Although, I was a master at concealing mine. But part of hiding was deception, and I’d become a veritable Pinocchio.  He was like two different people—Eli and Dr. Paxton. While I knew the latter would turn out to be an incredible teacher, the idea of Eli being more threw me for a loop. I couldn’t separate the two, and it seemed vastly inappropriate and strangely alluring.  The practical side of me needed to win the war inside my mind. I had to please the teacher, not the man. But once I'd cross that line, there was no turning back. For either of us.

    They’re the bad boys, the alpha a**holes, and the thorns in our sides. They push us past our limits, turn us on, and break us. They’re our bullies. They’re the class of 2020. Eight bestselling authors are teaming up to bring you eight unique stories about the guys we love to hate. This anthology benefits one of the largest anti-bullying organizations in the world, and all proceeds will go toward helping to support victims of bullying. Note from the authors Bully Me: Class of 2020 is a collection of novellas that includes a mix of standalones and prequels that will later be expanded upon. Siobhan DavisCoraLee JuneShantel TessierC.M. StunichK WebsterKaydence SnowCallie HartSam Mariano

    All new. All standalones. Guaranteed to make you swoon.

    She knows what rock bottom looks like, and she is determined to crawl back up to the top after the sudden death of her younger sister. She blames herself for her part in the tragedy, convinced that she could have done something, anything, to help her.In her effort to gain redemption, Aubrey starts fresh at Longwood University and facilitates an addiction support group, hoping she can support someone else in the way she failed her sister. But what she doesn’t count on is an all-consuming fascination with group member Maxx Demelo, a gorgeous, blond, blue-eyed enigma who hides dark secrets behind a carefully constructed mask. He only reveals what he wants others to see. But Aubrey glimpses another Maxx hidden below the surface—a Maxx who is drowning in his own personal hell.As Aubrey and Maxx develop an attraction too intense to ignore, he pulls her into the dark underbelly of the city club scene, where she is torn by her desire to save him and an inexplicable urge to join him in his downward spiral. Worst of all, she is beginning to love everything she should run away from—a man who threatens to ignite in her a fire that could burn her alive…

    I lost him. And now he’s back. August Monreaux was a stormy sea of a man, the dark between the stars, an electric chill cutting through a crowded room—all wrapped into one wicked, beautiful package. He was also off-limits. My entire life, I was kept a safe distance from the notoriously virulent Monreauxs, banned from so much as breathing the same air. And like the good daughter I was, I obeyed those rules. Until the one time I didn’t …Only while I sampled him, he devoured me like the forbidden fruit that I was. And in the blink of an eye, my worst enemy became my first love. His poison became my antidote. His touch, my addiction. After we severed our ill-fated ties, I thought I’d never see him again. Until he crashed back into my life at the worst possible moment—and asked me to marry him.But it wasn’t that simple.It never is. Turns out marrying a wealthy powerhouse of a man comes with a price. But walking away, could cost me everything.

    You mean nothing to me. I never loved you. I turned my words into swords.And I cut her down. Shoved the blade in and watched her fall. I said I’d never hurt her, and I did. Years later, I’m faced with all the little lies, the untruths, the false realities, the damage I inflicted, when all I wanted was to indulge my obsession. Lavender Waters is the princess in the tower. Even her name is the thing fairy tales are made of. I used to be the one who saved her. Over and over again. But I don’t want to save her anymore. I just want to pretend the lies are still the truth.A standalone angsty new adult romance. Heroine: Lavender Waters (Alex and Violet Waters’ youngest daughter, PUCKED and FOREVER PUCKED couple origin, Pucked Series )Hero: Kodiak (Kody) Bowman (Rook and Lainey Bowman’s son, A LIE FOR A LIE couple origin, All In Series )

    At least, that’s how it appears to her classmates. But she has one illicit secret – she’s fallen hard for her professor. And she’s pretty sure he’s fallen for her too.Everyone loves Professor Hunter. He’s tall, dark, and handsome. And completely unobtainable. But it’s the secrets hiding behind his deep brown eyes that allures Penny. Secrets darker than she could ever imagine.James Hunter gave up his billionaire lifestyle in NYC last year to become a professor. The easiest new rule to follow: don’t fraternize with the students. It’s easy to follow because he’s become quite the recluse in his new town – the only way he knows how to keep his secrets buried.But he never expected to be teaching such a beautiful student. He has to resist her. He needs to walk away. Penny deserves better than a man with his demons. But she’s daring him to cross the line. And he’s never been one to resist temptation.

    She’s survived a trauma he’s not sure he can save her from, but he knows he has to try.The more time they spend together, the more they learn about what it really means to live. Some things are forbidden.Some things are necessary for survival.Their love is both.

    They bust out of an emergency exit and have axis-shaking sex. He pours whiskey in her belly button and after they run out of condoms, they have to get creative. That kind of sex. The next day, she learns that he is none other than Dr. Benjamin Beck, a brand new member of the Yale faculty and the hottest thing to happen to academia since… well, ever. She has to take his damned junior seminar to graduate, but it gets worse. He’s also her College Master: her boss, her advisor, her everything. And he’s just moved in, right downstairs. They can’t stay away from each other. They're either fusion or fission or both. They’re making out in libraries, hiding notes between stones, and sneaking off to nautically themed AirBnbs. Hear that sound? It’s the academic code of ethics going up in flames. If they're found out, he’ll lose his job and his reputation. She'll lose her scholarship and be forced to return to the life of lobster fishing that she thought she’d escaped. And they will be found out, yes they will.So what the hell are they going to do? *** To the reader: Things get damned dirty in this book. The characters curse, the sex gets explicit. It’s an erotic love story with fury. Be advised. Other tasters’ notes: HEA. Sweet. Funny. Dirty. Muddy. Wet. Inspired by a real professor.

    (This is not one of those stories.)Jenna Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire. There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain... magnetism. And there are stories where it’s hard to be sure who’s a prince and who’s a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

    Ex-girlfriend? Whatever. Point is, the Adonis loved to hate me.It wasn’t my fault he’d followed me. It wasn’t my fault he’d stared too long and stood a little too close, just daring me to accomplish my wildest dreams.And it most certainly wasn’t my fault his ex-girlfriend arrived when he’d decided to kiss me back.Then the cruelty began.I’d thought I could handle it, so long as his lips kept gracing mine and he kept giving me more scorching firsts. Until he took it too far, and all his carefully kept secrets blew open the doors to a brand-new world. A world he was all too familiar with.Obsession became loathing and fear replaced naivety as Jude was forced to hold my hand and help me navigate a secret society rife with sin and debauchery—the crème de la crème of Peridot Island.If I wasn’t careful, I’d do more than lose what remained of my heart. My first love and greatest foe wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d devoured my soul, too.

    𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍.⠀⠀Here’s the 411 about high school—well, at least for my high school, Clintwood Academy.⠀⠀💋It’s a fucking warzone.⠀💋Everyone has a grudge against someone else. ⠀💋It’s the breeding ground for losers, jealous broken-hearted girls, and acne covered fools with zero game.⠀💋The disgustingly rich kids are vile, vindictive, popular, and the mecca of a social life worth a damn.⠀💋Lastly, high school is simply survival of the fittest.⠀⠀And I was the fittest of them all. Once.⠀⠀Once, before I set up to take the fall for an attempted murder of one of the Fitz brothers, the golden boys of St. Jude High, our sworn rival enemy.⠀⠀Before I was played for a kiss and it worked. ⠀⠀Now, the Fitz brothers hate me.⠀They suspect me.⠀They want to destroy me.⠀They know everything about me, and I hate them for it.⠀⠀And now, we’ll all be living together, like one big, happy step-family. With secrets brimming, hatred festering, and other feelings I have no business having for my step-cousin-brothers or whatever, haunting me night and day.⠀⠀Now, let’s kiss and be forever rivals…⠀

    When the wedding of your dreams is just around the corner, everything needs to go as planned. Only problem is, the groom didn’t get the memo.Aaron forgot the rings, and Lia is determined to make the long drive home to get them in time for their “I do’s.”But there’s a catch. There always is with Aaron, isn’t there?Aaron is too hungover to come, and sends a replacement.The best man.Miles Foster. The cocky, arrogant, sexy best man…and the last person Lia wants to be trapped in a car with for hours.But Aaron insists, and Lia wonders if there’s another reason Aaron wants Miles tagging along—aside from sticking her with a hot, surly babysitter.Yet how bad can it be? It’ll be over before she knows it, and she’ll never see him again. Just like in college.But when secrets are revealed, and Lia’s whole world is turned upside down, she realizes she’s been living a lie—and so has her groom.Miles is supposed to be the best man at her wedding.But what if he is simply the best man she has ever known? The best man for her?

    Lesson #1: Nothing goes the way you plan.Lesson #2: You can’t trust men. Especially not the pretty ones.Lesson #3: Turns out, appearances are almost always deceiving.Emma thinks she has life all figured out, and what she knows isn’t good. For years, she’s put her big sister, who was born with Down syndrome, first. Now Emma’s ready to start her own life, but fate has other plans. To do the right thing for the sister she loves, Emma’s dreams will just have to wait.She doesn’t plan on meeting Landon — a rich, flirtatious jock, who never has to wait for anything. Not for attention, not for money, and certainly not for girls. Meeting Emma marks the first time in his life that he’s had to fight for something. And Landon doesn't know how to lose.Emma has no interest in wasting her summer with a superficial guy like Landon. But very soon she realizes she is wrong about him. The question is, can she trust him? Or will he let her down like every other guy in her life? But most importantly, can Emma trust herself enough to live the life she's always dreamed of?Life has a way of sneaking in the most important lessons when you aren't looking. And once the heart gets involved, that's when the real learning begins. *** This book is intended for mature audiences. 18 and over!

    Young, gorgeous, successful, smart. Did I mention young? If I did, it bears repeating. Ford Donovan was too young for me.Let's back up to how it all started. My best friend decided I needed to start dating again. So, without my knowledge, she set up a profile for me on a popular dating site--one that invited men ages twenty-one to twenty-seven to apply for a date. Those nicknamed Cunnilingus King were told they'd go straight to the top for consideration. The profile wasn't supposed to go live. Another point that bears repeating--it wasn't supposed to.Nevertheless, that's how I met Ford, and we started messaging. He made me laugh; yet I was adamant that because of his age, we could only be friends. But after weeks of wearing me down, I finally agreed to one date only--my first after twenty years of being with my high school sweetheart. I knew it couldn't last, but I was curious about him.Though, you know what they say...curiosity kills the cat.My legs wobbled walking into the restaurant.Ford was seated at the bar. When he turned around, he took my breath away.His sexy smile nearly melted my panties.But...he looked so familiar.As I got closer I realized why.He was the son of the neighbor at our family's summer home.The boy next door.Only now...he was all man.I hadn't seen him in years.I left the restaurant and planned to put the entire crazy thing behind me.Which I did. Until summer came.And guess who decided to use his family's summer home this year?