Quote About Water

Everything in Samantha Conners' life seemed to be in a holding pattern. Her sailboat racing season had fallen through, and she was stuck in a dead end job that barely covered the bills. If it wasn't for the fact that her sister and niece were depending on her, she would have never been out on the water the day the billionaire's boat ran her over. Robbie Saunders is convinced that he is the screw-up younger brother of billionaire Jack Saunders. One of his biggest rules was to never go out drunk on the water, but with the impending death of his father, he took the boat out after drinking to try and gain some clarity. Instead, he ran over Sam and barely managed to save her from drowning. While the two had been childhood sweethearts, time and distance had made them into different people. When fate crashed them back together, Robbie finds the fiery young woman to be the person he needs to give him motivation and direction. For Sam, Robbie is growing into the man she always knew he could be. A love blossoms and grows. But what fate can give, it can also take away. A storm during the biggest freshwater sailing race of Sam's career changes everything. Will Sam and Robbie find a way to overcome the storm, or will the two only have memories of freshwater kisses?

Meadow never knew what life had in store for her when Luna Amber came to ask for her hand in marriage on behalf of her son, the Alpha of the pack. It was an amazing and unbelievable offer, and though it seemed suspicious, Meadow wanted to believe that life had finally smiled on her. She went into the marriage blindly, thinking her luck had finally changed and there would be love in her mute and dull life. She soon found out that the Alpha never wanted her, and Luna Amber acted on her own without his consent for her selfish reasons. Something that was supposed to be blissful and beautiful turned into a nightmare she could never wake up from. Accepting her situation, she tries to make it work, hoping one day, her husband will want to try with her.

The older sister of Emma LaRue wasn't looking for love. In fact, the last thing Kaylee LaRue thought as she attended her sister's Caribbean wedding was that she would meet a man as confident as Owen Parker. The suave businessman oozed charm, and when that charm was directed at Kaylee, it gave her pause. She couldn't be sure if the man was actually interested in her or just interested in a good time. In reality, Owen Parker had never met anyone like Kaylee LaRue. The quiet girl from Iowa made him forget to breathe the first time he saw her. When he tried to work his magic, her wit proved to be a match for his, and his charms had no effect. He knew what it looked like- she probably thought that he wanted to have a vacation tryst with her just as Jack Saunders had with Emma. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Kaylee tried hard not to yield to his advances, but their last night in the Caribbean was simply magical. After a passionate night spent in the arms of Owen, Kaylee ruefully observed that there was no fake wedding to keep the two of them together. As she flew home, she thought it'd be back to the same old life for her. She never expected Owen to show up at her door. However, this small town girl wasn't sure she was ready to change for this city boy. When Kaylee tried to fit into Owen's world, everything came crashing down. In the blink of an eye, what seemed like a strong foundation suddenly found itself built on a pillar of sand. Would their relationship blossom like Jack and Emma's, or would the two of them forever be haunted by the memories of rainwater kisses?

Ava Marino, a girl filled with passion to make enough money for her brother's treatment back in Italy, travels to Monaco to find the perfect job—anything that would pay her enough for her to survive. On a cold night, she comes in contact with a man known for being ruthless, rich, and handsome. They meet, and an arrangement is made almost immediately that would satisfy both ends. As she agrees to be this man’s bride for two years for a sum of money that would not only set her up for life back in Italy but also take care of her brother's health for the rest of his life, grudgingly she agrees to this arrangement, pulling her into his world of old money, danger, social class, revenge, and even a budding romance. She has to choose between remaining in this new world or leaving it all behind to start anew.

Jack Saunders wanted one last hurrah before taking the mantle of DS Oil & Gas, the billion-dollar company that his father founded. His friend, Owen, let him borrow his mansion on a tropical island so that he could throw a final party before “marrying” the business that would dominate the rest of his life. He brought his secretary, Brandy, hoping that he could kindle a relationship that would last through the long days and nights of running a company. However, while the party was great, the gold digging woman he brought was not, and Jack resigned himself to a lifetime of loneliness. That was until he took a walk down the beach and met her. A woman who didn’t recognize him from the tabloids and only saw him, the man behind the money. Of all the women Jack had ever met, there was nobody like Emma LaRue. With one pretend marriage ceremony, she would change his life forever, and become the only one he ever wanted to give his saltwater kisses to. This novella is the first half of Saltwater Kisses written from Jack’s point-of-view, with a few bonus scenes thrown in as well.

Willow Howard had a tough life— growing up as the only human in a town full of Wolf Shifters wasn’t easy. Good thing she always had her best friend and crush, Owen around to protect her when things got rough. When she got the chance to leave town for college, she left and didn’t look back—until she got a call that changed her life forever. Now Willow is back in Blackwater, back to being surrounded by shifters, and there’s an unsettling murmur around town. There’s a competition for the next Alpha, and resident bad boy Rune White is top contender. He’s cocky, rude, and downright gorgeous, but being back has ignited feelings Willow forgot she even had. Now it’s Owen against Rune in more ways than one and Willow is thrust into a life she forgot she even had and named as the new Luna of the pack. Pack law is different and Willow finds herself unable to resist the pull of her new mate as secrets about her past start unraveling. Where are her parents? How can she have a mate if she’s not a wolf? Who is Willow really?

The emergency center I worked in went haywire as the typhoon closed in on our town. That night, my husband’s first love made seven emergency calls in a row to me. However, she did not say anything when I picked up. By the eighth call, I thought it was a prank caller, so I gave them a piece of my mind. Then, I heard my husband’s angry voice. “Melinda! This is the eighth time Sadie's called you for help! Haven’t you made her suffer enough?!” After that fiasco, he decided to avenge Sadie by taping my mouth, tying my wrists and legs up, and throwing me into our basement for three whole days, despite it being flooded with seawater, I begged for mercy, but it was to no avail. “You knew Sadie couldn’t talk because she hurt her throat, yet you still hung up on her! I'm going to make sure you feel the same hopelessness she felt!" Those three days left me with a collection of severe infections. I ended up having to remove my kidney. Even after all that, that man still had the gall to kneel by my bed and beg me to give him another chance.

Lorsque je suis allée refaire le certificat de liaison conjugale, l'agent du service administratif m'a annoncé : « Votre ancien certificat de liaison est un faux. Nous n'avons aucune trace de votre enregistrement ici. » Je n'en croyais pas mes oreilles et j'ai insisté : « Sébastien et moi sommes pourtant officiellement liés depuis cinq ans… Comment est-ce possible ? Pouvez-vous vérifier à nouveau, s'il vous plaît ? » Cyrille a compulsé une seconde fois nos dossiers et a conclu : « Les documents de l'Alpha Sébastien sont bien là… Mais selon nos archives, son partenaire officiel n'est pas vous. » Ma voix s'est brisée : « Qui, alors ? » « Lorie. » Sa réponse était nette. À ce nom, j'ai serré le dossier de la chaise jusqu'à blêmir, luttant pour ne pas m'effondrer. Avant que Cyrille ne prononce le nom de Lorie, j'espérais encore une erreur. Mais maintenant, tout prenait un sens terriblement cohérent. Lorie… n'était autre que l'amie d'enfance de Sébastien ! À cet instant, tant de choses trouvaient enfin une explication : ces cinq années passées comme son partenaire, sans qu'il ne me marque jamais. Notre cérémonie de liaison, cinq ans plus tôt, n'avait été qu'une mascarade. J'avais tout abandonné pour lui, croyant à un bonheur possible. Mais ces cinq années de « félicité » n'étaient qu'une illusion, soigneusement fabriquée par lui. Puisque rien de tout cela ne m'appartenait vraiment… il était temps de partir...

Les Hommes-Bêtes étaient réputés pour leur force guerrière. Pour consolider le pouvoir de notre clan, mon père nous a offertes, ma demi-sœur Anaïs Moineau et moi, en mariage aux deux de ces peuples. Dans ma vie antérieure, Anaïs avait épousé le roi des Dragons, dont la richesse rivalisait avec celle de toutes les autres races réunies, tandis que j'avais été contrainte de m'unir au clan démuni des Lions. Le roi des Dragons, Gaylord Dieulafoy, homme froid et impassible, ne vivait que pour ses ambitions, négligeant complètement Anaïs. Rongée par la solitude, elle avait séduit le jeune maître volage des Renards. Leur adultère avait été découvert, et Gaylord l'avait répudiée. Notre famille en était couverte de honte. Sous la pression, notre père, pourtant si indulgent envers elle, avait dû la chasser. En revanche, Brice Gardet, le roi des Lions, était dévoué et passionné. Notre union était heureuse et, en moins d'un an, j'avais mis au monde des enfants, dotés de pouvoirs divins. Grâce à ça, Brice était devenu le souverain de tous les clans des Hommes-Bêtes, et moi, sa reine. Mais la jalousie d'Anaïs avait tout détruit. Le jour de la fête pour le premier anniversaire de mon enfant, elle l'avait étranglé, puis avait mis le feu à ma demeure pour m'y brûler vive. Quand j'ai rouvert les yeux, nous étions de retour au jour des alliances. Cette fois, Anaïs a exigé d'épouser Brice, me « cédant » ainsi Gaylord. Je l'ai accepté. Dotée d'une dot dix fois moindre que la sienne, j'ai épousé Gaylord. Par la suite ? Anaïs a épuisé toute sa dot à soutenir le Lion, et son incapacité à procréer l'a contrainte à s'accoupler avec d'autres Hommes-Bêtes. Moi qui n'aspirais qu'à un enfant et une existence paisible après la tragédie de ma vie précédente, j'ai dû faire face à une autre réalité : pourquoi mon mari, réputé froid et abstinent, me réclamait-il sans cesse depuis notre nuit nuptiale ? Et pourquoi personne ne m'avait avertie que les Dragons possédaient deux pénis… tous deux épineux ?

As the daughter of the Shadow Pack’s Beta, I was born with power, grace, and devotion. Justin, the future Alpha of the pack, was hailed as my fated mate from the moment our paths crossed. I once believed that we were meant to be. With the Moon Goddess bringing us together through a mate bond, even death could not tear us apart. Yet, the illusion was shattered three years ago. Justin pushed me away time and again in the name of repaying an obligation to Marissa, a rogue, for saving his life. Everything that should have been ours, he gave to her, be it our home, title, and our life plans together—all because she said she wasn’t happy. By the ninety-ninth time, the debt of gratitude was finally repaid. I stood at the mating ceremony venue in my gown, filled with anticipation that he would mark me. Alas, all my waiting ended with the news that he had given Marissa a top-tier moonstone, symbolizing eternal love. In that moment, all the pain I had held back came crashing down. My wolf howled in my mind with a voice so primal and sad. For once, I didn’t silence her. I believed it was time to make room for Justin and his lifesaver.