Years of suppressing my truest desires and most prominent needs in our relationship had my emotions all over the place, heart hardening and every element that made me a woman seem like a flaw. The softness that I was founded on wasn’t welcomed. Over the years, I’d managed to dilute my vulnerability, conceal my pain and deal with my feelings alone. I was merely a shell of the woman that I’d entered the relationship as. But, today, I was reclaiming my power.| This is a novella. |

After a near seven-month hiatus, here you go.

Retired hitwoman Celine Briggs loved few people in this world; Her husband Caleb, and her ex-handler, Brian Devereaux. When Celine took her marital vows, she exchanged the life of guns, drugs, and violence for the peaceful life as Caleb's wife. However, not all things buried stay hidden.

In this collection are updated stories from some of your favorite Valentines.

Meet Trent Bailey, who is fighting for the right to continue his stellar professional football career after enduring striking legal woes in the recent past. Trent cannot and will not blow his second chance for anyone; after all, this is the blessing he's been praying for. After receiving confirmation that staying focused is all he needs, it's what he aims to do. No distractions. That's until he bumps into two unexpected overnight guests.

In such a chaotic world, there was one thing that Kincaid desired—peace & quiet—and there was one person who could provide it. Sulphur Kincaid.

What started as a night out, letting her hair down, turned into a night Gianna would never forget. The moment she saved his life, she felt a connection with him. But when bad news hits her family, she might push away her future before it begins. Take a ride with the baby of the Parker sisters and see how one night changed her whole life.

Yazmeen Franklin is as green as they come. Her only real friend is her older sister, who raised her after their mother died. Because of their father’s poor example, Yazmeen has little trust in men, so dating is foreign to her. During her sophomore year of college, she lets her guard down and finally gets close to a man. However, he is a known womanizer, and she keeps him in the friend zone to protect her heart.

Nalani, a dedicated and compassionate teacher, never expected her life to take a turn when she met Lorenzo, a single father trying to rebuild his life after a painful divorce. When Nalani becomes the teacher of Lorenzo’s daughter, fate plays its hand, intertwining their lives in ways they could never have foreseen. As Nalani and Lorenzo spend time together, their connection grows stronger, igniting a flame neither of them can ignore. The walls around their hearts crumble as they navigate the complexities of love amidst the challenges of co-parenting and healing from past wounds.

Kashmir Slayton is a man of means along with an insatiable need to have everything he wants. Currently turning a new leaf, an entrancer, who has slipped through his fingers, is pushing him to be the man he used to be. Recklessness and a raging temperament will cause him to turn the city upside down to get her back in his grasps. Lehana Wilson is on her last ounce of luck and patience. As she works from sun up to sun down to take care of an ailing grandmother, she is trying her best to keep her head above water.

Evelyn Townsend is the friend your parents warned you about. She's always jumping off bridges with reckless abandon. So when a reality show promises the opportunity to meet her perfect match, Evelyn is all in. There's just one major catch—her soulmate will be picked by a panel of experts, and she doesn't get to meet him until they are face to face at the end of the aisle.

Pregnant by a man she learned wasn't who she thought he was and starting a new career, she's forced to step up and show everyone around her she's more than the hothead, feisty, girl they believe her to be.

Protection. Monroe Iris has lived her entire life seeking it. She longs to have a safe space to fall in love—to be vulnerable. She's surrounded by things and people that were put in place to fill her with security but has none. Her entire life has been molded around being the perfect wife for an imperfect man. She's stuck following a family tradition that doesn't mean her well, without anyone in her corner to save her.

I met the love of my life when I was ten years old. Ever since Talulla Evans walked up to me with her gap-toothed smile and told me her name means "princess," I've been entranced. For the last twenty years we've been there throughout each other's storms. And somewhere along the line I fell in love. Deep in love.

Atlanta, Georgia, 1950–Michael can’t believe his eyes as he watches the man he loves marry a woman from the back row of Mount Zion Baptist Church. When the beautiful couple is pronounced man and wife, he leaves his home in Georgia for the chance of a better life in New York City. Alexander is just trying to exist in Queens, New York. Although his family is aware of his unnatural attraction to men, they adore him. The price of hiding his true identity from the rest of the world leads to a deep and painful loneliness for Alex, even in the bosom of a loving family.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.

Ryder, Garrett, Kenzo, and Diesel - The Vipers. Their deals are as sordid as their business, and their reputation is enough to bring a grown man to his knees, forcing him to beg for mercy. They are not people you mess with, yet my dad did. The old man ran up a debt with them and then sold me to cover his losses. Yes, sold me. They own me now. I’m theirs in every sense of the word. But I’ve never been meek and compliant.

Beckett: If you’re reading this, well, you know the last-letter drill. You made it. I didn’t. Get off the guilt train, because I know if there was any chance you could have saved me, you would have. I need one thing from you: get out of the army and get to Telluride. My little sister Ella’s raising the twins alone. She’s too independent and won’t accept help easily, but she has lost our grandmother, our parents, and now me. It’s too much for anyone to endure. And here’s the kicker: there’s something else you don’t know that’s tearing her family apart.

