IT'S PERFECT. UNTIL IT'S NOT is a blend of sensual, erotic romance with sweet & delicious head-over-heels love. HEA, no cliffhanger, no cheating, and a fairytale romance with a bad boy who's complex but magnetic - and of course, heaps of hot, juicy, passionate sex! Katie is running from lies and heartbreak back home when she crosses paths with the most intoxicating man this sweet but sassy Kansas girl has ever laid eyes on. Ian is a surfer in Venice, California. 6'3". Body of a Greek Adonis, face like a Calvin Klein model... demeanor of an iceberg. After a random and painfully awkward meeting, what follows are surfing lessons, ice cream on the boardwalk, and lazy summer days on the beach. As Katie and Ian spend more time together, they begin to fall in love. Hard. It's perfect. Until it's not. Ian has secrets he's hiding - a dark past he doesn't want to share. Katie swore she would never let a man lie to her again... but when do secrets become lies? And despite a passionate love and an unwavering bond, can Katie forgive?
I was running away.
I'd left behind a bad situation in Kansas – a life I desperately wanted to avoid thinking about or dealing with – and never looked back.
Where do people go to reinvent themselves? Where do they move to get a shot at a new life, to live out their dreams?
For me, it was Venice.
No, not Italy – Venice, California. That funky little beach town chock-full of all the people too weird for the rest of Los Angeles. (Which is saying something.)
I didn't need to go halfway around the world to escape. Compared to what I was used to back home, Venice might as well have been another planet.
I was running because love had dealt me a bad hand, and I had played it even worse. As far as I was concerned, I was done with love.
Funny... because while I was running away from it, that's when it came and found me.
It was my first day settling into the neighborhood. I'd just rented a room in a house nearby, and I was enjoying the fruits of my awesome new digs: a two-block stroll to the beach.
As I lay there on my towel, slowly getting over my self-consciousness about my pale skin and incredibly unfashionable one-piece, both of which came courtesy of Kansas (note to self: go get a bikini as soon as possible), I saw him.
He was absolutely gorgeous – a blond-haired surfer with several days of scruffy facial hair. Late 20's. Bronzed skin. Muscles to make your jaw (and panties) drop. He was wearing only board shorts and flip-flops, so I got the full show: enormous biceps, powerful chest, broad shoulders, massive thighs.
I couldn't see his eyes because of the sunglasses he wore, but he had a strong chin, sensual lips, and cheekbones to die for.
Big hands and feet, too.
I'm just sayin'.
Now why couldn't I get a guy like THAT back in Kansas? I thought.
Note to self: learn surfing as fast as humanly possible.
He was walking towards the water with his board under one arm, and he dropped something as he passed – a little round object that plopped in the sand.
"Uh, excuse me," I said, rolling over to pick it up.
He kept walking.
"Excuse me!" I called out.
He turned around with a scowl.
"You dropped your – " I started to say, then looked down at the little cellophane-wrapped package in my hand.
Mr. Zog's Sex Wax.
I immediately blushed.
I might have been thinking naughty thoughts about his body, but I wasn't about to say 'sex wax' out loud to a stranger.
What the hell is sex wax?!
The label said, 'The best for your stick.'
...your 'stick'?!
Did he put it... 'down there'?
Why was he bringing it out to the beach, then?!
"Uhhhh... you dropped this," I said, blushing even worse, as I lifted it up to him.
"Thanks," he grunted, snatched it out of my hand, and then walked off without another word.
Rude!
Just goes to show, hot guys don't always have the best personalities.
Even insanely hot ones with perfect physiques.
I sighed and just enjoyed the show as he moved towards the water.
That was when my phone rang.
I knew from the ring tone who it was.
Rick.
My stomach twisted and I felt sick.
He doesn't know where you are, I told myself. You don't even have to answer it.
But... part of me felt like I owed him at least that much.
I held the cell in my hand for a few seconds... steeled myself... and then finally hit 'Accept' on the screen.
"Hello?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even, though I still think it trembled.
"Katie? FINALLY," he snapped, pissed off like always.
"I don't want to talk to you if you're going to yell at me, Rick."
"I'm not yelling – I was just concerned."
'Concerned' sounded an awful lot like it was a couple of steps away from yelling, if you asked me.
"Look, just... come home, Katie. We can talk about this."
"I don't want to talk."
"Well, we HAVE to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about."
He ignored me and breezed right past. "Where are you? I checked with Jen and Susan, and you're not there – where are you staying?"
"I'm not telling you."
There was a pause on the other end of the line, and I knew he was struggling to keep his anger in check. That's what he always did when he was trying not to blow his top.
Unfortunately, that brief pause was enough for him to hear what was going on around me.
"Are those waves?" he asked incredulously. "Was that a seagull?!"
Crap.
I should have answered this back at the house, where it was nice and quiet and not full of hints...
