809 Book(s) Related to once bitten twice shy book

During the shipwreck, my fiancée, to save my "white moonlight" (my unrequited love), forcibly pried open my bleeding fingers and snatched my last life jacket.
"He can't swim, you hold on a little longer."

At that moment, I gave up completely and let myself sink into the cold, deep sea.

Later, I returned from the ashes and became an unapproachable tycoon.

She went bankrupt and became a beggar, but amidst the heavy snow, she watched my wedding of the century, knelt on the street, and breathed her last in remorse.

Belated affection is ultimately worth less than grass.

I’m the old man of the group and no matter how much they value me, I will never be a part of them, Knight of the queen or not. I am the expendable one, the one that shouldn’t be here, and the one that shouldn’t be alive. By all accounts, I should have died 13 years ago. A question I always ask myself, every time my eyes open: why am I still alive? Why did the gods let that old priestess find me so many moons ago and bring me back from the dead? Why did they allow me to live?
I still wonder what my role is in this story and believe me there is more to this story than any of us know. I can feel it, see it unfolding, almost taste it. The last three years have just been a prelude to something bigger, something yet unseen and unknown. Lamia and Mathias may be the main characters, but we all had a role, an important part to play. Unfortunately, the script of our lives had been hidden away or maybe it just hasn’t been written yet.


Sent on a quest by his beloved Queen Lamia; Hunji finds himself back at the beginning. The place where his old life ended - left for dead, and where the goddess granted him a second chance.

On the hunt for a witch, Hunji must face his past - A past that left him broken.
When the goddess breathed new life into him, he took an oath to serve her. Now that promise is being tested.
He can survive his past but it's the future that threatens to turn his world upside down.
That and the little witch who he was sent to find, protect and bring home - is hellbent on throwing a curve ball at every plan he had.

I never asked to be special. I just wanted to survive.

When I got the scholarship to Caldera Academy, I thought it was my ticket out of a life of scraping by on the mainland. My magic was weak, messy, and hard to control, but they told me the Covenant Ritual would fix that. They told me I’d bond with a creature, balance my power, and finally belong.

They lied.

I didn't get a beautiful, glowing stallion or a friendly wind-hound. I bonded with Vesper—a shadow-manticore, a creature the world swore was extinct because they were too dangerous to live. Suddenly, I wasn't just a charity case anymore. I was a target.

Now, my roommate has gone missing, the teachers are covering it up, and the golden-boy warden, Julian Sterling, is watching my every move. But I’m not running. I’ve spent my whole life being afraid, and I’m done with it. If this school wants to treat me like a monster, I’ll show them exactly what a monster can do.

“Sophie Love's ability to impart magic to her readers is exquisitely wrought in powerfully evocative phrases and descriptions….FOR NOW AND FOREVER is 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 (Diane Donovan) “A very well written novel, describing the struggle of a woman (Emily) to find her true identity. The author did an amazing job with the creation of the characters and her description of the environment. 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, Roberto Mattos (re For Now and Forever)FOREVER AND FOR ALWAYS is book #2 in the romance series THE INN AT SUNSET HARBOR, which begins with book #1, FOR NOW AND FOREVER—a free download!35 year old Emily Mitchell has fled her job, apartment and ex-boyfriend in New York City for her father's abandoned home on the coast of Maine, needing a change in her life. Tapping her life savings to restore the historic home, and with a budding relationship with the caretaker, Daniel, Emily prepares to open the Inn at Sunset Harbor as Memorial Day comes.But all does not go as planned. Emily learns quickly that she has no idea how to run a B&B. The house, despite her efforts, needs new, urgent repairs she cannot afford. Her covetous neighbor is still determined to make trouble for her. And worst of all: just as her relationship with Daniel is blossoming, she learns he has a secret. One which will change everything.With her friends urging her to return to New York City and her ex-boyfriend trying to win her back, Emily has a life-changing decision to make. Will she try to stick it out, to embrace small-town life, her father’s old house? Or will she turn her back on her new friends, neighbors and life—and on the man she has fallen in love with?FOREVER AND FOR ALWAYS is book #2 of a dazzling new romance series that will make you laugh, make you cry, will keep you turning pages late into the night—and will make you fall in love with romance all over again.Book #3 will be available soon.

A siren's tears turn to gemstones.

Mine were funding my boyfriend's entire career—but ordinary stones weren't enough anymore.

Deep-sea sapphires. That's what he was after.

So he brought a whip.

"Almost there, babe. Cry for me and it's over."

"Once I'm in, I'll marry you."

My vision blurred with tears—then something else flooded in.

Bright, scrolling, impossible words:

[LOL, by the time he gets his Council seat, he'll have wrung her dry and married the Arcane Princess instead.]

[Sandra, check out the vampire prince next door—he heard you screaming and thinks you two are having sex. He's crying under his blankets right now.]

[When you're literally dying in the finale, the prince is the one who carries you to the Eastern Sea. That's the only reason you survive.]

[Oh, and the prince is a purebred incubus hybrid. Eight-pack abs. Naturally compatible with desire-driven sirens. Stop suffering for this loser and go live your best life!]

My eyes lit up. I kicked the man in front of me straight into the wall.

Hopped next door, pushed open the door: "Kaelen, I hear you've got a nice body—prove it?"

