The Last Ferryman
elohobeauty123 · Completed · 61.3k Words
Introduction
"Call me Dominic. And I could say the same about you."
Grace should've known better than to trust the gorgeous stranger who stepped onto her ferry. But when he offered her money, then his bed, she couldn't resist.
"This is just sex," she tells him.
"If that's what you need to believe," he replies, pulling her closer.
The attraction is raw. Dangerous. Every night in his hotel room, she tells herself she'll stop. Every morning, she goes back for more.
Until she finds the photograph.
Marcus Cross. The man she sent to prison. The man who died there.
Dominic's brother.
"You knew," she said. "This whole time."
He doesn't deny it. "I came here to destroy you, Grace. And I'm not finished yet."
Some men seduce you for love. He did it for revenge.
Chapter 1
The ferry engine coughed like an old man with emphysema. Grace barely noticed anymore... it had been making that sound for three months, and she didn't have the money to fix it.
She wiped her hands on her jeans, leaving grease stains that wouldn't come out no matter how many times she washed them. The morning fog was thick over the river, turning everything gray and lonely. Just how she liked it.
"Grace! You got a passenger!"
She looked up. Rita was waving from the dock, her bright yellow raincoat the only spot of color in the whole damn town. Grace squinted through the mist.
A man stood next to Rita. Tall. Dark suit that probably cost more than Grace made in six months. He had one hand in his pocket, the other holding a leather briefcase. Even from here, she could tell he didn't belong here.
Grace groaned. Probably some government inspector coming to tell her the ferry wasn't up to code. As if she didn't already know.
She guided the boat to the dock, the wood creaking under her boots as she jumped off to tie the ropes. The man was watching her. She could feel his eyes tracking every movement.
"Morning," she muttered, not looking at him.
"Good morning." His voice was deep, smooth. The kind of voice that made you pay attention whether you wanted to or not.
Grace straightened up and finally met his eyes. Her stomach did a weird flip.
He was... Jesus. Dark hair, sharp jawline, eyes so blue they almost didn't look real. The suit fit him perfectly, showing off broad shoulders and a body that clearly spent time in a gym. Everything about him screamed money and power.
Everything she usually hated.
"You heading across?" she asked, keeping her voice flat.
"I am." He stepped onto the ferry without waiting for permission, moving with the kind of confidence that came from always getting what you wanted.
Grace bit back a comment and untied the ropes. Rita gave her a look... wide eyes and a raised eyebrow that said who the hell is that? Grace shrugged and climbed back behind the wheel.
The engine sputtered to life. The man had taken a seat on one of the worn wooden benches, but he wasn't looking at his phone like most passengers. He was looking at the town disappearing into the fog behind them.
"First time here?" Grace asked, because the silence was getting weird.
"Yes."
"Business or pleasure?"
"Business." He turned to look at her. "Though I'm finding the view more interesting than I expected."
Grace's cheeks heated. Was he... flirting? No. Men like him didn't flirt with women like her... women with engine grease under their fingernails and permanent exhaustion in their eyes.
"Town's slowly dying," she said bluntly. "If you're looking to invest, you're about five years too late."
"Maybe I like a challenge."
She snorted. "You look like the type who does."
His mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "And what type is that?"
"Rich. Bored. Thinks he can fix things that aren't his problem."
"Interesting assessment." He stood up and walked toward her, each step deliberate. Grace's grip tightened on the wheel.
He stopped close enough that she could smell his cologne... expensive, woodsy, the kind that probably had a French name. "What if I told you I have a very personal interest in this town?"
"I'd say you're full of shit then."
This time he did smile. A real one. It transformed his whole face, made him look younger, almost... dangerous.
"You're not what I expected," he said quietly.
"Yeah, well. Life's full of disappointments."
Grace focused on steering, but she was hyper-aware of him standing there. Watching. The crossing usually took twelve minutes. It felt like an hour.
When they finally reached the other side, she tied off the boat and held out her hand. "Four dollars."
He pulled out his leather wallet and handed her a hundred-dollar bill.
Grace stared at it. "I don't have change for this."
"Keep it."
"I don't need your charity."
