Two beasts. The one who owns her. And the one who wants her. *** I was sixteen when I made the deal. When I put my fate in the hands of Shayne McAllister, a man determined to break me. A man with black eyes and a blacker heart, who’s been obsessed with me since we were kids. And now that my father has passed, he’s coming to collect his debt. But before I become his, I see a chance to make a choice for myself, and I take it. I slip away, for one night. One dark, stormy night that goes horribly wrong. Until a stranger crosses my path. An angry stranger, with a harsh voice and menacing eyes, who grants me one night. One messed up, beautiful night, that changes everything, and spares no one. Because the stranger wants more. More than just one night. He wants me. What follows, is darkness. A darkness where secrets will be revealed, blood will be shed, and sacrifices made. My name is Ava, and this is my story. (This is a very DARK, contemporary romance/erotic thriller with scenes some will find disturbing. It is a story about love and obsession, about hope and despair, but most of all, it is about finding light through the darkness. For mature audiences only.) ***This is Book One of the BEAUTY & THE DARKNESS Trilogy***

    I stayed with him through darkness and fire. We loved each other in the moment between innocence and bitter truth. We were the kids easily ignored, who grew into adults we hardly knew. We weren’t meant to last forever. And we didn’t. He ran away. I tried to move on. Yet I never stopped thinking about the boy who had fought to keep me alive in a world that would have swallowed me whole. He was the past that I buried, but never forgot. Until the day I found him again, years after believing I had lost him forever. And in cold, resentful eyes, I saw the heart of the man who had been everything when I had nothing at all. So I vowed to hold onto the second chance that was stolen from the children we had been. Sometimes fate is ugly. Life can be twisted. And who we are can be ruined by who we once were. For two people who had survived so much, we would have to learn how to hold on before we were forced to let go.

    Contains violence and some explicit language.

    You can’t split your heart, soul, and body in half. But I’m here to tell you, you can.Dylan Cole is like ice, sharp and unpredictable, the thunder inside a tumultuous storm. Smith Reid is warmth, soft and gentle, perfect like a sunny day.Both are mine. But I can have only one. There are two sides to this tale. I'm here to tell you mine. If you think this story is about a cheater, you couldn’t be more wrong.

    Lily’s been living it for twenty two years. Her boring life is suddenly turned on its head when she’s rudely kidnapped from her bedroom.Or so she thinks.Nox Taylor is far too high up in his field to be assigned a babysitting job. There’s nothing more he wants than to complete his mission so he can be rid of the smartass tomboy, Lily.Day after day, Nox watches Lily and her strange ways. She’s unlike any woman he’s ever met. Getting close to the girl is purely for her own protection…right?Lily never imagined she’d make her first real friends in captivity. What lengths would she go through to keep them?**This is a stand alone novel and is unrelated to Friend-Zoned**

    Two signatures. A marriage of inconvenience. Lucian West is one of the most hated men in America. He’s a ruthless attorney who gets what he wants in the courtroom, and outside of it. Now, he wants me. For reasons I can’t fathom, he’s determined to make me his wife. He makes it clear he’s not above blackmailing me to put a ring on my finger. But he should know I can’t be domesticated. I don’t know how to love men. I only know how to leave them… with everything I want. ***I don't do love. I don't even do relationships. But all of that changes when I stumble upon the tragic, beautiful woman confessing her sins in the dark of night. She’s a thief. A con. The essence of everything I loathe. And yet she lures me in with her lying eyes.I want to protect her. I want to bring her to heel. I want to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget. She belongs to me, she just doesn’t know it yet. I've already made her mine in name. Now it’s time to claim the rest of her.

    If you liked the movie "Sleeping With the Enemy", then you might like this story too. No one knew a woman lived there or that she even existed. A monster, living in darkness...At twenty-two, Nicole doesn't even look human anymore. The beast made sure of that. So she hides. A monster, consigned to a life of fear and solitude. This is all she deserves, she is quite sure of that.  And then one day out of the blue, the autographed baseball caught by Brian Jensen at the latest Marlins game enters her prison and manages to turn her world completely upside down.Temptation comes in the form of pity at first, and then perhaps something more. Does she dare to believe the things she's told, that this is not the life she was meant to live? That being a monster is not her forever-fate? And will she be willing to risk everything, to reach out and accept the helping hands around her and share her deepest, darkest secrets? She knows only too well that hands can hurt. Finding out whether they can also heal is a risky proposition, especially when the beast is still out there. Looking for her.Content warning: Violence, foul language, and adult situations. Not meant for younger readers. A note from Elle about this book: A really long time ago, I read an article in a newspaper or a magazine (I haven’t been able to locate the original) about a woman who was so badly beaten over a long period of time, she couldn’t leave her house. I thought about that woman a lot over the years and about what her thoughts might have been, her fears, her reality … and this book was my attempt to both exorcise those thoughts from my brain and also shed some light on a subject —domestic violence— that I feel should never be left in darkness.

    McAvoy… After an erotic one-week fling with a musician she meets in a bar, Thea Cunning never expects to see Levi Black again. Then Monday morning comes around, and she discovers that her former lover is not only her professor, but he’s also one of the top criminal lawyers in the state of Massachusetts. With everyone in class vying to be one of the twelve disciples—a group of twelve students that Professor Black takes under his wing—tensions run high. Thea considers dropping his class, given their passionate week together and their undeniable chemistry. After all, there are other (less infuriatingly sexy) law professors on campus. But to accomplish her goal and get her father out of prison, Thea knows she needs to learn under the best of the best—and that’s Levi Black. But can she learn under the best, without being under the best?

    A man with a seductive smirk and a body built for pure sin. The linchpin of a group of wealthy bad boys known as the Inferno.A dark presence that repels as much as he attracts, Tanner is the poisoned apple I want to bite even when I know it will destroy me.Our story started in college, but I ran from him so far I believed I was safe.I should have known he’d find me eventually.I should have known that nobody escapes.He has me in his sights again with an offer I can’t pass up.I know better than to make a deal with the Devil. Not unless I’m willing to pay his sensual price…***Each novel in the series depicts a unique romance, but the plots through each book connect in one world. For the best experience, read the series in order.Nine Ruthless Men. Nine Unrepentant Sinners. Nine Irresistible Manipulators.

    I like to think it was more.We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other.Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding…I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello.After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half?MFrom the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City.

    This is how a war starts.A life for a life. That’s the mafia way. Damian Rossi owes his life to a man who is ready to collect. That payment comes in the form of an arranged marriage to the daughter of another leading family in the Chicago Outfit. He’s ready to follow through, even if that means making sure Lily knows she’s his.Lily DeLuca isn’t being given a choice. Forced home to marry a man she doesn’t know and back into a life she’d rather forget, her world is full of half-truths, buried pain, and uncertainty. But Damian is nothing like she expects. His motives aren’t clear. Her beliefs are being tested.When it comes to this world, no man can be trusted. Someone is ready to flip the Chicago Outfit on its side all for the promise of something better. But no one runs a clean game and these men play for keeps. When blood begins to paint Chicago red, four families will be divided by loyalty, hatred, and revenge. There is no hiding. There is no safety.No one is deathless.No one.

    And morning and evening, the beautiful commuter acknowledges him—just like she does everyone else on the platform. But Blake Hartt is not like the others . . . he’s homeless. Memories of a broken childhood have robbed him of peace and twisted delusions into his soul. He stays secluded from the sun, sure the world would run from him in the harsh light of day. Each day, Livia McHugh smiles politely and acknowledges her fellow commuters as she waits for the train to the city. She dismisses this kindness as nothing special, just like her. She’s the same as a million other girls—certainly no one to be cherished. But special or not, she smiles every day, never imagining that someone would rely on the simple gesture as if it were air to breathe.

    When he transitions from protected to protector."Erik "Fish" Fiskare is only a college junior when a gunman walks into the campus theater, intent on stopping the show. From the lighting booth, Fish sees his girlfriend, Marguerite "Daisy" Bianco, get caught in the line of fire. Everyone runs away from the stage but Fish, in a watershed moment, runs toward it.Spanning fifteen years, The Man I Love explores how a single act of violence reverberates through a circle of friends. At the center are Fish and Daisy, two soul mates who always brought out the best in each other. Both are hailed as heroes after the shooting, yet the tragedy starts to bring out the worst in them, tearing the circle apart.Soon, Fish is running again—not toward Daisy this time, but as far away as possible. But can you really leave the one you were born to love? And is leaving always the end of loving?"You never got over her, Fish. You just left. You may think that's closure, but it isn't. You may think a woman like Daisy comes along twice in a lifetime, but she doesn't."Fearlessly touching on today's social and mental health issues, The Man I Love follows Erik Fiskare's journey back to the truth of himself and a woman he can't forget. With its gripping story and an unforgettable cast of characters, this epic novel of love and forgiveness lingers long after the last page is turned. on an emotional journey of love and truth."

    Especially when she catches the eye of the captain of The Fallen football team for all the wrong reasons.Determined to keep her head down and survive, Ana swears off guys. Until she meets the gorgeous, yet mysterious, Jackson. He sees past her walls, her pain and secrets, and slowly, Ana finds herself unable to fight their undeniable connection.But Jackson harbors a dark secret too...One that might destroy her.*Loyalty and Lies is the first book in Ana and Jackson’s trilogy. Due to mature content this book is recommended for readers aged 17+

     First place honors go to my twin, Ethan; however, hate isn’t a strong enough word to convey how people feel about him. Not that I blame anyone—some days, I hate him too. Mostly, I’m just lost and afraid, drowning in a sea of betrayal and guilt, wondering how this happened right under my nose. There’s no choice but to leave. To move clear across the country in a last-ditch attempt to start over. Transferring to a new school midway through senior year is hellish for most people. For me, it’s a welcome relief—until someone discovers our secret and now everyone knows. The pointing, whispering, and scathing looks follow me around again, and I’m back to square one. Except, this time, I’m not alone. Axel, Skeet, and Heath took me under their wing from the minute I arrived here. I’ve no idea why three of the hottest guys in town took any interest in me or why they continue to have my back, but I’m so grateful to have them in my corner. Because, right now, they’re the only reason I’m not following my brother into an early grave. This is an upper YA/NA standalone. Due to sensitive content and possible triggers, this book is recommended to readers aged 18 and older.