

Introduction
Chapter 1
Aspen Carter never waited in lines.
Not at five-star restaurants, not at exclusive clubs, and certainly not for coffee. She had assistants for that. Assistants who knew her usual iced oat milk latte, light ice, extra caramel, and exactly how to get it into her hands within minutes of her craving it.
But today, for reasons she couldn’t quite explain, she wanted to get it herself.
Maybe it was the exhaustion of back-to-back investor meetings. Maybe it was the suffocating perfection of her life pristine penthouses, luxury cars, and people who only spoke to her when they needed something. Or maybe it was just the need to do something normal for once.
So when her driver pulled up in front of a small, hole-in-the-wall coffee shop in Brooklyn a place called Grounded with a handwritten sign that looked like it hadn’t been changed in years Aspen felt something she hadn’t in a long time.
Curiosity.
She stepped inside, the tiny bell above the door chiming as she entered. The scent of freshly brewed espresso and warm cinnamon filled the air, a stark contrast to the sterile, overpriced cafés she was used to in Manhattan. The shop was cozy, all rustic wood and mismatched chairs, with local artwork covering the walls. It felt real.
And so did the man behind the counter.
Leo Moreno barely looked up when she walked in.
Which was unusual. He was used to customers doing a double take, especially when someone like her walked through the door. She didn’t belong here her crisp white blazer and designer heels practically screamed Upper East Side royalty, and the way she scanned the café like she was analyzing a stock portfolio told him she wasn’t here by accident.
Still, he wasn’t impressed.
“Cash only,” he said before she even reached the counter.
Aspen blinked, caught off guard. “Excuse me?”
Leo finally glanced up, his dark brown eyes locking onto hers. She was beautiful annoyingly beautiful but there was something unreadable in her expression. Like she wasn’t used to being told no.
“I said cash only.” He nodded toward the small, handwritten sign taped to the counter. “Our card reader’s been busted for weeks.”
Aspen exhaled, reaching into her purse and pulling out a sleek black card. “I don’t carry cash.”
Leo shrugged. “Then I don’t carry coffee.”
She stared at him. No one spoke to her like this. Not board members, not competitors, and certainly not baristas.
“Seriously?” she asked, arching a perfectly sculpted brow.
Leo leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. “You’re welcome to find another place that takes your billionaire credit card.”
Aspen narrowed her eyes. “How do you know I’m?”
Leo gave her a pointed once-over. “Call it a wild guess.”
She should have been irritated. She was irritated. But she was also intrigued.
“Fine.” She dug into her bag, fingers brushing against something metallic. Pulling it out, she smirked. “Do you take gold?”
Leo blinked at the heavy, rose-gold money clip she held between two fingers. A few hundred dollar bills were folded inside, but it was the clip itself that caught his attention. Engraved, minimalistic, and expensive as hell.
He sighed, taking one of the bills. “I hate rich people.”
Aspen laughed an actual, genuine laugh. “That makes two of us
Leo made her drink begrudgingly, his fingers moving expertly over the espresso machine. Aspen watched, leaning against the counter, feeling oddly entertained by how unimpressed he was with her.
“You always this charming?” she asked.
“You always this difficult?”
She smiled, taking the cup from him. It was warm in her hands, a stark contrast to the cold, pre-ordered lattes she was used to. She took a sip and paused, surprised by how good it was.
“Not bad,” she admitted.
Leo rolled his eyes as he wiped down the counter. “Glad it meets your high standards, princess.”
Aspen raised an eyebrow. “Did you just call me princess?”
“Would you prefer an heiress?”
She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. “You know, most people at least pretend to be nice to me.”
“That’s probably because they want something from you.”
The words hit harder than she expected. Aspen had spent years surrounded by people who smiled to her face while silently calculating what they could gain from her. Investors, partners, employees everyone wanted something. But this guy? He didn’t seem to care about who she was or what she was worth.
It was refreshing.
Aspen took another sip of her coffee and tilted her head. “What’s your name?”
Leo hesitated for a beat, then answered, “Leo.”
“No last name?”
He smirked. “You don’t need it.”
“Fine, Leo. I’m Aspen.”
