Ronan: This world was never meant for me—a shadowed figure wandering, fueled by carnal desires until I am destined for hell. And I embrace it wholeheartedly. But then she came into the picture after my successful hunt at a local coffee shop. She offered me a simple act of kindness, and in that moment, I was consumed by her. My obsession with Everly knows no bounds, and there is no escape. Her fate is to become one with me, bound by darkness and consumed by our twisted desires.

Once upon a time there lived three men bonded by darkness and pain. Each fighting a past that wants to drown them. All of them damaged and broken. None of them complete. Until her.

Stone was my best friend. My protector. My everything. Until he wasn’t. Kids like us didn’t have the best life, riddled with trauma, bounced around in a system that didn’t want us and couldn’t handle us. In our darkest hours, we had each other. Until we didn’t. We tried to hold on to what little we had. Maneuvering the rough waters of our circumstance. Until I couldn’t.

What happens is that you get “make out with strangers and pee in a parking lot” drunk. Tie the knot with a guy you just met. Then *allegedly* participate in depraved group activities with him and his friends in the honeymoon suite of a five-star hotel. But that’s not even the worst part.

Herein lies a raw exploration of duality, darkness, and desire. A collection of sonnets, haikus, and free verse that brings to the surface our fractured pieces and celebrates how the light and the dark blend to make us whole. An invitation to embrace the shadow and give it its rightful place as a part of the self.

When my father passed away, I assumed my grieving would be as simple as closing a book and starting another. Only he had other plans. Leaving me his beloved tattoo shop, I’m stuck to figure out what exactly to do with it, all while being constantly reminded of him.

Welcome to Georgian England, circa 1800. Alastair Thorne is a cad and a rake. Even his mother told him so. Pity for her that he cannot bring himself to care, for he relishes his life of debauchery and licentiousness, and is content thinking of no-one but himself. Except Alastair may have just messed with the wrong fair maiden, and his life is about to be cut violently short. That is until he comes face to face with the enigmatic stranger who's been watching him from afar.

I was no one—until the auction. Four wealthy men. Four dates. And then I would just go back to my boring life with my cat and never see them again, right? Now that they’ve had a taste, they won’t let me disappear into my old life. They want me to be theirs. Benjamin, Alexander, MacKenna, and Colin—who also happens to be my brother’s best friend.

One look. One touch. One sound of her beautiful voice and I’m hooked. Like a dream I never want to wake up from, she pulls me in and wraps me around her. Consumed. Driven with need. Fueled by an unrelenting desire to make her mine. One night, I take more than she has ever given before, which only leaves me wanting more. Needing more. Craving more. She’s the one I’ve waited for my whole life.

I always knew darkness crept through this city; like a shadow, it never really goes away, always watching, always waiting. People sin and people kill; it's a way of life. I just never expected to be thrown into the middle of a war I had no hope of surviving. Alexander Silver is as brutal as he is beautiful. A devil in disguise. The man destined to end me. I didn't go looking for trouble, and yet it found me, nonetheless. I could either join it or let it crush me.

They warned me that the very sight of me would incite a side of Maverick I would want to flee in fear of. But I had no place else to go. My only option was to brave his wrath to survive. His darkness reaches into me, pulling at something raw, something I don’t understand. With every word he slays me, his every touch burns along my skin. He breaks down my walls, igniting my fiery temper all the while laying bare desires I was never meant to feel, much less act on. Beneath the fire and fury, I glimpse the cracks in his armor and the man he’s desperately trying to hide.

Protecting him is my duty, but falling for him could be my undoing. I’ve spent five years burying my past, leaving behind the violence and bloodshed of my former life as a Bratva enforcer. Now, I’m just Luca—the quiet guy who keeps his head down, working security for a professional hockey team. I don’t get close to anyone, and I definitely don’t let anyone get close to me. But then I’m assigned to protect Max Ryan, the team’s star defenseman, and everything changes. He's my obsession. My crush.

Journey through the dark, winding tributaries of love in this unforgettable live stage show, written and performed by Joe Arden. A unique perspective on the roots of love explored through original reflections and lyrical passages from literature, this sold-out Baltimore event captivates with raw energy and emotional depth. Experience the haunting beauty of Frankenstein and Edgar Allan Poe alongside contemporary romance, culminating in a never-before-published short story by Joe himself.

Raylee Lexington Adams is my stepsister and the one woman in the world who can make my blood boil. She’s vindictive, a lot of crazy, and absolutely stunning. I hate everything about her except for when she’s on her knees begging me to use her as my own personal toy. We’ve been playing a game of cat and mouse for far too long. We have used each other for our own sick pleasure.

Fighting wildfires is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do and I’m damn good at it. Being the captain of an interagency hotshot crew of wildland firefighters is high-risk, high-reward. The risk blindsided me five years ago when I lost one of my crew and was changed forever. Now the only rewards I allow are to work harder, smarter, and enjoy easy, sexy nights with strangers. Until I meet Prescott Timmons. Her smart-mouth and adventurous spirit have me forgetting all of my rules—until her past shows up and lies start to feel too familiar.

Herein lies a raw exploration of duality, darkness, and desire. A collection of sonnets, haikus, and free verse that brings to the surface our fractured pieces and celebrates how the light and the dark blend to make us whole. An invitation to embrace the shadow and give it its rightful place as a part of the self.

