Love Outside my Reach
Jordan was taken aback, his lips parted as he gasped in surprise.
Chloe sighed, "Is there any other special cleaning you want in the room aside from the regular one?" she asked coolly.
Jordan stared at her in disbelief. Her indifference stung him. Did she just ignore what he was saying? He waited three hours for her the day before. Of course he could never tell her that. He had been mad at himself for having such feelings. Right now, he couldn't be any madder.
But the girl just stood there, looking so nonchalant, carefree, unconcerned. His business card was a treasure to anyone else, but she had trashed it. He clenched his jaw. For once, he was at a loss for words.
Chloe spoke up, "I will get to work then."
She turned to leave.
"Hey!" Jordan bellowed.
She stopped, frowning. Why was he so angry?
"You will get to work, doing what? Telling everyone it wasn't you who made that mess?" he scoffed, "Isn't that what you were about to say to my mother?"
Chloe put on a false perplexed look, "But that's the truth. We both know I am not the one at fault. What exactly are you scared of, Mister Cavanaugh? Why should it be a big deal?"
"So you are going out there to tell on me?" he gave a low laugh.
"No. Not really," Chloe said offhandedly, "I think I have my job back for now, thank you. I will face that and hope you don't play such games with me again."
Jordan came closer to her, frowning, "Are you threatening me?".
Chloe wanted to place her hands on his broad chest and push him away, he smelled so good, "Threatening you? Hell no, that's not a threat. I was just soliciting for peace. I didn't do anything wrong to you or your family. YOU wronged me, you ought to apologize. But I am not even asking you to".
Jordan moved closer, step by step, until her back hit the door. His face hovered inches from hers, his breath warm, his eyes dark and unreadable. Chloe's heart skipped a beat, as she began to panic.
Chloe Carson thought moving to Colorado would bring stability and a chance to rebuild her life. But her new job at the Cavanaugh mansion proves anything but simple, especially with Jordan, the handsome yet infuriating heir whose every word and glance keeps her on edge.
As Chloe tries to find her footing, she also faces Niles, her cousin's crush, whose attraction to her awakens feelings she did not expect. Torn between Niles's gentle affection and Jordan's intoxicating pull, Chloe must navigate jealousy, secrets, and emotional traps she never saw coming.
As unexpected consequences spiral around her, Chloe will have to decide whose heart she can trust... before it is too late.
Chapters
Share
Chapter 2
The hallway upstairs was long and lavish, yet unwelcoming. She stopped in front of the third door and slowly opened it. Her eyes widened. Saying the room was a total mess was an understatement. It was a disaster zone. Drawers had been pulled from their places, the cream-colored curtains were stained, broken glass glittered on the floor, and clothes littered everywhere, as well as junk wrappers and leftovers.
Chloe pressed a hand to her chest. How can someone live like this? she thought.
"Oh my God. Is she such a slob, so spoiled she can't even clean up after herself?" She stepped in and shut the door.
"What do you think?"
She gasped in shock as she turned and saw Jordan standing in front of the bathroom staring at her. He leaned against the wall with arms folded across his chest.
Chloe felt tongue tied for a moment. What was he doing here? She felt flustered. She was certainly not in the wrong room? Or was she?
"No, I mean... I don't mean..." she stuttered, unsure what to say.
"Do you stammer?" His voice was calm, as he arched a brow at her, but it carried an edge she could not ignore.
"I... I just..." Chloe looked at the floor, trying to find her words. None came.
"Never mind. Go on with your work." His eyes lingered as he assessed her. Chloe swallowed hard, aware of his gaze following her every movement. He did not change his position. He just stood there. Would he really stand there watching her work?
She could feel his eyes on her. It felt intense.
Chloe bent to pick up the first pile of dirty jeans and undergarments, carefully folding them. The task steadied her for a moment, but Jordan's gaze remained on her, observant and testing.
"Where are you from?" he asked suddenly, in a casual, yet compelling tone.
"Nebraska," she mouthed in a low voice.
"Nebraska? All the way here?" He sounded intrigued, almost amused.
"No... I am staying with an aunt in Alamosa. It is about a four or five-hour drive from here," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady.
He nodded slowly, stepping slightly closer. "And you will be passing the week here?"
Chloe's stomach knotted. "I... haven't discussed it with your... my... boss yet."
"How old are you?" he asked, his eyes searching hers.
"I will be twenty in a couple of months."
He regarded her for a moment, a small, almost imperceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Good. You are not a child then. That matters here."
Chloe went still, feeling the weight of his gaze. Not a child... His tone carried a sort of subtle warning. Everything about him suggested that in this house, age and experience meant nothing, only awareness of danger mattered.
"Go on with your work," he said, stepping back.
