When we looked up, we saw the invisible force that held the explosion in by the definite lines that the turbulent waves of power and light were crashing against, undulating inside of its shape in slow motion, stalled by the force keeping them from expanding outwards. It seemed to float, held motionless against the backdrop of the wreckage around it. Red streaks marred the perpetual flashes of light, rising and falling when they found no crevice to break through. Then, without allowing more than a few seconds to pass from its beginning to the instant we had seen it and recognized its stillness, the walls shrunk inwards, closing in on itself until there was nothing but ash falling from where a marble of light had last hovered four feet above the ground. Shift had come back somewhere in the middle of the minute's long happening, his expression summing up what mine failed to show. "You..." He turned to Shadow, his doubt slowing down what would have been an instant jump to her side. She vacantly shook her head.
When someone starts threatening his widowed neighbor and her child, Grayson Sinclair vows to get to the bottom of it--without getting emotionally involved. From bestowing strange gifts to attempting murder, some deranged person is stalking Honor Milone and the little girl who had stolen Grayson's heart. Original.
As the old saying goes, you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. It was never Raven Bertone’s fault that she was born into the most influential mafia dynasty on the East Coast of the United States. As the revenge-driven members of a rival family seek to take her life, she learns, children must often pay for the mistakes of their parents and grandparents. She promises herself that she will never ever get involved with a man who has the slightest link to the underworld. To hell with those charming, hot bad boys! Here’s to you, shy, gentle bookworms! But vows are made to be broken, so when Rafe Harlan, the cute drug dealer of the university storms into Raven’s life like an whirlwind, this girl surrenders to the temptation. The guy wins not only her trust but her heart as well, and when he smashes it to pieces, they part ways. But not for good... Years later, when the mafia bears down on Raven once more and she has to flee, it’s a trick of fate that her safety depends on the very person who has already broken her heart, and crushed her trust.
I wanted him from the moment I laid eyes on him and from that point on, the question wasn't if I'd have him but when...Thirty-five-year-old Matias de la Vega is good at one thing and one thing only. Though he doesn't officially carry the title of killer when it comes to his role in an underground vigilante group, he's got no problem getting his hands dirty if it means getting justice for those who can't get it on their own.Such is the case when single dad Sam Wittier is confronted by a stalker bent on murder. While neutralizing the threat is all in a day's work for Matias, what comes after is anything but. Although Matias isn't particularly surprised by his attraction to the older Sam, his inability to walk away from the still-grieving widower is a complication.An unexpected and dangerous complication...Nothing about the mysterious Matias makes sense to me. The emotionally distant soldier says what he means and takes what he wants. And for whatever reason, what he wants is me. That should have me running for the hills. It should, but it doesn't...For fifty-something Sam Wittier, life is as good as it's been since he lost the man of his dreams more than two decades earlier. After handing the reins of his successful business over to his older son, Sam is happy to settle into the quiet, simple life of being a full-time single dad to his newly adopted little boy.Unfortunately, life didn't get the message. After nearly losing everything to a deranged stalker, Sam finds himself face to face with a man who is anything but quiet and simple. There's no reason he should want the unpredictable, take-no-prisoners Matias in his life or his bed, but just like life, his body isn't getting the message.One night with Sam is all I need to get him out of my head for good. One night will be enough to end my obsession with him. It has to be...While Sam and Matias share a white-hot chemistry that neither has ever known before, that's about all they have in common. But as one passionate encounter leads to another and the line between obsession and need begins to blur, will Matias and Sam find that maybe they aren't so different after all? And what will that mean for the ghosts of the past that have haunted each man for so long?The ghosts that are willing to be buried as well as the ones that aren't...***Although not required, it is highly recommend that you read Protecting Elliot: A Protectors Novella" prior to reading Obsessed. The books feature separate couples but overlap when it comes to timeline/plot.
