The Shell Seekers

Ellie is a shy, lanky teenager, thrust into a world she doesn't belong in; a place whose students are worth more than their weight in gold. So Ellie 's plan is simple; keep her head down and focus on her studies. Be invisible. But her plan shatters the moment she spills grape juice on Carter; the school’s golden boy, untouchable because of the power his family name possesses. Ellie 's life implodes. What begins as an accident quickly spirals into a literal nightmare. Carter makes Ellie his target, and the torment rapidly escalates until one evening they reach a humiliating agreement. Over time, lines blur adding a delicious layer of confusion to their twisted dynamic, one that neither of them care for. But just when she thinks he can't take it anymore, salvation comes from an unlikely source; her favorite teacher, one he has secretly admired. As this forbidden relationship blooms and Carter is fended off, Ellie can take a deep breath again. Everything is finally ok. Until it isn't. The ultimate betrayal leaves Ellie shattered, sitting amidst the broken pieces of her recently found happiness. She becomes a shell of her former self, shutting out everyone trying to reach her, which shockingly includes Carter. Why? Why is he suddenly desperate to get in touch with Ellie ? And will he succeed? Or will it not matter anyway because she's too far gone?

Sally has had a crush on her best friend Justin for as long as she can remember. The shy, nerdy girl with baggy clothes and glasses, she’s spent years helping him with projects and assignments, hoping he’d notice her… but he never has. Until the day she finally works up the courage to confess, only to be met with something utterly shocking. Enter Cole…Justin’s stepbrother. Tall, confident, impossibly hot, and the kind of guy whose life revolves around late-night frat parties and reckless fun. He’s everything Sally is not and everything she didn’t know she needed. Cole offers to help her win Justin’s heart… but nothing comes for free. In exchange, she has to step out of her comfort zone, navigate his world, and follow his lead. As Cole pulls her out of her shell, showing her confidence, daring, and a side of herself she’s never dared to explore, Sally begins to wonder if the butterflies she’s chasing with Justin were ever real. The more time she spends with Cole, the more she realizes that maybe the heart doesn’t lie, and the boy she’s been chasing all these years isn’t the one she should have been after at all. And the secrets he hides? They could destroy everything she thought she wanted.

“Tell me, baby. Are you wet for me?” He asked as he licked the shell of my ear, his tongue lashing out deliciously. I stifled a whimper and shook my head. “You dirty liar,” he growled. “The next time you lie to me I’m going to bend you over the nearest surface and spank the truth out of you.” *** When Manhattan’s most successful billionaire, Alessio Castelli, hires me to be his personal cook, I’m determined not to fall for him. Too bad he’s simply too hot to resist. He says I’m not his type, but he watches me like I’m his next obsession… and when his control finally snaps, he claims me as his, unable to stay away from me. What starts as temptation quickly turns into something far more dangerous; because men like Alessio don’t love. They possess. Just when I begin to believe I might mean more to him than a secret in his bed, a previous lover from his past returns… pregnant and claiming the child is his. Now I’m trapped between the man who refuses to let me go and the kind of heartbreak that will ruin me for good, because I’m already hopelessly in love with him. And the worst part? Walking away from him might be harder than staying.

Addy Walker once believed love was supposed to be loud—felt in bedtime stories, laughter in the kitchen, and the warmth of arms that made the world feel safe. That’s how it was before her mother died. Before her father changed. Grief hollowed him out. The man who once teased and protected became a shell—quiet, cold, unreachable. Then came the bottles. The slammed doors. The bruises. Addy, now eighteen, has learned to survive in silence—walking lightly, speaking carefully, hiding her pain beneath long sleeves and polite smiles. She works long hours to keep food on the table while her father sinks deeper into debt and addiction. One night, she comes home to a dark, freezing house—again. The electricity is off. Again. And she knows why. She confronts him, her voice sharper than it’s ever been. He denies it at first, but the truth is already spread across the kitchen counter in final notice bills and losing betting slips. He’d gambled away the electric bill money on a horse. The argument erupts. He screams, she stands her ground. When he slaps her, she doesn’t flinch. Something inside her shifts. She’s done waiting for the man he used to be. Addy packs a bag. She’s leaving—for real this time. No plan. No destination. Just freedom. But as she storms out into the rain, a long, black car pulls up to the curb. A man steps out—tall, broad-shouldered, older. His face is hard, almost frightening in the shadows, but he’s striking. Dangerous. And calm.

For ten years, Seraphina Frostbane was a ghost in her own marriage and the invisible wife to London’s coldest billionaire, Kieran Blackthorne. She was his duty, his mistake, the woman who bore his heir but never his heart. When her father dies and her glamorous sister—the woman Kieran was meant to marry—returns to reclaim everything Seraphina accidentally took, he ends their marriage without hesitation. Broken but unbowed, Seraphina signs the divorce papers, takes her son, and disappears. But fate isn’t done with her yet. At her father’s funeral, an ambush meant to silence her nearly succeeds until she’s saved by Lucian Reed, a mysterious man with a spiral tattoo and eyes that promise danger. Under his brutal mentorship, Seraphina sheds her fragile shell and rises from the ashes as a woman who can bend the city’s elite to her will. But the stronger she grows, the more unhinged Kieran becomes. Realizing too late that his indifference masked a possessive obsession, he launches a ruthless war to drag her back into his empire and his bed. Now, caught between a new love that empowers her, an ex-husband who would burn the world to keep her, and a secret pregnancy that could destroy them all, Seraphina must decide: Will she rule her own destiny… or be devoured by the darkness that once claimed her?