“I know,” he said casually, rinsing out a cup.
Aspen blinked. “Wait you do?”
Leo shrugged. “You own Vyre. Your face is in every business magazine. People either love you or hate you, depending on how much they care about billionaires running the world.”
“And which side do you fall on?”
Leo met her gaze. “I’m still deciding.”
A slow smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She should have been annoyed. Instead, she was intrigued.
“Well, let me know when you make up your mind,” she said, turning to leave.
Leo called after her. “Bring cash next time, princess.”
Aspen laughed softly to herself as she stepped outside.
She would be coming back.
Aspen didn’t return to Grounded the next day.
Or the day after that.
She told herself it was ridiculous she had meetings, deals, and a company to run. But for some reason, the coffee from her usual high-end café didn’t taste as good anymore.
So, three days later, she found herself back in Brooklyn, standing in front of Grounded like an idiot.
She wasn’t sure what she was expecting. Maybe for Leo to look surprised that she’d come back. Maybe for him to be a little friendlier.
Instead, he barely looked up when she approached the counter. “Cash or no coffee.”
Aspen smirked and slid a crisp twenty-dollar bill across the counter. “You wound me, barista.”
Leo’s lips twitched slightly as he took the bill. “Progress.”
She leaned against the counter as he started making her drink. “So, Leo, how does a guy like you end up running a cash-only coffee shop in Brooklyn?”
“I don’t run it,” he said, focusing on the espresso machine. “I just work here.”
Aspen frowned. “You don’t own this place?”
“Nope.” He glanced at her. “Disappointed?”
She shrugged. “A little. I had this whole narrative in my head struggling artist opens indie coffee shop to make ends meet, refuses to sell out, fights off evil corporate overlords.”
Leo chuckled. “Nice try. I just work here to pay rent. My real thing is art.”
Aspen raised an eyebrow. “You’re an artist?”
He nodded. “Paint, mostly. Some mixed media.”
“And you’re still broke?”
Leo shot her a look. “Not all of us make billions off an app that profits from influencers selling teeth-whitening kits.”
Aspen grinned. “Ouch. You don’t like Vyre, do you?”
“It’s nothing personal,” Leo said, setting her drink in front of her. “I just think social media’s killing real art.”
She studied him, intrigued. “You’re a little intense for a barista.”
“And you’re a little nosy for a billionaire.”
Aspen took her coffee and smiled. “See you tomorrow, barista.”
Leo watched her go, shaking his head.
He had a feeling she wasn’t kidding.
Aspen came back the next day.
And the day after that.
And the day after that.
It became a routine, something she looked forward to in a way she couldn’t quite explain.
At first, it was the coffee. Then it was the banter. Then it was him.
Leo, with his sarcastic comments and unimpressed attitude. Leo, who didn’t care about her net worth or her press coverage. Leo, who made her laugh in a way she hadn’t in years.
She learned things about him in bits and pieces. He grew up in Queens. His mom worked as a nurse. He dropped out of art school because he couldn’t afford it. He painted at night, in a tiny apartment that doubled as his studio.
And, most importantly he didn’t want her money.
Aspen wasn’t used to that.
People in her world always wanted something funding, investments, and connections. But Leo? He just made her coffee, called her princess, and sent her on her way.
Which only made her want to come back more.
What she didn’t realize was that she was about to become just as much a part of his routine as he had become a part of hers.
Neither of them saw it coming.
Neither of them knew how complicated it would get.
And neither of them expected that a simple coffee shop in Brooklyn would be the start of something that would change both their lives forever.
Aspen wasn’t sure when it happened when Grounded became more than just a coffee shop and when Leo’s smirk became something she looked forward to more than her morning meetings.
But by the end of the second week, she found herself clearing space in her schedule just to stop by.
It wasn’t logical. It wasn’t her. Aspen Carter didn’t do routines that weren’t meticulously planned. She didn’t waste time on things that didn’t serve a strategic purpose.
And yet, here she was, standing at the counter of Grounded again, handing Leo another crisp twenty.
“Starting to think you just like giving me your money,” he mused, sliding the bill into the register.
