2460 Book(s) Related to where does reminders of him take place

Ryan Kade is the NHL’s ruthless captain, feared on the ice, untouchable off it. When a career-threatening injury forces him into rehab, he’s assigned Lena Morales, the team’s new physiotherapist: calm, brilliant, and completely immune to his charm.

Their attraction is instant and forbidden.

Every touch lingers too long, every session blurs the boundaries between professionalism and desire, and what begins as controlled tension erupts into a covert, addictive affair that has the potential to destroy them both.

As the playoffs approach, contracts are threatened, rumors begin to spread, and Lena may be held responsible for a man's success. When everything falls apart, Ryan must choose between pursuing the woman he loves and protecting his reputation.

A passionate hockey romance that is full of strength, temptation, and a love that won't go away.

Both of them closed in on me at once.
Ezequiel gripped my waist, his rough voice burning against my neck, while Emmanuel pushed my legs open with a confidence that made my breath break.
Their hands, their mouths, their hungry breaths claimed every inch of my skin as if I already belonged to them.
—You’re ours, —one growled.
—All of you, —the other finished, their tongues meeting between my thighs.
My moan was swallowed by the vampire’s fangs as he caught my jaw and forced me to face him.
—You’re not escaping us, little Omega, —he promised.
—Tonight… the three of us devour you.

She loved him enough to die for him.
A thousand years later, she’s back to make him pay.
Seraphina Vale was once a witch with a pure heart and a dangerous gift. When the vampire Caelum Draven was hunted and left to die, she broke every law of magic to save him, binding her life to his forever. But love became a curse. Betrayal followed, and she lost everything, even her soul.
Now, Seraphina lives among humans, hiding her power and her hunger. Until the night his name returns to her in blood and the past refuses to stay buried.
Caelum rules the vampire world. Seraphina was supposed to be dead.
Love made her immortal. Betrayal made her a weapon.
Eternity has a price; and she’s here to collect it.

"Never call a girl a bi-t-ch," I said, my gaze locking onto his as he blinked awake, the bright blue drink I had just doused him with still trickling from his dark locks. "Or she might just give you a taste of her temper."

I flashed him one last sardonic smile before brushing past him and walking away, practically swaying with attitude.

Well, this year promises to be... interesting.

Carla Summers: a self-proclaimed connoisseur of sarcasm and the living embodiment of impulsive missteps. In an attempt to flee her tumultuous past, she relocates to California with her mom, hoping for a fresh start—and perhaps a chance to get it right this time around.

In her new home, Carla quickly befriends Josie and Tamia, her newfound accomplices in mischief, and for the first time in years, her life begins to feel like it's settling into a semblance of normalcy.

However, she also crosses paths with Asmodeus Stewart—the school’s irresistibly infuriating bad boy—and his entourage of less-than-stellar characters.

She detests him, and he returns the sentiment in full.

Yet, as poets often muse, the boundary between love and hate is perilously thin. Sometimes, when two people despise each other, that animosity can evolve into something far deeper.

A hopeless entanglement, one might say...

Arya V​itale, t​he da⁠ughter of​ his sw​o​r‍​n enem​y was supp​osed t‌o be a bar​g⁠aining⁠ chip
A p‍awn i​n a bloo‍d w‌a‌r but‌ from‌ the mome‍nt Giova​nni D‍e-Sa‌ntis laid ey‍es​ on her​, he didn’t see a p‌awn… h​e saw his

So he too‌k her
S​t⁠o⁠le⁠ her from her wed​d‍ing, force​d her into⁠ a cont‍r‌act marr‍⁠iage⁠,⁠ and br‍an‍d‍ed her w⁠ith his n​ame in ever​y way th‌at m⁠attered‌

To t⁠he wo‌rld, i⁠t was a b⁠us‍in‍ess stra⁠​tegy

T​‍o him‌ she was ne‌⁠ver meant‌ to be hi⁠‌s,​ it was an obsession

But sh⁠‍e is‍n‌’t t‍he f⁠ragile pri‍nces⁠s h⁠e‌ expect​ed‌. She’‌s sma​rt, sha‍r​p, hot-head​ed⁠, sassy, and far too goo⁠d a‌t ma​king hi‍m fee‍l things​‍ he buried long​ ago
And when she runs away he h​unts h‌er

Becau‌s​e Giovanni doesn’‍t​ lose
​Not h​is em‌pire
N​ot‌ hi⁠s‌ war

‍And never t‌he wo​m⁠an h‌e​‍’s‌ marked​ as his own
But some war​s ca​n’t be w‍on with bullets⁠

Some secrets⁠ re⁠fuse to stay buried

And the dead‌l‌iest betrayal may not come from his enemies at a​ll…
What happens when the​ one thing he can’t cont‌rol
is the only th‌ing that co‍uld destroy him ‍ is the only thing that could destroy him?
And a war that demands blood….even if it’s hers.

Because of Elisa's sudden loss of communication with her boyfriend, Francis. She was forced go to Manila to look for it, but in her search for him, the course of her life would change with a man who would take possession of her whole life.

Will Elisa still be able to leave the side of a Mafia Boss? If she misses every kiss of him and every caress of her body? Especially if she knows his boyfriend is already in the other woman?