Sometimes love finds us in the most unexpected places—through the most unexpected person. At 40, Daniel’s life is a careful balance between raising his three children and running the family business. After losing his wife, he built a cold, impenetrable shell around himself—one he has no intention of breaking. Deanna, on the other hand, is full of dreams. With just one year left before earning her degree in Arts, she’s focused on one thing: making it to the opera stage. But when her best friend Harry begs for her help, her life takes an unforeseen turn. An outdated family rule threatens to keep Harry from marrying his pregnant girlfriend. The only solution? His older brother, Daniel, must marry first. To help him, Deanna and Daniel agree to a fake relationship—a temporary arrangement that should have been simple. But the pull between them is undeniable. She brings warmth into his cold world, while he offers her a love she never expected after a painful breakup. Together, they begin to build something real—something worth fighting for. Yet, not everyone wants to see them happy. Between outside forces determined to tear them apart and their own fears whispering doubts, their love faces an uphill battle. And with a 15-year age gap standing between them, one question remains: Can they defy the odds, or will reason win over the heart?

Miguel has built his life around the land. Born of indigenous Costa Rican ancestry, he believes ownership is stewardship, not control. High in the mountains of Monteverde, he struggles to preserve his farms and a failing eco-lodge sustained by pristine mountain springs that carry life-giving water for the entire valley. Bobby, a kindergarten teacher from Ireland, arrives in Costa Rica carrying a private grief. A genetic diagnosis has ended her hopes of motherhood, and leaving Ireland for Costa Rica is the only way she knows to start a new life. Vulnerable and unmoored, she falls under the influence of Sean, a charismatic expatriate who offers work, protection, and belonging—while quietly binding her to his business interests. The springs beneath Cabinas Las Nubes become the fulcrum of their collision. To Miguel, it is sacred. To Sean, it is a commodity to be stripped and laundered through shell companies tied to South American narco networks. When Miguel refuses to legitimize the illegal extraction, intimidation escalates into violence, culminating in the kidnapping of a child—Christopher—to force his compliance. Bobby recognizes the danger too late but refuses to run again. Risking her life to save Christopher, she confronts the man who once controlled her and exposes the depth of her courage. Her choice strengthens Miguel’s resolve. Working from within, he dismantles Sean’s operation and reclaims the land before it is destroyed. Set against Costa Rica’s ancient waters and living terrain, the novel explores grief, integrity, and the quiet ferocity of love chosen under threat.

PART 1 - NIKOLAI AND NOVA: Nikolai is the youngest brother of Kai and Konstantin Volkov. Since his torture and kidnapping, he's become a cold, distant shell of the man he used to be, making a name for himself as a Ripper. The only light in his life is Nova Lorelei, the mate he rejected while he was under the control of a demonic entity. But even as he yearns for her, he knows she's better off without him in her life. So he keeps to the shadows and watches over her. This worked out fine until he saw his mate being abused by another. Will Nikolai be able to keep his distance from Nova, or is the Mate Bond stronger than his willpower? ----- PART 2 - DIMITRI AND ARYA: Wracked with guilt at nearly killing his human mate four years ago, Dimitri Volkov let Arya go so she could live a normal life. He didn't feel worthy of a mate or happiness after almost killing her and betraying his entire pack, so he settled to living a life filled with blood and pain as his brother and Alpha's Lead Enforcer. A trip to Brooklyn changes everything for him when he finds his way onto Brooklyn Bridge only to see his mate about to commit suicide. He saves her again, but the Mate Bond Sighting clicks, and the traitorous Gamma finds himself in quite the position: reject Arya or accept what Fate has given him? Book 1 - Alpha Kai Book 2 - Konstantin: The Heartless Beta **Can be read as a standalone as I delve into what happened in the previous books**

Alexander Gracias is the youngest CEO in Littleton Global’s history. Brilliant, ruthless, and utterly untouchable. Women are easy distractions he never lets too close… until the night he sees her. A mysterious stripper with hypnotic green eyes who vanishes before he can get her name. But fate has a wicked sense of humor. On day morning, she walks into him. demure, professional, and wearing a name tag that reads Mackenzie Jordans. His new secretary. His forbidden temptation. Mackenzie has spent years hiding a dangerous secret, one that could destroy the life she’s carefully built. By day, she’s the perfect assistant. By night, she’s Ramona the seductive performer stripper Now he’s determined to own her in the boardroom and beyond. But the closer he gets, he see she was a hard shell to crack. In a game of power, desire, and dangerous secrets… Who will break first? Excerpt from the book: “You look like you don’t scare easy,” she murmured as she came closer, her voice a low purr barely audible over the music. “I don’t scare at all,” he replied, taking a slow sip. She smiled at that, circling behind him. “We’ll see about that.” Her fingertips brushed along the back of his neck, feather-light. Then she came around to face him again, planting one heel between his knees. With a languid roll of her hips, she lowered herself onto his lap, her hair spilling over her shoulder, brushing against his cheek.

*This is a VERY dark, age-gap, stalker romance* What Harley Savage doesn't know is who he is or that he's been watching her for years. What he doesn't know is that on the night of their first encounter, she plans to end her life. Brixton Steele, her admirer, hates seeing the tortured, broken girl in front of him, so he devises a clever plan- or so he thinks—to whisk her away to the safety of his secluded house outside of city limits and keep her for himself. Forever. When she realizes she isn't going home anytime soon, she begins to accept her fate with the troubled, tattooed, Greek god, who wants nothing more than to save her precious soul. Captivity suits her well, though, and she finds herself not wanting to escape his terrifying clutches. Instead, she tries to help fix the broken shell of the man who kidnapped her, in hopes that he’ll be able to heal from the trauma that suffocated him for so long. They say everyone has that one person in their entire life who was made specifically for them. Is he her person? Is she his person? When two very different worlds collide, can they put each other's broken pieces back together and learn how to help each other heal? Or will his plan backfire and end with him losing the girl of his dreams, never getting a chance to try to save either of them from themselves?