Journey through the dark, winding tributaries of love in this unforgettable live stage show, written and performed by Joe Arden. A unique perspective on the roots of love explored through original reflections and lyrical passages from literature, this sold-out Baltimore event captivates with raw energy and emotional depth. Experience the haunting beauty of Frankenstein and Edgar Allan Poe alongside contemporary romance, culminating in a never-before-published short story by Joe himself.

One look. One touch. One sound of her beautiful voice and I’m hooked. Like a dream I never want to wake up from, she pulls me in and wraps me around her. Consumed. Driven with need. Fueled by an unrelenting desire to make her mine. One night, I take more than she has ever given before, which only leaves me wanting more. Needing more. Craving more. She’s the one I’ve waited for my whole life.

They warned me that the very sight of me would incite a side of Maverick I would want to flee in fear of. But I had no place else to go. My only option was to brave his wrath to survive. His darkness reaches into me, pulling at something raw, something I don’t understand. With every word he slays me, his every touch burns along my skin. He breaks down my walls, igniting my fiery temper all the while laying bare desires I was never meant to feel, much less act on. Beneath the fire and fury, I glimpse the cracks in his armor and the man he’s desperately trying to hide.

For a while MLB pitcher Chase "Deuce" Dixon used his bad-boy reputation as a smoke screen to cover up his elbow injury. But plummeting pitching stats don't lie, so now he's a free agent, spending the off-season in surgeons' offices and considering a postbaseball career in security. His first night moonlighting as a nightclub bouncer, he's surprised that the singer onstage is his little sister's pure, sweet, spitfire of a best friend. And some drunk guy is getting way too personal.

It’s the 1990s, and nothing ever happens in my small town in Texas. But then I met him, and I turned into his obsession. Hayden Drago is dangerously handsome, monstrous, and…a vampire. He’s a monster I only thought existed in fictional books or movies. I was never supposed to meet him. I’m a working college student, and one night our paths collided, and my life changed forever. I thought I knew the world I lived in, but that quickly dissolved after I got taken by him. He’s never letting me go, and I’m afraid I don’t want him to.

Agent Bradly "Wolfe" Tucker has one case he cannot solve: six murdered women and a cold trail leading nowhere. When bodies with an eerily similar MO show up in Philadelphia, he volunteers to assist with the case. He figures he will spend a few days in Philly, hand the case off, and head back to his life in Seattle. But everything changes when he stops at a local bar, looks across the room, and sees her. Agent Leda Bailey has had a bad week. She has three dead women and no trail to follow. The clues don't add up, and nothing makes sense.

Ronan: This world was never meant for me—a shadowed figure wandering, fueled by carnal desires until I am destined for hell. And I embrace it wholeheartedly. But then she came into the picture after my successful hunt at a local coffee shop. She offered me a simple act of kindness, and in that moment, I was consumed by her. My obsession with Everly knows no bounds, and there is no escape. Her fate is to become one with me, bound by darkness and consumed by our twisted desires.

After losing her husband in a tragic accident, Julia Gentry is barely surviving. Raising her young daughter alone takes everything she has—and that’s not enough. She’s barely making ends meet. And then tragedy strikes again. Julia’s only hope lies in the last place she wants to look—in Crew Gentry. Her husband’s brother is broody. Irresponsible. He’s broken her heart more than once and let her down every time she’s needed him.

Nicole never imagined anyone other than her seemingly perfect boyfriend, Patrick, could grab her attention. That is, until ex-convict Cameron Hawke unexpectedly becomes their roommate, turning her entire, calculated little world upside down. The tension in the house is thick as Hawke's lifestyle clashes abruptly with hers. Nicole's curiosities get the best of her as she attempts to learn the secrets behind Hawke's mysterious past.

My reputation at Fairview University preceded me. I was the projected number-one pick in the NHL draft and the fan favorite at the rink. People wanted to be me or be with me. Except for Lyla James Marichal. She didn't look at me like I was her next meal. She eyed me with disdain. Instead of vying for my attention, she ignored me and pushed me away. She was completely unattainable, and I became obsessed with her. When I finally got her, it felt like I was on top of the world. I was going to help the team win another championship, going into the draft, and had Lyla by my side.

Addiction is my weakness. A cruel temptress that follows me wherever I go. Slowly dragging me down until I drown. Until she shows up. Johanna. My life preserver in this ocean of drugs and madness. She's a total enigma, as chaotic as they come. A vixen who lives her life without limits. But her demons are greater than mine, and they threaten to drown her right alongside me. I need her as much as she needs me. We can either hang on and save each other, or we can both sink into oblivion, letting our pasts, our memories, our addictions be the anchor that weighs us down.

I was no one—until the auction. Four wealthy men. Four dates. And then I would just go back to my boring life with my cat and never see them again, right? Now that they’ve had a taste, they won’t let me disappear into my old life. They want me to be theirs. Benjamin, Alexander, MacKenna, and Colin—who also happens to be my brother’s best friend.

Everything is going to be perfect. Greyson comes home from deployment to live the life she and her husband Caden dreamed of. He has a surgical residency, and she has a psychiatric practice in the basement of their Manhattan brownstone. Caden loves his wife more than he can measure. But he starts hearing whispers. Someone else loves her. Someone else wants her. There's someone else, and though whoever's behind the whispers will move mountains to have her, Caden will move heaven and earth to keep her.

When my father passed away, I assumed my grieving would be as simple as closing a book and starting another. Only he had other plans. Leaving me his beloved tattoo shop, I’m stuck to figure out what exactly to do with it, all while being constantly reminded of him.