"Marry me." He said it like he was ordering coffee. Calm and fucking certain. "Like hell I will, bastard." "Let me rephrase, Mr. Lantsov." His eyes sharp enough to draw blood. "If you want Project Athena, you will marry me." "Wh-what?" My laugh cracked somewhere between disbelief and panic. "You've lost your damn mind." He took a step closer, slow, deliberate. "It's a business arrangement. You're good at faking, aren't you?" I scoffed. "Faking? You-you'll be the one faking shit. You're as straight as the rod you keep up your ass, motherfucker." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "That's my issue, not yours." "And what's mine?" "Saying yes before I decide you no longer have a choice." ------- CHECKMATE CHRONICLES (The Art of Deception) Two corporations. Two kings. One throne no one's willing to share. Asael Lantsov is fire- reckless, untamed, impossible to cage. Isaac Warren is ice- controlled, calculating, deadly when provoked. A reckless heir who treats chaos like oxygen. A control freak who counts every molecule of it. They were meant to compete, not collide. But when the world's most expensive tech project- Project Athena- forces their companies into a joint venture, rivalry turns into a war behind polished smiles and billion-dollar contracts. And the final move? A legal marriage binding their corporations and maybe their lives for two years. Enemies by history. Lovers by law. Bound by a contract neither can escape. In a game where every secret could cost the world its freedom, love isn't the endgame- it's the most dangerous weapon of all. When fire meets ice, chaos reigns. And in their world, checkmate isn't just the end- it's the beginning.

Dallas is a boy full of sarcasm and dark memories, a street kid who's not used to getting help. The day before he starts at a new high school, the bullies from his old one find him and beat him into unconsciousness. When he wakes, he finds himself in the home of a strange boy whom he feels an odd attraction to. Nick is a werewolf in charge of leading a Morning Star Pack. He bashes the skulls of those who offend him or his Pack members, and when he finds the broken and bleeding body of Dallas, he can't help but save the poor boy. This sparks something in both of them. Something neither expected nor possibly wanted. Forced proximity, Werewolf x Human, Brat x Brat Tamer, Sassy Street Kid MC, Found Family, Angst He leaned down, his breath fanning across my lips. Just before he kissed me, he pulled back, whispering something before leaving me standing there like an idiot. "Not yet Kit."