1484 Book(s) Related to a rose among swords

I promised her father I would protect her.

Lizzie Foster was never meant to be mine.
She was the spoiled mafia princess I was ordered to guard… the daughter of my dying best friend… and the young woman already promised to another man.

My duty was simple: keep her safe until her wedding day.

Then her fiancé betrayed her.
And the only way to protect her was to do the unthinkable—

marry her myself.

Now Lizzie is living under my roof, wearing my ring, carrying my name… and testing every last ounce of the control I’ve built my life on.

She wants a real marriage.
Not a cold arrangement. Not a contract signed out of necessity.
She wants affection, devotion, a husband who will look at her like she’s the only woman in the world.

And the more time she spends in my bed, in my house, in my life… the harder it becomes to remember this marriage was never supposed to happen.

She was my best friend’s daughter.
Too young. Too forbidden. Too innocent for a man like me.

But Lizzie is mine now.

And I’m not sure if I’m protecting her from the brutality of our world…
or from the darkness inside me.

Insatiable Desire is the first book in the A Marriage to the Mafia Princess Trilogy, a steamy dark mafia romance series where each book follows a different couple and their own dangerous love story.

"Love doesn't hurt, Adrian. You did. I'm leaving to become someone you can't destroy. And when I return, you will learn what it means to lose everything."

Five years ago, Arabella Sterling vanished without a trace, disgraced, heartbroken, and branded her billionaire benefactor’s dirty secret.

What the world never knew was that she’d also been his wife.
Or that the man she loved—and the son she gave everything for—chose another woman over her.

Now, she’s back as The Reformer, a world-renowned business strategist celebrated for resurrecting dying empires.
Her newest client? The Sterling Group.
Her ex-husband’s empire.

Adrian Sterling has spent years trying to atone for the lies that destroyed them both.
But when Arabella walks into his boardroom, colder, sharper, untouchable...he realizes redemption may come at a cost he can’t pay.

Because this time, she’s not here to save him.

She’s here to ruin him.

The two met in the past at the Auxier kingdom and fell in love with the blessing of the other protectors. Their adventures begin, and after Nivia's passing, one of the Nine Protectors, Lucas Collymore, waits for nearly decades for Nivia Genesis to be reincarnated because he knows they will meet again. Fast forward to the present day, Lucas is now aware of Nivia's reincarnation is so, and another journey is about to begin for the two couples, along with the other protectors against the Blawnox.

They called him a "flickering candle" in a world of eternal ice.

Asher was born an anomaly among the vampire aristocracy, a high-born noble with a beating human heart. In a society that worships the cold and the dead, his warmth was a mark of shame. Betrayed by his kin and stripped of his rank, he was cast into the "Blood Pits" to be drained and forgotten.

But the aristocrats made a fatal mistake. They didn't realize that while their ancient blood is stagnant and cold, Asher’s heart is a Living Forge. Every beat of his heart refines his blood into a concentrated, golden energy that hasn't been seen since the age of the First Progenitors.

Asher isn’t just fighting for survival, though. He is driven by the memory of Charlotte, the daughter of the High Sovereign and the most beautiful woman in the Night Realm. To the world, she is a Frozen Goddess, untouchable and cold. To Asher, she is the only person who ever looked at him with something other than disgust.

Now, as Charlotte is used as a pawn in a political marriage to the man who ruined him, Asher’s blood begins to boil. He will tear his way out of the pits, evolve through the ranks of the undead, and burn down the old world to claim his place at her side.

The Failure is coming back for his throne. He will prove that the strongest steel isn't found in the grave, it’s forged in the pulse of the Iron Blood.

From #1 bestselling author Blake Pierce comes a heart-pounding new mystery series.In the cornfields of Nebraska a woman is found murdered, strung up on a pole, the victim of a deranged killer. It doesn’t take long for the police to realize a serial killer is on the loose—and that his spree has just begun.Detective Mackenzie White, young, tough, smarter than the aging, chauvinistic men on her local force, finds herself called in grudgingly to help solve it. As much as the other officers hate to admit it, they need her young, brilliant mind, which has already helped crack cold cases that had left them stumped. Yet even for Mackenzie this new case proves an impossible riddle, something the likes of which she—and the local force—have ever seen.With the FBI called in, together, an intense manhunt ensues. Mackenzie, reeling from her own dark past, her failed relationships, and her undeniable attraction to the new FBI agent, finds herself battling her own demons as her hunt for the killer takes her to the darkest places of her mind. As she delves into the killer’s mind, obsessing over his twisted psychology, she finds that evil truly does exist. She only hopes it will not be too late to extricate herself from it, as her entire life collapses around her.As more bodies turn up dead and a frantic race against time ensues, there is no way out but to find him before he kills again.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, BEFORE HE KILLS marks the debut of a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 in the Mackenzie White Mystery series will be available soon. Also available by Blake Pierce is ONCE GONE (A Riley Paige mystery—Book #1), a #1 bestseller!

