Deadly contract
"So we have a deal, do we? We do things my way, no argument, no buts."
"Yes," she bit out.
"Good,"he said, smiling wryly to himself at the thought that yes wasn't a word Joy was used to saying to men. But she was going to say it a lot during their time together. He would make her say it. No, he would make her want to say it.
34-year-old Joy Mike, who, after a failed engagement and struggling with infertility, seeks to conceive a baby alone. Childhood acquaintance and now successful, attractive John Davis intervenes with a tempting proposal: he will help her conceive in the "traditional way". The contract leads to intense passion and emotional risk for Joy as she risks losing her heart to the man who promised her a baby, but not a marriage.
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Chapter 5
Because she'd a window seat her head was too fuzzy to read, Joy spent most of the four and half hour flight to Darwin staring down at the landscape below. With no clouds in the sky, there was nothing to hinder her view of what was really an incredible sight. The landing seemed to take forever, but exiting the plane was relatively quick, thank goodness as her seat was right down the back, not far from the exist. She walked across the tarmac towards the terminal building, her only thought at that moment being that every step brought her closer to John.
John stood at a window in the arrivals area, scanning the passengers as they left the plane. He spotted Joy immediately, the rays of the setting sun bouncing gold off her blonde hair which was down and blowing in the breeze. She was wearing jeans and a white jacket, with a white and blue top underneath.
Clearly, she didn't see him standing nearby, although her eyes were farting around the place. When he stepped forward to make his presence known, she gave him a tight smile.
There was only one word to describe the way he was feeling.
Thankfully, his eyes had by then moved in the direction of the nearby carousel where the luggage was coming out.
"What does your bag look like?" He asked, glancing back over his shoulder at her.
It's black with a big pink ribbon tied to the handle. There it is now," she said, pointing.
John strode over and scooped her bag off the carousel, his eyebrows lifting when he felt the weight of it. "I only asked you to come for ten days, Joy," he said with dry amusement as he steered her towards the exit, dragging the bag behind them. "Not for life."
"I hate going away anywhere and getting caught with either not enough clothes or all the wrong ones."
"Can't say it's a problem I have often."
"You're not a female."
"Which is rather a good thing," he said with a wry little smile.
Joy ground to a halt and stared up at him.
"What?" He said.
"Do I know you at all, John Davis? I thought I did. I thought I had you pegged as that introverted, antisocial pain in the neck kid from across the street who'd grown up into an irritatingly gorgeous but pain in the neck adult. Instead, suddenly, I find out you're nothing like that at all. You're actually quite witty and charming and .......and....."
"Maybe you never knew the real John Davis," he countered.
"Obviously I didn't. What other surprises do you have in store for me?"
"Shall we go find ou?" He said, taking her elbow again and leading her out to the visitors' car park.
His SUV didn't surprise her, despite being relatively new and relatively unused. It was the printout of a medical bill of health.
She shook her head from side to side as she read it. "It was very thoughtful of you to do this, John," she said.
"I just didn't want you to worry about anything at any stage. I wasn't going to offer you less than what you were getting at that clinic. I'm quite sure your anonymous donor had a similar clearance."
"Yes. Yes, he did," she said , frowning. "I should have thought to ask you, but i didn't. It was silly of me."
"Not silly. Just human. You've been upset lately. And you would have worried. Now, you don't have to."
"No," she said and smiled over at him. "I don't. Thank you again, John. For everything."
"Don't start canonizing me yet, Joy."
"I see," she said, and gave him a much more typical Joy look. Very doll. "I'll try not to jump to saintly conclusions about you in future."
"That would be wise."
His apartment was towards the southerly end of the street in a multi store yes building whose walls were cement rendered in an attractive grey blue color. There were lots of balconies facing the water, all of them enclosed with glass panels and black railings. The gutterings, trim and windows frames were all black which looked extremely smart indeed. The garage were in the basement, with John having two allotted spaces for himself and guests. He parked in one, then helped Joy out before removing her bag from the back. She didn't say a word as he led her over to the lift. Maybe she was worrying that he would pounce the moment they were alone.
