Look Down

"How could you conspire with them. I trusted you Layla!" He was really mad. "I didn't give them the code Damon, okay? I don't know how they got it?" She said. She strangely felt no nervousness or fear. Only the guilty felt fear. "Why didn't you tell me the truth about him? God! We've been dating for almost a year and you never told me he was a ex-convict", he said a shade quieter. He watched Layla look down for a minute and stare back up at him, tears gathering in her deep blue eyes. "If I did tell you, would you still have fallen for me...?" Working in a coffee shop wasn't Layla's dream. She has a degree in Business Administration but getting a got job in America was difficult for minority groups like her. But her boss, William Grey was wonderful, plus, she did get some pretty awesome customers like Damon Prince, the billionaire businessman and New York's most eligible bachelor and some pretty awful ones as well like Logan West, Damon's annoying and stuck-up assistant. After a brief argument with Logan, Damon comes to the coffee shop to make an apology to Layla on behalf of Logan and offers her a check. She turns both down and demands that Logan apologizes or they can forget about their coffee orders. She wasn't going to be pushed around by some rich folks. This intrigues Damon and he gradually falls in love with her. They begin a beautiful relationship but it's not all roses. They soon meet Damon's ex, Yasmin Kyle and Layla's criminal and terrible father, Dario Hernandez. Their trust and love for each other is tested as well as family ties but will they pull through or are something's just not meant to be?

“You look perfect like this,” one whispered, fingers down my thigh. “I wondered if you really killed her, did you?” Cuffed, wrists above my head, legs bare and open, one ran a flogger over my belly. I arched back, gasping. Another leaned in, breath hot at my neck. The third stood at the edge of the bed, watching me squirm. “We don’t even need to touch you to make you beg.” Then he finally did, he slipped two fingers straight between my legs, slow and deep. “Oh my god,” I moaned, hips bucking. “You’re this wet already?” he growled, curling his fingers inside me. “And we haven’t even started fucking you yet.” The one at my neck licked a trail down to my collarbone. “You killed her. Admit it.” I shook my head, but my body gave me away. My legs were shaking. I was clenching around his fingers like I’d never been touched before. "I didn't do it." I moaned again “Say whose hole this is,” he demanded. “M-mine—” The flogger struck my thigh. “Try again." I looked up, breathless. “Yours. Fuck. It’s yours.” ******** Chloe was sent to Nightshade Academy, the same elite school where her sister allegedly took her own life. To earn her father’s approval and uncover the truth, she had no choice but to go. Now, after another student is found dead, Chloe was the prime suspect due to the circumstances surrounding the death. Tied by an unbreakable bond to the three Alpha triplets sent to catch the killer. Now, Chloe is caught in their dangerous web. Worse? She’s mated to all three who are determined to make her accept to the crime.

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

[MATURE CONTENT 21+] I'm not sure if I'm here, at the moment, I don't know if I'm screaming or begging him to stop as the weight of his hands on my back feels more apparent. Maybe I'm just helplessly drowning in my despair with only silent tears running down my face. Nothing matters because even my mind could not wander off and protect me for long enough to silently surrender to a horrific situation. "You lied to me, You lied to me! You said you wouldn't do this if I " The words slip away as I sob and cry out in pain. "Hm..”" Alejandro lets out a breathless chuckle, "I did?"One of his hands leaves my hip, reaching down to wrap around my throat, forcing my back into an arch so I'm faced with the reflection of myself in the mirror. It is so I can watch the deranged, lustful look in his eyes as he roughly thrusts himself in and out of me while choking me against his hand at my throat.This is cruel. This is disgusting. This is shameful. But it makes Alejandro smile in pleasure, in pride, that he's able to break me and bend me into his will. "I believe I said that I was fine if you wanted to wait, " he admits. "However, I never said how long. "The reflection of myself in the mirror is someone unrecognisable; she's broken, and angry. I can see my eyes darken in misery, in hatred. The mirror also provides me with Alejandro's expression, filled with contentment and satisfaction. "I HATE YOU," I spit out with every inch of dignity that I may have left. The statement left no mark on Alejandro, instead, he thrusts into me harder, making me cry out but I didn't care, not anymore.

DARK ROMANCE!My back hit the wall, I was trembling in fear because of his close proximity. He was so angry that his veins were popping out from his neck, his jaw was clenched. I didn't dare to look at his eyes."Look at me!" He roared.I didn't muster the courage to look at his evil eyes so, I kept my head low, squeezing myself in to the wall. His hot and raged breath was fanning my face. In an instance he moved closer flushing his body against mine. A whimper left my mouth and I put my hands on his chest to create some distance but he didn't even budge."M-mov-e away." She stuttered badly.The next moment he punched the wall so hard just right next to my head, and I close my eyes in fear as new set of tears welled up in my eyes.The next thing he held my jaw with his one hand and jerked my face up.My eyes met his and.............

When James Chapman and I first got together, I was a regular student while he was one of the most popular guys in school. Five years down the road, I'm still a regular woman. James' attitude toward me has changed drastically, though. He frequently complains about my appearance. I know it's because his true love is back in the country. He misses our fifth anniversary because of her. His true love makes fun of me for being ugly to his face, so he orders me to get cosmetic surgery at her newly opened clinic. He wants me to use my fanbase to make her business boom. "You're so ugly that you'd be the perfect person to prove Barbara's skills… if she can actually make you look better, that is. We're all friends, aren't we? What's wrong with lending her a hand? Stop being so petty!" Barbara Simpson kills me—I die on the operating table in her inhumane clinic. James thinks I go missing because I'm just throwing a tantrum, but he realizes he's wrong when he finds my mangled body in the basement. The diamond ring he put on my finger is still there, too.

I’d been married to my husband James for three years. On Valentine’s Day, he gave his stepsister, Mia, one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, along with millions in jewelry. I, on the other hand, received a free bouquet of roses. When I didn’t look thrilled, he accused me of being a gold digger. “Mia never had anyone to care for her growing up. Why are you competing with her? Isn’t being Mrs. Smith enough to feed your vanity?” Furious, I stormed out of the house. When a car lost control and came barreling toward me, he instinctively rushed to protect Mia, who was standing a full ten feet from the road. I was the one who ended up in the hospital. Lying in that bed, I finally gave up. I signed the divorce papers without hesitation. “Giving up the title of Mrs. Smith is the dumbest decision you’ll ever make,” he told me, looking down at me from above before walking away. Seven years later, we met again. He took one glance at my simple dress and laughed out loud. I didn’t bother to respond. I just held my daughter close and waited for her father—the richest man in the city—to arrive.

“You threw divorce papers in my face, humiliated me, and now you’re crawling back saying you love me?” Samantha laughed coldly, her voice dripping with venom. “Do I look like a fool to you, Nathan?” “I made a mistake,” he whispered brokenly. “Please, Samantha… don’t leave me. I still love you.” “Love?” she asked with a mocking smile, dragging a finger slowly down his chest. “You didn’t love me when you threw me out for someone richer. You just want me now… because you have nothing left.” ***** Samantha gave up everything for love—her family, her pride, her identity—just to please a man who saw her as nothing more than a disposable wife. After sacrificing everything for Nathan and his controlling family, all she got in return was betrayal, humiliation, and divorce. But Samantha had a secret. She wasn’t just a scorned ex-wife, she’s the hidden heiress of the most powerful conglomerate in America and she’s done playing nice. When she returns to the world she once left behind, she isn’t the meek woman begging for love anymore. She’s fierce, fearless, and filthy rich. And this time, she’s calling the shots.

Miles was livid. His father had to be joking, right? Marrying a nineteen-year-old girl? Who does that? He was twenty when she was born, for God’s sake. The very idea disgusted him. Not because of what anyone would say—Miles didn’t care about public opinion. Reclusive, cold, rude, and emotionally unavailable, he had no interest in the world’s judgment. But this? This felt wrong. He wasn’t a predator, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to marry someone two decades younger than him. But his father wouldn’t back down, and losing the company wasn’t an option. So, he reluctantly agreed. He would marry the shy, damaged girl who had survived the worst at the hands of her step-family. He made himself a promise: he wouldn’t touch her. He would protect her, not become another perverted man she’d have to fear. What he didn’t expect was how hard that promise would be to keep. She was undeniably beautiful—soft curves in all the right places, her presence igniting desires he thought he could suppress. Suddenly, Miles found himself fighting not just his morals, but his erection. But she was his wife. He could touch her, right? Or at least look? She was going to be his undoing.

In the silver Moon Pack, Elara was an Omega who was wolfless. She was a servant who slept in the dirt, and a debt-child used as a footstool by the Alpha’s family. She spent her life waiting for her destined mate to save her. But when Kaelen finally looked her in the eye, he rejected her as his mate publicly. “I, Kaelen of Silver-Moon, reject Elara as my mate. A true Alpha needs a Luna who is strong, not a slave.” Left to die in the freezing rain, Elara thinks her story is over. Out of the darkness come four men who look like gods and move like predators. They are the Vane brothers, the most powerful Alpha bloodline in the world. They have been hunting for their lost sister, Elara, for two decades. Caspian, the Ruthless CEO, Julian, the Brilliant Surgeon. Silas, the Lethal Lawyer. Dante, the Mafia King. They promised to burn the world down for her. They promised she would never be hungry, lonely, or unloved again. But as Elara’s true power awakens–a silver energy that humbles even the strongest Alphas–a dark secret emerges from the Vane family’s past. Her brothers saved her from the Silver Moon Pack, but they might be hiding the truth about her past. And in the shadows, a twin she never knew existed is coming to reclaim the throne.