The Marine Next Door II
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The Hockey Prince's Secret Ice Queen
All I wanted was to find a computer genius to process the non-linear dynamic equations for my ecological model. Instead, I found myself cornered by Julian Andrews, the university's hockey prince, trading a public, staged kiss for his academic support. To finalize our "deal," I was dragged to the campus ice rink. The cheerleaders and puck bunnies immediately swarmed him, mocking my plain clothes and treating me like a pathetic joke. Brooke, the head cheerleader, even set up a figure skating competition with a date with Julian as the grand prize. She performed a basic spin, blew him a kiss, and smugly waited for me to fall flat on my face and humiliate myself. His hockey teammates laughed from the sidelines, watching me try to support Julian as he stumbled around the ice like a newborn giraffe. But as I held his warm hand to keep him from falling, I couldn't help but feel something was terribly wrong. Why was a top-tier athlete faking such awful balance? And why did his ice-blue eyes stare at me with such knowing anticipation, as if he already knew about the professional figure skating past I had spent years trying to bury? "Just let go and skate." He whispered, slowly releasing my hand. I took a deep breath, glided to the center of the rink, and landed a flawless double Axel. As the entire rink fell into a dead, shocked silence, I realized I had just exposed not only my own hidden past, but also the biggest secret of the campus god.
Chapter 1 No.1
Sage POV:
"Let me kiss you."
The request was a low, hurried murmur—warm, quiet, and laced with the faintest edge of mortification.
Stunned, I snapped my head up toward the sound.
Julian Andrews filled my vision. He easily towered a head over me, his lean, athletic frame silhouetted against the bright morning glare, casting a long shadow across the cobblestones. Briar University's star forward. Team captain. The athletic department's untouchable golden boy.
Campus rumor had it that Julian was notoriously indifferent, never sparing anyone a second glance.
Behind him, a solid wall of navy-and-gold varsity jackets blocked the brick path. His teammates were whistling, shoving each other, and effectively cutting off my only exit.
The sudden commotion immediately bottlenecked the morning foot traffic. Whispers rippled through the crowd, and within seconds, a dozen students reached into their pockets out of sheer muscle memory, black camera lenses catching the light as they aimed squarely at us.
Julian's sharp eyes tracked the movement, his jaw tightening into a hard, irritated line.
Before I could take a single defensive step back, he closed the distance between us. Leaning down into my space, his broad shoulders shifted in a subtle, fluid maneuver—throwing up an impenetrable physical wall that completely shielded my face from the intrusive glare of the cameras.
His sharp, striking face hovered breathtakingly close. His deep baritone brushed against my ear, lost to the autumn wind, meant for me alone:
"Sorry to drop this on you," he whispered, his pale blue eyes disarmingly earnest, holding a quiet heat that sent a tremor straight down my spine. "The guys backed me into a locker-room dare... but I'm not here to use you as a joke. We can fake it. Angle it so it looks real—whatever you're comfortable with. Just help me get them off my back, and I owe you one."
It was only then that my brain finally rebooted.
What on earth? He's actually trying to kiss me?
A sharp flare of pure absurdity hit me, and my gaze dropped to my reflection in the dark glass door of the adjacent building: an oversized, faded gray hoodie that swallowed my frame whole, soft, thin jeans worn at the knees, bare-faced dark circles carved beneath my eyes from forty-eight hours of non-stop coding, my dark hair hastily twisted into a cheap plastic claw clip, and a pair of oversized, thick black-rimmed glasses sitting heavy on the bridge of my nose, completely hiding my face.
I looked like a refugee from an all-night disaster. How had Briar's golden prince ended up in front of me?
When I looked back up, my breath trapped in my throat anyway. He was too close, his clean scent of winter mint and cedar wrapping around my senses. Having those pale blue eyes staring straight down at me made my chest tighten in a way I really didn't want to acknowledge.
"Clock's ticking, Cap!" Landon howled from the sidelines, hands cupped around his mouth as the rest of the players lost their minds laughing. "Plant one on her, or enjoy the five-AM bag skate!"
