there's a bar in the city, and it just happens to be ran by the Castillo Crime Family. *this story falls between Natalie Young and Sam Castillo, the son of Richie Castillo. This book has not been edited, so excuse any errors.

Nia Hart is used to living quietly, slipping in and out of rooms without being noticed, keeping her world small, controlled and safe. Aidan Collins is the opposite, loud laughter, bright energy, the kind of man who fills every space he walks into. She's an introvert with a laser‑focused career. He's an extrovert with a reputation that follows him everywhere. In private, they're soft. In public, they're a headline. He has golden‑boy charm and easy laughter. She has quiet ambition and careful boundaries. He pulls people in. She keeps them at arm's length. And when the world discovers them, the contrast becomes impossible to ignore: he shines in the spotlight, she hides from it. To stay together, they'll have to learn how to meet in the middle, and build a love that survives both the noise and the silence. Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the images used both on the cover and throughout the story.

★★★ 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 Imani was only working there for necessary means, only for Kazimir to come and change it all. Forced to face reality with her past, discoveries, and open fresh wounds, A developing partnership with Kazimir. What could go wrong? The Ex-Queenpin of the Sinaloa Cartel and The Russian Mob. Possibly everything. ★★★ Once you're in you can't get out, that's how it is when you're involved with crime. There is no easy way to get out, but I did get out or so I thought.

"Why do you want me?" "You want to know why I want you?" He exhales, like he's been holding this in for weeks. "I want you because I don't date for fun. I don't do temporary. I want you because when I think about marriage, your face is the only one there. I want you because if I ever have kids, I want them to have you as their mother. I want you because you're the love of my life." A beat. "And I want you because everything in me settles when you're with me."

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.

"Let me eat this pussy, ma." ♧👻♧

A promise. It seems like the simplest thing in the world to keep. But so often, they're broken, empty and hollow. They seem like the easiest thing in the world to believe, but after the words are left out to bleed, after they leave you waiting and wanting, after all the emptiness and hollow words-how are you going to believe the one who actually say what they mean?

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."

"Can't you just turn it on?" She huffed irritated tapping her foot anxiously. Her red bottom heals were too nice for a place with uneven pavement, tire marks, gas and oil all over the ground. She was humiliated being seen here in this sh*tty shop but she had no choice. She was already running late for her shoot. Kai stared back at her blankly and rolled his eyes in annoyance. The entitled impatient brat was giving him a major head ache. Such a beautiful f*cking headache this woman was and he just met her. "If that was the case you would be gone already and my day would be so much better." Adeline Jones. A pretty name for a pretty woman. Adeline is a black, upper class, young lady who is straight from Manhattan. She is the IT girl and she knows it. A model, an actress, an A lister with a grade A awful personality. She took over 80s and 90s and now is untouchable in the early 2000s. No one is good enough for Adeline and no one tells her no. Except one stubborn, and callous Mechanic named Kai Green.

𝚆𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚛, 𝚜𝚘 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍'𝚟𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛.