John Lloyd Cruz Lock

"I...I don't want you." She stuttered, a slight shiver running down her spine, with his head buried in the hollow of her neck. "Can you prove that without getting wet?" It all started with a one-night stand and went on with a marriage of convenience. Trusting her fiance with her sister was the dumbest thing she would forever hate herself for, they backstabbed her making her look like the fool she was. Her plan to get herself not to marry her cheating fiance went futile, but just on their wedding day salvation with the horns of the devil came for her. Her fiance's uncle, Cruz Hayes, A devilish angel shrouded in mystery, had proposed a marriage of convenience, which she accepted. Her plan was never to get into an intimate relationship with him, but what happens when she can't refuse temptations and seduction, and letting herself succumb to it was the only option to keep her sanity in check?

Dante Cruz looks untouchable star quarterback, all muscle and tattoos, the guy everyone either wants to be or wants to have. But his grades are tanking, and if he fails one more class, football won’t save him. Eli Summers never expected to room with him. Eli’s a lit major, more at home with novels and coffee stains than roaring crowds. He’s blonde, silly, always running late, and his painted nails drive Dante crazy in ways he can’t explain. What starts with late-night tutoring and bickering over laundry turns into something else something hotter, riskier. A kiss in the wrong place. A touch that lingers too long. Suddenly, keeping boundaries feels impossible. But the campus is watching. Rumors spread fast, and Dante has everything to lose if anyone finds out. Eli has to decide if he’s okay being Dante’s secret or if love this strong deserves to be seen.

They say hatred is stronger than love. For Selena Cruz, that has always been true. Born into a cartel dynasty, she swore no man would ever own her—not her father, not her enemies, and certainly not Dante Moretti, the ruthless heir of the Italian Mafia. Their marriage isn’t a choice. It’s a weapon. A deal struck in blood to end a war neither of them wanted. Dante is everything she despises—cold, controlling, untouchable. But every time he looks at her, she feels her resolve crack. He wants her obedience. She wants his downfall. And yet, the fire between them burns hotter than either can control. When betrayal shatters the fragile truce between their families, Selena and Dante are forced to fight side by side. In a world of guns, lies, and vengeance, enemies can become lovers…and hatred may be the only thing keeping them alive. In the mafia, love is never pure. It’s a weapon. And sometimes, it’s deadly.

One day, after getting rear-ended outside my office, I, Maeve Dahlman, call out for help, but Austin Cooper, who is simply passing by with Carmen Holt, merely glances at me impatiently, annoyed that I've disrupted their lunch plans. Instead of helping, he has his assistant take me to his private club and lock me in a room, accusing me of being paranoid and dramatic. "I'll give you three days to calm down," he says before walking away and leaving me in isolation. Eventually, I escape and call the police. An ambulance rushes me to the hospital, where doctors diagnose me with a brain injury that requires immediate surgery. I keep calling Austin, only to realize that he has blocked my number. Then, I see Carmen's latest post online, gushing about a romantic luxurious dinner with him. After I'm discharged, I cancel the wedding, destroy all the invitations, and finally call my mother. "Mom," I say, "I've made up my mind. I'm ready to meet him."

It’s all fun and games until a body washes up…. Beth Monroe just wants to make it through the summer baseball season without being the constant target of her brother Shane’s jokes, but he is relentless, and she’s ready to lock herself in her room and hide. Until the new girl shows up. Halley appears in small town Barryville like a ghost. No one knows where she came from or anything about her past, not even her last name. When she gives Beth a piece of unsolicited advice that, “It’s what’s on the outside that counts,” Beth changes everything about herself. By the time Beth realizes she’s becoming a monster, it might be too late, and Halley has already sunk her claws into Beth’s best friend Ryan—who might’ve been something more if Beth had opened her eyes a little earlier. As Halley’s past catches up to her, Beth realizes there’s more to this mysterious girl than she realized. Can she stop Halley from revealing her true, monstrous nature to Ryan before it’s too late?

