Slow Progress Quotes

Mia Halstead, a 26 year old surgeon who’s learned to measure life in precise incisions and careful routines. When a bittersweet goodbye to childhood friends becomes an eight year leap into a town that still holds the ache of first love, Mia finds herself drawn back to the one man who haunted her heart from the start: Dawson Lane. Dawson, scarred by war and shadowed by nights of sleepless thunder, is the quiet storm she never stopped craving. He’s returned home, tall, guarded, and carrying a history that refuses to stay buried. As Mia navigates high stakes hospital corridors, a meddling sister who runs on caffeine and chaos, and a provocative doctor eager to rewrite her fate, old memories collide with present danger. A lingering crush becomes something more dangerous: the truth that love can heal what fear has kept apart and break what’s never been rebuilt. When a stalker shadows Mia’s steps, and a pregnancy tests the future in unexpected ways, Mia and Dawson must decide what they’re willing to risk for a chance at a future that isn’t dictated by memory or duty. With Liberty Lane’s unflinching loyalty and a town that aches to belong, Storm-Worn Hearts is a slow burn romance about choosing love when the weather inside you refuses to clear.

When I was six, I spilled hot water, slipped, and burned my face. My face was ruined. My parents learned their lesson and never let my younger sister do housework. To everyone they met, they praised her beauty, her charm. They turned to me with nothing but disdain. When I was ten, I had a high fever. They didn't think much of it and let it drag on until my brain was damaged, leaving me slow and dull. They learned their lesson again. From then on, if my sister so much as coughed, they would rush her to the hospital in the dead of night, showering her with care. I was like a failed experiment. Every mistake they made with me, they corrected for her. I was ugly, silent, dim-witted, unwanted. She was beautiful, sweet-talking, clever, adored by all. When I was diagnosed with depression, I gathered what little courage I had and told them. Mom lashed out, called me sick in the head, and accused me of being petty. If I was so capable, she said, I might as well die. It wasn't until my sister pushed me off a high-rise that they found out, by sheer accident, that she wasn't their child at all. I was their one and only biological child.

A wolf howls. The forest stills… for a moment. Then, all wildlife burst into motion. Every living thing, from the smallest lizards and toads to the great brown bears and powerful mountain lions, flee. Spiders scurry to the top of their webs. Birds take flight. Squirrels leap from branch to branch. Wide-eyed deer and elk jump over brush and fallen logs. A lone wolf pauses, but tucks his tail and turns to join the escape. The wind whips through the forest, causing leaves to fall and tall pines to groan. Thundering hooves and paws make the forest floor shake. Finally, the forest stills. The wind gusts slow to a gentle and warm breeze. The wildlife seem calm once more and return to their foraging, napping, or grazing. The wolf howls again. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Amerie moved to a small town in Montana for a fresh start and to follow her dreams. Things are starting to look up and feel right again. Then, the town seems to turn upside down when someone goes missing in the forest. Some locals fear the legend of the Wolf Man may be real and claim the beast is to blame, claiming it wants revenge for mistreatment of the forest. Amerie rolls her eyes and joins the search parties, but an unfortunate fall leads her to discover more than she signed up for as she comes face to face with a large, white wolf. The secrets of the forest have been waiting to reveal themselves to her.

He tilted her chin up, his touch deceptively gentle. “You’re trembling,” he whispered, brushing his thumb over her lips, slow enough to make her shiver. “Is it fear…” his gaze lingered on her mouth. “Or me?” Her pulse stuttered, betraying her. He was too close, and her body didn’t seem to remember which feeling came first, terror or desire. **** Elena Castellano never thought her father would trade her freedom to keep her safe. But after a violent attack changes everything, she is forced to marry the one man she has every reason to be afraid of, Stefano Bernardo, the ruthless heir to one of Milan’s most dangerous families. To the world, it’s a union between two powerful families. To Stefano, it’s the sweetest revenge. Stuck in a marriage built on deceit and danger, Elena must fight not only for her freedom but for her life, because Stefano’s revenge runs deeper than she ever imagined. And if she truly wants to live, she must face the truth; the real danger isn’t her husband’s revenge, it’s falling for him. He married her to destroy her family. But she might become the death of him – literally.

“Take it off, dusha moya.” His voice was a low, feral growl against my ear. His kisses trailed down my neck—slow, claiming, deliberate. His gaze burned where it landed… on my ring. The ring my husband gave me. The husband who wasn’t him. “Why?” I whispered, breathless. Cassian’s lips brushed my chest, hot and possessive. “I don’t want any trace of him on you while I fuck you.” The ring slid off my finger. The jewel hit the floor. And my world shattered all over again. — Elara Mei was the perfect daughter—obedient, quiet, raised to follow orders without question. Even when it meant breaking her own heart by leaving Cassian Ivanov. Years later, her father signs a contract with the powerful Ivanov family. The price? Her marriage to their second son. She accepts. Like she always does. Until she discovers the truth— Her new husband’s brother is the man she once loved. The man she never stopped loving. The man who will burn the world to claim her back. Caught between loyalty and desire, duty and obsession, Elara must make an impossible choice: The man she’s bound to by contract… or the man who owns her heart, her body, and her ruin?