Natalie Brooks, the young lady of the Brooks family, hid her identity to marry Samuel Morgan for love. The three-year cold marriage ended with a divorce when his first love, Lily, returned. Natalie left proudly, returning to her home, the most powerful Brooks family in New York, with her four talented brothers.
Natalie gradually transformed into a strong businesswoman. Samuel was surprised because Natalie was completely different from the image of the weak wife she had been before. He began to waver, remembering the years of living together, but was still surrounded by Lily's weak pretense.
Although Natalie was divorced, she still had lingering feelings, but she chose to strongly confront him, determined to prove her worth. From here, she continuously confronted Samuel and Lily, both to regain what she had lost and to force them to regret ever looking down on her. Meanwhile, Lily always played the role of the "weak girl", taking advantage of Samuel's pity, but she increasingly revealed her jealousy and hypocrisy. Natalie's brothers – especially Nathaniel Brooks and Henry Brooks – were fiercely protective of their sister and wanted Samuel to repent for what he had done to Natalie.

"White wolf! Kill that monster!"
That roar stole my eighteenth birthday and shattered my world. My first shift should have been glory—blood turned blessing into shame. By dawn they'd branded me "cursed": cast out by my pack, abandoned by family, stripped of my nature. My father didn't defend me—he sent me to a forsaken island where wolfless outcasts were forged into weapons, forced to kill each other until only one could leave.
On that island I learned the darkest edges of humanity and how to bury terror in bone. Countless times I wanted to surrender—dive into the waves and never surface—but the accusing faces that haunted my dreams pushed me back toward something colder than survival: revenge. I escaped, and for three years I hid among humans, collecting secrets, learning to move like a shadow, sharpening patience into precision—becoming a blade.
Then, under a full moon, I touched a bleeding stranger—and my wolf returned with a violence that made me whole. Who was he? Why could he wake what I'd thought dead?
One thing I know: now is the time.
I have waited three years for this. I will make everyone who destroyed me pay—and take back everything that was stolen from me.

The study at Blackwood Manor was locked from the inside.
Adrian Blackwood lay in his own blood, his chest caved and ribs shattered as if beaten by something inhuman.
Chief Inspector Ver took over and discovered this was not the first death.
Two years before, Adrian's wife Elena "died from a fall due to mental instability."
Is that the truth?
The lawyer died at his desk, blood spattered across the documents.
[She wasn't insane.]
The doctor fell from his carriage, glancing back in terror at an unseen presence.
In the church bell tower, the parish council member hung from a rope.
At night, high heels echoed down the hall.
She is back.

I was always the extra daughter in the Cross family.
To my parents, I was nothing more than a walking blood bank for Clara. To my husband Adrian, I was a sinner who needed to atone for her crimes.
When Adrian forced me to donate a kidney to my sister, I agreed.
Not only did I agree, I liquidated every asset I owned and transferred it all to my research lab.
They thought I was stupid, thought I was still desperate for their love.
But all I was doing was putting my affairs in order.
The night before the surgery, I coughed up blood all over the table.
Adrian sneered over the phone. "Cut the act, Evelyn. You'll do anything to dodge responsibility. You just want attention—how pathetic."
The surgery was a "success."
My sister got the kidney she'd always wanted.
And I died in the recovery room.
My soul floated above my body as I watched Adrian walk into the hospital room, that patronizing smile on his face, ready to put on his "repentant husband" act.
"Eve, I know you've been hurt. Let's start over..."
The only answer he got was a white sheet pulled over my face.

That "poor pregnant woman" downstairs is currently waddling around Linden Court with her forty-week baby bump, sobbing to the neighbors. She claims the noise of me screwing men in the middle of the night is so loud it's killing her unborn baby.
In my past life, no one in this building believed me. In the end, she used a pair of rusty pruning shears to pin me, dead, to my own living room floor.
Reborn into a new life, I stare at the bulletin board where my face is crossed out with red marker, and I let out a cold laugh.
This time, I absolutely refuse to be the idiot who gets stabbed to death.

I was a scholarship student with thirty extra pounds. Del Ashford had two hundred thousand followers and her family's supplement brand on every wall of the athletic center. First week of school, she decided we were going to be best friends.
She said she wanted to help me get in shape. What that actually looked like: I carried her product shipments up three flights of stairs, drafted her emails, and picked up her lunch from the place across campus that didn't deliver.
My roommates started calling me her errand girl behind my back. I let them.
She also introduced me to Beckett Hale. After that, things went the way they went.
She knocked my protein shake over and said I'd burned her. She planted her limited-edition earphones in my bag and told everyone I'd stolen them. The school opened a conduct review. My roommates stopped talking to me.

Beckett said I was the kind of girl who got a little attention and started thinking she deserved more of it.
I couldn't prove any of it. By spring, I was gone.
Some people just aren't built for this, Wren. You know that, right?
Del hadn't even been looking at me when she said it.
Then I opened my eyes and I was back at the party. The night she introduced me to Beckett.

Loving him will cost them everything…

Not loving him will cost more.

Derek has one goal: survive high school without drawing too much attention or pissing off his pack’s alpha.

As the youngest son of the alpha, his life is governed by lycan hierarchy, tradition, and politics. With no signs of awakening a lycan spirit, his only value is what he can do for the pack’s image. He knows he’s only ever one misstep away from exile… or worse.

Then, he finds a boy trapped in a locker on orientation day, and everything changes.

Derek shouldn’t want Nikolias. He’s off-limits. A risk Derek can’t afford.

So why does it feel like he’s the only thing worth fighting for?

Nikolias has just lost everything: his parents, his home, and any sense of peace. Sent back to the town his family left years ago to live with his prejudiced and controlling uncle, who wants nothing to do with anything—or anyone—not human, he’s trying to do everything in his power to get out quickly.

But then he meets Derek again, and all of his plans vanish in the soft, yearning flecks of gold in Derek’s green-hazel eyes. He’s drawn to Derek in a way that’s impossible to deny, and he thinks Derek feels the same way, despite the danger their relationship holds for him.