Aspen sipped her coffee, feigning indifference. “I just like your coffee.”
Leo leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “You know, if you liked it that much, you’d order something different once in a while.”
Aspen smirked. “I’m a woman who knows what she wants.”
“And apparently, what you want is an iced caramel macchiato with light ice and extra caramel every single day.”
She shrugged. “Consistency is key.”
Leo shook his head, wiping his hands on a towel. “You’re something else, princess.”
Aspen tilted her head. “So, have you decided yet?”
Leo raised an eyebrow. “Decided what?”
She grinned. “Whether you like me or hate me.”
Leo studied her for a second, then smirked. “Still deciding.”
Aspen didn’t know why that made her annoyingly happy.
Aspen was about to fire back another witty response when the door to Grounded swung open, and a woman stormed in, heading straight for Leo.
“Leo, where the hell have you been?” she demanded.
Aspen blinked. The girl was young, maybe early twenties, with the same dark brown eyes as Leo. There was a sharpness to her tone, a frustration that didn’t sound like an ex-girlfriend it sounded personal.
Leo sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Jordan, not now.”
Jordan?
Aspen took a step back, watching the exchange unfold.
“No, now,” Jordan snapped. “Mom’s hospital bill is overdue. Again. And before you say anything, I already know you don’t have it.”
Aspen felt a pang of discomfort. This wasn’t her place this wasn’t her world.
Leo’s jaw tightened. “I told you, I’m working on it.”
Jordan let out a humorless laugh. “Right. Because barista wages are gonna cover medical debt.”
Aspen had never felt more like an outsider in her life.
She should leave. This wasn’t her problem.
And yet, the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
“I can help.”
Leo’s head snapped toward her so fast she almost took a step back. His eyes darkened, a storm brewing beneath the surface.
Jordan, on the other hand, looked at Aspen like she had just offered to land a spaceship on the moon. “Wait, who are you
Last Chapters
#145 Chapter 145 Home
Last Updated: 5/12/2025#144 Chapter 144 The Battle for Haven
Last Updated: 5/12/2025#143 Chapter 143 Fractures Beneath the Surface
Last Updated: 5/12/2025#142 Chapter 142 After the Ashes
Last Updated: 5/12/2025#141 Chapter 141 The First Strike
Last Updated: 5/12/2025#140 Chapter 140 The Cost of Trust
Last Updated: 5/12/2025#139 Chapter 139 Sparks Across the Ashes
Last Updated: 5/12/2025#138 Chapter 138 Shadows on the Horizon
Last Updated: 5/12/2025#137 Chapter 137 A World Worth Building
Last Updated: 5/12/2025#136 Chapter 136 Ashes and Blood
Last Updated: 5/12/2025
You Might Like 😍
HIS REJECTED SECOND CHANCE MATE
"What the f*ck, Zara!" Levi bumped into me and growled behind me.
"Sorry," I mumbled, wide-eyed.
"Is that?" Levi mind-linked, and I nodded my head.
"Zara," my father uttered. "I understand that you are familiar with Alpha Noah."
I slowly nodded my head.
"Great," my father said. "Alpha Noah has also informed me that you are his fated mate."
I gave a nod in response.
"Superb, Alpha Noah has requested your hand."
"Is that so?" I found my voice.
Both my father and Alpha Noah nodded.
"Interesting," I said. "Were you told by Alpha Noah that he rejected me more than a year ago?"
My father's smile wavered as Alpha Noah's face turned to ash.
Did Alpha Noah really believe I would just blindly obey an order from my father without a fight?
Zara is a silver wolf descended from one of the most powerful packs on the continent.
A year after he rejects her, her fated mate comes knocking on her door to tell her he is back to claim her.
Zara turns down his proposal, and he goes behind her back and asks her father for her hand. The old Alpha agrees to the arrangement.
Zara is unhappy and decides to handle things on her own. She informs her father that she has taken a chosen mate, her Beta, and her best friend, Levi—only he has a secret.
What will happen when Zara's second chance mate attends her and Levi's mating ceremony?
Will he stop the proceedings and claim her as his mate?
A story about two broken hearts finding each other and getting sucked into a web of lies and prophecies.
