"You promised." He hisses. "I did promise not to ghost you again and I didn't! The rest is nothing you get to control." A sly smirk appears on his face as he presses his lips to my ear and whispers, "We will see about that." Grabbing my body as if I were made out of cotton candy, he lifts me off the floor. He presses my back fully into the cold wall once again, standing between my legs, and bites into my neck, having me mewl lowly. "What the hell are you doing? The cameras, Ru. The cameras!" I panic, freeing myself from under his teeth. His eyes capture mine as he looks back up at me. "This is my building, remember? The security guards are instructed to delete the tape. And to not call for help or check on anyone stuck in the elevator." *** Ginevra and Ruggerio are meant to hate each other. As heirs to rival families, they have been taught nothing else. As they spend the night together at a masquerade ball without recognizing each other, they ignite a series of events that are as dangerous as they are tempting. Now it's up to them to decide. Stand by the rules of their families. Or give in to their forbidden desire. ⚠️ TW: explicit and foul language, steamy scenes, abuse, SA ⚠️
Ginevra
The sun beams are the gentle cause I wake up. Stretching in my bed, I get up groggily and get into my in-suite bathroom. After collecting my long black locks into a loose bun, I wash my face quickly before putting on some make-up. I love to highlight my dark-brown eyes with eyeliner, especially as it makes me think that it hides my nose that I perceive as too big. Checking my phone shortly, I crack up at my best friend's text about her walk of shame back home she had to do this morning. I get out of my room and close my door behind me. Like my room, the entire home where I live with my family is designed in earthy colors, typical for a Mediterranean display. The amount of natural light streaming through the spacious rooms and the archways in eclectic tiles give the immense property the feeling of a cozy vacation home.
Unfortunately, it is not.
I pass the textured stucco walls decorated with expensive and utterly boring artwork and walk down the marble stairs of my home to get to the kitchen. A maid is already working to set the table and I pass her to make myself a cup of coffee.
"Ginevra, what are you doing? We are eating in about 20 minutes!"
My grandfather stands in the door to the kitchen, looking at me with his dark brown eyes sparkling. He is dressed in one of his signature tailored suits and has a large newspaper clamped under his right arm.
"I just got up, Nonno. I need a coffee and I'm not going to kill my appetite because of it." He steps up to me and pinches me in my cheek playfully.
"Ah, you have to learn to get up sooner, or you'll lose any winning margin you could have against your enemies." I chuckle before taking a sip of my coffee, soothing my nerves.
Enemies! Right!
My grandfather is old school and was born in a territory controlled by the Camorra. He always had some trauma he carried around, even if he had long gotten out of that kind of situation and was living far away. As he came to live here in New York all over from Naples situated in the south of Italy and built a billion-strong group in the building industry, he achieved what many others dream of. He slowly started living more peacefully even if he never lost his usual paranoia. I guess not even an ocean separating you from a problematic place you come from can give your soul some peace.
"I have Fede, he is up early enough for both of us."
He laughs while wiggling his finger at me.
"Give your brother some credit. He works hard for the family."
I smile, sipping my coffee.
Sure, and he got the job I was supposed to have because he is a man.
My family is horrendously traditional, even if emigrated. I'm the first born but my younger brother is the first-born male, hence he is the primary heir. I'm just supposed to marry well and have a lot of children. Actually, as the first born, I'll have to exceed in any marriage choice compared to my younger siblings, as they expect a lot from me.
Hurray me.
As my grandfather receives a phone call, I walk out of the kitchen to get to the small living room facing the large gateway leading to my family's mansion. I'm just in time to see my sister's car drive up the driveway, the gravel scrunching under the tires. She drives around the big round flower bed which constitutes the center of the gateway in front of the house and halts in front of the main entrance. I observe her getting out of her car and waving at me with a big smile. She ties her long black hair in a loose ponytail and proceeds to get my baby-nephew out of the car. As she balances her son and a diaper bag in her arms, our butler runs to her with one of our manservants by his side to help her carry her bag. She doesn't give her son out of her hands though, she never would. I can't see her husband with her, must be on a business trip once again. In my humble opinion I think he is sketchy as hell, but my parents love him, so good for her. If I was a tad more malicious, I would say he is with his second family. Good thing I'm not. As she climbs the stairs to the entrance, I begin walking to the foyer to say hello. She walks in with Rupert and Armin wearing a big smile, flashing me her flawless white teeth.
"Hey, baby-sis!" I shout in a singsong while opening my arms to her.
It looks as if we haven't seen ourselves for years, rather than 2 days ago. But that's what it is with my family, it stands over everything.
"Ginny, hi." She flashes me a happy smile and is about to walk into my hug as she gets interrupted.
My sister is 5 years younger than me and the pride of the family, after Federico, of course. That's not because she got an awesome degree or a special high honored award, but because, at the tender age of 21, she is already married and has gifted my family with another male descendant. As soon as she is through the door and about to hug me, she gets attacked by two little rascals appearing like a summer storm.
"Roberta, Roberta!"
My two twin brothers hug her at each side shouting her name out loud. She laughs as she ruffles Gioele's black hair.
"Let me say hello to Ginevra, you two ankle-biters."
She finally gets to free herself to hug me, and I squeeze her tight.
"How are you doing?" I whisper, caressing her back.
"Alright, a bit lonely." She sighs and I squeeze her arm gently with a sad smile before leaning down to my nephew.
"And how is our baby boy?"
I'm tickling my nephew in her arms as my grandmother appears under the archway separating the foyer from a small reception living room reprimanding us like she, and she unfortunately does, owns the place. Her dark gray eyes move down to the cup in my hand in disgust.