Meet Randi Burnett—she’s brilliant, she’s beautiful, and she works for the bride. Missing groom? Intoxicated in-laws? Crying ring-bearer? You name it, she wrangles it. Too bad her personal life isn’t thriving like her side gig as a bridesmaid for hire. Recently dumped, Randi throws herself into her biggest challenge yet when she’s hired as a maid of honor and pretend best friend for an ice queen bride. There’s just one problem—the best man is infuriating, overprotective, and anti-marriage.

We're not free to give into this. She's 19, and I'm 38. And I'm her boyfriend's father. Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.

Deemed Detroit's bad boy, Czar is a man of many layers. To the world, he's a lyrical genius with a sharp tongue and tough exterior. Behind closed doors, he battles with dark demons from his past while dodging industry drama, scandals, and lies. Marley is walking through life barely existing. Her soul is shattered by tragedy, leaving her with a heavy heart and broken spirit. She's content with fading into the shadows, and it works for her until she collides with him.

I am not a drug dealer. I am not a seller… I am not a handler… I am not an abuser… I am not a promoter… I am not a smuggler… However, I understand that I can not save the world or the people who have chosen those paths. So, making substances safer, grander, and extremely unique is my life’s work. What I have created can’t be duplicated, stepped on, or mistaken for anything else.

Ever had a man to put you first? Prioritize your presence. Emphasize your existence. Maintain his focus... on you? Over everything? As if it was nothing? I hadn’t either, not until him. Not until Harlem Knight.

Julius Gallalucci's plans have all fallen through, leaving him stressed and scrambling weeks before his album release and tour announcement. When the pressure becomes too much, he and his team duck off to Eastover to revamp and recharge. What he didn't plan for was his world to clash with a wide-eyed beauty who would prove more of a muse than a distraction.

Retired hitwoman Celine Briggs loved few people in this world; Her husband Caleb, and her ex-handler, Brian Devereaux. When Celine took her marital vows, she exchanged the life of guns, drugs, and violence for the peaceful life as Caleb's wife. However, not all things buried stay hidden.

Atlanta, Georgia, 1950–Michael can’t believe his eyes as he watches the man he loves marry a woman from the back row of Mount Zion Baptist Church. When the beautiful couple is pronounced man and wife, he leaves his home in Georgia for the chance of a better life in New York City. Alexander is just trying to exist in Queens, New York. Although his family is aware of his unnatural attraction to men, they adore him. The price of hiding his true identity from the rest of the world leads to a deep and painful loneliness for Alex, even in the bosom of a loving family.

Whimsy Coral Taylor has been bent, twisted, and shaken, but never broken. It wasn't like her to be broken or to allow herself to get into situations that could potentially break her. A potentially breakable situation was a serious relationship. She had secrets in life that could detour the best of men. Will the entrance of a new man into her life and body make her reconsider all that she thinks she knows?

What started as a night out, letting her hair down, turned into a night Gianna would never forget. The moment she saved his life, she felt a connection with him. But when bad news hits her family, she might push away her future before it begins. Take a ride with the baby of the Parker sisters and see how one night changed her whole life.

In this collection are updated stories from some of your favorite Valentines.

Blogger, Ocean Braxton, suffered a loss back-to-back, so she decided to live life to the fullest starting with her dating life. Deciding to go out on a blind date, her night is interrupted by a handsome stranger who notices her needing saving. There's an attraction, but no names or numbers are exchanged. With them seeing each other on two different accounts, they eventually agree to a date of their own. The only problem is he isn't the only date she's interested in.

Normandee Tribune dedicates her life to saving the lives of children. While she loves her job, it doesn't fill the void of not being able to have the one thing she desires more than anything—a family of her own. Amid her fertility struggles, she's forced to come to terms with the reality that she may have put her heart in the hands of the wrong person. Things begin to shift after she's reunited with the knight in shining armor who once helped her during a devastating loss. Now, Normandee is left with hard decisions only she can make.

It was supposed to be a two-week arrangement that ended when the vacation did. Only Kincaid Maxwell is a greedy bastard; enough is never enough for him. After he's demanded my body, soul, and heart, he wants to own me. As much as I want to give him everything he wants, my past demands that I leave Kincaid alone. Because of my vows, I have no choice but to order him out of my life. Only, the nights in his bed aren't that easy to forget. Nor are they something that I will ever regret.

After a near seven-month hiatus, here you go.

Ember and Judah have loved each other since children, but business interests and family ties have kept them apart. While Judah is trying to protect his precious empire, Ember is trying to protect her heart—even if it means ending their long-term affair.

When a desperate woman escapes a dangerous situation and seeks refuge in Wintermoon, she finds herself irrevocably bonded to a possessive wolf shifter in this fated mates, forced proximity romance.