When Valeria Venezia takes a discreet nanny job in a secluded Italian villa, she doesn't expect the child to belong to Luciano Salvatore - ruthless mafia boss, billionaire kingpin, and a man whose name alone commands fear across Europe. Cold. Untouchable. Dangerous. Luciano doesn't do relationships. He certainly doesn't do nannies. But Valeria's presence unsettles his carefully controlled world. She's not afraid of his threats. Not swayed by his money. And she's melting the ice around his heart faster than he can rebuild it. But the world Luciano lives in isn't safe - and neither is the obsession brewing between them. She came to care for a child. He plans to make her his. Whether she wants it or not. BOOK ONE OF SALVATORE SERIES.

Aurora Saints has learned how to disappear in plain sight. At twenty-seven, she is a nurse who works double shifts, a daughter holding together a fragile home, a sister who never lets herself need first. Quiet. Careful. Good. The kind of woman the world leans on without ever stopping to ask what it costs her. Matteo De Luca is a man the world listens to. A brilliant lawyer from one of the most influential families in the city, he commands rooms without raising his voice and carries his power like a second skin. Wealth, legacy, whispers of darker ties-none of it has ever shaken him. Control is his language. Restraint is his choice. They meet where power is not supposed to matter-hospital corridors, late nights, stolen glances that linger too long. Matteo sees her immediately. Aurora feels it-and resists. He does not chase. He does not corner. He waits. Because he knows that when she finally steps forward, it won't be because he took something from her... It will be because she chose him. And when a man like Matteo De Luca is chosen, he does not give pieces of himself. He gives everything. Slow-burn tension. Quiet dominance. Possession without control. A love story where restraint is the most dangerous thing of all.

I wiped my eyes once again to see deep piercing green ones looking down at me. More tears came as I saw the root of my anger, and I stood up pushing past him. I tried to run but got pulled back by a hand grabbing my wrist. "What happened?" Clyde demanded angrily. "Get off of me!" I growled and pried his fingers off my wrist and continued to the bathroom. Once inside I went into a stall and grabbed some toilet paper to wipe my face. Why was I always crying? I heard the door open and I tried to contain my sniffling so that they wouldn't hear. Then I looked down to see the feet and saw Clyde crawling under my stall. ~~~~~ Alexa Moore is a crybaby. She can't deal well with her emotions; if she is frustrated, angry, sad, mad, or hurt she can't help but cry. She hates that she always feels the need to cry and tries to stay happy by being unconfrontational, and staying away from jerks. Clyde Wood is seemingly heartless. Through the bad, sad, hurtful, and pissing situations he appears to be tougher than nails. Sure he is happy most times, but in the eyes of many he is a heartless jerk that picks on everyone. If it wasn't for his great looks he'd probably be with the Gothic kids, not the popular ones. That, and he made a hobby of being a player. Alexa meeting Clyde was definitely a recipe for disaster, causing her to shed more tears than in her entire 17 years. The year goes from good to bad to good to bad, and end bad? With so much heart churning events, will there really be a rainbow after the storm?

𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐝. I'm in love with him but he's in love with my younger sister and has made that painfully clear to me. "Who are you in love with?" I ask softly, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm in love with Isabella, your sister. She's the only woman I truly care about," he admits, revealing his feelings for my younger sister after we had just gotten married, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours. "I'll fulfill my role as your husband, but don't expect any love or affection. This marriage is just an agreement between our families, nothing more. Do you understand?" His words are cold, piercing through me like arrows. I fight back the tears threatening to fall and manage to reply, "I understand." But my pain would not last long, not until I meet Mr. Russo, Marcello's father who was that head of the Mafia, a dangerous and powerful man who stole my heart.

Redamancy (n.) The act of loving in return ➢ Maeve Forbes, an 18-year-old who's quiet, sweet, and mother to a 10-month-old son. Her childhood could be describe simple with one word, rough. From a father who was never around to a mother who turned to alcohol, drugs, and releasing her anger on her daughter. Some people in her small town weren't surprised Maeve ended up pregnant at seventeen. Ryker Kennedy, captain to his college's hockey team and best friend with Maeve's brother, Killian. Ryker is oftentimes mistaken for the player type(despite having had a 'long time' girlfriend) but dig deep enough and you'll find that romantic side of him. When Maeve grows tired of everyone in her town looking at her sideways and her mother constantly belittling her, she decides to take her brother's offer and go live with him. Little did she know she'd be staying next door to Ryker Kennedy.

||COMPLETED|| EDITING!!!! Four friends stay overnight at school, and by the end of the night, they fall into a pit of lust that changes their group forever. "Let's play a game of Dare." "Don't you mean Truth or Dare?" "No, I mean a game of Dare, where whenever we want, we dare a random person in the group to do something, but someone can't go twice in a row." WARNINGS MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM (Recovery) MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT (Recovery) SEXUAL REFERENCES (Strong) SEX SCENE (Detailed) COARSE LANGUAGE (Strong) DRUG USE (Mild) DRINKING (Underage) VIOLENCE (Playful)