A LADY FOR A DUKE
The Duke was standing in the middle of the room, his hands in his pockets, his head tilted to one side. It was a relaxed, casual pose, and yet the way he looked at her was anything but casual. The deep midnight of his eyes burned and he radiated a subtle, sensual energy that made the air around him crackle.
He looked like a man who'd never heard the word 'no' in all his life. Unluckily for him, 'no' was the only word she had.
"There's no reason why I should stay," Anna clasped her shaking hands together in an effort to still them. "I'm not marrying you."
His gaze flickered, his mouth curving slightly, and she had the disturbing thought that far from putting him off, her insistence was only inciting him further.
"But you haven't heard my proposal yet," he said mildly. "Isn't that why you're here?"
"I don't need to hear it. I already know that my answer will be no."
"Of course. But you can hardly tell your father that you heard me out when you haven't, in fact, heard me out.... Anna."
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Chapter 4
"I..." she began in that rich, smoky voice, a thread of heat running through it. "I...don't... I need to..." She fell silent, breathing fast, staring at him.
Then before he could say anything she abruptly turned and fled down the path that led around the lake.
Cedric stood very still, fighting the urge to go after her, catch her. Take her down on the forest floor and distract himself, ground himself in her lithe, strong body.
But his urges were always controlled and he didn't like how uncontrolled this one felt. Anyway, he never chased women, not when they came so easily to him, and so he wasn't about to start, no matter how much the idea appealed to him.
Besides, he had more important matters to take care of.... Like becoming the Duke of Springbrook.
_____________
Cedric Blackwood didn't have very good memories of Haerton Castle. In fact he hated it.
Cedric had lived in Haerton until he was nine and all he could remember of his parents' marriage was them constantly fighting about one thing or the other. After his parents divorced, Cedric went with his mother and his father wanted nothing to do with his mother... or Cedric.
Magnus Blackwood got married again just months after his divorce and had Cedric's half brother, Vincent the next year. Years later, Magnus named Vincent as his heir to be the seventh Duke of Springbrook.
The divorce affected Cedric's mother, Victoria very badly and she completely neglected him, moving on to live her life as she saw fit, leaving Cedric in the hands of her sister, Diana who loved him as her own son. Magnus and Victoria had had an arranged marriage, and Cedric had a feeling that the divorce was a step to the freedom his mother had always wanted.
At first when Cedric found out that Vincent had been made heir over him, he was upset for a while but as he grew, he realized that not becoming Duke also came with its advantages. He could live his life any way he wanted just like his mother. He wouldn't have to deal with certain responsibilities of becoming Duke, and he never had to see his father or Haerton Castle ever again.
Cedric was successful. He didn't need any inheritance whatsoever from his father and it wasn't until three years ago after his father was diagnosed with cancer, that he began to reach out to Cedric. At first Cedric had ignored his calls as he didn't want anything to do with a man who had abandoned him since he was a child, but after Magnus died two months ago, he received the upsetting news that he had left his inheritance to him, including the responsibility of being Duke since his brother, Vincent had died just years before Magnus was diagnosed with cancer. Poor Magnus. Nothing seemed to be going as planned for him.
Cedric didn't really care much about his father's death and he certainly didn't want to be Duke. it meant responsibilities and Cedric wasn't sure he was cut out for it, especially since he'd not thought about being Duke for years. He liked living his life on his own terms and he sure as hell didn't want to move back to Haerton Castle, but now it seemed like he didn't have a choice. The memories of being back at the castle were not pleasant ones and just being back there made him feel sick.
Having arrived just two days ago, he had gone for a run that morning and decided to swim in the lake to clear his head when he had run into the redheaded woman. She was beautiful... very beautiful, and since he had not been to Haerton in a very long time, he understood why she had not recognized him.
He didn't know what had possessed him to touch her like that... Probably all this stress about being Duke getting to him. Maybe he'd call up one of his favorite lovers and invite her to spend a weekend in the wild countryside. She probably wouldn't want to-Katherine was a city girl through and through-but she did like having sex with him and that was a considerable inducement. He was, after all, very, very good at it.
He'd nearly reached the house when his phone went off. He didn't like to answer it when he was out running, but the sixth sense for trouble that had proved itself useful in his business life kicked in, so he stopped and pulled out his phone, glancing down at the screen.
It was Bonnie, his very efficient PA. Which meant it was probably something he needed to deal with. He hit the answer button. "What is it?"