"Say that you hate me!" "Say that I hurt you and that you fear me just like everybody else in this dumb pack." The rage dripping from his voice tears a hole in my heart that hurts more than the fire he just burned my skin with. But I know him too well to not recognize the pain in his eyes. "Why can't you just be like everybody else?!" I know him better than anyone and I know that he is just being mean because he wants me to drop him for his twin. But as soon as my wolf will finally awaken, I'll show him that I'm fated to be with both of them.
Nerthus goes by many names. Hiding from an unpleasant past, she keeps her true identity a secret while working as an escort. As she covers an appointment with a mysterious new client for a sick colleague, she thinks it will be a one-night thing as he is known to never book an escort twice. Until he books her again. When her other clients start mysteriously canceling their appointments, she suddenly finds herself in a tricky, but quite alluring situation. She tries everything to resist his irresistible temptations that threaten getting her fingers burnt. But she risks it anyway. Will Nerthus realize her mistake too late? And will she be able to resist her forbidden desire for her mysterious new client? *** TW: explicit and foul language; frequent sex scenes; violence; SA ***
"I, Riccardo Saviano, future Alpha of the Grey Shadow Moon Pack, reject you, Artemisia Guerrieri, Daughter of Alpha Franco of the Blood Moon Pack, as my mate and future Luna." One single sentence. One stupid single sentence was all it took to disintegrate my life. And the day of my birthday, on which this sentence was audaciously uttered to me, I lost the love of my life, my future mate, and my wolf, all at once. As I'm still assembling the pieces of my shattered heart years later, there they come. Like lightning out of a crystal blue sky. My Mates. But wait... If I am mated to triplets, how come I'm about to be mated to 5 gorgeous men? *** TW: explicit and foul language; spicy content; explicit sex scenes ***
Kaelyn devoted three years tending to her husband after a terrible accident. But once he was fully recovered, he cast her aside and brought his first love back from abroad. Devastated, Kaelyn decided on a divorce as people mocked her for being discarded. She went on to reinvent herself, becoming a highly sought-after doctor, a champion racer, and an internationally renowned architectural designer. Even then, the traitors sneered in disdain, believing Kaelyn would never find someone. But then the ex-husband’s uncle, a powerful warlord, returned with his army to ask for Kaelyn’s hand in marriage.
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
"You're mine, little puppy," Kylan growled against my neck. A soft gasp escaped my lips as his lips brushed my skin. My mind screamed at me to push him away-the Lycan Prince who had humiliated me again and again, but my body betrayed me, leaning into him before I could stop myself. He pressed his lips against mine, and his kiss grew more aggressive, more possessive as I felt my legs weaken. What was I doing? In a split-second, I pulled away and slapped him hard across the face. Kylan's eyes darkened, but the smirk on his lips exposed his amusement. "You and I both know we can't fight this, Violet," he said, gripping my wrist. "You're my mate." "And yet you don't want me," I replied. "You told me you were ashamed of me, that l'd never be your queen, that you'd never love me. So please, accept my rejection and let me go." "Never," he whispered, his grip tightening as he pulled me closer. "Soon enough, you'll be begging for me. and when you do-I'll use you as I see fit and then I'll reject you."
After three years of loveless marriage, Kira was slapped with divorce papers. She has shown him her unrequited love throughout her entire marriage with him, but he decided to turn blind eyes all because of his lover. Distraught and heartbroken, Kira choose to sign the divorce papers with bitter heart. But then and there, she promised herself that when she's back, he will come crawling to her, but she will make him pay for hurting her. Join Kira as she transform to a wealthy heiress and soared as the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar empire, a remarkable healer and make her ex-husband pay!
“Drive this woman out!” "Throw this woman into the sea!” When he doesn’t know Debbie Nelson’s true identity, Carlos Hilton cold-shoulders her. “Mr. Hilton, she is your wife,” Carlos’ secretary reminded him. Hearing that, Carlos gives him a cold stare and complained, “why didn’t you tell me earlier?” From then on, Carlos spoils her rotten. Little did everyone expect that they would get a divorce.
Elisa watched as the most important people in her life showered the evil imposter-The fake heiress, with love. Elisa, the lost daughter of one of the most wealthiest family was found 18 years later and was brought back to her rightful home. However, someone had already taken her place. A fake heiress, the pampered little princess. Her coy acting and innocent façade made Elisa's real mother love her more than Elisa, her real daughter. That made Elisa, though, the true daughter end up as an adopted child. "Elisa, could you try not to appear in front of her too much as it could trigger her insecurities." Her parents had told her because of the fake heiress. "Elisa, You've taken everything away from her. Why can't you give her a little more?" Her fiancé had ordered her. Because of an unfortunate accident plotted by Isabelle-The fake heiress, Elisa was sent to prison and her family cut ties with her without a second thought. Four years, after much torture which led to her being crippled and blind on one eye, she was released, but got hit by a truck. While laying on the pool of her blood, she wanted to question, Why? Why had they all treated her so cruelly, while they love Isabelle unconditionally? She badly wanted to rip off Isabelle's mask of innocence, to reveal the fake, manipulative woman beneath. She was full of hatred. But after her death, she woke up back to when she was 18 years like all that happened were all nightmare. She was elated. She was reborn to re-live all that had happened in her last life, but now, her mission was to reveal mask beneath that woman and make everyone that made her suffer in her past life pay. It was her time for revenge! And definitely, she won't mess this up!