A Taste Of Him: The One I Was Never Meant to Want
Her Bestie's Brother
She only came over to spend time with her best friend-
not to run into her infamous senior brother, the campus playboy everyone warned her about.
Every time she saw him, she felt nothing but disgust.
How could someone who had a sister he adored still treat girls like toys?
But when he walked into the house with a group of girls trailing behind him, her frustration finally snapped-
and she cursed him out without caring who heard.
Then came the day they all hung out, played too much, drank too much...
and the night spiraled into something neither of them ever expected.
A reckless moment.
A passionate night.
A mistake-or something else?
Now, she can't stop asking herself:
Will this change the way she sees him?
And more dangerously... will this change him?
Chapters
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Chapter 1
Chapter One
Aurora's pov
I slammed the door behind me, sweat dripping from my forehead, football tucked under one arm, the other supporting it.
Mom! Can you just reply to Dad already? He's been blowing up my phone too!" I shouted, stomping towards the couch
My mom snapped, teeth gritted. "Don't you dare sit your ass on my new couch, kid!"
"Urrrgghh! Just do something already! I'm tired of having the same words and arguments between you two!" I retorted, rolling my eyes.
Before my mom could fire back, I stomped upstairs, heart pounding with frustration-only to be ambushed by my best friend's scream through the phone.
"Hey BESTIEEE!" Layla's squealing voice made me wince.
"Goddammit, Layla! You're gonna make my ears bleed?" she groaned.
"Oh, come on! Mom said y'all relocated to Ravenwood, California! OMG girl, I can't wait to see you again!" Layla gushed, practically bouncing through the phone.
"Stop playing with me, Layla. You also live in Ravenwood?" I asked, astonished.
"Yes, babe! five years and we're finally back in the same city!" Layla replied, squealing in excitement.
"My mom didn't mention this to me. OMG! I'll get to see you again ?Yaaayyy!" we both squealed at the same time, our voices echoing across the phone.
Tears welled in my eyes. "I can't wait, Layla! I've missed you so much."
"C'mon, girl! You're stuck with me now! Sleepovers, gossip, rebuild our unbreakable world -everything."
"Clock it, girl, clock it!" I laughed, jumping on my bed in excitement.
And speaking of gossip," Layla added with a low snicker,
"Guess who else is in Ravenwood..."
I groaned. "Don't say his name."
Layla giggled. "Oh, I'm saying it. Jaxon Grayson!"
I nearly fell off her bed.
Great.
The one boy I'd vowed to avoid for the rest of my life.
"Oh, please! Don't spoil my happy mood," I said, rolling her eyes toward the direction of an unseen Jaxon.
Layla laughed heartily. "Girl, it's better if you both still hate each other. That guy's been more of a jerk lately. Ugh, I've got so much gossip for you. Don't worry-I'll feed it to you soon."
"All right, sweet, bye girl!" I said as the call ended, grinning ear to ear.
I sprinted downstairs to the kitchen, shouting, "Mom! You didn't tell me Layla and her family live here too!"
My mom now placing a turkey in the oven, turned to me. "I was going to make that a surprise. Who told you?"
"I just spoke with Layla," I replied, beaming.
My mom rolled her eyes. "I've got another surprise for you, honey.
My eyes shot up instantly. "I'm all ears!"
"You'll be attending the same school as Layla," my mom revealed.
I clutched my head dramatically."Tell me it's a joke, Mom! OMG! I finally got admission into Ravenwood Pacific University? Same school with Layla?"
"Yes, darling," my mom said, smiling.
I sprang on my heels, hugging my mom. "Thank you so much, Mom! You're the best! I love you!"
"I love you too, honey. Now, you really need a bath." my mom held her nose up, making me laugh.
---
Ravenwood Pacific University had been fun so far, especially with Layla around. I hoped coming here would help her mom heal from Dad.
I knew Ravenwood was trouble the first day I set my eyes on Jaxon Grayson, Layla's older brother on campus. I had planned to avoid him like the plague-we were always ready to exchange ugly words-but I didn't expect trouble to answer the door shirtless.
When Layla's front door swung open, the trouble started when he opened the door shirtless. I froze on the porch, gripping my bag like it could save me.
There he stood-Jaxon Grayson-leaning against the doorframe like he owned the city.
Sunlight spilled over his bare chest, catching the silver chain on his collarbone. His hair was messy and damp, like he'd just stepped out of the shower. His storm-grey eyes dragged slowly down my body
it was Slow, assessing, dangerous, before resting on my face with that stupid half-smirk.
"Oh, please," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
"Relax, princess," he said, voice low and lazy. "I don't bite."
My heart tripped. Out of annoyance, obviously.
"I'm not your princess," I snapped, brushing past him into the house.
"Good," he murmured behind me. "I wasn't offering."
I rolled my eyes so hard I felt them click.
