Red Crystal

My uncle’s rival, Emmett Meyer, saved me twice. The first time, I was drowning after a shipwreck—until he cut through the waves on a speedboat and dragged me ashore. The second time was after someone had slipped drugs into my drink. That night, I seduced him, a hardened man ten years my senior. In the dim glow of a private room, he guided my hand downward and growled, “I want you so bad, Babe.” He took me ruthlessly, ignoring my sobs and pleas. From then on, Emmett—the untamable “Prince of Silverbridge”—abandoned his reckless ways and devoted himself to me. Or so I believed. Then one day, he coaxed me into his Rolls-Royce and captured our tryst on camera. I flushed with embarrassment and secret delight. Later, as I hurried after him to return some documents he had left behind, I heard the sneers whispered in the hallway: “You’re so wild, Emmett. Everyone heard your girl moaning.” “Damn, the car rocked so hard I thought you’d break it.” “Hey, if Franklin Reed ever finds out that his precious niece has been your plaything for three years… think he’ll have a heart attack?”

After my father-in-law, Oswald Leyton, is diagnosed with a complicated form of heart disease, I rush to Germasia for an intensive training on the most advanced medical technique just so that I can operate on him and treat his condition. When I return home after the training three months later, I gleefully find my husband, Nicholas Leyton, to tell him about the good news that I have mastered the technique. The plane lands. However, the luxury car that should have come for me turns out to be a broken-down van instead. Someone throws a sack over my head, and I can hear Nicholas' cold laughter next to me. "Did you have lots of fun with your boytoy overseas for the last three months, Victoria Rosewood?" After he and a few other men force themselves on me multiple times, Nicholas slides open the door, planning to abandon me in the wilderness. "Nicholas! You can't do this to me! I'm pregnant…" I try to explain myself, throwing myself at him despite all the cuts and bruises on my body. However, Nicholas gets even angrier after hearing that and forcefully shoves me aside. I feel an excruciating pain coming from my lower abdomen. Warm, sticky blood starts flowing down my thighs. Then, my vision blacks out, and I lose consciousness altogether.

"I don't belong to anyone," Brenda said, taking a step back. "You're mine, and you're always going to be mine," Damien replied, leaning closer and whispering in her ears. "Then show me you love me," she bit back. "Show me you—" His lips crashed into hers immediately as he pinned her to the wall. He let all his desires out as he claimed her lips hungrily. ****************************************** All her life, Brenda Williams has done everything her father asked. Because of his gambling excesses, she is forced to work tirelessly in school for her family. But when her father orders her to marry a mafia lord twice her age because of his debts, she doesn't find it hard to run away. Unfortunately, she is roped into another marriage with another ruthless mafia lord before she can bat an eye. Consumed with burning questions and a threat to her life, she struggles with the unfound hatred from her new husband. This unleashes a series of dangerous games, kidnap threats, burning emotions, and family secrets that lead Brenda to one question: WHY HER? Will she be able to figure out the real reason behind her sham marriage, or will she run out without turning back? Can she escape three mafia lords who want her for different reasons?

Without Kaelen's knowledge, I had his little plaything sent out of North America. That same night, he cast a blood-vine curse on my parents, banishing them to the wilds—a wasteland prowled by rogues. He was going to trade my parents' lives for the whereabouts of his plaything. Kaelen pushed a communication crystal in front of me. Inside it, my parents were ensnared by blood-red vines, the thorns digging deep into their flesh. Drops of dark crimson blood fell, one by one, onto the barren earth. A countdown timer pulsed in stark red digits on their chests. 23:59:59 23:59:58 He sat across from me, a black suit tailored to perfection molded to his lean, powerful frame. His long fingers tapped a light, steady rhythm on the solid wood table, as if he were waiting for a trivial business deal to close. "Estelle, you have twenty-four hours." His voice was low and calm, laced with a venomous tenderness. "Tell me, where did you send Cassandra?"

Samantha Clarkson is a woman in need of a new start. On her way to a new start, she takes with her the lessons learned from her past, and one of them is that love is not for her. She can’t trust it. All she needs in her life is her best friend, a job, and a way to forget the past. “Yes, I am a man known for fucking. I love women, all different types. I love the way it feels when I’m pounding into them. I love hearing them scream my name, but most of all I love it when they go home.” This is how the CEO of Maxwell Publishing, Charles Maxwell, thinks. He’s never had a woman turn him down. That’s until he meets Samantha Clarkson. Samantha and Charles are on a collision course, but will the past pull them apart, making the course harder to bear, or will they both get the surprise of their lives? Shattered Lives Book One is full of suspense and hot, steamy love scenes. Make this your new guilty pleasure.

I had just returned from a business trip. The moment I stepped through the door, I scooped my wife into my arms and rushed her straight to the bathroom for a steamy shower together. We were kissing passionately when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something: the toilet seat was flipped up. I froze. Seven years ago, my wife had read a post online claiming that when men pee standing up, bacteria splash onto the seat. She begged me to sit down to pee for the sake of her health. I have kept that promise. For seven years of marriage, that seat has never been up. A knot formed in my stomach, but the bathroom was spotless, so clean it looked staged, not a single stray hair anywhere. Then I noticed the shower temperature. It was set five degrees lower than her usual 43°C. Men like cooler showers. Women like them hotter… At that moment, I knew, Ruby Lynch had cheated on me.

After six years with Joel, Lyra landed in the hospital—sick and drained. The day she got discharged, she caught something in the hallway she wasn't supposed to hear. "Joel Fenwick, are you out of your mind? You gave Lyra's bone marrow to Renee without telling her? You knew her health was trash and lied about it being a stomach issue just to make her do it?" Renee. Joel's childhood flame. The girl he never got over. Lyra didn't cry. Didn't freak out. She just picked up the phone, called her parents overseas, and said yes to an arranged marriage with the Windsors.

Jace knew Grace was his mate, but she was weak, and he couldn't risk being bonded to her. He rejects her after finding her with an omega male. She leaves, and his heart goes with her. When they meet again, can they ignore the pull. Can he get her back? Will he earn her forgiveness, or will they just stay apart.

I never expected to be taken. Varek is everything I've been taught to fear: cold, ruthless, a conqueror who destroys anyone in his path. But when he grabs me, drags me away, I realize I have no choice but to go. If I want to protect my kingdom, I have to submit to him. He's relentless, and the heat between us is undeniable. He's not just after my kingdom-he wants me, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. His eyes burn into mine, like he knows every weakness, every desire I've been hiding from myself. I hate him for what he's done, for who he is. But with every touch, every glance, I feel my walls start to crumble. I can't let him break me, but I don't know how much longer I can resist.

After passing five rounds of interviews, I secure an offer from Larson Group based on my own abilities. I can't wait to share the good news with my boyfriend, Noah Gardner. However, he reports me to HR, causing me to lose the job. "Isabelle can't find a job and is really anxious, so I gave the position to her. You can just send out a few more resumes. It's not like a few extra days matter," he said nonchalantly. After Isabelle Buchanan starts working at Larson Group, everyone showers her with praise. I laugh in exasperation and call my older brother. "Mr. Larson, can our company hire me as the CEO's executive assistant?"