Gabriella Villalobos survived a lonely, abusive childhood to become a dedicated cop who rescues children. Work is Gabe’s life. Which is why when she slugs a suspect, her boss orders her to leave town for three weeks of vacation she doesn’t want. When she stumbles into the Suncoast Society munch, she certainly doesn’t expect to meet a guy who makes her want more. Det. William Thomas is a widower who’s decided to fish in the BDSM dating pond after years of failed attempts. When he meets “Ella” at his first munch, he suspects she’s hiding a secret, but doesn’t know exactly what. Being assigned to a joint task force together forces Gabe and Bill admit their true identities to each other and confront their feelings. Gabe has spent her entire life proving herself through her work, but Bill wants to show her what love and happiness feels like and convince her that she’s anything but a broken toy.

A passionate book of poetry from New York Times bestselling author Louise Erdrich. In this important collection, award-winning author Louise Erdrich has selected poems from her two previous books of poetry, Jacklight and Baptism of Desire, and has added nineteen new poems to compose Original Fire. “These molten poems radiate with the ferocity of desire, and in them Erdrich does not spin verse so much as tell tales—of betrayal and revenge, of hunting and being hunted.”—*Minneapolis Star Tribune*

CAI: My entire life has always been focused on accomplishments, working myself ragged in the hopes of getting out from underneath my big brother's shadow. Now, Grandfather's gone, and my relationship with my brothers is at a breaking point, leaving me to decide what's truly important. Addison: Getting out of my little hometown has always been the goal, but now that I've been given an internship at the CDC - with my idol, Cai Hunter, no less - I'm starting to wonder if I'm up for the challenge. Not that I'll ever let him see my nerves. The gorgeous scientist, Cai Hunter, and his brilliant intern, Addison Kilar, couldn't be from more different worlds, but their connection is undeniable. As sparks fly, the CDC is called to Texas to investigate an unknown outbreak, putting not only their growing relationship on the line, but their lives as well.

Folly Beach Home is the place that knows us best. . . . A woman returns to the past to find her future in this enchanting new tale of loss, acceptance, family, and love. With its sandy beaches and bohemian charms, surfers and suits alike consider Folly Beach to be one of South Carolina's most historic and romantic spots. It is also the land of Cate Cooper's childhood, the place where all the ghosts of her past roam freely. Cate never thought she'd wind up in this tiny cottage named the Porgy House on this breathtakingly lovely strip of coast. But circumstances have changed, thanks to her newly dead husband whose financial—and emotional—bull and mendacity have left Cate homeless, broke, and unmoored. Yet Folly Beach holds more than just memories. Once upon a time another woman found unexpected bliss and comfort within its welcoming arms. An artist, writer, and colleague of the revered George Gershwin, Dorothy Heyward enjoyed the greatest moments of her life at Folly with her beloved husband, DuBose. And though the Heywards are long gone, their passion and spirit lingers in every mango sunset and gentle ocean breeze. And for Cate, Folly, too, holds the promise of unexpected fulfillment when she is forced to look at her life and the zany characters that are her family anew. To her surprise, she will discover that you can go home again. Folly Beach doesn't just hold the girl she once was . . . it also holds the promise of the woman she's always wanted—and is finally ready—to become. Folly Beach, filled with the irresistible charm, saucy wit, and lush atmosphere that have won her the devotion of fans and propelled her books to bestsellerdom, is vintage Dorothea Benton Frank.

Ashlyn: A lonely society princess living in New York City.Daddy hired you to be my bodyguard.Colin: Childhood enemy, now her protector.Daddy thought I'd be safe. He thought I'd never fall in love. He thought he could keep me forever.Charles: obsessed with keeping her safe, keeping her his, he hires the one person he knows she could never fall in love with: Colin.Daddy was wrong.

