All Zarinah wanted was to fall in love. Growing up, she had kissed her fair share of frogs. When an unconventional situation leads her to Lawson, her wishes might become reality. Lawson is the new CEO of his family's hotel casino chain. He's tired of aimless dating and women just wanting his money. When he meets Zarinah, he instantly feels like she's the one.

Known playboy and award-winning R&B singer Wesley Johnson Jr. puts his dating rules to the side when he has a second chance encounter with the woman he can’t stop thinking about. Finding himself in unchartered territory, he realizes he can’t rely on his fame to earn the affection of this one special woman. Will his new ways be enough for her to let her guard down, or will someone from his past ruin their chances together?

Morgan and Messiah share many things. Love, hate, lust, trauma, and children. They are bonded forever by the gift of parenthood, but Morgan's attachment to Messiah comes with immense pain. After the discovery of Messiah's condition, Morgan's conflict is intensified. She knows how healing the M&M bubble can be, but she also knows that Messiah has the ability to ruin her. Will Morgan finally take her second chance with her first love? Or will she make the hardest decision of all and let go of the past?

There are things that women want and things that women need. I know deep down, with every fiber in my body, that I need Mr. Ward. He started out as my landscape designer but became so much more. Now, my life is on the line while living with the devil himself. I have been torn down and broken, and I don’t think I can take anymore. The man I need was never the one I married. No, the man I need is the one I was never supposed to have. He’s the one who showed me gentleness, kindness, and true love. Ward would put up a fight for me at any cost.

I was never meant to live an ordinary life, and when I’m dropped from the sky into a haunting forest, facing the barrel of an unknown man’s gun, I believe it to be true. Ruler of Blackwater, Caz Harlow, is the man behind the gun. He’s broody, calculating, commanding and, surprisingly, I can hear every thought that runs through his mind. Because I can, he wants me out of his world and sent back to where I came from, so he makes it his mission to find a way.

The job offer she expected after taking an unpaid internship at a major shoe company didn’t come through. The friend who’d offered her a place to stay suddenly gave her 48 hours to vacate after a misunderstanding. And when she’s forced to move back to her hometown to live with her father and his mistress-turned-wife, it almost seems impossible for things to get any worse...until she runs into her former best friend, who’s only gotten fine with time.

For Maleek Jones, hockey is his wife. Everything and everyone else is his mistress, an aside. When unexpected responsibilities land in his lap, the balance of his world is disrupted, changing the way he sees everything.

Dr. Ezekiel Green is ready to make a fresh start in a new city after the divorce from his high school sweetheart. What was supposed to be a professional business dinner with a future colleague quickly transformed into a love at first sight encounter, or so he thought. Dr. Jemma Holiday was spirited, brilliant, beautiful, and another man’s wife.

Ashira, a belle from the suburbs, is the wealthy acting CEO of her father’s booming building firm. That's when she’s not the dancer on the Gram and TikTok, dating the latest Black Hollywood shooting star. To her, Jas, a construction laborer, is a walking conundrum. He’s fruitlessly ambitious yet steadfast in his spiritual convictions. He’s enigmatic, well-read, regimented, and poor. Oh, and a felon. An incredibly disarming parolee who wants no connection to her. Until he does.

You met them in the Valentine and Rose series. In this prelude, I will formally introduce you to Malik Anthony Clark, Tristian Neil Clark, and Langston Jamal Clark.

All Jerzey wanted was a family of her own. After things don't work out with her ex-husband, she takes matters into her own hands. Being a foster mom isn't easy, but having her best friend by her side to help makes it a little easier. That is, until the two blur lines and suddenly a friendship isn't enough.

Train. Fight. Repeat. That's been Princeton "The Prince" Lattimore's life for as long as he can remember. But when an interruption to his heavyweight champion world comes in the form of an alluring journalist who sees well beyond his undefeated stature, he quickly learns there’s a lot more to life outside of the boxing ring.

Tracy Strong has spent the last 10 years loving Africa. Africa Walker has spent the last 10 years loving Tracy. The only thing keeping them apart is everything. Travel back to 1985, New York City and experience being young, Black, and in love.

Andru is fresh out of prison, standing in the middle of a blessing and a curse. Just when he thinks all he’ll have to show for his life is the barbecue shop and street life, a beautiful, alluring woman walks in and steals his heart.

From the moment his eyes met hers, there was something. Time stood still, the world around them vanished, and electricity... instant electricity. Immediately, she owned him in an inexplicable way he couldn’t quite understand. He couldn't escape her. Not in his dreams. And soon, not even in his reality. He was the man that made her soar. There was nothing in the world she wanted more than him. Absolutely nothing. His touch made her levitate. When she was with him, she was limitless. He felt like home.

Coaching was never this difficult…until the rookie came along. I had no idea Amber Lakes would become a constant light in my miserable life. Her smile isn’t supposed to warm my heart, and the sight of her tears isn’t supposed to make want to protect her. We’re not supposed to touch, let alone kiss. We definitely aren’t supposed to exchange hidden stares while we’re around each other. Why? Because I stand to lose everything if we’re caught. But I’ve fallen too hard, and despite how big the risks are, I can’t seem to pull away from her.

Sometimes, people are so damaged, they can’t find their way out of the storm to embrace love. Rachel and Porter must decide if what they have is worth fighting for and if they are willing to trust in love - and each other. When you can’t completely trust your heart, sometimes it’s just as simple as letting go enough to just say you will.