"It's not charity. Consider it payment for the conversation." He picked up his briefcase and stepped onto the dock. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you again, Miss...?"
"Grace."
"Grace." He said her name like he was tasting it. "I'm Dominic Cross."
He held out his hand. She didn't want to take it. Every instinct screamed that this man was trouble. But she reached out anyway, and his hand closed around hers... warm, firm, certain.
The handshake lasted a second too long.
"Welcome to hell, Mr. Cross," she said, pulling away.
He laughed, a low sound that did things to her she absolutely did not want to think about. "I've been to worse."
Grace watched him walk away, his suit jacket perfect even in the humidity, his stride confident like he owned the place.
Rita appeared beside her, breathing hard from running down the dock. "Who was that?"
"Trouble," Grace muttered.
"Good trouble or bad trouble?"
Grace looked down at the hundred-dollar bill in her hand, then back at Dominic's retreating figure.
"Haven't decided yet."
Last Chapters
#62 Chapter 62 Epilogue - The Last Ferryman
Last Updated: 5/2/2026#61 Chapter 61 Moving Forward
Last Updated: 5/2/2026#60 Chapter 60 Verdict
Last Updated: 5/2/2026#59 Chapter 59 Testimony
Last Updated: 5/2/2026#58 Chapter 58 Rebuilding
Last Updated: 5/2/2026#57 Chapter 57 The Endgame
Last Updated: 5/2/2026#56 Chapter 56 The Hunt
Last Updated: 5/2/2026#55 Chapter 55 Rescue
Last Updated: 5/2/2026#54 Chapter 54 Under Siege
Last Updated: 5/2/2026#53 Chapter 53 No wahala escape
Last Updated: 5/2/2026
You Might Like 😍
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates
"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."
I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.
Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.
"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."
New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.
Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates
When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.
But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
Let Them Kneel
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.
But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.
Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.
When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.
For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.
Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.
But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.
And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.
Especially him.
She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.
Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
Pregnant by My Husband's Rival Alpha
Those words should have destroyed me, but the truth was worse: I'd been used as a broodmare by the man who swore to love me, set up in a hotel room with a stranger because My husband Alexander Cross couldn't father children himself, and now I carried the secret babies of Damon Lester—the most powerful and dangerous Alpha in San Loris—while my own family replaced me with the daughter they'd always wanted. But when that same stranger's doctor appeared at my door, when twenty million dollars exchanged hands over a fake perfume bearing my secret identity, and when Damon's gray eyes locked onto mine with recognition I couldn't afford, I realized my carefully hidden life as the legendary perfumer Vera was colliding with a pregnancy that could cost me everything.
Could I protect my babies from the husband plotting my death, hide my true identity from the Alpha who's been hunting me for years, and reclaim the freedom I'd buried along with my dreams—even if it means standing alone against the wolves who see me as nothing more than a womb to be used and discarded?
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother
"What is wrong with me?
Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?
It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.
He’s my boyfirend’s brother.
This is Tyler’s family.
I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.
**
As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.
Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.
When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.
I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.
**
I hate girls like her.
Entitled.
Delicate.
And still—
Still.
The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.
Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.
I shouldn’t care.
I don’t care.
It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.
It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.
I’m not here to rescue anyone.
Especially not her.
Especially not someone like her.
She’s not my problem.
And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.
But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
Dan Belinni: Pregnant by the Lethal Mafioso
Dan Belinni was raised inside violence, trained in the blood-soaked discipline of the Outfit until he became its sharpest weapon. At nineteen, he is already known for illegal fights, brutal enforcement, and a temperament that turns any challenge into punishment. He doesn’t believe in mercy. He doesn’t believe in love. He believes in control.
Milena Lima has spent her life surviving, not living. An undocumented immigrant in Chicago, she works herself to exhaustion just to stay afloat and protect the only stability she has left—her friend María. But when she loses her job and her visa expires, Milena becomes invisible to the law and vulnerable in ways she never imagined.
Desperate, she steps into a Belinni-owned nightclub, hoping to earn enough to survive another week. One stage. One performance. One decision.
That is all it takes for her to cross paths with Dan Belinni.
