He is hers and she is his. Life can't get much better and their love can't get any stronger. That is until mistakes are made and their world comes crumbling down. She's left alone with no money, no home and a growing person invading her stomach. How will she survive? Forced to leave culinary school, the job she needs and the home they made together. Gwen finds a knight in the most unlikely source. Caleb's brother Nathan. A complex man with a phobia she doesn't understand and mannerisms that aren't of this day and age, will she be able to melt his seemingly frozen heart and become his friend? Or will he forever push her away and wallow in his loneliness and self loathing?

    When I jumped, sharp teeth would rip into me and the cold water would steal my breath away. The monsters would take everything from me, leaving me shivering and naked in the water. The only difference was that tonight I would be pulled from the icy darkness and forced to do it again. There would be no release from death, only pain.” Home after her first year of college, Adeline Miller is looking forward to a stress free summer filled with reading, working on her blog, and spending time with friends. But all that changes in an instant when she is witness to something terrible, something she wasn't supposed to see. Beaten, drugged, kidnapped. Adeline Miller is ripped from her innocent and carefree life and thrust into darkness, into a world full of pain and horror. As a sex slave, she is forced to do horrible things, and have horrible things done to her. One of her captors has a past as dark as the world she is now living in. Will getting close to him mean freedom? Or will he pull her deeper into the shadows?

    And not even in a goth way.High school senior Mindy Murphy, has been questioning her small town life forever and, more recently, her sexuality. Maybe it has something to do with her new friend, Lucia West. When they were kids they used to be besties, until Lucia grew a head taller and a cup size bigger. Now she’s captain of the cheer team, winner of the Boyfriend Olympics, and voted least likely to remember Mindy at their high school reunion.In short, possibly the worst person alive for Mindy to crush on. Especially after Lucia’s bitten by a vampire. Now the only way to keep her alive is to get her blood, and the only way to cure her is to slay the vampire that turned her.Who knows, maybe after they get this vampire business settled, Lucia can explain to Mindy why she kissed her.

    But that doesn’t mean he has the confidence to make a move on the gorgeous young blond who just breezed in to the Blue Dragon Bar. Fate will play its hand, anyway. Finding the same young blond beaten to the edge of death, terrified of a hospital, Sebastian has to choose - walk away, or try to save a life.This one chance encounter will lead Sebastian into a web of danger. Who is the enemy and who is a friend? Who will he trust when everyone has a reason to lie? How far will he go, and what will it cost, to do the right thing?Original Prompt:Dear Author,I'm so out of my league with this one I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I watched him walk into that bathroom. How could I not notice him? Just look at him. He's fucking beautiful. I didn't see him come back out, but I was trying to play it cool, ya know? I thought maybe he'd left when after 30 minutes I didn't see him in the bar anywhere. Shrugging it off, figuring he's probably a good 10 years too young for me anyway, I went to the bathroom and saw him again. Only this time he was a broken, bloody heap on the floor in the last stall. Shit! I rushed over to him, felt for a pulse and tried to assess the damage. I'm just a retired Navy medic, not a doctor but when I roused him, he started screaming and pleading with me not to take him to the hospital. Said they'd kill him if they found him and they'd be sure and look there first. So I picked him up, carried him out and brought him home. He's so badly beaten. I think they kicked him half to death. I have to examine him, but he's so scared. I'm not sure if he's been raped or not but how do I get him to trust me enough to even check? Please help me put this beautiful, battered boy back together again.Photo Description: A bleached-blond young man with a sculpted body is sitting half-naked and curled over his own knees. His eyes are closed, and his head is down. He looks tired and scared.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.Download the story, read it online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 11 - Bonus Volume.__________Genre: contemporary, thriller. Tags: medical personnel; military men; first time; hurt/comfort; slow burn; unresolved sexual tensionWarnings: descriptions of post-violent-attack first aid and medical care; non-graphic discussions of off-screen sexual assault; gun violence (non-sexual). Word count: 70,085

    Dani is befriended--against her own better judgment--by a young therapist named Grace Beaumont, who helps Dani make it through the ordeal of bringing the attacker to justice.

    Their destinies come together one fateful afternoon when the feared outlaw makes the choice to rescue a young woman in trouble. For her part, Josie Hunter considers the brief encounter at an end once the girl is safe, but Rebecca Cameron has other ideas...

    But that’s exactly what happens to Jessie Downes after her wife dies in a tragic accident. Jessie is left devastated and angry and after she lashes out in grief, she finds herself in court-ordered group therapy. For self-contained Jessie, it’s a fresh nightmare. She’d rather be picking litter on the side of a highway than forced to attend a group where people talk about their problems. But little by little she finds herself drawn into the workings of the group and its assortment of eccentric members. Specifically, Annie Perkins, a sweet yet closeted woman who is trying to work through her pathological fear of making decisions. Jessie and Annie are surprised to find a connection. But is it more than friendship? And if it is, does Jessie have the strength to allow someone in after losing the only woman she ever expected to love? Or should she just commit to being alone? Only Ever You is a romantic comedy heaped with dark humour, from the author of The Plus One and By Any Other Name.

    Yet she can't pin point what. Together since College, they know everything about each other. So why has she spent the last few days watching everything he does, hoping for a clue? What could have happened within that week he was gone?One way or another she's going to find out.When Clove invests in the help of her brother Zack, a police detective, she’s afraid her suspicions of infidelity will be confirmed. Terrified that such news will crush her heart, she sets about preparing for the worst. Only to find it's much more than she could have imagined—there is no other woman. Clove’s life is about to descend into a web of deceit, lies and betrayal. Appearances can be deceiving… and only the Master Manipulator will be left standing. “The eyes only see what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” – Henri Bergson

    Her band, Detonate the Gazelle is ready to move to Austin after graduation, but Avery is having second thoughts. She’s fallen hard for Madison Shea, student council president with a douchebag boyfriend, after their orbits collide at Oak Bluff High’s inaugural Gay-Straight Alliance meeting. Even though it goes against her rules about crushing on straight girls, Avery relentlessly pursues Madison. Their chemistry is too magnetic to deny and soon they are making out in car washes and school bathrooms and holding hands under tables. Avery wants to take their relationship public but Madison is afraid of her conservative family’s reaction and that it’ll ruin her chances as Prom Queen. Their secret relationship is put to the ultimate test when student council vetoes a proposal for a gay-friendly prom and the club decides to throw a free Unprom the same night as Prom with Detonate the Gazelle as the headliner. If Unprom proves to be more popular than Prom, Madison will hold it against her and Avery will lose her shot at taking her relationship with Madison public. What started off as a love song may have just turned into a breakup ballad.

     INDEBTED EPILOGUE is a bonus book to be read after: Debt Inheritance First Debt Second Debt Third Debt Fourth Debt Final Debt “Life after death…love after debts…is it possible after so much pain?” No information will be given so no spoilers are slipped, but if you enjoyed the Indebted Series, you'll want to read this final edition.

    He’s tall with rugged good looks and a rock hard body. A perfect exterior. But inside he's damaged…carrying a burden too big to bear. The Navy sends him on a break to clear his head, which leads him to a small town miles away. But his mind wanders back. To Kandahar. To his missions. To his Navy SEAL brothers. Until her…a younger woman Caleb’s got his sights set on like no one ever before. Fate brings Grace and Caleb together, but will the feelings they have for each other burn so strong that they threaten to tear them apart? In this small town where everybody knows everything about everyone will Caleb battle his greatest challenge alone or will Grace break down his walls and become his trusted ally? His confidant. His lover. What neither one of them counted on was falling for the other. But that might be just what they need. Each other. *Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace is an insta-everything standalone romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger. **This one is pretty wholesome and not steamy compared to other stories in the series. Without giving away too much, it's mostly a story about two people coming together to make the world a better place which in turn helps a returning veteran work through tough times.

