Security seemed more like a luxury to me, reserved for those who were fortunate enough to have picture perfect childhoods. For those who didn’t bear the ugly scars that keep me bound in constant, debilitating fear. I’ve run from that fear my entire life. But when I met him, for once, I couldn’t run anymore.He scared the hell out of me in a way that excited every fiber of my being. It wasn’t the tattoos or the piercings. It wasn’t the warmth that seemed to radiate from his frame and blanket me whenever he was near. It was just…him. The scary beautiful man that threatened to alter 23 years of routine and rituals, and make me face my crippling fear.My name is Kami and I am constantly afraid. And the thing that scares me the most is the very thing I want.“Don’t worry,” he smiled, pulling me into the hard warmth of his chest. “I’ve got you. I’ll always catch you when you fall.”And just like that, Blaine had staked his claim on the untouched part of me that no living soul had ever moved. He had captured every fear, every reservation, and crushed them in the palm of his inked hand.Author Disclaimer: Abuse is real- verbal, emotional, physical and sexual. It takes place all around us; it doesn’t discriminate against race or gender, wealth or poverty. It affects us all- those of us who’ve had to live through it, or watch it happen, even those of us who’ve only heard about it. We are all affected. We are all forever changed. This is not a story for the faint of heart; this is the story of one woman’s very real struggle through a world against her, the people who hurt her, her real life demons and the people who showed her that every gray sky, no matter how dark, has a sun waiting to break through.***Inspired by true events***

    I loved her. But they took me away from her and locked me up. For two years, all I could think about was her. She consumed me. Took up every room in my head and gave me something to focus on, knowing I would see her soon. Nine years ago, I watched her as she walked down the aisle and into the arms of a man who wasn't me. My brother. I left my home and never looked back. Now, I'm staring at seven letters, each envelope stamped with one word in bold, red ink: URGENT. I have no choice but to go back home. Seeing her will be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But in order to reconcile with my past, I have to face my present. Even if the thought of seeing her, knowing that she is out of my reach, kills me. I have no idea what awaits me, but I can only hope that the demons of my past will finally be buried and put to rest. **Due to possible triggering descriptions of self-harm, and some sexual situations this book is not recommended for anyone under the age of 17 years old**

    Each task others complete without thinking is a challenge for him. Recently orphaned, he has to finish the last few months of high school and take care of his disabled sister on his own.When Mayra comes into his life, his comfortable routines implode. Matthew can’t handle change, but Mayra is unrelenting in her quest to understand him, to show him acceptance and maybe even love. When she breaks through his shell, Matthew’s world will never be the same again.An awkward boy with Asperger’s Syndrome, a persistent girl who pulls him out of his isolated existence, and a lottery ticket that will change their lives forever.

    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.

    Very nearly. Not quite. Three years later, Jess has managed to make everyone believe she's better. Over it. Because she is....Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.Unfortunately, until Jess proves she's back to normal activities, her parents won't discuss college. So, she lands a summer internship and strikes a deal with hockey jock, Gray Porter: He gets $8,000. She gets a fake boyfriend and a social life. Jess has no idea Gray signed on for reasons other than money. She also never expects to fall in love. But Gray’s amazingly hot, holds her hand all the time, and makes her forget that he’s simply doing his job. It’s like having a real boyfriend....Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.Gray Porter is hiding secrets of his own. About Jess Jordan. About why he’s driven to protect her, why he won't cash her checks, or deny her anything she asks.

    True North" The North brothers were hell on wheels-adrenaline-junky bad boys. You’d think they had a death wish – every one of them – but they didn’t really, they just got off on the thrill of pushing every limit, that gravity or any other force told them they couldn’t conquer. What they weren't prepared for were the women that would steal their hearts. Book 1 True North Finding Home Livie and Jake Livie Morrisey is dreading seeing Jake after his heroic homecoming from Afghanistan. She's been in love with Jake North since she was a little girl, but he was three-and-a-half years older than her and her big brother’s best friend. She was always nothing but the off-limits little sister – until the night before Jake left for the Army, when he'd given her her first kiss. They'd kept in touch for a year, but once Jake was deployed to Afghanistan, he'd cut off contact suddenly and she'd never heard from him again. For the past three years Livie has kept herself distracted with homework and her university studies, but now Jake's going to be up close and personal. And Livie can’t decide if tonight's finally the night to prove to Jake she’s all grown up or the night she should let him go forever.

    Everyone has one. Some are bigger than others. And when secrets are revealed, Some will heal you ... And some will end you. Kate Sedgwick’s life has been anything but typical. She’s endured hardship and tragedy, but throughout it all she remains happy and optimistic (there’s a reason her best friend Gus calls her Bright Side). Kate is strong-willed, funny, smart, and musically gifted. She’s also never believed in love. So when Kate leaves San Diego to attend college in the small town of Grant, Minnesota, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with Keller Banks. They both feel it. But they each have a reason to fight it. They each have a secret. And when secrets are revealed, Some will heal you … And some will end you.

