Lurking Synonym

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

"Leo, please stop, not so fast!" I panted hard, my fingers clenching the edge of the table as he overwhelmed me with the intensity of his thrusts. "If you beg for pleasure, you should be able to handle it when I give you some." He growled against my ear, tracing the side of my neck with his tongue, sending a jolt of pleasure. The sensation kept building so quickly that it made my vision turn black. It was pure rapture. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~**~*~ Penny Williams, an orphan working for her uncle, spends her days tending horses on the palace grounds until one day, she is blackmailed into a dangerous mission. She must seduce the Duke of Mountbatten, the dangerously magnetic Leander Vance Bauer. But what happens when the seducer becomes the seduced? One brush of the Duke's ruthless charm shatters her resolve, leaving her trembling and craving more of his touch. Nights burn hotter than her lies, and every stolen moment pushes her closer to a pleasure that could ruin her. With her vengeful ex lurking in the shadows, Penny must choose: betray the Duke or surrender to the forbidden heat that might destroy them both.

When Elara Santos walks in on her long-time boyfriend tangled in the arms of her best friend, her world shatters in one night. Heartbroken but determined, she flees to Manila to rebuild her life and prove she doesn’t need anyone to survive. Enter Adrian Velasco—the ruthless, impossibly magnetic CEO of a leading architecture firm. Cold, untouchable, and dangerous to fall for, he’s the last man Elara wants in her life. Yet fate keeps pulling them together. Every clash between them burns with friction. Every accidental touch lingers. Every glance dares her to surrender. But their growing passion hides darker truths. Adrian’s past is entangled with the betrayal Elara ran from, and lurking in the shadows is Cassandra Ramirez—a beautiful, venomous woman determined to destroy Elara and claim Adrian for herself. As secrets unravel and desires ignite, Elara must decide: Will she guard her heart and walk away, or risk everything for a love that could consume her? In a world of betrayal, ambition, and forbidden passion, one thing is certain—when fire meets fire, someone is bound to get burned.

Hybrid: Claimed by the Alphas Lyra thought she was just an ordinary human—until the day everything changed. A sudden headache, a glimpse of a forgotten past, and an undeniable pull toward the two mysterious new boys at school. Ash and Aiden, twin werewolf Alphas, instantly recognize her as their mate, but there’s just one problem—Lyra doesn’t even know she’s a supernatural being. As she slowly uncovers the truth about her identity, she learns she’s more than just a werewolf. She’s a hybrid—half-wolf, half-demon—born of a forbidden love that put her life in danger from the moment she was born. But she’s not the only one who wants to discover her true potential. In the shadows, her ruthless uncle, Korvain, is hunting for her, determined to steal her power and crown himself the Demon King. With enemies lurking at every corner and a dangerous love triangle brewing, Lyra must choose—embrace the destiny that binds her to the twins, or risk losing herself to the darkness that calls to her blood. One girl. Two Alphas. An unstoppable bond. And a power that could change the supernatural world forever.

A nymphomaniac temptation. Two brothers obsessively mad with desire. A Parisian rake guilty of wanting to own her. And a mob lord lurking in the shadows, willing to risk everything—for her. Delilah Amor. A siren seductress with innocent looks and a sensual hunger fed by sin. Her sexual allure made these men crave her to the point of ruining themselves for her. From affairs with her married boss over his office desk— to his brother watching and taking his turn after—to elite sexual parties, and letting a ruthless mob king tie her to his bed to awaken pleasures she never knew existed. Delilah was the perfect filthy plaything. But she wasn’t the submissive lamb they believed her to be, because her real target is the wife of the man she had wrapped around her thighs—and Delilah intends to watch her crumble. Family ties begin to shatter as the truth about her identity rises to the surface. And everything takes a deadly turn when they realize they’re merely pawns in the game of someone far more sinister—someone willing to see Delilah destroyed at any cost. When blood is spilled, trust is broken, loyalties are shaken, and obsession turns lethal… Who will tame Delilah?