Burdened by her parents' expectations, Hannah Morales found herself trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage. When she finally breaks free she relocates to another town. With hard work and determination, she begins to rebuild her life and regain the confidence that was once shattered. As Hannah's business flourishes, she finds herself becoming stronger, more independent, and determined to never let anyone control her happiness again. Serenity Gils, on the other hand, is a free spirit who lives life to the fullest. She cherishes every moment, embracing adventure and spontaneity. However, beneath her carefree demeanour, Serenity yearns for a deep connection with someone special. Her casual encounters leave her feeling unfulfilled, always searching for that missing piece of her heart. One fateful day, as life's unpredictable twists would have it, Serenity's eyes lock with Hannah Morales's across a bustling crowd. In that fleeting moment, she finally understood she was searching for love in the wrong age group. But with Hannah's past resurfacing and catching up with her, will the love they have for each other, despite the age difference, be enough to conquer all odds? ------

"You'll do what I say Amelia and there won't be any problems, wifey" He spoke to me as his eyes flashed with anger. He touched my chin, raising my head to meet with his annoying gaze. "What if I don't do what you want? What will you do? Tie me up and lock me?" He drew his face closer to mine. "I'll make your life a living nightmare, kitty" He threatened. . . All her life, Amelia Carter has lived as an obedient omega but now living with Alpha King Lucian Van Othello, her whole life has crumbled. Born in royalty, but lived the life of a slave, Amelia was stripped of her title as the eldest daughter of the Alpha and sent off to marry the cruel Alpha of the Black Blood Pack, as her father handed her position to her younger sister. What happens when fate has other stuff in store for her? What if her father wants her back as she's to be the heir but her fake husband has now become her fated mate?

My husband’s first love had a miscarriage. He insisted that it was my doing and forced me to give my daughter up. “If it weren’t for you, Becky wouldn’t have a miscarriage! You should let her have your baby! You must pay for her pain of losing her baby!” I begged for mercy and resisted him. However, he grabbed my hair and kicked my belly even though I had just delivered my baby. He tied me up and locked me up in the basement for fear that I might run away. But I was dying. He even made a nice excuse. “You’re petty and jealous. You harmed Becky too. Since you feel no remorse, I’ll punish you and lock you up in the basement to reflect on your mistakes!” Seven days later, his first love found the baby too noisy and got annoyed by the baby. Suddenly, he thought of me. “Let her have the baby. And see if she’s behaving herself.” Little did he know that I was rotting in the basement with maggots eating away at my body.

Shaina Dela Cruz only wanted a decent job to help her struggling family in Cebu. Becoming the secretary of Lukas Vergara—the arrogant, perfectionist CEO—was never part of her plans. Their first encounter was a disaster, and her first day at work proved he was every bit the impossible boss she imagined. But fate has a cruel sense of humor. Sharing the same office with him meant sharing the same air, the same silence, and—much to her dismay—the same intoxicating scent that made her pulse race against her will. Lukas was cold, demanding, and annoyingly unreadable… until one slip of her fingers on the keyboard revealed her thoughts in the most embarrassing way. For the first time, she saw him smile. Now, stuck between her pride and her growing attraction, Shaina must decide: is babysitting the boss worth the chaos in her heart? Or will this impossible man become the one mistake she’ll never regret?

In an East London lock up, two film makers, Jimmy and Sam, are duct taped to chairs and forced to watch a snuff film by Ashkan, a loan shark to whom they owe a lot of money. If they don’t pay up, they’ll be starring in the next one. Before the film reaches its end, Ashkan and all his men are slaughtered by unknown assailants. Only Jimmy and Sam survive the massacre, leaving them with the sole copy of the snuff film. The film makers decide to build their next movie around the brutal film. While auditioning actors, they stumble upon Melissa, an enigmatic actress who seems perfect for the leading role, not least because she’s the spitting image of the snuff film’s main victim. Neither the film, nor Melissa, are entirely what they seem however. Jimmy and Sam find themselves pulled into a paranormal mystery that leads them through the shadowy streets of the city beneath the city and sees them re-enacting an ancient Mesopotamian myth cycle. As they play out the roles of long forgotten gods and goddesses, they’re drawn into the subtle web of a deadly heresy that stretches from the beginnings of civilization to the end of the world as we know it. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing