70 Book(s) Related to leah carter

The same golden September morning the town pathologists' teenage daugher is discovered hanging off a tree in the woods above Assisi (Umbria, Italy), the high-powered planning director of Perugia narrowly escapes death in a paragliding accident.  Commissario Lorenzetti senses foul play.  The police department is overstretched and he asks his best friend and fellow investigator Sister Lucia to look into the suicide.  But will her judgement be clouded by her own guilty secret? This is a story about leaps - real and metaphorical, taken and not taken.

Derek Chen—a forty-year-old, overweight, balding photographer—has hit rock bottom. Fired by his boss Morgan and humiliated by supermodel Mia Harrington, he's left homeless, bitter, and consumed by rage. His descent into depravity began long before: secretly filming women, groping assistants, nursing a festering hatred of the world that rejected him.

But one drunken night in a Los Angeles park changes everything.

When Derek stumbles upon Mia—passed out, vulnerable, and alone after discovering Morgan's infidelity—he seizes his chance. What begins as a brutal assault transforms into something far more twisted when Mia witnesses Morgan's betrayal firsthand. Shattered by her boyfriend's cruelty and trapped by Derek's blackmail footage, the nineteen-year-old icon makes a choice that will destroy them both: she submits.

Now Derek holds the leash—literally. Mia Harrington, the world's most desired woman, has become his collared pet, his willing slave, his instrument of revenge. And Morgan? He'll watch it all unfold.

“Mate!” He said out loud, and I felt the feeling engulf me.
We entwined our lips with the ecstasy of finding each other. His hands were pressing me close to his body as though he wanted me to enter into his body.
If that was possible, I wouldn't have refused.
I had not looked at his face, and so, I raised my head.
“Red… re–d eyes.” I couldn't keep my mouth closed.
My eyes were fixed at him as I stepped backward.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
His hands wanted to touch me, but I didn't let them. When he was too close, I turned in the direction of the exit as I raced out of the hall.


Leah had dreamed that a man with red eyes was going to be her killer.
She had an innate ability to see future events through her dreams, and they always came true, and it made her parents come to the understanding that the dream had revealed her fate.
In order for her to look for a way to find a solution, she was advised by her parents to attend the mating ceremony to find a mate.
Everything became crazy for her when her found mate turned out to be the same man in her dreams. She had run away from the hall of the mating ceremony, and had lost focus in everything.
She had seen another problem, but was she going to reject her mate for being the same man in her dreams?
Her mate, Grimes, wasn't in the best of situations either. The day he found Leah as his mate, was the same day he discovered his mistress was pregnant for him.
What was he going to do to overcome all these obstacles that were against his being with Leah?

Valentina has spent her entire life learning how to disappear.

Growing up in Tepito, she knows that surviving means staying invisible—keeping her head down, finishing her studies, and dreaming of a future far away from Mexico City, where her family might finally be safe. She never wanted power, danger, or attention. She only wanted out.

Everything shatters the night her cousin Paloma’s secret pulls her into the ruthless world of the Cruz cartel.

After witnessing an internal betrayal, Paloma becomes a liability. A girl is murdered to send a message. And Valentina, cornered by fear and desperation, makes a single reckless choice that seals her fate—stealing cartel merchandise in a failed attempt to survive.

There are no second chances in this world.

Now trapped inside a violent criminal organization where trust is a myth and mistakes are paid in blood, Valentina comes face to face with the most dangerous man in the cartel. A man who does not forgive. Who does not forget. Who does not release what belongs to him.

Survival is no longer about escape.

It is about submission, power, and the devastating cost of being claimed by the enemy.

And Valentina is about to learn that in the cartel’s world, temptation is never harmless—and loving the wrong man can be deadlier than any bullet.

JAVIER HERRERA is the heir to one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico, shaped by a legacy of ambition and rivalry. From a young age, he learned to play the game of power, maintaining a cold and impenetrable facade. However, his arranged marriage to a woman who despises everything the cartel stands for begins to awaken unexpected feelings. When she reveals she’s pregnant, he finds himself facing a dilemma: his loyalty to the cartel or the love that’s starting to grow in his heart.

CAMILLE MENDONZA has always opposed the cartel world, living a life of independence and freedom. But her life changes drastically when she’s forced to marry Javier Herrera, the heir to a rival cartel, to seal the peace between their families. As they try to coexist in a relationship marked by resentment, unexpected feelings begin to blossom between them. When she discovers she’s pregnant, she faces a dilemma: use this new life as a bargaining chip to reclaim her freedom—or surrender to her feelings.

“Between love and revenge, my heart became the most dangerous weapon.”

What could go wrong if your prison pen pal ends up being the son and heir of the head of the Castillo cartel? What more could go wrong when your overprotective dad is a DEA agent who is determined to take him down?

When Elena Torres, the daughter of a DEA agent, lost a bet and decided to write a prisoner, she had not expected to get in contact with the son of a cartel boss, Marvin Castillo.

What she also didn’t expect was for him to get released from prison or for him to take an interest in her.

She was known to be the good girl. He was known to be a monster.

It was clear that fate didn’t want them to be together, but what the universe did not know was that these two were destined to determine their own path.

Emma Anderson has everything in her life worked out. She has her perfect job in a Manhattan empire allowing her to live a quiet and organised safe existence. A necessity to her, after a childhood filled with bad memories, abuse, and a mother who was less than useless. But, with it comes a problem, one that could derail everything she thought she needed in her life. Her promotion sends her straight into the close employment of young, gorgeous, playboy billionaire, Jacob Carrero with his formidable reputation for being a player. Stuck as his right-hand man, every waking moment of every single day, she realises he is exactly the type of person who could drive her crazy, and not in a good way. Like chalk and cheese, he is everything she’s not. Compulsive, confident, laid back, dominant and fun, with a seriously laid back attitude to casual sex and dating. Jake is the only one with an ability to steamroll over her manicured ice maiden exterior, who is not phased by the closed in demeanour and cool manners, but as much as she wants to, letting him in is another thing entirely. A past that made her man wary and no desire to ever let one close enough to hurt her again, Jacob Carrero has his work cut out. He is not someone who takes NO for an answer and will have to learn how to break through if he wants more than the mask she shows the world. Jake needs to show her that even some one like him can change when that one girl that matters breaks through. Love-able sexy characters and deep emotional topics. Contains some mature, adult content and language.