“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) HOMECOMING (A Chloe Fine Mystery) is book #5 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. When two husbands, best friends, turn up dead in a wealthy suburban town, FBI VICAP Special Agent Chloe Fine, 27, is called in to unmask the lies in this small town and to find the killer. Chloe will have to penetrate this town’s perfect façade, to get past its public appearances to understand the truth of who these men were, and who may have wanted them dead. And in a town that thrives on its exclusivity, that won’t be easy to do.What secrets were these husbands hiding?An emotionally wrought psychological suspense with layered characters, small-town ambiance and heart-pounding suspense, HOMECOMING is book #5 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #6 in the Chloe Fine series will also be available soon.

“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) IF SHE KNEW (A Kate Wise Mystery) is book #1 in a new psychological thriller series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. 55 year old empty nester—and freshly retired FBI agent—Kate Wise finds herself drawn out of her quiet suburban life when her friend’s daughter is murdered in a home invasion—and she is implored to help.Kate thought she left the FBI behind after 30 years as their top agent, respected for her brilliant mind, tough street skills and her uncanny ability to hunt down serial killers. Yet Kate, bored with the quiet town, at a crossroads in life, is summoned by a friend she can’t turn down.As Kate hunts the killer, she soon finds herself at the forefront of a manhunt, as more bodies turn up—all suburban moms in perfect marriages—and it becomes apparent there is a serial killer stalking this quiet town. She unearths secrets from her neighbors she wishes she never knew, discovering that all is not what it seems in this picture of model streets and neighbors. Affairs and lying are rampant, and Kate must sift through the town’s underbelly if she will stop the killer from striking again.But this killer is one step ahead of her, and it may end up being Kate who is in danger.An action-packed thriller with heart-pounding suspense, IF SHE KNEW is book #1 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 in the KATE WISE MYSTERY series is coming soon!

The world changed when the Black Tower appeared on every continent.

Inside the tower were floors filled with monsters, gods, curses, relics and hard trials.

People had to climb the tower to survive.

Many groups, called Guilds formed.

Some kingdoms even fell apart.

The strong people became the leaders.

Adrian Chapman was once the best climber humanity had.

Then he became the biggest traitor.

After reaching Floor 97 Adrian got betrayed by his friends.

He and his friends had been climbing together for twenty years.

They even killed him to get the relic called the Heart of Chronos.

Instead of dying

Adrian goes back twenty years into the past.

This was before the Tower even appeared.

This time he does not want to be a hero.

He wants to become the guy that every climber fears.

He will take all the relics for himself.

He will stop heroes from becoming strong.

He will control kingdoms. Conquer the Tower by himself.

He does not care if people call him a monster.

A week before our wedding, I discovered my girlfriend wearing the wedding dress I bought her, having sex with her step-brother.
I decisively chose to abandon her and instead accepted a marriage proposal from a true wealthy heiress.
But when I married the heiress, my ex-girlfriend knelt on the ground crying and begging me to come back.
What a pity - I no longer want her.

To win a smile from my icy wife, I stood for four hours in a London blizzard, only to be greeted by her returning hand-in-hand with her childhood sweetheart, who had just returned from abroad.

For three years of marriage, I had concealed all my sharp edges, solely to warm her heart.
Until company secrets were leaked, and she unquestioningly believed her childhood sweetheart's framing, locking me, who suffered from severe claustrophobia, in a dark, abandoned wine cellar for a full forty-eight hours.

Watching her arrogantly slam the "Clean Break Agreement" onto my bleeding face, I smiled.
The moment I signed my name, the humble Arthur who loved her died utterly in the abyss.

That night, my yacht ran aground and exploded.
And the first heir of the Vance conglomerate, missing for three years, officially took control of the global technology lifeline.

Six months later, betrayed and facing bankruptcy, she clung to my trousers like a dead dog on the red carpet of a top-tier banquet, weeping and begging me to start over.
I was arm in arm with a true socialite, and I didn't even lift an eyelid as I looked at the woman covered in mud on the floor:
"Security, throw this crazy woman who's dirtied the carpet away. Don't spoil my fun."

For four years, I tolerated Grayson’s blatant favoritism. He spoiled my roommate Mia with exquisite breakfasts every day, while leaving me with plain biscuits and bitter black coffee. I swallowed every unfair slight, hoping for true love. Yet he finally humiliated me thoroughly by choosing Mia over me for the elite corporate event, sneering that I was unworthy of high society. Hiding my identity as the university’s secret heiress, I stopped my father from ruining his career on impulse. I will let them attend the glamorous party—not out of mercy, but to deliver my quiet, devastating revenge. Now I only need time to decide my next move, and whether to accept my arranged engagement.

