Thin Lines

Planning revenge on your best friend's ex for treating her like a tissue is good and all. But the popular good boy accidentally being the victim of it is not.

Silent, unforgiving and strikingly gorgeous, Rylan Parker is a cold-hearted businessman. An intimidating CEO, perfectly fitted in tailored suits and with a soft side reserved only for his little daughter. He can't afford to fall for anyone and definitely not for the blue-eyed blonde he met at the diner. But when his grandfather's will demands he gets himself a wife, a contract-marriage seems to be the only option. Living under the same roof with the woman he is undeniably attracted to can't be that hard! He just had to make sure of one thing. He does not fall for his sensitive little wife. But that was never really a choice, was it? * * * * Sweet, charming and affectionate, Elena Smith is mostly an emotional mess. Between working two jobs and worrying about her father’s medical bills, she has no time for relationships. But when the hot, arrogant billionaire puts forward a proposition, she’s left to make a choice, a difficult one. The fact that he is ridiculously attractive wasn’t a reason enough for Elena to put her signature on a marriage-contract with a complete stranger. But her father?....Perhaps. What’s two years anyways? Just a little too much time to come out of this with her heart unscathed.

I'm in the hills for a project inspection when a sudden downpour hits. I lose my footing and tumble down a steep slope. Lying in a pool of blood, I fumble for my phone and call my husband, Joel Grant, who's supposed to be nearby. "Rachel has anxiety. I only brought her back to her hometown to help her unwind. Can you stop being so paranoid and jealous for once? You're due in two weeks. I'll be there, okay? Just behave." In the background, I hear Rachel giggle softly. "The models have to be in their birthday suit for sketching, right?" Joel hangs up without another word. My sister-in-law—and best friend—Chloe Murphy finds me. She's sobbing as she cradles me, desperately trying to call her husband, Michael Grant, for help. "Are all pregnant women insane these days?" Michael snaps. "Don't start with the same manipulative crap as Anna. Joel and I are busy modeling for Rachel. We don't have time for your petty dramas." Then he blocks her. My injuries are too severe. There's no way help will arrive in time. Despite being heavily pregnant herself, Chloe hoists me onto her back and carries me down the mountain to the nearest hospital. Somehow, I survive. My baby doesn't. Chloe, devastated and physically pushed past her limits, loses her child too. "I want a divorce," I whisper with my eyes swollen from crying. "Me too. I'm done with Michael." We filed for divorce together. That's when Joel and Michael finally lose their minds.

When a child mysteriously disappears from a small town and even his mother seems indifferent, it’s time for the new sheriff to step in. Meet Chris Baker, the new sheriff of the quiet Adirondack town of Clifton Heights. As one inexplicable case after another forces him to confront the townsfolk in The Skylark Diner, it’s the furtive Gavin Patchett that hands Chris a collection of not-so-fictional short stories that tumbles him into a world of monsters, ageless demons, and vengeful citizens. As Chris reads through the stories the veil starts to lift, and he soon questions what is real and what’s not, and whether he really wants to know. Nothing will ever be the same again. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

**Strictly for adults** HANA You don't fall in love with your enemy. If you do, then, be prepared to embrace their dark side and welcome their secrets. Because you don't know them like you know your friends. I left a man at the altar just to fall in love with his brother. We have nothing in common but our damaged soul. It is cruel how you can love a person like that only to find out that it was forbidden, all the way long, and you were forced to fall apart by fate. Our tragic pasts paved way for our beautiful future until his secrets were revealed. I never fit in his world, no one could ever; for he was born to kill, to bring death. From enemies to lovers, hating to loving, strangers to family, then to complete strangers, Hana and Bash are all you need. Their love will make your heart warm, they make you laugh, and their distance makes you cry. Find out more about their forbidden romance. **No incest**

The Falcon Ridge Series Book 5 Set two months after the Battle of Black Rock. In an old growth forest east of Aurora, the city of Dragons. Wren Miller: You can sum up the story of my life in three words I. Am. Alone. I was raised by the Falcon Ridge Security Unit after they told me everyone I ever knew and loved was dead. I traveled through life pretending I felt like I had a pack, but in truth I longed for my own. I often wished for death. That all changes when I find out some of my pack was alive. Living like Nomads in the wilderness. I'm elated to find them, but my happiness is crushed when the Alpha is not even remotely happy to see me. As much as it pains me, I don't want to see him either after finding out what he has become. Lucius Drake: For 10 years I survived in the wilderness. I built us back up from the ashes that were left of the attack on us. I was happy to live this way. Living off the land. Taking care of my pack. Then she shows up. Seeing her makes my blood boil. Not only did she abandon her pack. She abandoned me. I don't care what the Alliance told her. I never gave up on the hope she was alive. Apparently, she did. I'm jaded and angry. It also doesn't help that I have the Dragons breathing down my neck. We've been relying on them for protection and trade, but now they want more. They want us to join them permanently, which I will only do if I'm dead.

