Chapter Nine - TL
Maybe that was why his family had treated him like he was defective.
A disappointment.
Despite everything, Jason had always pushed forward. He had tried to stay positive, to carve out a place for himself in a world that had already decided he was less-than. He had spent his entire life proving himself, throwing everything into his career, into building a future for his kids. He showered them with love, encouraged their creativity no matter how insane it sounded to him. Maybe he was overcompensating, but he wanted to make sure they never felt the way he had growing up.
And getting married and finding a mate was never part of the plan.
But now he was married.
Not just to anyone, but to Leonidas Devereux. A tycoon. An exceptional man who could one day break Jason’s heart when he found an omega who fit him better than Jason ever could.
Maybe that was why their vows had been so simple. No elaborate declarations. No grand gestures.
Just words spoken with quiet certainty.
Yet…
Chapter Nine - TL
"Leo and I have something to tell you both," Jason said, looking at Sera and Xander.
He and Leo had talked about it, but he felt the kids deserved to know what was happening. This was a major moment in their lives, and they had a right to be included.
"We’re getting married," Leo announced before Jason could even finish gathering his thoughts.
Chapter Eight - TL
Leo’s gaze flicked toward the kitchen, where Jason stood with his back turned, focused on preparing dinner. He moved with effortless grace, his lean, toned body shifting fluidly with each motion. He had the kind of swimmer’s build Leo liked. Not too much muscle, not too little, just enough to feel solid beneath his hands.
The thought stirred something at the back of Leo’s mind. A flicker of memory. The press of warm skin. The sound of breathy moans. A body writhing beneath him, nails dragging down his back, pleading for more.
Yeah, definitely my type, Leo thought, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to shake off the erotic thoughts creeping in about the twins’ father.
"Papa, watching it?" Sera’s small voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"Yes," he answered automatically, not even bothering to correct her. He had given up trying. Both she and Xander were dead set on making him their father, and strangely, the idea didn’t scare him as much as it probably should have.
Chapter Seven - TL
"Marry me."
Jason’s brain short-circuited. His ears started ringing.
"I must have heard that wrong. Say that again?"
"I said marry me. I’m being serious." His tone was casual, like he was discussing the weather. "It will be for one year. I’ll pay you five million and give you a home in any district you choose."
Jason blinked at him.
What. The. Flying. Fuck.
He stared at the man, completely stunned, genuinely wondering if something was wrong with him. Who offers marriage and millions to a complete stranger?
Is this guy crazy? Does he not realize this is real life and not some reality show where people get married in 2.2 seconds after meeting? Wait. Am I on a reality show and don’t know it?
Chapter Six - TL
"Have you found the guy from six years ago?" he asked.
Another unanswered mystery lingering in his life.
"No. Honestly, sir, it’s like he dropped off the face of the planet."
Leo narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced. "In a time when everything is online, you’re telling me you still can’t find one person? Should I start looking for a new special assistant?"
"Try it," Talos said, without an ounce of fear. "No one else can handle your demanding ass."
Leo shot him a look. "You're real mouthy today."
Chapter Five - TL
Yeah, he had been attracted to the guy at first sight. Who wouldn’t be?
The man was tall, with ink-black hair and blue eyes as clear as the sea, a sexy beard that Jason could easily imagine running his fingers through on a lazy Sunday while resting his head against that broad, muscular chest. Jason hated to admit it, but even while he was tearing into him, his eyes had been drinking him in, standing there effortlessly composed in an expensive suit that probably cost two of Jason’s paychecks.
They would never fit.
Fuck, what the hell am I thinking? He and I will never meet again.
The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open to his floor. Jason shoved the man from his thoughts...for now.
Chapter Four - TL
He didn’t speak often about wanting a family, but the ache had always been there. Quiet, steady, buried beneath work and duty. For one fleeting moment, he’d thought fate had cracked that door open. Just enough for him to feel what it might be like to have someone who was his. Someone to love. Someone who would love him back and never betray him.
Not like before.
He had given his heart once, trusted someone enough to imagine a future. But that trust had been shattered, leaving behind scars he rarely let anyone see. Since then, he had learned to want in silence. To dream quietly, without hope.
And yet, this child, this moment, had pulled that dream into the light, if only for a second.
But now he was watching someone else live it.
"Daddy, I'm fine. And guess what? I found Papa!" IcXander said excitedly.
Chapter Three- TL
The strange thing was that the doctors did an excellent job of mending him because, as he matured, the scars seemed to fade away, as if everything that had happened to him during childhood and his teenage years existed solely in his mind. He believed it was because he was an unbound omega, but he knew he had not been born with the healing abilities that most had. His older brother, Ian, had followed in their mother’s footsteps, becoming a scientist. A researcher, to be exact. His sister, Willa, had done the same with their father, and worked for the same law firm, pursuing law as if it had been embedded in her DNA. They were business lawyers and known as the toughest father and daughter litigators winning their clients millions of dollars even if they are in the wrong. Jason wouldn’t deny that out of his two siblings his sister was the most spoiled and annoying. From childhood, she would cause trouble and blame it on Jason, smirking whenever his parents scolded him or his brother beat him until he was bloody. She’d whine and bully her way to get what she wanted and no one would question things. Her ploys didn’t just work on his parents, it included everyone in his family. It was as if she had cast a spell on them.
Chapter Two- TL
Leo sat up, pinching the bridge of his nose as hazy fragments of last night crashed into him. A sharp exhale escaped his lips, his chest rising and falling beneath the weight of memories. A lightly muscled, writhing body pressed against his breathless, broken moans—a sweet voice, raw with need, calling for him as if he were a god.
Heat flowed across his skin, so intense it sent a shiver down his spine.
It all started so simply. Leo had spent the evening finalizing a lucrative business deal with foreign dignitaries at the Luxe Horizon Hotel. The negotiations had been exhausting, extending late into the night, but the reward had been worth it. On his way out, he’d run into his friends Julien Ellis, the sharp-minded owner of Onyx Sentinel Cybersecurity, and Avery Shaw, the mastermind behind the Luxe Horizon Hotel and several of Valleywood’s most elite restaurants. Both men were at the bar, celebrating their successes, with drinks flowing as freely as their laughter. They had coaxed him into staying, insisting one drink wouldn’t kill him.
Chapter One - TL
It’s just one night. What could it hurt?
Jason shuffled through the dimly lit corridor, squinting as he tried to make out the numbers on the room doors. Had Tracy said 609 or 906? He couldn’t remember. Although he was tempted, knocking on every door to ask if they were the escort his friends had paid for was out of the question. That would be utterly humiliating. Just as he turned the corner, he collided face-first into something solid and unyielding, like a wall.
“Fuck,” he groaned, his eyes stinging as tears blurred his already unsteady vision. Sharp pain radiated from his nose, the unfortunate casualty of the collision. Instinctively, he pressed his hands against the solid surface, trying to regain his balance, but his knees buckled the moment he stepped back. There was no stopping it; he was about to become very well acquainted with the floor.
Chapter Three
"Uncle Chase," two cutie voices called out, making Chase stop just before he opened the door to his office. The two cuties hugged him as soon as they got close to him, pulling a smile on his lips.
"Hey there, babies," he said, hugging them back. "What are you two doing here?"
"We're sick, so Daddy kept us from school," they said together.
Chase leaned back, quirking a brow, looking at the two cuties and knowing they were perfectly fine. Seaphis and Amara were children born from a god of death and a reincarnated human who later gained the ability to see the dead, so there was no possible way they were sick. Seaphis and Amara were mischievous at almost three years old and little magical geniuses with advanced speech and an IQ over one hundred and sixty, causing Anubis and Star to enroll them in a special school for their kind in the immortal realm.
Chapter Two
One of the other reasons he liked coming to Nocturne was that since the new owners took over three months ago, his ability to see life and death disappeared. Chase would find it odd and want to investigate if it didn't enjoy the reprieve from knowing when someone would die. Chase wondered if it had something to do with the odd-looking runes the new owners added to the establishment.
Besides that, he liked the 1920s ambiance, with a tiny touch of modernity, at the Nocturne. Some of the previous owner's antique furniture was replaced by standing and sitting, spanking, and bondage benches that were currently being used. Shibari ropes of all colors and sizes did not seem out of place or take away from the mood and were displayed on the walls.
Story Worlds That Are Connected, Not Your Average Fairy Tale
When the universes work together :)
Chapter Seven
Riley hurried out of the trailer and got into his car, turning it on and peeling away like a bat out of hell. He tried his best not to touch his tingling lips but couldn't help it. That kiss rocked his world in more ways than one, but he recalled the regretful expression in his eyes after they had separated, and that had pissed him off and caused him to lash out.
Unable to concentrate, Riley pulled to the side of the word and simply sat there. He wasn't sure why his life got so complicated in the past twenty-four hours. Tears pooled in his eyes, but he dashed it away, refusing to become dehydrated and lose his shit. Sighing, he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, contemplating his next move. Leaving his trailer might not have been wise, but he had to get away from Terry for a bit before they got into another argument.
He looked at his phone when it vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw Morgan's name on the screen. He debated whether he should answer it or not but ignored his call like he had done all the others. He needed to get away from all this for a while and get his mind right. Once his phone stopped vibrating, he waited a few seconds after getting the notification that he had a voicemail. He unlocked his phone, looked through his address book, and brought up his cousin's number. His finger hovered over his cousin's name for a few minutes before he went ahead and made the call.
“This is a surprise,” Tate Ellison said. “What's going on, little cuz?”
“I'm not so little, you know that right,” Riley told him, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice.
“What's wrong?” Tate said quickly, picking up on the inflection in his tone.
“Why would you think something is wrong?”
“Don't try to hide anything from me, and I can tell when something is bothering you or Kymani.”
Riley groaned. “I was thinking of visiting you for a few days.”
Chapter Six
“I didn't fucking run away!” Terry harshly threw his fork down, but Riley didn't flinch at his anger. He might have said the words, but deep down, he knew Riley was right.
Fuck! Terry was trying hard to get Riley to get over his anger with him so that they could live peacefully, but he was getting sick and tired of his damn attitude. He knew he fucked up five years ago, but he could not take back his mistakes, only make up for them.
“Look, I'm sorry.”
“Do you even know what you're apologizing for?” Riley sneered.
“I'm trying here! Can't you even give me a chance?” His voice cracked with emotion, hoping Riley would see that he was being genuine.
“A chance,” Riley scoffed. “You are asking for a hell of a lot. Don’t you think?”
Riley stood and walked over to the sink, staring out the window. Terry did not want to acknowledge the way he had treated Riley five years ago. To him, it was all in the past, but he also never asked fate to send him a mate. Terry had been happy with his damn life before he scented Riley, and now he could stop thinking about the omega. He didn't deny that showing up at Riley's place was a mistake, but he had no other choice.
Chapter One
Months After The Blizzard
"I'm the best they have. No one can sell as much as I can..."
Why the fuck did I do this to myself? Am I too desperate to find a lover?
Chase sat across from his date, trying to remember the guy's name. When they met at the cafe, the man seemed dominant and had the look he was looking for. Tall, muscular, and handsome, but who knew he was so damn talkative? He had ignored the glaring problem imprinted on the guy's forehead.
The Pirate & His Omega Thief
Finding a mate was never in their plans—but fate keeps bringing them together.
Ashlyn Tuesday is a thief, moving from town to town, robbing rich men of their gold—and their hearts. Each time he gets into trouble, one man seems to come to Ashlyn’s rescue. Until one day he has to decide to stay in the clutches of a man who wants to keep him in a cage or another who wants him to be free on the open seas.
Since the day he took up piracy, Captain Dagger Crowe's only love has been the sea. He’s roguishly handsome and has never had trouble finding a bedmate. Except for the sweet omega thief, he keeps bailing out of trouble. Dagger’s true desire is finding the sunken treasure of Booker “Deadeyes” Thorin.
Sharing stolen kisses with Ashlyn, Dagger realizes he wants not only Booker Thorin’s treasure, he also wants to be more than the omega thief’s savior. He wants to steal Ashlyn’s heart and make the man his own.
Will his mistress, the sea, be kind to him and give him what he desires, or will her jealousy be his ruin?
Prologue Part 3
Snow fell heavily, blanketing everything in Valleywood white. The orshaial city hadn't seen a storm this bad for over a century. It was so thick and blinding that the city government declared that all residents must remain indoors. The storm raged, and the skies grew darker, with thunder and lightning clashing as the heavens seemed to split, opening up the floodgates of gods knew what.
In a warm, comfortable penthouse overlooking Valleywood, a figure lay between naked bodies after a night of debauchery gasped, waking up. Looking around his bedroom, Loki rubbed his chest, groaning, feeling a burning that caused him to break out in sweat.