Ben wanted to own me. I found myself more and more willing to submit. *** She's a spirited dancer for the Los Angeles Lakers. He's a hardened Cowboy. Their paths should never have crossed, but a cruel twist of fate brings Skylar to a mysterious small town with barely a dollar in her pocket, the deed to a ranch dating back to the early 1900's, and a new neighbor that wants nothing more than to see her leave town. Ben didn't care that he had a reputation. He spent his life filling the shoes of the men who ran his family's ranch before him. But Skylar's arrival causes a shockwave through the small town he swore to protect and forces him to reckon with the vow he made years prior. She's a sweetheart, he's a bully. And he'll do anything to make her hate him if it saves her life in the end. -Content Warning- Please be aware this novel includes depictions of graphic violence, graphic sex scenes and coarse language. This book also contains several kinks that some readers might find disturbing, like rough sex, breeding kinks, dominance/submission, sex while intoxicated, and dubious consent. This book is rated MA and is NOT suitable for all audiences. If that's not your jam, I still appreciate you stopping by. If this is up your alley... Welcome to the ride. -MJ Alexander
*Skylar*
This place used to fill me with nothing but adrenaline. The screaming of fans, the sea of purple and gold, the white-hot lights and thrumming music that had me riding a high so intense everything else paled in comparison.
The Staples Center felt like home at one point.
The stadium echoed with my unsteady footsteps as I walked toward the center of the court, my duffle bag hanging loosely on my shoulder. Six months ago, I stood right in that very spot and smiled as I waved my hands in the air, my hair bouncing off my shoulders while the commentators announced what I didn't know would be my last performance as a Laker Girl.
Now the arena was empty, stale, utterly silent.
"It's a career ending injury, Skylar," Coach told me a few weeks ago when I'd come to watch the audition for this year's rookie dancers. "You gotta give something like this more time."
I didn't have time. Being a dancer was all I'd ever known. All I'd ever wanted. One wrong move and it was all over.
All of this had ended. No more lights. No more music.
I'd been cut from the team.
"You okay?" Gabby said somewhere behind me, her voice echoing across the court.
"I'm just taking a minute." I swallowed hard and looked down at my sneakers, squeezing my eyes shut as tears threatened to spill over my lashes.
"We're all going to go grab some drinks with the new girls. You should come. It'd be fun!"
I'd danced with Gabby on this team for three years. We were veterans on the team. There hadn't been many girls who lasted as long as we had.
Following the Los Angeles Lakers from game to game during the NBA season took a toll on everyone. We weren't paid much, pennies compared to the basketball players we cheered for. I'd scrapped by for three years just to stand where I stood now. Just to feel alive. This was my dream, and now I lived my greatest nightmare.
"I–" I cleared my throat, wiping a rogue tear from my cheek before turning to face her and plastering a casual, carefree smile on my face. She still wore her outfit from practice. They'd run drills today, taught the new girls our old cheers and dances. The season didn't start until October, which was three months away, but that didn't matter. I got called in for a meeting with my coach and management. The season would start without me leading the team. They couldn't risk it, not when my knee still clicked and burned during the easiest drills.
They told me it was because they cared about me. I could easily ruin my chances of ever dancing again if I pushed myself too hard, too soon.
I practically begged on my knees for them to reconsider, but it was done. Their minds made up.
I'd lost my spot.
"Couch did say you could audition next year–"
"I know," I replied, forcing a smooth smile on my face even though inside I screamed. "I'll catch up with you later, okay? Carter's taking me out to celebrate me getting back on the team tonight. So... I need to go home to break the news to him."
Gabby gave me a somber smile at the mention of Carter, who I'd met shortly after making the team three years ago. She eyed me, tilting her head which caused her thick black curls to fall over her shoulders.
"How are things with Carter?"
"Great," I replied tightly, forcing the lie from my lips. Carter, the only man I'd ever known intimately. Carter, with his soft blonde hair and strict demeanor. "I think he's going to propose."
Why did I feel like crawling into a hole every time he brought it up?
"Really?" Gabby asked with excitement.
"We're going to Napa this weekend to visit his parents. He has a whole thing planned–dinner, the works."
"Fucking finally! I'm so excited for you," she beamed, taking my hands in hers. "See? Maybe this isn't so bad. You'll be so busy planning your wedding you won't even think about us. Where would you rather be? Stuffed on a bus on the way to Oklahoma City, or sipping white wine in Napa while planning the floral arrangements for your reception?"
I'd rather be on the bus.
"I guess you're right." I gave her my best smile and squeezed her hands. "I'll see you later."
***
I opened the gate leading to the small courtyard in the center of my apartment complex.
Late afternoon sunlight dusted over the scattered, potted, and neglected plants and the fountain that hadn't worked in the two years I'd lived here during the off season.
Raney, my roommate, wouldn't be home right now. She worked across town as a laser technician at some fancy medical spa for the rich and famous. We'd been friends since college and had a running joke called "friend tax". I got her and her long-time boyfriend, Emery, Lakers tickets whenever they had a home game, and she got me discounts on facials and IPL. A win-win.
What would I even say to her? I dreaded it, honestly, having to face the people I loved and tell them I was a failure.
I had no idea what to do now. Two intense knee surgeries put me flat on my back for weeks-–no, months at this point. Physical therapy seemed to only go so far but it sure as hell made a bigger dent in my bank account than it did in repairing the damage to my body.
I could go back to bartending, I guess. A few months from now, when I got the greenlight to start dancing again, I could go back to teaching dance classes a few times a week. I could work my way up to joining the team again.