Excerpt

"What were you trying to do, Qiyara?" My eyes devour the harshness of his hungered swallow and his clenched trembling fist set against the wall. His raging heat that bounds me within, I find unfathomably irresistible.

"I was merely dancing, Cronus." A feverish breathless lie I spout engraving the way the tip of his hot tongue peeks out his mouth to caress his plump lower lip. I wish to obtain a taste of what he can offer.

My ample breasts heave achingly to stroke his wicked flesh, his eyes set aflame to my words for he knows I hold no truth. Then I shall gladly be a sinner, his sinner.

"If you were trying to make me jealous so that I would lose my control and ravish you then you are wrong. I have trained to be a master of control since I was a mere pup. Do not test me." He does not understand, my desperation for him to ram himself raw & deep within me.

"You won't touch me." I move forward swiftly to taste the nape of his neck with a seductiveness. My hand descends his sculpted flesh to embrace his straining girth that is fastened under his jeans. Succumb to me, my male.

He seizes my wrist with brutality. "You are still young, you are not ready." He is too much of an honourable male for me.

"Fuck me, Cronus. Take me against this wall." I am relentless in my lewdness. I lure him into my den.

"Stop it, Qiyara!"

Blazing eyes meet his with a formidable determination. "Then I will keep going against you. I shall be the devil for I will entice you because I ache to feel it."

"Feel what?" He questions nose flaring, his wrath to my stubbornness soaring.

"You lose control."


The forbidden fruit, that was what Cronus was to me. He was one of my brother's closest friends and the most sought-after male who many females from diverse packs fawned over praying he would end up being hers. He was a charmer indeed for with those flirty smiles of his and genuine kindness he enthralled many including me. He was thirteen years older than me but I always had a thing for older males so it started out as a covert crush until I too stood in line with the rest of the females hoping to claim him as mine. However, my position in that line of thirsty females was not last as I had expected but first for Cronus ended up being my mate just as I yearned for, the moon's gift.

Forbidden fruit? Not anymore, Cronus is mine and I am going to gobble this male up.

“You’re mine now,” Viktor said, advancing closer.

Lyra shrank back. “I—I’m not…”

“You are, Lyra. Whether you like it or not.”


Taken captive in a deadly game of revenge, Lyra is at Viktor’s mercy. He is cold, heartless and a ruthless mafia don.

The rule for her freedom is simple: she will never see her sister again.

But as days trapped in his world turn into weeks, she begins to see what is beneath his cold exterior.

Will she fall for him? Or escape at the slightest chance she gets?

Emma Anderson has everything in her life worked out. She has her perfect job in a Manhattan empire allowing her to live a quiet and organised safe existence. A necessity to her, after a childhood filled with bad memories, abuse, and a mother who was less than useless. But, with it comes a problem, one that could derail everything she thought she needed in her life. Her promotion sends her straight into the close employment of young, gorgeous, playboy billionaire, Jacob Carrero with his formidable reputation for being a player. Stuck as his right-hand man, every waking moment of every single day, she realises he is exactly the type of person who could drive her crazy, and not in a good way. Like chalk and cheese, he is everything she’s not. Compulsive, confident, laid back, dominant and fun, with a seriously laid back attitude to casual sex and dating. Jake is the only one with an ability to steamroll over her manicured ice maiden exterior, who is not phased by the closed in demeanour and cool manners, but as much as she wants to, letting him in is another thing entirely. A past that made her man wary and no desire to ever let one close enough to hurt her again, Jacob Carrero has his work cut out. He is not someone who takes NO for an answer and will have to learn how to break through if he wants more than the mask she shows the world. Jake needs to show her that even some one like him can change when that one girl that matters breaks through. Love-able sexy characters and deep emotional topics. Contains some mature, adult content and language.

Carlos ran his hands up his torso to his neck and face, Jesus ran his hands across his face and through his hair, and Maximo just sat there, staring at me with desire. His gaze made me nervous, and on Wink I felt myself get wet. Oh God! Why was I getting horny?!
*
It happened so quickly I didn’t know what was happening until I was pulled out of the room. I was pressed against the wall outside of the office and noticed it was Maximo that had pinned me against the wall.

“What is your relationship with your bodyguard?” He asked angrily.

I looked deeply into his eyes, noticing his rage. “We fuck.” I said bluntly.

He grabbed my throat cutting off my air. I grabbed his arms scratching him. “Stop!” I pleaded. “Please, stop!”

He finally let go, I fell to the floor coughing. He pulled me back up and pinned me back against the wall. “What the fuck is your problem!” I screamed in his face.

“You do not talk to me that way, mi amore.” He responded. I looked into his eyes questioningly. “You are mine, Fallon. I have decided you will not be with that bodyguard of yours anymore.” What the hell! He cannot tell me what to do.

“No!” I yelled into his face and spit.

He slammed me against the wall, pulled a handkerchief out of his breast pocket and wiped his face. “You will not fight me, mi amore, you will be mine and only mine.”

“You should be with someone comparable to your status, Ms. Martin.” Maximo said through gritted teeth. He leaned over and smelt my neck, taking my smell in. I shivered. My stomach tightened and I almost felt my pussy tighten until I pulled myself back to reality.
*
I never would have thought that at 21 I would be married to the most ruthless and powerful Hernandez drug cartel leader to walk this earth. But to understand that story, we must start from the beginning.

My name is Fallon, Fallon Martin. I was born in Dallas, Texas to Mary and Teddy Martin. My parents own a successful import, export, and transportation company called Martin Enterprise. They own over 40,000 tractor trailers, 6 ports on the water, and 100 depots throughout the United States. But they didn’t start off so well, so they joined forces with the Hernandez family, who fronted my parents millions of dollars to get their company off the ground.

The Hernandez family ran the biggest drug and sex-trafficking cartel in all of Mexico. They ran the country with their money, drugs, guns, and women. But they wanted to expand and needed ties to the United States. That’s where my parents came in. They could send the drugs and women up with the tractor trailers and could be traded at the depot stations throughout the United States, and it worked, they expanded their business by 5 times and grew more powerful than anyone would ever have imagined.

But the heat on the cartel and my parents got to be too much so my parents relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, when I was 8, uprooting everything I had ever known. We moved into a mansion on the outskirts of the city, and then my next life began.

Mona would do anything to get money for her mother's surgery, even if it means accepting a rich, spoilt girl's bet. All she has to do is get caught in some incriminating photos with billionaire tycoon Ian Harrison.

Easy peasy.

Until it's not.

Caught in the billionaire's twisted web, in a world of wealth, glamour and deceit, Mona will soon learn that everything isn't as it seems, and there's more to Ian that meets the eye.

But first, she must protect her heart from being crushed under his cruel hands.

She needed the job. She did not need him.

Zara Cole has spent her whole life hiding what she is. A rare elemental with the power to bend energy, light, and fire to her will. In a world where magic is real but ruthlessly controlled by those with enough money to weaponize it, being discovered means being owned. So she keeps her head down, her abilities buried, and her ambitions quietly enormous.

Then she is hired as a senior analyst at Voss Enterprises, the most powerful corporation in the city. Its CEO, Dorian Voss, built his empire on a secret darker than anything Zara has ever run from. Ruthless, magnetic, and dangerously perceptive, he sees through her carefully constructed walls the moment she walks through his door.

He wants her abilities. She wants his resources. What neither of them plans for is wanting each other.

But something ancient and malevolent is moving through the city's elite, consuming powerful beings from the inside out and leaving nothing behind. The trail leads directly to the boardroom of Voss Enterprises and to a villain so deeply embedded in Dorian's world that exposing them could destroy everything he has built.

Zara did not survive this long by trusting powerful men.

Dorian did not build an empire by letting anyone close enough to burn it down.

They are each other's greatest risk.

They might be each other's only way out.

After we divorced, I went to a psychiatrist when I felt that I needed to be fixed. The doctor said it was called Stockholm Syndrome, the violence that had bound me for the past three years had to end immediately, but my ex-husband Andrew always chased me everywhere.

Chiara Benedetti thought her wedding day would be the start of her freedom, instead, it becomes her descent into hell. Before she can say "I do," the chapel doors are torn off their hinges by Nico Ferraro, the brutal Don of the Ferraro family and her father's greatest enemy. He doesn't come for blood; he comes for his property.

He reveals a chilling truth: three years ago, her father sold her to him in a blood debt, and her entire life has been nothing but a fraud to hide the transaction.

Nico doesn't want a wife. He wants a possession to break. He expects Chiara to cower, to beg, and to kneel but Chiara is made of the same iron as the men in her world. She fights, she provokes, and she talks back, turning her captivity into a psychological battlefield. Her defiance doesn't disgust Nico, it intoxicates him. What begins as a cold exchange of power spirals into a dark, erotic obsession that neither can control.

As Nico introduces Chiara to the darker edges of his desire, scenes of rough possession and degradation, she is terrified to realize she doesn't just endure him; she craves him. When a rescue attempt by her former fiancé offers her a way out, Chiara makes a choice that shocks everyone: she stays. Not for love, but for the dark intensity only Nico provides. Caught between a secret rebellion within Nico’s own family and a rival family demanding her head, Nico must decide if he will sacrifice his empire to keep the woman he swore was just a debt. In a world where love is a weakness, their mutual destruction might be the only thing that makes them feel alive.

CAMILLA WALTERS thought she had come to the end of the road when fate caught up with her. Nowhere left to run or hide, on the verge of becoming fish food at the hands of drug runners she owed a lot of money to. That was until fate brought her ALEXI, head of the family CARRERO - The unexpected hero who saved her ass and changed her life in one easy maneuver. Who knew she would have to sign her soul over to the devil in a bid to stay alive and in doing so, lose her heart and mind in the process. This is not your typical hearts and roses story - Let the games begin and the war commence.

Emma Anderson has everything in her life worked out. She has her perfect job in a Manhattan empire allowing her to live a quiet and organised safe existence. A necessity to her, after a childhood filled with bad memories, abuse, and a mother who was less than useless. But, with it comes a problem, one that could derail everything she thought she needed in her life. Her promotion sends her straight into the close employment of young, gorgeous, playboy billionaire, Jacob Carrero with his formidable reputation for being a player. Stuck as his right-hand man, every waking moment of every single day, she realises he is exactly the type of person who could drive her crazy, and not in a good way. Like chalk and cheese, he is everything she's not. Compulsive, confident, laid back, dominant and fun, with a seriously laid back attitude to casual sex and dating. Jake is the only one with an ability to steamroll over her manicured ice maiden exterior, who is not phased by the closed in demeanour and cool manners, but as much as she wants to, letting him in is another thing entirely. A past that made her man wary and no desire to ever let one close enough to hurt her again, Jacob Carrero has his work cut out. He is not someone who takes NO for an answer and will have to learn how to break through if he wants more than the mask she shows the world. Jake needs to show her that even some one like him can change when that one girl that matters breaks through. Love-able sexy characters and deep emotional topics.

SOPHIE HUNTSBERGER found her way to a new life and new family when she ran from the physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her father. She has blossomed and healed in ways she never imagined she would or could be within the safe arms of her adoptive family.
ARRICK CARRERO has been her rock, her best friend, and her protector for years, but even he cannot get to the root of her growing emptiness.
Sophie is lost.
And she's reaching out for anything to fill the void and cure whatever ails her.
When Sophie realizes the answer has been within arms reach all along, she’s unable to prepare herself for Arrick’s spiraling emotions.
What was once innocent now comes into question - and life does not always let the heart prevail.
Characters that will break your heart, as well as each other.
Contains some mature, adult content and language.

On our fifth Anniversary party, Harris got admitted to the City's Hospital.

Cancer. Stage IV.

I struggled to find words to whisper some comforting words to Harris .

