At twenty-one, Silas Blackwood has everything going for him. A rising name, a tattoo studio in Las Vegas, a face people don't forget, and enough ego to carry all of it just fine. Then Victor Acosta arrives and ruins his pride, and eventually, his whole mental stability. Victor is the artist from Spain who walks into the biggest tattoo competition of the year, steals first place, and somehow ends up working in Silas's studio right after. He is quiet, rude, terrifyingly talented, and weirdly impossible to ignore. Which would already be bad enough. But Silas has bigger problems. For three years, he's been talking to a stranger online. Trusting him with things he's never said out loud, and missing him when he disappears. That stranger was Victor. Silas doesn't know that yet. And before he can even process the rivalry, the obsession, or why Victor feels so familiar, he finds out there are two Acosta brothers in Vegas. Twins. And he's already dating one of them. 🥇#1 - slowburn

Side story of dwy Jamiemarvis

Lucas Sawyer has gotten used to being forgotten. His twin brother Mark, captain and star quarterback, everyone's favorite, gets the spotlight. Lucas doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, he doesn't go to parties. His life is safe and logical, and that's exactly how he likes it. But when his brother's football rival and worst enemy, Damien Castillo, starts work at the same small bakery, everything changes. Damien is Lucas' worst nightmare: an arrogant heartbreaker with a bad reputation, who threatens to ruin all his careful plans. Lucas hates him. Right? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This story was inspired by @hipstateasee's "Knight", and I have her permission. All credit to her for the great premise!

When shy bartender Elliot is approached by a handsome stranger on a park bench at midnight, their unlikely attraction unravels everything they know about themselves, and the crime-ridden city around them. *** Elliot Taylor is running out of places to hide. Trapped between a ruthless father, a dead-end job, and a future that feels just out of reach, he spends his nights on park benches clinging to one goal: get into college and get out for good. What he doesn't plan on is Noah Black. Vice President of the Stray Dogs Motorcycle Club. Infamous. Observant. Relentless. Far too charming for a man with a reputation for violence, and determined to pry into wounds Elliot would rather pretend don't exist. Through chance encounters and sleepless nights, the two can't seem to avoid each other. But Noah's life comes with complications: a motorcycle club under pressure, threats closing in, and loyalties that crumble when tested. As Elliot drifts deeper into Noah's current, he cannot help but realize how dangerously close he's falling -- even as deadly secrets threaten to unravel everything they've fought so hard for. Soon, Elliot must face a choice: keep chasing the life he's always dreamed of, or confront the truths that could shatter everything he knows... including his past, his heart, and the man who refuses to let him go.

After his nervous breakdown culminates in a shocking assault, pop superstar Laurie Hayes must partner with a genius producer in a final bid to salvage his spiraling career. *** Three years after becoming an overnight global sensation, musician Laurie Hayes stands on a cliff's edge at the top of the world. Dominating headlines with inventive scandals and refusing to release new songs for his label, the spotlight on his future has started to dim. Desperate to clean up his image and deliver new music to the masses, his managers have pushed him into the path of James Kato, whose strict and stubborn methods have presented an insurmountable challenge. Brooding recluse James has devoted his life to staying in control. Now, he's been tasked with an impossible mission: getting Laurie Hayes to finish an album in eight months, without triggering another fit of frustration-induced rage. Charged with keeping Laurie in line, he begins to untangle the mess of secrets driving the singer's erratic behavior and unpredictable lifestyle. Forced to work as a team, only one question remains. Can James keep Laurie on top of that unsteady cliff, or will the two end up plunging over its edge together? *** Can be read as a standalone.

[BOOK FOUR] Leo Morelli has a reputation. He's a heartbreaker. It's chronic. Felix Finley had a reputation. A less fun one. He left it behind. He wants it to stay buried forever. Only when he joins the national volleyball team, old secrets get a little difficult to keep. Felix and Leo have met before. They have history. It's complicated. There's something brewing between them. There has been for a while. Tension. It's palpable. Unavoidable. However, neither of them do feelings. One thinks they're a waste of time, and the other thinks feelings ruin everything. The problem is, feelings don't care about what anyone wants. They happen anyway, and when they do, things get messy.

