She should have kept her mouth shut. Every night, Violet Johnson buries herself in dark romance novels. Possessive antiheroes. Cold men with dangerous power. Obsession that burns slow and devours whole. She loves every page... until she slams the book shut in frustration. Because none of those men are real. No man looks at her like she's his undoing. No man corners her and makes her pulse riot. No man feels dangerous enough to ruin her life beautifully. So she makes a wish. A stupid, half-asleep, whispered wish. "Just once... let me meet a man like that." The next morning begins like every other. Coffee. Headphones. Late for work. Until she walks straight into a wall of muscle and expensive danger. He smells like something forbidden. He looks carved, not born. His voice is low, controlled, cold enough to frost over skin. And when she panics and blurts out, "Sorry... you're just really handsome," she wants the ground to swallow her whole. He doesn't smile. He studies her. As if she's interesting. As if she's... entertaining. What Violet doesn't know is that the universe didn't misunderstand her wish. It answered it precisely. The man she bumped into is not fictional. He is not safe. And he is not the kind of man who allows coincidences. He notices how she stares too long. How her emotions flicker across her face like open pages. How she tries to hide her growing obsession... and fails beautifully. She falls first. Hard. Secretly. He falls harder. Dangerously. Possessive in silence. Strategic in pursuit. Amused by her shameless curiosity. And when he realizes she wanted a dark romance hero? He decides to show her what that really means. Careful what you wish for. Some fantasies do not come with safe words.

Aaliyah never expected a late-night hospital shift to ruin her life. One glance from Luca-the city's most feared mafia boss-and she becomes his newest obsession. Cold. Violent. Untouchable. Luca is the kind of man people pray they never meet. He rules Chicago through fear, bloodshed, and power, and nobody dares question him. Not rivals. Not cops. Not even the men who work for him. But when he sees the shy black nurse with soft eyes and a gentle heart, something inside him snaps. He watches her. Follows her. Learns everything about her. And then he takes her. Not to save her. Not because she's innocent. Not because she needs protection. He takes her because he wants her. Trapped inside Luca's dangerous world, Aaliyah quickly learns that obsession feels a lot like love when it comes from a man willing to burn cities down for you. The deeper she falls into his darkness, the harder it becomes to remember she was ever supposed to escape. Because Luca doesn't let go of things he claims. And he already decided she belongs to him.

When a suburban Black girl meets a hard life Hispanic boy.

Joelle Jordan is just trying to survive university and her life at home. Bryce Valentine is trying to survive everyone else. Projected first-round NFL draft pick. Campus celebrity. The most watched college athlete in the country. When the two strike a deal to trade study sessions for Bryce and personal training sessions for Joelle's little brother, everything seems simple enough. Then Bryce crosses the line. Now Joelle is trying to navigate a boy who is emotionally repressed, touch-starved, obsessively devoted, and surrounded by more pressure than any twenty-year-old should have to carry. Add the coaches, media attention, NIL deals, scouts, photo shoots, and Bryce's oppressive father. The pressure that comes with being attached to Bryce Valentine is something Joelle is not equipped for. Especially when she starts getting a little too comfortable with the fact that Bryce can't seem to leave her alone.

"Stop apologising." So I did. Then I apologised for stopping. I'm the girl who eats lunch alone and tells herself she chose it. The girl who's never been kissed. The girl who hides behind books and oversized sweaters and a smile that says please don't look at me. Malakai Vashko looks at me anyway. Six foot seven. Russian. Knuckles that never heal. Eyes the colour of something cold and far away. He fights men twice his size for money and walks out of rooms without explaining himself to anyone. He told me he didn't need a friend. He told me to stop looking at him like he might be one. I should have listened. But I caught him trying to buy flowers for someone who couldn't receive them anymore, and something in me understood him before my brain caught up. He hides with silence and fists. I hide with silence and books. I didn't fix him. He didn't save me. But the night I grabbed an underground boxer by the hoodie outside a corner shop and told him to stop, something started between us that neither of us knew how to end. He still doesn't smile. But he stayed. ------------------ ⚠️ Mature themes: violence, dark content. No explicit sexual content.

He left her to protect his bloodline. Now his bloodline is the one thing that could destroy him. Years ago, Amari Grant fell for Luca Moretti - heir to one of the most feared mafia families in Italy. He was her forbidden love, her undoing, and her heartbreak. When his family forced him to choose between his legacy and the woman he loved, Luca walked away... never knowing she was carrying his child. Amari built a new life in silence. She raised their son alone, far from Luca's world of guns and loyalty oaths. Now happily married and thriving. But secrets don't stay buried forever. When word of the boy reaches Luca's enemies, the unthinkable happens - her son is taken. Desperate and out of options, Amari does the last thing she ever thought she would: she goes back to Luca. The man who shattered her heart is now her only hope. When Luca learns the truth - that the child he's being asked to protect is his own - everything he's built starts to crumble. His marriage. His empire. His control. Now the ruthless don will burn the world to find his son and protect him... and the woman who still owns his heart. But rescuing them means war - and in the mafia, love is the deadliest weakness of all.

In the bustling city of New York, two worlds collide when shy photographer Sasha Gray meets world-famous boxer Michael Díaz. Sasha, a 24-year-old Haitian-American introvert, lives a quiet life in Brooklyn with her camera as her comfort zone. Her three best friends - Fab, Dani, and Nala - encourage her to explore the city and meet new people. Michael, a 30-year-old Puerto Rican boxing champion, resides in Queens with his tight-knit family and three best friends - Julian, Chris, and Alex. His last relationship ended in heartbreak when his ex-girlfriend Sophia cheated on him with his rival boxer. When Michael and Sasha meet at a boxing match in Brooklyn, their initial encounter is brief but intense. As their paths continue to cross, they must confront their pasts, challenge their fears, and learn to trust each other. Will Michael and Sasha find love beyond the ring, or will their differences and past heartaches tear them apart?

𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐧. ꙬꙬꙬꙬ All that Yara Morello was told all her life was that she was the shame of the family. She was a mistake that was never supposed to happen, a disgrace to be shunned and cast away. She yearned for freedom, a chance to forge her own destiny on her terms. Except freedom wasn't part of the plan anymore when her father makes her a candidate for an arranged marriage in place of her half sister. Secrets get revealed, the past pays a visit to the present. She discovers that the true cost of freedom was far greater than she had ever imagined or bargained. ♈︎♈︎♈︎ -𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 -𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 -𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥

cover by @summerafterglow 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥 It's so much easier to spread lies about people than it is to spread the truth. That's what Gabriel knows to be true, at least. According to everyone in his town, he's a monster. He doesn't deserve to be walking among the rest of them. That's far from the truth, though. He was never good at being alone, but it became something he was used to. After everything he'd gone through, he craved solitude. Until she showed up. She wiggled her way right into his heart and now all he craved was her. 𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐧𝐚 Moving to a small lakeside town in Washington was not where Alyna saw her life taking her. She also didn't expect that she'd fall so hard for the brooding mechanic who lived there. Everyone tells her that she should stay away from him. All of the rumors say that he's dangerous, but all she ever feels with him is safe. With obstacles at every turn, will their love be enough to endure even the worst challenge they'll face? Or will they fall apart under the weight? started: 12/15/2023 published: 05/18/2024 completed: highest rankings: #2 bwwm #4 ongoing