"You want to talk about not knowing yourself? Try to blame it on shape shifting? Are we really the first freaking teenagers to feel that way? Do you think that being a Protector makes you weak to admit it? Why? Why is it so bad to admit it? You are fighting for who you are, but if you buy into the lie that you're fighting alone then - then you're the one hurting yourself!" The silence was as quick as her anger. She had raised her face, holding it tightly shut against any expression until the end, when whatever control over the rise of her voice had shattered. She looked scared. Not of me, but of what she'd said. She stared at me, nearly panting, waiting to see what I would do, if I'd fall into the bed she'd pushed me back against, or if I'd fight back. But it wouldn't be her I'd be fighting. I could shift out. I could disappear. That would have been easiest.
The second book in the New York Times bestselling series from the fantasy author who is a legend herself: TAMORA PIERCE. When they think you will fail . . . fail to listen. As the only female page in history to pass the first year of training to become a knight, Keladry of Mindelan is a force to be reckoned with. But even with her loyal circle of friends at her side, Kel’s battle to prove herself isn’t over yet. She is still trying to master her paralyzing fear of heights and keep up with Lord Wyldon’s grueling training schedule. When a group of pages is trapped by bandits, the boys depend on Kel to lead them to safety. The kingdom’s nobles are beginning to wonder if she can succeed far beyond what they imagined. And those who hate the idea of a female knight are getting desperate—they will do anything to thwart her progress. More timely than ever, the Protector of the Small series is Anti-Bullying 101 while also touching on issues of bravery, friendship, and dealing humanely with refugees against a backdrop of an action-packed fantasy adventure. "Tamora Pierce's books shaped me not only as a young writer but also as a young woman. She is a pillar, an icon, and an inspiration. Cracking open one of her marvelous novels always feels like coming home." —SARAH J. MAAS, #1 New York Times bestselling author "Tamora Pierce didn't just blaze a trail. Her heroines cut a swath through the fantasy world with wit, strength, and savvy. Her stories still lead the vanguard today. Pierce is the real lioness, and we're all just running to keep pace." —LEIGH BARDUGO, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Edgy, sexy, endlessly exciting, Lisa Marie Rice never disappoints! I can’t get enough of Lisa Marie Rice’s sensual, hard hitting stories!” —New York Times bestselling author Shannon McKenna A rising star in erotica, author Lisa Marie Rice launches her Protectors series with Into the Crossfire—introducing the first of three super-hot ex-Special Forces operatives willing to walk through fire for the women they love. Romantic suspense has never been this thrilling and scintillating!
It’s been eight years since the Change rendered technology inoperable across the globe. Rising from the ashes of the computer and industrial ages is a brave new world. Survivors have banded together in tribal communities, committed to rebuilding society. In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, former pilot Michael Havel’s Bearkillers are warriors of renown. Their closest ally, the mystical Clan Mackenzie, is led by Wiccan folksinger Juniper Mackenzie. Their leadership has saved countless lives. But not every leader has altruistic aspirations. Norman Arminger, medieval scholar, rules the Protectorate. He has enslaved civilians, built an army, and spread his forces from Portland through most of western Washington State. Now he wants the Willamette Valley farmland, and he’s willing to wage war to conquer it. And unknown to both factions is the imminent arrival of a ship from Tasmania bearing British soldiers...
When Marine captain Cullen Loughman, who is searching for his missing father, charters her plane, ex-Air Force pilot Mia Carter loses all control around this man for whom she is willing to risk it all for a chance at forever.
Devastated by a terrible loss, Chase is trying to balance the life he's been left with, a family he's still getting to know, and power he never thought he'd have. He doesn't understand why the Goddess has named him the Protector and granted him two gifts: the Mark, a tattoo that now covers his back, and the ring. But between getting interrogated by the Circle and psychic attacks from Riley, the Mark is the least of his concern. There's a demon inside Rayna that's fighting to be released, and it's not her inner witch. It's something else-a monster threatening to tear her apart. As Chase struggles to control his magic, his enemies are closing in. Everyone has staked a claim on his ring, and destroying it may be his only chance to stop Riley. But Chase must decide if stopping him is worth risking the lives of everyone he cares about, or if protecting the ring will be enough to save his world.
