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For a working girl like Makenna Barnes juggling her writing career and family problems, peer pressure have always been something of a no sweat until the dreaded finally happened - her novels are starting to lose taste with the audience! So what's a daring girl to do? Gather intel and inspiration, of course. Circumstances lead her to a singles' party where she meets tall, dark, enigmatic and sexy Wolfe Wilder, who just seems to take a charm to her creative mind. Small talk with the tempting stranger becomes a passionate night, but the magic needs to be over by daylight and so she runs away, with inspiration in sight. But it seems fate is not yet done playing jokes with her as her editor introduces her to a clientele in need of a literary inspiration for his next artwork, and guess who it turns out to be? Yup. The one and only Wolfe Wider. Is this a love in the making, or are their artistic catharsis a one night stroke of luck?
Makenna.
"Nope. No. My God, what is this?" my editor, Seraphine Jones, sighed as she flipped another page. "Mmm hmm. No freaking way." She flipped another page. "Just no." Letting out another deep sigh that echoed throughout her small office, she lifted her gaze to me, throwing the manuscript I just gave her on her piled-up desk. "What's going on, Makenna? Talk to me."
"What do you mean, dear Sera?" I shot her an innocent look.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Cut the crap. I thought we talked about this. Your boring style of writing might have worked out for you just fine these past three years but you've come to the end of the line. No one wants to read this shit anymore."
I resisted the urge to wince at the blunt force of her words. She was right; we had had this conversation before. Many times, in fact. All of which always left me feeling less confident in myself than I usually did, which in truth wasn't a lot.
"I know but I'm trying. Just give it a chance, please. You haven't even read the whole thing."
Sera shook her head. "I don't need to, Makenna. The first two pages almost bored me to death. Makenna, you have to spice things up or you'll lose your readers which means I'll lose money, which in turn means you're going to be out of a job."
For the first time since Sera and I have been going back and forth regarding my writing style, fear gripped me. She'd never said it out loud until today that I could become jobless. The writing industry was as flexible as a rubber and I'd seen how desperately writers had to adapt to their readers' tastes or lose their hold in the market.
Was that really going to happen to me? My career was barely three years old. I would become a laughingstock.
"I've done everything. Explored new tropes, adopted a different writing style. What else can I do?"
"Heat," Sera deadpanned. "Give me something spicy."
"Spicy?" I echoed.
My editor slapped her hand to her forehead. "Sex, Makenna. People want to read smut. Does that make sense to you?"
I blinked, staring at her. As a contemporary romance writer, my books were strictly on the PG-13 side. I never ventured further than that, and I didn't even want to. After releasing my second book last year, I'd gone online to read the reviews. While some critics had applauded my unique writing style, most of my readers had commented about the lack of spice.
It was the first time it occurred to me that maybe it was a problem and now that Sera had voiced it aloud, my suspicions were confirmed.
My readers wanted me to write about sex. The one thing I couldn't do.
"Makenna?"
My gaze snapped to Sera and I swallowed. "Yes. I'm here."
"So? Are you going to give the people what they want?"
I would be happy to, but it would be quite difficult given that I'd never had sex before.
"Uh." I trailed out. "Sera, about that."
"It's very simple, actually," Sera continued, oblivious to my plight. "All you have to do is write out some of your experiences. It's okay if you don't want to be too explicit but there should be some extremely detailed descriptions. You know what I'm talking about, right?"
My cheeks heated. While some might call me a prude, I liked to think I was just an innocent. Unlike most people, I didn't think sex was something I needed to engage in to feel normal. Besides, normal was overrated. But I was a twenty-five-year-old virgin and in today's world, that was practically unheard of. I couldn't even believe I was ashamed to admit it out loud.
"Uh.. yeah," I muttered, my face burning. "I think so. Sex," I chuckled with uncertainty. "I've had a look at that. Too many to count."
My editor seemed pleased. "Good. Good. That's exactly what you need to write about. Pick the craziest experience you've had and put it into words. Make sure there's spanking and screaming. Readers love that kind of weird stuff."
I winced. Spanking during sex? Why did it sound so painful? My best friend always described it to be an earth-shattering experience. And what did Sera mean by screaming? Fear gripped me. Anything that required you to scream during it did not sound like something I wanted to participate in.
