He was chaos in the shape of a man. And she was the only peace he ever wanted to keep. Kingston "Kash" Vaughn isn't just misunderstood-he's unmedicated, unhinged, and unforgiven. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after witnessing his mother's murder, Kash walks the line between genius and madness, street legend and broken boy. He doesn't trust people. Doesn't believe in peace. And he damn sure doesn't believe in love. Until her. Rai'Lynn "Rai" Tate is used to saving everybody but herself. As a crisis center worker, she's been trained to handle the darkest minds-but nothing prepares her for Kash. Their connection is magnetic, twisted, and immediate. He sees her, obsesses over her, needs her like air. And the scariest part? She needs him right back. What starts as therapy turns into obsession. Passion turns into control. And love? Love becomes a war. Because when the voices in his head grow louder... She's the only one he'll listen to. But what happens when the thing you love most is the same thing that might destroy you? 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝- 05.23.25 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝- 05.23.25 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝- 06.28.25

When Iris Maicei Gray returns home in search of a luxury condo, she doesn't expect to find Silas Jamar Smith: the quiet boy from her childhood who grew into a self-made construction company owner with a past as solid as the buildings he restores. As unfinished spaces force them into close proximity, old assumptions begin to crack. Silas sees Iris beyond her polish, while Iris is forced to question the life she built to keep herself untouched. Torn between the comfort of status and the vulnerability of being truly seen, Iris must confront the belief that has shaped every relationship she's ever known: that she is easier to 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 than to 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. Because sometimes, the person who builds everything from the ground up is the only one who can see what's worth keeping.

He leaned back, looking at her face again before his fingers slid under her chin, lifting it so she had no choice but to meet his eyes. "You love me." He said, shaking his head in mock sympathy. "& that's the most reckless thing you could've ever done." His grip tightened slightly under her jaw, not hard enough to hurt, just enough to remind her that he could. His thumb grazed her jaw, slower this time, respectful. "Love doesn't make me weak, baby. It makes me more dangerous. Because I love you back, meaning I now have something to lose." He leaned in until his lips hovered just above hers, their breath mingling. "& I don't like that. Not having shit to lose is what kept me untouchable, now I got a weakness & now we gotta die holding hands because you ain't doing this shit without me & I ain't doing it without you. So, Naytiri, you sure you wanna bleed for me?"

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Nour Delour doesn't chase men. She manufactures them. Shapes their desire with oils, honey, blood, and flame. In her Harlem candle boutique, every scent has a spell, every wick a whisper of old Southern rootwork passed down from women who knew how to make love feel like a fever. So when Rajah Thomas━the ex who ghosted her, walks by her shop window with his new girl on his arm, Nour doesn't cry. She gets even. She carves his name into wax, mixes it with her own essence, then lights the candle her grandmother warned her never to use: the 𝗪𝗮𝘅 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁. It doesn't just draw Rajah back━it 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘴 him. And this time, he returns with wet eyes, trembling hands, and a craving he can't explain. He's starving for her aroma, her skin, her darkness. He says her name like a prayer. Cries when she lets him taste her. Tells her he'll never leave again. But obsession has a cost, and magic always demands balance. As the flame burns lower, Rajah unravels. He starts sleeping outside her door. Sobbing when she doesn't answer. Losing jobs, friends, time. As for Nour? She's not untouched. She's sweating through her sheets. Moaning his name in her sleep. Bleeding from places that shouldn't bleed. The spell has tethered them by more than lust━it's welded their souls into something unnatural, and if she tries to break it, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩. Still, there's a part of her━the part that wanted this━that isn't ready to let go. Because this love? It's not soft. It's not safe. It's 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝘆. 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐔𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄. @GLOSSNEILES ON THE COVER ART.

𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞; 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬.

"I'm ready to give you that freedom. You and your father can leave." I froze. What? I looked at him, eyes wide with disbelief, searching for any sign he was lying. Any smirk, any cruel glint. But he was calm. Too calm. Then he spoke again-and his words struck like a bolt of lightning straight through me. "But for that..." he paused, his voice dipping to a deadly softness, "you have to be my breeder." She was the kind of girl whose world revolved around her cats and her jesus. Daughter of one of Ireland's most influential figures, she lived behind the guarded gates of power but felt like a stranger in her own home. With a stepmother who wore venom like perfume and a stepsister who never missed a chance to tear her down, Niamh learned to find solace in silence. She didn't mind the isolation-not really. But everything changed with a single glance. One dance of seduction. One moment of tamtation.That was all it took to unravel the threads of her carefully stitched life. She believed in fairytales. In is prince and kindness. In magic that heals. But instead, she found herself tangled in the dark salvation of a man who had no light left in him. The fairytale she longed for didn't come with a white horse. It came cloaked in blood, wrapped in chains, and whispered promises laced with pain. And the moment she stepped into his world, there was no going back. "He craves her purity just to stain it with his sins"

Why do we stay in situations even after it's clear they no longer serve us? In relationships where love was never really love, and the person we're holding onto means us no good? Time after time, the signs are there to prove they aren't our person. Yet we still stay. Why? Is it comfort, denial, fear? And if a sign came that could change your situation, how big would it have to be for you to take it? For Nahmir, that sign came on another Friday night from a girl he met at a club he wasn't even supposed to be at, doing things he had no business doing. Now, he's stuck at a crossroads: stay in the mess he's used to or change his ways and take a chance on Tahje. And even if he chose the later...is she even going for that? She has no problem taking his money, letting him woo her with gifts and sweet talk-but on the real, she knew she wasn't about to get caught up in drama over a man she just met. Especially, an apparently taken one at that. Only time would tell. - 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 2025

"I don't know how to do this." He was almost embarrassed to admit it. "I ain't been right with you in a long time, but I'm gon' ask anyway. Please don't take her from me." His plea cracked something open inside of his chest. "I know I ain't a good man. I done did some shit that I can't take back and I can't make it right. But she is, she's good. She's the light in so many places I didn't know were dark." "So if there's a price that needs to be paid for all the pain that I have caused in this word and done onto others put it on me. I'll pay it. I swear I will. I'll protect her with my last breath. I'll listen and heed her warnings. I'll slow down and come home more and stop thinking that I'm alone in this world." "Just please let my baby wake up. I love her, I'm in love with her and I can't do this without her. If waking her up means I got to sacrifice letting her go so she can be safe. I'll do that. Just don't take her from this earth." "In Jesus name I pray. Amen."