In my previous life, I ran a barbecue restaurant to support my family for ten years, but my parents secretly sold the restaurant to a gang because of my younger brother's vanity in wanting him to study abroad.
An hour later, the apocalypse began, and my little shop became a god-level safe house—
Those with superpowers who enter the store have their abilities automatically copied to the store owner; the store is absolutely safe; the store owner decides who enters and who leaves.
My family ruined my amazing little shop, and they scolded me, saying, "Who told you to be unable to keep the shop?"
I was heartbroken and torn to pieces in the mouth of a zombie.
In this life, I was reborn back to an hour before the shop was taken away.
I must protect my shop!
As for those so-called family members—let them fend for themselves in the apocalypse!

"Baby, lend me Stella for the movie."
When my fiancé Damon said this, I thought it was the most romantic thing ever. My guide dog starring in his Oscar-worthy film—what a perfect love story.
I'm Aria Sinclair, 26-year-old blind film producer with perfect pitch and endless money, but no eyes. So when he said "The press will go crazy for our story," I stupidly agreed.
Three weeks later, in the editing room:
01:47:23—Dull impact.
01:47:31—Familiar whimper.
01:47:35—Silence.
My perfect pitch never lies. That wasn't CGI—that was real impact. Worse, I knew that whimper. That was Stella, my guide dog, my eyes, my most loyal companion.
They killed her. For a goddamn trophy.
On premiere night, when Damon walked the red carpet with a strange German Shepherd, when I touched her paw and found no white star-shaped mark—
"This is not my dog!"
I broke down in front of hundreds of reporters.
"Honey, you're under too much stress," Damon said gently. "Maybe you need rest."
Whispers from the audience: "Poor blind girl..." "She really needs help..."
Just like that, I became the crazy one.
Abandoned by the world.
Betrayed by the man I loved most.
But they made one fatal mistake—they thought stealing my eyes would silence me.
Now it's time to let them hear what despair sounds like...
[Click to watch me destroy them both...]

Six months into the apocalypse, I risked my life to pamper my girlfriend like a princess, only to be betrayed by her and the camp leader .
My legs were broken, and I was thrown over the wall to be eaten by dogs ; hundreds of civilians I had once protected turned on me .
On the verge of death, I unexpectedly rescued a mysterious prodigy, instantly binding myself to an endless space and granting me divine healing abilities . My severed limbs regenerated instantly, and I had access to countless top-tier resources .
Returning to the camp fully healed, I stomped on the leader's knee and kicked my scheming ex-girlfriend into a horde of zombies .
In this damn apocalypse, from this day forward, I am the one and only new king .

I pursued Kaelzen, Alpha of the Frostfang Tribe, for four years and was about to marry him, only to expose his deception shortly before the wedding. A serious head injury erased all my memories of him. My family arranged a new marriage with the Duskthorn Tribe heir, and I agreed, planning to leave once the Ash Gate opens in seven days. Unaware of my memory loss, Kaelzen still treats me arrogantly, yet he is just a stranger to me now.

I bought a handsome, aloof incubus from a clearance sale online to be my live-in maid.
For a week, he was perfect. Then he started fainting, his skin burning with a fever no amount of rest could fix. Panicked that I’d somehow overworked my best employee, I called the 24/7 Aphrodisiac (companyI bought him from) helpline.

Ma’am, our incubus models have a demonic lineage and you have got a high-output model. They have near-infinite stamina. They don't get 'feverish' from vacuuming. But... why did you have him doing 'housework'?"
"Because the house was dirty?"
The agent suddenly chuckled. "Ah, I see. Everyone has their own fantasies and kinks. Roleplay is very popular. But tell me, according to the log, when was the last time Xanthos received physical intimacy?"
"Huh?"
"Physical intimacy," the agent repeated. "Love, spoiling, skin-to-skin contact. If a male incubus doesn't get intimacy, his internal energy stagnates. They fall sick. Male models are much higher maintenance than females; they need constant affection to stay healthy."
My blood ran cold. "Affection? I bought him to mop the floors!"
"Ma'am," the agent's voice dropped. "You are on Aphrodisiac. We are the world's leading provider of supernatural escorts. Did you... did you not read the site description?"

Turns out, I hadn’t bought a demonic domestic servant.
I’d accidentally purchased a high-maintenance supernatural escort.
And apparently, if I didn’t start showing my “maid” some affection soon, he would die and I would be jailed for abusing my maid.