A raucous chorus of barks and chest-thumping went up from the team.
A few yards away, two girls heading toward the dining hall froze in their tracks, pointing their phones.
"Wait, who the hell is that?" one of them laughed loudly, zooming her camera in on my face. "She looks like she just crawled out of a dumpster. There's no way Julian's actually kissing her. Post it on Sidechat right now—this is going straight to number one."
The cruel words hit like a splash of ice water, snapping me out of my daze and instantly killing the stupid flutter in my chest.
I hated the attention.
Four years ago, after my family and my former training partner framed me and destroyed my competitive skating career, I swore I would never be public entertainment again. I buried my name, switched majors, and hid behind oversized fleece and thick glasses just to live an invisible life. If I ended up on the campus forums with Julian Andrews, the internet vultures would dox me before noon—and drag up the toxic scandal I had bled to walk away from.
My research was already on the verge of falling apart. I didn't have time for this circus.
I locked my grip around my heavy binders, my knuckles straining white.
"Find someone else for your dare, Andrews," I said coldly, taking a step back to put distance between us, my voice tight with adrenaline. "I'm not interested in being part of your game. Move."
I kept my head down, attempting to brush past him.
"You're Sage Kelley, right?"
The sound of my name brought my boots to an immediate halt.
I blinked up at him, caught completely off guard.
"Professor Beaumont's senior research student," Julian straightened up slightly, his cadence measured and even, carrying an intellectual sharpness that seemed impossible beneath a varsity jacket. "I saw your Havenwood Creek senior capstone proposal sitting on his desk over Sunday dinner."
My heart gave a hard, hollow thud. Professor Beaumont was my academic advisor—and the guardian of the final research endowment my late father had left behind.
Julian leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a near-whisper against the whistle of the wind. "I spent an hour going over your codebase."
My lips parted. "You... read my proposal?"
"Your simulation keeps crashing because your core fluid algorithm strategy is flawed," Julian murmured, his pale blue eyes deadly sharp. "And Uncle Des mentioned that if you don't deliver a working version by this Friday, the department is pulling your grant—which means you don't clear your senior thesis, and you don't graduate in May."
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
Friday was the deadline. If the funding was pulled, the project died, my senior capstone failed, and I would be forced to stay another semester without my degree. Worse, my father's final ecological legacy would be reduced to scrap paper.
I had been panicking over that exact deadline for two days straight, and Julian had just laid it out like it was nothing.
Worse, I couldn't even brush him off. I had heard the rumors about Beaumont's nephew—the CS prodigy everyone in the department talked about. I just had never realized it was him.
"I know how to fix your algorithm," Julian stated plainly, laying his cards on the table, his gaze locking onto mine with an unshakeable, quiet certainty. "Help me get through this bet. In return, I'll rewrite your boundary calculations tonight. Deal?"
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Next Door
Chelle grew up in a poor neighborhood with her dad as a waiter, recently orphaned with her dad and baby sister they head to America until her grandfather died, when she came back to clean his now abandoned house. Jadiel grew up in the same poor neighborhood Chelle did but he loved her from the first
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The Playérs Next Door
Frenemies My eyes peeled open as a full blast of sunshine hit on my hard. All day having cool friends and people around me
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The Sociopath Next Door
Life was perfect for Sarah, an 18-year-old college freshman whose loving parents, Mark and Linda, owned a successful chain of hardware stores in their comfortable Oregon town. That idyllic life shattered when her cousin Jessica's trailer tragically burned down, and Sarah's kind-hearted mother, feel
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THE ALPHA NEXT DOOR
Feei has lived her life far away from pack life. Choosing to be oblivious, casting away her old life, she's set on carving a new one until Alpha Keagan moves in next door derailing all her carefully laid out plans.
