Damien Lindberg, the heir to the Lindberg Coven of Warlocks, is stunned to discover that he has fathered a son from a one-night stand, of which he has no recollection. His woman turns out to be young Miranda O'Neill, who is fierce and furious when he turns up in her life, daring to claim her and his son. She is hurt and bitter, for she had searched for him after the exquisite night of love they had shared. And while the two lovers try to fight not only their passions, for there is a deep, unpredictable sexual chemistry between them, they also have to face other threats, sinister and menacing in nature, from within the Coven, from the world of Dragons, and from the murky world of jealous rivals, all of which lurk outside the periphery of their volatile passion, which holds them anchored to each other. Will they finally be with each other and find true love? Or will the forces that want to keep the star-crossed lovers apart, finally win?
The Wolf howled long and loud. He stood at the crest of the hill, overlooking the valley where the dense forest , the tall trees gleamed eerily in the light of the Crimson Moon. He was a large creature, streaked silver and black. His glossy body was bathed in the moonlight, and he howled again, pouring out his grief and his sorrow to the Moon.
Suddenly, a sound disturbed him; the crackling of the twigs underfoot as a little figure burst into the clearing below him suddenly. It was a young woman, little more than a teenager, crashing wildly through the trees. Her long red hair flowed out behind her like a banner, and even as far away as he was, he could sense her terror as she fled. The Wolf narrowed his silver eyes as he watched her, his head swinging to seek the source of her blind terror.
The wild whooping of men as they chased the little figure made him stiffen, his head cocked to the side as he followed their progress.
Three men. And all of them were pursuing one young woman who, even as he watched, stumbled and fell onto a bed of dry leaves.
His gaze sharpened; he knew she could not move, could not flee, as she struggled to her knees helplessly. Yet, even from this distance, he could sense her determination to fight the men.
The Wolf looked back at her, something in her awakening his deep instincts.
*
Cara
I ran blindly in the darkness, guided by the moonlight that could be seen in patches through the thick undergrowth. I was panting, and there was a severe stitch in my side as I shot headlong through the dense woods. My feet hurt; I had lost my shiny new shoes somewhere behind me, but they would have been of no use anyway. The ground was hard, and the small stones made me lose my balance many times. The soles of my feet were torn and bruised, but I kept on running and panting.
I seemed to have tunnel vision, focusing purely on getting away , running from the young men who were chasing me.
The sounds of the youths following me seemed clearer; they were getting closer.
One of them was yelling,
"Where's that f*cking bit*h?'
A loud hoot echoed as one of them began to yell,
"We're coming for you, baby!"
That was Warren.
*
He was the oldest of the group and the one I feared the most with his pale green eyes that stripped your clothes away with his lecherous gaze. His long blonde hair flopped onto his face and most of the girls thought he was hot and a hunk worth dying for.
Not me.
I had disliked him on sight.
His swagger and the way he treated the girls with him, using them like objects to be used and then discarded, had made me see red.
Circulating in student parties, a girl draped over each arm, both of whom he ignored royally as he flirted with the other girls present. Only to touch and grope his girls when he felt like it.
He had probably sensed my dislike. But that had only egged him on and made him want to break me.
He was, after all, one of the elite in the college, the son of old Johnson, who owned half of Smokey Valley, the little university town I stayed at. The nearest city was Holloway, but it was miles away. Smokey Valley was a little kingdom where the Johnson family reigned supreme.
Warren was very aware that he was the scion of the business empire that included the lowly diner my mom worked at and the local newspaper where my stepdad Brian was employed. Perhaps it had been my disdain that had made me seem attractive to him. But something about the fellow made my skin crawl. And the more I tried to avoid him, the more he kept appearing, trying to make me another of his conquests.
'Hey Red!' he would call as I walked past, trying to blend into the background and avoid him.
He kept addressing me as Red because of my flame-coloured curly hair that came down to my waist. I generally braided it or wore it in a messy bun. But he had noticed the shiny tresses I desperately tried to disguise and never forgot to shout out "Red!' to draw attention to my hair.
Knowing that I hated it.
When I glared at him, he pretended to drop dead.
Hooting, "the Green Eyed Monster's in town," his friends and he would double over in laughter as I hurried away, my ears burning.
I had green eyes to go with my flame-coloured hair and a skin tone that coloured at the slightest provocation. And yes, a temper to match. But I was also wise enough to know that I had to keep a lid on my anger when I was around Warren Johnson; he was constantly goading me. And God knows where that would get me!
What I would have done to punch the fellow in the gut, I kept thinking, seething impotently.
But that was not to be.
Warren Johnson was definitely not a young man used to being ignored.
And I was discovering it the hard way tonight.
*
NOW
I fell forward and landed hard on my side. Stifling a cry of pain as something sharp dug into my side, I looked around wildly. The slope of the hill was in semi-darkness but since it was a full moon night, I would be revealed anytime now. I tried to stand up without making a lot of noise but almost shrieked in pain as my foot gave out beneath me. I had probably sprained my ankle during my mad dash through the dark forest, I thought, my heart sinking.
I all but bowed my head, thrusting my fist in my mouth, trying to stifle the sounds as I sobbed.
This was the end.
Why, I asked myself bitterly, Why had I allowed myself to be persuaded to attend the bonfire by Janice Stewart? It wasn't like she was my best friend or something. We just walked to school together sometimes because her mother worked at the same diner as mine.
And I had no friends at school, no one I could spend time with and open my heart to. Janice came closest to that but she was so enamored of the boys.
I knew they called her the Old Bike behind her back because she would eagerly oblige any boy with sexual favours if he happened to so much as look at her. I had overheard the snide remarks by the other girls. Jan had already been knocked up twice before and had got rid of the fetus early enough.
Her poor mother was clueless.
I sometimes felt a surge of pity for her. Poor Janice was desperate to be popular. And she would stop at nothing to make that happen. She had already slept with any boy who wanted her, even when she knew that they were only using her. I felt sorry for her, but there was no way I was going to be like her.
I did not care a hoot for anyone's opinion, especially that of my unpleasant stepfather, who had reduced my mother to a shadow of what she had been before she married him. She had been a laughing, cheerful woman; he had reduced her to a woman who lived in abject terror of him and his preachy sermons. And his fleshy fists.
Mom had been a bright spirit when Dad was alive; his sudden death in an accident had left us destitute, unable to pay the mortgage on the home we had purchased.
Overnight, we were penniless, and when Brian O'Neill had come into our lives, Mom had married him. For stability, for a better life for me, I guessed. How wrong she had been!
*
He behaved the way an outstanding pillar of the church should, in his opinion. Pompous old creep, I thought mutinously. But he would pounce on my mother for every single thing.
'The toast is too crisp, you dumb cow!' or' Do you expect me to eat this, you stupid woman ?' he would yell, flinging the offensive piece of bread at my poor mother, who would stand, trembling and meek, silent, her head bowed.
I did not want to be like her, working my feet off in a diner, too scared to stand up to a monster like Brian O'Neill. it was not as though I had not urged her to leave him. But she would stand, her arms in the soap suds in the kitchen, staring out into thedark night as she mumbled in a dull voice,
"I love him and he loves me too, darling..."
*.
I wanted to study and move out of the small, claustrophobic life at Smokey Valley.
And I was studying hard for a scholarship that would see me make my way to University at Hampton, the large city that beckoned me like a breath of fresh air.
I was going to become a lawyer, and yes, a home baker on the side, for I had inherited my mother's enviable culinary skills and could bake a mean cake!
*
Now, as I lay in the bed of leaves, my fists stuffed in my mouth, I wondered how I had made such a mistake.
Liam O'Grady is a powerful loan shark and realtor, a man mixed in crime and an underground fighter, a King. Between them, his half-brother Finn St Just and he run the city of Hunter's Wood, with the strength of their muscle and money power. The brothers are Dominants and they enjoy subjugating the women they take. And they have the habit of sharing a woman. But the jaded Liam knows that something is missing. Like a breath of fresh air, innocent young Bianca Cruz turns up at their doorstep, asking for help. The nineteen-year-old is trying to get her family free of the clutches of the evil Dean Nelson, who was also responsible for the death of her father. Liam agrees to help her, for he is intrigued by the young woman who is untouched and other-worldly, an innocent who appeals to his jaded self. He along with his brother propose a deal with the desperate young woman. They will help her; they will even restore her father's beloved bakery and hand it over to her. But the price is this: She will be their willing submissive for a year. & Does she cave in and accept their terms? And what will happen during this year to the girl who has no experience of men? Worse, what will happen to her at the end of the year?
"You f*cking WH*RE!" roared Gaston St. Claire, my husband. Bringing his face closer to my terrified one, he snarled, in a lower voice filled with anguish and fury, "So it was true, eh? You were sneaking behind my back, spreading your legs and spreading your legs for other men, huh?' I shook my head, trying to focus, trying to plead, the shock spreading through me slowly. What was he talking about? I had no idea how I had gotten there-to that seedy-looking room-or how I had ended up beneath Stan Cummingham, naked and semi-conscious. Other men? What did he mean? Why didn't he believe me? April and Gaston St. Claire, the Mafia Don, have been wed and blessed with eight children. Their lives have had their fair share of ups and downs. But there's worse awaiting poor April! Bree Hampston, Gaston St. Claire's long-lost sister, turns up! She turns the Mafia Don against his faithful wife... Does she succeed? Or does April finally make a stand?
