A Lesson In Thorns Novels & Stories

With a bag of vegetables gifted by the previous tenant in hand, I was on my way to collect rent from the third household when I unexpectedly ran into someone at the entrance of the community. The man frowned, his eyes fixed on the vegetables I carried, as though he couldn't fathom how I had ended up like this after leaving him. Following his gaze, I instinctively shifted the vegetables behind my back. My eyes dropped to the muddy water on the pavement, and I never would have imagined bumping into my ex-boyfriend—the one who had grown up with a silver spoon—in this aging neighborhood. He noticed my movement, and for a moment, something flickered in his expression: a mix of pity and recognition. "Since you've already learned your lesson," he said, "come back with me." At his words, I instinctively stepped back half a pace. "Who said I'm going back with you?" My rejection seemed to sting, darkening his face. "I know you're still blaming me for giving Rachel a child," he muttered, "but it's been three years. Isn't it time to stop? As long as you come back, we can be the same as before." Three years, huh? How quickly time had passed. Thinking of my little girl at home, still babbling her first words, I couldn't help but smile and shake my head. "Let's leave it at that. Go home and live your life with Rachel. My daughter's waiting for me to go back and make her food."

⚠️ WARNING: 18+ ONLY. Extremely Explicit. Dark Themes. This is not a "sweet" romance. _____ "Call my name, Ariana" Mateo’s breath was a scorching sin against her ear, his hand tangled in her hair, forcing her head back to expose the pale, trembling line of her throat. He didn't wait for her answer. He bit—a sharp, possessive claim that made her arch against him, her fingers digging into his expensive suit. "M-Mateo," she brokenly whispered, her dignity dissolving in the dark of his library. "Again. Tell me who owns you." ___ Ariana Cole came to Madrid to be a nurse. She came to save lives and build a future. But the moment she collided with Dr. Mateo López, she realized she wasn't there to save anyone—she was there to be consumed. He is the "Ice Surgeon." Twenty years her senior. Her boss. And her best friend’s father. He is a monster in a white coat who doesn't believe in "no." He doesn't want her heart; he wants her submission. He wants to hear her scream his name while his daughter sleeps just down the hall. This is a hostile dance of power, denial, and filthy, intoxicating lust. Every sterile hospital hallway is a hunting ground. Every midnight encounter in his mansion is a lesson in how much she’s willing to lose. Her career? Her best friend? Her sanity? Mateo is going to take it all. And Ariana? She’s going to beg him for more.

Meet Savanah! Her life is pretty simple, or so that's how it looks from an outside point of View. Go to school, Hang out with friends, You know your everyday life of a Highschool senior. With Abscent parents, An aggressive boyfriend and a protective bad boy that lives next door, Her usual calm life becomes problematic and fast. Follow Savanah as she navagates a life where love hurts not only mentally but physically. Through her journey of love and friendship she learns lesson's in what's right and what's wrong! What's acceptable and what is not, In this High school Drama! Filled with Handsome guys, Hightened Jealousy and a tornado that is Savanah's Life. TRIGGER WARNINGS- DOMESTIC violence, bad language and a few sex scenes. Drama Drama Drama. This is a romance/Drama where you follow the female leads growth through love,relationships, and domestic violence. "One girl, Two Brothers & a whole lot of problems"❤️💖❤️🤯 "A Swirl of emotions & A Heartache Romance"💖 MATURE CONTENT Ahead. Violence, Sex and probably more👀🙊 Wrote the first few chapters many years ago so bare with me it gets better I promise 😊 Highest ranking #2-Dangerous love Highest ranking #5-Boynextdoor Highest ranking #1 Highschool Drama TRIGGER WARNINGS- DOMESTIC violence, bad language and a few sex scenes. Drama Drama Drama Copyright © 2018 All rights reserved to the author MissAshleighDre. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author. except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Copyright © 2018

