THIRTY NIGHTS OF REKINDLED FLAMES

THIRTY NIGHTS OF REKINDLED FLAMES

othni

5.0
Comment(s)
3
View
12
Chapters

Mary wasn't prepared for her ex-boyfriend James to show up at her business meeting, much less for it to spark thirty days of intense passion.   *****   Mary's love is journalism, and she will stop at nothing to maintain her father's newspaper business now that she is in charge of it. She simply didn't anticipate that James, her ex-boyfriend, would be her go-to person for support. The catch is that he seeks retribution for being betrayed in the past. He wants her to spend thirty nights with him in exchange for the money, but as their sparks flare, things start to go wrong. Is there a possibility that they will reunite, or will controversy and blackmail force them to split ways forever?

Chapter 1 St. Augustine

I'm hungry for your eyes, mouth, and body...

James said those exact things to me right away.

I yearn for your mouth, your eyes, and your kisses.

He was reading a poem in both Spanish and English in front of the University of Miami class on a beautiful October day. During the first week of classes, he had moved to Public Speaking 101. On the day he read aloud, he was observed by all because he had already missed several courses.

He was the center of attention for all the girls. Both were unable to

It was my nineteenth birthday.

James, who was rather tall, had on a simple black T-shirt and faded trousers. With his short black hair, dark lashes, and dark eyebrows, his face was covered in dark stubble, giving him the appearance of the devil's finest pupil. A red-lighting threat to my heart.

James just stared as he spoke. At me. I took a seat in the second row. I wanted to kneel at his feet and beg him to do everything he wanted with my body and soul because his eyes were so full of possessive need.

James gave me a half-smile that hinted at pleasure as he regarded me after he had finished speaking.

I was out of breath. Hypnotized.

"I'm grateful, Mr. Menendez. The professor's voice startled me so much that I quickly gathered my papers and said, "Ms. Lavoie, you're next." I grabbed one that had fallen to the ground and picked it up with trembling fingers.

I moved by James as he took his seat and stepped to the front of the room. Our eyes locked for a brief moment, and I swallowed hard. I folded my arms, and my lips were uncomfortably damp. I would have liked to take off my vintage Betsey Johnson slip dress with its black and rose print and my black flip-flops because I knew they scraped against my flesh. James looked at me, and I felt exposed. made me desire to strip off. alongside him.

The professor asked, "Could you please tell us the title of the poem you're reading?"

"I've chosen 'Sonnet Seventeen,' by Pablo Neruda," I said, stuttering as I looked down at the floor.

"Open your arms wide. Additionally, you'll need to speak up more. Recall that this is a lesson on public speaking, not whispering in public."

The few pupils who bothered to look up giggled, and I looked up at James. With his lengthy legs spread wide and taking up room in the front row, he slouched low on his chair. A seductive smile developed on the contour of his lips. My curly hair was tucked behind my ear.

I took a deep breath and started.

As I read the poem aloud, James gave me slow, lingering looks. His mouth opened, allowing me to see his tongue poking out from the corner. I grinned by the time I got to the second sentence. I kept it a secret from him. We had the impression of being the only two people in the space.

I shivered with restless need as I ran outside into the white-bright Florida sun after class. My wrist was softly grasped, causing my fine hair to shake on my nape.

"Mary?" he said in a soft voice.

"Yes."

I think I had kissed a couple guys at that point, maybe a bit more. I used to be somewhat shy. Additionally, I avoided guys that resembled James, primarily because I thought they wouldn't be interested in a woman like me.

"Where are you from?" My tiny wrist appeared so frail in his large grasp.

"St. Augustine."

James's smile showed off his dimples beneath his stubble.

He rhymingly added, "So, Mary from St. Augustine," and instantly won my heart. What do you have planned for the weekend? Are you planning to attend the Fantasy Fiesta costume party that everyone is talking about? Do you have makeup?"

For a moment, I could only laugh. I was notified about the party by my closest friend Diana, and she was pushing for me to go too. No, I had replied.

However, perhaps I would if James was present. Heat burst through my skin, like I'd been at the beach all day in August. His eyes glinted in the sunlight, a most unusual color, almost coppery.

"I have no plans," I said to myself.

One more smile, this one evil. I had never seen a man with such long eyelashes.

"Do you know what you should be for Fantasy Fiesta?"

He looked at me for a long, smoldering beat after I shook my head once more.

"Mine."