I moved to kiss him and he captured my mouth, his tongue probing me as I moved blindly, his fingers teasing me. "Please,' I whispered quivering with need and then I moved as he slid his thick fingers in and out of me, his mouth on mine. Helpless, I came, a mass of nerves and wetness as he carried me to the heights, his fingers playing with me, teasing me. I threw my head back, sobbed and screamed his name as I felt myself shatter into a thousand pieces of myself. With a coarse expletive, sounding like a man who had reached his limit, he raised me slightly and shifted, positioning himself and rammed into me fiercely. I moaned at the suddenness, the force of his thrusts as he rode me mercilessly. Thank goodness I was on the pill now, I thought wildly as he pounded me relentlessly and I cried as I came again. And again. Loving him. Branded by him... * This book is the last of the Mafia Don trilogy but it can be read as a standalone as well. April and Gaston love each other although he is almost twenty years older. Besides steamy, erotic encounters, their marriage is also filled with ups and downs, including two out-of-wedlock children, a kidnapping, killings, and suspected affairs. In this book, Gaston's illegitimate son enters the picture and disrupts their lives yet again. Will these star-crossed lovers survive? or will they separate or worse, will April die?
Gaston St.Claire, the Mafia Don from the previous book is out to get his old enemy, Dmitri. Dmitri has vowed to destroy his family, particularly the woman he loves, his wife April He embarks on a way to kill th mn but in the process, his wife misunderstands him. He turns to his old flame, a woman who is now a noted porn star . April is torn between her love for her husband and he bewilderment at his actions. Meanwhile, Schwartz meets Sophia, whose sister was lured into the porn movie business and has disappeared. The two of them are attracted to each other but Sophia fights the attraction. How things spin out of control involving Gaston and April, Schwartz and Sophia forms the story line.
Melissa is a widow; she is just 22 years old with a two year old son. Her lover , who she had not married, dies of a heart attack. His ex-wife turns up with her fiancé, and throws Melissa out, penniless. The fiancé, Trsitan Lord, is a ruthless advocate, a millionaire as he fights the cases for the Mafia mob. He does not care for anyone's feelings. When he meets Melissa, he feels a desire to dominate her, a strange attraction towards her. Although she cannot understand the way she feels towards him, Melissa does not respond to his overtures. This makes him angry. Melissa's mother dies, her father is paralyzed. He has no one except Melissa. Desperate, with a child and her helpless father to look after,, she takes up a job as a dancer at a topless bar run by the Mob. Tristan sees her there and tries to seduce her in his brutal manner. He grabbed her am, pinning her to the wall, his eyes gleaming like hot coals as he growled, 'You slut...so you can parade your naked body before the men in that room,' He jerked her to him, forcing her to feel his hard erectness that was pressing against her soft belly. "But you play the innocent with me, eh?' She pushed against him, futilely, aware that she was getting turned on strangely enough by this large man's cruel words and his punishing hold on her. His presence, his male musky aroma filled her head. "Take your hands off me,' she hissed, but for answer, he lowered his head and brought his hard mouth on her soft moist lips, displaying a hunger that seemed to burn both of them as he ravaged her mouth, his body holding her trapped...
'I had not expected to breed you, little girl.' He said, his voice emotionless but his eyes were hot with lust,' You were just a plaything to be used till I tired of you, But there was no way I would let any child of mine grow up as a bastard.' My breath caught in my throat at the sheer cruelty, the heartlessness of his words. Was that all I had been to him? The young innocent woman and the older, heartless Mafia Boss who cannot have enough of her. A story of desire, a story of lust Above all a story of LOVE.
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."
It took only a second for a person's world to come crashing down. This was what happened in Hannah's case. For four years, she gave her husband her all, but one day, he said emotionlessly, "Let's get divorced." Hannah's heart broke into a million pieces as she signed the divorce papers, marking the end of her role as a devoted wife. Within Hannah, a strong woman awakened, vowing never to be beholden to any man again. Embracing her new life, she embarked on a journey to find herself and command her own destiny. By the time she returned, she had experienced so much growth and was now completely different from the docile wife everyone once knew. "Is this your latest trick to get my attention?" Hannah's ever-so-arrogant husband asked. Before she could retort, a handsome and domineering CEO pulled her into his embrace. He smiled down at her and said boldly to her ex, "Just a little heads-up, mister. This is my beloved wife. Keep off!"
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.