Book two of six in the Chaotic Hearts series. MUST BE READ IN ORDER I'm usually level-headed, I swear. But when it comes to Maverick Asher, he makes me lose all my sanity, and all he has to do is open his mouth and let his putrid words spill out. Maverick has been friends with my brother for thirteen years, and I've been around him just as long. Over the last few years, he's taken to seeking me out to get a rise out of me. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate his stupid motorcycle. I hate his stupid leather jackets. I hate his attitude. I hate his sarcasm. I hate his sharp tongue. And I hate that he doesn't care about anyone except himself. I try to ignore him, but he lights me on fire, and I can't stop myself from firing back at him. Now, I can't ignore him because it's February, and my family has come up with a fun game. We have to pick a partner and work with them until Valentine's Day to plan platonic dates for one another. Which means, we have to spend time with our partner to learn what they might like for a date. No one picked Maverick, and that left him with me. I'm nothing if not a perfectionist, and even if that means competing with Maverick to make my platonic date for him perfect. He's battling against me to make his date perfect. We are at each other's throats. I start to get confused. Then, when it's time for the dates, my brain spirals into further confusion. I don't expect what he has prepared, and I start realizing there is far more I had failed to notice about Maverick Asher. The man who claims romance and love is nothing but failure has me falling into the trap that he believes love is. But is he falling with me, or am I being played?

Rayne has a routine, a plan. He lives life according to this routine. A few times a week, his routine allows him a few hours to hide away in his diner. Everything is always the same in this diner, even the variances are consistent. That is, until the gray-haired manager hires a new waiter who moves about like a tornado. This boy does not know Rayne's "usual" or his proclivity to be left alone so he can watch and study the people living around him. This new waiter disrupts his routine in all the worst ways and Rayne can't help but hate him. He doesn't seem to care, however, continuing to disrupt Rayne and see Rayne and pop Rayne's bubble of safety, and ask Rayne questions that he doesn't want to answer. It was all quite aggravating really. •••••• He looked vaguely familiar, like an ancient statute carved from marble or a delicately crafted oil painting you can see only in the galleries in Europe. He was all but perfect, just one minor flaw over his eyebrow- a scar where hair refused to grow, leaving a pale gash to interrupt his dark eyebrow. I noticed, between all my studying of this strange man's face, that his lips were moving. I had no desire to hear what he was saying. I was content to just watch. The ways his lips parted and pressed together, his porcelain teeth teasing an appearance behind them. I watched him speak, not hearing a word, until he stopped, his lips curving up and open on one end in an aggravating smirk. I don't know why it aggravated me, but it did. I furrowed my brows and removed an earbud, moving my eyes back up to his. His eyes seemed to aggravate me too. They looked all too teasing, all too amused. 🎖️ #1- yearn- Feb 18, 2026🥇 #1- love- Dec 18, 2025🥇 #1- slowburn- Dec 18, 2025🥇 #2- boyxboy- Dec 18, 2025🥈 #2- bxb- Dec 18, 2025🥈 #2- manxman- Dec 18, 2025🥈 #3- literature- Feb 14, 2026🥉 #10- lgbt- Dec 26, 2025

Nani, a young 19 year old, autistic man clutching a My Melody plushie, is trapped in a world that terrifies him. He is vulnerable, overwhelmed, and shaking in the center of a dance floor. Sky, 23, a powerful and feared mafia "Dragon," sees him from across the room. While his lieutenants, Dew, Perth, and Win, watch in surprise, Sky feels an instant, protective pull. He doesn't just see a victim; he sees someone to cherish. He rescues Nani from the noise, bringing him into his guarded, opulent world. Sky learns to navigate Nani's unique needs with a tenderness no one knew the "Dragon" possessed. How far would Sky go to protect his World?

