《The Juggernaut》Preview of PARADOR
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Jayce returned to his seat, downed what remained in his glass (not for courage, he told himself) and leaned toward Ellie. ‘Hey. Wanna get out of here?’
Ellie grinned into her glass. She glanced around, feeling suddenly guilty, but thankfully Tila was nowhere in sight.
Ellie nodded and set her glass down. ‘Where are we going?’
‘Let’s go for a ride. We can get out of here for a couple of hours. No one will notice. We can take my cruiser.’
‘What about your friends?’
‘Chrissy and the others know how to stay out of Blake’s way. I don’t think Blake’s guests will be a problem. The staff can handle things. If someone doesn’t have a good time, I guess they can blame Blake. It’s his place, you know?’
‘And, um, what about my friends?’
‘They’re not going anywhere. Malachi’s gone to cool off and Tila’s looking for him. We don’t have to be away for long. If you don’t want to…’
Ellie thought this over, then nodded again. ‘Okay.’ She didn’t know if she was nervous about leaving with Jayce or excited to see what his cruiser could do on the open road. A drive through the countryside at night sounded exciting. Maybe even… romantic?
It helped that the cruisers here were nothing like the tiny spacecraft back home. They weren’t held together with spare parts and wishes. And a slow drive would be a novel experience.
They slipped off their chairs and into the night. Jayce led them toward the garage’s garden entrance. Ellie felt Jayce’s fingers brush against the back of her hand, but she kept her eyes forward and her hands to herself. There was still no sign of Malachi, which was beginning to worry her. She couldn’t see Tila either, although that was a relief more than a concern. Tila had been more prickly than usual tonight, if such a thing were possible, and she had already made it perfectly plain she had no interest in making new friends on Parador.
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But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t, Ellie thought.
They passed through a stone archway, artfully built to appear far older than it really was, and entered the gardens proper. By now, the crowds had begun to disperse throughout the grounds and into the house, and Ellie could finally appreciate just how much space there was within the perimeter wall. Jayce (or Blake, she thought, making a face in the dark) certainly had a lot of up to call his own.
The trees and plants surrounded them in a way which suggested careful planning, not wild growth. They crunched along a path of bleached gravel which curved through the garden, around flower beds, under green canopies, and over a small bridge which spanned a little stream. The water bubbled and splashed happily over the rocks below them. The liquid music drowned the background noise of chatter and laughter until it seemed the whole garden was only for them.
‘You get to live here? It’s amazing. Everything is so… so alive.’
‘There're limits to what we can do with the place, you know, ’cos it’s owned by the company, but sure, it’s not a bad little house.’
Ellie dismissed the technicality with a wave. ‘But you get to live here.’
Jayce nodded. He caught Ellie’s eye and said, ‘I guess it’s good to be surrounded by beautiful things.’
Ellie nodded too, still looking around at the garden in wonder. Then she realised that Jayce was looking at her, and what he really meant. She blushed, grateful for the shadows.
‘Is that the garage?’ she asked, changing the subject, and turned toward a low building near the brick wall.
Jayce kicked an unfortunate pebble from the path as soon as her back was turned and followed.
‘Yeah. One of them.’ He hoped Ellie couldn’t hear the disappointment in his voice.
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Ellie kept up a brisk pace to reach the door to the garage, forcing Jayce to keep up with her. She looked back at the house, a little puzzled.
‘I thought we arrived on the other side.’
‘We did. That was the main garage. This is where the guests park. Wanna see?’
He touched the door control with one hand while the other again, optimistically, reached for Ellie’s.
The door slid open and there stood Tila with her hand on the internal door control.
She looked as surprised as they. Her eyes darted around the scene, first to Ellie, then to Jayce, then to their hands, touching, then back at Jayce.
Tila frowned, snatched Ellie’s hand away from Jayce’s and pulled her into the garage.
‘What—’ began an indignant Ellie before Tila cut her short.
‘Malachi’s gone.’