Instead, he held my hands, and said,"It's alright, Darcy."

"Don't be afraid of anything that may happen. Even if I am about to die, I will always be with you."

Even when he was dying, he made sure to comfort me, which bled my heart.

I spent my days researching treatments, draining my savings for "miracle" consultations.

Then came the afternoon I went to his office early to surprise him with the appointment letter with Dr. Wilson, a world famous surgeon.

Harris had been trying to contact him for weeks now. But, everytime he declined him bluntly, only this time when I tried to contact him personally, his assistant reached out to me.

Finally, he had a chance to be saved. I cried tears of joy. I wanted to share this good news with Harris as soon as possible.

But, My hands, almost pushed open the door, , a Lively and joyous laughter echoed through my ears.
"Is the paperwork ready?"

I slightly opened it ajar and peered inside.
I froze on the spot.

Clara was sitting on Harris's lap, clutching to his shoulder like she owned him.

"Everything," Harris' voice sounded, confident and excited.

"By the time 'cancer' takes me, Harris Hudson will be dead, life insurance will be processed, and you and I will be halfway across the world with a clean slate."

Clara. Harris' first love. The one he told me was a 'closed chapter' years ago.

Something broke into my heart.
I froze at my place.

The cancer, the treatment, it was all a lie orchestrated by Harris to elope with Clara?

From Book 1: EMMA ANDERSON has everything in her life worked out. She has a perfect job in a Manhattan empire, allowing her to live a quiet, organised and safe existence. A necessity after a childhood filled with abuse, bad memories, and a mother who was less than useless.She’s worked hard to get where she is - and she has just landed an amazing promotion. But it comes with a problem - and one that could derail everything she thought she needed in her life.Emma’s new role is as the right-hand man for billionaire playboy JAKE CARRERO. He’s exactly the type of person who could drive her crazy - and not in a good way.Chalk and cheese - he is everything she’s not. Compulsive, dominant and confident, with a seriously laid-back attitude to casual sex and dating.Jake is the only one with the ability to steamroll over Emma’s manicured, ice maiden exterior. But Emma has no desire to let anyone close enough to hurt her again.Jake needs to show Emma that even someone like him can change when that one girl that matters walks into your life.Loveable, sexy characters, and deep emotional topics. Contains some mature, adult content, and language.* * * * * *The Carrero Series contain three trilogies and two bonus books.

Cara is a talented, humble, and ambitious actress who longs for success and fame in the entertainment world. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Vincent, a handsome werewolf with dark secrets. Fascinated by his mysterious aura and his promise to make all her dreams come true, Cara is tempted to make a deal with the devil to sell her soul. With Vincent's supernatural power, her career takes off, but as she gains fame and fortune, she begins to realize that she has made a deal with devastating consequences. In order to save her soul and break free from Vincent's grasp, Cara must fight against the darkness that surrounds her, facing her worst fears and discovering that there are more important things in life than success and fame.

Plot Twist:
Just when Cara thinks she has found a way to break the pact and free herself from Vincent's control, she discovers that he is not really the leader of the werewolves but merely a pawn in a much larger game. It turns out that there is a Supreme Alpha in their species, who has been manipulating Vincent and others like him to achieve his malicious objectives. Now, Cara finds herself caught in a war among werewolves, where she must decide whether to join the rebel forces seeking to overthrow the Alpha or seek her own revenge against Vincent for deceiving her. In an unexpected turn of events, Cara discovers a hidden power within herself that could change the course of the battle and bring an end to the tyranny of the Supreme Alpha. On her journey for revenge, Cara becomes the last hope for her species and desperately fights to liberate the werewolves from their oppressor and reclaim her own freedom.

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS: MURDER AND BREAKFAST is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews.Marie Fortune, 39, a successful dog groomer in Boston, has had enough of catering to the wealthy and their pampered dogs. Realizing it is time to make a change, she quits and heads to a small coastal town in Maine where she remembers fond summers as a kid. Marie expects to go for a brief getaway—and is shocked to learn that her great-aunt left her an inheritance: a dilapidated, historic house high up on a hill overlooking the harbor. Marie feels an instant connection. Although the locals tell her it would be folly, Marie decides to renovate and give it a second life as a B&B.But there is one thing she couldn’t have planned for: the house is haunted.Two things, actually: her great-aunt also left her a dog—and he is far from a typical dog.When an unexpected death occurs soon thereafter, solving the crime will be more than just a matter of curiosity for Marie—her very future may depend on it.A page-turning cozy, packed with mystery, love, hauntings, travel, pets and food—anchored around a small town and a B&B in need of renovation that will capture your heart—THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS is an un-putdownable cozy that will keep you turning pages (and laughing out loud) late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)Books #2 and #3 in the series—DEATH AND BRUNCH and MALICE AND LUNCH—are now also available!

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS: DISASTER AND DESSERT is Book #6—and the finale!—in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews!Marie Fortune, 39, a successful dog groomer in Boston, leaves the stressful life behind and heads to a small town in coastal Maine to create a new life. She remains intent on renovating the old, historic house her great-aunt left her and giving it a new life as a B&B. Yet there was one thing she couldn’t plan for: the house is haunted. Two things, actually: her great-aunt also left her a dog—and he is far from a typical dog.In the series finale, Marie finds her own future on the line as a murder occurs near her premises, and she is forced to solve it or else be implicated. With her rival innkeeper involved, it could hardly get any worse.As if that is not enough, this series finale brings to a head many questions: will Marie finally find her mother and what will happen between them? Will Marie end up with Robbie? With Brendan? Will she finally be able to claim her gifts, without Boo's help? And will she decide to stay and run the B&B—or be forced to leave this small town that has become her life?A page-turning cozy, packed with mystery, love, hauntings, travel, pets and food—anchored around a small town and a B&B in need of renovation that will capture your heart—THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS is an un-putdownable cozy series that will keep you turning pages (and laughing out loud) late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)Don’t forget to check out Sophie Love’s other cozy mystery series, A CURIOUS BOOKSTORE, which begins with A FATAL FOLIO (Book #1), a bestseller with over 50 five-star reviews!