Continue Reading

Other books by othni

More

You'll also like

The Sterling Scandal: Married To The Uncle

The Sterling Scandal: Married To The Uncle

C.D
4.5

I was at my own engagement party at the Sterling estate when the world started tilting. Victoria Sterling, my future mother-in-law, smiled coldly as she watched me struggle with a cup of tea that had been drugged to ruin me. Before I could find my fiancé, Ryan, a waiter dragged me into the forbidden West Wing and locked me in a room with Julian Sterling, the family’s "fallen titan" who had been confined to a wheelchair for years. The door burst open to a frenzy of camera flashes and theatrical screams. Victoria framed me as a seductress caught in the act, and Ryan didn't even try to listen to my pleas, calling me "cheap leftovers" before walking away with his pregnant mistress. When I turned to my own family for help, my father signed a document severing our relationship for a five-million-dollar payout from Julian. They traded me like a commodity without a second thought. I didn't understand why my own parents were so eager to sell me, or how Ryan could look at me with such disgust after promising me forever. I was a sacrifice, a pawn used to protect the family's offshore accounts, and I couldn't fathom how every person I loved had a price tag for my destruction. With nowhere left to go, I married Julian in a bleak ceremony at City Hall. He slid a heavy diamond onto my finger and whispered, "We have a war to start." That night, inside his secret penthouse, I watched the paralyzed man stand up from his wheelchair and activate a screen filled with the Sterling family's darkest secrets. The execution had officially begun.

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

Nathaniel Stone
4.5

I woke up on silk sheets that smelled of expensive cedar and cold sandalwood, a world away from my cramped apartment in Brooklyn. Beside me lay Ezra Gardner—my boss, the billionaire CEO of Gardner Holdings, and the man who could end my career with a snap of his fingers. He didn’t offer an apology for the night before; instead, he looked at me with terrifying clarity and proposed a cold, calculated business arrangement. "Marriage. It stabilizes the board and solves the PR crisis before it begins." He dressed me in archival Chanel and sent me home in his Maybach, but my life was already falling apart. My boyfriend, Irving, claimed he had passed out early, yet his location data placed him at my best friend’s apartment until three in the morning. When I tried to run, I realized Ezra was already ten steps ahead, tracking my movements and uncovering the secret I’d spent twenty years hiding: my connection to the powerful Senator Grimes. I was trapped between a CEO who treated me like a line item on a quarterly report and a boyfriend who had been using me while sleeping with my closest friend. I felt like a pawn in a game I didn't understand, wondering why a man like Ezra would walk up forty flights of stairs on a broken leg just to make sure I was safe. "Showtime, Mrs. Gardner." Standing on the red carpet in a gown that cost more than my life, I watched my cheating ex-boyfriend’s face turn pale as Ezra claimed me in front of the world. I wasn't just an assistant anymore; I was a weapon, and it was time to burn their world down.

The Ghost Wife's Billion Dollar Tech Comeback

The Ghost Wife's Billion Dollar Tech Comeback

Huo Wuer
5.0

Today is October 14th, my birthday. I returned to New York after months away, dragging my suitcase through the biting wind, but the VIP pickup zone where my husband’s Maybach usually idled was empty. When I finally let myself into our Upper East Side penthouse, I didn’t find a cake or a "welcome home" banner. Instead, I found my husband, Caden, kneeling on the floor, helping our five-year-old daughter wrap a massive gift for my half-sister, Adalynn. Caden didn’t even look up when I walked in; he was too busy laughing with the girl who had already stolen my father’s legacy and was now moving in on my family. "Auntie Addie is a million times better than Mommy," my daughter Elara chirped, clutching a plush toy Caden had once forbidden me from buying for her. "Mommy is mean," she whispered loudly, while Caden just smirked, calling me a "drill sergeant" before whisking her off to Adalynn’s party without a second glance. Later that night, I saw a video Adalynn posted online where my husband and child laughed while mocking my "sensitive" nature, treating me like an inconvenient ghost in my own home. I had spent five years researching nutrition for Elara’s health and managing every detail of Caden’s empire, only to be discarded the moment I wasn't in the room. How could the man who set his safe combination to my birthday completely forget I even existed? The realization didn't break me; it turned me into ice. I didn't scream or beg for an explanation. I simply walked into the study, pulled out the divorce papers I’d drafted months ago, and took a black marker to the terms. I crossed out the alimony, the mansion, and even the custody clause—if they wanted a life without me, I would give them exactly what they asked for. I left my four-carat diamond ring on the console table and walked out into the rain with nothing but a heavily encrypted hard drive. The submissive Mrs. Holloway was gone, and "Ghost," the most lethal architect in the tech world, was finally back online to take back everything they thought I’d forgotten.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book