As Moonshadow's politics turn deadly, Derek and Nikolai are caught in the crossfire of a war that had started long before they were born, and their bond becomes a threat and a lifeline that neither can afford to sever.

Because the heart wants what it wants….

And it never asks permission.

TW: Graphic Violence, Suicide Ideation, Suicide Attempt, Child Abuse, Cult-Like Behavior

My Big Bad Wolf Series: Elysia & Alex-Book 1 (Nocturnal Collections)

She broke into his mansion. Now she’s trapped in his world.

A cunning thief with nothing to lose.
A powerful Alpha with everything to protect.
When Elysia Crinshaw is caught stealing from Alex Landry, she doesn’t go to jail, she’s claimed. Drawn into his world, she learns that freedom can be more dangerous than chains…and love more brutal than any cage.

MURDER IN THE MANOR (A LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY—BOOK 1) is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by Fiona Grace. Lacey Doyle, 39 years old and freshly divorced, needs a drastic change. She needs to quit her job, leave her horrendous boss and New York City, and walk away from the fast life. Making good on her childhood promise to herself, she decides to walk away from it all, and to relive a beloved childhood vacation in the quaint English seaside town of Wilfordshire.Wilfordshire is exactly as Lacey remembers it, with its ageless architecture, cobblestone streets, and with nature at its doorstep. Lacey doesn’t want to go back home—and spontaneously, she decides to stay, and to give her childhood dream a try: she will open her own antique shop.Lacey finally feels that her life is taking a step in the right direction—until her new star customer turns up dead.As the newcomer in town, all eyes are on Lacey, and it’s up to her to clear her own name.With a business to run, a next-door neighbor turned nemesis, a flirty baker across the street, and a crime to solve – is this new life all that Lacey thought it would be?Book #2 in the series—DEATH AND A DOG—is also available for preorder!

“Sophie Love's ability to impart magic to her readers is exquisitely wrought in powerfully evocative phrases and descriptions….This is 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 (Diane Donovan re For Now and Forever) FOREVER AND A DAY is book #5 in the bestselling romance series The Inn at Sunset Harbor, which begins with book #1, For Now and Forever—a free download!35 year old Emily Mitchell has fled her job, apartment and ex-boyfriend in New York City for her father's historic, abandoned home on the coast of Maine, needing a change in her life and determined to make it work as a B&B. She had never expected, though, that her relationship with its caretaker, Daniel, would turn her life on its head.In FOREVER AND A DAY, Emily is stunned to finally, after 20 years, meet her missing father—just a week before her wedding. Their reunion changes both of their lives, and unlocks the key to the house’s many secrets, and to Emily’s missing memories.Spring has finally arrived at Sunset Harbor, and with just a week to go until the big wedding date, the wedding preparations are busier than ever, including Daniel’s surprise talk of a honeymoon. Will Emily and Daniel have their dream wedding? Or will someone appear to tear it apart?Meanwhile, Chantelle’s custody battle comes to a pitch, and as Memorial Day looms, they must figure out what to do with Trevor’s house. Yet amidst all of this, another issue weighs most heavily on Emily’s mind: will she herself ever be pregnant?FOREVER AND A DAY is book #5 in a dazzling new romance series that will make you laugh, cry, keep you turning pages late into the night—and make you fall in love with romance all over again.Book #6 will be available soon.“A very well written novel, describing the struggle of a woman (Emily) to find her true identity. The author did an amazing job with the creation of the characters and her description of the environment. 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, Roberto Mattos (re For Now and Forever)

“Sophie Love's ability to impart magic to her readers is exquisitely wrought in powerfully evocative phrases and descriptions….FOR NOW AND FOREVER is 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 (Diane Donovan) “FOR NOW AND FOREVER is a very well written novel, describing the struggle of a woman (Emily) to find her true identity. The author did an amazing job with the creation of the characters and her description of the environment. 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, Roberto MattosEmily Mitchell, 35, living and working in New York City, has struggled through a string of failed relationships. When her boyfriend of 7 years takes her out for their long-awaited anniversary dinner, Emily is sure that this time will be different, that this time she will finally get the ring.When he gives her a small bottle of perfume instead, Emily knows the time has come to break up with him—and for her entire life to have a fresh start.Reeling from her unsatisfying, high-pressure life, Emily decides she needs a change. She decides on a whim to drive to her father’s abandoned home on the coast of Maine, a sprawling, historic house where she’d spent magical summers as a child. But the house, long-neglected, is in dire need of repair, and the winter is no time to be in Maine. Emily hasn’t been there in 20 years, when a tragic accident changed her sister’s life and shattered her family. Her parents divorced, her father disappeared, and Emily was never able to bring herself to step foot in that house again.Now, for some reason, with her life reeling, Emily feels drawn to the only childhood place she ever knew. She plans on going just for a weekend, to clear her head. But something about the house, its numerous secrets, its memories of her father, its oceanfront allure, its small-town setting—and most of all, its gorgeous, mysterious caretaker—doesn’t want to let her leave. Can she find the answers she’s been looking for here, in the most unexpected place of all?Can a weekend become a lifetime?FOR NOW AND FOREVER is book #1 in the debut of a dazzling new romance series that will make you laugh, make you cry, will keep you turning pages late into the night—and will make you fall in love with romance all over again.Book #2 will be available soon.

