"It was never love - just velvet pressure dressed up as tenderness." In the heart of Atlanta, where luxury meets danger and love feels more like a gamble than a gift, peace isn't just a goal - it's survival. Imani "Mani" Monet is doing everything right. A college student and hairstylist on the Southside, she's built a small, calm life after a heartbreak that taught her love isn't always safe. Between Monet Stylz, her classes, and her circle of clients, Mani has no time - and no interest - in falling again. Then she crosses paths with Khalil "Ace" Monroe. Ace isn't looking for love either. He's built his world on silence, loyalty, and control. As a club owner with ties that run deeper than anyone realizes, he's used to chaos - but not the kind that shows up in a black satin dress with calm eyes and a quiet presence that unsettles him more than a gun in his face. What begins as a glance becomes gravity. Neither of them meant to notice each other. Neither of them wants the kind of connection that could blur their boundaries. But the universe doesn't ask for permission. In a city that never sleeps, where loyalty is currency and softness can be fatal, Mani and Ace will learn that love doesn't come easy - it comes heavy. Because in their world, it was never love... Just Velvet Pressure dressed up as tenderness.

se·ren·i·ty /səˈrenədē/ noun the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. "an oasis of serenity amidst the bustling city"

𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚. 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙞'𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚... - Abillyon.

Is everything really soft ? @𝟰𝟰𝟰𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝗹𝘃𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ©

Chance. I don't believe in it. Everything that happens in our life happens for a reason. I've always believed that. But, it's funny. Who would have thought a night of clubbing could result in my marriage to the tattooed quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers? Co-Written with @bemorelovely

Benjamin "Money" Carter is a vivacious young stickup kid, along with his wife Angel of four years. The two have been doing stickups since the age of sixteen and eighteen. They don't care who you are. If you got it-they want it. When the two rob and murder two members who belongs to a team of killers called the Savage Boysz, all hell breaks loose. As if battling it out with the ruthless SB crew isn't enough. One of the SB boysz has something on them that Money and Angel takes that throws them right into the world of the elites. Can Angel still be a ride or die chick while being hunted by a vicious street gang along with dealing with the lifestyle of fast money, women, clothes, cars, drugs and everything else? Sex, Lies, Murder, Greed, Lust, Betrayal, Deceit...

He loved her, she was 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄. ©All Rights Reserved.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Nour Delour doesn't chase men. She crafts 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. @GLOSSNEILES ON THE COVER ART.

noun the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled Something Maleeya never felt, having to move from state to state due to her father being in the navy, Maleeya never knew true peace, that was until she moves to Atlanta and runs into Nasir.

"𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚 ?" (Characters in story are not the characters on cover)