30 Book(s) Related to emotional pain quotes

"I reject you as my mate!" My voice rang out, shattering the heavy silence of the pack hall. Eugene clutched his chest, his face twisting in agony as the mate bond snapped. He thought I would beg? He thought I would accept his pregnant mistress while he humiliated me? Dead wrong. I watched him fall to his knees, gasping for air, but I felt no pity. But before I could collapse from the backlash, a dark, massive figure stepped out of the shadows. Alpha Arnold, the Lycan King. He scooped me up into his arms as if I weighed nothing, his chest hard against my cheek. "Put her down! She is mine!" Eugene roared, blood dripping from his lips. Arnold smirked, his eyes glowing with predatory delight. "Yours? She just rejected you, pup. She belongs to me now." As he carried me away from the hell that was my home, leaving my cheating ex screaming in the dust, I knew my life had just taken a dangerous turn.


Eugene returned after a year, bringing with him a woman who was three months pregnant. The war between the werewolves and the lycans had forced him to make a painful choice, reject his true mate, Irene. But the surprises didn’t stop there. At a peace treaty party, Irene met Arnold, the rude and arrogant lycan alpha. What shocked her even more was when Arnold boldly asked her to be his mate, a symbol of peace between their two packs. Eugene was stunned. He had never imagined his rejected mate would leave the pack. He wanted to refuse Arnold’s offer, but there was one problem: Eugene wasn’t the alpha yet, his father still held the title.

Four teenagers embark on a journey and face a harsh world of adulthood, only to realize that despite differing backgrounds, their experiences bear notable parallels. Their journeys are marked by deception, hidden family secrets and trials that could jeopardize everything they stand for.
Axl is from the wrong side of the tracks, living a less privileged life. He has an unshakable bond with North, who is at the top of the elite ladder. Aspen befriends Merit and pulls her into their circle, both girls coming from a wealthy background.
When Axl becomes an unwavering source of support and comfort, the roles are reversed and the decisions made by each of them will shape their futures. The only difference between them is that Axl has nothing to lose.
Their lives are impacted by the actions and choices of their parents. It’s a slippery slope as they try to navigate the precarious position of importance and try to avoid the enemies they never knew they had.

Molly Texas thought her night couldn't get worse after watching her ex-fiancé propose to someone new on live TV. Then she woke up next to Karl Lagerfeld—hockey superstar and her ex's biggest rival.

When the photos leak, Karl's multimillion-dollar endorsement deal hangs by a thread. The only solution is for them to convince the world that their one-night stand is actually a love story.

But playing pretend gets complicated when Hartland wants her back, secrets about his new fiancée surface, and Karl's jealousy starts feeling a little too real.

In hockey, you either play to win or get played. And Molly's about to learn that the same rules apply to love.

Looking for true love at the right time can sometimes be impossible. The most likely thing to happen is that we find the right love at the wrong time with the right person.

Aliyah has been blessed to have someone who is willing to fight for her despite rejections. Oliver Webb, a well-known businessman who owns a large business empire, courted her. They became lovers, and they got married. But still, life is full of unwanted things to give.

After three months of being in that marriage, Oliver met an accident and was declared dead on the spot. Aliyah's world almost collapsed, especially when she lost more than that. She lost her husband and her child.

It's been so hard for her to move on, but she didn't have a choice until she woke up one morning beside a stranger.

She's trying to forget about the guy, but maybe fate will lead her back to him so that they might even become business partners. Will it lead them to a romantic ending, or will it be a way for Aliyah to discover the real reason for her husband's death?

How will she accept the truth behind every lies that are no in her way?

At a young age, Catalena learned to love Ezekiel Montenegro. She was desperate, and she chased him.

She achieved the love she sought from him.

But one night, she made a mistake that destroyed all she had worked so hard to get an Ezekiel Montenegro.

The mistakes she committed were the beginning of her misery with him.