"There's a problem with the will, Sir," she said crisply, getting straight to the point, which was what he liked about her.
Of course there was a problem with the will. When had his father ever given him anything but problems? He stared out at the woods and moors that surrounded the house. "Explain."
"The lawyers have just got back to me. Apparently your ownership of the house is an issue. There are certain...codicils in the will that were overlooked."
This was not a surprise. Even in death Magnus Blackwood was still making sure to torture him.
"What are they?" he asked, part of him knowing already if not what those exact codicils would be, then certainly the intent of them.
"You must be married," Bonnie said and then, uncharacteristically, hesitated.
Everything inside Cedric tensed. "And?" he bit out impatiently.
Bonnie's voice when she spoke was quiet. "And you must also have a son."
____________
"You were going to eventually get married and have children, were you not? I don't see why this is an issue?" Diana told Cedric over the phone, "It was bound to happen,"
Cedric stayed silent. He'd never really thought about getting married, talk more of having children. In fact, he didn't even think he wanted them, nor was he ready for it. The only people who should have made him look forward to marriage had spent their time together being miserable and horrible to one another. As far as he was concerned, marriage was restrictive, unbearable and there was no reason to look forward to it.
"That's not the issue," Cedric replied irritably. "There is no reason for all these conditions. Even after his death, he's still a controlling asshole... Can you imagine? He even has a bride ready for me...He picked out the woman who's supposed to be my duchess too. Can you believe that?"
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9.4
Michael Carter is an undercover FBI agent on a mission to take down ruthless mafia king Fernando Ramírez-the man he believes killed his sister. But getting close to Fernando means playing a dangerous game, one where seduction and power blur the lines between enemy and lover.
When Michael uncovers a shocking truth, his thirst for revenge turns into a fight for something far more dangerous-his own heart. Now, torn between duty and desire, he must decide: destroy the man he swore to take down or surrender to the one thing he never saw coming.
Love has never been more lethal.
7.2
Azura Briggs was just a broke college student working freezing valet shifts to pay her adoptive mother's crushing medical debt.
Her desperate life shattered the night a bulletproof Maybach violently cornered her in an alley, and a ruthless billionaire kidnapped her by mistake.
After a harrowing escape, Azura was forced to take a humiliating "plus-one" gig at a high-end gala just to survive. But her date turned out to be the billionaire's arrogant nephew, who promptly abandoned her to the wolves. Cornered by a sleazy executive and his psychotic wife, Azura was publicly slapped, her dress torn, and left bleeding on the floor while hundreds of elites watched in disgust.
Just as she prepared to fight to the death, the crowd violently parted. Hunter Mcintosh, the terrifying man who had kidnapped her days ago, dropped to his knees in the broken glass and wrapped his bespoke jacket around her trembling shoulders.
Azura was completely paralyzed. Why was the monster who threatened her life now destroying billionaires just to protect her?
But the illusion of safety didn't last. Trapped in his Maybach hours later, Hunter threw a draconian employment contract at her feet.
"Sign it, and her care is covered. Forever."
He knew exactly how to break her. He was offering to pay off her mother's debt, but only if she signed her life away to become his personal assistant. With no other way out, Azura picked up the heavy pen.
9.7
Eighteen months ago, the man I loved shattered my heart, claiming everything between us was a mistake. Now, he's back, a ghost of his former self, a rookie tryout in my pro esports team. And I will make him regret crawling back.
Clifton, captain of a legendary esports team, was secretly battling a severe wrist injury that threatened his career, every match a fight against his own body. He pushed through the pain, ignoring doctors' warnings, desperate to maintain his god-like status.
His world was already on the edge, but nothing prepared him for seeing Justice Terry again in the team basement. Justice, pale and trembling, his eyes wide with naked terror, was now a rookie tryout.
Clifton had spent a year and a half trying to forget that rainy Chicago alley, the raw revulsion in Justice's eyes, the whispered "it wasn't real" that had left him heartbroken. Justice had vanished, and Clifton had erased every trace. Now, the boy who once looked at him like he was the sun was back, flinching at his touch, displaying a deep, primal fear. Amidst sponsor pressure and whispers of being "washed," Clifton saw Justice's return as a chance for vengeance. He publicly humiliated Justice on a live stream, forcing him into a suicide mission, then coldly benched him.
Yet, the satisfaction never came. Instead, a hollow emptiness and a torrent of questions: What had truly happened in the past? Why was Justice here, and what trauma had carved such fear into his bones?
