Barely Tolerable Novels & Stories

Community Service. Two words I should be thankful for, but I’m not. I resent the hours it’s away from building my business. When they push the little girl into the room, her crazy curls barely held back by the barrette in her hair, and studious glasses on her face, I can tell she’s scared. Something inside of me breaks, and I want this girl to feel wanted again. What I’m unprepared for is meeting her mom. The second our hands touch, there are fireworks, bright lights, and a picture of the future I could one day have. The future I’ve never allowed myself to wish for. Community service becomes more than a chore. In the months that follow, I realize they’re just like me: they’ve been abandoned, left behind by the world, forgotten by those who should love them. Thanks to the one last hope in both our lives - we found the light in the darkness we’d been searching for.Trick is created by Laramie Briscoe, an eGlobal Creative Publishing author.

The New Year's Day had barely started when my usually unromantic husband, Everett Grant, surprised me by booking a tour for me. The moment I settled into the bus, however, a line of text suddenly drifted across my vision. [Poor Tina! Her jerk husband booked a one-dollar tour for her, and then turns around and drops ten grand taking his mistress overseas.] I froze, convinced my eyes were playing tricks on me, and kept chatting with the woman beside me as if nothing had happened. Then the messages showed up again. [Seriously? Tina's still smiling like an idiot. She has no idea this tour is really a trafficking ring. Once they get her to the island, she's done for!] [Oh, no! The bus leaves in three minutes. Is Tina actually gonna die like this? That's such a miserable way to go!] The bus had been quiet until the tour guide suddenly spoke up. "We'll be departing shortly. It's about an hour's ride. After that, we'll transfer to a boat to reach the island."

Elena Morgan thought she had it all, a loving husband, a bright future but her world began to crumble after learning her terminal illness had reached its final stage. Having to discover her husbands’ affair with her step sister on the night of their wedding anniversary. Betrayed, poisoned, and pushed down the stairs to her death. Elenas’ last thought was a desperate wish: “if I would do it over again, I would choose differently…..I would fight back ... .I would live for myself…..”. Elena wakes up a day to her wedding day, three years in the past. This time Elena refuses to marry the man who murdered her. In a moment of rage, she approaches Damien Carrington, the cold wealthy CEO, a single father who lost his wife who he cared deeply for. Elena barely knew him in her first life but still goes ahead to propose the unthinkable: A Contract Marriage. Can Elena rewrite her fate before death claims her again? And can a marriage that started as a contract become the love story they both deserve.

“One night shatters her world forever...” “What did you see?" Enzo demands, his voice deadly quiet. “Nothing," she whispered under her breath as she tried to back away. “I saw nothing." “Liar," Ryan growls, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. “Your eyes betray you... and your scent—" His nostrils flare. “Impossible." “Mine," they growl in unison. And before she can flee, their claiming marks sear into her flesh. Hours later, she's chained in a dungeon cell, accused of a murder she didn't commit. But why would the powerful Alpha twins frame their own mate? ………….. Invisible. Forgotten. Barely surviving. For years, Athena has scrubbed floors and endured cruelty as a servant to the DarkMoon pack's ruthless Alpha family—until the unthinkable happens. Betrayed by her Alpha twins mates and thrown into the dungeon, she endured their years of abuse, but the moon goddess has chosen her champion. What happens when a power awakens within her that could burn her enemies to ash—or save those few she's come to trust. But wielding it may cost her everything.

Aria Vale leads two lives. In one, she’s quiet, focused, invisible—just an intern in a world that barely notices her. In the other, she’s Luna—a rising star in the cam world, masked, magnetic, and in control. Her voice commands, her body obeys... and no one ever gets too close. Until Obsidian. He never asks questions. Never speaks. But he tips like he owns her—and worse, he knows how to use the Lush she keeps tucked inside her. With one anonymous command, he can control everything. And he does. Night after night, she tells herself it’s just fantasy. Until reality cracks. Because Obsidian is watching her even when the camera’s off. He’s Xander Cross. Billionaire. CEO. Her boss. And he’s been waiting for her to make one mistake. When their worlds collide, obsession turns physical, power shifts, and Aria is forced to ask the one question she’s never dared: What happens when control isn’t just something you give... but something he takes?

It was not until after I married Bennett that I found out he had a clingy little childhood friend who loved to play the victim. On the very first day of our marriage, at dinner, I simply asked Bennett to pass me a bite of food. She immediately exploded. "Holly, you're disgusting! Bennett already used those utensils, and you seriously asked him to serve you food? What, don't you have hands?" I froze, completely blindsided. Before I could even react, Bennett put down his spoon and went straight to her, wrapping her in his arms like she was the one who had been wronged. Then he turned to me and said I should just get my own food from now on. However, honestly, wasn't it normal for a husband to serve his wife a bite? What was so outrageous about that? I barely got a word out before Bennett shut me down in a low, firm voice. "That's final. If Rosie doesn't like it, then we're not doing it. End of discussion."

After losing her daughter to a cruel betrayal, Evelyn is done being loyal. Her mate—Adrian, the Alpha she once trusted—broke his promise, chose another, and left their daughter to die. When Evelyn discovers the truth, rage takes over. One night of blood and fire forces her to flee her pack, hunted like prey. Wounded, broken, and barely alive, she crosses into forbidden land—territory ruled by the mysterious Lycan King, Damon. The villagers say he’s a monster. That he’s ancient. That he kills without mercy. But when Evelyn sees him for the first time, something deep inside her stirs. It’s not love. It’s not desire. It’s something older. Something dangerous. Known to all as a force to not mess with. Damon isn’t just powerful. He’s watching her. Waiting. And Evelyn begins to wonder if crossing into his world wasn’t a mistake… but fate. He sees the fire still burning in her. She sees the ruin buried in him. And in the ashes of everything she lost, something new begins to rise. A bond neither of them expected. A war neither of them can avoid.

Kingdom of Ash and Blood Book one of the Sicilian Ruin Series She was the fire he thought he had extinguished. He was the ruin she barely escaped. Three years ago Amara Varela vanished without a trace --- betrayed, broken, and hunted by the man who once owned her heart. Now she's back in Sicily, not as the naive girl he left behind, but as a woman forged by survival and secrets. She has a score to settle and Luca Moretti is at the top of her list Luca, the heir to the brutal Moretti empire, never forgives himself for losing her. When he finally finds her alive, everything he buried erupts --- lust, rage, obsession. But the Kingdom he now rules is built on blood, and his bride-to-be is not the one who haunts his dreams. Torn between a crown he never wanted and a woman who could destroy it all, Luca must choose loyalty or desire, power or love. In a world of violent cartels, arranged alliances, and ruthless vendettas, Amara and Luca's reunion is anything but tender. It's a war. And their passion? It could burn Sicily to the ground. Dark. Obsessive. Addictive. This is not a love story. This is a Sicilian ruin.

At the Davenport family dinner, I arrive wearing the same dress Tucker Davenport's true love once wore. His face darkens immediately. He glares at me coldly and orders that my dress be burned on the spot. "Damn it, Willow, can't you show a little self-awareness? Shelby might be too naive to notice, but there's no way I'm letting you appear like this in front of her." The intense heat rushes toward me as the flames consume the fabric. A sharp, burning pain shoots between my legs, crashing over me like a tidal wave. The pain drags me under, but I suddenly jolt awake, barely able to gasp a plea for mercy. Tucker doesn't spare me a glance. He simply turns away to help Shelby cut the cake. Days later, he finally remembers I exist. "As long as you behave and don't bother Shelby again, you'll still be Mrs. Davenport." I stare at the burns on my legs as my tears dry up. I refuse to beg any longer. I'm done being Mrs. Davenport.

When Nicole had Alex in her life, she couldn't wish for anyone better. Barely surviving a heavily bruised past, he's the only person who has made her feel safe in a long time. That is…..until his family rejects her in the worst possible way. And Alex doesn't stop them. Now six years later, she has finally taken control of the reins of her life and made a new woman of herself. But what game does fate have in mind when it lands her right on Alex's lap on an unusual Monday morning? He's no longer the man she knew, but one thing remains certain. He wants her back, and he's not going about it the gentle way. She risks another rejection and most importantly, her heart if she dares open up to him. Will she finally bow to the pressure Alex continues to mount on her as she's forced to work side by side with him? Especially with the secrets of her past fast creeping towards her? The weight of one secret is heavy enough. But what happens when Nicole has two?