Her head whipped round to stare at him when he pressed the top floor button.
"You live in a penthouse?" She asked, taken aback.
"Not exactly. Penthouse usually occupy the whole top floor. There are two top floor apartments of equal size, one of which is mine."
She fell silent once more till John showed her into the apartment, at which point she stared at him again, shaking her head at the same time. "You really are very rich, aren't you?"
"Rich enough."
"For what?"
He shrugged. "I don't have to work for the rest of my life if I don't want to. Though of course I will."
Again she shook her head. "This place must have cost a small fortune."
"Not quit that much. I bought it off plan a few years ago."
"Did you choose the furniture?"
"Lord, no. I have absolutely no taste whatever in that regard. I had it professionally decorated and furnished.
Would you like to see the rest of it?
"Yes, please."
Joy quickly noted that the same colour palate had been used throughout the whole apartment, ranging from white, to white with a greyish tinge, to various shades of grey right through to black, splashes of turquoise brightening up what could otherwise have been a dull decor. Which no doubt was why the designer had chosen glass surfaces for the various tables in the living area, to lift the heaviness of the black leather sofas and chairs.
When she commented on how spotless everything was, John informed her that he had the apartment serviced every few days when he was in town.
"Housekeeping," he added, "is not my forte."
Joy didn't imagine that it would be. He was a man's man, with an outdoors job and outdoors hobbies such as surfing and camping.
The last room John showed her was the master bedroom, which blew her away even more than the kitchen. The black quilt on the king sized bed contrasted beautifully with the white lacquered bed head and side tables.
Joy suddenly saw herself sitting stark naked in that decadent looking bed, propped up against a mountain of pillows whilst John was doing unimaginable things to her.
Once again, heat zoomed into her cheeks.
Thankfully, her back was to John.
"You've gone rather quiet," he said from just behind her. Is there something wrong?"
By the time she turned around, Joy had her blushing under control. She even managed a polite smile. "Not at all. This place is lovely, John."
"But.....?"
"But what?"
"I was sure I heard a "but" in there somewhere."
Joy decided to take the bull by the horns in an attempt to defuse the nervous tension which was building up inside her. "I was wondering if you expected me to join you in here tonight."
In spite of his earlier plans, John was tempted to say yes, by God , of course i am.
"I thought you'd be too tired," he said, doing his best to ignore his body, which shouted in protest.
She smiled. A rather odd smile, but a smile nevertheless.
"When I'm nervous about something, I like to get it over and done with as soon as possible."
"There's no reason for you to be nervous."
Joy laughed. "You have no idea."
"I have no idea about what?"
Her face twisted into a grimace. "I should have told you earlier."
"Told me what?
"I think I might be a little bit frigid."
Je deliberated for a moment, then reached out to take gentle possession of her chin and turn her face back to his.
He doubted very much that she was frigid he'd seen passion in her too many times.
"Lest just take this one step at a time," he said softly, his eyes holding hers. "You like to be kissed, don't you? When you're with a man you're attracted to, that is."
She blinked, then nodded.
Joy thought he was going to kiss her. But he didn't. Instead, he released her chin then lifted his hand to rub two of his fingertips back and forth along her lower lip, before tracing the full circle of her mouth over and over. Soon, her lips were tingling, her heart was pounding madly in her chest and she was dying for him to kiss her. Her mouth fell open as she struggled for breath, her tongue drying as she sucker in much needed air. At which point he finally did what she craved, removed his fingers and replaced them with his lips.
It was a kiss such as she had never experienced before. Perversely restrained, but incredibly exciting. He cupped her face as he gently caressed her swollen lips, till a frustrated Moab escaped her throat. Only then did he deepen the kiss, his lips applying more pressure, holding her lips far enough apart for his tongue to slide into her mouth.
