Joelle Jordan is just trying to survive university and her life at home. Bryce Valentine is trying to survive everyone else. Projected first-round NFL draft pick. Campus celebrity. The most watched college athlete in the country. When the two strike a deal to trade study sessions for Bryce and personal training sessions for Joelle's little brother, everything seems simple enough. Then Bryce crosses the line. Now Joelle is trying to navigate a boy who is emotionally repressed, touch-starved, obsessively devoted, and surrounded by more pressure than any twenty-year-old should have to carry. Add the coaches, media attention, NIL deals, scouts, photo shoots, and Bryce's oppressive father. The pressure that comes with being attached to Bryce Valentine is something Joelle is not equipped for. Especially when she starts getting a little too comfortable with the fact that Bryce can't seem to leave her alone.

Sequel to 'The Loneliest Stars' Will contain spoilers! Gabe and Natalia are navigating the aftermath of their whirlwind romance. While Gabe confronts deep-seated trauma from his Marine Corps past, Natalia, inspired by his bravery, begins her own journey through therapy. As they settle into life together and plan their future, they face intense challenges: Natalia's secret threatens to unravel their dreams, and Gabe's fractured relationship with his parents looms as a potential disaster. Can their passionate love withstand these storms and lead them to the future they've envisioned, or will reality pull them apart?

𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐨. Rankings: #1 in teacher #1 in bwwm #1 in wmbw #1 in military #1 in french #1 in psychological #2 in nigerian #5 in obsession #7 in possessive #9 in dark romance

Journey never planned on falling in love, and Emilio never planned on slowing down. What begins as quiet coffee visits turns into something deeper. Intentional. Devastatingly real. For the Long Way is a slow-burn romance about choosing each other, building a life between two worlds, and learning that the most powerful love is the one that waits, stays, and commits fully.

Malika Danai is pressure. Friendly, social, and loved by all, Malika thrives in college and is often seen as a mirage - seemingly real and attainable but disappears when approached. She's a party girl to the core. Loves to drink, flirt, and explore with her best friends, Ayana and Isabella. Her beauty is undeniable. With curly black hair cascading over her shoulders and golden-brown skin that glows no matter where she's at, Malika's presence is impossible to ignore. Her dark brown eyes often sparks with mischief, and her full two-toned lips often curves into teasing grins that hints at secrets she rarely shares. Malika excels at a lot of things but she was never the study type. She prayed the night before exams and hoped that her grades would at least give her a passing score and somehow, that always worked. Until now... Her grades are barely holding on- good enough to pass, but not good enough for a sorority like the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA). She wants to join. No she needs to. It's the only way she can prove to her mother that she's worth it. And she'll do whatever it takes. Even if it means casting her pride aside to get help from the boy who loathes her existence. Meanwhile... Theo Sinclair is a weapon. An academic weapon that nobody can beat. Coming from an old money family where the expectations and bars are set high, Theo surpasses them all and is often pushed towards greatness by his family. Yet he has a big flaw: boredom. Because of his uncaring attitude towards everything and everyone around him, Theo is often alone. Deliberately avoiding attention and validation from peers; he thrives in the silence and rhythm of his own scheduled routines. He has only one rule; 'Never let myself feel things I can't control.' To him, parties are ratchet and vile. An enigma vastly contrasting his reverence for solitude, silence, and carefully ordered thoughts. So when he's pushed into an unwanted arrangement, he resents the intrusion because slowly, his rule...

It is said that "love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen." -Corinthians 13:7-10. This is the type of love that both George and Alama would be blessed with knowing. However, just like the bible the year 1950 in Alabama didn't include that love knows no color. With George being white and Alma being black this is a love that should have never occurred. Will this love be strong enough to bridge a gap-filling a divide of the nation or will they see that they are meant to be divided.

Close your eyes. Breathe in. Feel the air turn thick, heavy with cigar smoke and expensive cologne. You can almost taste the whiskey on his tongue, can't you? General Marcus "Reign" Blackwell is power wrapped in ink and royal blood. He commands armies, breaks enemies, and fucks whoever he wants-until he sees *her*. Dr. Aaliyah Monroe. Quiet. Brilliant. Curvy African-American goddess who codes weapons in the dark. Shy smiles. Soft voice. Vanilla skin that glows under fluorescent lights. One breath of her scent and the untouchable general unravels. He dreams of her every night. Strokes himself raw imagining her thighs wrapped around him. Watches her sway to R&B in her apartment through shadows he shouldn't cross. Calls her *dove*, *tiny momma*, *my wife*-long before she ever says yes. She thinks it's temporary. He knows it's forever. He kneels for her. Begs for her. Cries for her. Marks himself with her initials while she sleeps. And when she finally rides him-slow, commanding, glasses slipping down her nose-he sobs her name like prayer. This isn't love. This is obsession carved into worship. This is a man who would burn the world just to hear her giggle and boop his nose. But when the first fight comes... When she needs space and he needs her closer than air... Will his dove fly away?

Aaliyah Johnson is in her final year at Magnolia State University, where she's balancing a scholarship, an art degree, and the pressure of not knowing what comes next. Elias Carter, the university's baseball captain, seems to have everything figured out, except his own heart. When mutual friends and a poetry club bring them together, sparks ignite in the most unexpected ways. She's brilliant and blunt; he's disciplined and mysterious. But between classes, practices, and the expectations of everyone around them, connection becomes the one thing they can't plan for. From strangers to friends to something far deeper, their story grows with every season, rooted beneath a magnolia tree that sees it all. Autumn brings sparks: "I'm curious about you, but I don't even know why yet." Winter, closeness: "You calm me when I didn't realise I needed calming." Spring, love: "I've known for a while... I just didn't want to ruin it." Summer, uncertainty: "Even if everything changes, you've changed me already." Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the images used both on the cover and throughout the story.

I froze. A man was slumped against the graffiti-covered brick wall, blood blooming across his side. His white shirt was soaked through, and there was a gun just inches from his open hand. My heart slammed against my ribs. Run, Skye. You should run. But I didn't. Instead, I dropped my bag and took a cautious step closer. His head lifted. Piercing, icy blue eyes met mine, sharp even through the haze of pain. His face was all sharp edges and shadowed scruff, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. His accent was thick and rough, like broken glass. "Leave." I shook my head slowly. "You're bleeding. Bad." "Not your concern." His voice was lethal, but he flinched hard when he tried to move. "You're gonna die out here," I whispered, kneeling beside him. My hands trembled as I pressed a napkin from my apron against his side. "I'm studying to be a nurse. Let me help." He stared at me like I was something he couldn't comprehend. A stranger. A softness he didn't trust. Then his hand, heavy and warm, clamped around my wrist-not rough, but firm. "What's your name?" he rasped. "...Skye." A beat passed. Then another. "I am Mikhail." His eyes darkened. "And you shouldn't have found me."

Londoner Natalia moves to small-town Texas for a year-long teaching exchange. Clashing with the brooding football coach Gabe Mercier, sparks fly between them despite their differences. As they work together, they must confront their pasts and growing feelings. Can they bridge their cultural divide and find love before Natalia's time runs out? Mature Scenes Mature Themes Occasional course language Please read at own risk and discretion. Started: January 2020 Finished: June 2020 Currently: Editing.