Survival, Book 1, The Guardians of VesturonA normal backpacking trip turns deadly for nineteen-year-old- Maddie. Her boring life suddenly takes a turn down a dark and twisted path. Will it lead her to her dream come true, or end up in tragedy? Follow Maddie as she discovers places unknown and a love that will defy all odds.Book 1 of the series The Guardians of Vesturon...SURVIVAL"Maybe I was caught between the two worlds. I was having serious trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality."While on a backpacking trip in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, nineteen-year-old Maddie Pearce finds her world has been thrown into a vortex and is madly spinning toward the impossible. Abducted by a mad psychopath, Maddie narrowly escapes with her life. But that is only the beginning. Her mysterious rescuer introduces her to a world that Maddie has difficulty accepting as reality. Will this strikingly gorgeous stranger be the key to her future or will she return to her mundane world, scarred from her experience? Follow Maddie as she is forced to make difficult decisions that carry her to mysterious places only to find that perhaps it was all for nothing.Excerpt from book…Then, unexpectedly, three brightly glowing melon-sized balls of light came soaring across the dark sky. When they were a few feet away, from me, they elongated into long thin slivers. Moments later, the slivers expanded and then took form into three indistinct shapes. I kept blinking my eyes, not trusting what I was seeing. I was positive I was hallucinating. This must be what happens right before you die. Then, the indistinct shapes morphed into three men—three very tall, powerfully built men. They were identical in that they were all dressed alike—wearing black hooded cloaks that fell to their ankles. The hoods hid their faces, but I had the strangest feeling they were there to help me.

Valerie Welch works at the public library, but her real passion is music. Summer has just gotten a whole lot more interesting--and romantic--now that she has met Josh Coleman. But will the truth about his past destroy any hope of a future with the pretty violinist he loves?From Monday through Friday, Valerie Welch works at the public library to make ends meet. But her true passion? That would be as the violin player for, of all things, a local Jersey shore rock band. She has just reunited with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Zed, who has not given up his girl-chasing ways. Yet her plans for the summer change dramatically when she goes fishing one afternoon and catches a good-looking fisherman, Josh Coleman. Summer has just gotten a whole lot more interesting…and romantic.Recently having moved to a small town that neighbors the shore point of Wildwood, the young construction worker has spent the past few years also rebuilding his life. The last thing he expected was to experience love at first sight with the lovely musician. But is his faith in the Lord enough to overcome regret over his past, which often taunts him, in everything he does? And will the truth about his past destroy any hope of a future with the woman he loves?UNCONDITIONAL is the first book of the JOYFUL NOISE Christian romance series, from the author of THE LARKSPUR VALLEY SERIES and GLIMMERS OF HEAVEN.

Ella Reynolds knew from the first moment she walked into the old house someone or something was watching her. Waiting.Ella Reynolds knew from the first moment she walked into the old house someone or something was watching her. Waiting. Her husband's violent murder sent her spiraling into a world of grief and isolation, but Ella isn't alone. Who or what is responsible for her husband's death is still with her. Darkness has engulfed the past year of Ella's life. Everyday reality slips a little more between her fingers as she struggles to break free from her memories. She must look deeper into her past as well as the present to discover truth of her husband's homicide. A string of uncanny events takes place and practical explanations run thin as Ella follows the terrifying road to closure. As the past and present come to a head, Ella must decipher who or what the murderer is before it takes her as well.

"Goodbye, Hello," a short story about King Jung Hwan and Sung Deok Sun, based on the Korean drama series "Reply 1988," which originally aired in October 2015 and completed in January 2016.1988. Ssangmundong. Seoul. South Korea. In a little neighborhood in Seoul, Kim Jung Hwan and Sung Deok Sun grew up side by side. Their personalities as different as night and day, it seemed almost both impossible and inevitable that one day, one would fall in love with the other. Or, maybe, even both, separately and simultaneously. There was only one problem: someone else was also in love with Deok Sun, and he happened to be one of Jung Hwan's best friends. Torn between loyalty and affection, Jung Hwan stayed silent, marking the beginning of his unrequited love. 1994. Years after they left high school, Jung Hwan has moved on, but not forward. In one moment of clarity he tells Deok Sun how he feels. He finally bids her, and his first love, farewell. For him, it was the end. But for her, it was only the beginning. What happens when friendship turns into love?Can the most painful of goodbyes become the most welcome of hellos?Can someone you've known all your life transform into the love you've been waiting for all along?From the writer of "A Moment's Choice" and "A Leap of Faith" comes "Goodbye, Hello," a short story based on the Korean drama series "Reply 1988," which originally aired in October 2015 and completed in January 2016.