"NEXT DOOR is full of completely unexpected twists—you will read it on the edge of your chair. It is Blake Pierce at his best! Another masterpiece of suspense and mystery. I highly recommend it to the permanent library of all readers that appreciate an excellent thriller, full of psychological suspense and with a completely unexpected ending. This is the first in what promises to be another excellent series. I can hardly wait to read the sequel."--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto MattosA NEIGHBOR’S LIE (A Chloe Fine Mystery) is book #2 in a new psychological suspense series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has over 1,000 five-star reviews. FBI Violent Crimes Division Special Agent Chloe Fine, 27, still reeling from the secrets of her past, finds herself thrown into her first case: the murder of a nanny in a seemingly perfect suburban town.Immersed in a world of secrets, of unfaithful couples, of pretense and artifice, Chloe soon realizes that anyone—and everyone—may be guilty. Yet at the same time, with her own father still in jail, she must battle her own demons and unravel her own secrets, which threaten to bring her down before her own career even begins.An emotionally wrought psychological suspense with layered characters, small-town ambiance and heart-pounding suspense, A NEIGHBOR’S LIE is book #2 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #3 in the CHLOE FINE series will be available soon.

“A powerful opener to a series [that] will produce a combination of feisty protagonists and challenging circumstances to thoroughly involve not just young adults, but adult fantasy fans who seek epic stories fueled by powerful friendships and adversaries.”--Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan) (re A Throne for Sisters)“Morgan Rice's imagination is limitless!”--Books and Movie Reviews (re A Throne for Sisters)From #1 Bestselling fantasy author Morgan Rice comes a new series for middle grade readers (and beyond)! Fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson—look no further!In THE OBSIDIANS: OLIVER BLUE AND THE SCHOOL FOR SEERS (BOOK THREE), 11 year old Oliver Blue once again finds himself in the race of his life. His beloved friend Esther is dying of time-travel sickness, and the only chance of saving her is to risk his life and travel back in time once more.This time, it is to the Italy of the 1400s, to visit two very important people: Leonardo Da Vinci, and his rival, Michelangelo. Only Leonardo’s inventions hold the answer; and only Michelangelo’s paintings hold the key.The Obsidians, though, are bent on revenge, and Chris is determined to not stop until his little brother is done.An uplifting fantasy, THE OBSIDIANS is book #3 in a riveting new series filled with magic, love, humor, heartbreak, tragedy, destiny, and a string of shocking surprises. It will make you fall in love with OLIVER BLUE, and keep you turning pages late into the night.Book #4 in the series will be available soon! “The beginnings of something remarkable are there.” --San Francisco Book Review (re A Quest of Heroes)

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) CUL DE SAC (A Chloe Fine Mystery) is book #3 in a new psychological suspense series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has over 1,000 five-star reviews. FBI VICAP Special Agent Chloe Fine, 27, must immerse herself in a suburban world of cliques, gossip and lies, as she races to solve the murder of a seemingly picture-perfect wife and mother on the night of her 20th high school reunion.Old high school friends, now in their late 30s, have returned back to the same suburban town to raise their kids, and have resurrected the same cliques that sustained and divided them 20 years ago. As their 20th high school reunion brings back old memories, resentment, betrayals and secrets, it causes fresh pain a generation later. On the same night, their former queen bee is found murdered in her home.In this seemingly perfect, manicured town, the past haunts the present—and anyone and everyone is a suspect.Can Chloe Fine solve the murder—while wrestling with the demons of her own past, and the potential release from jail of her own father?An emotionally wrought psychological suspense with layered characters, small-town ambiance and heart-pounding suspense, CUL DE SAC is book #3 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #4 in the CHLOE FINE series will be available soon.

On her wedding anniversary, Annabelle Whitmore meticulously planned a surprise. However, she drank a drugged drink given to her by her stepsister. When she awoke, she was in a strange man's bed. Photos of her surfaced online instantly, and her reputation was utterly destroyed.

Her husband, Abel Donovan, a ruthless and powerful figure, gave her no chance to defend herself, readily believing his stepsister's lies.

Anna was pregnant with his child and was cruelly driven away.

Five years later, Annabelle was no longer the infamous, abandoned woman she once was. She returned as the CEO of the global fashion empire BelleNova.

Abel never imagined she would return, especially with his child.

She saved his life. Now he’ll stop at nothing to claim hers.

Isla Monroe never expected to become entangled with the most feared man in Valmont City. As a struggling medical student haunted by her past, she only wanted to help when she saw a man drowning in a frozen lake. But the moment she pulled him from the icy depths, her fate was sealed.

That man was Lorenzo De Luca—billionaire, mafia boss, and a man who had given up on life. When he wakes in Isla’s tiny apartment, his first instinct is suspicion, not gratitude. In his world, kindness is a weakness, and trust is a death sentence. But Isla isn’t afraid of him, and that makes her dangerous.

Lorenzo disappears, but Isla isn’t free of him. A year later, he storms back into her life—not to thank her, but to claim her. His enemies have learned about the woman who saved him, and now she’s a target. The only way to keep her safe is to pull her into his dangerous world.

Saving him was just the beginning. Loving him might be her downfall.

"Dad, I think something is wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm smelling four."

"Four?"

"Yes, there are four different scents. I don't know how to explain it but they all have the same earthly scent, but something else to it. What does that mean?"

"You have four mates."

"Four mates? That can't be real, I have never heard of that before." Avery was in a state of panic now, which caused her to involuntarily transform back to her human form.