"Riccardo, please! I beg you!"
My water broke ten minutes ago. Warm liquid streamed down my legs and slowly froze into ice on the ground beneath me.
He stood on the other side of the bulletproof glass. In his eyes, there was not a trace left of the man I had once loved with all my heart.
In the Bellanona Mafia family, bloodline surpasses everything, and the hierarchy of age is an unyielding iron rule: the firstborn son shall inherit the entire underworld empire.
My sister-in-law Sofia and I were both pregnant, our due dates merely one day apart.
To make sure his elder brother’s child seized the succession right first, my husband coldly chose to sacrifice our own flesh and blood.
"My brother’s child must be born first." Riccardo’s voice came over the intercom, colder and more piercing than bitter winter wind. "This is what you owe them."
He had not only locked me inside this icy cellar. Just moments ago, his men pinned me down ruthlessly and injected a dose of medicine into my vein, solely to forcefully halt my labor.
Writhing in agony, I hugged my heavily pregnant belly tightly with both arms.
I could distinctly feel the little life inside me, once kicking and struggling relentlessly, growing fainter and fainter.
I’m sorry, my baby… Mommy is so sorry for you.

At the scene of the car accident, my parents frantically scooped up my sister—who only had a scraped knee—then kicked me aside as I lay there dying.
"Don't be a burden to your sister. Just wait by the roadside and croak!"
They drove off without a second thought. In that moment, my heart turned to stone.
What they didn't know was that I didn't die. Instead, I got adopted by a top-tier professor and became a math prodigy worth tens of millions.
Two years later, when my birth parents went bankrupt and got on their knees begging me for a handout, I smiled coldly and played the recording of their attempted murder...

He fell in love with her at the very first sight. She is a sassy, rich and arrogant spoiled brat. He is very calm and understanding. She is an extrovert. He is an introvert. She is careless and rude. He is caring and kind. She is bold and he is shy.
When there was a chance they could be together he chose to love her from afar.
The interesting part is he didn't confess his love to her but she did. Everything was fine now. But then something happened and she broke his heart.
After five years their paths crossed. The pain she gave him he felt again, and now he wants to take revenge on her.
He left no choices for her except to obey him.
Will he be able to forgive her?
She still loves him and he always does but both of them never want to understand their feelings.
Will they be able to fall in love again with each other?

Deep in the Appalachian Mountains, there stands a Gothic manor.

That is where my family lives.

Every twenty years, we invite an "outsider"—a man not of our blood—to be our guest. They all share one thing in common: each is steeped in wickedness.

Ron was the eighteenth. And he was the key to whether I would successfully shed my skin.

He believed he had come only to inherit a fortune.

He did not know that the altar in the basement was already prepared.

And our family's tradition is to awaken the blood of Lamia within us—

using the heart of the wicked.

I am a monster, and I have been hiding in the shadows for twelve years.

In the apocalypse, she turned into a zombie. Those who had previously admired and respected her fled, and even the scientific research she had dedicated half her life to used her as a new experimental subject.

But I was happy about it. I put an exquisite collar on her, wrapped the chain around her neck, and led her home.

When she smells my scent, her eyes gradually redden, her chains rattle, and her golden hair turns snow-white, making her look like a beautiful elf.

"Don't bite yet, senior, be good."

The zombie's instincts seemed to make her constantly avoid getting close to me.

"Damn zombie instincts, how dare they defile my senior's body."

我躺在那里，脸埋在妈妈那破烂的阴部黏稠的残骸里，她疲惫的身体像被征服的战利品一样瘫坐在我身上。房间里弥漫着精液、粪便和汗水的臭味——我们的宿舍兄弟们早已离开，笑得前仰后合。索菲的大腿在我耳边颤抖，浓密的阴唇还在抽动，把群交鸡尾酒渗到我嘴唇上。心跳加速，我僵住了。她看见我看着那场肮脏的节目——她那精英律师的伪装破碎了，沦为室友们喝尿、舔屁股的荡妇。

“嗯......伊桑？”她的声音哽咽，喉咙交欢后沙哑，呼吸热烈地吹在我额头上。没有愤怒——只有带着羞愧的欲望。“宝贝......你尝过所有的......通过我。舔得更深。妈妈现在需要她的乖孩子。”

操。界限模糊了。咬紧牙关逃跑？还是直接跳进去，抢先吃到的？她的臀部磨蹭着，强迫我的舌头进入。无处可逃。这就是我们的新地狱——天堂。

My uncle has a hunting cabin in Alaska. Every December, I stay there for a few days.

This year he wasn't there—left me the keys.

When I walked in, I noticed there was a new deer head mount above the fireplace.

Not a whitetail deer. A moose. Very large.

But I noticed its eyes weren't made of glass.

Those two eyeballs looked... too real.

The pupils even contracted in the light.

I texted my uncle asking when he'd shot this moose.

He replied: "What moose?"

I looked at the mount again.

Its lips moved slightly.

Not the rise and fall of breathing, but... trying to form a word.