Will Zara find the happiness she so deserves?
Secrets of Us: A Forbidden Love Romance
He’s angry from the conversation last night. I can feel it, I can see it in his dark eyes. It’s only confirmed when he slams into me without preparing me.
I cry out and he soothes me with kisses on my neck and nibbles on my skin. Still he doesn’t slow down. He starts at a quick pace, at a strength that already has my legs trembling.
I grab onto his shoulders, cries leaving my lips every time he slams into me. It turn wet, not from the water, but from how much he makes my pussy happy.
Alina leaves everything she knows behind after she is in a terrible car accident that tears her family apart. A new home, a new school and a fractured relationship with her mother are only the beginning of the things this change will throw her way. Immediately she catches the attention of three men, and she can’t deny what she feels for them, too. Quickly, and much to her demise, she finds out that their lives are much more intertwined than she would have ever hoped for. She had hoped to discover herself in this new place, but everything only tears her apart. Who will she choose between Zaid, the bad boy, Aiden, her sweet jock, and Jake, and older man who can't seem to keep his hands off of her?
The Alpha King's Human Mate
“I have waited nine years for you. That’s nearly a decade since I’ve felt this emptiness inside me. Part of me began to wonder if you didn’t exist or you’d already died. And then I found you, right inside my own home.”
He used one of his hands to stroke my cheek and tingles erupted everywhere.
“I’ve spent enough time without you and I will not let anything else keep us apart. Not other wolves, not my drunken father who’s barely holding himself together the past twenty years, not your family – and not even you.”
Clark Bellevue has spent her entire life as the only human in the wolf pack - literally. Eighteen years ago, Clark was the accidental result of a brief affair between one of the most powerful Alphas in the world and a human woman. Despite living with her father and her werewolf half-siblings, Clark has never felt like she really belonged in the werewolf world. But right as Clark plans to leave the werewolf world behind for good, her life gets flipped upside down by her mate: the next Alpha King, Griffin Bardot. Griffin has been waiting years for the chance to meet his mate, and he's not about to let her go anytime soon. It doesn't matter how far Clark tries to run from her destiny or her mate - Griffin intends to keep her, no matter what he has to do or who stands in his way.
Fall in Love with the Dominant Billionaire
(Daily updates with three chapters)
Nanny and Her Four Alpha Bullies
A pack of their own
Strings of Fate
Like all children, I was tested for magic when I was only a few days old. Since my specific bloodline is unknown and my magic is unidentifiable, I was marked with a delicate swirling pattern around my upper right arm.
I do have magic, just as the tests showed, but it has never lined up with any known Magic species.
I can't breathe fire like a dragon Shifter, or hex people who piss me off like Witches. I can't make potions like an Alchemist or seduce people like a Succubus. Now I don't mean to be unappreciative of the power I do have, it's interesting and all, but it just really doesn't pack much of a punch and most of the time it is just pretty much useless. My special magical skill is the ability to see threads of fate.
Most of life is annoying enough for me, and what never occurred to me is that my mate is a rude, pompous nuisance. He's an Alpha and my friend's twin brother.
“What are you doing? This is my home, you can't just let yourself in!” I try and keep my voice firm but when he turns and fixes me with his golden eyes I shrink back. The look he gives me is imperious and I automatically drop my eyes to the floor as is my habit. Then I force myself to look back up again. He doesn't notice me looking up because he's already looked away from me. He's being rude, I refuse to show that he's scaring me, even though he most definitely is. He glances around and after realising that the only place to sit is the little table with its two chairs he points to it.
“Sit.” he orders. I glare at him. Who is he to order me around like this? How can someone this obnoxious possibly be my soul mate? Maybe I'm still asleep. I pinch my arm and my eyes water a little from the sting of pain.
I Am His Wolfless Luna
Ethan also kept emitting deep roars in my ear, 'Damn... I'm going to cum... !!!' His impact became more intense and our bodies kept making slapping sounds.
"Please!! Ethan!!"
As the strongest female warrior in my pack, I was betrayed by those I trusted most, my sister and my best friend. I was drugged, raped, and banished from my family and my pack. I lost my wolf, my honor, and became an outcast—carrying a child I never asked for.
