Nadika is just a college girl with big dreams, small paychecks, and a pen she hopes will save her one day. Between late shifts at Starbucks and deadlines that never wait, she keeps her life simple-and safe. Devonte is anything but. Quiet. Feared. Untouchable. A man built by Chicago streets and rules she doesn't understand. Their worlds collide on a rainy night, and what starts as a harmless ride home turns into something neither of them planned. Because Devonte doesn't chase. He claims. And once he decides Nadika is his... walking away is no longer an option. In a city where love is dangerous and loyalty is everything, Nadika must decide if protecting her heart is worth losing him-or if being claimed by the hustler is the only place she was ever meant to be.

Nakiya Charles has mastered the art of holding everything together: her grades, her future, her family, her friends. Asaan Bennett has always believed that the right people find you when you're not looking for them. When a chance meeting during their senior year of college keeps turning into another... and then another, an unexpected friendship begins to bloom between two people who have spent most of their lives being everything for everyone else. But as they grow closer, so do the fears they've carefully kept hidden. Because sometimes the scariest thing isn't falling in love. It's trusting someone enough to catch you. Can two people who are used to being everyone else's safety net be brave enough to become each other's? "Boy, you got me tripping, falling with no safety net." (Safety Net by Ariana Grande & Ty Dolla $ign) Disclaimer: All images featured in this book belong to their respective owners. I do not claim ownership of any photographs unless explicitly stated. They are used for aesthetic and storytelling purposes only.

Micah and Maila love story.

𝐋𝐔𝐕𝐕𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒⭐️"Nigga you sure you like her she dress like she emo". "Man shut up Tri she just got a unique style too her".

"𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏?" - 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒙𝒙

𝐀𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐘 is a guarded and strong willed fashion designer, who's determined, goal oriented, focused and definitely not looking for love, nor did she want it. all for one simple deterring factor. Luck. Which she never had much of when it came down to it. So when going into to her second year of college, she set a strict set of boundaries. No dating, no sexual intercourse- no engaging in anything remotely romantic with the male species, and little to no interaction with men in general. Only focus on the goal at hand- graduating college and moving to New York City afterwards. Now in her senior year and under the same set of rules, everything she once thought she knew about love is tested, when Entering, '𝐊𝐈𝐘𝐎 𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐊𝐀' in the picture, a charming, baking loving, baseball player, with a heart of gold, and the purest form of intentions, he was the literal definition of 'Boyfriend material' -Kind, intentional, patient, and everything Adrian convinced herself didn't exist in this new day in age of men. When the designer gets dragged to a baseball game by her best friend, and is struck in the head during a home run, she meets the charismatic pitcher. Causing the near fatal encounter to merge their worlds, as Adrian is Taken through a storm of emotions experiencing a romance like never before. Can Kiyo get the damaged fashionista to break down her walls, and give her heart to him? will Adrian be willing to take a chance on a new found relationship that all started with a strike to the head, Or will she succumb and crack under the pain of the past trying? This story is a| SLOWBURN COLLEGE ROMANCE!! #1 in baseball player - 12/1/25 #36 in Bwwm 12/9/25 #1 in black author 2/25/26

Soul Maurielle is quiet, introverted and to herself. She's been spoiled her whole life and has had everything handed to her, whether it was from her father, a respected drug kingpin who passed when she was 18, or her twin brother Shilo who followed in the footsteps of his father. Soul isn't new to the 'street life' she hates it and all that it brings. That life did nothing but take from her family. Her brother on the other hand loved the fast life and the quick money that came with, so he followed in the footsteps of their father bringing drama to her door when and wherever. Trap has never been one for many words, he allowed his actions to speak through all that he did. And boy did his actions speak. Trap is a popular loner, so many have been around him but not many knows who he his. Even those closest to Trap barely get more than 5 words from him at a time. He handles his business and goes about his day. Trap is deep in the life, had been since he was 15. Virgil, the father figure Trap never had, was the man who took him in and introduced him to the life. His mom had been struggling with bills, his sister, who was on her school cheer team, had no way to get her gear and he had one option. Turn to the streets, one of his boys had been bragging about the fast money he was getting and Trap needed that, his boy introduced him to Virgil and it was off from there. The 2 are one and the same, both quiet, reserved and to themselves. But Soul isn't looking for love, let alone a man that's in the same life she lost her dad to. She hates the life and everything that comes with it, so why can't she just leave this man alone? Book 1 Started: February 12, 2026 Finished...

Zahir "Zah" Creed has always been the quietest and most calculated of his brothers-the one who watches longer, thinks deeper, and moves last because his moves end things. After surviving a gunshot wound that should've taken him out, Zah's mindset hardens into something darker, colder, and brutally precise. He now runs the Creed family's underground operations with an iron hand and zero tolerance for mistakes. Loyalty buys protection, money, power-everything a person could want. Betrayal buys a grave. Emotions are a liability he buried a long time ago... until the one woman capable of unraveling him resurfaces and reminds him exactly where his weakness lives. Celeste Jones is Atlanta's top defense attorney-polished, brilliant, and born into a family that planned her entire life before she ever got a say. From her education to her engagement, everything has been carefully curated to fit her parents' idea of success. She's engaged to Darrell Harris, a fellow lawyer who looks perfect on paper but hides who he really is beneath a well-crafted persona. Celeste knows something is wrong, but years of obligation and expectation have taught her how to swallow her instincts. That is, until a call pulls her back into a past she was never allowed to choose. At one point in her life, Zahir Creed was all she knew. Their bond was intense, consuming, and dangerous-so dangerous that her parents made sure to tear them apart before it could ruin everything they'd built for her. Now Zah is back, darker, more powerful, and no longer willing to stay in the shadows of her life. The man she once loved is now the man her world should fear, and he's making it clear he isn't leaving this time. As old feelings collide with present danger, Celeste is forced to choose between the life that was designed for her and the man who has always owned the parts of her she's never been able to control.

"Don't wanna be a player no more, I think I found someone I can live my life for." DessDiorxDaveEast

Love was just a four-letter word Misused to entrust the heart of followers But it never meant a damn thing to me Until you came so unexpectedly