She thought it was love. But was it really a love or his TRAP. He was thirsty for revenge, drowned in hatred. His heart was dead, only hatred left in him. She brings the spark of solace in his dark world unaware about the tornado that will ruin her life. He was a burning flame and she was an ice. His deep eyes held so many secrets while her eyes held pure innocence and fear; Fear of him. He wants nothing but revenge and she is going to be his trump card. She loved a monster in human disguise.
When she learns about his dirty game plans she tries to escape from his territory. But, will he let her go away? NO. He is so obsessed with her that he will go to the extent even if it means to cage her, with or without her will.

"You are MINE Shanaya, you can't escape, this is my world and I rule here" Avyaansh
"Please don't hurt me" Shanaya

A tale of Love, Lies and Heartbreak.
Why does Avyaansh want revenge? Why is he using Shanaya? What hidden secret still needs to come out. Will he ever realize his love for her? Or will she ever be able to forgive him?

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.

When I woke up, I was locked at a round table, surrounded by four strangers.

A masked clown said: "Tonight there are only four gifts. The extra person... who could it be?"

The clown invited us to play a game.

The rules were simple—Liar's Poker.

Liars die. Those successfully challenged also die.

In the first round, the tattooed brute beside me lost and was dragged into the "Meat Grinder Ferris Wheel."

I heard the sound of his bones being crushed by gears.

The clown wiped blood from his hands, laughing: "Children who lie must be punished, you know~"

"Did you enjoy the game Penny prepared for you all?"

The moment he uttered "Penny's" name, everyone's faces broke out in cold sweat, because she had been dead for three years.

And everyone present... including me...

Remembered clearly.

I'm a folklorist. Folk traditions are my field.
At first, I thought it was just an ordinary rhyme, a scrap of oral history set to a tune.
"A rag doll in the mire, swinging high up to the sky..."
We all thought it was just a prank.
Until the first person drowned in the bog. Then the second fell from a tower crane. Then the third somehow drowned in a bathtub.
I stared at the black symbol surfacing on the back of my hand.
And then I saw the dean—the one who was supposed to be dead—standing outside my dorm window in a long black dress, smiling at me with impossible tenderness...

The End Times Came, and I Awakened the Ability to Grow Vegetables

Every time I catalyzed a vegetable, it drained my stamina and life force.

But my sister Lucy needs to eat, and everyone in the camp needs to eat.

So I gave my life to the soil, exchanging life for food again and again.

Cult leader Silas patted my shoulder and said I was God's gardener, that Eden was born because of me.

I thought I had found a home.

I distributed the vegetables I grew to everyone in the camp.

Until I discovered the blue-green veins on my sister's arm.

Until I discovered that the bottle of "holy water" I fed her every day wasn't medicine at all.

Until I discovered that my sister had been sent to their altar.

We had earned countless merits in war.

I could crush refined steel with my bare hands. My comrades could manipulate metal, hack electronic devices, and phase through concrete walls.

But what was the price?

Bone calcification, organ failure, every breath feeling like swallowing razor blades.

Ever since we broke into that laboratory,

For seventy years, we've been hiding in the gutters like rats, barely surviving.

Until my comrade was strapped to an experiment table once again.

I wasn't supposed to see it. Mom's phone, unlocked on the kitchen counter—a mirror selfie in black lace, her "After Dark Society" group chat blowing up with creampie vids and gangbang confessions. Vivienne—that was her handle. My straight-laced teacher mom, spilling secrets to sluts like Rain, Mei, and the Sterling twins.

Curiosity? Or something darker? I created Celeste. Fake wife, fake pics. Infiltrated her world. Watched her evolve from heartbroken widow to cock-hungry queen, drugging hubby fantasies turning real while Dad rotted in prison for embezzlement.

Months in: her posts got filthier. "Fucked my son's classmate in his bed while he slept." Wyatt, my neighbor buddy. Then Aunt Rina caught me jerking to it all—blackmailed me into her fist in a beach stall, popping my cherry while Mom rode the resort manager live on iPad.

Now? Penthouse bound, wrists tied. Mom—Lauren—smirks down. "Knew it was you, baby. Punishment? Watch Mommy get triple-teamed. Then... everything's yours."

Her phone dings. Three studs at the door. "Loves seeing holes wrecked, boys. Make my pervert son beg."

No escape. The line's crossed. I'm not her son anymore—I'm her audience. And I crave the show.

Carter Anderson is part of the top Fortune 500 and runs a publishing company focused on vintage printing. He is struggling with his past and with the immense pressure that is put on him. When his new administrator, Ariana Adams, walks in to meet him for the first time, they are both awestruck by one another. Once she learns about what he's into, she can't get enough. That is until the media begins to put pressure on them. She eventually begins to wonder whether they can work or not and even though they stumble, they keep coming back together. No matter how difficult it is.

