At eight years old, Bea Quinn's life changed in Hawaii. What happened was buried beneath rumors, unanswered questions, and a family name she never managed to forget. Years passed, but Bea never stopped wondering what everyone had been so desperate to hide. Now she is back on the island with one goal: uncover the truth. She knows where to begin, and she is willing to lie, pretend, and get close to the people connected to everything that happened. Then she discovers Maia. Maia is the daughter Bea never knew existed, sheltered from the past and completely unaware of the reason Bea has returned. Getting close to her could open doors that have been closed for years, so Bea lets Maia believe their meeting was nothing more than chance. But Maia's softness, her innocence, and the strange little things that make her unlike anyone Bea has ever known begin to ruin every part of the plan. The closer they become, the harder it is for Bea to tell which feelings are real and which ones began as another step toward the truth. How much will falling for Maia cost her? And by the time Bea regrets everything, will it already be too late?

Shay has learned how to disappear in plain sight. She moves through her days quietly-head down, emotions locked away, body trained to endure more than it should. Control is survival. Distance is safety. And no one ever looks close enough to see what she's learned to hide. Until someone does. Lilith Armstrong is everything Shay isn't allowed to want: composed, authoritative, untouchable. A woman who understands the body down to its smallest fracture-and sees far too much when she looks at Shay. What begins as instruction slowly becomes attention. What feels like guidance sharpens into something heavier, more dangerous, and impossible to ignore. Between the anatomy of the human body and the anatomy of restraint, lines blur. Power shifts. Desire festers in the quiet moments where it shouldn't exist. And Shay must decide whether being seen is worth the risk of being undone. Anatomy of Restraint is a dark, slow-burn psychological romance about control, obsession, and the intoxicating danger of crossing boundaries that were never meant to bend.

Dana Whitmore came to Columbia for a fresh start. She did not come for Elena Moretti. Elena is the head of her department, the mother of her most talented student, and the kind of woman who commands every room she walks into - including, increasingly, the ones that contain Dana. Both of them are brilliant. Both of them have been broken by people they trusted. Both of them understand perfectly well why this is a terrible idea. Understanding has never stopped anyone. What begins as professional friction slowly becomes something neither of them has a name for - built in stolen glances, charged silences, and conversations that say everything except what they actually mean. Some lines exist to be respected. Others exist to remind us exactly how much we want to cross them.

Fresh out of university, Kaia Hayes expected nothing more than an ordinary life and an ordinary career. Instead, she finds herself working closely with the enigmatic CEO of Aurelius Holdings, Cassandra Vale-a woman admired by the public, feared beyond boardrooms, and impossible to truly know. As their paths continue to cross, a quiet connection begins to form. But beneath the polished world of business lie secrets powerful enough to destroy lives. With old wounds resurfacing and unseen forces moving in the shadows, Kaia soon realizes that meeting Cassandra may have changed her life in ways she never imagined. Kaia is drawn into a world where appearances hide dangerous truths, old scars refuse to heal, and every answer leads to another secret.

CeoxAssistant|gxg|slowburn|15 years age gap He leaned over her desk for fourteen minutes. Amalia didn't remember his name by the time Nadia was done with her. "What's his name?" "I don't knowww" Amalia whined. "Good girl." She wiped the smudged lipstick from Amalia's mouth with her thumb like a statement. Then walked the entire length of the office, poured water, walked back. Set it down. Amalia looked at it. Looked at Nadia. Raised both shoulders toward her ears and turned her face away. "You're being ridiculous, Amalia." But Amalia didn't budge. Nadia picked her up. Sat back down with Amalia settled against her, tipped the glass to her lips, kissed her once between every sip. Unhurried. Like this was completely reasonable. It was the most spoiled thing Amalia had ever allowed. She allowed all of it. "More." she said when the glass was empty. "Brat." "Your brat." Nadia didn't answer. She didn't have to. She just went to get more water. Amalia Peters. 20. Never carried her own bag. Never pumped her own gas. Never eaten a meal that wasn't placed in front of her like an offering. Beautiful. Brilliant. Completely aware of both. Then June took her parents and left her in a house so quiet she talked to empty chairs. She got a job not because she needed money because the silence was unbearable. She pouted through the entire interview. Got hired anyway. Nadia Crane. 35. Looks 25. Stopped being flattered by that around thirty. On paper - CEO. Empire builder. Never raises her voice. Off paper - cargo that moves at night. Contracts nobody signs twice. A stillness that has ended careers, companies, and at least three men's entire futures. She runs several companies. Only some are legal. She watched Amalia Peters sigh at a waiting room chair like it had wronged her ancestors. And hired her on the spot. Her parents spoiled her. Her boss ruined her beyond repair. #1 in spoiled. #1 in intersex. #1 in gl. #1 in lesbianlgbt #1 in sapphic