The Grayson's family living room smelt warm.vanilla candles and citrus cleaning spray. Soft throw blankets everywhere. Shoes scattered near the staircase. A cozy home... completely ruined by the choking presence of the shirtless devil behind me.
"You weren't supposed to be home," I snapped.
He followed, slow steps tapping the hardwood floor. "Trust me, Aurora, if I knew you were coming, I'd have left."
Lie. The way his eyes lingered on me said otherwise.
I walked deeper into the living room, putting space-any space-between us. His gaze felt like a hand on my spine, warm and distracting. Would he just stop following me like some kid and get the hell out?
"You're in my home, remember?" he retorted with a smirk.
"Oh heavens, please help me," I muttered, eyes closed.
Footsteps thundered down the stairs, saving my sanity.
"Aurora!" Layla shrieked, flying down to hug me, nearly knocking me over. "Finally! I thought you got lost!"
I hugged her back, grateful for her warmth. "Your brother answered the door," I whispered.
She pulled back. "Ugh. Gross. He's home for the weekend. Ignore him."
"I'm trying," I muttered.
Her eyes widened as she noticed Jaxon behind me. "Jax, go put a shirt on!"
And Jaxon smirked.
Not mocking this time.
Something deeper.
"Excuse me! Oh, Layla, let's go to your room-I'm getting sick from someone's presence," I begged.
His smirk deepened. "Sure you weren't."
Layla groaned. "Please go away."
"Can't. It's my house," he replied, walking past us toward the kitchen, still shirtless, still annoying.
I shot dead looks at his ugly-attractive back.
Layla dragged me upstairs to her room, still ranting. I was grateful for the distraction. Her room smelled like strawberries and coconut shampoo. Posters covered the walls. Fairy lights twinkled above her bed.
I barely dropped my overnight bag when Layla flopped on the mattress.
"So," she said, kicking her legs. "Guess what?"
"What?"
"Jaxon and his friends are planning a party at school soon!"
I blinked. "No. Layla, anything with that annoying kid-I don't want it around me."
"Oh, please, ignore him. You need to meet more people at RPU. Socialize. Live a little. Don't forget-we have friendship records to rebuild!"
Before I could argue, a voice drifted from the hallway, sliding under my skin.
"She doesn't need to go anywhere if she's not willing."
My breath stilled.
Layla sat up. "Jaxon, why are you eavesdropping?"
He leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed. That smirk was gone. He wasn't teasing. He was watching me with something sharp, unreadable.
"Parties aren't her thing; she's scared to get drunk or end up with some guy," he said mockingly.
I knit my eyebrows. "You don't know what my 'thing' is."
He tilted his head, eyes dragging over me again, slower this time. "I know enough, princess."
I threw a pillow at him. "Get out!"
But he didn't move. His gaze stayed heavy and confusing.
"Seriously, go away," Layla repeated.
Finally, he stepped back into the hall.
Just before he turned the corner, he said, loud enough for only me to hear...
"I've missed annoying her."
My breath caught.
And that's when I knew...
Ravenwood wasn't trouble.
Jaxon Grayson was.
And somehow... he wanted mine.
Lord, give me strength to survive whatever trouble he brought next, palms pressed together, as Layla laughed at my dramatic reaction.
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9.3
Elena died on the operating table, betrayed by her husband, her unborn child already gone.
But death? Just her intermission.
She woke up in a whole new world-a beastmen's world, where females are rarer than diamonds and the strongest males go mad without a woman's mark to calm them down.
And her?
Labelled the weakest female alive. An F-rank body with a joke of a status.
But hidden inside? Unlimited mental power.
Just as she's figuring out this mess, a system pops up with one hell of an offer:
Complete the missions. Bond with assigned males. Save this world.
Do all that, and you get a one-way ticket back home. for revenge.
Sounds simple? Think again.
A Wolf General, colder than a blizzard, who should have ended her-ended up letting her mark him.
A Fox Prince, all charming smiles and secret schemes, who started playing games only to lose his own heart.
A golden Dragon, sunshine-bright and fiercely possessive, who declares her his destined treasure.
A shadowy Serpent, too patient and too dangerous, watching her every move from the dark.
A Phoenix King, whose love burns so hot he'd reduce empires to cinders for her.
They all need her mark. They all want her.
And sharing? Not in their vocabulary.
Too bad for them-
She's not here for love stories.
She's here to survive.
To climb.
To turn their legendary power into her own stepping stones.
And one day.
To go back and make her betrayers wish they were never born.
7.2
Genevieve woke up choking on her own blood, a fatal gash tearing through her abdomen. The memories of a primitive world crashed into her mind—she had transmigrated into the body of a sadistic beastman Mistress.
But the five powerful beastmen "mates" standing over her hadn't come to her rescue. They had come to watch their tormentor die.
"We should just leave her," Kameron sneered coldly. "The scavengers will clean up the mess."