Chloe let out a quiet breath she had not realized she was holding. Her hands shook slightly as she resumed folding clothes, glancing occasionally at the chaos around her.
I have to survive this... Chloe thought. One step at a time.
After what felt like an eternity, she had organized the piles into neat stacks. Her bag was carefully placed in a corner, and she had a sense of fleeting accomplishment. That was when she heard footsteps approaching. Lily and another girl, Tasha, entered, chatting and laughing as though Chloe weren't there. Their attention was on their reflections, their selfies, their own world.
Lily's sharp eyes caught hers. "What are you still doing here? Like you're gonna spend the whole day working in my room which isn't so much work by the way. Please take your filthy self out." she said impatiently.
Chloe backed away, feeling annoyed, though she couldn't show it.
"Where is my bracelet and earrings?" Lily demanded, suddenly shifting focus to some missing accessories.
Chloe opened her mouth to answer, but Lily interrupted.
"Never mind, just get out," she snapped, snatching up a clean cloth and wiping a smudge off her face.
Chloe picked up her bag and stepped outside, shutting the door gently. She slid down the wall and sat on the floor, hugging her knee against her chest and tried to think. Could she really work here?
"What do you think you're doing?", came Lina's plummy voice.
Chloe jumped to her feet.
"Your room is the first door to the left, down at the staff quarters," Lina continued. "Twenty bucks per hour. Mondays to Fridays. You work six hours on Saturday and go home for the weekend. Am I clear?" she held her ear for emphasis.
"Uhn? Yes ma'am." Chloe responded.
"Are you crying? What are you doing?" Lina queried in a harsh manner, ignoring her countenance.
Chloe quickly rose and smoothened her long checked gown unnecessarily. "I was...I only wanted to..."
Lina did not let her finish. "After cleaning, head down to the kitchen. Theresa is the chef, she will hand you your uniform. We have standards here. And don't think this is the only thing you will do today." She walked away toward another door, but paused, glancing back. "Congratulations on your new job." She said flatly, almost perfunctorily.
Chloe blinked, momentarily stunned. Deep down she was really glad she had gotten the job and with an accommodation at that. The other troubles can come later. "First door to the left." she murmured as she heaved her bag along.
Chloe hurried up, dropped her bag and went to the kitchen where the chef, Theresa, waited, her face neutral, hands on her hips.
"That, is your uniform," Theresa said, pointing to a neatly folded pinafore and white shirt. "You will change and then start on the laundry. There is a dry cleaner that comes occasionally for the occasional wears so you will have to handle just these regular casuals. Be careful. This house has rules."
Chloe nodded, grateful for some guidance. "Yes, ma'am," she said softly.
Theresa studied her briefly and went off to the pantry.
Alone in the kitchen, Chloe allowed herself a small exhale. She picked up the uniform and changed quickly. She could feel the weight of the house pressing on her, but she also felt something else: a small, stubborn spark of resolve.
You may also like
9.6
Alyssa Hart is out of options. Drowning in medical debt, with her mother's life hanging in the balance, she's desperate for a solution. When an unexpected email offers her an interview at the mysterious Valentino Enterprises, she doesn't hesitate.
But what she walks into isn't a job opportunity... it's a marriage contract.
The powerful and feared Valentino Crime family needs a wife for their heir, Stephano Valentino. Cold, ruthless, and utterly uninterested in love, Stephano has discarded every woman his parents have introduced him to. They don't expect Alyssa to be any different.
The deal is simple: marry Stephano, bear his heir, and in two years, she'll be free, with enough money to ensure her mother's survival.
There's only one rule: this is not a real marriage. Stephano can do as he pleases, but Alyssa is bound to him alone.
She should hate him. He gives her every reason to.
But the longer she stays, the more she begins to see through the cracks in his armour. Beneath his icy exterior is something broken, something she can't help but want to fix. And Stephano, who swore he would never care, finds himself drawn to the woman he was never meant to love. But in their world, love is a weakness, and breaking the rules always comes with a price...
8.7
Explicit 18+ | Reader Discretion Strongly Advised
Dark themes, noncon/dubcon, extreme kink, power imbalance, group dynamics, knotting, overstimulation, and possessive claiming ahead.
A brutal omegaverse world. Warring packs. Rare silver-eyed omega Kai Voss lives hidden until a midnight raid destroys his safety.
The most feared triad captures him: Thorne Blackwood, a pierced sadist who pushes limits; Aurelius Voss, the volatile second, his knot pulsing with hunger; Cassian Reyes, the silent, amber-eyed observer whose fixation vows complete ownership. Dragged to their mountain den, Kai becomes their prize.
Defiant and sharp-tongued, Kai resists every command. His body betrays him with slick, aching need. On the first night, the alphas take him, one by one, then together. They stretch him past reason. Knot him impossibly. Fill him until his rim thins visibly. Slick eases the searing burn into shattering pleasure.