Oscar Scheller lives in the small farming town of Jevoya, where his family holds major influence. He plans to marry his childhood love Alexandria within the month, but first he must embark on a journey to the mountainside city of Shantaram to deliver his bride's dowry. If you like heartfelt, substantial writing about medieval worlds, this short story is your cup of tea.It’s just an ordinary day for octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover—until her yardman discovers a dead body planted in her backyard. This death isn’t cut and dried—the victim was bashed in the head with one of Myrtle’s garden gnomes. Myrtle’s friend Miles recognizes the body and identifies him as Charles Clayborne… reluctantly admitting he’s a cousin. Charles wasn’t the sort of relative you bragged about—he was a garden variety sleaze, which is very likely why he ended up murdered. As Myrtle starts digging up dirt to nip the killings in the bud, someone’s focused on scaring her off the case. Myrtle vows to find the murderer…before she’s pushing up daisies, herself.

Keira had always loved Jude and Jude had always loved Keira. It had always been as simple as that , until they got married. That was when life, work and Majid got in the way! Can they ever find their way back to each other or was this the end of the road for them?This is a short, poetic story about a mysterious object and the journey it takes through the hands of some cruel and obsessive men, men who will do anything to own it.

I remember the first time I tried it, it tasted like poison. And somehow the poison burned the fear out of me. For a moment, I broke free of my past and the scary, unfamiliar world that terrified me every hour of every day. It felt like I could do anything. But then came the fall. And eventually I had to crash. This is the start of my story. The start of my addiction to drugs, to numbness, to self-destruction. It’s not pretty. It’s not romantic, at least in the beginning and middle. And most of the time, it's painful and heartbreaking. I guess it’s not just my story, though. It’s also Sage’s too. Because we sort of fell together. And of course, it’s the dead girl’s. Because without her, there might not even be a story. Approx. 20,000 words. Not a standalone.

In the first book of her exciting new series, Rebecca Royce invites you to a world where the death of the Alpha Prime has left a vacuum in the power structure binding the packs together and the alphas of each werewolf pack are on the brink of war. Negotiations will take skillful handling, dominant strength, and the discovery of old bonds long forgotten. A mechanic, the Philadelphia Alpha Travis Michaels understands how to keep his pack together and running smoothly despite the upheaval caused by the death of Lucian, the Alpha Prime. To that end, he makes regular visits to a little diner in New Jersey—a neutral ground where he and the Manhattan Alpha try to negotiate a peace. But the last thing Travis expected to find in the diner was a latent werewolf and his true mate… Cursed with the worst luck when it came to men, Liliana Rouse is less than thrilled by Travis’ obvious interest even if he heats her blood and turns her inside out with lust. Her body, she’d long since learned, was not the best judge of character. But Travis awakens a longing in her she can’t deny, and when her apartment is firebombed and a second alpha sweeps her away, Liliana discovers a whole new world of danger and passion… Previously Found in the Ever After Anthology

Plagued by rumors that she poisoned her fiancé, Lucinda Bromley manages to live on the fringes of polite society, tending her beloved plants—and occasionally consulting on a murder investigation. For the notorious botanist possesses a unique talent: she can detect almost any type of poison, especially ones that have their origins in the botanical kingdom. But the death of a lord has shaken Lucinda to her core. At the murder scene, she picks up traces of a poison containing a very rare species of fern. So rare, in fact, that only one specimen exists in all of England—and it was stolen from her conservatory just last month. To keep her name out of the investigation and to find the murderer, Lucinda hires a fellow Arcane Society member. Caleb Jones runs a psychical investigation agency. A descendant of the founder of the Society, he is very good at protecting its secrets—and frighteningly good getting at the truth. Immediately, Lucinda senses both a raw power and undeniable intensity in the imposing man. But as a nearly overwhelming desire blooms between Caleb and Lucinda, they are drawn into the dark heart of a deadly conspiracy that can be traced to the early days of the Arcane Society—and to a legacy of madness that could plunge Caleb into the depths of his own tortured soul?

Determined to uncover who stole her sandalwood statue, Amanda Cavencourt - an Englishwoman living in India - is shocked to learn the culprit is a notorious rogue known as the Falcon. Why would a man renowned for his dangerous and delicate missions indulge in petty thievery? Intrigued by the mystery — and rumors of the Falcon's devilish charm and good looks—Amanda sets out on the trail of the brazen blackguard. But what she stumbles upon is a man who just may be her perfect match....