When my family gets deep into debt with the Russians, I sell the only thing I can to save them: My virginity. He may be able to take my body, but he will never have my heart. It’s only a week. One week in the bed of the city’s most notorious criminal. I can handle it. I have to. But I don’t count on his scorching sensuality, his surprising sweetness. His fierce protectiveness. I know he’s the last man in the world I should fall for, but his touch ignites something deep inside me.

My family has been my world all my life. From swimming with my sister, my uncles antics and storytelling, to writing songs for artists in my dad's music studio. Now that I'm an adult, it's time for me to move out, be on my own, and do the one thing my father has held me back from doing, sing.

During the Salem Witch Trials over four hundred years ago, Ezekiel and Jeremiah Turner stumbled upon the knowledge needed to tap into unused parts of the human brain. What they discovered was the ability to telepathically call the soul of their destined soulmate, the one created for them.

I did not learn of the cold-blooded assassination of several CIA agents, who were part of the team on our previous mission, Operation DFC, until it was too late. Spencer “RedDog” Watkins and I are still alive, but our loved ones paid the ultimate price for being a part of our lives, leaving us heartbroken and consumed by an unquenchable thirst for revenge. Black Viper and Raccoon survived the first round of murders orchestrated by the de Santos cartel and were assigned to join us on a total black op, which I nicknamed Operation S&D – Seek and Destroy.

Presented with the opportunity to attend the university with the top surgical program in the country, she couldn’t pass it up. Even though it meant leaving her family and Jensen McLean—the man she loved—behind. The couple knew the distance would come between them, yet Jensen had no choice but to stay in Oak Island and take over his family’s business.

Hayley Roxbury must escape her abusive and alcoholic husband, Roger. Born to wealth and privilege in Pennsylvania, she plans to go live with her grandmother in the remote and wild Wyoming territory. With the help of good friends, she flees her home and husband. Matt Westman, a rancher in Miles Gulch, Wyoming, is tasked with picking up Mrs. Parkland’s granddaughter at the train station. To his delight, she is poised, graceful, and impossibly beautiful.

Subtlety I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth. What did this man do for a living, wrestle bulls? I’m confident being a thicker girl, he could handle me in the sheets. His sudden deep laugh and sparkle in his eyes hinted he wasn’t like other guys. Although we just met, he checks off all my must have boxes. Ironically, I was on a blind date with his friend, he moved his feet and Sander took his seat. His compliments and mannerisms ensured me he was feeling the same connection.

Fifteen-year-old Isa Muirison loves her life working for the floating shops of Orkney at the turn of the 20th century. But her happy family life is thrown into turmoil by her father’s decision to emigrate to Canada, her sister’s illness, and her own love for Davie, a penniless whisky runner. Despite her family’s opposition, she follows Davie to his tiny island home where she is met by the fierce hostility of his mother and his childhood sweetheart, Chrissie. Alone among strangers, Isa’s unrelenting determination gains acceptance and popularity in the close-knit community.

I was born a mistake, a hybrid unwanted. I act tough, soft inside to survive. All I need is a savior. Here he comes. As my fated mate, he triggers my innermost itch to love, but he loathes and rejects me like I'm worthless.

This short story is a look back into Judy and Lily's past. Meet Judy at the moment of her first mystery and hear the story of Lily and Marty's young love. Don't worry. There will be an adorable dog and some delicious food included.

The scars left behind by the Blood Massacre of 1888 still run deep through the Witches of Britain a hundred and thirty-five years later. Queen Mara, who led the Witches to victory on that harrowing night, must once again face her old enemy as well as a mysterious group of rebels with seemingly no motive. Tired and ready to retire, Queen Mara wants nothing more than to pass the baton on to her only living heir...

In Silverdale, Washington the survivors of a worldwide apocalypse are preparing for the coming winter storms. But just as they’re stocking away the last of the fall harvest, they make a disturbing discovery—someone has pilfered the food supplies!

For 200 years, April has stayed at the hotel. Watching—waiting for her chance to leave. Freedom burned just outside the hotel’s glass doors, but one thing holds her back. The man who saved her, Kovac. She refused to repay his kindness with abandonment, but after two centuries, the shackles of friendship are chafing. But how to fix it?

If it wasn’t bad enough that an anti-Christmas Grinch was playing cruel pranks, now DS Ellen Fine was right in the middle of a murder investigation. With no leads and the countdown to Christmas in full swing the pressure is on to find out who’s responsible.

With magic coming back to Xoran, those with a gift for magic are now able to channel their powers and rise up to defend their fellow man. Powerful mages team up with soldiers and knights to fight the Quell and bring back the rule of Law. A simple sellsword rises up to become a hero, and the kings of Kronos band together to defeat the demon and his followers.

When mystery author D. B. Ziegler is late delivering her book, Abi Schore steps in to help. Surely she can give her favorite author moral support over the holiday break and get the manuscript to her boss at Tea & Sympathy Publishing in time for the new year. When Abi shows up on Ms. Ziegler’s doorstep bearing holiday treats, she’s met by the author’s handsome grandson Dov, who reveals a startling plot twist. His grandmother isn’t able to finish the book and Dov promised he’d complete it so fans won’t be disappointed—a task that’s harder than he ever imagined.

Two little girls stand with their heads bowed in my living room. I’m told they’re my granddaughters. Daisy is nine, and Alice seven. Daisy is the spitting image of her mother. This is the first time I’ve met them since my daughter and I fell out after she married that waste of space, Vince. They’ve come to live with me because their mother — my daughter — was murdered. In her own home while they slept close by. I think Vince killed her. But the police can’t prove it. I’ve always known he was no good. He treated my daughter like dirt. I said he’d cheat on her — but she wouldn’t listen.

There's no place like home for the holidays ... especially for Lesley Carver. Life in the big city just wasn't her jam and now she's back in Hickory Falls, working at the family diner and helping her mom after she took a tumble. Lesley longs to build a life here, working at the cafe, selling her handmade ornaments and ... er, apparently reviving her high school crush on her best friend’s older brother. Only one problem, her mom wants her to leave Hickory Falls far behind.

Tilly Farriday isn’t feeling very jolly this season. Recently divorced and broke, she’s squatting in one of her rental agency’s properties until her new home is ready. The sprinkles on top of the burnt Christmas cookie that is her life? The new owner shows up early, forcing Tilly to hide in the attic to save her job…and what remains of her dignity.

First published in 1843, it tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a mean and unpleasant man who dislikes people generally and Christmas especially. One Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come and given a glimpse of the many homes and lives which Scrooge has touched in his wretched life to date. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

Clark Griswold was onto something...at least with his annual holiday meltdown. And since the last three weeks of my life have been riddled with humbug—another breakup, a broken toe, an office promotion I deserved and didn’t get—I’m not at all in the mood to celebrate nor have the happ, happ, happiest Christmas EVER.

My fiancé brought me tea and scrambled eggs in bed that morning, and we snuggled together, talking about buying our rings, and about our perfect wedding next year. Then we headed into town. He held my hand and gazed at the ring I liked best, a smile spreading slowly over his face. Then a glass of bubbly to celebrate. I felt flushed, excited and ready for the rest of my life with the man I loved. We race to get on the train home. It screams to a halt and I run towards its open doors. Made it. I think he’s right behind me — but when I turn around, he’s gone.

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

Johnnie Rico never really intended to join up—and definitely not the infantry. But now that he’s in the thick of it, trying to get through combat training harder than anything he could have imagined, he knows everyone in his unit is one bad move away from buying the farm in the interstellar war the Terran Federation is waging against the Arachnids. Because everyone in the Mobile Infantry fights. And if the training doesn’t kill you, the Bugs are more than ready to finish the job.