Joy's head whirled. She could not think straight. Neither did she care. All she wanted was for John to keep on kissing her.
But he didn't.
She made some sort of protest when his mouth lifted abruptly from hers. A Moan. A groan. She could not be sure which.
When she stared up at John she saw that he didn't seem at all rattled.
"I take it then," he said coolly, " that you find me attractive?"
Her state became a glare. "You're an arrogant bastard, John Davis."
His smile widened. "And you're incredibly beautiful,Joy Mike."
She purses her lips in defiance at the involuntary pleasure his compliment gave her.
"You're also not even a little bit frigid."
"Oh!" She exclaimed frustratedly. "You really are the most annoying man."
"But an attractive one,"he reminded her with a perfectly straight face.
She couldn't help it. She laughed. "Whatever am i going to do with you?" She said without thinking.
John's eyebrows arched, his eyes twinkling suggestively. Joy's own blue eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare say anything. Now, I'm going to go unpack in one of the guest bedrooms. I'd love the one with the turquoise flowers, if it's okay with you? Meanwhile, I don't suppose there's any food about?"
"Unfortunately, cooking is not my forte either, he returned. "So the best I can offer you is takeaway for tonight. But I know lots of local Asian style restaurants who'll deliver within half an hour. What would you prefer? Chinese? Thai? Vietnamese?"
"I'm not fussy," she said. "You choose."
"Thai it is, then," he said as they both turned and walked back into the living room. "Join me back in here when you're ready. I bought some snacks and some wine in anticipation of your visit."
Joy almost told him that she didn't usually drink much; that she'd just been upset that day. But she didn't want to bring up the subject of her ongoing failure to conceive a child. For a while there, she'd forgotten about that.
She'd forgotten to ring her mother as well. Oh dear.
"I'll have to ring my mother first before I do another thing," she said, feeling terrible guilty. "Let her know I've arrived safely."
"Fine. You do that. I'll go ring the restaurant. And Joy.....?"
"What?"
"You can relax; I promise i won't be making you to do anything you don't want to." His mouth curled up in a wicked smile. "Not unless you beg me, anyway."
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9.2
For three years, Rachel lived in a marriage that almost no one knew existed.
To the outside world, Captain Jared Holland-the cold and powerful second son of the influential Holland family-was single.
Only a handful of people knew the truth: Rachel was his legal wife. Their marriage had begun because of a mistake and was bound by a prenuptial agreement that promised it would end quietly after three years.
And in Jared's heart, there had always been someone else-Olivia, his foster sister and first love.
When Rachel returns from a grueling flight and sees a video of Jared desperately carrying Olivia to the hospital, the last illusion she held onto finally shatters. That same night, she signs the divorce papers and walks away with nothing but a suitcase and her dignity.
But when the time comes to finalize the divorce, Jared refuses to sign-always finding excuses to delay it.
The woman he once ignored is now determined to leave.
And the man who never valued her is suddenly unwilling to let her go.
Rachel looked at the man in front of her and frowned: "Jared what are you playing? Sign the divorce papers."
Jared smiled, "Darling, I am sorry, I was wrong. Please, let's not get divorce."
7.9
June was an ordinary architect struggling to pay rent, completely estranged from her high-society mother.
But one night, she was kidnapped and beaten in an abandoned warehouse by Gage Becker, the city's most ruthless billionaire, who demanded payback for her mother's sins.
Gage pointed a high-definition camera at June's battered face and video-called her mother, threatening to release the footage and ruin her upcoming billion-dollar wedding.
"I will never throw away a billion-dollar marriage for a useless daughter."
Her mother's cold voice echoed through the warehouse before the line went dead.
From that moment, Gage systematically destroyed June's life. She was publicly humiliated and forced to hack off her own hair with a cigar cutter. She was blacklisted from every firm in the city, evicted by her landlord, and violently mugged in a freezing New York blizzard.