"Room for one more?" Thorne growls, forcing his pierced length beside the two already locked inside. He drags across sensitive spots until Kai arches, tears falling, his body yielding as omega instincts beg for more.
Three cocks locked and throbbing, owning him entirely.
"Fuck, he's taking us all," Aurelius groans.
Cassian watches silently, eyes blazing, plotting the next step to remake Kai forever.
Raw conquest becomes unbreakable obsession: relentless heats, punishments blending pain and ecstasy, jealous rivalries over cries, rare tenderness binding possession deeper.
Three ruthless alphas pursue the forbidden, shattering their defiant omega until he is stretched wide, ruined, reborn in their image. Relentless desire shows no mercy: tight entrances forced open, rimmed raw by impossible girths, slick-soaked and pulsing under unyielding ownership.
Hide and read in secret. Once the story begins, escape is impossible. Squirm. Ache. Hunger for every page.
DON'T BLAME ME WHEN YOU CAN'T STOP READING ALL 150 CHAPTERS ⚠️🔞‼️
7.7
I've been hiding my face from the world for seven years.
He's been hiding his heart for just as long.
When Grammy-winning musician Dante Rivers offers me $150,000 to be his fake girlfriend for six months, I should say no.
I'm Veil-the anonymous digital artist with millions of fans and a face no one has ever seen. I don't do cameras. I don't do crowds. And I definitely don't do fake relationships with devastatingly private men whose studio walls are covered in my artwork.
But my father's last dream is slipping away-and this contract is the only way to save it.
The rules are simple:
No real feelings.
No crossed boundaries.
No falling for Dante Rivers.
Except nothing about him is simple.
Not the way he shields me from paparazzi like I matter.
Not the way his music sounds like secrets meant only for me.
Not the way he looks at me like he sees through every wall I've built.
What he doesn't know is that I'm already part of his life.
I'm the anonymous artist behind his album covers.
The one he's trusted with his most private thoughts.
The ghost he's been searching for without ever meeting.
And now I'm falling for him twice-
once as the girl in his guesthouse
and once as the mystery he doesn't know he's already holding.
When the truth comes out, it won't just break the contract.
It might break us.
8.7
At my father's wedding reception, my new stepmother demanded I give her the sapphire necklace my mother left me when she died.
I told her no. So she had her enforcer throw me to the floor in front of two hundred guests.
He ripped the chain from my neck, shattering my mother's gemstone on the marble floor. When my childhood maid, Arlene, tried to protect me, he kicked her so hard her head cracked open against a stone pillar. My father, a New York mob boss, saw the whole thing and did nothing but laugh with his new bride.
Any love I had for my family bled out on that floor with Arlene.
That night, I found Damien Flynn, my father's sworn enemy. I was supposed to be my father's greatest asset-a virgin daughter to be sold for an alliance. I decided to burn that asset to the ground.
9.3
They call Dante Moretti the ruthless and heartless mafia boss. Seven years ago, he made a
deal with Elara Vance. But he used her, broke her, and planned to send her to a medical facility
after she produces an heir.
Scared for her life, Elara ran away. Now, an entirely different person has returned to New York.
She doesn't want his money, and she certainly doesn't want his heart, unless it's on her
operating table.
The girl he destroyed is dead. The woman who replaced her is the only one who can keep him
alive. He's dying for a second chance, but he's just waiting for the first cut.
7.1
I never wanted any part in this. But I have no choice. With a deep sigh, I force down an invisible lump in my throat, looking up at the priest.
I press my fingers tighter into the flower I am holding, hoping it hides how much I am shaking. Dreading the words the priest is about to utter.
"Do you, Ariella Cecilia Boone, take Dermos Salvatore to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The priest asks.
I blink.
I badly want to say it, badly want to scream that I am not Ariella Cecilia Boone.
My lips tremble as I force the truth down my throat, "Yes, I do." I murmur, my voice a little over a whisper.
~~~~
Ariel Hannah Boone didn't know what life had in store for her when she woke up on her twin sister's wedding day, only to find out her sister had run away.
She went into panic when her mother insisted she take her place because Dermos Salvatore was no man to joke with.
Dermos was the most feared Don in the whole of Sicily, one who killed without care. A blood thirsty murderer with no remorse.
In an attempt to save her family from his wrath, she takes her sister's place at the wedding.
Pain, suffering, and betrayal are all she knows the moment she became his. Secrets begin to unveil as she realises her family isn't what it seems.
And when whispers of her sister's disappearance reach her, she finds out the truth.
He never wanted Ariella; it had always been her.
Ariel has to choose between a love built on lies or betraying her sister and family.
She was his bride, and he was her prison, yet he would never let her go.