Regardless, I cleared my throat and nodded firmly. "Sure. I mean, I've been spanked before. Plenty of times."
At that, Sera gave me an odd look. "Save it for your readers, Makenna."
'Right. I'll go and uh.add in some.uh.smut."
Sera nodded. "You do that. Alright, I'll see you later. I have some work to do."
"Right." I nodded again, feeling very scared for my future. But if I were to give up writing, I'd replace it with living a life of crime so no, thanks. I'm good.
I walked out of her office, sighing audibly. How was I supposed to write a sex scene when I hadn't ever experienced one? In all my twenty-five years, the only thing I've wanted to do was tell stories. I grew up reading novels, falling in love with words and making them a part of me. Nothing else had mattered. Especially not boys.
Most of my stories were indirectly based on the people around me and the whole world at large. I heard a story or saw something worth dissecting and I poured all of that inspiration into words. In truth, I didn't like a lot of people. They tended to have this annoying ability of either breathing too loudly or saying the wrong thing. Simply put, I wasn't anti-people; I was anti-stupid.
As it was, I couldn't even watch two people kissing without blushing like a tomato. I was incredibly shy and had only liked one person in my entire life. That had been a complete failure, given that he preferred my sister.
Besides, growing up, my twin sister, Mackenzie, had been the one whom all the boys liked. Definitely more stylish and refined than me, even though we literally had the same face, there had always been something about her that made all the boys ache with need.
Maybe it was because she was a social butterfly and I was the exact opposite of that. Either way, it had never bothered me that Mackenzie took all the spotlight. I'd been happy to stand in the background with my head buried between the pages of a book, while she gleefully went through boyfriends like she was changing underwear.
My parents' blatant favoritism of Mackenzie certainly hadn't helped. They'd painted me as the black sheep of the family, never mind that I was the quiet one. Not only did they disapprove of my chosen career path, they urged me to be more like my sister because she was the epitome of everything they wanted in a child.
It had stung at first, but as time went on I'd learned to live with it. There was nothing I could do to change their minds towards me and that was okay. They were still my parents and I loved them regardless.
Now at the garage, I got into my Kia Forte and turned on the engine. Regarding my rejected manuscript, I was at an impasse. Usually, I always conduct research before starting a new book. Now, however, that research was complicated since it entailed my involvement in the actual act. It begged the question: did I really want to lose my virginity for the sake of my readers? Was I ready to make such a drastic decision just because some people expected me to?
As the engine roared to life, it took me approximately five seconds to make a decision.
I needed to have sex; it was time to be spanked.
At her grandmother's insistence, Aurora Quan has a flash marriage with a wealthy man in order to acquire a Green Card. The only problem was, she has no idea who the man is or what he looks like. Moving on with her life, she applies for a job as a personal assistant to the rich and sophisticated billionaire Nathaniel Everleigh. What she doesn't know is that Nathaniel and her husband are the same person. CEO Nathaniel Everleigh needs to get married in order complete his inheritance. He needs a wife on paper but not in real life, where his business dealings consume all his time. When his sexy new assistant begins to linger in his mind for too long, he realizes he's caught between two women — Aurora and the wife he needs to find in order to move on with his life.
In a world where werewolf packs dominate, Arya Shelby is an Omega despised by her pack and family altogether. She can't transform and she's been convinced from birth by her father that she's utterly useless. To make things worse, she gets rejected by her mate, the Alpha of her pack who accuses Arya of trying to bewitch him into marrying her. Bound for death, a twist of fate sees her escaped and she finds herself in a rogue pack, led by a man she thought was long dead. Arya has to fight against the enemies that surround her as well as confronting her demons. Now that her previous mate is back and she's torn between two Alphas who have the power to make or break her, Arya finds herself in a conundrum and the worse part is, she's not sure who to trust. Everyone wants her gone. Tyler Lockhart is the Alpha of the rogue pack. After his younger brother usurped his pack and threw him out, he left to a faraway kingdom with a promise to never return where he built another home from scratch. However, all of that calm
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
Bailey seems to be never destined to fit in, a little geeky, but under it all, a hidden beauty that so many seem to miss, but still not what her pack Alpha is looking for in a fated mate... so he is determined to reject her and make her life hell. Bailey, knowing her life will likely never be the same focuses on what she can control, her future, and heads off to study; becoming a teacher. Asher is the Beta of Autumn Valley Pack, a neighbouring pack. A broken man having suffered the loss of his mate after a rogue attack, Asher is slowly crumbling. Falling to pieces. A shadow of his former self, and not a man that anyone wants to be around anymore... Until, Autumn Valley Pack require a new teacher, and Bailey finds herself there and pushed together with the Beta. Is there a connection building or is that in their imaginations? And what will happen when Bailey's mate comes back to claim what is his?