"What do you want, Rick?"
"Are you at the ocean?!"
"I said, what do you want, Rick?"
"I want you to come back!"
"Well, I'm not."
"We're going to talk about this, whether you want to or not!"
"No, we're not," I insisted. "I'm done talking."
"After everything you did to me, I think I deserve that!"
Guilt welled up inside me. "Rick... I told you how sorry I am..."
"You humiliate me and break my heart, and you're SORRY? Wow, must be nice to just be 'sorry,' and that's it."
I felt like crap. Lower than dirt. "I just... I don't want to talk right now."
Jealousy got the better of him. "No, you want to go get a suntan and play in the water and find some drunk douchebag and sleep around – "
Suddenly my guilt was gone, replaced with icy contempt. "Only one of us ever slept around."
He got even angrier. " I told you, that wasn't what it looked like!"
"I don't believe you."
"It was just business over drinks – I love YOU – "
"You have a funny way of showing it."
He saw it wasn't going the way he wanted, so he went back to questioning me. "Where are you? Florida? Are you on the East Coast? ...did you go to the CARIBBEAN?"
"I'm hanging up now, Rick."
"DON'T YOU DARE – "
I hit the little red button.
Immediately my entire body started shaking, and the sobs welled up uncontrollably. I pulled up the beach towel to hide my face as I cried.
I wasn't crying because our relationship was over. I still felt sad about that, but it wasn't the main thing. The worst was how I'd ended it, and how many people I'd hurt in the process. The guilt and shame were overwhelming.
I kept sending him to voicemail every time he called – six times in the next four minutes. After number seven he finally stopped.
I thought about blocking his number, or at least turning off my phone, but I guess my guilt got the better of me. I felt like he was right – that I did still owe him something.
Maybe I hadn't left behind everything I'd hoped.
A formidable Alpha werewolf and a determined human defy age-old customs and unearth hidden truths to embrace their destined bond as soulmates. Alpha Zev Hassick, hailed as the mightiest werewolf in ages, finds himself unexpectedly drawn to his closest companion, who happens to be human and male. In their society, werewolves are expected to mate with their own kind to maintain their humanity, making same-sex relationships taboo. Despite this, Zev's instincts insist that Jonah is his destined mate. Jonah Marvel faces numerous challenges in keeping his lifelong love with Zev intact, especially with the distance between them and Zev's unconventional family dynamics. As Jonah starts experiencing mysterious illnesses, he realizes that he must prioritize his well-being and mental health to secure a future alongside Zev. Though Zev and Jonah are aware of their undeniable connection, they must confront deep-rooted traditions and uncover hidden truths to embrace their shared destiny.
Zeke Buchanan had swept Marianne off her feet, and their two-year marriage had been perfect-until recently....Their physical passion was as strong as ever, but was Zeke starting to regret their impulsive wedding? The beautiful Liliana was clearly interested in more than a business relationship with Zeke. Was he tempted? Marianne was determined to save her marriage and prove to her husband that their honeymoon wasn't over, it was only just beginning!
Twenty-one-year-old Ivy Spellman has always played by the rules – get good grades, stay out of trouble, and avoid bad boys at all costs. But when she takes a temp assignment at a multi-billion dollar drug company, she can’t help but become intrigued with the sexy and ultra-demanding CEO, Cullen Sharpe. Cullen Sharpe is used to getting what he wants, and his dark and damaged desires are locked on Ivy. Her good girl innocent routine is enough to drive him over the edge, and after Ivy makes a mistake at work, he senses an opening to teach the shy temp the pleasures and seductions of being bad... …as well as the punishment that goes along with it. Soon the two of them are locked in a game of mystery, seduction, and raging desire that knows no bounds. But as Ivy is pushed beyond her sexual limits, she begins to crave more from the dark billionaire. However, Cullen guards his secrets and his heart for reasons that run deep. And if those reasons were to ever be revealed, it just might destroy them both…
Lily Ross was having another miserable day at work when tall, dark, and stunningly handsome walked in. When she's least expecting it, mysterious Connor Brooks turns Lily's world upside down and plunges her into a torrid, passionate love affair that might just ruin her life... or save it.
Skylar Kinsey’s life is in the toilet. Literally. She should have been starting her first job out of college, working at a prestigious advertising agency. Instead she’s in hiding, cleaning bathrooms and offices in a fancy high-rise building in Boston. But when she catches billionaire Madden Cross in a compromising position, she’s faced with an impossible choice. Wicked seduction. Devilishly handsome real estate developer Madden Cross knows how to control everything, from his company, to his public image…and especially his women. But when he first sets eyes on the innocent and curvy Skylar Kinsey, Madden knows that she will be his most difficult conquest yet. And there’s nothing that whets his appetite like a challenge. Wicked Bad. Soon, Skylar is presented with an offer that she cannot refuse. A weekend with the powerful billionaire in exchange for ten thousand dollars and the chance to start a new life. But will the billionaire’s need to dominate her voluptuous body lead her down the path to hell, or will she find that even the wicked can sometimes be good after all?
