Alessandro Galanti, a mafia boss who has his eye set on Aria Stone. And he'll stop at nothing until she is his.

❛𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?❜ ❛𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭?❜ ❛𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞.❜ ❛𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭.❜ Ezra Barlowe is unable to paint the way he used to. He thought stopping his medication and spending a year in France would help him, but that has failed and now he's back home with nothing to show for it. Until he meets a certain girl who looked at him the way a painting would. Odessa Greene spends most of her time between school and working as an art model. When she's not posing nude for broke college students, she's being a broke college student. Life is hectic, but she manages to find solace in a boy with shaky hands and glasses thicker than hers. [to put it simply: art, romance, smut, inexperienced guy/experienced girl, submissive male/ gentle fdom. warning: ambiguous ending) started: [2/22] published: [6/13/22] ended: [9/17/22]

"Beautiful things don't ask for attention." In a world that thrives on conformity, August is an anomaly. Raised in a secretive overbearing family, she was chosen to leave its hidden grounds-not for freedom, but for duty. Sent to college to become the strategic mind for her generation behind the family's growing empire, she tries to move through the world like a ghost, draped in gothic shadows with secrets too heavy to share but her style is just too much to go unnoticed by judging eyes unscathed. Then she meets Kason through his older brother. A rising rapper with a reckless charm and a hunger for something real, dealing with battles of his own, he's instantly drawn to August's eerie demeanor and the quiet storm that lingers behind her dark mysterious eyes. She's nothing like the women he's used to-unbothered by trends, and untouched by the need for validation. The more she resists, the deeper he falls, his infatuation turning into an obsession he can't shake. One he cant let go of. As their worlds collide, the slow burn of their connection threatens to ignite everything August has been taught to suppress. With her past closing in and expectations pressing down, she must decide if she's willing to defy everything she's ever known for the chance at something dangerously real. In a society that demands she fit a mold, August stands in defiance. Unfortunately, love has a way of making even the strongest question their silence. STARTED; February 22nd , 2025 PUBLISHED; MARCH 18th, 2025 FINISHED; MAY 27th, 2025

there's a bar in the city, and it just happens to be ran by the Castillo Crime Family. *this story falls between Natalie Young and Sam Castillo, the son of Richie Castillo. This book has not been edited, so excuse any errors.

"𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹." 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘇𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼... 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆-𝗺𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗭𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼. 𝗭𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁, 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰, 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹, 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿. 𝘇𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘅𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻

"You ain't even that cute." Jojo playfully rolled her eyes allowing Dice to pull her arm to wherever he seemed to be leading her. "Where are you taking me!" She grew annoyed with the anticipation. "On a trip, just chill." -- For as long as she can remember, Jojo Rosewood has lived a picture-perfect life in a suburban area located in Chicago-designer clothes, private schools, and a glamorous lifestyle all thanks to her high-powered mother. Evidently her perfect world seems to be a lie when it comes crashing down as her mother's secrets come to the light, forcing her to face reality. Now having all of her family's assets cleared she's every bit of confused on what to do. With nowhere else to turn, Jojo is forced to leave behind everything she knows and move across a plethora of states to live with her father, a man she barely knows due to distance, and his new family. Learning to balance the shift in culture and the chaos of her first year in college all in one, Jojo struggles to adjust to her circumstances and blend into a world where her privilege no longer holds any weight. Things grow even more complicated when she meets Dice, her half-brother's best friend-a well mannered , street-smart young adult who seems to embody everything Jojos maternal side of the family warned her about. Dice is equally frustrating and intriguing, with a no-nonsense attitude that calls Jojo out on her unrealistic expectations. As their chemistry builds, Jojo finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about family, loyalty, and love while Dice struggles letting Jojo take a trip to his world. Started; December 18th, 2024 Published; January 4th, 2025 Finished; March 2nd, 2025

❝𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃.❞

"Please Jesus, free me of the spirit of lust." "I know that relationships built under your word can last forever. So free me of the thought, free me of the feeling and free me from my flesh trying to cloud my judgement." "I don't worship lust, sex or desire. I worship you Jesus, please don't allow me to lose sight of that." "In Jesus name, I pray." "Amen." I spoke desperately as I stood up from my knees.

"𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞" (you do not need to read the first book , to understand this one) •𝙠𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙫𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨

❝𝐒𝐎 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐋𝐘, 𝐍𝐎 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄❞