Quiet Down

“Please, Mr. Kaiden, this is enough,” I begged, forcing my voice and face to look weak, almost tearful. “I’m not done.” I stared at him in disbelief. This man was insane. What more did he want than this? One kiss was not a big deal, but what we were doing was still betrayal. On both sides. “Both of us? You and I are cheating…” He cut me off, rolling his eyes with boredom. “It doesn’t matter who gets hurt as long as we both enjoy what we’re doing. When you’re with me, don’t think about anyone else.” “That’s not easy for someone getting married in two months.” “And what about someone who got married a month ago?” After I said that, he spoke words that hit me like lightning. “Married a month ago.” “A month and a half, to be more precise.” Damn it. I wish I had even a little of his cold calm. “It was like the first day of my honeymoon was yours. I played for you that day.” I froze. “Do you mean you left your wife sleeping on the very first day of your honeymoon… and went out to play music for a girl on the beach?” “Exactly.” ************************×************************ Tara Blackwood never thought her quiet life would turn upside down because of one man. A forbidden man. Kaiden Draven. A powerful lawyer. Her father’s closest friend. Married. A man older than her, dangerous enough to tear down every rule she had lived by. Caught between an engagement that suffocates her and a marriage bound with no love, Tara stands on the edge of a choice that could destroy everyone… or save her heart. So can she resist a man she should never want?

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

Sera Quinn had one job. Marry a dying man, keep her head down, and wait. Nobody told her that Damien Voss did not die on anyone's schedule but his own. She was twenty two years old when her stepfather sat her down at the kitchen table and explained her options. Her mother was sick. The bills were swallowing everything. And the most powerful billionaire in the country was lying unconscious in a private hospital ward with his family desperate enough to pay a small fortune to any woman willing to stand beside him at the altar. All Sera had to do was say yes. She said yes. She had no other word left. She moved into his mansion and tried to be invisible. She talked to him in the dark of his room every night because there was nobody else and because she was sure he could not hear her. She told him things she had never told anyone. She told him she was scared. She told him she was pregnant. Then she overheard four words that changed everything and she ran before the sun came up. Four years later she had rebuilt herself from nothing. A career. A spine. Twin children with their father's eyes. A case file she had been building alone, one quiet hour at a time, that connected a road barrier report to a name that would put people in prison. She had one rule. Stay away from Damien Voss. Then her four year old daughter hacked into his private server and left him a message. Damien was already in his car before Sera found out what her daughter had done. He was not coming to talk. And Sera Quinn was finally done running.

Lilly Devereux is a busy, quiet, recluse. She keeps to herself, and tries to stay out of the way. However, when her CEO forces her hand to participate in a company retreat, she doesn't realize what she'll be getting into. They are the Triad. They are the kings of a tribe of supernatural outcasts, and they rule with an iron fist. However, they lack what all kings need, a queen. That is until a faithful encounter with the quiet beauty, Lily Devereux. Fate would have them together. Fate would have them rule. But Fate would have the Triad fall, should their queen deny the night.

Aurelia the reincarnated moon goddess is spat on because she takes the form of a weak omega. She's betrayed by her own family, but an unusual one-night stand would change her life, leaving her pregnant. Opting for a quiet life, she marries him only to discover he is secretly wealthy. She decides to live a quiet life, but it's not possible because she isn't meant to have one. What happens when her mate and child need her help, will she fight to save them or continue being a coward?

In the glittering heart of the city, where power plays and secrets intertwine, Serena Ward lives a life shadowed by her past and guarded by her independence. An Omega determined never to be tied down, she never expected a chance encounter with Lucien Vale — the formidable Alpha heir to one of the city’s most influential empires — to unravel everything. One intoxicating night burns between them, fierce and unforgettable. But when morning comes, Serena vanishes, leaving Lucien with nothing but questions — and a hidden truth neither is prepared for. Weeks later, Serena discovers she’s carrying triplets, each bearing the unmistakable mark of their Alpha father. Alone and defiant, she disappears into the quiet outskirts, determined to protect her children from the ruthless world Lucien inhabits. Bound by a cold marriage contract to the enigmatic Clara, Lucien’s life is a tightrope walk between duty and desire. When fate brings him face-to-face with Serena and the children he never knew existed, the collision threatens to shatter his carefully constructed world. Amidst corporate intrigue, family betrayals, and the harsh glare of the public eye, Serena and Lucien must navigate a storm of secrets, passion, and dangerous alliances. And when a shocking revelation about the marriage contract comes to light, loyalties are tested, and hearts are broken. Will love prevail in a city where everything, even the strongest bonds, can be bought — or lost forever?