Strong female leaders. First female General Alpha in history.
Her status earned by her actions. Full of quests and revelations.
Ancient prophecy that has to be uncovered.
Alliance of the best wolf packs in the world supporting her in her fight for liberation.
The wisdom of the elders.
Sensual dreams, desires and passion.
A mixture of romance, thriller, drama, action,suspense and sensuality.
Legendary Alpha male from ancient prophecies.
Characters diversity and their link for a common cause.
Unique werewolf pack.
Unbreakable friendships.
Love and passion that breaks the boundaries or reality and dreams.
Mystic creatures and quests.
Love, loyalty and duty.
A female „Indiana Jones” of the supernatural world. Story full of mystery and ancient wisdom. Unexpected alliances. Filled with action and suspense. A boundless love beyond time and space. Searching for ancient artifacts. Fighting malevolent forces. Dreams full of passion and longing. Allies from the most known werewolf packs of the world. Special abilities, ancient creatures and the enigma of an ancient prophecy.
Featuring Pendejazo and Cabronaza from the maleficent army.
Special guest - dark vampire Caramba.

“You're my wife,” the billionaire thundered. “We had a deal years ago, Riana, a deal you ran away from before fulfilling. Now that fate has brought you back, this’s no longer only about a deal but a proposal is now involved.”

“I don’t even understand what you’re talking about. Your wife? A deal? That never happened. I’m your lawyer, nothing more. And as far as that’s concerned, I’ve done my job and we’ve won the case. Now I’m leaving.” Riana stated.

“No, Riana. You’re not done until I say you’re done. Morever, you're not married. You're still as single as the day you walked away. Which means…” He stepped closer, his hand capturing her face.

“…I can do this.”

And before she could speak again, his lips crashed against hers, igniting the fire of a past she thought she’d buried forever.

—----

Riana Theodore’s life crumbled on the eve of her wedding when she caught her fiancé in bed with her own brother. Broken and humiliated, she sought revenge in a stranger’s arms, sealing it with a reckless one-night stand and a fake marriage.

But fate had other plans. That stranger turned out to be her fiancé’s stepbrother. Their confrontation at the altar ended in chaos, and an accident that wiped her memories.

Six years later, the past comes knocking when Riana was summoned to defend a billionaire client, said to be unconscious, while his new wife fights for half of his empire.

But at the final hearing, everything shatters, because right there was a man she doesn't know, but be says they once made a deal. He says she belongs to him. But how could that be when she doesn’t even remember marrying him in the first place? And, what's this new and old proposal all about?

My mom ran an exclusive underground fertility clinic. Her dark red serum smelled like rotting blood, yet the rich still lined up with massive checks for her "perfect designer embryos."
I’d watch her lock desperate young surrogates into a soundproof room. A few minutes later, the whole floor would shake.
Strangely, when the girls stumbled back out—looking entirely drained and aged by years—they would weep and kiss my mom’s hands in gratitude.
It never made sense to me.
Until the day I saw a pitch-black mass frantically clawing just beneath a surrogate's flat stomach.
I finally knew what kind of "embryos" my mom was actually planting inside them.

My cousin stole thirty thousand dollars from our dying grandmother.
Not for an emergency. Not for bills.
For liposuction.
Then she told everyone I did it. Said I was jealous of her figure — that I'd drained Grandma's cardiac surgery fund because I wanted to look different. And the terrible part is, everyone believed her. My boyfriend. My uncle and aunt. Every single person who'd watched me grow up in that house — eating their leftovers standing at the kitchen counter, wearing my aunt's old coat with the broken zipper through every winter — turned around and decided I was the thief.
I couldn't prove otherwise. I couldn't get anyone to listen.
Last time this happened, I didn't survive it.
Then I opened my eyes. I was back in the hospital corridor. My aunt's hand raised, ready to swing.

Lola learned eight years ago that sometimes survival means leaving everything behind.

She fled El Paso after her drunken stepfather, Octavio Lopez, crossed a line he could never take back—and after her mother chose to stay with him anyway. Since then, Lola has built a new life in Nowhere, New Mexico, surrounded by the Son’s of Doom MC, the women of the Devil’s Den, and the family she found for herself.

Including Emilio.

As Vice President of the Son’s of Doom, Emilio is dangerous, infuriating, and impossible to ignore. For years, he and Lola have fought, flirted, and fallen into bed together whenever the tension became too much.

Sex was easy.

Feelings were never supposed to be part of the deal.

But when Lola’s mother dies and Octavio appears at the funeral after eight years, half drunk and just as cruel as she remembers, Emilio stops pretending Lola is only someone he sleeps with.

One insult makes him throw the first punch.

One confession changes everything.

Maybe you not being mine is the fucking problem.

Lola knows sleeping with Emilio is one thing. Loving him could cost her far more. He isn’t some man she can walk away from if things fall apart. He is family, Max’s vice president, and woven into every part of the life she fought to build.

But Octavio didn’t come back into her life alone.

He has gang ties, knows far too much about the Son’s of Doom, and may be more dangerous than Lola ever realized.

She escaped him once.

This time, Emilio has no intention of letting her face him alone.

Lydia has always tried to play by the rules: work hard, be honest, get good grades, and good things will come. For the most part, it’s gotten her far. She’s entering her senior year at Aegis and is on track to get her brother a decent lawyer and out of prison, while their grandfather is still well enough.

Soon after catching her boyfriend fucking her mentor, the Fortuna Nike informs her of the rules and conditions of her scholarship that weren’t even hidden in the fine print: an arranged marriage with whatever member they choose.

If she complies, her brother’s freedom is guaranteed. It should be an easy decision, but the thought leaves her shaking with dread.

Just as she resigns herself to the demands of the Fortuna Nike, Dorian Knox, a well-known playboy of the Fortuna Centurions, approaches her with a mutually beneficial—if insulting—offer: pretend to date him and bypass the Society’s matchmaking.

Unfortunately, Dorian is also the asshole who got her fired.