He is not a man who lets go.
And she is not a woman who submits.
But beneath survival and violence lies a truth neither of them is ready for—Milena is tied to a mafia legacy she never chose, one that makes her both a target and a claim in a world where women are never just women.
When their worlds collide, obsession replaces restraint, and a single night changes everything.
Because in Dan’s world, love is not given.
It is taken.
The mafia princess return
Accidentally Crossing the Tycoon
Four years ago, the Bailey family faced a devastating financial crisis.
Just when bankruptcy seemed inevitable, a mysterious benefactor emerged, offering salvation with one condition: a contract marriage.
Rumors swirled about this enigmatic man—whispers claimed he was hideously ugly and too ashamed to show his face, possibly harboring dark, twisted obsessions.
Without hesitation, the Baileys sacrificed me to protect their precious biological daughter, forcing me to take her place as a pawn in this cold, calculated arrangement.
Luckily, in those four years, the mysterious husband never asked to meet in person.
Now, in the final year of our arrangement, the husband I've never met is demanding we meet face to face.
But disaster struck the night before my return—drunk and disoriented, I stumbled into the wrong hotel room and ended up sleeping with the legendary financial mogul, Caspar Thornton.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
BROKEN TRUST
Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.
Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.
Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
Taste of Fate: The Vampire King's Human Mate
He reached for the back of my head and pulled me up just enough to reach my neck. When his fangs slid into me, the pain was instant, electric. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My hands found his shoulders, clawing for something to hold. My legs kicked. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
He moaned against my throat as he drank, and the sound was devastating.
Human Capture (Up North #2)
Raised in a starving settlement choked by a vast, unforgiving forest, Lara learned early that survival has a price. To keep her family alive, she became a master hunter—agile, silent, and deadly with an array of mismatched blades. But the forest has eyes, and one evening, the shadows dragged her away.
Nine months later, Lara breaks free from a concrete dungeon, only to find herself stranded in the lawless, rogue-infested wilds of Avers Land alongside four captured werewolf girls. Seeking refuge in the neighboring territory of Illyen, she expects to find a way back to her human life. Instead, she is brought face-to-face with Alpha Rowan, the terrifying, ruthless ruler of the frozen North.
One look into Lara’s eyes, and the Alpha’s world shatters. His eyes turn an absolute shade of black. The bond is undeniable. She is his fated mate.
But a human cannot survive the brutal political landscape of the North, and Rowan openly rejects the bond, dragging her onto a warship bound for a kingdom that views her as a fragile liability. Trapped between a mate who refuses to love her and a court of monsters waiting for her to break, Lara must use every hunter's instinct she possesses. Because in the realm of wolves, a human must either grow claws of her own—or perish in the snow.
The Blackthorn Saga: The Heir (Book 1 & 2)
Pulled into a hidden world he never knew existed, Kruz is forced to face the truth—he isn’t just different.
He’s a vampire.
The transformation is only the beginning. Thrust from a life of survival into one of power, wealth, and expectation, Kruz is given a position no one his age should hold: District Elder.
With it comes authority. Responsibility. And enemies he doesn’t yet understand.
And then there’s the bond.
Forced into a connection he didn’t choose, Kruz is tied to a girl—whether he wants it or not. She’s a complication. A problem. A constant reminder that his life is no longer his own.
Because the one person he wants… is the one he can’t have.
As pressure builds and danger closes in, Kruz is forced to walk a line few survive—between duty and desire, control and instinct, the life he had and the one being forced upon him.
Because in this world, power isn’t earned slowly.
It’s given.
And if you’re not ready for it—
It will destroy you.
The Princess's Revenge
Alpha Logan is an illegitimate son whose mother disappeared when he was 10 years old. He grew up suffering from humiliation and lacking maternal love.
Alpha Logan saves Valencia at Marcus's funeral, which seems to be destined by fate—part of the Moon Goddess's grand plan.
As Valencia accidentally discovers prophecies in Logan's mother's diary that seem to be related to her, the truth gradually surfaces. Valencia appears to be merely a tool in a princess's revenge plot. How will Logan and Valencia navigate their path amid the national war and pack politics?
