"You trust me?" I look up at him, staring into his light brown eyes that stared directly at me. It felt like he was staring into my soul trying to read me. I could barely answer his question because I was busy looking at him. Once I realized I was staring like crazy, I quickly look down. "I do." ----------------------------- She's the girl you never saw coming, the unexpected one who calms you, centers you, and still she turns out to be the surprise love of your love. She gets you, really gets you like no one ever has. She is your best friend, lover, and soulmate all wrapped in the prettiest package. She is unforgettable, she is like no one, which is why you are addicted to her mind, her soul, her body, and her presence. You can't get her out of your system. You taste her and she runs through you hot like blood and fire. She never leaves you no matter what, because she too, knows how rare the connection is. You have never had anyone stick by you like that before. She is the safest place you ever know. You are soft for her no matter how hard life gets, she is there and your feelings never change. She loves you fiercely and you feel her love deep in your bones and in your soul. She is the one who makes you feel whole in a way you never have before and that terrifies you. But, what terrifies you even more...is losing her. 03/12/21-04/25/21 Rankings: #9 in africanamerican 9-16-21 #84 in urban 9-16-21 #113 in blacklove 9-16-21 #1 in blacklovestory 9-16-21 #45 in contemporarylit 9-16-21 #18 in blackcouple 9-16-21 #218 in urbanromance 9-16-21 #1 in saveblackcharacters 9-16-21

"Solè, why'd you stay?" "Because, Zaire... you the first thing that ever felt worth staying for." ❀ 🝳 ❀ Harlem held the noise. Solè gave Zaire the quiet. Zaire Knox, Harlem's quiet storm, known for his ties to the streets and a gaze that read people faster than they could lie to him. Respected. Feared. Loved. With scars buried deeper than his tattoos, he never planned to love soft. Until a Harlem vinyl shop left behind by his late grandfather forces him to slow down, to breathe, to find his real purpose in the world beyond the streets. Solè Sinclair, soft but unbreakable, raised by her father after loss. By day, she serves warmth behind the counter of a café. By night, she disappears into her art, trying to paint the parts of herself no one ever sees. When their worlds cross, the city shifts. What starts off tense and unexpected turns tender. Together, they learn love can hold you just as fierce as the streets ever did, and softer, too. But love in Harlem always asks one question: what are you willing to risk when the heart wants more than the streets ever offered? A Harlem story. A hood love. A soft place to land. ❀ 🝳 ❀

More detailed description in story. Abella Mobisson has been around boxing most of her life. Her father was a professional boxer turned boxing coach & owned a gym where she spent much of her pass time while growing up. After the death of her father & a series of bad relationships, Abella makes sure to keep a focus on her career as a shining star in the music industry. If it isn't music or family, she couldn't give you the time of day. The same goes for heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua. How could he give a serious relationship the time needed when he's trying to be the best boxer in the world? Or the best father, son, brother, or friend? A woman could wait. It isn't until Abella meets Anthony that she realizes maybe she doesn't know the boxing world as well as she thinks she does. To the world they're an unlikely pair despite a rumor surrounding the strangers. Abella is America's darling with a brash tongue who says & does what she wants. Anthony is Britain's humble champion who's a role model to all despite knocking people out for a living. It's these differences that make them clash like titans then fall. Start date: 5/25/19 Finished: 10/11/20

When Kiki visits Chicago for her cousin's wedding, she never expects to get piped down by a man who talks with his hands and growls her name like he own it. Messiah ain't like these New York dudes she's used to-he move different. Ain't loud, ain't flashy, but got that hood alpha energy that make her melt. She was supposed to be there for five days max... not fall in love with a Chi-Town gangsta who flips bricks and lifts her like she weightless. But when her past follows her to Chicago and his street life bleeds into their sex-fueled situationship, the line between love and lust starts to blur. He never chased women-especially not loud, sex-crazy, no-nonsense New York ones. But Kiki? She got him talkin' about "what we is" and pressin' her spot like he tryna build a future. But love between two people who been hurt don't come easy. And in a city full of secrets, money, and murder? Somebody always gotta pay.

After years of observation in the shadows, Judah, a notorious and well respected drug trafficker, becomes obsessed with a basketball lover, Kianna-after being tasked with killing her-despite her unawareness of his existence. He proceeds to carry out the kidnapping plan but changes his mind about ending her life; instead, he manages to make her fall deeply in love with him. Judah then makes an audacious decision to train Kianna as his protégé, molding her into a skilled assassin who echoes his own deadly prowess. Together, they navigate treacherous paths, balancing their turbulent lives with the sensual whirlwind of love that entangles them.

• 𝐀 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐧𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 • 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞-𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐧𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐣. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝, 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞.

What happens when you fall for your brother's best friend? The story of Serenity & Jabari.