Now, she reaches new, uncanny heights with And I Do Not Forgive You. In “Mildly Happy, With Moments of Joy,” a friend is ghosted by a simple text message; in “Everyone’s a Winner at Meadow Park,” a teen precariously coming of age in a trailer park befriends an actual ghost. At once humorous and unapologetically fierce, these stories shine an interrogating light on the adage that “history likes to lie about women”— as the subjects of “A Short and Speculative History of Lavoisier’s Wife” and “You Won’t Believe What Really Happened to the Sabine Women” (it’s true, you won’t) will attest. Blending fairy tales and myths with apocalyptic technologies, all tethered intricately by shades of rage, And I Do Not Forgive You offers a mosaic of an all-too-real world that fails to listen to its silenced goddesses.Mildly unhappy, with moments of joy --You won't believe what really happened to the Sabine women --A place for hiding precious things --Everyone's a winner in Meadow Park --A short and slightly speculative history of Lavoisier's wife --We destroy the Moon --In which Athena designs a video game with the express purpose of trolling her father --Is the future a nice place for girls --Our mutual (theater) friend --The dry cleaner from Des Moines --The eyes of Saint Lucy --We were a storybook back then --Rabbit by rabbit --Through the looking-glass --The noises from the neighbors upstairs --Our geographic history --Death deserves all caps --A wholly new and novel act, with monsters --When the husband grew wings --The language of the stars --Mildly joyful, with moments of extraordinary unhappiness --Tour of the cities we have lost

    My best friend Jody dared me to take a pack of gum from the Handy-Mart. In retrospect, I'm surprised my bumbling effort didn't land me in jail. It was hardly a covert mission but I did it. I did it, I loved it and I've been stealing ever since. Usually it's something small, just enough to give me the rush. Over the years, I've graduated up to pickpocketing which requires a bit more daring and a lot more finesse. I've never gotten caught and I suppose that's part of the thrill. Every time I take something I have to wonder if this is the day my luck will run out. This is the story of the day I stole from the wrong man. READER ADVISORY:Story contains content some readers may find objectionable, including voyeurism, exhibitionism, anal play, sex with strangers and extended orgasms. If you have a problem with orgasms, do not purchase this book.Book length: 4k words, 15 pages

    It's 1969, and sixteen-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy's default caretaker for most of their lives, Charlotte's youth has been marked by the burden of responsibility, but never more so than when Lucy's dream of a rural paradise turns into a nightmare.Cruel Beautiful World examines the intricate, infinitesimal distance between seduction and love, loyalty and duty, and explores what happens when you're responsible for things you cannot make right.

    I signed the contract. I agree not to ask questions. And I thought it would only be a tryst between me, Tobias, and Preston--the two billionaires who now owned me for seven days. I couldn't have been more wrong...One contract. Two guys. Three players. Four strikes. Five rules. Six zeros. Seven days.No safe words.Are you game?

    Together they were best friends with a bond that could never be broken. But when she returns, the three must decide whether to face the fires that burn between them, or forgo their desires forever in Lauren Dane's DIRTY/BAD/WRONG.In Megan Hart's JUST FOR ONE NIGHT, fun-loving couple Kerry and Jeremy find themselves in a triangle of trouble when Kerry's old crush, Brian, returns for a school reunion, and Jeremy gives her his enthusiastic approval to seduce him. But while Jeremy has no trouble sharing Kerry, Brian isn't sure he can handle what's coming.Years ago, Walker walked out on Madeline when she needed him most. Now, the ex-Secret Service agent is back--hired to protect Madeline by her billionaire boss, Tony. Madeline is determined to make him pay for denying her desires--and she's not above bringing Tony in to sweeten the deal in Bethany Kane's ON THE JOB.

    Xavier Vincent. She worships the talented physician and company icon responsible for developing the cure that saved her sister’s life and isn’t immune to his charm. Even though puzzled by his request, she is excited and eager to get started on his latest project. But Dr. Vincent has other ideas. Instead of discussing cures, drugs and marketing strategies, he asks Elaine to join him in Paris to indulge his unique sexual appetites. Torn between gratitude for saving her sister, her attraction for the powerful man and compromising her pre-conceived notions of sexuality, she must decide if it's easier to feed his desires or walk away. Until she devises a plan of her own. “Make no mistake, Elaine, I am a king. Kings command and conquer. They are brutal and uncompromising. You don’t want a king. Face it, you came here expecting a saint.” - Dr. Xavier Vincent

    As her mother not unkindly told her, she was never going to grow up to be a great beauty. Her glamorous sister, Lilly, moved easily through the world, a parade of handsome men in pursuit. Her brother didn’t want a girl joining his group of friends. And their small town of Lynn, Massachusetts, didn’t have a place for a girl whose feelings often put her at war with the world -- often this meant her mother, her brother, and the town librarian who wanted to keep her away from the Dangerous Books she really wanted to read.But through an unexpected friendship, Neave finds herself with a forbidden copy of The Pirate Lover, a steamy romance, and Neave discovers a world of passion, love, and betrayal. And it is to this world that as a grown up she retreats to again and again when real life becomes too much.Neave finds herself rereading The Pirate Lover more than she ever would have expected because as she gets older, life does not follow the romances she gobbled up as a child. When Neave and Lilly are about to realize their professional dream, Lilly suddenly disappears. Neave must put her beloved books down and take center stage, something she has been running from her entire life. And she must figure out what happened to Lilly – and if she’s next. Who Neave turns to help her makes Sharon Pywell's The Romance Reader's Guide to Life one of the most original, entertaining, exciting, and chilling novels you will read this year.

    They go for supermodels and actresses, skinny-girls who never eat and spend all day working out. I'm not that girl. So when he locked his fiery brown eyes on me for the first time, I couldn't quite believe it was really happening to me. It was the second night I spent with him that I'll never forget. The Long Drive Home (bonus short story) Big Girls Do It Wetter Chase went to New York...without me. It was only one night, one delicious, sinful night, but it awakened something within me, and now, with him gone, I have no one to satiate my sudden, ferocious hunger. Then I woke up one day and looked at someone near and dear to me in a whole new light. And my world was rocked once again. Big Girls Do It Wilder I'm going. Going to New York City to be with gorgeous, mysterious, rockstar Chase Delany seemed like a crazy dream, a fantasy come true. The bright lights and music, and his tight, sexy leather pants called to me...and I answered. Chase might want more and I just might give it to him, if I could only forget what I started with Jeff back in Detroit.I thought I had my love life all figured out, I thought I knew what I wanted, and then things went and changed on me all over again... Big Girls Do It On Top I fled New York with my heart breaking and a million questions. Foremost in my mind was whether Jeff would even see me after the colossal mess that New York turned out to be. I discovered the answer, but that only spawned even more questions, many of the yes or no variety...

    In a world that belongs to men, Lady Maud Finchingfield is a bluestocking seeking a level of forbidden independence. Within the secret chambers of London’s most decadent club, where the ruling elite indulge every vice, can Maud discover freedom and pleasure by bringing those who would dominate into submission?A man who never expected to lose his control…Lord Henry McCaulay views women with disdain. That is, until he meets the enigmatic Mademoiselle Noire, the alluring hostess at his club, who both fascinates and infuriates him. As games of power draw Henry and Mademoiselle Noire together, their liaison leads to reckless passion and the risk of scandal. Each enthralling encounter confirms his hunger to possess her, as thoroughly as she has claimed him - in body and soul. Can sexual desire transform into the ultimate surrender, and the unmasking of love?A darkly sensual romance, set in 1899, recommended by Stylist magazine as ‘a mind-blowing’ read.Heat level: deliciously kinkyThe first, seductive volume of Emmanuelle de Maupassant's Noire series.