Matt Simpson meets Tess Holloway on a dating app through with the help of his friend Greg. They (Matt and Tess) go out on a coffee date where they bond after which they fall in love. It doesn’t take long before they get married. It doesn’t take long before tragedy strike. Tess dies a few hours after her childbirth throwing Matt into a deep sorrow. This incident leaves Matt totally devasted knowing how heartbroken he has been all his life after he lost his parents at an early age and also a series of heartbreaks. After some time, Matt decides to give Love another shot but after a few dates, he gives up any hope at getting a shot at love and tries to concentrate on raising his son. Just when he thinks he had forgot about the way Love feels, destiny smiles at him in a such a way that he never imagined. Gradually Matt is thrown into the dilemma of coping with stress of being a single Dad and maintaining a relationship with Karen who has just fallen in love with. He has to decided whether to be a father to his son or give up the custody of his son to Joan (Tess’s Mum) just to be with Karen.

“Camille, I’ll love you forever!” Jameson let out a low, agonized growl. Just as he was about to climax, his phone suddenly began to buzz. He ignored it, of course. Now was hardly the time. However, his phone lit up again. The moment he saw the text on the screen, his body froze. Camille heard him answer the call. “Hello?” In the deep silence of the night, the voice on the phone cut through the stillness, clear and unmistakable. “Jameson, did you know that Sylvia—” Jameson switched languages and cut in with a sharp command, “Keep it down. It's not a good time.” The other person switched languages too, though he was still loud. “The hospital results came in. Sylvia is in the final stages of cancer. She only has a month left! Her last wish is to become your wife. Can you grant her that before she passes?” Jameson’s expression changed immediately. “What?! Wait for me!” He ended the call and turned to Camille. “Camille, something urgent came up. I need to step out for a bit. Be good and stay home. I’ll be back after you’ve had some sleep.” Before she could respond, he rose to wash up, changed his clothes, and left without looking back. Moments later, her phone buzzed. Sylvia: [Camille, you lost. I told you—Jameson has always been mine.] Right above it was a message from three days ago: [If I tell him I have cancer, do you think Jameson will leave you and come to me? I bet he will.] Camille’s gaze slowly shifted from her phone screen to the open bedroom door. What Jameson did not know was that she had already picked up a new language. She understood every word of that call. After a long moment, a faint, bitter smile appeared on her face. “Yeah, I lost...”

One last assignment then I can finally find my mate. I have no idea why this alpha is so important but the committee has granted him with the best security in existence, me. I’m not your average wolf, in fact, my kind are often beaten and belittled, but by some divine intervention I had been raised from a lowly omega pup to the ultimate weapon and protection for the werewolf world. I protect the future, the strongest and only the most important of the wolves. I am the Alpha’s Guardian. Of course on the day I am to receive a Guardian the rogues find a hole in our defenses. We have been spread thin and even though Guardians are reserved for the highest of Alphas I am being bequeathed one. What would normally be an honor feels like a slap in the face when she shows up, this woman who claims she was sent to protect me. Female warriors are heard of sure, but a female guardian? This must be a joke and I refuse to be laughed at.

"I kissed you because I wanted to, make no mistake about that. I have never regretted, in fact, it has given me some hope." he was more candid than she expected. The fact that he wanted to kiss her was beyond her. "Hope?" she echoed. Unable to fully comprehend where the conversation was heading. "I have an arrangement I would like to propose." he was blunt, his voice strong and serious. There was no longer any hint of the gentleman she witnessed the day before. "What kind of arrangement?" she found herself hanging on his every word, it was clear who controlled the state of the conversation. "A temporary one...between us." he waited for her reaction but Ivory herself was unsure of how to react or respond. She had never found herself in a situation such as this and she thought the likelihood of it actually happening was nil. "I want you, Ivory, in more ways than one. Last night proved that you may have the same desires." He crossed his arms over his chest and waited.