Crackling Sound In Lungs

He didn't stop when he reached her but leaned forward and kissed her hard, on the mouth. The air left her lungs. Maybe it was because it was her first kiss or because he had kissed her, she didn't know but her lungs were burning, her lips were on fire. She was one fire. It ended in a second. She stared at him with wide eyes as he stared back. His hand traced her forehead, nose, lips and then chin as it stopped on her throat. She knew, by God she knew he could feel her pulse, the heat on her cheeks. "I'm home." Dean Woodland left two years ago without a word or sound and now he is back to bring his belongings with him.

Ember accepted her lot in life. On the run, she only wishes to find out the truth behind her dreams and solve the memory of her past. Keegan has only cared about protecting his pack, but when he sees the beauty dancing on stage and the flicker of flames in her eyes his body screams, Mate! Can Keegan tame the flames of Ember and together solve the mystery of her missing past? Or will they all burn together? Excerpt: “This is the reason I’m always tired,” I think to myself. Twenty-four years of coming here and still not a single clue, but every time I close my eyes, I return to this place. I know my surroundings perfectly. Oddly the place is beautiful to the eyes. The old house sat among flowers growing around all sides. The aroma of honeysuckle and jasmine fill my lungs filling me with a moment's peace. I’m sitting in my usual spot. Gripping the ropes of a swing in the front yard held by a large oak tree. Waiting I begin pushing my legs back and forth sending me in motion. I know something is about to happen. It happens every night. The house moves in front of my eyes. I see the shadows coming, but I don’t stop swinging. They are black as night but I can see smiles within the shadow grinning bright. “What is this place!” I cry, fed up with this nightly repetition, but no sound emerges. A noise can be heard from the back of the house. One of the shadows turns toward it. I jump down to follow only to have the other shadow hold me back. “Don’t go. Not yet. Listen to me!”

“No, no, no!” She cried out, bending over to savage the little she could, but every attempt seemed fruitless because the food kept soaking into the wet ground. Unfortunately, it had rained that morning. This made her furious. With frantic wide eyes and a rage-fueled strength, she grabbed the nearest huge stone she could carry and ran like a wild beast, screaming at the top of her lungs after the car that had deprived her siblings’ food.

She escaped the mate who broke her—only to bind herself to the monster sent to end her. Scarred by betrayal and branded by blood, Lira survives the Pit with nothing but fury in her lungs and a tether to a man she should hate. Kael is cold, brutal, and bound by secrets—but in the dark, their monsters recognize each other. And when the bond pulls tighter, it’s not just survival on the line. It’s surrender.

At the party for our first wedding anniversary, I hit the floor—face-first on a red carpet, gasping like a fish out of water. Carlo Pipino, my husband, had his arm draped around Gianna Verde, his childhood flame, sipping champagne and laughing. Gianna knew I was allergic to nuts. So, obviously, she bathed everything in hazelnut dressing. One bite and boom—my throat locked, my lungs lit up, and hives popped like confetti. I reached for my allergy meds—came up with a fistful of melted M&Ms instead. Gianna laughed when she saw my face. "Surprise! Carlo swapped your meds. Seriously, Siena, one nut? Dramatic much?" I slid off my chair, wheezing, while the crowd placed bets on how long my "performance" would last. "Carlo... my meds..." I croaked. "Please. I'm gonna die." He sighed, annoyed. "God, you're so dramatic. Why do women always play dead for attention? You know I love you. Just stop this show already." Right then, my heart shattered faster than my lungs could. I stopped begging. Hit the distress signal. Called my real family.

To save my wife, my lungs were pierced by a knife, leaving lasting consequences. When I fell ill and struggled to breathe, she said I was dramatic and went on a business trip with her childhood friend. When she returned, I found a man's underwear in her suitcase that did not belong to me. I calmly made the call: "Director, I've made up my mind. I'm going to assist in Avrika." Later, at the airport, she bent down, publicly lowering her head and begging for my forgiveness.

I got off work early and walked into the living room, only to find my wife lounging lazily on the couch. And next to her? Some random dude I didn't recognize. "Babe, you know I'm obsessed with that sweet, milky smell," he said, sipping away like it was the best thing he'd ever tasted. That was it—I completely lost it. Meanwhile, our baby was in the corner, crying her lungs out, hungry and ignored. I didn't even think twice. I grabbed the broom by the door and stormed in, ready to raise hell.

On the run from her adoptive father for five years after being sold to the Russian mafia, Lianna took refuge in the states. She thought New York City was a safe place for her, that it was her ticket out of the mafia world. Little did she know that it’s swarming with people much vile than the place escaped from. This city will pull her deeper into the underworld. ~~ "I'm not her." He stood up from his chair abruptly that it fell behind. It took him three strokes until he was holding my neck, lifting me, and pinning me on the wall as he choked me. He breathes the smoke in my face but I was losing air in my lungs to inhale it. "I've searched for you and you're giving me this crap?" he hissed in my face. "Try something else, Alexa, or I'll bury you alive." He let go of my neck, I gasped for air as my lungs took all the air it needed. It's better if he ends my life anyway. I thought to myself. "Where is it?" he asked as he stood beside the table. "Where is what?" He lifts a tattered knife in his hand as he walks slowly to where I stood now. "I'll carve my name in your chest if you don't stop acting dumb, Alexa." He traced the neckline of my dress with his knife. The pointed cold blade sent shivers all over my being. "Where did you bury my father!?" ~~ [Mature Content] Photo credits to Nikola Jovanovic

BROKEN BY THE BILLIONAIRE MAFIA Book Blurb Jessica martins the heiress of her father's Billion dollar empire faces trauma after witnessing the murder of her twin brother and parents the night she attended a party. She battles a demon of insecurity and took the large responsibility of continuing her family's legacy. Her life takes a different turn when she runs into the infamous Kessler Blackwell the Mafia king of Chicago. He would stop at nothing to have her but he's on a mission to steal the most precious heirloom her family owns. Will this crazy man be her flashlight? Or will Kessler just be another knife like the others that cut her deep and added to the many that brought tears to her eyes, burns in her lungs, and hunger to her soul?

He throws the paper on her face, she takes a step back because of sudden action, "Wh-what i-is this?" She managed to question, "Divorce paper" He snaps, "Sign it and move out from my life, I don't want to see your face ever again, I will hand over you to your greedy mother and set myself free," He stated while grinding his teeth and clenching his jaw, She felt like someone threw cold water on her, she felt terrible, as a ground slip from under her feet, "N-No..N-N-NOOOOO, NEVER, I will never go back to her or never gonna sing those paper" she yells on the top of her lungs, still shaking terribly,