Curled up in an icy tunnel waiting to die, June felt a suffocating despair. She hadn't spoken to her mother in months. Why did she have to endure this hell for a woman who didn't even care if she lived or died? Why was a monster like Gage so obsessed with driving her to the grave?
When Gage's armored Maybach pulled up, he stepped into the snow to mock her, waiting for her to finally surrender and beg for his mercy.
But the absolute humiliation snapped the last thread of June's sanity.
Instead of crying, she lunged forward with feral energy and sank her teeth directly into the devil's flesh.
8.6
I was the untouchable Mafia Queen, but my reign ended in the blood-soaked depths of a damp dungeon.
My half-sister, Kelsey, drove a rusted, sharpened spoon into my chest, screaming about the unfairness of fate.
In my past life, my father sold me to the ruthless Don Dante Blackwell as collateral to pay off his debts.
To survive, I took a black-market fertility drug, birthed his heir, and clawed my way to the throne through sheer ruthlessness.
But in the mafia world, a pregnant woman isn't a queen; she's a walking target.
I survived countless bombings and poisonings, only to be betrayed and slaughtered by my own family.
Until my last breath, I couldn't understand. I had sacrificed everything to secure our survival in the empire. Why did my blood and tears only earn me a rusted spoon to the heart?
Opening my eyes again, I am seventeen, sitting in my father's drawing room.
Two black velvet boxes sit on the mahogany table.
Kelsey greedily snatches the box containing the fertility drug, her eyes gleaming with feverish triumph.
"I'll take this one, Papa."
She thinks she is stealing my golden ticket to the crown, completely unaware that she just chose a death sentence.
I lower my gaze, letting my eyelashes mask the cold, lethal amusement pooling in my eyes as I take the remaining box.
Inside is the detailed psychological profile of the Don's dead fiancée.
This time, I won't be a breeding mare fighting off assassins. I will dissect the devil himself.
7.2
Every story in this collection is a direct line to your own wanting, each read leaves you drenched, and craving more thighs pressed together, breath caught in your throat.
From a stranger's fingers finding you in a crowded bar to the slow, devastating unraveling of a woman on her knees, these are the moments you'll return to, again and again, until you're trembling.
Warning: "Not for the faint of heart-only for the Dirty Slut-Seekers who crave the filth.
Open the book only when you're ready to be ruined, and consumed by your filthy fantasies.
7.5
Plot.
Synopsis.
Liora could never belong. The daughter of an extramarital affair, she had lived in the shadows, cut off from the rest of the family, and learned to fend for herself while surviving. Stripping gave her life now, but everything changed one wild night.
Two days before his wedding, Darius entered her club, craving for the last taste of bachelorhood, he pays Liora for a special dance which led to a one-night stand. Neither of them expected to see each other again or that Liora's long lost sister, Selene, was the bride waiting at the altar.
The one-night stand becomes a dangerous truth that must be hidden. Lies never remain hidden, however, and when Liora learns she is pregnant with Darius's child, silence may be not be an option for her.
Exposition.
Liora, a daughter born as a result of her father's infidelity with a maid, which resulted in the divorce that separates her from her big sister. Due to the family's financial difficulties faced while growing up and the consequent death of her father, Liora eventually becomes a stripper to put food on her table. Unknown to her at the time, she carried the hidden omega bloodline from her father's alpha lineage, suppressed by years away from the pack.
Inciting incident.
One night, she is hired by a man who is getting married in just two days and wants to enjoy his last moments of bachelorhood. She ends up having a one-night stand with him. The moment they touched, an undeniable mate spark ignited between them-raw, electric, and impossible to ignore-but neither understood its full power yet.