"Do I want a taste?" his voice deeper than he had ever spoken. His eyes pinned on me like I was the only thing that fascinated him.

"What do I do? I thought to myself as he moved closer to me, I wanted to run away, to resist him but I was pinned to the wall by him. "Gosh I hate this man so much" his scent, his body, his beautiful green eyes, he was driving me crazy.
I know this is wrong, he has a fiancee and all but that makes me want him even mo re. "Get on the bed and spread your legs" his cold voice woke m e up and then I remembered I was just a maid to him. "Yes master".

Millie’s world is small and safe. It revolves around her parents and her two childhood best friends, Daxton and Sammy. They are her constant, her comfort, her definition of home. To her, that’s all she’ll ever need.
Or at least, that’s what she tells herself. Because deep down, she has always believed she would never be enough to be chosen.
Then Alan moves in next door. Raised by a single mother, Alan has spent his life earning everything the hard way. He has ambition, discipline, and a future built with his own hands.
But there’s one thing he’s never had…a real childhood... and someone who stays. And when he sees Millie, surrounded by laughter and warmth, he knows he’s found what he’s been missing.
He doesn’t just want to be part of her world. He wants her. Slowly, patiently, he begins to break through her walls.
For the first time, Millie feels something unfamiliar, something terrifying—Love.
But just when she starts to explore these newly felt feelings, everything changes.
Daxton, her protector, her closest friend, the one who has always stood by her, confesses his deep-seated feelings for her.
Now Millie stands at a crossroads she was never prepared for.
The boy who feels like home…Or the one who makes her want more.

Kingsrow International College is not for all kids. It’s for top kids, super smart kids, and kids who work hard. Atlas Knox Wainwright is all three. He’s head of the Kingsrow Knights basketball team. He’s the best kid in the school. He’s the boy no one can touch. His life is neat, in his hands, and just how he likes it.

Then Aurelia Hattie Miller from Houston, Texas comes, and all things change.

She talks big. She’s not neat. She speaks her mind and does what she likes. She does not fit in a fancy school like this, and Atlas tells her so. But when her marks go bad and his plan gets too much, they have to hang out each day. She needs him to teach her. He needs her to keep him on track. Both are mad about it.

But when you hang a lot with someone, you get them. You know their true self. Aurelia sees the hard weight Atlas holds in quiet. Atlas sees she tries much, even when she looks chill. While they yell and do night school time, they quit saying “no” to how they feel.

Until the big game comes. Until Atlas picks the ball, not her. Until all breaks.

Now he must pick what counts top: the good life he made, or the girl who flipped it.

I left behind the lies, the fear, and the mafia world my ex dragged me into. A new apartment was supposed to be my fresh start to focus on my photography and life ahead.

Then I met the man across the hall. Dante Voss was everything I didn't know I needed–kind, patient and very attentive. He made me feel safe for the first time in months and even my stalker seemed far away now. Everything was perfect until cracks started to show up as he knew things I never told him, isolated me and the more I fell for him, the more I started to wonder if our meeting was ever an accident at all.

Because the truth is far worse than I imagined.

Now I'm trapped between two ruthless mafia kings, hunted by the past I ran from and protected by the man who has been watching me from the shadows all along. The stalker I've feared for months and the man I've fallen in love with are one and the same.

Some men don't pursue you, they simply make sure there's nowhere else to go.

After being reborn, my cousin and I swapped mates.
Last life, she married Kaelen Thornfield — the coldest Alpha in the West. Fifty years together and he never marked her. Not once. His childhood "friend," an Omega with a PhD in crying on command, made sure of that. My cousin faded into nothing. Unmarked. Unloved. Invisible.
Me? I married a man who couldn't stand the sound of my voice. Eleven months. Done.
This time, I took the western contract. Drove three days across the country in a beat-up truck, blew a radiator in the middle of nowhere, and rolled into his pack's territory covered in engine grease and smelling like a gas station.
His little Omega took one look at me and wrinkled her nose.
She has no idea what's coming.
I don't do tears. I don't do subtle. And when some girl sobbed at my mating ceremony about how jealous she was of me — I grabbed my Alpha by the collar and sank my teeth into his neck.
In front of the entire pack.
Without asking.

“Just because I couldn’t afford to buy a gold ring for my wife she cheated on me with her boss. Today I am the heir to the company where they work,” Jamole intoned…
Jamole was a poor janitor who adored his wife, Stella so much. When his wife wanted a gold ring for her birthday gift, he told her he was a pauper and couldn’t afford one but for her sake he was going to buy her the gold ring.
He worked harder and painstakingly spent his life savings as a janitor to buy her one.
When he visited home to give her the gold ring, he met a flamboyant man banging her in their matrimonial bed. Worst still, Stella yelled at Jamole and ordered him to go on his knees and apologize for distracting them. As though that wasn’t enough, she tossed divorce papers at him and demanded for a divorce since he wouldn’t apologize.
Jamole left the marriage heartbroken and pained. He bumped into a disable girl in a wheel chair who begged on the street and proposed marriage to her with the same ring. From that moment his financial life changed and he became the richest tycoon in Antipolo.
How did it happen?
Who is the disable girl in a wheel chair?
And what would his revenge look like?