His hand pressed against the wall beside my head, his breath hot against my ear. “You’re blushing again, professor,” Ace whispered, his voice low, sinful. I swallowed, trying to steady myself, but my body betrayed me, arching towards him, aching for more. “You’re too close,” I managed, my voice unsteady. He smirked, brushing his lips over my jaw, slow and deliberate. “Then tell me to stop.” I should have. God, I should have... Instead, I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled him to me. His mouth crashed over mine, hungry and rough, and the world outside his disappeared. I thought living with him would be the worst decision of my life. Turns out, it might be the hottest. -- -- -- I needed a roommate. What I got was Ace, tattooed, arrogant, and infuriatingly gorgeous. He breezed into my apartment like he owned it, with that cocky smile and a body that makes focusing on my studies nearly impossible. The walls are thin. Too thin. Every night, I hear things I shouldn’t. And worse… I start fantasizing about things I shouldn't. I tell myself that he’s a distraction I can’t afford but when he offers to tutor me in things that have nothing to do with textbooks, I’m not sure I can resist. One touch. One kiss. One lesson I’ll never forget. Living with Ace was meant to be temporary. Falling for him? That was never part of the plan.

“I need to teach you a lesson for defying me,” Beau says, and in an instant, my leg drops down. He puts his other hand on my waist and lifts me off my chair. Landing perfectly on him, my eyes widen once I feel him against me. “Yes, darlin’, you are the reason for it. And tonight, you are going to satisfy it.” He holds me down, hunger in his eyes. “I’ll do no such thing,” I say, resisting the urge to grind my hips against him. My already is pressed against his hard length, and I find myself wanting to pull it out so he can fill me up to the hilt and make all my dreams a reality. “Oh, you will, and you are going to enjoy it.” **** Delilah Stephen is a young architect trying to make a name for herself without Daddy’s help. She is so close to achieving her goal when something unexpected happens. The investor meant to make her dreams a reality turns out to be someone Delilah wishes never to see again, Beau Williams. He is a handsome billionaire with a dangerous family. He broke Delilah’s heart seven years ago and is now back to win her. Delilah passionately hates Beau, so he has his work cut out for him. She refuses to forget the past, but Beau doesn’t give up. He will stop at nothing to make Delilah feel something for him after so many years. But for how long can he keep trying, and will he ever succeed?

She was the good girl, the kind who went to church, held onto hope, and believed love was patient, kind, and safe. He was the golden boy, a charming athlete with a dangerous edge and a past full of secrets. When their worlds collided, it wasn’t gentle. It was wild. All-consuming. Addictive. From the very beginning, he swept her off her feet , with compliments, promises, and intense affection. She fell hard. He changed her, slowly pulling her away from her values, her friends, and herself. But behind the sweet messages and stolen kisses was something darker: cheating, manipulation, and obsession. When she made one mistake, one moment of weakness, he unraveled. Possessive. Cold. Punishing. Their love turned into a battleground of blame, silence, and control. She finally found the strength to walk away. Two months of no contact. Healing. Distance. She went overseas to find space from the chaos. But just as she began to breathe again, he messaged her. They reunited. Briefly. Just long enough for her to realize the truth: he hadn’t changed. But she had. This is the story of a girl who lost herself in someone else’s world, and slowly, powerfully, found her way back. It’s about love bombing, heartbreak, emotional survival, and becoming your own safe place. She meets other men, learns new lessons, and begins to understand that what she really wants isn’t chaos disguised as passion… It’s peace. Wholeness. Companionship built on truth. He was never her forever. But he was the lesson she needed to meet the love she deserved.