Dorian knows what he looks like, what he drinks like, what he fucks like, and most importantly, what he plays like. He revels in every wild party and vicious check into the boards as it’s the closest he’ll ever get to telling the Society to fuck off.

After his center’s high school sweetheart romance falls apart, the Society decides that Dorian needs a rebrand to help manage the fallout of the Centurions’ image. Threatened with losing everything he’s worked for and the freedom of his younger sister, he decides to play along… to the very letter of the Society’s laws.

He just needs a woman to play at being his girlfriend who won’t catch feelings and will do as she’s told.

The irritatingly no-nonsense maid who sets his blood on fire will have to do.

I opened the hotel room door during a thunderstorm, and the man I'd spent two years running from was standing in the hallway.

"It's me," he said. Two words that undid everything.

Arthur Sterling. My legal guardian. My brother on paper. The man who raised me from ten years old, who sat through every storm until my hands stopped shaking, who gave me his family ring on my eighteenth birthday.

The man I kissed when I turned eighteen—and who kissed me back like I was air and he was drowning.

We had two years of burning in secret. Days pretending we were still guardian and ward. Nights where that fiction dissolved the moment the door closed.

Then I fled to Paris with one suitcase and his ring left on the kitchen counter.

Two years of distance changed nothing. I came back for my father's stolen designs—blackmailed into a fake engagement to reclaim my legacy. I had a plan. Every move calculated.

What I didn't plan for was Arthur. Still watching. Still waiting. Still wearing my ring on a chain against his chest.

The penthouse I abandoned? Untouched. My room? Kept ready for two years. My drafting stool by the east window? Still at exactly the same angle I'd left it.

"Come back home," he said.

But which home? The one where we're siblings—or the one where we're something the world has no word for?

Lilith Mendez is the Cupid of the city and owner of The Billionaire Matchmaking Agency. She’s known for her professionalism, attention to detail, and discretion.
But her dating life is abysmal until an alluring stranger enters her life.
Despite the warning bells, she considers opening herself up to the possibility of romance…until things go awry. She’s found herself in the wrong situation with a powerful and dangerous man.
Rescued by Cristo, her friend and billionaire-in-shining-armor, Lilith's tempted by his assurances of protection and passion.
In this tangled web of deception, lies, and broken promises, what can Lilith do when the promise of relief makes her want so much more?

A cocky Scot, an innocent pole dancer and a penthouse apartment with a view.

What could go wrong?

To escape her difficult past Sasha jumps into an opportunity of managing the sale of the stylish,up market apartment.

All of this sounds like a dream, but no one has ever mentioned the arrogant, mouthy Scottish god that lives next door.

The problem is that Dexter isn’t just good looking, he is also a fist-clenching, heart-pounding, fervent hot man, who makes her heart flutter uncontrollably.

She hates his cock-sure attitude.

With the talent, of melting women’s panties off at a glance, he thinks he can have Sasha too. Well, he couldn’t be more wrong. Sasha would rather eat dirt than sleep with him.

He vows not to fall for her, but their scorching attraction proves impossible to ignore…

With her husband feeling more like a distant roommate, Nikki, an ex-college soccer player, knows there's more out there for her but scared to leave the comfort of her normal, usual, secure life. One night, during a massive storm, lightening strikes as a new player, Shane, joins her team. The second their eyes meet, time stops. She knows this person has always lived in her heart and soul. What is this feeling? It's illogical, it's fantasy, it's supported by all of the physical evidence you could throw in front of her. What the hell even is a soul mate, anyways? There's only one way to find out without actually having to interact with the dark haired stranger in real life...inviting him to dream with her. Will he join her?

“One of the best thrillers I have read this year.”--Books and Movie Reviews (re Any Means Necessary)In the much-anticipated debut of a new series by #1 bestseller Jack Mars, when elite Delta Force soldier Luke Stone, 29, joins a secretive government agency, he is dispatched on the mission of a lifetime: a whirlwind race across Europe and the Mid-East to save the President’s daughter before she is beheaded by terrorists.In PRIMARY TARGET (Book #1), we see the forging of one of the world’s toughest—and most lethal—soldiers: Luke Stone. A 29 year old veteran who has seen enough battle to last a lifetime, Luke is tapped by the Special Response Team, a secretive new FBI agency (led by his mentor Don Morris) to tackle the most high-stake terrorism operations in the world.Luke, still haunted by his wartime past and newly married to an expecting Becca, is dispatched on a mission to Iraq, with his new partner Ed Newsam, to bring in a rogue American contractor. But what begins as a routine mission mushrooms into something much, much bigger.When the President’s teenage daughter, kidnapped in Europe, is ransomed by terrorists, Luke may be the only one in the world who can save her before it is too late.PRIMARY TARGET is an un-putdownable military thriller, a wild action ride that will leave you turning pages late into the night. It marks the long-anticipated debut of a riveting new series by #1 bestseller Jack Mars, dubbed “one of the best thriller authors” out there.“Thriller writing at its best.”--Midwest Book Review (re Any Means Necessary)Also available is Jack Mars’ #1 bestselling LUKE STONE THRILLER series (7 books), which begins with Any Means Necessary (Book #1), a free download with over 800 five star reviews!

