Your life is gray, quiet, forgettable - you work an office job you hate and live in an old, tiny apartment you can barely afford in a shitty neighborhood. Your neighbor, Mr. Riley, is cold, quiet and impossible to read. He helps out a few times - carrying heavy boxes, fixing things - but never sticks around long enough for a thank you that he doesn't even seem to want. Every conversation ends in silence, every interaction feels wrong. Then his face appears on the news. He's not just unfriendly - he's a wanted fugitive, linked to multiple murders and armed robberies for which he wore a skull mask to hide his identity. Shaken but relieved he's gone, you try to move on. Until the news breaks that he has escaped. !!THIS IS A SLOW BURN.!!

"Tell me." He whispered, voice husky with amusement. "If I take this dress off of you and touch you here." His thumb traced slow circles over the tightening nub, rubbing gently, deliberately making it harder. "Would you be wet, Олонок?" Heat surged through me like wildfire. My breath hitched before I could stop it. My lips parted, and instinctively, I bit down on my lower lip, tasting my own flesh. His thumb continued its torturous dance over the areola, small circles that became firmer, coaxing every nerve to attention. I could feel the skin puckering under his touch, my body betraying me in slow, shuddering responses. I wanted to pull away, to stand, to breathe but the grip of his gaze held me captive. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elara Sinclair came to Maryville to disappear. After fleeing the engagement her father arranged, one that would have chained her to a life she didn't choose. She only wants quiet, classes, anonymity, and a future of her own making. But quiet shatters the moment she enrolls in Russian during her third year. Her professor, Draven Volkov, is everything she should avoid. Commanding Magnetic Impossible to ignore. His dark eyes promise more than language lessons, and his words curl around her like silk. But behind the sharp suits and the accent is a man with secrets far more dangerous than she realizes. Because Draven Volkov isn't just a professor. He's Lucius Romanov, heir to a ruthless Russian mafia dynasty, hiding in plain sight. As Elara struggles to outrun her past, she finds herself entangled in his. Desire wars with fear, attraction with survival, and every step closer to him pulls her deeper into a world of power, deception, and sin. In Maryville, falling for the wrong man doesn't just break hearts. It can cost lives.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HATE Ishvika Roy has two problems. The first is that she has a habit of turning every peaceful situation into complete chaos. The second? Samay Rawat. He is quiet, strict, annoyingly handsome, and absolutely impossible to read. Unfortunately for Ishvika, he isn't just the man she keeps accidentally bumping into, arguing with, and embarrassing herself in front of. He's her professor. And as if that wasn't bad enough, fate has decided to make things even worse- They become accidental flatmates. Now, the man who barely tolerates her existence has to see her every single day, outside the classroom, without the safety of professional boundaries to hide behind. She talks too much. He hates unnecessary conversations. She thrives on chaos. He worships silence. She loves getting on his nerves. He has the patience of a saint-until she pushes the wrong button. They call it hate. But when living under the same roof starts blurring the lines between irritation and attraction, one question remains- How long can they keep pretending it's nothing but hate? Because sometimes, the strongest emotions don't begin with love. Sometimes, they begin with the person you can't stand.

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐚𝐦. . . . There are things you're taught not to do. Rules you're told to follow. People you're meant to forget. Flora never planned to end up here, but after one too many mistakes, her life dives for rock bottom. Now, she's trapped in a world she doesn't understand, haunted by a past she can't outrun. And at the center of it all stands the boy she'd sworn to forget. What once was fate, fractures into an illusion and twist into something dangerously evil. They were kids together. Friends together. 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵. She's new. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵. She's fresh meat. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. What happens when they reunite? Secrets unfold. Chaos runs free. And the line between love and ruin sharpens into a thin blade, as history proves to repeat itself in its cruelest form. A girl. A boy. And a mad house that feeds on sin. There's no place to hide here. You can run, but you'll never get away. "𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘢𝘮. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺." 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲

Falling for her brooding bodyguard on her first solo royal tour was the last thing Annabelle Montgomery expected to do. Being the youngest daughter to the King and Queen of England, the spotlight's always on her, not wanting to fall in front of the camera's she's forced to push those feeling away. But how long can she hold them off? The No Fraternizing with Clients rule is one of the first things they teach you when you're becoming an Executive Protection Agent. Nathan Beckett was never one to follow rules growing up, but when his job is on the line he has no choice but to stick to them, especially when it involves someone like her. But some rules are meant to be broken... Right? ..... highest rankings - #1 in must 8/25/24 *this book is the second book in this series but it can be read as a standalone, for a better understanding on the family I suggest reading "It Started With The Crown" first.*

She was promised like property. He signed the contract without blinking. Isabella has spent her life obeying the rules-silent, careful, invisible beneath the weight of her father's control. When she's forced into a marriage alliance with the cold and powerful Orlando Lombardi, she doesn't protest. She knows better. Orlando isn't interested in soft things. He doesn't need affection. What he needs is loyalty-and the girl he's been given is a means to an end. But behind quiet eyes, Isabella carries secrets. And beneath Orlando's steel exterior is a man who sees more than he should. As power shifts and hidden loyalties threaten to surface, the house she's leaving-and the man she's bound to-may both be more dangerous than she imagined. One home made her silent. The other wants to hear her scream. ~ "Tell me to stop and I'll stop," he says, his voice rough with restraint. "If you don't tell me right now, I may not be able to hold myself back." My body is vibrating with need, and I don't answer for a beat. When I finally find my voice, the shock of my own words surprises me. "I need you, Orlando. Please." Without another word, Orlando stands and scoops me up. I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me up the stairs, our lips never parting.

"You're annoying, yet I can't get enough of you," Ayla, a senior at an international school, focuses all her time and energy on her studies after an incident that landed her in a hospital she was issued a bodyguard, and her life is not the only thing changing as the tension between the two arises. Arman, a broody 26 year old bodyguard that takes his job seriously was assigned to Ayla, and as much as he hates her, he can't control himself around her and now breaking a few rules can't hurt .

"You're here," she murmured, voice steady. "Tell me two things you can see." His throat worked. "The tub," he managed, voice rough. "You." "Good," she said. "Now, two things you can hear." "The shower," he exhaled. "Your voice." "Two things you can feel." "The water." His grip tightened on her hand. "You." "That's good," she whispered, a small smile tugging at her lips. Sawyer Jones lives in a world of chaos-underground fights, illegal races, and the constant war inside his own head. His autism makes the world too loud, too bright, too much. Violence is the only thing that quiets the noise. Until Lia. Soft-spoken but relentless, she meets him in the tub in a party and refuses to leave. She steadies him when the rage takes over, pulls him back when he's drowning. But Sawyer knows better than to believe in peace. In his world, nothing good lasts. And the deeper Lia gets, the more he realizes-he might be her greatest danger yet. PLS GIVE IT A TRY 🌸🌸

"Three years of your life in exchange for your brother's future. Fair, isn't it?" For years, she's lived on exhaustion and sacrifice-working tirelessly to keep food on the table, drowning in debt, and fighting to pay for her brother's medical bills. Hope was never meant for her... until the most dangerous man she knows offers a deal she cannot refuse. Caius Grivano. Her cold, ruthless employer. The infamous mafia leader whose name alone makes the underworld tremble. His proposition is simple: be his wife. No strings. No love. Just a contract that grants her brother's life in exchange for her freedom. Luxury in place of poverty. Safety in exchange for silence. But simplicity is a lie. Because behind Caius's icy indifference is a past that refuses to stay buried... and a little girl who shatters every wall he's built. What happens when a transaction of convenience begins to feel like something far more dangerous-something real?

"Promise?" She said with tears in her eyes. "I promise." He smiled softly.