Six years of hard-won survival turned me into a professional fighter, fueled by rage and grief. A summons arrives from the formidable Alpha heir, Ethan, asking me to return as a wolfless combat instructor for the very pack that once banished me.
I thought I could ignore their whispers and stares, but when I see Ethan's emerald-green eyes—the same as my son’s—my world tilts.
My Dominant Boss
Mr Sutton and I have had nothing but a working relationship. He bosses me around, and I listen. But all of that is about to change. He needs a date for a family wedding and has chosen me as his target. I could and should have said no, but what else can I do when he threatens my job?
It is agreeing to that one favour that changed my entire life. We spent more time together outside of work, which changed our relationship. I see him in a different light, and he sees me in one.
I know it is wrong to get involved with my boss. I try to fight it but fail. It is only sex. What harm could it do? I couldn’t be more wrong because what starts as only sex changes direction in a way I could never imagine.
My boss isn’t only dominant at work but in all aspects of his life. I have heard about the Dom/subs relationship, but it isn’t something I ever thought much about. As things heat up between Mr Sutton and me, I am asked to become his submissive. How does one even become such a thing with no experience or desire to be one? It will be a challenge for him and me because I don’t do well at being told what to do outside of work.
I never expected the one thing I knew nothing about would be the same thing to open up an incredible brand-new world to me.
The Moon's Descendant
“You think I’m going to let my daughter sleep with whoever she wants” he spat. He kicked me in the ribs, sending me flying back across the floor.
“I didn’t” I coughed, gasping for air.
I felt as though my chest had caved in. I thought I was about to vomit when Hank grabbed my hair and lifted my head. CRACK. It was like my eye had exploded inside my skull when he punched me in the face. I landed on the cold concrete and pressed my face onto the floor. He used his foot to roll me over so that I was on my back.
“Look at you, you disgusting c**t” he huffed as he crouched down beside me and wiped the hair from my face. He smiled, a terrifying evil smile.
“I have something extra special for you tonight” he whispered.
Hidden in the dark forest, on Cape Breton Island, lives a small community of Weres. For generations they remained hidden from the humans and maintained a peaceful existence. That is until one small woman joins their pack and throws their world upside down.
Gunner the future Alpha, serving as a knight in shining armour saves the young woman from certain death. Bringing with her a mysterious past and possibilities that many had long since forgotten, Zelena is the light they didn’t know they needed.
With new hope, comes new dangers. A clan of hunters want back what they believe the pack has stolen from them, Zelena.
With her new powers, new friends and new family, they all fight to protect their homeland and the gift that the Moon Goddess has bestowed upon them, the Triple Goddess.
Game of Destiny
When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.
Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.
When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
The Four Mafia Men and Their Prize
“Kiss back” he mumbles, and I feel rough hands all over my body giving me tight squeezes as a warning not to piss them off further. So I give in. I begin to move my mouth and open my lips slightly. Jason wastes no time devouring every inch of my mouth with his tongue. Our lips doing the tango, his dominance winning the race.
We break away, breathing hard. Next, Ben turns my head to face him and does the same thing. His kiss is definitely softer but just as controlling. I moan into his mouth as we continue to exchange saliva. He tugs my bottom lip slightly in his teeth as he pulls away. Kai pulls my hair, so I am looking up, his large frame towering over me. He bends down and claims my lips. He was rough and forceful. Charlie followed and was a mix. My lips feel swollen, my face feels all hot and flushed, and my legs feel like rubber. For some murdering psychotic assholes, damn can they kiss.
Aurora has always worked hard. She just wants to live her life. By chance, she met four mafia men Jason, Charlie, Ben and Kai. They are the ultimate dominants in the office, on the streets, and definitely in the bedroom. They always get what they want and THEY SHARE EVERYTHING.
How will Aurora adjust to having not 1 but 4 powerful men showing her the pleasure she only ever dreamed of? What will happen when a mysterious someone shows interest in Aurora and shakes things up for the notorious mafia men? Will Aurora finally submit and acknowledge her deepest desires or will her innocence be forever ruined?