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE WITCHING PLACE: A FATAL FOLIO is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews.When Alexis Blair, 29, is fired from her book publishing job and breaks up with her boyfriend on the same day, she wonders if life is urging her to make a fresh start. She decides it’s time to pursue her lifelong dream of opening a bookstore of her own—even if that means leaving Boston and accepting a job in a curious bookstore in a small seaside town an hour away.But the odd shop, Alexis soon learns, is from more than just a rare, occult bookstore. Something strange is going on in the shop’s secret back room, with its eccentric owner, and in the small town itself.And when a dead body appears, Alexis, with her beloved newfound cat, may find herself right in the middle of it all.A page-turning cozy, rife with the supernatural, mystery, secrets and love—and centered around a small town as odd and endearing as its shop—A CURIOUS BOOKSTORE will make you fall in love and keep you laughing out loud as you turn pages late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)Books #2 and #3 in the series—MURDER BY MANUSCRIPT and A PERILOUS PAGE—are now also available!

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE WITCHING PLACE: MURDER BY MANUSCRIPT is book #2 in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews.When Alexis Blair, 29, is fired from her book publishing job and breaks up with her boyfriend on the same day, she wonders if life is urging her to make a fresh start. She decides it’s time to pursue her lifelong dream of opening a bookstore of her own—even if that means leaving Boston and accepting a job in a curious bookstore in a small seaside town an hour away.When Alexis is dispatched to scout out some books in an estate sale in a gothic mansion, she finds something she does not expect: one book is incredibly rare, the only one of its kind in existence, worth millions of dollars.She also soon finds something else she does not expect: a dead body.Thrust in the middle of the crime, will Alexis be able to clear her name?And will she discover the mystery at the heart of her very own store?A page-turning cozy, rife with the supernatural, mystery, secrets and love—and centered around a small town as odd and endearing as its shop—A CURIOUS BOOKSTORE will make you fall in love and keep you laughing out loud as you turn pages late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)Book #3 in the series—A PERILOUS PAGE—is now also available!

For seven years, Rose Bennett was Ryan Knight’s secret wife.
While all of New York believed Samantha Hikk would become Mrs. Knight, Rose silently endured a cold marriage to a man who never loved her.
Until one night, Samantha is rushed into Rose’s emergency room pregnant… and Ryan is the one protecting her.
That is the night Rose stops loving him.
What Ryan never knew was that Rose had already given birth to his daughter years ago after he rejected both mother and child without hesitation.
So Rose walks away—with only two suitcases, a hidden daughter, and the shattered remains of seven years.
But the woman Ryan abandoned is no ordinary wife.
Rose is the hidden genius behind Aetheris Medical AI, the revolutionary system about to change the entire medical world.
As Rose rises to the top, becoming untouchable, powerful, and impossible to replace, Ryan finally realizes the devastating truth—
He didn’t lose a woman who loved him.
He lost the only woman he would ever love.
And by then, even their daughter no longer calls him father.

Lydia Abbott once loved Henry Lawson with everything she had. For ten years, she endured his cruelty, his silence, and the weight of a crime she didn't commit. After a tragic accident took his father's life and left him in a wheelchair, Lydia became the scapegoat—the daughter of a killer. He adopted her, only to torment her with relentless cruelty.

Betrayed, imprisoned, and stripped of her child, Lydia nearly lost her life. When she reached her lowest point, all she received was his cold words: "You deserved it."

But the truth always finds its way back. When the lies unravel and Henry finally sees what he destroyed, it's already too late. Lydia vanishes in an explosion that leaves only ashes behind.

Five years later, she returns—not as his silent bride, but as a world-renowned scientist, powerful, untouchable, and breathtaking. She looks him in the eye and says with a smile, "Henry Lawson, everything you owed me, I'll take back—twice over."

This time, she's not the one begging to stay. He is.

My name is Shawna I was raised in a small town with a motorcycle gang. It was rumored that my father was a leader of a motorcycle gang and that my mother was too young to take care of me. I was put up for adoption when I was a baby. For as long as I could remember I was not allowed outside at night. You would hear Harleys and growls coming from the darkness. There was several times that I wanted to explore these noises but my windows were barred and the only way out of the house was through the front door. One night I got off work late and was heading home from work and I was attacked by a huge wolf. Then in a blink of an eye there was a human. He ripped my clothes off and slapped me. Then I heard an Harley pull up and the leader and president of the motorcycle gang was there. Before everything went dark I only heard one word " Mate."

She lost her mother to him. Then her father. Then her crown.

Then the night came when she lost everything else.

Valdris is not a man who waits. He has fought the same war for three hundred years, buried generals, toppled kingdoms, and never once blinked. He takes what he needs and he does not apologise for it.

He needed a witch queen.

He did not expect her

But something far older than their war is moving through the south, and it is not stopping. It does not negotiate. It does not retreat. It has been feeding on the earth itself for centuries — slowly, quietly, the way a fire feeds on a house before anyone smells the smoke.

Malachar the Demon Monarch has been patient for three hundred years.

He isn't anymore.

Dragon fire won't touch him. Armies won't slow him. Every wall between him and what he wants has already begun to crack — and he knows it. The only question left is whether the two people who can stop him will destroy each other first.

A prisoner who has every reason to let the world fall.

A king who has never once asked for help.

And a demon lord who is already inside the walls.

Some enemies you can fight.

