Line Reads

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

My fiance, Victor Blackwood, is a mafia boss who rules the country's underworld with an iron fist. To the rest of the world, he is the epitome of power. Yet to me, he is the embodiment of love. But I do not realize the cost of loving a man like him. On Valentine's Day, I cook his favorite dishes and wait for him to come home. However, time passes, and his chair stays empty. Uneasy, I go to Queenie Stone's social media page. She is Victor's foster sister. She posts, "All I said was that I felt lonely, and he came right away. "Even when I accidentally spilled wine on him, he didn't mind. Victor is still someone who puts family first, even if it means neglecting his lover. "He never lets me down. I hope things stay that way." In the photo, Victor's shirt is soaked at the waist. Queenie's handkerchief lingers near his most private parts, but he doesn't pull away. He merely looks at her affectionately. I do not make a fuss and give Queenie's post a like. Then, I send Victor a message that reads, "Let's break up." Victor ignores it as always. Later, I discover that when my breakup message popped up, he had said offhandedly, "Vivienne can't live without me. She's just acting out. "If I ignore her for a few days, she'll come crawling back by herself. She's easy to please." What he doesn't know is that I was easy to handle only because I once loved him. But now that I have decided to leave, he cannot make me turn back, no matter how he tries to win me over.

Aria never thought the forest behind her house was anything more than a place to breathe. But the night the moon burned white and the world fell silent, something inside her woke up — claws under her skin, a heartbeat that wasn’t only her own, and a stranger with gold eyes waiting at the edge of the trees. Kai is next in line to lead the Blackthorn pack, and he knows what Aria is before she does: rare, powerful, and exactly what their enemy wants. If Darius gets to her first, she won’t just be claimed — she’ll be used as a weapon. But Aria isn’t anyone’s pawn. Under Kai’s watch, she learns to control the fire rising inside her — to breathe, to choose, to fight. Each lesson pulls her deeper into the pack’s world… and closer to the Alpha-to-be who swore to keep her safe. The forest hums with danger, rival packs are closing in, and the full moon is coming. Aria must decide if she can trust the bond growing between her and Kai — before the next pull drags her across a line she can never uncross.

Their rivalry was fierce, until passion broke through the ice. **** Aspen Jackson, captain of the Phoenix Frost and king of the ice, has one goal: making it to the NHL. Hockey is his everything, and he’ll do whatever it takes to stay on track, keep his scholarship, and secure his future. Nothing, and no one, will stand in his way. Enter Kelly Blackwell, his rival since junior hockey and the one player who can always get under his skin. When a trade lands them at the same college, their on-ice feud reaches a dangerous boiling point. With the Frozen Four on the line, their battle of wills spirals into a game of dirty tricks and mind games, each determined to see the other fail. But when Aspen stumbles upon a secret that Kelly’s been hiding, he seizes the chance to turn their rivalry into an advantage—both on and off the ice. Yet the more he pushes, the more their legendary animosity melts into something neither of them expected: an attraction that could ruin them both. With dreams of the NHL and their reputations on the line, Aspen and Kelly must decide—will winning cost them everything, or will their forbidden connection become the ultimate game-changer?

Kinley is an unsuspecting bar lady who is suddenly thrown into a world of violence when she is kidnapped by a dangerous Mafia boss whom her cousin owes money. He swears to hold her until he is paid in full, but somewhere along the line he falls in love with her. Will he be able to make her love him back, or will she teach him a thing or two about true love?

Alexandra Jones is an eighteen year old spontaneous, alluring and fervent senior. She is the daughter of William Jones, the CEO of J&C Enterprise so she has everything her heart desires. Alexandra finds herself becoming obsessed with the one person she can't have. She is aware that she is crossing an uncrossable line but she is willing to risk it all for him. The question is...will he do the same for her?

A high-powered CEO of a biotech firm is secretly the leader of an urban pack, using his resources to find a "cure" for the painful transformations. He meets his match in a rival CEO—a sharp, uncompromising woman who is actually a descendant of a legendary line of hunters. They are forced into a joint venture that requires them to spend weeks together in a high-security penthouse. As the full moon approaches, the corporate mask slips, and they have to decide if they are natural enemies or soulmates.

Lots of people are asking so here it is: Branston high series order - Jake, Nathan, Shane, Luke, Billy. Thank you so much for reading xxx ~~~~ Luke doesn't do relationships, he enjoys a long line of willing women and has no desire to change that. One day the new girl at school asks him to teach her how to kiss. No relationship, no strings, a simple student/teacher relationship or is it?

Ambitious journalist Renee takes on her riskiest assignment yet: going undercover to expose the criminal empire of billionaire mafia boss Luca Delvecchio. Her mission is to seduce him, gather evidence, and bring his world crashing down. But as she gets closer to Luca, the line between deception and desire begins to blur. Now Renee must choose between the story of her career and a man who's as alluring as he is dangerous.

There's a little shop downstairs that sells organ soup. It's always packed with customers. People line up as if bewitched, eager for a bowl. I've often wondered what secret ingredient made their soup so irresistible. This afternoon, I finally found my answer. Floating in my bowl was a piece of human skin—inked with a tattoo I knew all too well. It was the one etched on my boyfriend's arm.