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS: DEATH AND BRUNCH is Book #2 in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews! Marie Fortune, 39, a successful dog groomer in Boston, leaves the stressful life behind and heads to a small town in coastal Maine to create a new life. She remains intent on renovating the old, historic house her great-aunt left her and giving it a new life as a B&B. Yet there was one thing she couldn’t plan for: the house is haunted. Two things, actually: her great-aunt also left her a dog—and he is far from a typical dog.Other B&B owners have heard of Marie’s ability to expel ghosts, and she finds herself, to her own surprise, in demand for her “services” from neighboring towns. It seems there are many B&Bs that need to have their ghosts cleansed. With her B&B failing, Marie, her trusted dog as her sidekick, has nothing to lose.But when she arrives to her first client—and someone unexpectedly dies—Marie realizes she may be in for more than she bargained for. Once again, she may have to solve the crime to save her own future.A page-turning cozy, packed with mystery, love, hauntings, travel, pets and food—anchored around a small town and a B&B in need of renovation that will capture your heart—THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS: DEATH AND BRUNCH is an un-putdownable cozy that will keep you turning pages (and laughing out loud) late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)Book #3 in the series—MALICE AND LUNCH—is now also available!

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS: MALICE AND LUNCH is Book #3 in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews!Marie Fortune, 39, a successful dog groomer in Boston, leaves the stressful life behind and heads to a small town in coastal Maine to create a new life. She remains intent on renovating the old, historic house her great-aunt left her and giving it a new life as a B&B. Yet there was one thing she couldn’t plan for: the house is haunted. Two things, actually: her great-aunt also left her a dog—and he is far from a typical dog.When Marie, her reputation for ghost-cleansing growing, is summoned to exorcise an old manor house, she finds more than she bargained for: an unexpected death occurs.Worse, her trusted dog gets so sick, he is sent to the vet indefinitely.Marie, on her own, must solve the murder and expel the ghosts all by herself.Is she up to the task?A page-turning cozy, packed with mystery, love, hauntings, travel, pets and food—anchored around a small town and a B&B in need of renovation that will capture your heart—THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS: MALICE AND LUNCH is an un-putdownable cozy that will keep you turning pages (and laughing out loud) late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS: VENGEANCE AND DINNER is Book #4 in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews!Marie Fortune, 39, a successful dog groomer in Boston, leaves the stressful life behind and heads to a small town in coastal Maine to create a new life. She remains intent on renovating the old, historic house her great-aunt left her and giving it a new life as a B&B. Yet there was one thing she couldn’t plan for: the house is haunted. Two things, actually: her great-aunt also left her a dog—and he is far from a typical dog.When Marie is invited to exorcise a supposedly haunted house, she encounters a twist she never could have anticipated. But before she can wrap her mind around the situation, a man turns up dead—forcing her to solve the case and to clear her own name.A page-turning cozy, packed with mystery, love, hauntings, travel, pets and food—anchored around a small town and a B&B in need of renovation that will capture your heart—THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS is an un-putdownable cozy series that will keep you turning pages (and laughing out loud) late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS: SCANDAL AND SUPPER is Book #5 in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews!Marie Fortune, 39, a successful dog groomer in Boston, leaves the stressful life behind and heads to a small town in coastal Maine to create a new life. She remains intent on renovating the old, historic house her great-aunt left her and giving it a new life as a B&B. Yet there was one thing she couldn’t plan for: the house is haunted. Two things, actually: her great-aunt also left her a dog—and he is far from a typical dog.When Marie is hired to cleanse a unique and massive hotel in a nearby town, the scope of it is beyond anything she has encountered before. Just as she wonders if she has finally met her match, she learns that her local Mayor is trying to re-zone the downtown—and to shut down her B&B while he’s at it. Having a murder in the mix—for which she is pinned—hardly helps matters, either. In a multi-front war for her survival, can Marie manage to purge the ghosts, stay out of jail, and keep her livelihood?A page-turning cozy, packed with mystery, love, hauntings, travel, pets and food—anchored around a small town and a B&B in need of renovation that will capture your heart—THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS is an un-putdownable cozy series that will keep you turning pages (and laughing out loud) late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)

"You know what? Your expression when playing chess looks like you're about to murder someone," I laugh, cornering his king. "Checkmate."

In that moment, I catch a flash of surprise in his eyes, followed by a dark emotion I can't quite decipher.

He stands abruptly, his tall figure looming over me. "No one wins at my game, Miss Valencia. No one."


Oliver Kang, a twenty-eight-year-old billionaire, carries a secret beneath his icy exterior—a rare condition that makes human touch unbearable, leaving him isolated in a world of wealth and power. His life of calculated precision shatters the night he catches Dallas Valencia attempting to steal from his mansion.

Their deal is simple: work as his maid or face the police. But when Oliver discovers something impossible—that Dallas's touch doesn't trigger his painful reactions—his carefully constructed walls begin to crumble.

Dallas Valencia never planned to become the personal maid to New York's coldest billionaire. With an empty bank account and a stubborn spirit, she accepts his ultimatum, determined to endure his arrogance until she can escape. What she never expected was to become the only person who could physically touch him—the cure to his lifelong affliction.

"What have you done to me?" he traps me against the wall one night, his voice low and raspy. "Why is it only you?"

Everyone says love is the strongest feeling in the world. That you can do anything for the ones you love.

I don't agree with them.

There is no emotion stronger than betrayal. It is a powerful weapon that can make you do anything, be anything.

Especially when that betrayal comes from the people you put above everything else.
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Locked away her entire life, Eloise only craved one thing, freedom to run around in her shifted form like other werewolves. But when her 18th birthday came, she was told she was going to get married. The news triggered her wolf and she began to shift. She was taken by surprise when her family used their witch magic to lock her wolf inside her. The magic pushed into her was too much that she blacked out.

When Eloise regained consciousness, she couldn't feel her wolf inside her anymore. But that became the least of her problems as she realized she was no longer among her kind, she was in the midst of dragons. Creatures who hunt her kind for fun.

She was given one choice to escape execution. She must learn how to use her unstable magic to heal the dragon shifters of a terrible plague.

Betrayed by her family and left with no other options, Eloise enrolled in Drakmor College, where she must survive deadly trials and hatred of the students surrounding her.

A werewolf in the midst of her mortal enemies. Will she survive and return safely to her kind, or will she succumb to the horrors of Varethin?

“Who can't control themself now?” I smirked, certain I had gained the upper hand despite the arousal soaking my underwear.

His jaws flexed as he closed in on me, his hands on either sides of the island, his musky scent invading my senses. My gaze involuntarily went to his bare chest, trailing the muscled planes, the six packed abs, and finally settled on the visible bulge in his sweatpants.

He grabbed my hand and placed it on his erection, his eyes lidded with lust. I stifled a moan at the sheer size of him.

“I never said I could control myself around you, Princess.”
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Stephanie expected to hate her stepbrother even before she moved in. He was everything she wasn't. Charming, easygoing, but with an ego the size of Mount Everest.

He infuriated her in ways no one had ever done, but he also managed to tempt her. She hated being vulnerable, but he managed to make her reveal her vulnerability.

When the step siblings were brought together by their shared love for motorcycles and the zeal to destroy an opponent, they were forced to put their differences aside for their goal.

It was just supposed to be for one weekend. Right?

She wasn't going to fall for him, not when he was forbidden in every way possible. He was her stepbrother, her nemesis, and she loathed him.

It didn't matter that he was the only one that made her heart race with excitement at the mere sight of him.

Rhianna Evangelista with her mother and younger sister Ylona was imprisoned in a mansion far from town and in a remote area owned by her stepdad Don Ysmael who's a well-known Drug Lord in the country who could not be apprehended and not get caught because of the connection he has.

Because Rhianna wanted to save her mother and sister, even herself. She decided to run away from his stepdad to save her mother and younger sister. Then, she met Leonardo Estralta Jr., an Agent who saw her and protected her. She became a member of their organization and had the intent to hunt down and overthrow the people behind in helping Don Ysmael.
was forbidden in the group.

However, as time goes by, Leonardo falls in love with Rhianna and realizes that he loves her. Is he ready to relinquish the role of their group for the woman he loves and be with her until they get old and form a family with Rhianna or will he put aside his feelings and continue to serve the town?

THIS BOOK IS A SEQUEL BUT CAN ALSO BE READ AS A STANDALONE. FOR MORE CONTEXT, READ “THE BILLIONAIRE'S CURE” FIRST

“I want nothing more than to fuck your brains till you remember who the fuck you belong to, Millie.” he breathed,

I leaned closer to him on instinct. I wanted to tell him to do that. To fuck me till my voice became hoarse from screaming his name. But I couldn't risk everything just for a moment with him anymore.

I pulled away, the words tasting bitter as they spilled out of my mouth, “I would never be yours again.”

The evil grin on his face was evidence that he knew how much of a liar I was.
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Years after Heather walked out of her old life, she had gotten almost everything she wanted. A perfect job and amazing friends who cared about her. The only problem was her new boss's cousin who was also her ex-boyfriend.

Heather tried everything to avoid Ethan and the questions he would ask: “Why did she leave him?”

But after she moved in to a new apartment and realized they were neighbors, she couldn't avoid him forever.

Dark secrets from the past uncovered and a mystery person from Heather's old life appeared, their presence threatening to destroy the new life she had built for herself. Or worse. The man she had once left everything for.

As the secrets revealed, Heather had to choose between preserving her multiple identities and keep lying to the people she loves, or come clean to them and risk them hating her forever.

She had to find a way to do both without losing anything. Will she succeed in her quest and get back the love of her life? Or would her worst fear come true when he realized he couldn't love all versions of her?

“I’m going to kill you, but first, I want to kiss you...” he groaned, his hands tightening on my throat and eyes lidded with lust.

His grip wasn't tight enough to hurt, just enough to show dominance. He would never hurt me, I was certain of that.

I leaned forward, my lips hovering just above his, our breaths mixed.

“Then kiss me already, QB.” his nostrils flared and then he slanted his lips with mine.
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Harley Smith had the perfect life, until she didn't. One unfortunate accident had her mother in a coma and her father's business going bankrupt. Left with no choice, Harley struck a deal with her enemy: tutor him and get paid.

When the star quarterback of the school is suddenly out of the league for senior year because of a knee injury, Asher is forced to find alternative ways to get into college aside football. He couldn't stand school, nor could he stand Harley, his twin brother's best friend. But she was his only shot at a future outside of football.

The two are forced to work together for their benefits. How far will they keep their alliance before years of rivalry tears it apart? Or will their alliance evolve into something more?

"You're nothing but a replacement."

My husband said it with his eyes every time he looked through me to see her face. His mistress said it with that slow, satisfied smile. My own brother—the one I would have died for—proved it the night I saw him looking at her like she hung the moon.

I married a man who never once saw me.

I worked myself hollow for a family that used me like a tool and called it marriage. I gave up my career, my research, my dignity. I even gave up the right to be sick—because I have stage-four cancer and I haven't told a single soul.

I'm dying. And nobody knows.

But here's what they didn't count on: I'm not gone yet.

Before I go, I'm taking everything back.

Some women burn quietly until there's nothing left.

I'm done burning quietly.

My fiancée, with whom I've been in a relationship for three years, has threatened to break off our engagement for the hundredth time, forcing me to donate a kidney to her adopted brother, who's faking illness and acting like a hypocrite.

My biological parents even threatened to sever ties with me: "You have a healthy body. Ian has nothing but us. You can't even bear to part with a kidney. You're so selfish and cold-blooded!"

They don't know that my hands, which I used to play the piano, had already been crushed by gangsters while cleaning up their mess; they also don't know that at this moment, I have a critical illness notice for late-stage bone cancer in my pocket.

Seeing the undisguised disgust and indifference in my fiancée's eyes, I swallowed the taste of blood in my throat and calmly signed the consent form for the live organ removal.

"Okay, I'll donate. I'll give you back my life along with it."

Later, I died like a dog on the rusty operating table of a shady clinic, my bones and marrow completely drained.

But when I was truly reduced to dust and left without even a complete corpse... the truth about my vicious foster brother faking illness was exposed.

The aloof and arrogant female CEO who once treated me like trash went completely mad overnight.

She knelt desperately before my nameless grave, plunged a sharp knife into her abdomen, and collapsed in a pool of blood, pleading for me to see her one more time.

Blake pinned me against the edge of the desk, his fingertips scorching, papers scattering across the floor. "Stop lying to yourself," he murmured coldly, "You need me."

I should have hated him—his father was the prime suspect in my parents' death, yet his touch made me tremble. "I hate you…" I gritted my teeth, but my voice was weak.

He smirked, his grip tightening, "Yet your body is responding to me." His fingers slid deeper, "So wet, and you still say you don’t want me?"

"Ah…Blake…" I arched my back, my sanity crumbling.

He chuckled softly, "Good girl."


After Emma's parents passed away, she was supported by the Reynolds family, particularly Gavin. She gradually fell in love with him. After knowing each other for ten years and being together for five, she accidentally discovered Gavin's ambiguous relationship with Sophia, his late brother's widow, just as she was about to marry him.

Then fate led her to an emotional entanglement with Blake from her partner company, but it also hinted that the car accident that caused her parents' deaths seemed to be related to Blake's father...

The man who healed her wounds might be the son of the man who destroyed her life. Thunder roared as Blake’s key turned: "Emma?" Standing before the evidence, her heart was torn. When love and vengeance collided, what would she choose?

"Those need polishing. Kit's in the bottom drawer."

Heat flooded my face. "Julian, please—"

"That's Alpha to you." His voice was cold. "I'm waiting."

I knelt, hands shaking. The office floor was cold through my suit.

"Started believing your own press? Those Forbes interviews made you feel important?" He sipped his drink, watching me work the cloth over his shoes.

I kept my head down.

"Look at me."

I met his eyes.

"This is what you are. Not a CEO. Just a plaything on her knees" He smiled coldly.

"I understand."

"Good girl. Next time you feel proud—" He tapped his shoe. "Remember this."
_

Briar Vance, a pharmaceutical botany prodigy, becomes a "debt hostage" to Alpha heir Julian Sterling and is humiliated as a servant at his engagement party.

In defiance, she storms into a bar and meets the mysterious owner Lucian Kincaid—secretly a biotech magnate with ties to the Sterling family. Impulsively, she asks him to pose as her lover for revenge.

Their "pretense" spirals into reality as Lucian helps Briar defend Vance Botanicals against Sterling Corp's suppression. The truth emerges: Sterling Corp illegally extracts Moonborn blood for black market trade.

When Briar's Moonborn bloodline awakens and Lucian's Alpha instincts explode, their pheromone resonance reveals a shocking truth—they are fated mates.

After the Wolf Council's intervention, Dominic is imprisoned for illegal trafficking, and Julian is stripped of his Alpha inheritance. Lucian becomes the new Alpha, ruling Shadowmoor pack with his Luna, Briar.

A supernatural romance of werewolf destiny, power, and chosen love.

The slap came without warning, Mom's palm cracking against my cheek. Blood filled my mouth.

"Eighteen years of wasting my time on worthless, un-awakened trash!" she screamed.

Dad's boot connected with my ribs before I could recover. I crumpled to the floor, gasping.

"Get out of Shadowveil Pack," he snarled. "Crawl back to whatever filthy omega family spawned you. We don't need garbage polluting our territory."

I looked desperately at my brother, hoping for mercy. He just stood there, arms crossed, disgust in his eyes. "Don't look at me like that. You're not my real sister. Just some charity case we took in for Vanessa."

Elara spent eighteen years as a living curse vessel for Vanessa, enduring pain and scorn as a wolfless outcast. Cast out and broken, she returns to her birth father's pack only to face new humiliation.

But when ancient Guardian magic awakens within her, Elara discovers a dark conspiracy threatening all werewolf society—a blood magic cult draining powerful bloodlines. As she investigates, she awakens as the legendary Silver Moon Imperial Wolf, a bloodline thought extinct.

In her fight against evil, fate brings her Kaine Thorne, the future Alpha King. Their unexpected bond ignites a love that defies all odds. Together, they must stop an enemy seeking to enslave their world, but victory demands the ultimate sacrifice—Elara's life force to save those who never showed her mercy.

A story of redemption, fated love, and finding the strength to protect a world that cast you aside.

"Ten years of atonement, and you flee?"

His fangs glinted as he gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. Dragon scales shimmered along his neck, breath scorching my skin.

"Your Majesty... I beg—" He shoved me onto the bed. Silk tore with a sharp rip, cold air rushing over my exposed body.

"Scared?" He smirked, palm sliding down my waist, fingers tracing slow, burning circles. "Yet you shiver... not from cold."

I lunged for the candlestick, but he caught my wrist, pinning it overhead. His knee forced my legs apart.

"When your father gave you to me," his lips brushed my ear, voice a dark rumble, "you were already mine."

On the eve of freedom after ten years of servitude, Lina Valeria stood one night away from reuniting with her betrothed. But Dragon King Augustus condemned her to the Abyss Mines on false charges—a trap forged from obsessive desire.

Augustus Ashenwing, Supreme Sovereign of Skyhold Citadel, is ruthless and feared by all races. His obsession stems from ancient grudges and dragonkind's most dangerous instinct: possessive desire. He demands her submission, binding her to his throne as his consort.

From prisoner to queen, Lina battles him through court intrigue and twisted passion—fighting for her mother, her freedom, her dignity.

Yet this cold-blooded tyrant reserves all tenderness for her alone. He indulges her temper, bends his pride, compromises without limit—anything to see her smile. Gradually, her heart wavers. But loving him means betraying Kain, who waited eleven years. Torn between duty and desire, she drowns in agonizing guilt.

Love and hatred intertwined—a forbidden dragon romance in a realm of oppression.

"What's wrong?" I asked, pulling my silk robe tight.

Theron's voice remained controlled and cold. "You are not the biological daughter of the Reed family, and they've found their real daughter."

My face drained of color. I had planned to explain everything upon his return, but Victoria had beaten me to it.

"What do you intend to do about our marriage?" I forced myself to ask directly.

"Marriage for me is a procedure, regardless of who it's with." With that, he picked up his briefcase and left.

_

Six years ago, Leila's fake heiress identity was exposed. Theron ruthlessly divorced her, and she was framed for attempted murder. Only after the divorce did she discover she was carrying his child. Blacklisted and desperate, she survived in a basement until her real family found her—she was the lost princess of Chicago's powerful Randall Family.

She gave birth to precious twins, but was told her baby boy didn't survive, leaving only her beloved daughter. What she didn't know was that destiny had other plans.

Six years later, a business venture brought her back to San Francisco, where she faced her cold ex-husband—who had a five-year-old son. Even more twisted - he was now her patient, completely at her mercy. Gone was his former arrogance; now he pursued her with desperate intensity. Could she ever forgive the man who destroyed her, or would she make him pay for the hell he put her through?

"Looking for trouble?" His gaze locked onto me, lazy yet sharp.

"Take me home," I breathed, pulse racing.

"Know the risks?" His thumb traced my wrist, sending shivers.

"I want it."

His mouth claimed mine, biting. Fingers shoved under fabric, groping. Rip – fabric gave way.

"Dripping already?" He growled, fingers circling my core. "Eager little thing."

"...Stop—"

"Stop?" He thrust two fingers deep. "Or stop there?"

I cried out. He freed himself, hot steel grinding against bare skin.

_

After three years of cold neglect in her marriage to Idris—who still pined for his ex, Raven—Vera reached her limit. A call from Raven during their first intimate moment was the final straw. Divorce was her only escape.

Seeking solace with a friend, a reckless night led her to Atlas Blackwell, the powerful CEO now leading her company. To silence his family’s demands and forge a new path, they entered a one-year contract marriage.

Now, with the contract expiring, Vera stands at a crossroads. Idris begs for forgiveness, promising change. Yet Atlas, her husband in name only, has proven himself her true anchor.

Two men. One heart. Which future will she choose?

I was Louis’s girlfriend, the fragile burden he always left behind.
It was a freezing, snow-swept night when Louis abandoned me for another woman. That was when Graham—my boyfriend’s older brother, the cold-blooded military major—came for me. He was meant to be my safe harbor, the "brother" I could always rely on. But beneath his icy, disciplined facade, a dangerous obsession stirred.
One night, he pinned me against the door, his eyes burning with a hunger he’d hidden for a decade. "Did you really think," he rasped, "that I only ever wanted to be your brother?"
I’ve walked into his cold, calculated trap, and there’s no turning back.

Freya's an alien, from planet Eris. She came to Earth to live, and from the planet bureau system, they gave her a new identity. Daughter of the Quinn’s. On the day she came here, a mistake happened, and she almost lost her life but was saved by Ash. That's why when her “supposedly” sister escaped, she got married to Ash on her behalf.

“You don’t have a choice.”
“I do. I can hate you until the end.”
He laughed, gripping her chin. “Hate me all you want—but call me sir when I make you beg for more.”
She tried to pull away, but she was already trapped between the wall and his body, the heat of male power crushing the air from her lungs. Hatred burned—but desire… was even crueler.
He is Vicenzo Moretti, known as Ice Heart—a CEO who built empires of casinos and luxury resorts while hiding the underworld he rules with an iron fist. A man carved by scars, orphaned by violence, a survivor who swore he would never love again.
She is Giulia Salvatore, granddaughter of a mobster he vowed to destroy. Rebellious, proud, and willing to sacrifice everything to uncover who murdered the man she loved.
When the death of his best friend explodes into mystery, Vicenzo accuses Giulia and traps her in a contract: wife for the media, slave in bed. What begins as revenge turns into a dangerous game of domination and surrender—where every exposed scar brings them closer… and tears them apart.
Will Ice Heart fall to the one feeling he swore to kill?
Or will Giulia pay the ultimate price for daring to challenge the monster?

To save her family from being homeless, Faith Williams decided to steal from her company. She thought she got away with it until one day, her cold, stoic, and unforgiving boss Anthony DeMarco caught up to her scheme and threatened to send her to prison.

In a desperate attempt to save herself, she offers her body to him, which angers him even more. How will she ever get out of this troublesome situation?

"I'm not your fucking mate," I hiss under my breath so other people can't hear me.

"Oh-kay, my fake mate then. We are supposed to make it look real, remember?" Ivy pouts.

"There is no 'we.' You are forcing me to play this game," I say grumpily.

"Heck, yes. And you need to be better at your acting job and pretend to be happy to see me," Ivy says, swinging her braid.

Ivy is wolfless, and she feels the weight of her pack's expectations on her shoulders. As a member of the Hidden Valley Pack, she's expected to find her fated mate and settle down. But even as Ivy approaches her twentieth birthday, she still hasn't found her mate, and her pack members are starting to question her, making her feel like a failure. Desperate to save face, she comes up with a plan to ask the handsome and popular college baseball player and pack Alpha, Ryder, to pretend to be her mate.

When Ivy approaches Ryder with her proposal, he initially scoffs at the idea. But Ivy knows that Ryder has a secret that could threaten his position as Alpha, and she uses this knowledge to her advantage. She makes a deal with Ryder: if he pretends to be her mate, she won't reveal his secret to the pack.

Ethan Miller was the hottest guy in Greenville High School. Girls loved him, guys wanted to be him. He just had one problem, Corey Price.

Corey Price was the complete opposite of Ethan. Ethan did not like his lingering looks and admiring glances. It made him furious. Corey was the bane of his existence. Ethan's solution was to beat and torment Corey and make his school days unbearable.

Corey's wounds never healed. His fondness of Ethan turned into hatred and he vowed to never forgive him. But, he spent years working on himself and has emerged a stronger, better person, ready to take on new challenges. Finally confident, he's about to take on a new job.

Until he discovered who his new boss was. It was none other than the monster himself.

Ethan Miller