open water

Lorraine Davis, a talented yet struggling painter has her world shattered when she catches her fiance cheating the night before her wedding. Consumed by grief, she struggles to move on until her best friend Maia jostles her to a local art event where she meets Clay Winston, a young Billionaire CEO of a prestigious fashion brand, who is also running from the nightmares of his past and trying to avoid an arranged marriage. He proposes a deal to Lorraine and offers her five hundred thousand dollars on the condition that she becomes his wife. Driven by her shattered beliefs in love and the urgent need to save her brother's life who needs chemotherapy, she accepts his proposal. But as she adjusts to her new world, she begins to question her husband’s identity, as secrets unravel; why Clay married her and his true motives, especially after learning that he was betrothed to someone else. Tragically, Lorraine’s brother doesn’t survive the chemotherapy. She struggles with grief, but through her husband's help, can she unlock her creativity and find true love in him? "Dared to love" is a thrilling and captivating Billionaire Romance that will keep readers on the edge of their seats As Lorraine navigates through her struggles, she must confront her past traumas and learn to open her heart to the possibility of love once again. Can she overcome her struggles and find true happiness with Clay in the strangest situations? Will she win or lose the daring game proposed by her husband? Or will her past trauma haunt her and destroy everything she's worked for and built? Follow Lorraine on her journey of loss, love, healing and self-discovery in this compelling novel.

My flight was suddenly canceled, so I dragged my suitcase back home. As soon as I stepped inside, I saw torn black stockings scattered on the floor. This was the eighth time Simon Jones had brought a different woman home. The sound of running water and a young woman’s laughter echoed from the bathroom. I didn’t cry or make a scene. Instead, I sat quietly on the couch, waiting for them to finish. Everyone assumed I would continue being Simon’s devoted fool like before. But no one knew that the man I truly loved had returned. After tonight, Simon, the stand-in, would be discarded.

The Small town of Moon-Land has a tradition that is as old as the town itself, The Mating Run. At the end of the last day of school, all graduating students (18 years old) and any unmated wolf that are between 18 and 21 are forced to attend the event. The Mating Run is like a big debutant ball for most. But far less fancy, held in a forest and with wolves instead of people in fine attires. Rose James is stuck going one last time to the dreaded event, but she knows that she won't find her mate. Because she doesn't want Alpha mate at all. "I am just going to live my life and too bad if I don't find a mate because I really don't need one. Look how Mom and Dad turned out. They mated with someone who wasn't really their mate and now they are cheating and arguing all the time. If I have to choose between being single and that, I am going to stick to the single life." "You could at least keep an open mind to meeting someone. It doesn't have you be at the Mating Run". "First don't get me started on that stupid event and it's stupider rule and second I don't want anyone, no Alpha, beta or anyone and last no one can change my mind". Rose grumbled.

My boss gives me 200 thousand dollars in cash so I can pay his workers their salaries. I leave the house to buy some envelopes to put the money in, but that's when my father lends the money to our neighbor so they can buy a house. I question him about it, but he says I know nothing about forging relationships. Even my mother and brother blame me for not keeping my things properly—they say I'm dumb for leaving money lying around when I know my father likes to lend money to others. Later, my boss fires me but doesn't call the cops. All he wants is for me to repay him. To do so, my father finds me a high-paying job. It's only when I get there that I realize I'm supposed to be an old man's housekeeper. On my first day there, he violates me. I want to call the cops, but my father tells me to be forgiving of him. After that, the old man's daughter thinks I seduced her father and has me beaten to death. When I open my eyes again, I'm back to the day my father lent money to our neighbor.

When Alpha King Rhys finally found his mate, he expected fireworks, a puzzle piece to click into place, a Luna to help him rule the kingdom, not this.. this savage rogue. A rogue whose intention had been to assassinate him. Hated upon first sight, Amira cursed the Moon Goddess to find out her mate was the tyrannical Alpha King she'd been trained to kill. With nothing left to do but reject the king and escape almost unscathed, neither Rhys nor Amira expected what came next. It was unheard of to reject the gift the Moon Goddess blessed them with. Only a few were granted a mate, and Alpha King Rhys and Amira did precisely that- Rejected the gift. Cursed by the Moon Goddess, they wake up inside each other's bodies. Switched to live in each other's worlds, Rhys and Amira are forced to figure out how to return to their original forms. Can they stop fighting, bickering, and scheming against each other, or will this curse open their minds and hearts to each other's troubles? EXCERPT: “What in Goddess’ name is this!?” Rhys growled into the mirror; his voice came out feminine and his reflection, not his own. This was a nightmare, a cruel trick of his mind. It was playing on him for rejecting this woman as his mate. The woman he wanted to kill was staring back at him from the mirror, hands clutching her face, eyes wide with shock and fury. The nails grew into claws, ready to scratch at the face of the wench who tried to kill him. But the piercing pain and the pool of blood shocked him into a surreal reality. This was not a nightmare. This was real!? Rhys was inside Amira’s body! So, where was Amira? COMPLETED - Cursed Series -