Some you were always meant to face together.

The hard part is surviving long enough to figure out which is which.

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE WITCHING PLACE: A PERILOUS PAGE is book #3 in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews.When Alexis Blair, 29, is fired from her book publishing job and breaks up with her boyfriend on the same day, she wonders if life is urging her to make a fresh start. She decides it’s time to pursue her lifelong dream of opening a bookstore of her own—even if that means leaving Boston and accepting a job in a curious bookstore in a small seaside town an hour away.A cryptic visitor comes into town, looking for a rare book, and willing to pay anything.But when he ends up dead, Alexis wonders: was the price too high?And did Alexis’s mysterious store owner have anything to do with it?A page-turning cozy, rife with the supernatural, mystery, secrets and love—and centered around a small town as odd and endearing as its shop—A PERILOUS PAGE will make you fall in love and keep you laughing out loud as you turn pages late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)

🔥 Editorial Team's Top Pick: The best damn mafia romance you'll ever read. Guaranteed.
Bending his head to lick the exposed skin around my collarbone, a second finger joined the first as he continued to thrust in and out of me, his thumb moving over my swollen clit in a matching rhythm that had my legs trembling.
As the tightening in my belly increased, Dominic suddenly bit into my skin and I threw my head back and screamed out his name as I climaxed violently on the table.When I collapsed against him, he smiled as he gently pecked my lips, "So beautiful..."


Dominic Calvetti is Aelbank City's most feared mafia king—ruthless, untouchable, and scarred inside and out. He plays with fire because it's safer than letting anyone close. Intimacy? Not in his vocabulary. Trust? He buried that with his past.
Then Jade walks back into his life.
The girl he rescued years ago isn't a girl anymore. She's all woman, all curves, all defiance—and she wants him. Not the monster everyone fears. Not the damaged goods he believes himself to be. Just... him. She sees through his ice-cold exterior to the man underneath. Touches him like his scars don't matter. Looks at him like he's worth saving too.
And for the first time in his life, Dominic doesn't know if he should push her away—or pull her closer and never let go.
But in the mafia, love is the most dangerous game. As Jade tears down his walls, enemies circle. Every stolen kiss paints a target on her back. Every moment together threatens to destroy his empire.She thinks they deserve a chance at something real. He knows people like him don't get happy endings.
One broken king. One fearless woman. A love that could save them—or bury them both. In a world built on blood and betrayal, sometimes the greatest risk is opening your heart.
🔥 Dark mafia romance • Age gap • Protector who falls hardest • Touch her and die

Katelyn is a sweet 19 year old girl whose life exists only inside the luxury of her mansion. This arrangement was done by her father to keep her safe from his foes in the Mafia. Her life takes a major turn when Don Quisito, her father's trusted friend, blackmails her to sleep with him. He threatens to expose a secret of hers that only he knew. Afraid and desperate to save her dignity, the girl fights him back in every way possible. Her attempts to get back at him always lands her in trouble; But guess who appears as her knight in shining armor all the time? Despite her hatred, she finds herself attracted to the way he cares for her when they are together. She is affected by the possessiveness of his touch and the warmth in his deep blue eyes when he looks at her. But she is not sure whether he would follow through the promises offered by his kisses. There was a good chance that she might end up being heart broken and alone, just like in the beginning.
The ruthless Don is a mysterious person who has eyes only for her. He gives her a taste of freedom that she craved for over a long time. But the man came to her life with a purpose. Even his blackmail was a means to an end. Once his duty is fulfilled, would he have to leave her or would he get a chance to make her his? There are buried secrets from the past that awaits Katelyn but the real question is, when everything is revealed, will it be too late for her to salvage the love of her life?

She survived the stake. She escaped the swamp. But can she survive him?

Elora clawed her way out of the Lower City's gutters only to be thrown into Arcanum—a gilded cage where nobles hunt commoners for sport and ancient powers play deadly games. Branded a heretic, she's nothing but a research specimen to the cold elven Grand Magister who saved her life... and a fascinating new toy to the thousand-year-old vampire prince who watches her burn from the shadows.

But when dragonfire erupts from her veins and threatens to consume her from within, Elora must make an impossible choice: submit to the monsters who want to control her, or become a monster herself.

Amara is an Omega sold at an exclusive auction to Kael, the fearsome and reclusive Alpha. Rumors surround Kael—some say he’s cursed, others claim he’s a beast driven mad by anyone who he can't control.

Purchased to bear his heir, Amara expects to be treated like property. Instead, she finds herself in a crumbling castle, treated with unexpected dignity but forbidden from leaving the grounds.

Kael keeps his distance, cold and aloof, as if her presence is both an irritation and a temptation. Determined to uncover the truth, Amara discovers strange happenings in the castle—ghostly whispers, silent servants and a wing of the estate that Kael strictly forbids her to enter.

The more she investigates, the more she realizes: Kael is hiding a secret that could change everything.

Lila White never imagined that simply falling in love with someone could lead to losing her home, her father, and almost her life. Her love, humble to the core, still couldn't win his attention.
As time passed and everything came to light, she vaguely realized that she was the only one who thought he didn't love her. But by then, it was already too late.

Imagine being forced to marry a stranger.

