Laisha Gardner

Laisha Gardner's Books(3)

I Am Mustafin

Romance

5.0

I swallow hard and my voice quavers as I ask, "How can you trust me?" "I don't," he's blunt, straightening on his feet as he draws his hands into his pockets. "Then why are you telling me this?" "Because I need you to understand," he breathes out. "And because if you choose to speak against me, even if it raises suspicion, you have no proof." He takes a step closer to me, lowering himself to my eye-level. His voice is just above a whisper, firm nonetheless, "Anything that comes out of your mouth is insignificant and, frankly, no one would believe your word over my own." My heart pounds harder in my chest, a string of chills shooting down my spine as his lips graze my ear. His breath fanning my lobe, he whispers, "Without me, you are utterly powerless." A shaky breath passes my lips, my body paralyzed as I lowly ask, "Then what exactly is it that you want from me?" He sighs, straightening on his feet once more before his gaze finds my own. He holds his silence for a long moment, looking at me with eyes that I can't read or understand, reminding me that I am blind to what he doesn't say. He is stoic-an enigma. "W–" "Silence," he cuts me off. "I want silence." *** My name is Alaki Bea Miller-or known in the ground above: Alaki Bea X. That is what they call us, the inferior ones: X. In this world, I live under laws that declare it illegal to bear more than one blood in your veins. A legal system built on segregation by race, where mixing blood is the highest crime. In this world, I am not considered human. I am not considered a person. I am a thing, an abomination that threatens their precious system. His name is Efrem Mustafin, leader of one of the five Rings, Master of his race, and the man who saved my life. Legally, he owns me. You see, to save me, he had to claim me as property. And in exchange for my protection, we play a game. One where I pretend to submit to him before the eyes that watch us, and he keeps me safe. Master Efrem Mustafin, he is. Subject Alaki Bea X, I am. Or at least, I was. I belong to him. My name is Alaki Bea Mustafin, and in this world, I Am Mustafin.

Heartprints in the Void

Romance

4.8

I reach for the door handle, the cold metal biting into my skin as I press my thumb against the latch. Before I can pull the door open, Cade's arm shoots out from behind me, slamming it shut. My body jolts, my heart leaping into my throat as I feel the heat of his body against my back. He lowers himself to me, his breath fanning my ear. "Are you walking out on me again, Elysian?” A shaky breath parts my lips, the hair on the back of my neck standing on its ends. "I never walked out on you, Cade…" My voice falters, betraying me. "Don't lie to me." His tone is aggressive. "I told you a long time ago never to walk away from me again. Are you always so careless?” I try to swallow, but my throat is too tight. "I'm sorry," I manage, the words barely audible. "You said that already," he challenges me, warning me to choose my next words carefully. But I can't. I can't think. I can't move. As his grip on the door tightens, I realize he's not giving me a choice. ⊰ Heartprints in the Void ⊱ My name is Elysian Reign, and I'm not extraordinary. His name is Cade Sinclair, and unlike me, he is extraordinary. At the age of 25, he inherited billions from his trillionaire father—David Sinclair. You never imagine that the love of your life's own father would manipulate his son's life to get rid of you—even if it means forcing him into an experimental hypnosis treatment. After three years, you'd think I'd have learned my lesson. You'd think I would've changed my identity and left the country after walking in on my first day at my new job and finding out that Cade is now my boss.

The Mafia's Mercy

Mafia

4.7

The darkness in his eyes, the dangerous smell of alcohol in his breath, and his deathly grip keeping me bound to him made my heart pound in my chest and my body quiver beneath him. Shamefully, it wasn't anything that I wasn't used to, because…the things I let him do to me? When he was frustrated, annoyed, and angry at the world, I was here to be his pound of flesh. In return, he masked the void of my loneliness because for months, that was the transaction of our relationship. He'd pin me to the wall, bend me over the counter, pull my hair, slap me, choke me, and I enjoyed every second of it because in that moment, it finally felt good to be powerless. Irony is a funny thing. I enjoyed being in pain because it made me forget how much I was hurting. *** "I warned you, doll." His voice strikes a string of chills down the base of my spine, a reminder that all of the time in the world could pass, and he's still not letting go. This is where the good girl in me dies. "You're mine now," he whispers. *** My name is Mercy—Mercy Carter. I went to college. Got myself a useless Bachelor of Science in Mathematics degree. His name is Marcel—Marcello Saldívar. However, at the time, I didn't know that he, the heir to the Saldívar Mafia empire, was the man that I had blindly offered myself to. As smart as I am, I was stupid all the times when it actually mattered. After all, he did warn me that he was dangerous. I just didn't think he could be much worse than my thug of a brother. I was vulnerable—naive. My name is Mercy, and I belong to him. My name is Mercy, and I am the Mafia's Mercy.