It was all her fault. My life could have been simple—40-hour shifts at KFC, sneaking extra chicken crumbs, and binge-watching reality shows. But no. Instead, here I was, standing at the altar, saying I do to a man whose idea of “casual” involved drugs, women, and murder on speed dial. Thanks, Mom. Not only did she ruin my life, but she also sold it—traded me off to the deadliest Mafia boss alive, Mario Santiago, as if I were some secondhand couch on clearance. Mario Santiago. Yeah, that Mario Santiago. The Human Terminator. The guy whose enemies mysteriously vanish like my paycheck two days after payday. And now, I was his wife. He glanced at me with a slow, wolfish smile that practically screamed trouble. That was when I knew two things: 1. I was completely doomed. 2. This man was going to wreck my heart (and probably my life). But hey, it could be worse, right? At least I’d get a killer wardrobe out of it. *** Are you looking for romance and humor? Stuck with Mario Santiago is a hilarious, Mafia billionaire romance filled with danger, betrayal, drama, and a love story you won’t forget. Dive in—you won’t regret it (but the characters might).

Arranged marriage, age-gap, forbidden love, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, Romeo and Juliet vibes, family saga, Mafia/cartel romance, slow burn, redemption, morally gray hero, dangerous romance The Roríguez cartel is spinning out of control, tragedy putting the alliance and our future in question. I’m Emiliano Ruiz and throughout the last few years, I’ve witnessed my sisters being doled out to members of the Luciano Mafia. The cartel has also taken famiglia women. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Luciano famiglia’s turn to take a bride. My mind is set—it’s my turn. I never imagined marrying a young bride until I caught sight of Isabella Luciano. She’s only eighteen, and with her long yellow hair and big brown eyes, she’s a vision to behold. She sees me, however, through the tinted lens of her father’s hatred. Carmine Luciano’s disdain of the cartel and the alliance isn’t a secret. His opinion won’t stop me. I’ll prove to Isabella that even bad men can be good husbands. No matter what her father says or what happens in our war, Isabella will be mine. Have you been Aleatha’d?

“Beg me to lick you, malysh.” There was no way in hell I’d beg him. But that was until his finger slid into my pussy, stretching me at a deliciously slow curl. “Please.” I whimpered, trembling. “Say it like you mean it, baby.” “Lick me, please,” I panted. It was hard not to with the way his finger was curling inside me, hitting my g-spot repeatedly. °•°•°• Do you crave men who dominate every room they walk into? Men who won’t hesitate to destroy anyone who dares threaten what’s theirs? Men as lethal as they are possessive, yet drop to their knees for the one woman who sets their cold hearts on fire? Meet the Kings of the Bratva—ruthless, dangerous, and utterly unstoppable. From brutal assassins to stolen brides, these stories will drag you into a world of forbidden love, raw passion, and unrelenting danger. Arranged marriages, deadly betrayals, and second chances that will shatter your soul—these men live by their own rules, and their women? They’re the ones bold enough to break them. Love isn’t soft here—it’s a war, a fire that consumes everything in its path. These men will fight, kill, and burn for the ones they claim. The Kings of the Bratva don’t just promise passion—they deliver obsession. Are you ready to meet them?

She Was Just the Nanny… Until She Became His Everything. After losing everything in one night… her career, her home and the man she loved, Veronica Hales thought her life couldn’t get any worse. Framed by her stepsister, betrayed by her boyfriend and tossed into the streets, she had no choice but to start over from nothing. But fate intervenes when she saves a mute little girl from a speeding car, unaware that the girl’s father is Leonard Armani, the reclusive billionaire who secretly owns the mansion and wealth her ex-boyfriend has been flaunting as his own. When Leonard offers her a job as his daughter’s nanny, Veronica accepts, determined to rebuild her life quietly. Yet the deeper she becomes part of Angel’s world, the harder it is to ignore the slow, burning tension between her and the mysterious man who signs her paychecks. Leonard, wounded by a past betrayal and haunted by distrust, swore never to love again. But the warmth Veronica brings into his home and his heart awakens something he thought he’d buried forever. As secrets unravel and old lies return to destroy them both, Veronica must choose: walk away again or fight for the love she never saw coming. She Entered His Mansion With Nothing. She Left With His Heart.

“Fine,” I heard myself say, the word tasting like rust. “You want an open marriage? We’ll do open.” A slow smile curved his mouth—victory, not warmth. “Good girl. Then I suppose you won’t mind if I reintroduce Kisha.” The camera panned. There she was, curled on what I now realized was our hotel suite couch, her legs tucked under a cashmere throw that used to be mine. She waved, manicured nails glinting, belly softly rounded under a silk camisole. My world tilted. I forced a smile that felt like glass. “So she’s your girlfriend?” Daniel’s hand settled possessively on that gentle swell. “Not just my girlfriend,” he said, eyes locked on mine. “The mother of my unborn child.” Jayla Carmichael smiles for the cameras as the perfect senator's wife while her world burns. But queens don't kneel. They conquer. Fueled by whiskey and wrath, Jayla ensnares Warren Christopher, a brooding billionaire CEO, after saving his empire in a bar-side twist of fate. Love was the first lie. Revenge is the foreplay, and the truth? it's coming for them all...naked, ruthless and dripping in karma. Will Jayla's vengeance destroy her soul or will warrens fire forge something eternal?. This book isn't just romance, it's war with benefits.