Everything felt so up in the air now, though. My plan for my life? The life I'd meticulously crafted and planned out since I was just a little girl?
Poof. Gone.
I grumbled incoherently as I stuck my key into the mailbox and pulled out a stack of letters–mostly bills, of course. Medical bills for my surgery and PT. A few things for Raney.
I slid an envelope with a return address to some law firm in Helena, Montana to the top of the stack as I walked upstairs to my apartment. I didn't know anyone in Montana–well, that's a lie. Mom once said she had some distant relatives who used to live there at one point in time. But I'd never met them. I didn't even know their names, or where they lived.
I slid my key into the lock and used my shoulder to open the door as I stared down at the envelope. My name was written clearly in bold, looping scrawl. Skylar Courtney Grant, and then my address here in LA.
I wondered, briefly, if I was getting sued. I chuckled to myself. That would be the cherry on top of my already fucked up day.
"Well, I guess it can't get any worse," I mumbled as I slipped my feet out of my sneakers and turned to place the mail on the kitchen counter.
But I froze, the mail slipping through my fingers. Mail tumbled over my feet as my duffle bag hit the ground with a smack that echoed through the room. It wasn't enough to shield me from the grunts and moans coming from Raney and Carter as they fucked on the couch.
My boyfriend, and my best friend.
Time stood still for a second, the room spinning. My chest tightened painfully, and then my heart cracked.
My mind went totally and completely blank. I felt... nothing. I was too stunned to feel anything. Nothing at all.
I turned away and gathered the mail. I didn't say a word as I walked right past them and into my room. I shut the door, locking it, blocking out their exclamations and bickering while they frantically tried to come up with excuses as to what they were doing.
Carter told me he was going to marry me. We'd laughed about it a few nights ago while at his favorite downtown club. Raney had been there, smiling down at me as she made me promise I'd make her my maid of honor.
They were fucking. They were fucking on my couch. I knew they'd grown close after my injury, but this?
I eyed the door, watching their shadows dart back and forth.
Then I ripped open the letter from Montana, and let myself come completely undone.
When they were kids, Derek saved Norah's life. Years later, after Derek ended up in a vegetative state from a car crash, Norah married him without a second thought and even used her medical knowledge to heal him. For two years, Norah was devoted, seeking his affection and looking to settle her life-saving debt. But when Derek's first love returned, Norah, faced with divorce, didn't hesitate to sign. Despite being labeled as forsaken, few knew of her true talents. She was a race car driver, a famed designer, a genius hacker, and a renowned doctor. Regretting his decision, Derek begged for her forgiveness. Just then, a charming CEO intervened, embracing Norah and declaring, "Back off! She's my wife!" Taken aback, Norah blurted out, "What did you say?"
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
Looking at the divorce papers my lips curled up into a mocking smile. 'How big fool I am? How can I think that he will give a chance to this marriage? How can I forget that I was nothing more a tool in his eyes to vent his anger until his beloved Tara is back. Since, she was back, how can he let me stay there?' "After you will sign these papers, you will receive 100 million dollars as alimony." the lawyer added. Because of his words, I came back to my senses took the pen from him, and signed the name. I have also gotten exhausted from this marriage both physically and mentally. Even though I had wanted my child to be born into a complete family, I didn't want my child to have a stepmother and live miserably like me for the rest of his life. After taking the papers from my hand, the lawyer gave me the bank card, turned around, and was about to leave when he paused at the door. He then turned around and added, "Mr. Carter said that he hoped that you won't pester him, or you have to bear the consequences." The lawyer's words were like a knife stabbing in my heart, but I still nodded. Anyway, I also don't plan to have anything to do with him anymore. I just want to live a good life with my children. After the lawyer left, the ward fell into silence. I placed my hand on my belly and said to my children, "Baby, I am sorry, Mommy can't give you a complete family! But I promise you, I will do my best to give the love of both mother and father." 'As for giving one of my child, I will never do that. They are my babies and my alone. I and I will give birth to all of them and raise them no matter what.' Four Years Later... Anya came back to the country with her three kids, to inherit the company left by his grandfather...
"Sign the divorce papers and get out!" Leanna got married to pay a debt, but she was betrayed by her husband and shunned by her in-laws. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, she agreed to divorce and claimed her half of the properties. With her purse plump from the settlement, Leanna enjoyed her newfound freedom. The constant harassment from her ex's mistress never fazed her. She took back her identities as top hacker, champion racer, medical professor, and renowned jewelry designer. Then someone discovered her secret. Matthew smiled. "Will you have me as your next husband?"
During her three years of marriage with Brendan, Adeline had become as humble as dust itself. However, what she got in return wasn't love and affection, but endless indifference and disdain. Worse yet, when the woman in Brendan's heart suddenly showed up, he further distanced himself from her. Finally, Adeline couldn't stand it anymore and asked for a divorce. After all, why should she stay with such a cold, distant man? The next one would surely be better. Brendan watched as his ex-wife left with her luggage in tow. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he made a bet with his friends. "She'll definitely regret leaving and will come crawling back to me in no time." After hearing about this bet, Adeline sneered. "Dream on!" A few days later, Brendan ran into his ex-wife in a bar. It turned out she was celebrating her divorce. Not long after, he noticed that the damned woman seemed to have a new suitor. Brendan was starting to panic. The woman who had clung to him for three years suddenly didn't seem to give a damn about him. What was he going to do?
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."