An orphan girl who was bullied in her childhood, grew up in the slums along with her brother seeing the underbelly of the city full of crime and greed. Her brother intervened when his friends were trying to teach her a 'lesson' and was killed for it. That night she decided she was never going to be weak again and she would be the nemesis of crime. Her most recent case leads to a face off with a drug lord who works in multiple countries and runs human trafficking rings. Will she survive the dangerous drug mafia who stop at nothing? She got in touch with a social organisation and got herself into schooling. One step at a time she completed her education and became a cop. She meets Andy when he visits her police station to file a complaint against Sushant for assault on Mia, his best friend. Andy is an IT professional working with a multinational company. Mia and Andy were best friends since high school. A good looking athletic guy with the best brains, he soon loses his job to office politics. Takes it as an opportunity and creates the most successful startup of the country. Anya is an integral part of his journey. Andy's start up funder is a woman connected with film and drugs industry. What will he have to give up to realise his big dream? His money and Anya's job brings glamour, decadence and dangerous liaisons into their lives. They come together to create a volatile mixture of passionate love, ruthless crime, base desires, human degradation, death and devastation; where his life hangs on a thread. How much will she go through before she breaks?

Rich, handsome and intelligent heir to the billionaire company, The Grey Business Empire, Andrew Alexander Grey, has always got all he ever wanted with his charm, looks and brilliance which attracts all the girls. Being the most popular and the number one heartthrob of every girl on campus, Andrew is shocked when he meets Robin, the only girl resistant to his looks and fame and vows to date her and include her name in his long list of conquests to prove that he is the greatest player of all to his friends. But what if he finds himself catching real feelings for her? Will the player be tricked in his own game? ★★★★★★★★ She is beautiful, tomboyish, fierce, headstrong and intelligent, a scholarship student from a modest background, she is Robin Jane Stevens. Having met Andrew after an accident involving her brother she is shocked by his ego and arrogance. So when fate brings about several encounters between them, Robin decides that Andrew must be taught a lesson to change his habit of looking down on others and makes it her goal to crush his inflated ego by dating him and being the first girl ever to dump him. Considering herself immune to his charms, Robin is surprised to find herself getting too involved with him and forgetting all about her original plan. Could she be falling for the player after all? Things get complicated when secrets are revealed and lots of hurdles come in between them. Will the player finally change his ways and what secret exactly would he discover?

The first time I meet Solana Charvet's childhood friend, Tyson Hatch, he claims that he's the best fraud buster ever. At the dining table, he keeps lecturing me. "Men shouldn't overdress, you know. If not for the fact that Solana actually told me that you're her boyfriend, I'd definitely group you up with the gigolos together." Solana keeps agreeing with everything Tyson says. "You're far too flashy when it comes to your fashion sense. Just listen to Tyson and change your habits, yeah?" I can't be bothered to listen to a word Tyson says, so I come up with an excuse to use the toilet. But on the way back, I hear Tyson giving Solana his verdict as a fraud buster. "Solana, Charles' posture and the way he speaks are all clear indicators that he's a fake heir who has undergone training. He intends to get close to you for your money, you know! "That watch he's wearing? And the sports car that's worth over a million dollars? How is it possible for a doctor like him to afford all these things?" Fury burns in my gut. I can no longer tolerate Tyson's nonsense, so I dial my mom's number right away. Right, have I mentioned that my mom's the richest woman in the country? "Mom, give me five million dollars right now. I want to buy an agency that specializes in fraud busting and teach a certain someone a lesson!"

My parents always said the world had no sympathy for the weak. So from the moment my younger brother and I could walk, they put us through what they called the 'Strong Child Program.' At five years old, we had to run five kilometers every day. If we could not finish, we were not allowed to eat. At seven, my brother broke his arm. My parents refused to let the doctors use anesthesia, saying enduring pain was a lesson every strong person had to learn. At nine, I burned with a 104℉ fever. Instead of taking me to the hospital, they wiped my body with ice water and forced me to endure it because 'sick children grow stronger immunity.' Then, on the first day of summer vacation, my father announced this year's special training: We were going to learn to swim in the Roaring Spine River. No life jackets. No safety gear. "You only learn after choking on water a few times," my father said. But my brother choked over a hundred times and still could not swim. I desperately swam toward him, trying to pull him back to shore, but somehow the distance between us only kept growing. I called my father, screaming for help, begging him to call emergency services. But after listening to me, he only snorted coldly. "Who learns swimming without swallowing some water? "Your brother isn't made of paper. "Stop yelling and focus on learning to swim." But by then, my brother had already been swept away by the current…