Reina's only ever known her family's sunny farm. She can bake bread, mend a fence, and wrangle a goat but she’s never seen a skyscraper or used a subway. Her whole world changes when her grandfather’s old promise lands her in a penthouse with her new fiancé, Orion who looks at her like she’s a mud stain on his expensive shoe.

He’s a wealthy city prince who hates that he’s stuck with a country girl. She’s a whirlwind of chaos who invades his space, breaks his things and has no idea how stunning she is.

He’s counting down the days until he can send her home. She’s just trying to survive the city without embarrassing herself. There’s just one problem: the more she drives him crazy, the less he wants her to leave and the more he wonders if her kind of crazy is exactly what he needs.

But can a girl who talks to goats ever fit into his glittering world? And what happens when the simple farm girl starts to see the lonely man behind the money and decides to heal him, whether he likes it or not?

"Scholarship trash belongs in the trash." Zara Cole never forgot those words. She just waited until she had a microphone to say them back.

Sixteen-year-old Zara Cole won a full scholarship to Cresthaven Academy, the most expensive school in the country. On her very first day, the most popular boy in school, Luca Harlow, dumps a tray of food on her in front of everyone and calls her a charity case. The video goes viral. Zara becomes a joke overnight.

But Zara has a secret. She is not just a poor girl chasing a dream. She is the anonymous online tutor known as "GoldPen" who has helped half the school pass their exams, including Luca himself.

When the school announces its biggest prize ever, the Crown Contest, where students compete in academics, arts, and leadership for a life-changing scholarship fund, Zara signs up. So does Luca. The contest forces them to work together. And the closer they get, the harder it is to keep hating each other.

But Luca's family has secrets too. Dark ones. Ones that are connected to why Zara's mother lost everything years ago.

🔞 READER ADVISORY 🔞

THIS BOOK CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT AND IS INTENDED FOR ADULTS 18 AND OVER.

What happens when desire whispers your name in the silence of the night? Do you answer?

In this scorching anthology, each story is an intimate game where the stakes are high and the reward is climax. Secrets are revealed not with words, but with lips, hands, and the universal language of pleasure. Through casual encounters that become unforgettable and forbidden affairs that defy all reason, the characters discover the transformative power of a simple caress in the right place, at the right time.

Let yourself be swept away by these stories. Your next whisper of pleasure is waiting on the next page.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. 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)Women are being murdered in upstate New York, their bodies found mysteriously hanging in chains. With the FBI called in, given the bizarre nature of the murders—and the lack of any clues—there is only one agent they can turn to: Special Agent Riley Paige.Riley, reeling from her last case, is reluctant to take on a new one, since she is still convinced a former serial killer is out there, stalking her. She knows, though, that her ability to enter a serial killer’s mind and her obsessive nature is what will be needed to crack this case, and she just can’t refuse—even if it will push her over the edge.Riley’s search takes her deep into a killer’s deluded mind as it leads her to orphanages, mental hospitals, prisons, all in an effort to understand the depth of his psychosis. Realizing she is up against a true psychopath, she knows time is short before he strikes again. But with her own job on the line and her own family a target, and with her fragile psyche collapsing, it may all be too much for her—and too late.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE TAKEN is book #2 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.Book #3 in the Riley Paige series is also now available!

They put the calm ones on graveyard. I'm calmer than calm - I can't read a face to save my life, but give me a voice and I'll tell you what you ate for dinner and what you're lying about.

3:07 a.m. A woman calls. A struggle. The line dies.

By sunrise there's no body, no report, and the call I logged has wiped itself clean - like it never rang. The whole city is asleep on it.

But I've never trusted the system. I keep my own copy of every call.

He erased her. I kept the tape. Now he just has to find out the night guy nobody looks at has been listening the whole time.

Embark on this adventure through space, in the chronicles and in this great galaxy in this series of explorers, space tales from a distant galaxy, in the Empire of Desires, amidst fairy tales from space.
That great adventure surrounded by mysteries, dragons in space, tales of magic and seduction.
Tsuki is the greatest detective in the world, even though he is in the middle of his negotiations, his travels, even with the same trips he took at that time, informing that his secrets and mysteries, at that time, with each of his loves, now that he had great power.

Now, both Tsuki, who is a hero of a stellar organization, is involved in games of power and seduction, embarking on a game of power, control and intrigue, exploring the cosmos, amid tales where they are always playing with their bodies.
Between lords of the cosmos, deposed in the middle of the galaxies, in which many mafiosos who declared war for the universe, expanded and controlled the power undermining the forces of their enemies, leaders of the international mafia who showed off and showed off their power, then spread it with power games.

Tsuki is now increasingly immersed in the midst of encountering galactic forces, in the midst of embarking on stories through the cosmos, meeting the beings of the dark waves of passion, terror, seduction, in the midst of the adventures of couples in the city, countless forms of love, in the midst of stories of sexual encounters, humans, men of the night, vampires, ... He is meeting cosmic lords, beings from the galaxies, space witches, werewolves throughout the cosmos, involved in the stories of aliens and succubi, involved in their love encounters and pleasures, and their intrigues and adventures in high society and among the inhabitants.

I stare at him, watching his chest expand.

How is it that someone so strong, so powerful, so dangerous to find become so small when faced with an adversary? The adversary being me.

I see him, knees on the cold tiled floor, his eyes fixated on me in equal parts disbelief. I disconnect my vision from his small form, looking briefly at what I'm wearing.

This morning when I woke up, the sun was shining, snow melting on my front lawn. My kids were sleeping, my husband gone, as usual, working, making money.

Everything was normal except when I woke up this morning, I received a message. This message contained a lot of things I've been waiting to hear but one part, in particular, stood out and made today different. This person on his knees in front of me was the big difference in my day. So when I woke up this morning and decided what I was going to wear I decided I would not wear black because black represented the sign of mourning. I wasn't going to wear white. After all, white represented a sign of new beginnings and not blue.

Blue, well blue was a sign of trust and green with a side of healing so when I woke up this morning I decided I would wear beige, it was an indifferent color something that matched any mood any desire any belief it doesn't necessarily represent anything but nor did it negate anything.

'You know what is so satisfying about killing you?"

'What?" He inquires with that tilt of his mouth and thin lips I have seen a time or two. Many women found this man handsome. sexy even. I was not different, but I knew more than many of them what made him, his colors, the layers that fell away leaving only the middle left and when you looked at it with naked eyes you'd see it was rotten.

I laugh.

'I became a player in this cat and rat game much later. I find it comical that I am the one who gets to catch you, considering there are many people who started in the beginning. What is even funnier is I am the one who would get to kill you."

'You didn't catch me Mrs. Catelli."He says my surname with a pinched face as though he can't bear the sound of it coming from his lips.

'Then what do you oppose I did?"

He smiles, but it is not a nice one. It is filled with the ugliness which has corrupted him over the years.

Copyright © 2022 Shan R.K

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction from the Author's imagination.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations for reviews or fan-made articles.

Any names resembling any living person are purely coincidental.

First Edition.

April, 19th 2022

Written by Shan R.K

Dedication

I dedicate this book to you the reader. Please enjoy it and look out for the anthology on my website coming soon for free.

Come with me and dive into the cosmic worlds of horror and the supernatural, travel through the dark depths of the cosmos, among tales of terror, horror and ghost stories, amid tales from the depths of the mind and haunting stories of supernatural creatures from the dark worlds, in the cursed and dark regions.

Embark on several worlds of supernatural tales and in an anthology of terror and desire to make your spine stand on end.

Even though we are showing each part of the city of desires and horror with tales of dark passions where different people live their lives in which they wandered through each part of the dark city of Lovecraft County, amidst an anthology of tales of pleasures and desires. Amidst tales and anthologies of desires and terror, and desires, between the supernatural and horror, embark on tales of supernatural creatures, ghosts of desires, demons, pleasures and passions that involve those who live in these cities, thus creating ways to change the lives of the city that surrounds them.
Embark on countless tales and anthologies of love, desires, pleasures and dreams, around a luxurious city displaying countless events, whose lives and pleasures participate in an anthology, showing every moment of each being who lives and travels through these cities.

Zoe Marshall thought her marriage was unbreakable. She built her life around Ethan Carter—powerful, brilliant, and untouchable. Until his betrayal shattered her so deeply that filing for divorce became her only way to breathe again. She thought leaving him would set her free. But freedom is never that simple when your ex-husband is a ruthless billionaire who turns regret into obsession.
Ethan is determined to win her back, to claim what he believes is still his—no matter what it takes. Just as Zoe begins to rediscover her strength, Mason King enters her life: dangerous, wealthy, and hiding secrets darker than midnight shadows. He offers her protection and a passion she never imagined. But his world is deadly, and his past is painted with blood.
When an enemy obsessed with Ethan threatens Zoe’s life to erase her forever, and Mason’s hidden demons resurface, she finds herself trapped between two powerful men fighting for her love... or her destruction. Who will truly protect her? Who will destroy her? Because when love becomes a battlefield, only the strongest hearts survive—and Zoe isn’t letting anyone else decide her fate.

My son was killed in a horrific car bomb assassination.

At his rain-drenched funeral, my husband, Enzo—a Mafia Don—held an umbrella over my head, only to suddenly state with icy indifference:

"Gianna is pregnant. It's my blood."

Gianna. The illegitimate daughter of the Lucchese family boss.

I stiffened, looking up in sheer disbelief.

"What the hell does that mean?"

He cast a careless glance at me, completely unbothered.

"To end the war between the Corsican and Lucchese families, I've been with her in secret for a while now. Now that she carries the Corsican bloodline, I must give her a proper title. She will be moving into the estate tonight. You will not only accept this, but you will also give her the respect she deserves as the mother of my child."

High-school misfit Julian fell in over his head into a relationship doomed for dysfunction. When the love of your life turns out to be a polyamorous vampire, eternity together is bound to be a messy rollercoaster, but even after all the trauma and heartbreak, this one of a kind devil still holds his heart. If only Luc shared his devotion... He certainly shares his obsession.

