a forest of vanity and valour

Sasha Smith is the owner of an exclusive dance club catering to the rich and arrogant. When one of her favorite customers and close friends is missing from his regular spot at the bar, she goes in search of him. Finding him very ill, lonely and at risk, she agrees to move in with him temporarily until he's feeling better. When Rin Allegretti, Italian mafia Don, finds out his grandfather has an exotic dancer living in his house, he rallies his family to the family home to thwart whatever the gold-digging girl's plans might be for his grandfather. Rin finds himself drawn to the younger woman and wanting to protect her from the harshness of the family he himself dropped on her. Sasha finds herself in the midst of family drama, under scrutiny of an attractive older man and falling in over her head. She herself comes from a similar family and she knows the dangers of tangling with a boss, especially one of a rival family. She knows once he realizes who her family are, there will be hell to pay. Rin wants only to protect the little dancer and to keep her safe, even if it means, opening his heart up for the very first time. Can he convince her he’s not the monster mobster she believes him to be?

BOOK TWO OF THE MOON PRINCESS TRILOGY Caleb has decided to return after over one hundred and seventy-four years. After leaving Kyra and the rest of the pack. Shortly after arriving he finds that Kyra is visiting her family and then an attack causes Hunter to lose his life. Because of someone close to him, Hunter is sent to Purgatory, where he will have to do everything in his power to get free and return to Kyra. No one knows Hunter is trying to survive, while everyone else is trying to overcome the loss and overcome the monster that has planted itself in the depths of Caleb's soul. Kyra struggles to accept losing her mate and learning Caleb's truth. Secrets are revealed. They say the truth will set you free. Except in this case, will the truth be what Kyra needs to accept everything, or will it drive a wedge between her and Caleb as second chance mates? Was Caleb's return the reason for Krya's world to crash and burn around her? Will Kyra be able to accept Caleb and love him when her heart belongs to Hunter? Can Hunter find a way to get free? If he does, what will it take to return to Kyra?

King Brishor Oighar and his General Chezzal are mates, but their mate bond is incomplete. They have a third mate whom they have been finding for a long time. And when she comes in the form of twenty-one-year old Meryl, their lives take a drastic turn. Meryl was orphaned at a seven and her father bequeathed his estate, Windley, to Lady Judith, her stepmother. Judith wants to sell the estate and has evil plans, but Meryl wants to save it and save her people who live in Judith's fear. Will she be able to save Windley? Will Brishor and Chezzal be able to claim her? Or will she reject them for... Windley?

Do you ever wish a secret billionaire would sweep you away to a tropical island? Do you ever wish that you could be like Cinderella and find your happily ever after with the prince? From New York Times bestselling author Krista Lakes, comes a sweet but spicy Billionaire Romance Series that will have you believing in happily ever after! Each story in this series is a stand-alone one. But with all the stories happen in one world, characters will reappear in other stories. ****** The First Set: Saltwater Kisses– An accidental marriage between Jack and Emma. Rainwater Kisses– Falling in love, and finding how they fit together with Owen and Kaylee. Freshwater Kisses– Finding love in childhood friends with Robbie and Sam. BONUS: Kisses From Jack: The first half of Saltwater Kisses, but from Jack's perspective! Timeless Love Stories: Champagne Kisses– A story of long lost love and second chances with Dean and Rachel. The Second Set: Sandcastle Kisses– Finding love in all the wrong places with Noah and Izzy Hurricane Kisses– Surviving the storm together with Logan and Olivia Barefoot Kisses– A Cinderella story with Aiden and Lena The Third Set: Sunrise Kisses– Ava and Bastian discovering true beauty Waterfall Kisses– Leo finally succumbing to Charlotte's charms Island Kisses: Gabe finally meets his match in Harper!

COMPLETED ERICA Kidnapped-Sold-Caged. That’s what happened when I became careless & didn’t recognise the real monster in Armani, instead became Obsessed with his beautiful face & dark accent. Antonio Rossi. He bought me. Now I’m a captive in his billion dollar cage. It has everything but peace & freedom—two things I dreamed of since childhood. He’s ruthless in his quest to make me understand who’s the master of me. He said-I belong to him, that he owns me. He promised retaliation for every rule break. His touch meant for punishment burns me, leaves me thinking maybe he’s right which only makes me hate him more. But he forgot about my promise to him-The day he locked me in his cage I promised him, I’d make him beg on his knees & at the end of this nightmare I’d wake up with a smile on my face. ANTONIO Ruthless-Monster. I’m the monster nightmares are made of. The human part of me died long time ago, now I live for vengeance & blood of my enemy. I’m the real villain of this story. There’s nothing & no-one that would stop me from getting the blood that I was owed. Except her-And she tries. Oh, how she fûcking tries. She doesn't know that she's a pawn in my game. She's a collateral—a sacrifice I chose, but she hasn’t accepted it. She rattles the bars of her cage, disobeys me & earns a punishment for every insult she throws my way. The fight for freedom in her eyes makes me furious, it burns me. It makes me fascinated too-really not a good thing for her. Because if I cared then I’d make her a lifelong captive in my cage. Second Book- TRAPPED FOREVER-A Dark & Twisted Happily Ever After.

She was backed up against the tree and I took a branch, breaking it in half to reveal a sharp end, and going straight for his neck. It might not do much, or at least that's what I thought, but it should be enough to get him away from her.To my surprise, he plummeted to the floor. I looked at Illyria and walked towards her like a predator. With my bloodied hands, not sure if it was mine or his blood, I put them on Illyria's collarbone while dragging it up to her neck and ending up in her face, painting it just like the red rose in her hand, while she looked at me with panic in her eyes.“Don't fear me, little rose. I won't hurt you, but next time you decide to run away, make sure you do it without anyone noticing. I have eyes everywhere” I said in a low growl, that sounded even more dangerous than what I usually sound. ~~~~~~Illyria Abbot was meant to choose a husband on her 21st birthday. When her mansion is attacked by rebellious vampires, she barely escapes with her life. Lost in the woods she’s found by Kieran Moore, a brute vampire who will make her life hard while falling in love with her. But there are secrets who will keep testing them and their love. Will they be able to overcome it, or will it be their doom? Author’s Note: This story contains Latin Language. I am using a program that might not be accurate on the translation, so I apologize in advance if the translation is wrong. Thank you for reading this story and enjoy.

When the Supreme God of Heavens disappeared, the gods of the Greeks, Norse, Mayans, Egyptians, Chinese, and many more sent their young mortal champions to a magical world in order to participate in the Game of Heavens and Earth on their behalf to win the divine throne. However, the young mortals used their powers, weapons, and tools that were bestowed upon them to form themselves into guilds and create a paradise for everyone. To any kid from Earth, an exciting adventure and new beginning await them, and Sam Roche is one of those lucky chosen ones — or is he still unlucky? Since everything is in peace, Sam tries to build a new life in the City of New Beginning while hiding his dark secrets from his new friends about the sins he committed back on Earth. Eventually, Sam and his friends discover that the strongest guilds have long controlled the paradise, and their rivalry might spark a war that will engulf the land. Wanting to get away as much as possible, they decide that they form their own guild and leave the city. However, a powerful guild is threatening the fragile peace of the magical world in order to win the Game of Heavens and Earth. Sam must either run away to save himself or become a hero to save not only his friends but both worlds.

Despite being married for three years, Grace Lewis doesn't even get to hold hands with Benjamin Hawkins, let alone bear a child for him.After surviving a plane crash, Grace finds herself in the hospital, where she sees Benjamin accompanying another woman for a prenatal checkup. This makes Grace realize Benjamin's never had space in his heart for her.As soon as she ends the relationship, Grace changes back to the granddaughter of the world's wealthiest man. Since she can't be Benjamin's wife, she'll be his nemesis instead. She'd like to see who's the unworthy one now!

“Why can’t I hit you?” Thomas yells, smacking the belt close to her feet. “Why,” he smacks it on the door above her head. “Why, why” to the right and left sides of her body. Melina trembles against the door with her eyes closed and head tucked between her knees. She jumps, sniffing Thomas’ cologne, and tries to hide more. He’s probably bending down. “I want to hurt you, Melina, but I can’t. Tell me why I can’t. Tell me why,” she bites her lips to muffle her sobs as she fears they will exacerbate her situation. “ look at me when I am talking to you,” Thomas says, grabbing her hair and pulling her head up. “I am- so-r-r-r-y,” she says as she turns to face him with her tear-stained face and bloodshot eyes. ******** Melina Davis was born with the face and body of a goddess. Her heart was as beautiful as her, but it never did her any good. Melina was the most unlucky woman in this world when it came to love. Her first love was an abusive con artist who made sure to exploit Melina's kindness. The second one who Melina felt was genuinely worthy of owing her heart was far more dangerous than her first. His name is Thomas Costanzo. He is the second in command of the Costanzo mafia. He was highly feared in the mafia world. Some even feared him more than the don of the Costanzo mafia. Melina didn't know she shouldn't cross him, and she did. She broke the heart of one of the most feared men on this earth, and now, he is out searching for her. Once he finds her, Melina will wish she never crossed paths with him.

"Dear wifey. I think we have unfinished business," Evan said, the moment he saw the gorgeous lady standing before him. "Sorry, Mr. Walton. Have we ever met before?" She chipped in with an impassive expression on her face. ....... One thing was to get married to the person she loved so much, another thing was to get him to love her back. Ava's life became miserable and fell to rock bottom, when she finally got married to the man of her dreams after her family went bankrupt. For that situation, every of her emotions were treated as insincere and she was regarded filth as well as treated with so much revulsion. Five years later after being mercilessly ousted from everyone's lives by divorce and family disownment, a new brand stepped out to take the spotlight from everyone. Ava Carson became powerful, wealthy and also the best mum. "Mummy we want our daddy," her two adorable darlings clamoured the same words, ever since they saw their mother in a picture with a familiar man of similar resemblance. ***"**** "Dear wifey. I want you to love me again," Ethan knelt before her. "Ex-wife," she corrected. (Ding! Chapters are updated daily!)