Warnings: Sexual Content, Cursing, BDSM, D/s

Age Suggestion: 18+

The Secretary Series: A CEO and Secretary Steamy Romance is created by Minette Enfers, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

"You will be married to the King of Grok on the fourth night, and that's final!"

I fell to my knees, the cold marble digging into my skin. I had studied for years in the flickering candlelight, memorizing every herb and poison to pass the healer's exam. I wanted freedom. I wanted to save my mother from the servant's quarters. I placed second. I thought I had won my life back.

But the King didn't give me a badge of honor. He gave me a death sentence.

"Raven Thorne shall be wed to the King of Grok," he announced, his voice echoing in the silent hall. Princess Ellie, the woman who had tormented me for years, slapped her hands over her mouth to hide her cruel laughter. She was supposed to marry the Beast. Now, I was the lamb being sent to the slaughter in her place.

They say King Liam drinks the blood of his enemies. They say he is more monster than man. And now, I have to walk into his bedroom, wearing the Princess's silk gown, and pray he doesn't tear me apart.

I looked at the King, tears streaming down my face. "I'll do it," I whispered, my voice trembling. "But my mother must be safe."

I sold my body and soul to a monster to save her. But when the carriage door opened and I finally looked into the Beast's golden eyes, I realized the terrifying truth...

He wasn't a stranger. He was the man I met in the woods.

I only came to the Academy to survive. Love was never part of the plan.

But the moment my eyes met his-Darius Fenrir, heir to the most powerful Alpha line-my wolf whispered one word that shattered everything.

Mate.

He should have been my destiny. Instead, he rejected me in front of everyone.

Weak. Unworthy. Unwanted.

Now I walk the halls branded by his pride, whispers snapping at my heels, every look reminding me that I'll never be enough for an Alpha.

But I refuse to bow.

Because while Darius watches me with storm-dark eyes full of regret, another wolf circles closer-Gideon Wicke, his rival, his enemy... and the one who offers me the power to strike back.

Two Alphas. One bond.

And me, caught between pride, love, and a war that could tear the Academy apart.

He rejected me once. This time, I'll decide who burns.

Isabella’s world shatters when her longtime boyfriend, Damon Sanchez, publicly proposes to her best friend. Humiliated and heartbroken, she drowns her sorrows in a bar—only to wake up on the bed of Matteo Moretti, the city’s most powerful billionaire.
Their one-night stand should have been the end of it.
But when her brother Alan's illness and Damon's vengeance leave her jobless, fate delivers Isabella straight into the jaws of her most dangerous mistake—Matteo Moretti, now her ruthless new boss.
Caught between Damon’s vindictive games and Moretti’s dangerous allure, Isabella must decide—is survival worth the cost of her heart?
Especially when Matteo’s seven-year-old son, Noah, starts calling her "Mom."

In a world where the magic of the ocean and the secrets of the moon intertwine, Mia, a dazzling golden mermaid, dreams of true love. During a festive night on the beach, her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Andrew, a charismatic scientist who hides a dark secret: he is a werewolf. The connection between them is instantaneous, but happiness is short-lived, as the evil mermaids who stalk the werewolves are quick to show their cruelty..
When these evil mermaids kidnap Mia, her life is extinguished in a tragic twist of fate. Heartbroken, Andrew defied the laws of nature in a desperate attempt to revive her.
Thus, using Mia's organs and heart, he creates a new creature: a reborn mermaid, powerful and passionate, endowed with extraordinary abilities and, most importantly, a deep connection to him.

Now, this new mermaid awakens in a world where love and revenge intertwine. Though her essence is that of Mia, the reborn mermaid, whom Andrés has named Selene, carries with her fragments of memories that emerge in flashes, leaving her conflicted between her new identity and the love that binds her to Andrés.

Selene discovers that her resurrection has not been without consequences. The sciencie Andrés used to bring her back has upset the balance between sea creatures and werewolves, unleashing the wrath of the evil mermaids who now seek revenge for Mia's death.

Catherina Hanshaw Dalton has spent six years believing she lived a fairytale, married to billionaire Xavier Dalton, cherished by him, and building a life rooted in devotion, even amid one heartbreak she cannot control: their inability to have a child. Though Xavier assures her she is enough, Catherine senses his quiet disappointment, a wound deepened by the venomous hostility of his mother, Lydia Dalton. Lydia never misses a chance to insult Catherine’s infertility, idolize Xavier’s sister Mia and her children, or imply Xavier married beneath his status. Catherine endures it all, clinging to the one constant comfort, Xavier always defends her. Or so she believes.
This Christmas, however, Catherine’s dread of another humiliating Dalton family gathering turns into confusion. Lydia is gracious….kind, even. The manor is full of relatives, business partners, and esteemed guests, including Hunter Powell, Xavier’s ruthless business rival. The brief moment when Cathy’s eyes meet Hunter unsettles her, but nothing prepares her for Lydia’s “special Christmas gift.”
During the toast, Lydia presents Caroline Turner…a beautiful young woman who is allegedly four months pregnant through surrogacy…with Xavier’s child.