Gilberto spat in disgust, while Angelo, a silver-scaled snake-man, trembled in pure terror at the sight of her. The original owner had whipped them, humiliated them, and driven another mate to suicide. Now, they were letting her bleed out in the mud, their eyes filled with undisguised loathing and satisfaction.
She was a top-tier apocalyptic survival expert, yet here she was, paying the ultimate price for a stranger's monstrous sins. It was a bitter, unacceptable irony to die helplessly in the dirt while her supposed protectors waited for her corpse to rot.
She refused to accept this ending.
Forcing a chaotic surge of energy through their shared Biological Link, she brought all five men to their knees in agonizing pain, commanding them to carry her back. In the dark cave, without a single scream, she plunged her bare hands into a fire and brutally cauterized her own gaping wound with searing ash. As the beastmen stared in horrified awe at the unbreakable soul now occupying the tyrant's body, Genevieve wiped the blood from her face and began to rewrite her fate.
8.0
For Claire, Christmas has always been about survival. She only wanted to keep life steady for her daughter Emma after heartbreak and loss. Moving to a quiet snowy town was meant to be a fresh start, not the beginning of something new for her heart.
Jack, a widowed single father, has built his world around his children. He has hidden his own longing for love beneath duty and routine. But when Claire and Emma step into his life, the walls he carefully built begin to melt away like snow under the winter sun.
As festive lights glow and snow falls gently around them, Claire and Jack discover laughter, warmth, and the kind of connection they never thought they would feel again. Their children bond, their hearts open, and slowly, a friendship begins to grow into something far deeper.
But love after loss is never simple. Can Claire trust her heart again. Can Jack embrace the future instead of living in the past.
This Christmas, two families are given a second chance to heal, to hope, and to find themselves forever in each other's arms.
Christmas in Your Arms is a heartwarming holiday romance filled with tender moments, snowy nights, and the magic of love that feels like coming home.
7.1
On her eighteenth birthday, Melissa expected a fated mate bond and a future as Luna. Instead, she received a public humiliation that shattered her soul. Her childhood sweetheart, Kelan, rejected her for her best friend, and her own family sold her to the highest bidder like livestock, to Alpha Draven the Demon of Dark Moon Valley. He is a man twice her age, a tyrant who bought Melissa to break a dark bloodline curse. He expects an obedient pawn and a submissive wife.
He didn't expect a strategist. From the shadows of Draven's stone fortress, Melissa begins a cold-blooded campaign of revenge. She isn't just surviving; she's siphoning wealth, buying up her ex-mate's debts, and plotting a coup. But her plan hits a deadly snag when she touches Briston, the Alpha's son and heir. The spark is undeniable. The Moon Goddess has played a cruel joke and Melissa is fated to the son of the man who owns her.
7.9
On Christmas Eve, the snow fell in relentless sheets.
My grandmother and I were cast out into the snow as if we were nothing by my uncle.
My aunt cursed me as a bad luck charm, while my uncle's boot landed fiercely in my chest.
I knelt in the freezing snow, clutching my grandmother's body as it grew cold, my nails digging into my flesh, convinced that death awaited us tonight.
Suddenly, the blinding headlights cut through the night.
A convoy of Rolls-Royce cars, bearing diplomatic plates, silently blocked the entrance to the rundown neighborhood.
The elderly butler strode directly to my grandmother, who had been "blind" for forty years, and knelt on one knee, "Your Highness, forgive us for arriving so late."
7.1
I lay paralyzed on stiff white sheets, a prisoner in my own skin, listening to the rain lash against the window like nails on a coffin. My father, Elmore Franco, didn't even look at my face as he checked his clipboard. He just listened to the steady, monotonous beep of the heart monitor-the only thing proving I was still alive.
Without a hint of remorse, he pulled a pen from his pocket and signed the Do Not Resuscitate order. My stepmother, Ophelia, stepped out from behind him, wearing my favorite pearl necklace and smelling of cloying perfume. She leaned close to my ear to whisper the truth that turned my blood to ice.
"It was the tea, darling. Just like your mother. A slow, tasteless poison."
She chuckled as she revealed that my fiancé, Bryce, had a two-year-old son with my sister, Daniela. My inheritance had been funding their secret life for years, and now that the money was secure, I was an inconvenience they were finally scrubbing away. As my father yanked the power cord from the wall, the beeping died, and the darkness swallowed me whole.
I was being murdered by my own flesh and blood, used as a bank account until I was no longer needed. I died in that sterile room, drowning in the realization that every person I ever loved was a monster who had been waiting for me to take my last breath.
Then, I gasped. I woke up in a luxury hotel suite surrounded by silk sheets, five years in the past-the very morning of my wedding. Next to me lay Basile Delgado, the "Wolf of Wall Street" and my family's most dangerous enemy. In my first life, I ran from this room in a panic and lost everything. This time, I looked at the man who would eventually destroy my father's empire and decided to join him.
"I'm not leaving, Basile. Marry me. Right now. Today."