The Lungs Are Blank To The Ribs

Eight years into marriage, and Fabian's mom finally gave me and my son her stamp of approval. Invited us to spend Christmas in his hometown. My son—Luca--and I were hyped. We picked out a gift for her and hit the road with Fabian. Right as we pulled into the village, Fabian's old friend called—crying, claiming she'd crashed her car. Fabian panicked. Left me and Luca in some random snowy mountain town and sped off. It was pitch black. Snow dumping down. Then Luca screamed. He'd stepped on a trap and dropped into a pit. Blood everywhere. I called Fabian, totally panicked. He goes, "Stella, Roxana's in a wreck. I need to be with her. Stop making everything a competition." Then he hung up. Blocked me. No time to fall apart. I wiped my face, called an ambulance. Too far out. By the time they got there, Luca was already gone. Cold. Broken. Gone. I held him and screamed until my lungs gave out. Meanwhile, Roxana's posting in the social media. All smiles in Fabian's arms. His face soft. Loving. [Highway jam turned into truth or dare. One word—"accident"—and he came flying. So happy.] I exhaled. Tagged Fabian. [Let's get a divorce.] This joke of a marriage should've ended forever ago.

Anita," her angelic voice calls to me. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Her soft, delicate hands caressing my face, sparkling green eyes grounding me from the dark past I wish I could forget. "You're safe, it's okay." I bring my hand up, running my finger over the mound of scar tissue. The constant reminder of that night. The raised bump covers the bullet fragment embedded in my sternum. She takes my hands as more thunder rumbles and tears roll down my cheeks. "Breathe Anita," she says in a soothing whisper. My lungs were burning with the need for air and it was then that I realized I'd been holding it. I take in a gasping breath and recall the first time my eyes met her green eyes. My sister had been lifted off me and my eyes opening had startled her. The first time she touched me gave me strength to hold on. I held her hand tight, trying to tell her what happened, but couldn't get enough breath to form words. Sitting in the present going through the same as I had five years ago. "They were all found, Anita. They can't hurt you anymore. It's just a storm. All the doors and windows are locked, the alarm is set. It's just you and me." "Will you keep the light on tonight, please?"

“How long have we been mates?” Aidan barked. “Four weeks,” I cried, tears rolling down my face and neck. “And how many times were we intimate, Tara?” My lungs tightened in my chest as I whispered. “Once.” “And we were being safe, so why do you think this lie would stick?” Venom dripped from his next words. “Get out of my life because the next time you show up, I will kill you.” ***** It wasn’t exactly a one-night stand, but the possibility of a pregnancy was almost non-existent even though he was my mate. When I mustered the courage to break the news to Aidan Graham, the father, he denied me. He severed our bond and plotted my death, and my only option was to run. Nine years later, my daughter walks into my office with a man, and the scent I recognize all too well fills my lungs. She says. “Mommy! I found you this handsome man!” The match my baby girl just made for me…is to my ex Alpha mate. I have been broken in the past, so how do I make this work for my daughter? Can I still try even when Aidan ropes us into a web of secrets, deceit, and brings me to a past I wished to bury forever? The plot twists are bound to make you ask… “Wait…What. The. Heck??” So, read on!!

'God, I'm late again!' Jane thought as she hurried through the streets. 'Mr. Smith is going to be so mad!' She decided to take a shortcut through some back alleys that she would normally rather avoid. Suddenly, she heard a series of whimpers, thumps, and yelps coming from another alley nearby. It sounded like a dog in pain, being beaten by something heavy 'Maybe if I make a noise, whatever is attacking that dog will get scared and run.' She stopped. She had just peaked her head around the corner and saw not one but two . . . men? . . . standing at the other end of a dead-end alley and overlooking a very large, furry pile of animals that seemed to be twitching. Normally, Jane would have been filled with terror at that moment, but terror was normally reserved for those with something to lose. There was a part of Jane, however, that still clung to the charade that was her life. Her hands began to tremble and her lungs released a scarcely audible gasp. Then the two standing figures turned and faced the end of the alley where Jane was hiding. "I'm going to call the police!" she shouted, lacking anything better to say. One of the figures shook his head and smiled. All his teeth seemed to be far too pointy. "That would be a very . . . terrible . . . mistake," he hissed, his words escaping his mouth like dead air from a pharaoh's tomb. And then both of them headed towards her at an inhuman pace. "No," one of them rasped. "Finish it. I'll get the girl." The other one stopped and snarled some kind of response.

The Beast Nation sent our royal family two beast slaves as a token of goodwill after they were defeated. My concubine-born younger sister took the tall and upstanding white tiger with piercing eyes, leaving me and the dying merman to look at each other. In my previous life, I took the merman as my personal bodyguard and trained him out of compassion. I spent a fortune to treat his injuries, and I even bought his slave contract at the price of ten cities and set him free. He also took great care of me, staying by my side day and night. I thought we were both in love, so I turned down dozens of marriages and stood by him with all my heart despite everyone's loud disapproval. However, when the beasts attacked again and threw my sister and me into the surging river, I frantically pleaded with the merman to save me, only to be violently slammed under the water by his massive tail. I watched helplessly as he carried my sister away. I realized at that moment that he had only given himself to me to save his own life. He had remained loyal to me even after regaining his freedom because he wanted to see my younger sister. I struggled in the filthy river, eventually suffocating as my lungs filled with mud and sand. When I reopened my eyes, I was transported back to the day of the beast slave selection. Looking at the dying merman, I covered my nose and taunted, "Where did this dead fish come from? It reeks!"