"Very entertaining. I highly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that appreciates a very well written mystery, with some twists and an intelligent plot. You will not be disappointed. Excellent way to spend a cold weekend!" --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Murder in the Manor) BEACHFRONT BAKERY: A KILLER CUPCAKE is the debut novel in a charming and hilarious new cozy mystery series by #1 bestselling author Fiona Grace, whose bestselling Murder in the Manor (A Lacey Doyle Cozy Mystery) has nearly 200 five star reviews. Allison Sweet, 34, a sous chef in Los Angeles, has had it up to here with demeaning customers, her demanding boss, and her failed love life. After a shocking incident, she realizes the time has come to start life fresh and follow her lifelong dream of moving to a small town and opening a bakery of her own. When Allison spots a charming, vacant storefront on the boardwalk near Venice, she wonders if she could really start life anew. Feeling like it’s a sign, and a time to take a chance in life, she goes for it. Yet Allison did not anticipate the wild ride ahead of her: the boardwalk, filled with fun and outrageous characters, is pulsing with life, from the Italian pizzeria owners on either side of her who vie for her affection, to the fortune tellers and scheming rival bakery owner nearby. Allison yearns to just focus on her delicious new pastry recipes and keep her struggling bakery afloat—but when a murder occurs right near her shop, everything changes. Implicated, her entire future at stake, Allison has no choice but to investigate to clear her name. As an orphaned dog wanders into her life, a devoted new sidekick with a knack for solving mysteries, she starts her search. Will they find the killer? And can her struggling bakery survive? A hilarious cozy mystery series, packed with twists, turns, romance, travel, food and unexpected adventure, the BEACHFRONT BAKERY series will keep you laughing and turning pages late into the night as you fall in love with an endearing new character who will capture your heart. Book #2 in the series—A MURDEROUS MACARON—is also available!

Beau and I have been together for three years. I paid for the entire yacht charter out of my own pocket, and he shows up with his childhood best friend Sadie in tow, then goes around telling everyone it was his idea, his grand gesture.

Out on the water, Sadie spots a small octopus drifting near the surface and decides she has to have it. The thing pulses with glowing blue rings.

I'm a certified expert diver. I know exactly what it is the second I see it. I try to stop her.

She bursts into tears and tells Beau I'm going after her.

So Beau, ever the hero where Sadie's concerned, jumps in himself and fishes the thing out.

Sadie plays with it. It bites her. She's on the deck before she even knows what hit her.

Beau grabs me, screaming at me to suck out the venom. I refuse. He calls me a cold, heartless bitch, and in the chaos, shoves me overboard into shark-infested water.

I die out there. Nothing left of me.

They use my phone to fake a suicide note. Depression, they say. Jumped on her own. Then they take my company, my assets, everything.

They post online hinting I tried to push Sadie in and slipped.

My parents, worn down by the online harassment and the grief of losing me, both die of heart attacks.

Then I open my eyes. And I'm back. The morning of the trip.

Synopsis
The One Time Rejected Omega.

"I Liam Gorenzo, The Alpha of the LOCK HEART PACK reject you Arielle Dawn as my mate and Luna of my pack"

These were the words that shattered Arielle into pieces but at the same time made her more stronger.

Being rejected by the entire pack you called your family is something you can cope with but being rejected by your mate in the presence of the entire pack is more anguish than dying a slow and unbearable death.

Arielle, the one time rejected Omega - a broken, hurt and raged mate finds her way to become stronger in order to seek revenge against her erstwhile mate.

"In name only."

That's what Flora Smith declared, her tone unwavering.

Matthew Charles met her gaze, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Indeed. Legally, we're just husband and wife."

The way he effortlessly spoke the phrase "just husband and wife" caught her off guard. A hint of mischief twinkled in his eyes as he teased, "All we have between us is this marriage certificate. You can have it anytime you choose. I'll be right behind you."

From an unexpected one-night stand born out of a twist of fate to the struggles of single parenthood, Flora has journeyed alone. But now, her child is inexplicably drawn to Matthew, refusing to let go. As it turns out, when it comes to fatherhood, only the real thing will do.

I needed to be inside of her again so desperately that the moment she moved enough that her legs parted, I couldn't help myself. She was already wet again, and my cock slipped inside of her with shocking ease. Her right heat gripped me so exquisitely I thought I would burst.In the room's silence, I could hear her breathing pick up, but when I looked down, she still appeared asleep. Yet she now clenched her eyes shut and her lips parted in a silent moan.I let more of my weight settle on her as I pushed deeper inside of her slick pussy. Her body welcomed me eagerly, and I exhaled sharply at the satisfaction of filling her. Fucking Rhea was the best experience of my life. I wanted to have her as much as I could. Something told me she enjoyed me as well. The way in her and how she moaned when she came on my cock seemed genuine."Aleksander," she whispered my name, and I shoved into her harder at the sound of her breathy voice. "Ah!" She gasped and her arms flew up to wrap around my ribs.

"I have a proposal for you. Let's strike a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"Marry me."
Kelly Brook thought her secret marriage to Anderson Grant would shield her from her previous scandal, but everything crumbled when she discovered Anderson's betrayal—a hidden affair with her estranged twin sister, Kate. Forced to announce her own divorce, Kelly struggles to hold her composure as she faces public judgment and private heartbreak.
In the midst of this chaos, Adrian—a charming doctor and heir who offers Kelly a lifeline in the form of a marriage of convenience—becomes her unexpected ally. But just when Kelly begins to find solace, she finds that she is pregnant for 6 weeks. Kelly must decide whether to fight for redemption or let her past destroy her future.