With her acclaimed sports talent roster and unparalleled instincts, agent Zara Reid knows she can take Pure Talent to the next level. To make the most of her mentor Jax’s faith in her, she'll go head-to-head and scheme-to-scheme with Xavier to prove she's got what it takes. But suddenly, long days working too close together turn into reckless, insatiable nights. Now, being coworkers-with-benefits means Zara and Xavier must face their secrets, dare to trust - and negotiate the toughest game of all - love.

Nirvana Hart, 24, had been dealt a bad hand all her life. As a result of watching her dad shoot her mama and then himself, Nirvana was all alone in the world. The knight in shining armor she thought was there to save her was actually the devil in disguise. Being with her boyfriend, Prophet Morris, for six years, all she’d focused on was doing what she could to stay afloat and uncovering the truth about her past. Yet, at every turn, somebody sought to destroy everything she had built.

It all came down to me. The one who followed the rules, never went looking for trouble - I kept to myself. I just wanted to take care of my family. To not constantly look over my shoulder, worried about the things that went bump in the night. I just wanted to survive. But that wasn't meant to be. As luck - or fate, or something - would have it, the trouble found me. I followed a rabbit through the wreckage of a half-ruined world to get back what was mine, and wound up at the end of it. In Wonderland. But there's nothing magical about it.

Meet Justice, the beautiful bombshell with a slick mouth and the attitude to match it. Running a drug empire is hard enough, but try being a female while doing so. In a profession that’s mostly men, she has no problem stepping up and getting it done in her stiletto heels and a Glock on her hip. Anytime she walks in the room, people notice her, and there’s nothing but respect. When the plug dies, and she has to meet with his son, she finds out that there may be more to life than being the head of an empire.

The night Jennifer Monroe meets Vance Etienne, the father of a young woman in her life, she knows he's her one. But somehow, she finds herself thinking of the past with her ex-husband more often than she should. There's no doubt about what Vance and Jennifer feel for one another. Can they let the hurt of the past go to focus on their future? Will their pasts be willing to release them from its grasps to pursue an intentional and all-consuming love?

A brutal tragedy ended Ivy Hill’s happy family and childhood. Now in her 20s and severely troubled, she barely has a life - or much to live for. Until the day she discovers the name of the woman who destroyed her world: Lola Maxwell - the mega-wealthy socialite with a heart, Miami’s beloved “first lady” of charity. Accomplished, gorgeous, and oh-so-caring, Lola has the best of everything - and doesn’t deserve any of it. So it’s only right that Ivy take it all away....

Asim Nour is the type of man who appreciates life and all that it has to offer. He’s been in the streets for years and is now realizing the benefit of building his legal status as well. Both worlds keep him busy and his pockets full. As much as he appreciates his status, the women appreciate it more. Kyori Spencer is the type of woman who takes full advantage of all life has to offer. Even if it’s not by way of her own bank account. It just so happens that the man she committed herself to, has loosely committed himself to several other women. When is enough, enough?

Donovan Barron, aka Young, is Southside to the heart, and nothing can change that, not even an NBA career. Refusing to conform has led to Young being dubbed as "Atlanta's Bad Boy". Living lowkey and making money are his only priorities until he is forced to switch it up. Stony Dorrian refuses to let anyone tell her how to live her life any longer! For too long, she has allowed her parents to control everything in her life. Officially fed up, a chance meeting allows Stony to live a carefree for once, and it just might change her life forever.

Serena Howard and Blake Russell are two driven individuals with tunnel vision when it comes to their goals. The two meet in Philadelphia, and there's instant chemistry between them. They date, have fun, and eventually fall for one another. Will the desire to achieve their goals interfere with their feelings for one another? Will they sever ties, or will their connection be too strong to break?

The only things in Jersey Kincaid's world that she has time for are keeping her grades up so that she doesn't lose her scholarship to South Texas University, playing the bass in her band, The Prototype, and satisfying her coffee addiction. Oh, and the occasional random hook-up she indulges in to pass the time. Love? Eh, not so much. Save that crap for a Katherine Heigl or Natalie Portman movie. That's why when Jersey meets Isaiah "Zay" Broussard, with his soulful gray eyes, quick wit, and easy charm, she's determined to remain aloof.

Career-driven and goal-oriented is what Suny Daniel is. After studying under the best surgeons in Texas, she's ready to make a change. That change leads her back to her roots in New Orleans. A mishap with her current boyfriend on New Year's Eve lands her in bed with the mysterious Kross Stockley. Kross Stockley is a wild card, one that tends to shy away from relationships and commitments. The moment that he meets Suny, he is immediately drawn to her. He quickly realizes everything that what he thought he didn't want, turns out to be exactly what he needs. But at what cost?

For Naomi Prescott, it's not just a cute little saying. It's a critical mantra, words to live by if she wants to retain her freedom, and, more importantly, her life. Impeccable planning is the only way to ensure she sets off the small flutters that will trigger the big ripple she needs to pull off the score of a lifetime - no matter the stakes. FBI Agent Marcus Calloway is a straight-shooter...if you overlook his sometimes unconventional, law-skirting, expensive ways of solving a case. A big arrest would do wonders to restore his reputation, and he has one woman in mind: Jolie Voleuse.

Chance Washington only has a few things on his mind when he embarks on a trip back to his hometown. Completing the assignment for work that's sending him there in the first place, helping his mom make progress on her fixer-upper home, and catching up with some of his best friends who he doesn't get to see often enough. What is not a part of those plans is hooking up with the little sister of one of his best friends.