I had always firmly believed that my husband loved me deeply.
However, when I was diagnosed with a terminal illness and my father was on the brink of death, I called my husband to seek help with medical expenses. To my shock, a woman answered the phone.
With a sharp and sarcastic tone, she revealed:
My husband doesn't love you at all; he married you only to take revenge on you, to torment you...
（I highly recommend a captivating book that I couldn't put down for three days and nights. It's incredibly engaging and a must-read. The title of the book is "The Billionaire's Daughter" You can find it by searching for it in the search bar.）

Juliet Bailey never imagined that a single knock on her door would change her life forever. Drowning in debt, juggling part-time jobs, and desperately fighting to keep her sick mother alive, she is given an impossible choice
—become the possession of a powerful stranger or lose everything.
Xavier De Luca is the definition of ruthless. As the heir to one of the most feared mafia empires, he is used to taking whatever he wants—and when he discovers that his sworn enemy, Damon Russo, has set his sights on a woman, he decides to claim her first.
What starts as a twisted game of power soon becomes something far more dangerous. Juliet is thrown into a world of crime, deception, and bloodshed, where her freedom is an illusion and her heart becomes the ultimate battleground.

I am the Seer of the wolf pack, the Alpha’s wife, yet I have never truly known love.

My parents called me a bastard; my sister stole everything from me, even my husband’s heart.

Now, she blinds herself and frames me, forcing me to give up my own eyes.

No one knows that when a Seer loses her sight, she dies.

I thought that making the ultimate sacrifice would finally earn me a shred of affection. But even as I lay dying on the operating table, they gathered around my sister, laughing.

Only when the truth came out did they realize—I was their real daughter, and my sister was the one who schemed to take everything from me.

But by then, it was far too late.

Aveline had everything taken from her :her home, her dignity, her mother. Now, they want her obedience too.

Discarded and scorned, Aveline Orwyn lives most of her life surviving on scraps and desperation. But when her father demands that she attends a grand banquet, in exchange for care for her mother, she unwittingly walks into a trap that changes the course of her life forever.

Thrown in chains, dragged along like a criminal, Aveline is made a powerless pawn in her father's bargain—a political trade meant to appease the most feared Alpha in the realm, Reiel of the Broken Lands. Yet in the middle of bloodthirsty schemes and violence, a chance at love comes calling..

As deceit burns and loyalties fracture, Aveline must choose between duty and desire, vengeance and love. But when the lies that bind them unravel, and the war between Alphas explodes into chaos, one truth remains:
To survive the monsters who made her, Aveline must become one.

Minerva was so close to tying the knot with her long-time boyfriend Derrick when an unexpected accident fatally killed him.
With only five months before she’ll give birth, she had look for various jobs that can raise her and her upcoming child until she met Darwin Gray, the CEO of the biggest company in their city and happens to be Derrick’s half-brother.
She was skeptical at first to live with him until Darwin revealed that Derrick actually sold her to him in order to finance Derrick’s gambling lifestyle.
Minerva was absolutely heartbroken and was left with no choice than to be his Mrs. Gray. But, as the winds of fate change, Minerva will soon realize that one must never judge a book by its cover—that despite Darwin’s ruthless appearance lies a heart that has long been yearning for a one true love.

Detective Lauren James has always trusted her instincts, but when she discovers that supernatural beings are manipulating Chicago's justice system, everyone thinks she's lost her mind.
Given one week to prove her "delusions" or face psychiatric evaluation, Lauren turns to the only person who believes her; her partner, Detective Alex Henderson, whose unwavering support feels like a lifeline in her darkest hour.
But as they chase evidence that always slips away at the last moment, Lauren doesn't realize that Alex is who she is investigating, and Alex's ancient bloodline requires a human sacrifice under the full moon to renew his fading powers.
And she's already been chosen.