“Can I know why I have been kidnapped, sir ?” She questioned in a low, but daring voice. “First of all, you weren’t kidnapped. You were sold off, so it’s merely a transaction.” He replied to her, standing from his seat to lean on his table. Drey’s sexual tension skyrocketed up in the air, and he almost couldn’t control himself at that moment. In his mind, he was groping her and having another round of hot sex right there on his work table, however, he was determined to make her life miserable for having the audacity to forget him and the amazing night they had just shared. He leaned further, and missed her lips by an inch going straight to her ears to whisper “Welcome to your worst nightmare.” The whisper sent shivers down Marie’s spines and her stomach churned from the proximity between her and the piece of art in front of her, and his strong thick voice resounding in her ears. After a one-night stand with the biggest Mafia boss in the state, unknowing Marie gets sold off to that same Mafia empire, and her once quiet life gets shaken up by a smoking hot man, violence, drugs and a surprise baby.

This look on your face is seriously making me hard, you know?” “What the…” I smacked his hand away and pushed him back, only for him to lower the car seat in a swift movement I barely saw. Before I could react, he pinned me down on the passenger seat. With a single hand, he held both of mine while straddling me. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing!?” I protested, struggling and squirming to free myself from his tight grasp. "Hold still" he ordered. I shouldn’t have followed him. My instincts were right. Percy Claude thought his final year of college would be simple, graduate, stay loyal to his girlfriend, and keep his quiet life intact. But when a dangerous and mysterious man who seems to want nothing but his body, steps into his world, Percy’s life spirals into temptation and chaos. But Rowen isn't your average dude, as an abandoned heir to his family empire, there are more secrets to him than meet the eyes. would Percy succeed in saving his Crumbling first love relationship from the hands of Rowen? Or would he fall deeper into the dark web that the Enigmatic Mr. Rival had woven for him.

Ethan Carter, a socially awkward and bookish young man, moves into a run-down apartment in the city, hoping for a quiet and uneventful life. But his world is turned upside down when he meets his neighbor—Sienna, a mesmerizing, confident woman with an intoxicating aura. From the moment he lays eyes on her, he's smitten. She’s everything he isn’t—bold, beautiful, and effortlessly seductive. As Ethan struggles with his feelings, he begins noticing strange things: the way men come and go from Sienna’s apartment, the way she dresses provocatively at odd hours, and the soft, intimate sounds that seep through the thin walls at night. But he convinces himself that it’s all in his head. One night, however, the illusion shatters. When Sienna forgets to fully close her door, Ethan sees the truth with his own eyes—she’s with a client. The shock leaves him reeling. But instead of disgust, his fascination deepens. Why does she do this? Is there something more beneath her exterior? And most importantly—can love exist between two people from such different worlds? Ethan’s desire soon turns into obsession, and as he delves deeper into Sienna’s life, secrets unravel that neither of them are prepared to face.

**She trusted the wrong man. Now she’s rewriting her fate.** Katrina Ricci was the innocent one—the quiet heart of a powerful mafia family. When she fell for Liam, she thought she was choosing love over legacy. She didn’t know he was the son of monsters. She didn’t know she was walking into a cage. Two years later, Katrina escapes. Alone, broken, and convinced her family won’t forgive her, she disappears into Jasper, Missouri. But fate isn’t done with her yet. The Lords of Valhalla MC rule the town, and their president, Wolf, sees the fire still burning beneath her scars. He offers protection—but trust doesn’t come easy when your past wore sheep’s clothing and your heart still flinches at kindness. Katrina must decide: will she rise from the ashes and reclaim her power, or let the ghosts of her choices burn her down? A story of betrayal, rebirth, and the kind of love that doesn’t ask for permission. This is the second book of the The Ricci Series, join Kat; GreenLee and Luca Ricci's youngest daughter as she finds her way back from the dark, with the help of someone from her past.