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[Alternative Recode]
Parallel universes exist. Ten years ago, a terrorist organization called Liroli waged an all-out war against the World Order, bent on obtaining the means to travel between these parallel universes. Although the war ended with the government's victory, it was not without consequences. A poisonous element known as Lorine began leaking from the other worlds, bringing a plague that wiped out a third of humanity — the infamous May Death. Those infected gained strange abilities, in exchange for their certain death in a year. To counter the great plague that threatened humanity's survival, the government launched the World Restoration Project: gathering those infected and sending them into Lorine-polluted parallel worlds to seal the leaks between them. But it isn't that easy a task, as many dangers lurk behind these worlds, while those infected must deal with their own looming deaths. This is the story of Jack Waterfelt, the only human in the world immune to the May Death, and the 43rd Sealing Squad.
8 162After Ragnarok (GL - Norse Progression Fantasy)
The Twilight of the Gods has come and gone Yggdrasil burned and the realms shook, but even endings end. Now the prophecies are over, the world tree regrows, the Aesir and Vanir stalk the empty halls of their once mighty realms as mortals grow and flourish, in this new age they have tamed steam and steel covering the nine realms in iron rails and grand castles, warm homes and busy foundries each grander than the last, this is the Age of the Dawn, and its already in danger. In this new age lives a a young vitki (wizard) called Erika who has just had an accident with some very expensive reagents. Now driven by a desire to avoid disappointing her mother Erika joins an expedition chasing rumors of an ancient relic that just might decide the fate of the age. As a prisoner from before Ragnarok strains at his chains, Erika will find herself in a saga of her very own leaving her with only one choice, grow stronger or fall. Norse progression fantasy, NOT litrpg, LGBTQ+ protagonist
8 174His Dirty Little Secret//Jayceon Taylor, The Game
Natasha started as a drug runner for Jayceon Taylor, a gang-Lord, when she tries to run Jayceon comes to punish her. Taking one look at her he realises the state she's in, she's been beaten and sexually abused. He takes her home to fix her up, but once the dirt and blood is washed away, he notices everything. Her beautiful eyes, her hour-glass figure, her dark chestnut hair, her dark skin. Everything. But a gang isn't the place for love. They must keep their secret love affair a secret. But things that happen behind closed doors can be opened. The secret will spread.Then what will happen?
8 181The tribrid and her mates
this is only my second story so I hope you all like it this is my FANFICTION so I'm writing it my way and this is about a you g twin sister to Hope Michaelson and her name is Mekare Michaelson she meets and falls in love with all four boys but how long before her father ruins everything or excepts it only time will tell
8 97Mr. CEO's Fiery Nanny
I beg to differ that.", I sassed and got out of his grip ready to move out of the room when he pulled me by my elbow and the next second I was pushed on the visitor's chair.He trapped me completely by keeping his palms on the arms of the chair. "I tried to tell you patiently.", I scoffed at his words. Patience and he don't go in a single sentence. He gripped my chin making me look into his eyes."Now listen carefully Miss, I want you for my niece as her babysitter. Tell me how much you'll take and we can seal the deal."This time it was me who blinked once, twice and thrice."But I don't want to work for you." See the reason was absolutely clear. I liked the kid since the moment I met her but I hated this man from the moment I gazed into his eyes. "How much?"I frowned."You really think your money can make everyone dance on your tips?""1200 dollars a week."I rolled my eyes making him lean towards me." 1500?""Make it 15000 and still I won't work for you.", I retorted and pushed him. I walked to the door and gave him one glance."Next time when you talk to me, make sure you keep all your richness aside. That's one thing that I never want to see you again, you self-centred CEO.""We shall see."...Brave but lonely.Passionate but sensitive.That's Arielle Summers. For everyone, Money, Assets and happiness may be supreme but to her, self-respect is prime.Cold and reckless.Commanding and ruthless.That was Nicolas Arnold. He only cared for his niece, his Mama and his friends.Love life didn't exist until-she came into the picture. *No Toxic Relationship. No ex-crush/lover/fiance/wife. The male lead is the uncle of the child in this book, he's not a manwhore. There are no trust issues. *Impressive Ranking: #8 in love among 2.31M on 09/04/22©2021 ankitawrites_XxCC: @YT_BookAwards_Covers
8 202WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! (ON HOLD)
Male reader (Ork) x My Hero AcademiaDisclaimer: I do not own the vids, pics, Orks from Warhammer 40k and My Hero Academia. It belongs to their respective owners (vids and pics) Games Workshop (Orks Warhammer 40k) and Horikoshi Kōhei (My Hero Academia).
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