I used to move through life with the gnawing belief that something inside me was tainted, wrong in a way I could never explain. Daylight felt like a lie I was forced to live under, its brilliance too harsh, too exposing. I never truly belonged in the sun. Maybe that’s why, when I saw him, cloaked in shadow and sin, I felt something awaken deep within me.
Agostino Santini was everything I wasn’t supposed to want, yet everything I craved. He looked like he had been carved from my darkest fantasies, his presence an intoxicating gravity I couldn't resist. The world called him many things: predator, monster, omen of death. And maybe he was. But to me, he was something else entirely.
He didn’t just save my life, he breathed something new into it. With every glance, every whispered word, he unraveled the tight threads of restraint I’d bound myself with. He touched me like he knew every secret my skin kept hidden. He gave me a taste of pleasure so raw, so consuming, it made me question everything I thought I knew about desire.
All he ever asked of me was my blood. But I knew if I surrendered that, I wouldn’t be able to stop there. I’d give him everything. My body. My heart. My soul. And I did. Willingly.
His dark magnetism blinded me to the truth until it was far too late. I was drawn to him like a moth to flame, compelled, helpless. And when I stepped too close, the fire didn’t just burn. It consumed.
That’s when I learned the most devastating truth of all. Love like this doesn’t end in happily ever after.
It ends in ruin.
And in the end, only one of us will survive.

There he splays me out on his bed after stripping me down, so that he can worship my body until I’m screaming his name, over and over again.------------------------------
Hi. I am Averi, a girl. Or I used to be. After witnessing something that I would not ever forget, I've been forced into hiding. They’ve taken away all the past I had. And now, I'm masquerading as a boy named Corbin in an all-boys preparatory school. Covering my identity is already very difficult, and things begin to get more out of hand when I develop a crush on one of my new friends. Knox, the only one that makes me feel alive as who I actually am, is breaking my perfect disguise into pieces.

“We’re a disaster Nick. This whole thing is going to come tumbling down on us!”
Cara cried as she shook her head and pulled away from Nick.
He gently drew her back to his arms.
“I can't stay away from you. I've tried so hard to.”
“I know you're trying hard enough too but I can see how much it's hurting you.”
She turned to him with tears in her eyes. Her body trembling slightly.
“This is going to ruin us.”
"Let it."

He was her fiancé's brother.
She had never looked at him that way before, never even batted an eyelid at him. Until that night, that sinful night where they had both exploded in passion.
If word ever got out about the things they did, her family's reputation would be in shambles.
It would be the biggest scandal in New York High Society.

Cara Devine was engaged to marry Alexander Greene. Although their marriage had been arranged from the start, Cara had come to like Alexander, till his brother Nicholas Greene came along and slowly every inch of normalcy and stability was ripped from her life.
What Cara and Nicholas had was forbidden and it could very well ruin them, if they let it.

"Erin, are you really going to get back together with that cowardly ex-fiancé?" Kingsley stared at me, demanding an answer.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I glared at him and shouted back, "Yes! So what? We have nothing between us.Who the hell are you to question me?"
Kingsley burst into laughter, his laugh so sinister that it sent chills down my spine; looking at him, I felt both terrified and utterly estranged.
"He's a gentleman, sure, but can he make you climax in bed?" It was only then that I realized Kingsley had backed me into a corner.
His hand slid my short skirt up, his fingers teasing along the edge of my already drenched panties.
"Miss Erin, you're soaked for me!"

Love me or hate me either way, I will fuck you every night.


I needed to be inside of her again so desperately that the moment she moved enough that her legs parted, I couldn't help myself. She was already wet again, and my cock slipped inside of her with shocking ease. Her right heat gripped me so exquisitely I thought I would burst.

In the room's silence, I could hear her breathing pick up, but when I looked down, she still appeared asleep. Yet she now clenched her eyes shut and her lips parted in a silent moan.

I let more of my weight settle on her as I pushed deeper inside of her slick pussy. Her body welcomed me eagerly, and I exhaled sharply at the satisfaction of filling her.
Fucking Rhea was the best experience of my life. I wanted to have her as much as I could. Something told me she enjoyed me as well. The way in her and how she moaned when she came on my cock seemed genuine.

"Aleksander," she whispered my name, and I shoved into her harder at the sound of her breathy voice. "Ah!" She gasped and her arms flew up to wrap around my ribs.

"S-sam," I stutter, pressing my palms against his shoulder to try and get him off me. "You have been drugged," I tell him. I really don't know if I expected my admission to snap him out of whatever trance he has been placed him. It is no surprise when nothing of that nature happens.

Sam presses his nose harder into my neck, fully sniffing me. "Fuck," he breathes out in a low voice, and I suddenly feel something poking my hip. I shift uncomfortably, attempting to move away from it, when Sam lets out a sharp breath from above me, which is followed by a deep groan. His tongue slips out and licks down on the mark he gave me.

I'm biting down on my bottom lip at this point to hold back sounds that, unfortunately, don't feel like screams.

"Sam, you need to snap out of this," I beg. Another attempt to get him to get back to his senses.

Sam's hand slides down my body and... he cups my breast. I stiffen, my body freezing at that moment as my brain shuts down. He gropes my breast, and his thumb swipes across my nipples through my bra. And...I moan. I throw my head back and let out a loud aching moan. My eyes slide shut in shame.

Sam lets out a dark chuckle. "You're exquisite," he mumbles.

Larisa Starr, a kind , strong and best female warrior though can have a nasty temper most times was tagged as a murderer from the incident that killed her sister which made her father loathe her so much, no one could prove her innocence except the strange man that saved her from falling down the cliff. Her father threw her to her sister’s mate to get even with him and also help in straightening his pack which she objected to but as always, she has no say in whatever happens in her life ever since Hazel died. With a heavy heart, she went to the bar to knock herself off. She came across her strange savior again, emotions that had bottled up inside both of them spilled to the surface while they had one passionate night that feels like forever… covered in shame on how she threw herself on the man without knowing who he is...to add to her problem, she realized that she was pregnant for the stranger. Can her life ever get better?

Nina discovers that she is pregnant after a one-night stand with a stranger who turns out to be a rich and powerful quintessential playboy and her new boss.