Nineteen-year-old Iris Maxwell has always known exactly who she is: a scholarship student fighting her way through design school, devoted daughter to the adoptive parents who found her abandoned at a fire station, and fierce protector of her four younger brothers. With nothing but raw talent and relentless determination, she's determined to build a fashion empire from scratch, no connections, no trust fund, just hard work.
When Iris wins the prestigious Metropolitan Design Challenge, she catches the attention of Tony, a mysterious business student who offers to help with her startup plans. Their coffee shop meetings crackle with unspoken tension and possibility, but Tony harbours secrets of his own. As the heir to the Kennedy fortune, he's trapped between family expectations and his growing feelings for the brilliant designer who refuses to rely on anyone but herself.
Everything changes when Iris enters the Lawson competition, a design contest worth fifty thousand dollars, hosted in memory of Roxanne Lawson, an heiress who vanished twenty years ago. The missing girl shares Iris's birthday, and Tony's strange reaction to this detail hints at connections neither of them fully understands.
As Iris races to complete her collection, she must navigate the cutthroat world of high fashion, the complexities of falling for someone from a different world, and the unsettling possibility that the iris pin she was found with might be the key to a past she never knew existed. Some coincidences are too perfect to be accidents, and some secrets are too dangerous to stay buried.
A contemporary romance about ambition, identity, and the courage to claim your destiny, no matter who you were born to be.

I was supposed to die alone in an alley.

Instead, a god found me.

One moment, I was bleeding beneath the neon glow of the city, my life slipping through my fingers. The next, a glowing blue screen appeared before my eyes, offering me a choice that was never really a choice at all.

Accept the Summoner’s Mark. Or die.

Now I belong to the Death Game — a brutal cosmic system where ordinary people are turned into Players, thrown into impossible missions, and forced to survive horrors designed for the amusement of gods.

Every trial has rules.
Every monster has a weakness.
Every victory comes with a reward.

And every reward makes me less human.

My name is Nerissa Valehart, and I refuse to be anyone’s pawn.

But surviving the Game means trusting the one man everyone warns me to fear.

Veyren Ashford is ruthless, powerful, and dangerously beautiful — a veteran Player with blood on his hands and secrets in his soul. He says attachment will get me killed. He says love is a weakness the Game always punishes.

Yet when death comes for me, Veyren is the one standing between us.

In a world where gods gamble with mortal lives, monsters hunt from the shadows, and desire may be the deadliest weakness of all, I have only one goal:

Survive long enough to cross the board.

And make the Starless God regret choosing me..............

"I gave you a life… and you took mine with it."

She woke up in a sterile hospital room, her body aching, her womb empty.
The child she carried—gone.
No name. No face. No goodbye.

To him, it was just a transaction. A contract. A child born of benefit.
To her, it was the beginning of everything—and the end of herself.

Years passed. Her heart hardened. But fate, cruel and poetic, dragged him back into her orbit.
Only this time, there are secrets.
And bloodlines.
And a storm of revenge, waiting to unravel them both.

In a world where love is a luxury and hatred is inherited, how do you survive the one man who cost you everything… yet still makes your heart ache?

Three years ago, Michael Smith was severely injured in a car accident and fell into a coma. The doctors said he was as good as a vegetable. His first love didn't hesitate to leave for further studies abroad. Meanwhile, I was forced into a marriage of convenience with him, arranged by his grandmother, so that I could take care of my sick mother. When he woke up, his first love had returned to the country, and I found myself pregnant. We went through morning sickness and the hardships of a ten-month pregnancy together. But then he filed for divorce, forcing me to leave with nothing. I struggled to pursue a career as a painter while carrying the pregnancy to term. Little did I know that his grandmother's will stipulated that all the assets originally meant for him would be given to me and the baby in my womb.

"Here's the deal: for the next few weeks, you are going to play the role of my girlfriend. Publicly. You will be seen with me on campus, at events, and anywhere else I require. Do that, and maybe I'll consider not reporting you and your sister for falsifying college documents."
"No," I stammered, shaking my head immediately. "Absolutely not. That's insane."
"You have twenty-four hours to think about it, freshman," he said, ignoring my refusal.
When freshman Briselle accidentally crosses paths with Kai Thornefield, the untouchable senior with a violent reputation and a past no one dares mention, her quiet college life spirals out of control. One lie turns into a deal. One deal turns into a fake relationship. But nothing about Kai feels fake.
He's dangerous, possessive, and unpredictably gentle. In public, he's the perfect boyfriend. In private, he's chaos wrapped in control. What started as blackmail turns into something dangerously real, blurring the line between pretense and desire.
But Kai's secrets run deeper than family money. His past is a battlefield of betrayal, loss, and a father who would trade love for obedience. When jealousy and revenge twist the game, Briselle becomes the weapon everyone wants—and the only person who might bring Kai to his knees.