    To gain experience, she sets her sights on . . .Sebastian, whose powerful, aristocratic confidence suits Anna’s mercenary goals. But his arrogance masks a craving for submission that Anna instinctively satisfies. Sebastian soon begs for her hand in marriage, even if it means sharing her with . . .Pia, who trusts Anna completely—with her body and her future—until she learns of Anna’s hasty marriage. Pia questions their commitment to each other as they leave for London to meet . . .Farleigh, the seemingly feckless duke who thinks he’s over Sebastian, the potent Spanish soldier he bedded two years ago.What begins as a series of erotic escapades soon evolves into a deep, unbreakable bond. Two men and two women who yearn to explore are about to make their wildest dreams come true.

    These are the memories that will never fade.Join nineteen fantastic authors as they pull back the curtain and give you a peek inside that one intense moment in their characters' lives when everything changes and nothing will ever be the same again.Featuring stories from some of the hottest names in New Adult, Young Adult, and Romance including New York Times Bestselling authors J.Lynn/Jennifer Armentrout, Molly McAdams, Sophie Jordan, and Carrie Ryan.NOTE: These stories are works of fiction. If you want to know about our first times, you'll have to buy us a pet monkey first.

    Then she meets a mysterious and captivating stranger—and over a glass of outrageously expensive wine, her world turns upside down. Try as she might to banish the wealthy business mogul from her thoughts, Madeline can’t fight Alex’s staggering appeal or his enticing offer of intimate discovery.Alex doesn’t date—at least, not in the traditional sense. Still, he wants Madeline …and his sexual intensity provides her with a much-needed escape. They embark on a tumultuous erotic affair, one that takes them to the pinnacle of obsession and desire. But underneath each explosive encounter lie dangerous secrets waiting to consume them both.…

    plus one or two dukes, one heiress, and one headstrong beauty—to a surprise snow storm, the comfort of a blazing fire, and the heat of a lover's kisses...A CHRISTMAS ABDUCTION by Madeline HunterCaroline Dunham has a bone to pick with notorious rake Baron Thornhill—and a creative plan to insure his undivided attention. Yet once in close quarters, she finds herself beholden to their smoldering connection. A PERFECT MATCH by Sabrina JeffriesWhisked away from a wintry ball by a commanding colonel, Cassandra Isles struggles with her feelings for Lord Heywood. For he is a man sworn to marry only for money—and Cass is an heiress who will accept nothing less than love. ONE WICKED WINTER’S NIGHT by Mary Jo PutneyDressed as a veiled princess, Lady Diana Lawrence is shocked to discover that the mysterious corsair who tempts her away from the costume ball is the duke she once loved and lost. Now ensconced with Castleton at a remote lodge, will she surrender to the passion still burning hotly between them?

    Now it's home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen's legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve both Jane Austen's home and her legacy. These people—a laborer, a young widow, the local doctor, and a movie star, among others—could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. As each of them endures their own quiet struggle with loss and trauma, some from the recent war, others from more distant tragedies, they rally together to create the Jane Austen Society.

    His characters, almost all of who are first-generation Indian Americans, subvert our expectations that they will sit quietly by. We meet two brothers caught in an elaborate web of envy and loathing; a young gay man who becomes involved with an older man whose secret he could never guess; three women who almost gleefully throw off the pleasant agreeability society asks of them; and, in the final pair of linked stories, a young couple struggling against the devastating force of community gossip. If You See Me, Don't Say Hi examines the collisions of old world and new world, small town and big city, traditional beliefs (like arranged marriage) and modern rituals (like Facebook stalking). The men and women in these stories are full of passion, regret, envy, anger, and yearning. They fall in love with the wrong people and betray one another and deal with the accumulation of years of subtle racism. They are utterly compelling. Ranging across the country, Patel’s stories -- empathetic, provocative, twisting, and wryly funny -- introduce a bold new literary voice, one that feels more timely than ever.