“Thriller writing at its best. Thriller enthusiasts who relish the precise execution of an international thriller, but who seek the psychological depth and believability of a protagonist who simultaneously fields professional and personal life challenges, will find this a gripping story that's hard to put down.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Any Means Necessary)“One of the best thrillers I have read this year. The plot is intelligent and will keep you hooked from the beginning. The author did a superb job creating a set of characters who are fully developed and very much enjoyable. I can hardly wait for the sequel.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Any Means Necessary)When nuclear waste is stolen by jihadists in the middle of the night from an unguarded New York City hospital, the police, in a frantic race against time, call in the FBI. Luke Stone, head of an elite, secretive, department within the FBI, is the only man they can turn to. Luke realizes right away that the terrorists’ aim is to create a dirty bomb, that they seek a high-value target, and that they will hit it within 48 hours.A cat and mouse chase follows, pitting the world’s most savvy government agents versus its most sophisticated terrorists. As Agent Stone peels back layer after layer, he soon realizes he is up against a vast conspiracy, and that the target is even more high value than he could have imagined—leading all the way to the President of the United States. With Luke framed for the crime, his team threatened and his own family in danger, the stakes could not be higher. But as a former special forces commando, Luke has been in tough positions before, and he will not give up until he finds a way to stop them—using any means necessary.Twist follows twist as one man finds himself up against an army of obstacles and conspiracies, pushing even the limits of what he can handle, and culminating in a shocking climax.A political thriller with heart-pounding action, dramatic international settings, and non-stop suspense, ANY MEANS NECESSARY marks the debut of an explosive new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.Book #2 in the Luke Stone series is also now available!

“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) FACE OF DEATH is book #1 in a new FBI thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. FBI Special Agent Zoe Prime suffers from a rare condition which also gives her a unique talent—she views the world through a lens of numbers. The numbers torment her, make her unable to relate to people, and give her a failed romantic life—yet they also allow her to see patterns that no other FBI agent can see. Zoe keeps her condition a secret, ashamed, in fear her colleagues may find out.Yet when a serial killer strikes across the Midwest, strangling women in remote places and seemingly at random, Zoe, for the first time, is stumped. Is there a pattern? Can there be no pattern at all? Or is this killer as obsessed with numbers as she is?In a mad race against time, Zoe must enter the diabolical mind of a killer who always seems to be one step ahead of her, and stop him from claiming his next victim before it’s too late. At the same time, she must keep at bay her own demons, which may ultimately prove to be even more threatening.An action-packed thriller with heart-pounding suspense, FACE OF DEATH is book #1 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Books #2 and #3 in the series—FACE OF MURDER and FACE OF FEAR—are also available for pre-order.

When Alexander Carter, the ruthless and irresistibly charming CEO of one of the country’s largest corporations, walked into my office, I thought he was there to terminate my contract. After all, I had just lost everything in a project sabotaged by his company. But instead, he made me an offer that would change my life: marry him for one year.

Sounds crazy? Maybe. But with my younger sister depending on me and the bills piling up, refusing wasn’t an option. In return, he offered enough money to rebuild my career and a contract to lead a project I had always dreamed of.

There was just one rule: don’t fall in love.

Simple, right? Or so I thought. Until I realized that behind his cold demeanor and flawless suits was a man full of secrets. A man who started to unravel me with every touch, every whispered word, every lingering glance.

Now, as I fight to keep up the façade of the perfect wife and uncover the conspiracies within his world, one question remains: when all this ends, will I be able to walk away unscathed?

Luna Chen wanted a quiet life. Instead, she got a 1940s architect in a tailored suit who appeared in her bedroom at 3 a.m. and calmly announced:

“You’re my wife now.”

Rhen Blackwood has been trapped in her grandmother’s apartment for eighty years, bound by a supernatural contract.

The final condition? Fall in love for real… or the Spirit Broker drags his soul into eternal nothingness.

Luna doesn’t believe in ghosts. She definitely doesn’t believe in love. But Ren is infuriatingly perceptive, dryly funny, and the only person who sees straight through her walls.

As the deadline closes in, the lines between annoyance and aching want begin to blur. Lights flicker. Secrets surface.

And every time Ren’s form starts to fade, Luna realizes she might lose the one man who finally makes her feel alive.

She was supposed to fix his unfinished business.
She never expected him to become hers.

A slow-burn paranormal romance full of dark humor, haunted hearts, and one very stubborn ghost who refuses to stay dead.

