No longer wife and homemaker, she feels low, lonely and purposeless in her huge mansion in the Hamptons. Her life suddenly changes when she meets Belle, her new pool technician, who brings back feelings long forgotten. Her emotions conflicted, Belle roars into Reina’s life like a storm; the calm waters now a thing of the past, and Reina has no idea how to deal with the situation.Single mom Belle Rodgers services pools during the day and works for Hamptons’ Escorts a few nights a week. She loves giving her female clients the only thing their rich husbands can’t provide: an unforgettable night between the sheets. Belle’s number one rule is to not get emotionally invested but when her secret crush Reina books her, that proves to be a tough challenge.Between their differences in lifestyle and Belle having a less than conventional job, nothing is simple and they struggle to fight their undeniable chemistry. Can Reina come to terms with her sexuality? And can Belle find the trust to open herself up? Storms are beautiful but they can also be destructive…The Next Life: a sizzling collaboration from bestselling author Lise Gold & erotica author, Madeleine Taylor.102,000 words

    It all started with a broken classroom heater…Graduate school prepares you for many things – the rigor of academic life, how to pull consecutive all-nighters, and living off a meager stipend without having to be roommates with cockroaches.Elle Graft might have made it through six years of graduate school, but she's not convinced she'll survive her first position as an Assistant Professor.Because for all she learned, graduate school never prepared her for dealing with a student crush.

    The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she’s grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. Shipped off to boarding schools from an early age, it was still impossible to escape the loneliness and carve out a life of her own. The shadow of her parents’ fame followed her everywhere.And when they suddenly pass away, she knows she should be devastated. But has anything really changed? She’s always been alone, hasn’t she?Jake Van der Berg, her father’s stepbrother and her only living relative, assumes guardianship of Tiernan who is still two months shy of eighteen. Sent to live with him and his two sons, Noah and Kaleb, in the mountains of Colorado, Tiernan soon learns that these men now have a say in what she chooses to care and not care about anymore. As the three of them take her under their wing, teach her to work and survive in the remote woods far away from the rest of the world, she slowly finds her place among them.And as a part of them.She also realizes that lines blur and rules become easy to break when no one else is watching.One of them has her.The other one wants her.But he…He’s going to keep her.*Credence is a new adult standalone novel suitable for readers 18+.

    One stuck in the past, the other a very real present. Lucy Owens’ life was irrevocably changed in a matter of seconds. Life as she knew it was over in the blink of an eye. Moving away from all that she knew, Lucy now lives a solitary life in her cabin on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Filled with guilt and pain, she keeps herself to herself, and for years she manages to avoid immersing back into society. Nicole Granger has three small children to worry about. Always looking over her shoulder, they arrive at the lake with very little to call their own. Haunted by years of physical abuse, she longs to belong again, to bring normality to her girls’ lives for the first time. Both women are pulled towards one another in an attraction that could bring both of them their freedom.

    Only, she's not a teenager anymore. Ready to challenge herself artistically and earn the part she's always dreamed of, she's forced to face the realization that in order to win the roles afforded to edgier actresses, she might first have to audition by playing someone edgier in her day-to-day life.Pop star Lila Wilder built a multimedia empire by always having her finger on the pulse of what's hot. However, as she struggles to produce her next smash hit record, she's finding it hard to keep her name in the public eye, and a string of tumultuous relationships with Hollywood boy-toys no longer captivates anyone's attention.Both women tentatively agree to a headline-grabbing fauxmance, with two simple rules: Always stick to the script, and never forget that on the stage of public perception, nothing is real. Can two women find love in a world of carefully crafted illusions, or will a successful charade mean the potential for something more gets left on the cutting-room floor?

    Forsaken by her family and betrayed by people close to her. She has lost all faith in people and spends her days wondering the streets with no direction or meaning. She drifts through life, existing and nothing more.Nicole Cardell is a successful, attorney. She has too much faith in people and is being taken advantage of by her boyfriend, Tyler, Dane’s cousin. She’s tired of his selfish ways and tosses him out. The bad relationship leaves her questioning her judgment.Circumstances bring Dane and Nicole together and a friendship brings them closer. They’re able to heal each other and bring balance to each other’s lives. Their peace is shattered when family causes trouble and tears them apart. Will they find their path back to each other and to the love that was slowly growing?

    The trauma of Sydney's dark childhood is something she would do anything to forget. Now only nineteen, she's trying to start over with a new life and a new name, but you can't escape the past...Caroline is the most stunning woman Sydney has ever seen. Every night, Sydney hears her singing from her apartment window, and every night, Sydney's heart aches with something indescribable. When Caroline offers singing lessons, Sydney jumps at the chance to be in the captivating woman's presence...but her desire for Caroline can't be hidden. And Caroline is over twice her age. Through Caroline's gentle instruction, Sydney finds her voice again. The broken girl feels like she's starting to mend. But her infatuation with Caroline is reaching a fevered pitch...Will Sydney lose everything if Caroline finds out the girl is in love with her?Provocative, passionate and achingly raw, THE LONGING, the latest romance from best-selling author Bridget Essex, explores the unbreakable human heart in a love story that you'll never forget.59,500 words

    Tick, tick, tock.Time.That’s all I have now.A small room, a photograph, and time.They want me to trust them and confess my sins.They told me they wouldn't judge me—they lied.I thought we could convince the world that this wasn't a crime.We were wrong.Time doesn't stand still.The clock keeps ticking, the world is unconvinced, and now…Now he is gone.

    But this is no ordinary castle. It’s called Heartstone Psychiatric hospital and it houses forty other patients. It has nurses with mean faces and techs with permanent frowns.It has a man, as well. A man who is cold and distant. Whose voice drips with authority. And whose piercing gray eyes hide secrets, and maybe linger on her face a second too long. Willow isn’t supposed to look deep into those eyes. She isn’t supposed to try to read his tightly leashed emotions. And neither is she supposed to touch herself at night, imagining his powerful voice and that cold but beautiful face.No, Willow Taylor shouldn’t be attracted to Simon Blackwood, at all. Because she’s a patient and he’s her doctor. Her psychiatrist. The medicine man. WARNING: This book discusses sensitive issues including but not limited to, depression and suicide.

    So of course she follows him to Texas when he leaves for college. She just didn't expect to be so drawn to their new roommate, Gage, a gorgeous guy with a husky Southern drawl. The only problem? He's Tyler's cousin.Gage Carson was excited to share an apartment off campus with his cousin. He didn't mind that Tyler was bringing the mysterious friend he'd heard about since they were kids ... until the most beautiful girl he's ever seen jumps out of his cousin's Jeep. There's something about Cassi that makes Gage want to give her everything. Too bad Tyler has warned him that she's strictly off-limits.Despite everything keeping them apart, Cassi and Gage dance dangerously close to the touch they're both been craving. But when disaster sends her running into Tyler's arms, Cassi will have to decide whether to face the demons of her past ... or to burn her chance at a future with Gage.

    Only a select few know her as a loyal, loving friend. To a fault, she is committed to her family, friends and her job.As a surgeon, Nora Whitmore is used to being in control. The hospital is her life. There is little else. Respected by her colleagues but ridiculed by the residents, Nora takes what she needs and keeps everyone else at arm’s length, creating unexpected enemies.Tragedy brings them together in a clash of personalities. As the chaos around them continues, they find the lines between them blurring. A friendship forms, understanding grows, and attraction soon follows. Together, they may conquer their own misgivings, but will the outside forces keep them apart?Themes: lesbian · medical · police

    When medical debt looms, she doesn’t hesitate to do whatever it takes.Even if it means putting herself – and her inexperience in love – up on the auction block.She only asks that nobody discover her biggest secret. The reason she’s gone gray at twenty and now has something to offer a would-be suitor looking for a month-long affair.ASTRID EVANSTwo years after the death of her husband, Astrid is used to the jokes and jeers from the peerage. Everyone knows she’s a trophy wife who received the inheritance of a lifetime.But it didn’t come without a price. Traumatized by her former experiences, Astrid now spends her nights subjecting herself to the same events that once changed her life.That’s how she discovers Tara, a young and naïve woman who will be chewed up by the same system that stole Astrid’s own youth.THE ONLY KEY… IS HYPOCRISYWhen Tara arrives at Evans Manor for a month of companionship, Astrid rejects their mutual attraction, if only to sleep better at night.Soon, she can’t sleep at all.The electric chemistry between Astrid and Tara is unlike anything to hit the quiet country manor. While Tara explores what it means to fall in love and indulge in her lifelong fantasies, Astrid confronts the nightmares that have turned her into the ice-cold queen of her fortress.Everything she needs is within grasp – yet she denies it.Until she can’t anymore, and all hell breaks loose.

    A shocking discovery and dark secrets. Is the leader of the Catholic Church hiding something that could change the world? Investigative journalist Flic Bastone overhears a startling conversation she can’t ignore. There is no proof, nor does she want any. Poking into Vatican affairs is dangerous. Aware that the secret could soon be exposed to the world, Flic hastily pens a novel that shares alarming similarities to the uncovered truth. Eager to capitalize on what they recognize as a best seller, Griffin Publishers fast-tracks the novel to print, propelling marketing guru Anna Lawrence and Flic on a grueling promotional tour. Pushed closer together when attempts are made on Flic’s life, their growing attraction intensifies. Who’s targeting Flic? And will Anna move beyond her own religious beliefs while their worlds fall apart?

    Kimberly Donovan’s life is in shambles. After her medical ethics are questioned, first her family, then her closeted lover, the Chief of the ER, betray her. Determined to make a fresh start, she flees to California and L.A. Metropolitan Hospital.Dr. Jess McKenna, L.A. Metro’s Chief of the ER, gives new meaning to the phrase emotionally guarded, but she has her reasons.When Kim and Jess meet, the attraction is immediate. Emotions Jess has tried to repress for years surface. But her interest in Kim also stirs dark memories. They settle for friendship, determined not to repeat past mistakes, but secretly they both wish things could be different.Will the demons from Jess’s past destroy their future before it can even get started? Or will L.A. Metro be a place to not only heal the sick, but to mend wounded hearts?

    On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees.Archer's Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.