“Your girlfriend’s pretty cynical, now isn’t she?” Luc speaks into my ear, leaning casually on my shoulder. I blush bright red, and his smile grows all the broader.
He takes both our hands and leads us off across the dance floor, and the crowd parts for him like he’s the King of England - the bouncers steering away anyone that tries to block us.
“Holy shit. You really are the owner?!” Heather drunkenly shouts, as we make our way up the stairs and into that VIP booth.
“My club and my right to lay claim to anyone who catches my eye,” Luc drawls, and I shoot him a look, shifting my weight to get in between him and Heather.
“Look, you can’t just… I mean, thanks for the drinks, but she is not going to…” God I sound like an idiot, and staring straight in Luc’s eyes I feel more than a little intimidated, especially because he is not intimidated by me whatsoever. He’s smiling like I’ve just gifted him a shiny new present. I turn to tell Heather we should go, and Luc catches my arm.
“I wasn’t trying to steal away your date,” he laughs. “I invited the both of you here, now didn’t I?” He pushes a hand through Heather’s hair, turning boldly to face her dreamy eyed gawking. “You ever had a three way?”

My boyfriend's mistress deliberately gave me a strawberry cake that I'm allergic to.
After I went into anaphylactic shock and had a miscarriage, I knew it was all over.
But when I left it all behind and went back to my hometown, he showed up at my door telling me to quit throwing a fit, that he still loved me.
This kind of love full of betrayal?
I don't want it.

She was meant to end him. He was meant to break her. But some forces are older than hatred, stronger than vengeance.... and far more dangerous than love.
Captured and enslaved by the Silvercrest Pack, Princess Myra has only one goal: destroy the pack and leave it in ruins.
But from the moment Alpha Arthur's icy gaze settles on her, her world spirals into darkness.
As she plots his downfall, Myra suddenly finds herself swept into a dangerous web of power, deception and a passion that was never meant to be.
What happens when the line between love and hate blurs, and she realizes that the greatest threat isn't him.... but herself?

She was born cursed and silenced. He was born cursed and destined to lose everything.

Vanessa, the mute runt of a cursed litter, has only ever known cruelty and abuse. Her voice stolen by a witch’s spell, her freedom crushed by a brutal father, she’s been promised to a monster she doesn’t want. But fate intervenes when she’s left for dead—bleeding, broken, and bound—only to be rescued by Alpha Alfred of the Shadow Pack.
Alfred, fighting against a generational curse that has doomed his brothers to remain wolves forever, never expected his fated mate to be a fragile girl on the brink of death. But the moment he breathes in her scent, everything changes.
Together, they must confront the past, survive betrayal, and uncover the true key to breaking the curses that bind them. Will their bond be strong enough to save them both?

My mother in law hated me so much cause I couldn't bear her son a baby eventhough my husband and I have spent six years in marriage. She desperately wants my husband to divorce me so she and my bestfriend set me up to be f*cked by a stranger. When my husband heard of this, he mocked me and divorced me.

While painfully dragging my luggage out of his house, I saw my pregnant bestfriend carrying her luggage inside my husband's house. Turns out my husband has impregnated my bestfriend. I cried blood and left the city.

Seven years later, I became a popular Surgeon General and now have beautiful triplets by my side. But I was deployed back to my city cause my medical skill was most needed. In a twist of fate, I got married to an handsome solider.

Only after I resumed work did I find out that the soldier I just married is the five star General, leader of every military units in the country plus he was by far the wealthiest man in the country.

I'm just a single mother trying to create a better life for my three kids, now that I found myself entangled in his cold and ruthless world, how will I survive? And how will I explain to him that I do not know how my triplets bore the same resemblance with him?

A ruthless vampire king, a hidden hybrid, and a centuries-old secret ignite a forbidden love amidst a brewing war.

Chained and rejected by my pack, I thought I was just an ordinary werewolf. But the Vampire King's rescue reveals my true nature and a shocking past. Now, as shifters and vampires clash, I must choose between my heritage and my destiny.

Will I surrender to the King's dark desires, or forge my own path? In this world of ancient power struggles, one thing is certain: my blood will decide the fate of all.

Sera dedicated her everything to caring for Callum Weston- her husband- only to hear him say that marrying her was doing charity for the needy as he held the hand of another woman.

Given another chance to wake up 10 years into the past, Sera chooses to focus on choosing herself, but the past continues to haunt her.
The last thing Sera heard before she died was her husband on the phone telling someone to come and clear her body from his property.

This time, she is not here to love him.

She is here to ruin him.

The one variable in her plan is the cold-eyed man who keeps finding her in all of the wrong places.
And why does he take pleasure in her slapping Callum?

Lyra never wanted a mate.
Not when she had nothing left.
Not when the only man she was given to… was the Alpha everyone feared.
Cold. Dangerous. Silent.
He didn’t want her either.
He only kept her because she was “useful.
”
She thought he would throw her out.
But instead, he locked her away.
Hid her from his world. From his people. From his own family.
And when they came to hurt her…
He stood and watched.
He didn’t speak for her.
He didn’t defend her.
But he didn’t let her go, either.
Now, Lyra is trapped in a place where no one wants her, and the only one who touches her
heart is the man who makes it bleed.
But maybe… just maybe…
The Alpha she feared is the only one who truly sees her.
And that is the scariest part of all.

A year ago, Sophia was recalled from overseas medical school. Her father announced she must marry Ethan Sullivan, head of the Sullivan crime family, to save their bankruptcy.

Ethan Sullivan—uncrowned king of New York's underworld, cold-blooded killer. Complete opposite of her life-saving profession.

