Suited for an audience 18 and older. Read at your own discretion. *** "Don't think for a second I don't hate you any less because we're married," I hiss out. Seeing Gabriel's growing smirk only pisses me off more. "If I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to this then I would have ripped that stupid contract up the first chance I got." My sentence trails off when Gabriel takes another step towards me, then another until he's towering over me. I can feel how huge my eyes become when he slams my back to the bathroom door, wrapping his hand around my throat and pressing it to the wood. A gasp escapes me when Gabriel squeezes it, squeezing until I'm panting for every breath. I can already feel my body betraying me, though. My words may be telling him how much I despise him, but my body knows what the truth is and it shows from the growing arousal between my legs. "Don't be so crude, princesa," Gabriel mutters, forcing my head back to stare into his blazing brown eyes. "Let's not forget that we're a happily married couple. So I suggest you walk into that meeting with a smile on your face... Unless you'd rather have them all listen to me fuck the attitude out of you instead." ***

They're on opposite sides of a long-standing war. And now, thanks to one catastrophically unfortunate mission at the elite assassin academy they both attend... they're partners. She thinks he's an arrogant control freak with a god complex. He thinks she's an emotionally stunted gremlin with anger issues. They're both correct. She's an assassin. she looks like your average teenage girl, if your average teenage girl was emotionally dead inside, allergic to affection, and had a PhD in homicide. He's a mafia heir. He is cold, calculating, and terrifyingly untouchable. He doesn't flinch. Doesn't feel. And absolutely does not lose. Welcome to the academy. You're already bleeding. Sneak peak:' "You're dangerous, Love" he murmured. "And you're tempted." A beat. A breath. And then, just barely audible "Yes." I smiled, sharp and mean and satisfied. "Then come be reckless with me, darling."

Aurora's life had always been about survival, each day a quiet battle against fear and pain. When her stepfather was finally arrested, she thought the fight was over. But leaving one dangerous world meant stepping into another-one she didn't fully understand. Now, she's living with seven older brothers she barely knows, their lives a tangle of secrets and shadows they never speak of. Their house is loud, protective, and filled with rules she's afraid to break. For Aurora, it's a new kind of survival. For her brothers, it's a chance to keep her safe-no matter what it takes.

"Who did this to you?" I didn't look at him. I couldn't. I stared at the glass in my hands. My knuckles were scraped. One nail was broken. I didn't remember when that happened. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. His fingers twitched against the sheets. His eyes never left me. "Ella" he said again, quieter now. "Tell me who did this." My throat closed. I tried to speak. Tried again. And then, in the smallest, ugliest voice I'd ever heard from myself: "Nathan." The name barely passed my lips.

*COMPLETED* Blake Langford has both the looks and the brains, but she also has an attitude that can get her in trouble. Year by year, she sees herself changing cities and schools and senior year of college is no different. Knox Kingston checks every box on the list: handsome, smart, rich and popular. With his three best friends, he's at the top of the world...until the one girl that has the power to shatter his world walks back into his life. They haven't seen each other for three years, but now they find themselves in the same college and the same class. A past rivalry between the two returns...but is it all? Or will some feelings resurge as well? - • - • - • - • - • - • - • "Say it, sweetheart." "You're the only one I want." "That's my girl." - • - • - • - • - • - • - • #1 IN BANTER #1 IN BADGIRL #2 RIVALSTOLOVERS

Revenge. I'm familiar with it. You have to be when you're the firstborn son of a notorious mafia leader. Death and vengeance have been the very foundations of my life. So who in their fucking mind would be stupid enough to cross me? My brother and I have been wrongfully convicted of a crime we didn't commit. We know who is behind this. We bid our time behind bars, planned and prepared for the day we got out. Now we're free and hungry for redemption. I know what must be done. I know whose blood will be spilled. But before I go after him, I'll go after his daughter. I never said I play fair. *Book one in the Marino Brothers Duet. Rated 18+ due to explicit language, sex, and violence.*

🎖️WATTYS SHORT LIST 25🎖️*COMPLETED* River Fontaine has it all. The looks, the personality, the friend group and the popularity. Everyone either wants to be her or with her. Nash Kingston is just the same. Handsome, mysterious, wanted by all and very charming (in his own way). Girls and boys fall at his feet, except for our blondie. Followed after their families feud, he doesn't like her one bit and River...well, she loves some good banter. To her is just playful bickering, to him it's a long time grudge. Either way, they can't stay away from each other. -•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-• "I don't think your girlfriend would appreciate you calling other girls hot." "Then good it's her I'm saying it to." "I'm not...your girlfriend." "Not yet." -•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-• #1 IN POPULAR #1 IN BICKERING WATTY'S SHORT LIST 2025

"No-please-don't do this!" Seraphina sobbed, her voice cracking as she clung to her eldest brother's wrist. "I-I'll be good. I'll do whatever you say, just don't-" A sharp crack echoed through the room as his palm struck her cheek, sending her crashing to the marble floor. Pain exploded across her skin, but it was nothing compared to the terror clawing at her chest. From above, his voice was cold. Unmoved. "You will marry him." She shook her head wildly, crawling backward until her spine hit the wall. "He's a monster," she whispered, her breath shuddering. "He's not human. Please, don't make me do this. I'll die." Her second brother crouched in front of her, grabbing her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him. His lips curled, eyes void of warmth. "Then die." Her breath hitched. "But you will die as his wife." The door behind them creaked open. Heavy footsteps. Her father stepped inside, his expression unreadable. "Lock her in this room," he ordered. "She will not step out until her wedding day." Sera thrashed as hands seized her, dragging her toward the massive iron doors. "No! Please-Father, please!" But he didn't even look at her. The last thing she saw before the door slammed shut was her brothers standing side by side, indifferent as she was thrown into a fate worse than death. Then darkness. And the only thing left was the suffocating truth. She was a sacrifice. A bride to the Sinister, a devil himself. #A STANDALONE BOOK

[Selected for the Wattys shortlist-2025] "𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍. 𝑵𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉." When Vanora Blackthorn is forced into a cold, calculated marriage to Alestor Drevenhart-the ruthless heir of a powerful dynasty-she thinks she's escaped one nightmare only to enter another. But beneath the icy vows and suffocating walls of the Drevenhart estate, something begins to shift. Secrets fester. Obsession brews. And love? Love was never part of the deal... until it becomes the deadliest one of all. Will she survive the cruel games of a family that never wanted her? Will he learn to love the woman he was never meant to care for? Or will their hearts shatter beneath the very vows that bound them?" "𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕."

𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊 - all her hopes and dreams of running away from the luxurious lifestyle with her boyfriend are ruined when she finds herself chained down in a sudden arranged marriage with someone she'd never love, but it's already been made clear that not everything goes to plan. 𝐑𝐘𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐄𝐒 - He only agreed to this wedding on the condition that it would help his business career and put more money in his wallet. He's never been in a serious committed relationship before, and he wasn't about to start now, that is, until he sees his soon-to-be wife; now he'll go through anything and anyone to get her, even her own boyfriend. started - may 8th, 2023. finished - july 28th, 2023.