"You're atheist," I remind him. "You don't believe in god." "I believe in you," He murmurs, letting the cigarette hang from his lips. "I believe in whatever you believe." He says, letting the confession roll off his tongue as if it were that simple. As if god, the devil, heaven, hell-as if none of it really had meaning to him. "That's not how it works," I mutter as we walk down a few more alleyways-the city of Manhattan coated in a light blanket of snow. Henry Vitiello had never had anything to pray for, that is, until he met me-the only thing that had ever opened his mind up to the possibility of religion "Isn't it?" He argues, taking the cigarette by his middle and pointer finger before blowing the smoke out. "I'II dip my hands in holy water if it means I could touch you." "You'd probably burn." 𓆩♡𓆪 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐘 𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎, the reaper. He's a prick. An asshole. A pretentious son of a bitch. He's not perfect. He's not even decent. But he's hers. She could be a bottle labeled poison but he was an alcoholic, and he had drunk her empty. Now he was hungover. 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, the healer. She's known to be the perfect good girl, with perfect grades and a perfect life with a perfect family. They didn't know that behind the gated doors of their billion dollar estate, she was strapped down to a chair every night and picked apart just to be put back together in time for supper. 𓆩♡𓆪 star-crossed; adjective (of a person or a plan) thwarted by bad luck. 'star-crossed lovers' and that, they were. So they fucked under those very stars that tried so desperately to break them apart. 𓆩♡𓆪 ‼️DISCLAIMER ‼️ BOOK REFERENCES TO MARA DYER, SHATTER ME, MIND FUCK, ETC ARE ALL INTENTIONAL SO DONT BE RUDE. AS FOR TRIGGER WARN

Adonis Celts, the notorious monster who'd been rotting in prison for the past decade. Getting an interview with him just weeks before his release would be the story of a lifetime, and well worth the risk. With his hands cuffed and guards right outside the door, nothing could go wrong. Right? • • • "I've already explained I'm not afraid of you Mr. Celts. But it seems like you want me to be?" I retort. He leans forward in the chair, his face just a foot or two away from mine. The light flickers above us and it seems like a sign for me to shut the hell up. "Mmhm right. Well, maybe you have more nerve than sense then hm? Or you just don't scare as easily as the others." His jaw ticks slightly "But I can think of far better ways to get your heart racing. So no honey, fear is the last thing I want from a woman like you."

When you're left with a dead body in your kitchen and there's only one man you can call. The man you hate more than anything. With nobody else to turn to, you're stuck doing this under his terms. ••• "You just love to piss me off don't you?" His jaw ticks as he leans down towards me. "I don't really give a fuck about you Kain. I was just trying to have some fun before you went and ruined my night." "Oh you knew exactly what you were doing. I don't buy anything else for a second. You saw me. You knew you were pissing me off and you pushed me further. Well Drea, you pushed too fucking hard."

- Mine by Force. - Delusion? No, It's Manifestation. ------------- 🌼 He's untouchable. A mafia king with blood on his hands and calm in his voice. No one knows where he lives. No one knows where he goes. But I do. Because I'm Joong-22, dangerously in love, and just a little too good at internet stalking. I found him through a number plate. Tracked him down through Google Street View. Showed up at secret parties, shady warehouses, and mafia dens... with coffee and a smile. Everyone says he's the monster in the dark. But I think he just needs a hug. Or maybe a kiss. Or maybe to be mine. Too bad he thinks I'm an idiot. Worse-he might be right. But even a mafia lord can't hide from a boy with Wi-Fi, romantic delusions, and zero sense of fear. 

Raiden never had it easy. Abused and hurt at a young age made him a shut off person. He wasn't the same person he was a few years back. Depressed, lonely, and cold. That's how he became. The marks on his body told stories too painful to hear, and too tough to witness. He never thought he'd fall in love again, or even talk again. His walls are thick and hard to crack. However, Thomas didn't believe so. Amidst the fight for power and control between the same family, and dark past ties to the present, Thomas refused to submit to anything against his beliefs. His one and only belief that everyone deserved a chance at love.

Lily Wilson is in her early 20s. she's a college student who happens to live alone. She's also a little. one day after her friend insisted that she meet his friends. He takes her to his workplace which is a restroom/bar. after she's been welcomed by his coworkers/friends, they bump into his boss. Vanessa Cooper is in her mid 30s. she's a businesswoman and owner of the restaurant/bar that Lily's friend works at. she's married to Elizabeth Cooper who is in her early 40s. they're caregivers who have been looking for a little for years. and when they meet Lily they both fall in love with her.

A 12-year-old 'nobody', an orphan, with a brilliant mind but a troubled past, constantly punished and reprimanded for his rebellious behavior. His disobedience, only a pretense, to hide deep emotional scars from a life of abuse and loss. What happens when the 'nobody' comes across, Professor Park, a kind but firm middle school teacher, who sees through him and takes him under his wing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Can the Orphan finally find his "FAMILY"?