Showing results by narrator "Aaron Shedlock" in All Categories

I was a child when my father surrendered me to the Temple of All Gods. No one gave me a choice. No one even bothered to explain. I was simply tossed aside, unwanted. That was the day the God of Temptation claimed me as his. Now, I'm studying how to become the perfect priestess. Life in the temple means embracing my emotions and learning to harness each type of desire. Power, fear, lust, and rage are the most common, but not the only ones. Each has a power. Each has its place. I just have to figure out which kind of priestess I'll become.

I was supposed to get close to him...but Armani keeps his secrets closer. Everyone knows that Armani is the most dangerous Bellanti brother. No one knows what he’s capable of. I do know there is nothing he won’t do for his family. For months, I’ve interacted with the dark, broody man. The way he looks at me moves the earth under my feet. His touch makes my skin tingle. But I’ve had my own agenda.

Imagine you are on the way to a remote mountain cabin with your friends. Upon arrival, you discover an abandoned armored van with fifteen million dollars on board. Would you take the money? Nova and her friends answer with a resounding yes. Perhaps their answer would have been different had they known that a professional killer was already tracking down the money. Or that a legendary creature known as the Wraith roams the mountain, ravenous with hunger.

They say misery loves company, but after losing the love of my life all I wanted was to be completely alone. Having a young daughter made that impossible. I couldn't curl into myself. I couldn't spend hours in the dark living in regret. I couldn't end it all no matter how many times that thought crossed my mind. Regretfully, I couldn't go through life on my own.

I was sold to my enemies; a deal made to keep the peace, but deals get broken all the time... What did these powerful families have as collateral? Their daughters. A decade earlier, they decided that we were expendable, that we could be sold in marriage to keep their dealings honest. I didn’t matter more than the security I could bring to the marketplace. I was twelve when they decided that, in ten years, I’d belong to the Hernandez family. Everyone knew what was coming for me. Everyone…except me.

Thinking I’d never see him again, imagine my surprise when he popped into my store to ask me out on a date. To say I was thrown a bit off-kilter would be an understatement. Maybe that was why I eventually accepted. Or it could be because I knew my best friend would disown me if I kept turning him down. Not to mention, the man had enough charm to fill my boutique and then some.

This is supposed to be a good year. With a new set of instructors—and ones I know well—I'm sure it will be. For once, things are finally starting to go my way. My mentors are proud, my family is closer than ever before, and I am happy. Unfortunately, the gods are tired of waiting. Every day, Zeal grows stronger, but Ambition, Inspiration, Perception, Compassion, and Intuition don't. They're fading, with no hope in sight. Except me.

I never ran from my past or the only woman I ever loved. She made sure to stomp me into the ground and demand I forget all about her. I tried to do just that, and in the twelve years since she ripped my heart out, I've done fairly well. Sometimes I could even go a day or two without thinking of her. We were never supposed to see each other again, but Grace Neiman just couldn't stay gone. She couldn't stay in my past where she put herself. Facing her again after she was abducted and sold was going to be the toughest challenge of my life.

After a bad breakup, Nola wants nothing to do with Christmas, especially in her quaint hometown of Bright Harbor, Maine. Infuriatingly charming and cheery, Nola’s surroundings only worsen her sour mood. To make matters worse, Caleb, the boy who broke her heart years ago, is all grown up and still living in town. While doing her best to avoid him, Nola bumps into the local mailman, who gives her a mysterious letter. And when she finds that the writer is a fellow Scrooge, she can’t help but feel her spirit lifting.

Years of adversity have molded Henley McClure into the attentive, conscientious psychologist she is today. She lives for her daughter, Jasna, and her work at The Refuge, an exclusive retreat for victims of PTSD. Her life is fulfilling...if a little lonely. But the only man who’s captured her interest, the most standoffish of the mountain retreat’s seven owners, lives in self-imposed isolation. It will take a little vulnerability on her own part, a dead car battery, and the surprising help of her daughter to break through Finn’s defenses.

Nicole Jones needs a fresh start. “Chick Nic” to millions of internet fans, the social media star and her flock of chickens bask in the spotlight—until she’s publicly dumped by a YouTuber for clout. She has no choice but to round up her birds and move on. But when one of her hens has an emergency, Nic gets her first taste of her new stomping grounds—and it isn’t good. Veterinarian Will Lund is wildly attractive, yes, but he’s also surly. 

I was sold to my enemies; the rivalry between the Italians of the Outfit and the Cosa Nostra has been ongoing for decades. Imagine my terror when I find myself, the daughter of the Cosa Nostra's boss, at the bitter end of a raw deal with the heirs of the Outfit. Now I’m a casualty of a so-called ‘peace treaty,’ forced into the calloused, blood-stained hands of the Moretti brothers: Salvatore, Armani, and Fausto.

The Temple of Temptation is broken. The system is failing the priests who serve faithfully, but Zeal isn't missing. He's simply powerless—or was. As more priests believe in our god, the balance of power has been shifting. Temptation is thriving. Miracles are happening. The High Priest is struggling. In his attempts to control me, he's making it almost impossible to help the other gods. Something has to give, and I'm worried it might be me.

I won't be winning any employee of the year awards, but only because my boss is the grumpy boss to end all grumpy bosses. Did I mention he doesn't trust me to do my job? Challenge accepted. Not only am I going to help James launch a successful brewery, but I'm going to find out what makes him tick...and what makes him go boom. All this has nothing to do with the fact that the man is unbearably, unfairly, unignorably (is that a word?) attractive. Or that he lost his mom when he was young, same as me.

They call me an animal. Ruled by my base instincts. Owned by the rage roiling inside me. A rage so deep I can’t see my way out of it. Until her. Cilla is a pretty little trap I walk right into. And when the bait becomes the prey I’ll show them how much of an animal I can really be. Bound by deception, ruled by desire, I’ll solve the mystery of little Cilla or we’ll both be consumed by the never ending fury which threatens my very sanity.