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, that couldn’t be more true in a free for all world where shifters have been forced to live out in the open. Assimilating into human life doesn’t bode well for most but those with means are still able to live their lives as they see fit. The Reznikov's, one of the most powerful mafia families in the world, have a dirty little secret that’s contributed to their success: they are werewolves. When the boss, Alexander buys a pup to turn into a fighter, he gets far more from the boy. He’s a blank canvas eager to learn the family business. Aleksey is feared by humans and werewolves alike, but he truly seeks the one thing that most werewolves are no longer guaranteed; a true fated mate. Emilia actually meets Aleksey when they are young teens, but they are unaware of just what their connection is. After losing her family and the only life she’s ever known, fate intervenes to put Aleksey in her path for a second time. Emilia quickly takes to her new life as the mate of a high ranking mafioso, shocking everyone including herself. Their love is intense and passionate, but there are many who try and test their resolve, including those in their own family who will stop at nothing to be on top. The story goes on to follow Aleksey's sister and then his best friend as they try to find love.

“God, woman.” He growled as she shuddered. Suppressing his outlandish sadistic tendency, he stopped, still breathing heavily. His lungs burned, and his hard c*ck throbbed in his pants. *** Heartbroken, Charleigh Wrylee, a charming and driven associate architect, dedicates her life to her career. She grabs the opportunity when a new project promises her a promotion. Bryce Chase is a tough daddy and a great baker with only two goals in life—raising his child and managing his cake shop. But things change when he runs into a new girl. Even though their interests don’t align, it turns the heat between them, pulling them together like magnets. Will they be able to set their issues aside and follow their hearts instead? Or will they rather stick to what they’re fighting for; his shop and her promotion? *** Sometimes hiding the truth comes with a great price. That’s what the quiet and preserved Arizona Sky realizes after meeting Tripp Wrylee— a hardworking overconfident CEO of a top architectural firm. She finds herself doing things she never thought she’d do— marrying a man she barely knows and leaving her the next day.  Three years later, he comes back, asking for a second chance, filling the husband’s role he left empty, bringing out the other side of him that Ari never knew he had.  Things between them become surreal until his job is at risk, their relationship is in hot water, and the people she loves are against their relationship, but something between them is maybe worth saving.

Olivia Jamerson spent years stewing in hidden rage for the person behind all her high-school ridicule and embarrassment. That person was none other than Joshua Taylor, son of the football coach and the famed bully of Westminster High. Students feared him, his friends revered him and teachers were sick of him. Two years after graduation and leaving town, Olivia had changed her whole appearance and character so much that no one could recognize her. Drowning in the sea of New Yorkers, Olivia finally felt that she had left her past behind and become a whole new person. At least that was the case until she bumped into the unlikeliest person she expected to meet in the big city—her old bully. Despite being annoyingly hotter than she remembered, the only thing that bothered her was that he was disturbingly nice, but worst of all, he did not remember her. Things turn a whole lot crazier when she finds out that Joshua has amnesia and when he starts flirting with her as if they did not have a complicated past. A big city, sparks and tension, and two people—one with bitter memories of their relationship and one with a blank canvas eager to fill it with potential memories. Will their tragic past catch up to them and will their horns lock once again? Will Olivia hold on to her grudges and lock him out of her life once again, or will she open her heart to the new and improved Joshua?

Adaline Cintron was a young pretty girl suffering from an anxiety disorder called selective mutism. She was known as the pretty dumb girl because she found great difficulty in expressing herself orally thus she would remain mute in public or social gatherings. The Cintrons were among the rich families in Blitland, they had identical twin girls who were the total opposite of themselves. One was the jovial and happy type, always seeking attention from the public and loving to be praised. The other was not only known as the pretty dumb girl but also a walking dead, she never socializes orally, always quiet in a corner with a blank face expressing no emotions. Adele had always felt and thought she was the most loved and the best among her twin sister, she always wanted to contrast herself from the dumb Adaline and wanted to be better than her in every way possible. But what will happen when she finds out that her dumb twin sister would get married to the most handsome bachelor, The handsome CEO is rumoured to be a ruthless psychopath known for being heartless and doing things without any humanity. Would Adele allow her twin sister to get married to the man of her dreams? She was always the perfect one among both of them, what would be her reaction when she comes to the notice that her parent made an arranged marriage between Adaline and the heartless CEO? Read to find out how the tug of war between both sisters ended.

Eric couldn't resist reaching out to touch Katrina's face. Her skin was warm and soft. She smelled like lilac soap and cinnamon, a delightful combination he had only encountered in her. He slid his thumbs slowly across her lips. They opened with a tiny gasp that made them all more tempting. "Kat... " He looked into her eyes and forgot what he had intended to say. God! She was too beautiful. Her eyes were filled with care, love and longing. Longing that sure matched his own. Very slowly, wanting to draw out every moment, Eric brought his lips to hers. He watched her eyes glaze, and heard her ragged moans when his mouth touched hers, then he kissed her passionately. He ran his lips down over the line of her throat. Heavenly warm skin met his lips. Eric inhaled the downy softness, bringing his hands up along her hips, at her waist and upward along her ribs to the front of her blouse, over her breasts. Katrina moaned softly in approval, cupping her hands in his as he undid the buttons on her blouse. Her breasts came spilling into his hands after he unhooked her bra. He filled his palm with her breasts. "God! I want you Kat" he said with a voice laced with deep passion. Katrina Argos aged twenty,set out to take her revenge on Eric Salmadiego, the guy who almost ruined her sister's life. Eric Salmadiego aged twenty four was a well known arrogant and popular billionaire. Not only was he arrogant, he was a full time playboy. To achieve her mission, Katrina moved into Eric's house as a live in maid. The both of them started on a rough note, but as time went by they fell in love with each other.