Clifton, unwilling to be fooled again, swore to uncover every secret and every lie. He would force Justice to explain why he had returned, even if it meant tearing down everything they both had left.
7.3
Take her."
" Aunt!" A horrified gasp followed.
" Do you mean it ?" A deep gruffly voice questioned. His voice was dripping with malice and beneath his eyes he gazed at the girl figure mostly on her bra straps and her ass slightly shot out.
What if the deal you made turned into an unimaginable mistake beyond your control?. Several deals can be made in life , but one can either change or ruin your life . .
Ixora was sold as a commodity to loan shark. No she was replaced with the debts of her greedy and wicked Aunt , Clarice .
She was sold as a toy. Not knowing whose master to serve . Ixora found herself in the most dangerous clan in Spain as a sex toy. A toy that warms it's master bed and satisfy its master primal urges. A toy the master discard however and whenever he likes.
A toy with no say or doing.
Mafia's are everywhere , dangerous and wealthy. They own everything. Money , wealth , power belongs to them. They were dreaded so much that normal peasants like Adrianna never wanted to come across with them.. But Ixora ended up as a sex toy in a devil harem . The most dangerous harem in the whole of Spain.
How did she end up this way? . Why is fate so cruel to her. At the age of twenty she is being sold out as a sex toy and worse , on her birthday!!!!
~
Hades Kings , the most dangerous Mafia Don in Spain. The King of Mafia's heirs. He is ruthless than the devil himself. His jawline line sharp and well chiseled , his features irresistibly seductive. It can break every wall of your resistance and his dark gray eyes that carried so much power within them . Hades who we call DIABLO [ DEVIL] , A SADISTIC AND CRUEL PSYCHOPATH
Hades King is the leader of Kings empire , Kings Villa , Kings airline , King's brewery, King's publishing house , King's foodies a popularly know global restaurant and various more companies you can imagine. He got wealth at his feet and power in his grasp.
Women's flooded themselves around him shamelessly . The men looked unto him with envy. But Hades has a dark past. One that hadn't been noticed by anyone yet and he is not ready to share it with anyone.
IN HIS WORLD, WHERE, :
El amo es traición (LOVE IS TREASON~)
El cariño es quinididad (AFFECTION IS INQUITY~)
La devoción es mortal (DEVOTION IS DEADLY ~)
Hades got entangled with all these .
8.3
Imogen Montgomery was the perfect billionaire heiress, deeply in love and ready to marry her fiancé, Clark Ellis.
That all ended the night her cousin Kathleen ripped the sapphire pendant from her neck and pushed her into a pool of toxic chemicals to die.
Two years later, Imogen's eyes snapped open. But she didn't wake up in a hospital. She woke up tied to a stained mattress, trapped in the battered body of Briana, a teenage girl from the slums who had just been sold to a local trafficker.
After violently fighting her way out of a cheap motel, she discovered the horrifying truth. Kathleen had taken over the Montgomery Group. She had locked Imogen's grieving parents away in a psychiatric facility as prisoners.
And worst of all, Kathleen was now flaunting her stolen wealth online, preparing to marry Clark.
A wave of pure, white-hot rage boiled in her blood. Kathleen had murdered her, stolen her family, and was playing the perfect grieving cousin. How was she supposed to fight back? She was just a runaway nobody now. If she tried to expose the truth, Kathleen's security would shoot her dead in the street.
She needed a weapon. She needed a shield. She needed the one man Kathleen feared.
Covered in mud and blood, Briana intercepted Clark's car in the freezing rain. She was going to infiltrate his home as his vulgar, unhinged fake mistress, and she would drag Kathleen straight down to hell.
9.5
Smoke and silence rule the ruins of the Mantle pack. Lyra, once a fierce warrior-wakes shackled and ritual-silenced, her wolf buried but not dead, a living emblem of everything Lucius, the cruel Alpha of Onyx Crest, used to cement his power. Brian, the heir raised to obey, is taught to deny the bond he never wanted; one whispered word from Lyra cracks that obedience and sparks a secret, dangerous connection.
As their flickering bond strengthens, Lyra's wolf claws back to life and Brian's loyalties split, igniting a rebellion against a family built on sacrifice and fear. When Asher seizes the crest and brands them fugitives, what begins as escape becomes a fight for more than revenge-it's a war to remake the packs into something kinder and just, and to claim a throne built on unity rather than domination.