Gxg Agegap Maxine Vale has spent her entire life preparing to inherit her father's empire. Brilliant, ruthless, and fiercely independent, she sacrificed relationships, family, and any semblance of a personal life in pursuit of one goal: taking over Vale Industries. But when her father dies, his final will delivers a devastating surprise. If Maxine wants control of the company she was born to lead, she must be married and actively raising a child within one year. Refusing to lose everything she has worked for, Maxine makes a reckless decision in front of an entire room of lawyers and executives. She claims she's already in love. With her assistant. The problem? Reese Davison has no idea what she's talking about. A twenty-six-year-old single mother with a young son, Reese has spent five years quietly working for Maxine while staying as invisible as possible. She never expected to become part of a billionaire's inheritance scheme..... let alone be announced as Maxine's longtime partner before she can even object. Now trapped in a fake relationship neither woman agreed to, Maxine and Reese must convince the world they're a devoted family. There are only two problems. Maxine barely knows Reese. And Reese is beginning to see the lonely woman hidden beneath the ice-cold exterior. As family pressure mounts, secrets unravel, and a little boy unexpectedly finds his way into Maxine's carefully guarded heart, the line between pretending and reality becomes dangerously blurred. Because some lies are easy to tell. The hardest part is surviving when they start to feel true.

Alessandra Moretti is not a woman people refuse. She controls Milan like a chessboard. Politicians lower their voices around her. Billion-dollar deals rise or collapse depending on a single message from her phone. She does not chase. She does not wait. And she has never been powerless. Well. Until Noor Malik. Noor is everything Alessandra is not. Soft. Gentle. Obedient. A brilliant embryologist who can create life under a microscope... yet still lowers her eyes when her parents speak. Noor does not rebel. She does not argue. She loves her parents too much to ever disobey them. Which means Alessandra cannot touch them. Not their house. Not their pride. Not the traditions that are slowly suffocating the woman she loves. Because Noor would never forgive her. And Alessandra would rather bring nations to their knees than see tears in Noor's eyes. So the most dangerous woman in Europe does something unimaginable. She waits. She drives Noor to work every morning in a Bentley worth more than the Malik house. She buys her banana ice cream like a lovesick fool. She kisses her slowly in the privacy of a car because that's the only place Noor is allowed to belong to her. But obedience has a cost. And Noor's parents are already planning the one thing Alessandra cannot allow. A husband. They believe tradition will save their daughter. They have no idea what they're provoking. Because Alessandra Moretti does not steal what she wants. She expands. And when the woman who keeps the devil calm is taken away... Cities don't just burn. They kneel. #1 in older women- 4th May.

"If the shoe fits, Cinderella." Diana Lily Frost said it once. Softly. Like an afterthought. Then walked away still holding her coffee like she hadn't just rewired Mia Moretti's entire nervous system and oxytocin levels. The next time they met Mia smiled. "Good morning, Ice Tea." Diana paused. "...Ice Tea?" " Yes. Cold. Bland. Bitter." Mia tilted her head slightly. "And people only pretend to like it." Diana looked at her for exactly three seconds. Then kept walking. That was two-years ago. By November they were sharing a project, a reading room, and eleven pm arguments that the entire library had learned to expect. By the ending of November Mia had also learned that Diana Frost did not raise her voice. Did not scramble. Did not perform. She simply waited. Watched. Let you build your entire argument. And then dismantled it in two sentences while looking slightly bored. It was, unfortunately, the most attractive thing Mia had ever witnessed. Not that she would say that. Not that she would say anything. Except- "You kissed me to shut me up?" Diana glanced up from her laptop. "It worked didn't it." A pause. The smallest almost-smile. "My Cinderella." Mia Moretti had never lost anything in her life. Arguments. Trades. Academic wars against people twice her age. Never. But Diana Lily Frost transferred to [UNIGE] University of Geneva in September and by November Mia was losing something she didn't have a word for yet. And the worst part? Diana knew. She absolutely knew. And she was so, so calm about it. [ gxg - slow burn - enemies to lovers - she fell first, but my darlings the other one didn't just fall, she shattered ] WEEKEND UPDATES🎀

Lauren Monroe has always believed that if you work hard enough, life falls into place. Sloane Barrett has spent years proving that plans are overrated. When they're unexpectedly forced to co-lead their university's annual festival, they clash over every decision, and every impossible obstacle the festival throws their way. But somewhere between their constant arguments, late nights, and impossible deadlines, they discover that the person they're trying hardest to avoid might be the only one who truly sees them. With graduation approaching and the future pulling them in opposite directions, Lauren and Sloane must decide whether what they've found is worth fighting for, or if sometimes the right person simply comes along at the wrong time. *Book 1

One is hiding from the world. The other is trying to find her place in it. Ellie is perfectly content with her single flat and her Criminal Minds marathon, and a healthy dose of Tumblr nostalgia-until MoonPetal45 enters the chat. As the pressure of her final year mounts, this online stranger becomes her greatest support. Dr. Pembrose knows the rules. As a professor, she should have blocked the charming, accident-prone student the moment she recognised her. But in the quiet of her new home, the line between mentor and admirer is blurring, and Ellie's frequent run-ins with gravity are making the doctor fall a little too hard.