“You want answers?” he said. “Then step closer.”
Against every instinct I trusted, I stepped.

Kai’s hand snapped around my wrist, pinning it against his chest. Not to restrain me, but to warn me.

“You don’t get to make that choice,” he said softly. “Not with me.”

“Then why tell me to step closer?”

“To see if you’d obey,” he said. “And you did.”

That’s how trouble starts…when the wrong man decides your choices belong to him.


When freshman Briselle accidentally crosses paths with Kai Thornefield, the untouchable senior with a violent reputation and a past no one dares mention…her quiet college life spirals out of control.
One lie turns into a deal. One deal turns into a fake relationship. But nothing about Kai feels fake. He’s dangerous, possessive, and unpredictably gentle.

In public, he’s the perfect boyfriend. In private, he’s chaos wrapped in control. What started as blackmail turns into something dangerously real, fading the line between pretense and desire.

But Kai’s secrets run deeper than family money. His past is a battlefield of betrayal, loss, and a father who’d trade love for obedience. When jealousy and revenge twist the game, Briselle becomes the weapon everyone wants, and the only person who might bring Kai to his knees.

Pawn of the Unwritten God
Ren Ashford was never meant to be chosen.
One moment, he was ordinary. The next, reality fractured, and a message rewrote his existence:
[YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED.]
Dragged into a deadly System governed by an unseen, god-like force, Ren is forced to survive brutal trials where failure means erasure, not just death, but complete removal from existence. In this Game, Players hunt, betray, and evolve… all for the promise of power.
But Ren is different.
The System glitches around him.
The rules don’t fully apply to him.
And the deeper he goes, the more the Game begins to break.
As he fights through nightmarish worlds, shifting realities, and enemies that should not exist, Ren uncovers a truth far more terrifying than death:
The Game was never designed to be won.
It was designed to observe.
And something beyond the System, the Unwritten God, is watching closely… waiting for him to become something more than a pawn.
Because if Ren keeps surviving, keeps evolving, keeps breaking the rules,
He may become the only thing the Game cannot control.
Or the very thing it was created to find.

To give my twelve-year-old daughter a peaceful and ordinary childhood, I sealed away the "Eagle" badge that represented the highest military authority in the Federation, willingly becoming a repairman with an oily phone in a remote town.
I suppressed my murderous intent, swallowed my humiliation, and even remained silent about the injustice of the referee.
But my concessions to the powerful and wealthy resulted in the richest man leading a group of professional thugs to smash my home to ruins.
to fight in front of my daughter , until his reckless son smashed my "Eagle Badge," hidden deep inside.
They had no idea that the instant the badge broke—
the SSS-level emergency beacon hidden at its core—had been triggered !

“I'll enjoy it better, licking it off you, some places more than some.”
My body instantly started reacting to his words. My nipples hardened, my cunt grew slick and my breath shortened.
I had no idea the slutty spirit that came over me, but I'm not going to lie, I really enjoyed it.
“And…” I slowly crawled to where he was, my voice breathy and even unrecognizable to me. “...where exactly do you think will taste better than others?”
“I think everywhere will taste really good.” He leaned in, his breath tickling my lips as he spoke. “But I can't imagine how heavenly it'll taste licking off your tits or that clitoris.” He said in a needy tone as his eyes lingered on intervals from my breasts to my cunt.
I leaned in just enough for our lips to touch slightly....


Avery has always been abused and molested, unloved by her own father for reasons beyond her control. Feeling like a stranger in her own home, she went to boarding schools in search of an escape. She couldn't even run away, because everyone that knew the mafia was afraid of her father, but that all changes when she is taken away by Dario Moretti, a powerful and enigmatic mafia leader with a vendetta against her father. Slowly, they find themselves falling in love with each other, but as the layers of their past unravel, shocking revelations come to light—Avery is not who she thought she was, and her connection to Dario runs deeper than either of them imagined. As danger closes in, will their bond survive the secrets threatening to tear them apart? Or will the past destroy their chance at a future together?

When I took my last breath, my boyfriend of five years was busy pulling strings to get his new model fling a runway spot.
Nobody knew he used to be a desperate stray I bought out of a dark alley. It started as a three-year contract. I burned millions to pave his way into the fashion elite, handing him top-tier campaigns until he became a global supermodel.
I stayed his dirty little secret so nothing would ruin his shot at "Model of the Year." He swore going public would kill his career, yet he had no problem parading around with young starlets—and letting them humiliate me behind closed doors.
His newest fling even smugly played a recording of him mocking me: "She’s just an ATM for brand deals. How could an uptight, older control freak ever compete with you?"
That was when I finally accepted it: love bought with money is just a transaction.
So, holding my terminal diagnosis, I signed over the last of my assets and quietly bowed out of his glamorous life forever.
I just don't understand one thing: if he was so sick of me, why did he completely lose his mind when he saw my death certificate? Why did he throw away everything he'd built, tearing the world apart to find me like a feral, abandoned dog?

His mouth was on mine before I could breathe, his body pressing me into the glass window of his office. The city pulsed beneath us, but all I could feel was the brutal rhythm of his hips. My weak heart should have given out. The doctors said stress could kill me, that even climbing stairs was dangerous.

But with him? With Knight? I didn’t break.
I came alive.

“One night was supposed to be enough. I wore a mask, stepped into a stranger’s room to give a massage and earn the money to save my grandmother’s life. But his touch burned away every boundary, and suddenly I wasn’t just working—I was trembling and begging to be fucked by him.

I ran. Then swore I’d never see him again.

But as I walked into my new job, I found him sitting behind the CEO’s desk.
“Knight Magnus”
My boss. My secret one-night stand. My mate.

Now every glance across the boardroom carries the memory of his mouth on my skin. Every late-night meeting ends with me bent over his desk, papers digging into my palms as he fucks me like he owns me. He’s ruthless, dangerous, the Alpha heir of a family drenched in blood and betrayal. I should hate him. I should run.

But I can’t.

Because my fragile body that fails me everywhere else never fails me with him. With every thrust, every kiss, every whispered “mine,” I get stronger. He’s the only thing keeping me whole—my oxygen, my ruin, my survival.

I went to him out of desperation.
Now I can’t live without him.

“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) ALMOST LOST is book #2 in a new psychological 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. When a divorcee vacationing in the British countryside puts out an ad for an au pair, Cassandra Vale, 23, broke, still reeling from the ruins of her last placement in France, takes the job without hesitation. Wealthy, handsome and generous, with two sweet children, she feels nothing can go wrong.But can it?Treated to the best England has to offer, and with France out of sight, Cassandra dares to believe she finally has a moment to catch her breath—until a startling revelation forces her to question the truths of her tumultuous past, her employer, and her very own sanity.A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST LOST is book #2 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night. Book #3 in the series--ALMOST DEAD—is available for pre-order!

Everyone on campus has a theory about Lila Monroe. The whispers started freshman year and they never stopped. They call her cheap. Desperate. Available for the right price.

They are not entirely wrong.

What no one knows is why.

Lila Monroe does not arrive at Westfield Elite on a scholarship or a trust fund. She arrives on survival instinct and a secret she cannot afford to let anyone discover: she earns her tuition by selling her time to wealthy students who want company, a date to an event, or someone to pretend they matter to. It is not what anyone would choose. But it is keeping her enrolled. And staying is the only plan she has left.

Ryder Kane has never needed a plan. Everything at Westfield bends around him. The son of the man who controls the school board, he is untouchable by design. Until one night he overhears something he was never supposed to hear.

Now he has a proposal. She has a price. And neither of them has any idea what they are actually getting themselves into.

“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) ALMOST GONE is book #1 in a new psychological 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. When 23 year old Cassandra Vale accepts her first job as an au pair, she finds herself placed with a wealthy family in a rural estate outside of Paris, and all seems too good to be true. But she soon discovers that behind the gilded gates lies a dysfunctional family, a twisted marriage, troubled children, and secrets too dark to air. Cassandra is convinced she’s finally found a fresh start when she takes a job as an au pair in the idyllic French countryside. Just beyond the Paris city limits, the Dubois manor is a grand relic of the past, the family its picture-perfect occupants. It’s the escape Cassandra needs—until she uncovers dark secrets that prove things aren’t as glamorous as they seem.Beneath the opulence lies a dark web of malice, one Cassandra finds all too familiar, triggering dreams from her own violent and tortured past, one from which she desperately runs. And when a grisly murder tears the house apart, it threatens to take down her own fragile psyche with it. A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST GONE is book #1 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 and #3--ALMOST LOST and ALMOST DEAD—are also available!

“When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce comes up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery! This book is full of twists and the end brings a surprising revelation. I strongly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that enjoys a very well written thriller.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Almost Gone) ALMOST DEAD is book #3 in a new psychological 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. After the disastrous fallout from her last placement in England, all 23-year-old Cassandra Vale wants is a chance to pick up the pieces. A high-society, divorced mother in sunny Italy seems to be the answer. But is she? With a new family come new children, new rules, and new expectations. Cassandra’s determined to make this one last - until a horrifying discovery pushes her to a breaking point. And when the unimaginable occurs, will it be too late to pull herself back from the brink? Who, she wonders, is she becoming?A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST DEAD is book #3 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night. Book #4 in the series will be available soon.

I got paid to test-sleep an heiress's fiancé.
One problem: he's my boss.
Bigger problem: I've been catfishing him online for six months—as his fiancée.
Now I'm pregnant. And he just called my real name.

Sophia Johnson, a dedicated reporter, finds herself entangled in a passionate and complex love triangle. It all begins at an ex-CEO's retirement party, where she encounters Harry Stone, the irresistible billionaire heir and CEO of the company. What starts as a magnetic attraction soon evolves into a risky proposal.

Desperate to hold onto his CEO position, Harry suggests an audacious plan to Sophia: she should pretend to be his fiancée for five months, and in return, he offers her a substantial financial reward. Sophia, burdened by crushing student loan debts and the financial struggles of her family, reluctantly agrees. What she doesn't anticipate is the emotional rollercoaster this contract engagement will become.

As the charade unfolds, Sophia falls deeply in love with Harry, only to have her heart shattered when he ends their arrangement to pursue what he believes is his ideal partner. Despite being compensated for her role, Sophia carries a heart-wrenching secret—one she only discovers months after leaving the company: she is carrying Harry's child. The tumultuous nature of their contract engagement makes her hesitant to return to him.

Amid a whirlwind of love, desire, secrets, and betrayal, Sophia grapples with her feelings and the life-changing consequences of her decisions. Will Harry ever come to realize he has a child with Sophia, and will Sophia emerge from this web of deceit and passion with her heart and future intact?

After she watched her mom die due to negligence from the very people she had worked tirelessly for, her only goal became to watch Vincent Crost crumble.

She did not care who she had to destroy to make that happen.

"I am so honored that my mistress is back in her bedroom."

His voice was very deep, and he pressed me on the bed. I secretly felt bad in my heart. If I had known better, I wouldn't have tested my reaction. This time, I played too seriously!

I tried to break away, but it was too late. He pulled off his tie and tied my wrists to the head of the bed.


Everyone used to say Myluna was the family's abandoned child, unworthy of being the dream lover of thousands of girls. When the audience witnessed the CEO's deep affection for her, they were left speechless. Well, she's cherished, he's in love—no doubts!

After the truth came to light, the CEO pinched her waist, forcing her to meet his gaze, "Still want to run? Running into my arms?"