"You are not more important than my pack's safety and the duties I possess as an Alpha to my subject. You're not worth the sacrifice", Archer declared, crushing the last hope Echo had. She walked away without a word, back to the truck loaded with people like her. She was abandoned by her parents, her pack, and her mate. Being wolfless has never been an issue to Echo Ruth Solaris until the community split into two coalitions. The Perfects and the Deviants. Echo is wolfless— a deviant. When the danger of extinction creeps around the wolf packs all over the world, creatures like Echo are axed from their respective packs. But the unexpected rejection from Archer cut her to the core and ignited a fierce determination within her and she swore to be the one people will need. Years later, she has the world at her feet and also the Alpha who once rejected her. With challenges lurking around, Echo embarks on the journey while dealing with her former mate trying his best to win her back. As she embarks on her journey, facing challenges at every turn, Echo refuses to settle for anything less than what she deserves.

Zarek has always understood his role, an Omega constrained by the unforgiving regulations of the Red Claw pack, merely a pawn in the manipulative games of ruthless Alphas who view him as nothing more than a means to an end. When he is handed over to Alpha Ryker, he is thrust into a tormenting nightmare of domination and suffering, compelled to accept a future he never desired. Everything shifts when Zarek’s true mate steps out from the darkness. Kaidon, a formidable Alpha from the Blood Moon pack, bursts into Zarek’s world, displacing Ryker and claiming him as his own. Zarek’s wolf detects a hint of hope, but the wounds of his past run too deep to easily overlook. Armed with Alpha Kaidon’s steadfast promise of safety, Zarek confronts a decision: to accept the bond that might liberate him, or to escape in order to safeguard the fragments of his broken heart. Still, shadows from both his history and the present refuse to release their grip, with threats lurking in every direction. In a realm where loyalty is scarce and power dictates fate, Zarek must discover his inner strength and learn what it genuinely means to be free. Will he allow Kaidon to be his redemption, or gamble everything to shatter the chains by himself?

Five years ago, when my boyfriend's small company was on the brink of bankruptcy I stepped in to save him, quietly supporting him from the shadows. Without revealing my identity, I became the company’s largest shareholder. Five years later, the night before his company was set to go public, he held me in his arms and said, "Emma, after the company goes public tomorrow, don’t leave. I have a surprise for you." At that moment, I was swept away by the idea of his "surprise," my mind racing with the hopeful thought that he might propose. I didn’t notice the cold glint of malice lurking in his eyes. The next day, as his company went public, he slapped me across the face and sneered, "Do you even see what kind of person you are? Did you really think someone like you could marry me?" He grabbed me by the hair and dragged both me and my best friend in front of a crowd of thugs and beggars he’d gathered. “These worthless cast-offs aren’t good enough for me anymore. Consider them my gift to you. Do whatever you like with them!”

CONTENT WARNING - This book contains minor depictions of violence, abuse and other dark themes that might not be suitable to viewers less than 18. Viewers discretion is advised. Rated 18+ Proceed with caution. *** When Demon King Klaus Lavon discovers a fleeing young lady in his castle, she awakens a feeling of lust and emotion in his dead soul and he is reluctant to let her go. Striking a deal with her, he keeps her under his wings, but can Klaus control the raging hormones in him whenever he’s near his beloved human mate? Be killed, or be a slave? These are the options given to 19 year old Arabella Tudor, fleeing orphan and shameless thief. She has no one to go to, safe for an uncle who maltreats and despises her, and she would rather die, than be sold of to cruel men in exchange for her freedom. Meeting Klaus Lavon, is not something she would have imagined, and vowing to work her way out of his hornet nest, Arabella is stuck when fate has other options for her. Soon she finds herself entangled in a world filled with Demons, supernatural creatures and other dangers from the past lurking behind, with no way out!

BOOK THREE of COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE: After a bitter betrayal, he refuses to trust hunters, but a certain huntress catches his eye... Greg Claw's bonded mate did the unthinkable, conspiring against him and his family during their time together, so she was punished with death. Now he knows never to trust a hunter. This includes the newly appointed Chief Octopus, Sushmita. But the more he's around her, the more intrigued he gets. The longer they work together, the more he can't deny the connection growing between them. It's not a bond, but there's certainly something. Sushmita has her own secrets and motives for everything she does, and choosing this profession is no exception. Greg finds himself caring about her… for her. When her former lover waltzes in, Greg wonders if this ex is what stands between him and Sushmita. One thing's for sure, with threats pressing in close, danger lurking in the shadows, and things not appearing to be what they seem, Greg has to do everything within reach and beyond to protect everything and everyone he holds dear, which - oddly - includes her. *** BOOK ONE: The 5-Time Rejected Gamma & the Lycan King BOOK TWO: The Rogues Who Went Rogue