    He's jealous when she shows us any affection.'Set in Battersea in the Fifties and Sixties, the Pratchett family have to contend with coalman Alfie Pratchett's obsessive jealousy. Although Alfie is a bully, his two teenage children, John and Millie, have learned to dodge him and his moods. The main concern of ugly duckling Millie - who looks nothing like her handsome brother John - is to protect their mum, Eileen.When a serious crisis occurs at the Pratchetts' home, Alfie is forced to watch his whole world gradually collapse around him. Their old life has gone forever, and a new one has begun - one in which rape, debt, alcoholism and insanity play their parts. And redemption is a long time comingKitty Neale is a storyteller of rare power, unafraid to uncover the dark secrets that lie behind the well-scrubbed doorsteps of family homes.

    Four sizzling insta-love stories. One irresistible box-set. This collection by Cassandra Bloom includes the following books: Heartache ‘Mr. Anaconda,’ they call me. I don’t chase women, they chase me. I’ve made my fortune, I’ve built my empire. I play to win and live by my own set of rules. If I toy with my desires, will she steal my heart? Billionaire’s Secret Baby F*cking Pregnant! Giles Pendragon is business royalty. Smoking hot all over, a bad boy demeanor, and my boss. Instant attraction. Can you blame me? A dirty office romance is harmless enough…right? Now comes the hard part. How do I live in the same town as him without him finding out I’ve had his baby? Big Bad Boss Sexy, Dangerous, Rich – Talk about HOT! I joined the adult messaging website for some harmless fun. I didn’t think I would like it when ‘RipRoarer’ started messaging me. The anticipation made me squirm with a naughty kind of enjoyment. He’s everything I imagined he would be and so much more. And now? Now he’s my Boss… Should I make a run for it? It began as some harmless fun, nothing serious. I don’t think that’s how he wants it to end… One Night Only She wants me to follow my animal cravings to their limits. But if I follow my lust… Will she steal my heart? I want to claim the girl who can’t be tamed for myself. One night of wild sex later -- could this be a New York dream come true, or the greatest disaster ever? *Beauty and the Billionaire is a box set containing Heartache, Billionaire’s Secret Baby, Big Bad Boss, and One Night Only, in this limited time bundle! The books feature alpha male billionaire’s who find their happily ever after with a beautiful curvy women. They are steamy standalones, and contain no cheating and no cliffhangers. Includes 2 bonus books for your reading pleasure... Grow your Cassandra Bloom collection today!

    My family. My home. My innocence. In a country blasted by war and wracked by economic hardship, a young orphan girl like me has very few options when it comes to survival. Thus, I do what I must to live, to eat, and I try very hard to not consider the cost to my soul. My heart is empty, and my existence brutal. The one impossibility in my life is love.And then I meet HIM.War is hell. It takes a chunk out of a man's very soul to do the kinds of things war demands of you. You live with fear, you live with guilt, and you live with nightmares. If you haven't been through it, there's no understanding it. War leaves no room for love, no room for tenderness or softness. You gotta be hard, closed off, and ready to fight every moment of every day. Lose focus for a split second, and you're dead.Now the only thing that can save me is HER.

    Haunted by a vision of the man who could very well be her soul mate, Emma is desperate to find that man, but fear stands in her way. With a maniacal ex-husband determined to get her back, Emma struggles to stay clear of him or risk living a life riddled by quiet desperation and abuse. Fighting with a dirty cop is dangerous enough, but when that dirty cop is her ex-husband the stakes are raised to disastrous levels. Craig Masterson, the firefighter who saved Emma's life, finds himself falling for her. When he learns who her ex-husband is, he realizes that this is a battle he may not win. Choosing to love her is a deadly game. If he can stay alive, their love may flourish, but only if he can defeat her ex. Heat level: low (for this book - the rest in the series are moderate to moderately-high), suspense, thriller level: moderate. Some swearing. 18+. Cliffhanger ending.