Showing results by narrator "J. Shani Michaels" in All Categories

I came home and ended up with two enemies because of the women I choose to love. Kendra was the one I thought I loved, but the feeling I felt when I looked into Alaia's eyes told me that I had never experienced love with Kendra. When I looked into my Joy's eyes, I wanted to give her the stars, moons, and the sky wrapped up with a big fat ass bow. So, for her, I would go to war to make sure Tweety had no part in touching her ever again.

There were a lot of things that I could live without. I had lived without freedom for the past fifteen years. My wife was someone that I couldn't live without, and I needed her. Alaia saved a lot of people with just a touch of her hand on my arm. She calmed the beast within me, reminded me what I had at home. Alaia was someone that I refused to live without, and now, they took her from me. They touched my wife and thought they would be able to live to talk about it. You didn't touch a Delgato and thought you would live. You didn't touch what was mine and think you could live.

After my Yaya passed away, I didn't have anyone that cared for me. I mean, not even a month after Yaya was in the ground, he sat me down in the living room and sold me to a thirty-year-old man. I was sixteen, and my big brother, the man who was supposed to protect me, sold me off like cattle on a farm. My entire life has been to please Zayne. I'm his fourth wife and the youngest wife. Nobody has ever protected or cared for me. I was tossed the cards that life handed me and had to make do with them. That is until Cappadonna Delgato and I cross paths—again.

I'm a protector, and my family is my responsibility. When it comes to my team, I'm the same way. They are family and the reason that me and Capone are able to do us in the streets, knowing they are tucked away safe. As a man, you sometimes fall short, and something—someone—falls through the cracks. I know one thing; I put that on my grandson that I'm going to crack his uncle's skull. He has hurt his own family, tossed them out to the wolves, and has hurt mine. I don't take too kindly to people hurting mine.

I had my chance at love and I threw it away. I don't deserve another. I've dedicated my entire life to my community. There's no time for anything else. But then I met her. Ciara Jeffries is everything I told myself I didn't want but she might be everything I need. If I can just hold on to her.

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Amerie Cross and Arnold Hightower.

Kendra Ames is a driven young producer in need of a bachelor for her reality show. When she meets Lee Sullivan, the retired captain of Lakes hockey team, they have an instant connection. After listening to Kendra’s pitch, Sully decides he would rather pursue her instead. However, when the show’s network makes him an offer for his dream job with a unique stipulation, he can’t refuse.

“...give me three months.” “Three months for what?” “To make you love me.” For years I’ve withheld my feelings for my best friend, Monique. After dating losers, she needs a man who’s docile, safe … a nice guy. I’ve never been that. When we were younger, I couldn’t control my temper when it came to keeping her safe. My loss of control forced the only woman I loved to move hundreds of miles away.

For Rori Mitchell, delulu is decidedly not the solulu. Getting her lick back is. What starts as chance encounter at a sporting event ends up being a perfect distraction from the chaos of a broken heart. Instead of throwing herself into work, she throws herself—for good or bad—into Tatum Wilder. An offensive tackle for the Connecticut Kings, Tatum is used to high-stakes games and intense scrutiny. On the field, he's a powerhouse; off the field, he's a country boy with gentleman tendencies . . . and a propensity toward knowing the right thing to say at all times. Well. Most of the time.

I had my chance at a family and it was stolen from me. I was told I was a joke, so that's just what I'll be. But then she gives me news that turns my whole life upside down. Nina Williams is my second chance at a family, and she might just be the missing key to my heart. I just need to prove to her I'm not the joke I pretend to be.

I knew how to love because I loved my Yaya more than life. I knew that I could love because of the baby I had grown within me and now held; I loved her more than I loved myself. As I watched this man sleep peacefully beside me, one arm around me, keeping me close, I knew that I loved him. I knew that I could see forever with him, and I knew that he would kill any and everything moving when it came to protecting me.

How long does someone have to be out of your life before your every waking thought doesn't revolve around them? Olivia Harding bulldozed her way into my life at twelve years old. She broke my heart at nineteen and I haven't seen her once in the thirteen years since. She chose her career over me. And now, because life is cruel, I'm praying that she gives me a chance to help her save it. The smart thing to do would be to keep my distance, to keep it strictly professional. But I've never been smart when it comes to her.

For Nala Stanton, love has not always been kind. She fell in love with a façade, and now she's desperate to free herself before it's too late. When opportunity arises, she takes it, even though being found would surely bring her a death sentence. Armed with a new identity and half a million dollars in stolen drug money, she disappears to start a new life for herself. For six years, she's had the freedom she craved, but that is all about to change when he is on her trail.

“Triumphantly Black, queer and contemporary… The dialogue snaps and shimmers.” —New York Times Book Review on D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding Music producer on the rise Cyn Tha Starr knows what she likes, from her sickening beats in the studio to the flirty femmes she fools around...

Audrey Pilar is a master in the art of breaking up. Her friends have dubbed her ritual of leaving men as “The Expiration Date.” Hurt from her past has caused Audrey to protect her heart at all costs, even if it means self sabotage. She’s developed the habit of looking for red flags, and it seems to work for her—until she meets Sullivan Santiago. The confident, thirty-three-year-old owner of Sullivan’s Coffee Tavern is unlike anyone she’s ever met, and for Audrey, if it’s too good to be true, it usually is.

Battle Mage or Magical Engineer? Like that was even a real question. Battle Mage...obviously. Magical Engineers live quiet, boring lives. I crave excitement. And as an agent for the Arcane Mage Intelligence Agency, that’s exactly what I get. It’s a pretty great life. I go on solo missions, kicking ass and taking names, I hook up with men whenever I want to blow off some steam, and I hang out with my family if I’m ever after company. Everything changes when my psycho uncle fails in his attempt to kill my father. Now, I’m in charge of the manhunt against him.

Every family has secrets. Even the families you least expect. Years ago, the leaders of two prominent families agreed on a treaty that would cloak the forbidden shadows of desire with darkness, hiding a romance that was never supposed to happen. An ultimate betrayal momentarily broke the organization apart. Now, the group has reformed with new rules, new values, and new ruthless ways of silencing their enemies.

Being an AMIA agent isn't always easy, yet I wouldn't change it for the world. Sure, all the paperwork is boring, but nothing quite beats the satisfaction of closing a case. Unfortunately, some cases are harder to crack than others. And finding my psychotic uncle might just be the most difficult assignment of all. My team and I aren't going to give up that easily, though. When a one-night-stand-gone-wrong results in an unexpected partnership, I must set aside my principles in order to save my brother's life.

For better or worse… That was the promise Denver and Kensa made, but it’s a sentiment they’ve somehow lost along the way. What started as a passionate wildfire has diminished to a flicker, all but snuffed out by unspoken fears, perceived betrayal, and a complete breakdown in communication. Can either of them tuck their ego away long enough to rekindle their flame?

Nicole Richardson is a woman with a purpose—prove herself worthy of her place in a male-dominated field. Fiercely competitive, wielder of tough love and motivation, and terrible at dealing with things outside of her control. Between making sure the players are thriving, and coping with a changing family dynamic, a relationship isn't even on her radar.