When Liora returns home that same night, she encounters an old man who introduces himself as the butler of the Blackwood family, tells her she has been invited to the wedding of her sister. This comes as a shock-Liora grew up knowing she had a sister, but Harlan never allowed them to meet. He carried that secret to his grave, and after his death, Liora stopped thinking about it. Despite her hesitation and doubts as to if they got the wrong person, she agrees to attend.
Rising action.
She arrives the night before the wedding , finds out she has been a daughter of the well known Blackwood family all along and learns the truth: it was her stepmother, not Harlan, who had always been against their meeting. The stepmother is currently serving time in jail for a minor business-related crime and her elder sister, Selene had her research done to find her because she wanted to reconcile with her younger sister and what better opportunity than a wedding. Liora also discovers that Selene is a sweetheart who had longed to meet her, but had been forced to stay away because of Ravenna's influence.
But then, another huge blow hits-Liora finds out that the man she was with last night, the one she slept with, is the man Selene is set to marry, Darius. She holds this secret to herself, haunted by the mate pull that now torments her every thought.
The marriage happens, and it all goes well. After that, Selene gives Liora a new path, far from her old job. She brings her into her home and starts to look after her. But soon, Liora finds out she is going to have a baby. With fear and shame, she hides this news.
Climax.
When Ravenna is released from prison, she is furious to find Liora living with her family. She makes it clear that she does not accept her, resenting her existence as a reminder of Harlan's infidelity. A few days later, Selene announces that she is pregnant too. Ravenna immediately becomes protective of her "real" daughter, which only deepens Liora's insecurities. She considers leaving before her secret is exposed.
But fate intervenes. An accident happens, and they find out Liora was pregnant. Since she was once a stripper, no one talks about the dad. But Darius, who knows they share risky secret, sets up a secret meeting for them to talk. He wants to know if he is the dad, and Liora says yes-but she will keep it quiet and plans to leave soon. In their tense exchange, the mate bond flares again, confirming what they both sensed that first night.
Ravenna,who happens to be at the wrong side at the right time ,overheard part of their talk. With doubts in her mind, she quietly does a DNA test between Darius and Liora's unborn baby.
The results confirm he is the father. Seeing her chance to drive a wedge between the sisters, she keeps the secret until the gender reveal party for both daughters. There, in front of everyone, she exposes the truth. The revelation makes headlines.
Selene feels utterly betrayed-by both her husband and her sister. She leaves Darius's house with Ravenna and sends divorce papers days later. Liora feels destroyed, her betrayal now public, and her pain is doubled when she learns Selene has lost her baby and is battling ovarian cancer, which requires an urgent bone marrow transplant.
Through her best friend, Dr. Thorne, Liora learns this. She gets tested and finds out she is a match , but her unborn baby stops her. Darius knows she got test
8.6
Genevieve was heavily pregnant, holding the legal papers that would transfer her massive family trust fund to her loving husband, Clinton.
But as she approached his study, she heard a familiar giggle. Through the cracked door, she saw her cousin Carolynn sitting on his desk, her skirt hiked up, while Clinton smirked and poured bourbon.
"Once she signs those papers, we don't need her anymore," Clinton laughed coldly. "The kidnapping is staged for tomorrow. She and the brat disappear permanently."
Genevieve gasped, and he spotted her. When she frantically tried to run, her trusted housekeeper blocked the stairs. Clinton dragged her back, beat her mercilessly, and locked her in a freezing, underground cellar.
Denied any medical help, she endured agonizing hours of labor alone in the dark, only to deliver a stillborn child. Clinton then walked in, ruthlessly tossed her dead baby's tiny body into a pile of dirty rags, and brutally strangled her.
As her lungs burned and the world faded to black, her heart shattered into a million jagged pieces. She had given him everything. How could they be so monstrous as to murder her and her innocent child just for money?
Opening her eyes again, the freezing cellar was gone.
She was standing in an emerald silk gown at an elite charity gala—the exact night their original kidnapping plot began, a month before she even announced her pregnancy.
This time, the naive socialite was dead, and she was going to make them pay in blood.