"I'm going to tell you what I have in mind," he murmured. "First you're going to strip down until you're completely naked," he whispered against her ear. "Then I'm going to tie you up so you're completely powerless and subject to my every whim." "Mmm, sounds good so far," she murmured. "Then I'm going to insert a plug to prepare you for me. After that I'm going to spank that sweet ass of yours until it's rosy with my marks." She shivered uncontrollably, her mind exploding with the images he evoked. She let out a small whimper as he sucked the lobe of her ear into his mouth. God, she could cum with just his words. She was already aching with need. Her nipples tingled and hardened to painful points. Her clit pulsed and twitched between her legs until she clamped her thighs together to alleviate the burn. "And then I'm going to f**k your mouth. But I won't cum. Not yet. When I'm close, I'll flog you again until your ass is burning and you're on fire with the need for relief. And then I'm going to f**k that ass. I'm going to take you hard and rough, to the very limits of what you can withstand. I won't be gentle. Not tonight. I'm going to take you as roughly as you can stand. And then I'm going to cum all over your ass. Are you ready to be completely and utterly dominated?"
Elodie took a deep breath and knocked, the sound echoing in the quiet corridor. A moment of silence passed, broken only by the pounding of her heart. Finally, the door snicked open, revealing a surprised Dashiell. 'Can't you see the Do Not Disturb sign? We don't want-' His initial frown quickly morphed into confusion at the sight of his wife. 'What are you doing here?' he demanded. 'Your girlfriend invited me,' Elodie replied, her voice laced with icy calm. She tried to peer past him, but his broad frame blocked the view. A saccharine voice chimed in from within the room. 'Elodie? Oh dear, we didn't mean for you to find out this way. It's just that-' Elodie cut her short. 'Oh please, Selene. Spare me the fake apologies. You wouldn't have sent me all those texts if you didn't want me to know.' Dashiell shifted uncomfortably, his face a mask of annoyance. 'What texts?' Elodie stepped past him, taking in the luxurious suite with a sardonic smile. The king-sized bed, the scattered rose petals, the lingering scent of sex – it all painted a vivid picture of their betrayal. She looked up at Dashiell, her gaze unwavering. 'I want a divorce.' ****** Dashiell lived a life of luxury, surrounded by the best things money could buy. But when a car accident left him vulnerable, he met Elodie, a seemingly ordinary woman who nursed him back to health. Mistaking her for just another employee, Dashiell entered into a loveless marriage with her solely for convenience. However, fate had a different script in store. Elodie, the 'ordinary nurse,' held a secret more precious than any diamond: she was the sole heiress to Northstar, a vast and powerful enterprise. Unaware of her true identity, Dashiell cast her aside when his ex-girlfriend returned, leaving Elodie humiliated. But Elodie was not one to be easily broken. She shed the facade of the meek nurse, reclaiming her rightful inheritance and stepping into the role of Northstar's CEO. Now, the woman Dashiell discarded was the one holding the reins of power. As Elodie thrives in her new role, Dashiell is consumed by regret. He finally sees Elodie for the extraordinary woman she truly is, realising the depth of his mistake. But will his remorse be enough to win back the heart he so carelessly discarded?
Joelle thought she could change Adrian's heart after three years of marriage, but she realized too late that it already belonged to another woman. "Give me a baby, and I'll set you free." The day Joelle went into labor, Adrian was traveling with his mistress on his private jet. "I don't care whom you love. My debt is paid. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other." Not long after Joelle left, Adrian found himself begging on his knees. "Please come back to me."