(18+) Due to frank scenes of sensuality and profanity, it is intended for mature audiences only. Kaitlyn Reynolds is a year out of college and fighting to become a journalist when she gets the biggest break of her young life: the shot at a cover story in Rolling Stone magazine. But there’s a catch. She’ll be covering the hottest bad-boy in rock, Derek Kane, whom Kaitlyn met when she was a freshman in college and he was a struggling unknown. It was passionate two-week affair: tumultuous, sensual, exhilarating... ...and it ended very, very badly. Now Kaitlyn has to decide whether she can face the pain of the past, her fear of the future – and the man who might just have been the One.
Five years ago, Alessia La Rosa's life took a drastic turn when, suffering from memory loss, she wed to Dominic Carter under her grandfather's mysterious arrangement. But their marriage was a facade, bringing her only humiliation and heartache as Dominic showed no love, and she couldn't conceive. Upon discovering Dominic's infidelity, Alessia sought liberation through divorce. Yet, fate had more in store for her. Five years later, spurred by an anonymous email hinting at her lost child's whereabouts, she returns to the city with her twin babies in tow, determined to uncover the truth. As she navigates the tangled web of her past, a surprising twist awaits. Dominic, upon meeting her again, finds himself drawn to the woman she has become, unaware of her true identity as his former wife. Little does he know, the woman he's falling for is not only his ex-wife but also a powerful Doctor and Master Hacker.
"I've warned you from the beginning. Don't marry him, but you won't listen." Darcy stood close to me and smiled with concern. "You're not a woman worthy of a man as handsome, rich, smart, and virile as Blaze." My whole body trembled at her words. "Have you no shame?" I asked. "Take a good look at yourself, Heather." She stared at me in the mirror. "You can't even glance at your ugly face. Do you think Blaze can endure a lifetime of gazing at that scar?" Heather Bailey got a surprise from her husband: a divorce agreement. After a year of marriage and facing ups and downs, she couldn't believe Blaze intended to divorce her. She was devastated when she saw him gazing lovingly at another woman. After signing the divorce papers, shockwaves caught her up. Her flower shop was burned to the ground. Her father's company collapsed, and her parents blamed her. She struggled to rebuild her life from the ground up and became more successful than ever. Having many customers from influential families, she started her revenge on Blaze. She won the very thing he wanted, but that was just the beginning.
June Rivera was divorced by her husband after three years of marriage because he wanted to be with her sister who was pregnant for him. Kicked to the curb with a divorce and rejected by her parents,she struggles to make ends meet and get a job until she saves Luis Ambrose from an accident - the only child of Rafael Ambrose, a widowed man and the CEO of Ambrose Corporation. When little Luis asks to have her as a nanny, and Rafael's mother pressures him to get married, they draw a contract. To be Luis's nanny and his fake wife for one year in exchange for 50 million dollars!
"Mr. Evans, please maintain some dignity. Don't forget I'm your brother's wife!" Having caught her husband and best friend together in the bed, Elena wanted nothing more than to exact revenge on the people she once called family. She refused to be a pitiful divorcee and vowed to make everyone who had once looked down on her beg for forgiveness. And to start with her newfound freedom, Elena indulges in a one-night stand with a stranger. However, what was meant to be a fleeting escape turns into a nightmare when she learns that the stranger is none other than her husband's older brother! Would Elena be free from the shackles of her marriage? Or would the mysterious stranger make her life a living hell since he seemed to have a personal vendetta against his family? [The story is 18+ and involves mature content.]
Joelle thought she could change Adrian's heart after three years of marriage, but she realized too late that it already belonged to another woman. "Give me a baby, and I'll set you free." The day Joelle went into labor, Adrian was traveling with his mistress on his private jet. "I don't care whom you love. My debt is paid. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other." Not long after Joelle left, Adrian found himself begging on his knees. "Please come back to me."
When Zora was sick during the early days of her pregnancy, Ezrah was with his first love, Piper. When Zora got into an accident and called Ezrah, he said he was busy, when in actual fact, he was buying shoes for Piper. Zora lost her baby because of the accident, and throughout her stay at the hospital, Ezrah never showed up. She already knew that he didn't love her, but that was the last straw for the camel's back, and her fragile heart could not take it anymore. When Ezrah arrived home a few days after Zora was discharged from the hospital, he no longer met the woman who always greeted him with a smile and cared for him. Zora stood at the top of the stairs and yelled with a cold expression, "Good news, Ezrah! Our baby died in a car accident. There is nothing between us anymore, so let's get a divorce." The man who claimed not to have any feelings for Zora, being cold and distant towards her, and having asked her for a divorce twice, instantly panicked.