OUR FIRST PLACE Amari Bennett never needed the party life. At twenty-one, she had everything she wanted: a career she was building, money in her savings, a close family, and the same man she'd loved for more than three years. Jaylen Carter was her best friend, her boyfriend, and now her roommate. After years of dating, they finally take the next step and move into their first apartment together. Between long workdays, trade school, cute dates, grocery runs, late-night talks, and learning how to build a life together, everything feels like it's finally falling into place. Until one ordinary morning, Amari wakes up feeling different. She's not sick. She's not throwing up. But suddenly, every smell seems stronger than usual-and she can't stop running to the bathroom. At first, she blames it on drinking too much water. Then one thought refuses to leave her mind. What if there's three of us now? Their first apartment was supposed to be the beginning of their life together. They just didn't know how much their life was about to change. Sometimes the life you planned isn't the life you're given. Sometimes it's even better.

Nakiya Charles has mastered the art of holding everything together: her grades, her future, her family, her friends. Asaan Bennett has always believed that the right people find you when you're not looking for them. When a chance meeting during their senior year of college keeps turning into another... and then another, an unexpected friendship begins to bloom between two people who have spent most of their lives being everything for everyone else. But as they grow closer, so do the fears they've carefully kept hidden. Because sometimes the scariest thing isn't falling in love. It's trusting someone enough to catch you. Can two people who are used to being everyone else's safety net be brave enough to become each other's? "Boy, you got me tripping, falling with no safety net." (Safety Net by Ariana Grande & Ty Dolla $ign) Disclaimer: All images featured in this book belong to their respective owners. I do not claim ownership of any photographs unless explicitly stated. They are used for aesthetic and storytelling purposes only.

Zophisa (zo-fee-suh) Johnson, a fearless 22-year-old who's been in the game her whole life. She was raised by the streets and determined to do anything possible to get to the top. Even if that meant moving to the other side of the world to protect her gang. - Luka Ricca, a dominating 26-year-old mafia leader who was just trying to help out an old friend of his father. Little does he know, he's going to get a lot more than he bargained for when he meets the leader of a local New York gang. What will happen when two natural born killers have to marry each other for the sake of their gangs?

"Please, baby... I only got a taste. I 𝓝𝓮𝓮𝓭 more." ♧👻♧

Soul Maurielle is quiet, introverted and to herself. She's been spoiled her whole life and has had everything handed to her, whether it was from her father, a respected drug kingpin who passed when she was 18, or her twin brother Shilo who followed in the footsteps of his father. Soul isn't new to the 'street life' she hates it and all that it brings. That life did nothing but take from her family. Her brother on the other hand loved the fast life and the quick money that came with, so he followed in the footsteps of their father bringing drama to her door when and wherever. Trap has never been one for many words, he allowed his actions to speak through all that he did. And boy did his actions speak. Trap is a popular loner, so many have been around him but not many knows who he his. Even those closest to Trap barely get more than 5 words from him at a time. He handles his business and goes about his day. Trap is deep in the life, had been since he was 15. Virgil, the father figure Trap never had, was the man who took him in and introduced him to the life. His mom had been struggling with bills, his sister, who was on her school cheer team, had no way to get her gear and he had one option. Turn to the streets, one of his boys had been bragging about the fast money he was getting and Trap needed that, his boy introduced him to Virgil and it was off from there. The 2 are one and the same, both quiet, reserved and to themselves. But Soul isn't looking for love, let alone a man that's in the same life she lost her dad to. She hates the life and everything that comes with it, so why can't she just leave this man alone? Book 1 Started: February 12, 2026 Finished: August 11, 2026

Bonded through illegal money and force

Halo was just looking for a way out of a bad situation. She thought her sister was throwing her a lifeline, but instead, she landed straight into the path of a man who doesn't do favors, doesn't do guests, and definitely doesn't do soft. He run his life and his house with zero room for error. He's cold, dominant, and unapologetic. But sometimes, the very person who threatens your peace is the only one capable of holding you down. In a world where everyone else failed her, Halo is about to learn that protection comes with a price, and his standard is non-negotiable.

They met by accident-in chaos. At twenty-five, Brielle Price has learned what it feels like to pour years into something that was never meant to last. Fresh out of physical therapy school, she's focused on healing, rebuilding, and climbing forward in her career. Love is no longer a priority. Stability is. Perseverance is. And for the first time, she's choosing herself. Andre Carter, also twenty-five, is fresh off his rookie contract in the NFL and stepping into a new chapter of his life. Focused, disciplined, and painfully aware of how quickly everything can be taken away, he moves with caution. Labeled a golden boy by the world around him, Andre knows better than to believe the hype-or tempt fate. One drunken night in Houston brings their paths together in the middle of chaos, neither aware of the impact that fleeting moment will have on their carefully laid plans. Some encounters are brief. Others linger... Waiting for the right time to return.

✨Aaliyah Jackson is 25, a single mom, and an ER supervising nurse at NY Presbyterian-used to holding everything together even when she's falling apart. Her daughter, Chole, is five years old, brilliant, and the only reason Aaliyah ever learned how to survive. But the man who helped create her... is also the man who tried to destroy her. Kamari James is 35, a master manipulator with a dangerous ego and a toxic grip on the woman he refuses to let go of. After stealing from Aaliyah and cheating with her own cousin, he thought she'd still come running back like she always did. Until she didn't. And the day Kamari puts his hands on her in a school parking lot... Aaliyah meets the one man he should've never crossed. Malik King is 28-quiet, powerful, and far more dangerous than he looks. A kingpin with legal businesses across the city... and a heart that softens for his mom and his little niece, Nia. When Nia and Chole become best friends, Malik and Aaliyah's worlds collide. And once Malik decides Aaliyah is his to protect... Kamari won't just lose a woman. He'll lose everything. Because a man like Malik King doesn't warn twice. 🖤

I would tell you that I love you tonight But I know that I've got time on my side Where you goin'? Why you leavin' so soon? Is there somewhere else that's better for you? What is love if you're not here with me? What is love if it's not guaranteed? What is love if it just ups and leaves? What is love if you're not here no more? What is love if you're not really sure? What is love? What is love? 2 in 1 Book💋