Betrayed by my mate, humiliated in front of my entire pack, and left to pick up the shattered pieces of my life, I thought things couldn't get worse. But when my father, the only person I have left, is thrown in prison for standing up to the Alpha who rejected me, I'm forced into an impossible choice: wallow in my misery or risk everything to save him.

To free my father, I must become a spy—sent into the heart of the feared Starlight pack, where Alpha Dante, a feral and ruthless leader, reigns. They say no one survives his wrath. He's dangerous, unpredictable, and exactly the kind of enemy I should avoid.

But fate has other plans. In the depths of Starlight, I discover the last thing I expected—Alpha Dante is my second chance mate. Now I’m torn between two worlds: the one I was forced to leave behind and the one that offers a new, terrifying future.

Can I trust a man known only for his brutality? Or will falling for him be the biggest mistake of my life? With my father’s life on the line and my heart caught between duty and desire, I must decide if I’m willing to risk everything…again.

"Don't test me, Stone; your family has always thought that it was untouchable... Felt on top of the world, didn't you? You didn't care about who you needed to stomp down to get there?"

His fingers hung dangerously over the trigger; I shook as far as my binds would let me, tears rolling down to the gag in my mouth… that muffled my cries.

But even as I had the gun pointed at my head, my husband was not looking at me; his eyes were purely placed on Liliana.

“Talk to me, you bastard!.. You have to choose between your wife or your first love.”

On her wedding day, Aurora chased after her runaway groom who went to console his first love, only to be kidnapped along with that woman and tortured for 3 days straight until she was met with the ultimate pain; her fiancée, who she thought would turn to her forever, choosing another woman over her and not only that but confessing that his first love was carrying his child too. Just like she was, except he would never find out. At least not in that life; she took a bullet to the head and was reborn on the day of her wedding. When he runs off to meet his first love and console her again, she doesn't foolishly chase after him; rather, she walks towards his brother, the most desirable bachelor in the city, and says, “Will you marry me instead?"

Woke up with the power to command endless zombies. I guarded the fortress for my sister, only to find her tortured, drained of blood, and used as live bait. A fake hologram fooled me for two years. Now I unleash my million undead army to burn all traitors to ashes.

I thought I'd signed up for an immersive dating show.

Turns out it was a 99.9% death rate, globally livestreamed horror game.

And me? Half-blind without my contacts, desperate to go viral, I somehow talk my way through a death game like it's a romance.

I mistook blood for ketchup, human eyeballs for sashimi, a murderous child ghost for a kid who just needed some love.

Worst part? I fell for the guy running the place, the one who could kill you without blinking, and tried to get his number within the hour.

My teammate hissed at me, shaking. "You wanna die, fine, just don't take us with you!"

I just waved him off. It's a dating show. Relax.

With only three days left until the apocalyptic fungal outbreak, my ordinarily strict father unexpectedly took out a million-dollar loan from a loan shark, transferred it to my account, and issued an absolute order: "Buy supplies, build a fortress, and even if you die, do not open that door!"

Staring at the seven-figure balance, I grabbed a liquor bottle, shattered the nose of the school bully who used to torment me, and instantly kicked off a frantic hoarding spree. I bought out a penthouse on the 50th floor, welded on a bank-vault-grade blast door, and stockpiled an endless supply of Tomahawk steaks and a massive arsenal of weapons.

When the disaster finally struck, the once-arrogant rich kids downstairs were reduced to bloody fodder for the monsters. The starving school bully knelt outside my door, tearing into his own companions just for a leftover bone. Meanwhile, separated by bulletproof glass, I sipped an ice-cold cola and coldly enjoyed the show.

Just as a massive horde of the infected surrounded the building, my parents unexpectedly arrived in a Unimog heavy armored vehicle armed to the teeth, crushing through the sea of corpses in a dominant rescue. With our family reunited and packing heavy firepower, we violently tore open our own path of rampage across this scorched wasteland!

When Trevor Sullivan had nothing, I gave up billions to follow him to Silicon Valley. Everyone said I was crazy in love with him, until his first love came back to the States right after he made it big.

Seven years of playing the perfect wife and mother, and then I hear him coaching our five-year-old daughter: "Ruby, you can't tell Mommy about my fake wedding with Amber. Not a word, okay?"

"But Daddy, Mommy's gonna be sad..."

"If you tell Mommy, Daddy won't love you anymore. Got it?"

My daughter trembles, nodding frantically.

I stand outside the door, my heart turning to ash.

For the woman he never got over, he doesn't just betray our marriage. He makes our five-year-old lie for him.

Everyone expects me to cry, to beg, to fall apart.

Instead, I dial the number I blocked seven years ago: "Dad, can the family jet still come get me?"

Trevor Sullivan has no idea. I was never some gold digger who needed him to survive. I was the one with everything who made myself small for his sake.