On the company's designated monthly day off, Gigi Lott, Donald Hoover's secretary, posted an Instagram story. The caption read, "So what if you're the boss of me when we're at work during the day? At night, I'm the one on top!" In the photo, she was lying atop a water bed covered in rose petals, and the usually stern Donald was kneeling down to massage her feet for her. From his pocket hung a brand new golden necklace. Just that morning, I bought several gold bars and gave them to Donald while beseeching him to make our relationship public. He happily took the locket from me, but when I tried to take a photo of us with our phone, he smacked my phone out of my hands, smashing it into pieces. With a look of pure derision, he declared, "Why don't you take a good look at yourself in the mirror first? You really are a motherless wretch who wasn't raised right. Look at the lengths you'd go to just to ruin me!" Throughout the last five years, I had meekly gone along with his demand that we keep our relationship a secret, claiming it was because office romances were forbidden. But now, I was abruptly hit with the realization of how laughable it all was. The next day, I sent my father a message. "I admit defeat. I'm willing to come home and inherit the family business."

"Oh, dear officer, would you like to play a game?" The Mafia asked, twirling a knife in his hands. "Game? The only game I know it's sending you to jail," Wade took out the handcuffs and wanted to cuff his hands. Suddenly before Wade knew it, he was spun around and pushed against the wall. Shit! Did this bastard just handcuffed him?! "Hey! How dare you -" "Handcuffed an officer?" The man laughed wickedly. Wade's face paled and he froze. Fuck! This bastard tricked him! "Officer," the man dragged his finger across Wade's lips seductively, "How dare you enter my territory without my permission?" "Y-you," Wade's body shook with rage. Who was this man?! His fighting skills were obviously better than his, yet he had been pretending all along! "You must be curious about me," His fingers caressed the curve in Wade's back, sending a shiver down his spine. What happens when duty clashes with an irresistible attraction to a dangerous enemy? Newly appointed police chief Wade Harrington is on a relentless mission to cleanse the city of crime. As he delves into a perplexing missing person case, he stumbles into the lair of the world's most notorious criminal, the enigmatic Mafia King, Vincenzo Luciano. Vincenzo is a master of getting under Wade's skin, challenging him at every turn, and haunting his dreams. As their confrontations intensify, the lines between duty and desire blur, igniting a fiery passion neither can deny. Destined to be enemies, like oil and water, Wade and Vincenzo are inexplicably drawn to each other. Their encounters spark a dangerous game of cat and mouse, where Wade's attempts to capture Vincenzo only lead him deeper into the Mafia King's seductive grasp. Will Wade uphold his duty, or will he succumb to the magnetic pull of his greatest adversary?

My in-laws-to-be are poisoned, but my fiancé insists on going fishing with his true love. I don't stop him. In fact, I lend him my car. In my past life, he chose to take his parents to the hospital after I stopped him. However, his true love died at sea and ended up being eaten by the sharks. My fiancé was normal after her death. However, when we were on our honeymoon, he stabbed me and pushed me into the ocean. "It's all your fault, Fiona! I failed to save Lauren because of you! Now that she's dead, you don't deserve to live, either!" The scent of my blood attracted the sharks. They ripped me to pieces before I could drown. When I open my eyes again, I find my in-laws-to-be lying in their bed. My fiancé runs off to save his true love. Ultimately, he still regrets his actions.

A girl was sitting on her bed. Her forehead covered with sweat was indicating the amount of fear which was making her stomach churn and heart beat go wild. She knew for sure that maybe these days she was luckily survived….but today is the last day she is breathing….she is alive. Maybe that was the last time she had seen the love of her life…the reason for her life. Before she could think anything, the door burst open revealing her nightmare. "Welcome again,Sweetheart. " Ankita Sharma was living her life peacefully with her parents and sister….. But one night….one single night changed everything…..every single thing.

My son, Tim, was kidnapped by a group of rogues. My husband, Alpha Kieran, spared no effort, using every resource at his disposal to find him. Finally, he tracked him down to an pub training center nearby. But when Tim regained consciousness, he discovered that he was disabled. As the only son of Kieran, destined to inherit his father’s title, he couldn’t bear the reality of his condition. Despair consumed him, and in his grief, he attempted to take his own life by drowning himself in the lake within our territory. I arrived too late. By the time I pulled him from the water, my strength was nearly gone. Kieran rushed me to the pack hospital, holding me close as he whispered into my ear, "Please, Selene, stay with me. I cannot lose you too." But after my surgery, as I lay in bed, I overheard Kieran speaking to his Beta, Damon, in the hallway. "Alpha, sacrificing the rescue mission that could have saved Tim seemed… excessive. Finding another heart donor wouldn’t have been impossible. Using Tim’s—he was your only son with Luna Selene." "I allowed him to be born because I knew he could save my daughter. I’ve already raised him long enough. It’s only right that he gives me what I need now." "And the doctor said siblings have a better chance of surviving heart transplants. Ana is my most precious child—I won’t risk her suffering another heart attack." Kieran’s words shattered me. He was my fated mate, the love of my life. Yet he had sacrificed our son—our son—to save the bastard child he had with his mistress. The marriage I once cherished, the fated mate I once believed in, had now become my own personal hell.