She fought desperately—humiliated him at their engagement, sabotaged business meetings, even escaped at midnight. Ethan never got angry, just quietly cleaned up, growing more gentle and devoted.

Until rival families shot at them. He shielded her with his body, blood soaking his white shirt, still comforting her: "It's okay. I'm here."

Sophia fell completely.

"I'll marry you," she told him in his hospital bed, "but tell me—do you really love me?"

Ethan nodded without hesitation: "I love you. You're the first and only one."

After marriage, Sophia enjoyed sweet life as a mafia wife. Until she learned Ethan's "sister" Isabella had leukemia. When her bone marrow matched, she donated without hesitation, thinking this proved their love.

Until tonight's party. A drunk lieutenant asked: "Boss, what's your biggest regret in life?"

Ethan was silent for a long moment: "Giving up the woman I loved."

At 18, Iris Hawthorne’s world shattered the moment a man in military boots kicked down her door. Donovan Sharpe, the ruthless and legendary arms dealer, dragged her into his dark, dangerous realm as if she were a helpless kitten.Wild, feral, and dangerously possessive, he growled his claim:“Iris, you will only ever smell like me. So much as one person lays a finger on you, and they won’t live to see the sunrise.” He burned every bridge behind her, yet lavished her with all his gentleness: “Iris, even if the sky falls, I will put your happiness first.” Then came the day she ran. To save her, Donovan charged alone into a hail of bullets. Amid the rubble, bloody and broken, Iris nuzzled his blood-stained chest and whispered softly: “Donovan… come any later, and I’m done with you.”

Have you ever had an affair? Because me I did it, I know it's wrong but why can't I forget that night? I've tried to forget him.
He's engraved in my mind like I haven't seen him for over six months. I can still remember his touch, his hands roaming all over my body, the feeling of his mouth touching every inch of me. How he was able to give me the best orgasm I ever had.
Athena Escarra is a promising young lawyer who loves her work more than anything. She's been married to her husband, Oliver Smith, for six years and would never indulge in an affair-until she met Alessandro Sinclair.
Alessandro Sinclair, a prominent CEO of the Sinclair Company, is your everyday rich man who has casual flings and moves on-until he met Athena Escarra. He found himself irresistibly attracted to her and would do anything to have her again.

Have you ever had an affair? Because me I did it, I know it's wrong but why can't I forget that night? The way how he claimed me and made me feel even weirder when it came to bed.

Athena Escarra is a promising young lawyer who loves her work more than anything. She's been married to her husband, Oliver Smith, for six years and would never indulge in an affair-until she met Alessandro Sinclair.

Alessandro Sinclair, a prominent CEO of the Sinclair Company, is your everyday rich man who has casual flings and moves on-until he met Athena Escarra. He found himself irresistibly attracted to her and would do anything to have her again.

After their graduation Edzel proposed to her girlfriend Stacey Moore but on the same day she rejected his proposal. Without giving him any valid reasons, she just left him there kneeling down on one knee.
He promised to himself that one day he would get Stacey pay back on what she had done to him. He would make the woman wish that they had never crossed their paths again.
After five long years, fate had been kind to him and he met Stacey again. This time, Stacey is one of his staff in the hotel he owned.
An emergency call led him to accompany Stacey to the hospital where he saw two kids calling the woman their Mommy.
As soon as he saw the twins and the struggling situation of Stacey, a brilliant idea flashed in his mind on how to take revenge on Stacey using the children in front of him, who are calling him Daddy.

I should know better than to hook up with the handsome stranger at my best friend’s wedding.   Especially when he runs off mid-kiss like Cinderella at midnight.    Is he a fugitive from justice? A player? Both?   I find out soon enough when he shows up at work—where I was just hired as a law partner defending white collar criminals. Yup, he’s one of them. And he’s depending on me to keep him out of jail.   He’s also just as hot, charming, and tempting as he was the night of the wedding. Talk about forbidden love.   The last thing I should do is get involved with a client, especially one who may be guilty of all kinds of things.    Not the least of which is stealing my heart.

On my wedding day, instead of the romantic photo montage, I played a live video feed from the bridal suite.

The guests gasped. The screen didn't show our childhood photos. It showed my fiancé, Benjamin, pressing a woman in a white dress against the vanity.
It was my bridesmaid. My cousin. Mia.

"Benjamin, tell me," Mia giggled, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Do I look better in this white dress, or does your boring, frigid fiancée look better in her gown?"

The audio boomed through the silent ballroom.
Benjamin's voice was thick with lust. "She's a mannequin. You're my addiction. Why don't we do it right here? While she waits for me at the altar?"

My mother-in-law screamed. My father threw a glass.
But I stood there, calm. Cold.
I watched as Benjamin on the screen frantically unzipped Mia's dress, his hands roaming over her body, completely forgetting the woman waiting for him outside.

Benjamin rushed into the ballroom, realizing the silence was too heavy. He looked up at the giant screen, his face draining of color.
"Amelia! No! Turn it off! It's not what it looks like!"

I picked up the microphone.
"You're right, Benjamin. It's not what it looks like. It's exactly what it is."
I threw a folder of evidence—bank transfers, hotel receipts, printed texts—into his face.
"Mia graduated this year. You've been funding her for four. We've been together for five."

I tore off my veil and dropped it on the floor.
"The wedding is off. You two deserve each other."