowning is a tattooed hand reaching out to help her.

Rydell is trying to get by. Suffering from panic attacks takes a tole on her life, but she's getting through it as best she can. She's a computer science major at Daxton U, and is about to be the co-creator of a video game to help kids with behavioral disabilities. She is busy, determined, and there's no time for distraction. Scott is loved by everyone, except maybe his parents. Captain of Daxton U's hockey team, and a shoe-in for the big leagues, he knows exactly what he wants, and he won't let anything get in the way of that. So when he fails Spanish and is facing the possibility of being a seat warmer for the season, he finds a solution- Rydell Rivens. trigger warnings: mentions of sexual abuse, and anxiety

~ 2021 WATTY'S SHORTLIST ~ "I-well, I..." I hesitated with my response. I wanted to let go. To not worry about what would happen in the future. I'd always loved staring into fires. It hypnotized me with its beauty and danger. It was so tantalizing to look at, but one little touch could destroy. I knew the heat between Tyler and I was similar. It started off small but it had only grown in the weeks he'd been here. We'd fed it unintentionally, and it had gone from an ember to a crackling flame. Every nerve in my body wanted to reach out and touch it, even though I knew I'd get burned. *************************************************** Pia Callahan always lived a carefree life with no worries. Her only responsibilities were to attend her college classes (sometimes) and keep herself fed (on ramen). When tragedy strikes, Pia is all of the sudden thrown into a whirlwind of change. She has to grow up and take on more responsibility than she could ever imagine: the custody of her best friend's son. Pia may not believe she is the best person for the job, but she is determined to do it. She'll trade in frat parties for PTA meetings and beer-bongs for apple juice. But what happens when the ruggedly hot motocross athlete Tyler Westwood shows up in her small town? Tyler lives on the fast track, never caring too much about consequences. You can't when your job is to do backflips through the air. Sometimes, you just have to send it and hope for the best. From the second Tyler meets Pia, he knows he wants her. But she is determined to ignore their bubbling chemistry. She has priorities now and a summer fling isn't one of them. Will Pia be able to stay away from Tyler? Or will she decide to hit the throttle? ***************************************************

Eighteen-year-old Nat falls for five different boys during her first month at college, but never openly admits her crushes - until one night she drunk texts all five of them. She finds her freshman year turned upside down as she navigates the world of first love. ***** Nat keeps a list of all her crushes' pros and cons on her phone - the most logical thing to do for her list-making, highly organized brain. The lists were never meant to be shared, but when Ty, the school's star hockey player, dares Nat to tell the boys how she feels, how could she back down from a drunken dare? The sober light of morning leaves Nat questioning her sanity when she sees three messages awaiting her response: the hot guy she met at a concert, the kind guy from orientation week, and the perfect guy from lit class. Now, Nat must confront her feelings for these boys face-to-face, or her chance at love will pass her by. In this story of firsts, what happens when Nat just presses send? Book One of the Just Press Send series. [[word count: 90,000 - 100,000]] Cover designed by Cil Ojumo

She's a wild, free spirit who sees the good in everyone, and he's the hardened, bad-tempered loner who wants nothing to do with her-yet no matter how hard he tries to push her away, she's the one temptation he can't escape. *** He's never met someone with such a bubbly personality. Not to mention the wildness and odd phrases she says every five minutes. He hates it. He hates how he can't stay away from it. He hates what she does to him; it's not like him to chase after some girl. She gets under his skin like no other. She's never met someone with such a bad attitude. He's ill-mannered and menacing. The glare never seems to leave his face. Considering it all, she can't help but feel the attraction toward him. Dangerous attraction toward a seemingly dangerous man. Maybe it's the tattoos on his arm that gets her attention. Or maybe it's because she can tell there's hope for good under his rough exterior. And she's about to find it, whether he likes it or not. It's no secret that the two of them are complete and total opposites. *** "You like being called Sugar, don't you?" I tease, placing my toothbrush back after finishing. He does the same and gives me a side-eyed scowl. He grips my chin harshly and kisses me. My body temperature raises a good ten degrees and my right leg goes all wiggly. He pulls away. "You like it when I kiss you, don't you?" He teases the same way I did to him and I'm left blubbering. "I think both of our questions are rhetorical," I lower my voice up at him. His lip curls up into a smirk. *** #1 in Young Adult #9 in Badboy #1 in Cold #3 in Goodgirl #1 in Sweetheart #14 in Love *** *Warning* This story contains mature themes (language, scenes)