    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.

    Her present is detached and dull. And her future? Well, before meeting Theodore Darcy, the famed film director, writer, producer and CEO of Darcy Entertainment, she would have expected more of the same. Love is just a fantasy and she wants no part of it—even if she can’t deny the undeniable attraction between the two of them.So their arrangement is simple: sex with no strings attached.But as their intimacy becomes more powerful, so do Felicity’s demons. Can Theo really shoulder her past and his own? And could Felicity even let him?

    Once upon a time, they were childhood friends. But that was before everything went to hell. And now things are... awkward.All they want to do is avoid each other, and their past, for as long as possible. But now that they're forced to share a bathroom, and therefore a shower, keeping their distance from one another becomes less difficult than keeping their hands off each other. Welcome to the hallway of awkward tension and sexual frustration, folks. Get comfy. It’s going to be a long summer.

    But I know him simply as Elijah Hays, the quiet, gentle giant who works with the horses on my ranch. I can feel him watching me, that steady intense gaze making me crave things I don’t quite understand, burn in a way that frightens me. He’s always kept his distance… until that night.I remember him coming to my rescue, me following him into the barn, giving him his first taste of a woman, and his inexperienced yet barely reined touch turning me to ash.Now all I can think about is exposing the dark desire I see deep inside him — having him turn those dark desires on me. That low, gritty voice rasping orders in my ear. Those huge, rough hands holding me down when a storm blows in.I want his surrender. His control. I want to break him… and have him break me…

    Mature audiences only.** How does someone give their heart away when they don’t have all of the pieces?Not that Makenna really wants a second chance at love anyway. She is stuck in her tragic past, secretly living every day for her deceased fiancé, while her new boyfriend, Drew, is gently nudging her into the present. Desperate to appear normal again, she slaps on a happy face and goes through the motions of a normal, healthy relationship—but with the exception of even a single kiss. And she’s okay with pretending, but Drew needs more than she’s willing to give.Surprisingly, it’s an innocent letter from a soldier halfway around the world that has her seeing life differently. Sawyer is at his breaking point, and his depression sucks him in deeper every day. Makenna becomes his only lifeline to home, and he’s hanging on by a very weak thread. By helping him, Makenna learns to let go of grief before she’s left with only a ghost of the woman she once was, finally freeing her from guilt and showing her that it is possible to love again. But when she discovers that both of the men in her life are hiding something, she makes two shocking revelations.One of them is insanely in love with her, and one of them destroyed her happy ever after. Even though a fairytale ending does await her, is she willing to face her own demons to fight for it? **DOES CONTAIN MILD LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL CONTENT.**

    I shouldn't be contacting the recipient of my husband's heart. I don't even expect him to reply...But there's a desperate, twisted part of me that hopes he will.No names.No personal details.Just a conversation.The only thing I have left of my husband is inside him.***'The Wrong Heart' is an angst-filled contemporary romance standalone. This book deals with heavy themes, such as loss of a loved one and self-harm/suicide.

    Feeling leads to pain and he’s suffered enough. When he inherits a house on South Carolina’s Kiawah Island, he packs his bags, lured by the peace and seclusion he thinks it will bring. But, Callahan never counted on meeting anyone like Trinity . . .Trinity has always been the cute, and funny one, who most guys overlook in pursuit of her "hot" friends. She became used to being everyone’s pal, until the day the young man she was attracted to, was drawn to her in return. He became her first great love, and first crushing heartbreak when she found him in bed with one of her closest friends.To move forward, and to carry out her commitment to helping those in need, Trinity enlists in the Peace Corps, but not before returning to Kiawah for one last memorable summer. She just never imagined it would be so unforgettable.Callahan doesn’t want to get close to anyone—let alone Trinity. He finds her perkiness insufferable and her attempts to entice a smile distracting. After all, he’s in Kiawah to leave all feelings behind. But when it comes to Trinity, who feels everything, it's hard not to feel something.Neither expected to fall in love. And no one could have predicted how inseverable they’d become.

    Not broken or ruined or running from a past I can’t face. Just complicated. I thought my life couldn’t get any more tangled in deceit and confusion. But I hadn’t met him. I hadn't realized how far I could fall or what I'd do to get free. He has a secret.I’ve never pretended to be good or deserving. I chase who I want, do what I want, act how I want.I didn’t have time to lust after a woman I had no right to lust after. I told myself to shut up and stay hidden. But then she tried to run. I’d tasted what she could offer me and damned if I would let her go.One secret destroys them.