Adrian Reeves was a normal 25-year-old office worker with one obsession: the web novel "Chronicles of the Celestial Hero." For three years, he followed every chapter, commenting religiously, especially about his favorite character-the villain. Cassian Nyx, the Demon Lord. While other readers celebrated when the hero defeated him in the final chapter, Adrian raged. Cassian deserved better. Deserved happiness. Deserved a chance at redemption. His last comment before dying in a car accident: "If I were in this world, I'd save the villain. I'd give him the love he never received. I'd change his fate." The universe listened. Adrian wakes up inside the novel-but not as a hero. Not as a side character. He's reborn as Elian Ashford, the crown prince of the Celestial Kingdom... and the villain's destined enemy who's fated to seal Cassian away forever. Except the plot has already gone wrong. Instead of meeting Cassian during the climactic war (fifteen years from now), Adrian-now Elian-encounters the Demon Lord at age 18, during a diplomatic mission that wasn't in the original novel. And worse: the moment their eyes meet, an ancient contract activates. A soul-binding contract that marks them as fated pairs. Cassian, who in the novel never loved anyone, who became a monster because of loneliness and betrayal, is now bound to the one person who's supposed to destroy him. And he knows it. "You're supposed to seal me away," Cassian says, dark eyes gleaming with dangerous interest. "So why do you look at me like that? Like you're trying to save me instead?" Because Adrian knows the truth. Knows that Cassian becomes a villain because everyone he trusted betrayed him. Knows that the "hero" of the original story is actually manipulating events for power. Knows that Cassian's tragic fate can be changed. But changing fate means going against the novel's plot. Means choosing the villain over his own kingdom.

Grady Taylor was an upcoming hockey legend, number one draft pick, and had the world at his fingertips. His parents are well known and wealthy, and there was no doubt his life was set up for success. That was before it all went crumbling down for one night of fun, a night that got him sent to a rehab center for six months. To top it all off, his roommate was the biggest ass he'd ever met. Cocky, arrogant, and stupidly sexy. Though, Grady would never admit that part out loud. He hated him. That was until he made him discover things about himself that he never knew existed, completely derailing his life even more than it already was. Rowan Young is charismatic, funny, and hard to resist. People would say that he has no direction. That before the time he reached his thirties, he was going to end up in prison. That didn't change when he started his own drug selling business and got caught, landing himself in rehab for six months where he found himself rooming with the most stuck up and annoying roommate ever. He was a clean freak and blushed when he was embarrassed and wouldn't stop nagging him about his messiness. Rowan was kind of obsessed with him. A story about self discovery and acceptance. The characters come together to form a beautifully heartbreaking love story where they not only fall in love with each other, but learn to love themselves too.

The war is nearly over. But peace is still out of reach. The capital has fallen. The Emperor has fled. Chaos spreads across the land as rebel forces scramble to solidify their fragile victory. In the aftermath, I'm given a mission: extract vital intel from the most dangerous prisoner in our custody - the Emperor's most feared assassin. He's ruthless, unbreakable... and the only one who can help end this war. And I must make him talk. A tense, emotional adventure with boy x boy romance. ⚠️ Contains references to wartime violence and a romantic relationship between two men, including intimate scene.

Eden Woods has spent his entire life searching for something. He spends his days working at a cafe in France, taking photos to pass the time, then going out on weekends, losing himself in the nights. Only, despite all the soul searching, he can never quite shake the feeling that he's missing something. Then, after a drunken, almost definitely accidental tattoo, Eden meets Avery. The one who did it. He's a tempest. Blustering and bold. Fiery and flirtatious. Avery Romano is a mystery in a bottle, and all Eden wants is to figure him out. Slowly, Eden starts to think that maybe Avery is exactly what he's been searching for. When Avery begins to frequent Eden's cafe, the two begin to forge a bond, and slowly but surely, their paths begin to grow together like intertwining vines climbing up the same wall. For a while, life goes on. Then obviously, things get complicated.