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The Psychopath Next Door
'Are you sure you still want to get an apartment? I heard that there is a ghost that appears there at night' I just suddenly remember what my friend said about this apartment building. It's a bit old but when you go inside it's very beautiful and simple even though it's small. But at the time... i
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My Bully Next Door
Ella James has spent most of her life being overlooked, underestimated, or laughed at. At school, she's the girl in the oversized hoodies. The girl people make jokes about. The girl no one chooses. After years of disappointment, Ella has learned not to expect much from anyone-especially not from B
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The widow next door
After the mysterious death of her husband, Evelyn Blackwood becomes the widow next door-quiet, elegant, untouchable. Neighbors whisper. Men watch. No one gets close without consequences. Then Julian Vale moves in. Powerful and unreadable, Julian is far too interested in Evelyn's grief. Unlike others
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The Player Next Door
After having her heart broken by her childhood friend turned boyfriend, Rylie Myers was convinced that love wasn't for her. The arrival of Blake Weston, a hot teen model and playboy who coincidentally turned out to be her new next door neighbor only added to her conviction that all boys were the sam
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The Alphas Next Door
Fleeing an abusive husband with nothing but a half-packed duffel and her six years old daughter, Kaia didn't expect salvation to come with a job offer. Good pay. Free housing. Zero drama. At least, that's what her best friend promised. But nobody warned her that her neighbors growl when they're tu
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The Unseen Killer Next Door
Twenty years. Twenty years our lives had been haunted by the ghost of a distorted lullaby and an antique music box, the only clue left behind by the monster who murdered my wife Jennifer' s parents. Just when a new murder-a replica of the old horror, right next door-offered a flicker of hope, I fou
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Love's Next Door
In a moment of weakness, the CEO of a prestigious company succumbed to the charms of a mysterious girl in a one night stand that resulted in a love triangle. The CEO is now torn between the two women in his life – his fiancé and the woman from his past. As each event unfolds, revelations of betrayal
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The Secret Heiress Next Door
Lila Morgan keeps to herself.She hides her truths, stays invisible, and never lets anyone get close. Until Ethan Clarke moves next door.Handsome, warm, and impossible to resist, he pulls her from the shadows... and makes her believe in a love she thought was out of reach. But her past is hunting her
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LOVE NEXT DOOR
A girl fell in love with her next door neighbor but unknowingly to her he is a mafia boss and also a college student. They both fall in love with each other and their love blossom but what will happen when she find out his secret and also that his father is behind the death of her parents. Find out
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A Billionaire Next Door
Kaitlyn Rhodes has everything under control - her thriving event design business, her chic apartment in Pinewood Estate, and a carefully curated life that leaves no room for chaos. But control shatters the morning a phone call changes everything. Her company is suddenly on the verge of collapse, th
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The surrogate boss next door.
"When Emily's demanding boss Alex becomes her neighbor, their strained relationship reaches new heights. As they navigate their unconventional living situation, Emily uncovers the hidden vulnerabilities behind Alex's tough exterior, revealing a complex and intriguing individual. But with their diffe
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Flower Boy Next Door
Rita Anderson is a 25 year old Nurse, who is allergic to Flowers. It causes her unbearable and uncontrollable sneezes. Because of this, She hates Flowers. Her allergy was as a result of a childhood trauma caused by her Father, who is a hardened criminal. He also traumatized his wife, Rita's Mother
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A Night With The Guy Next Door
WARNING!!! 18+ He was watching me as I rode his cock. With our eyes locked together, l began to feel it, it felt so fucking good. His eyes traveled from my eyes , down over my body and stopped at my southern parts. He watched me as I fucked him. It was such a turn on that l couldn't stop , no matt
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Sold To The Billionaire Next Door
Growing up in a poor household, Emilia and her family struggle to make due until their left with nearly nothing. So when the billionaire of a world famous business comes knocking at their door offering them money it naturally sparks interest. But with great money comes a great price. That price bein
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FALLING FOR THE HOTTIE NEXT DOOR
21+ WARNING!!!! THIS BOOK CONTAINS STEAMY MATURE CONTENTS, NOT SUITABLE FOR UNDERAGE... "Every good girl wants a bad boy who is good only for her." "Every bad boy wants a good girl who is bad only for him." "Whenever you are looking for love don't look too far he might be right next door."
