Maybe I am afraid of being hurt. I am! Is it so bad to admit that?” The tears stung and I hated the lump in my throat. This was why I protected myself and hid myself in books. But even as I said that and I looked at his face, I knew a part of me wanted to risk everything if it meant we could be t...
As I stepped down, I saw it was a huge meadow of sorts. I would have bet all my money that there was no such place in the whole of New York City, but there I stood, right in front of a meadow, and it looked all kinds of beautiful. We moved inside the park, and I followed h...
I had got there the night before and, against all the rules of the game, I had stayed in the hotel. I didn’t tell Dad and I certainly didn’t tell Michelle, the Torturer. That was my nickname for her. Whenever Dad came home all she would do was talk about how great Noah was doing away from us, bec...
I don't turn on the hall light in case my mother's door is open. I think she’s home and I don't want to wake her and endure questions that I’m not in any fit state to answer right now. My legs are still trembling. I tiptoe past my mother's room and hurry through my nightly ritual. I’m so glad to ...
The dean is going on and on about what upstanding young ladies we are and how the world better watch out because we're going to change views, shape opinions, create ideas that only we can carry forth into the next generation. Is he talking about my uterus? I wonder sarcast...
Jasmine I’m not the kind of girl that usually goes home with strange men, but Liam Dougherty isn’t the kind of man you can easily refuse, either. Not only that, he saves me from something even more dangerous, and then gives me a night of passion that easily makes up for ...
It was an unexpected thing, and caught me a little off-guard. I remembered the place where we had been staying, and I also remembered the other people in the photos. But, in the background of one or two of them was a fuzzed-out man who seemed to resemble King. I figured maybe my mind was just pla...
No need to prevent me dashing after my step brother. He's gone from my life, perhaps for good. And I'm my father's prison inmate once more. How had I never seen it until now? I lived in a delusion of being precious first daughter when in reality I’m daddy’s puppet doll. Wh...
They met the small army of medical staff and toured every nook and cranny of the hospital. Isabella tried to remember everything, but for the first time in her life, the information didn’t seem to stick in her brain. The attending, James, was a great tour guide, showing th...
I glance around quickly, taking in how close my surroundings are and how sparse. Wooden walls and no pictures make it feel very functional, like a cabin out somewhere remote that’s only used for weekends. My heart sinks as I imagine the dark forest that might surround me, outside the walls of my ...
Only going out of the compound to shoot photographs around the city, always with Sandro my minder, just three steps behind. I'm still livid with that big brute who pushed me up against the wall, forcing his thigh between my legs. I can't get it out of my mind and spend an ...
“Are you sure you’re okay? That was pretty heavy back there.” “Yeah, of course. It was unexpected, but it seemed right at the same time. I look forward to meeting her again, my mom.” “She called you Superman, just like I had.” &nbs...
Strobe lights flash and multi-colored beams shoot across the crowd, hit a mirror ball, and burst into an array of light around the darkened room. I have no idea what's playing, just that it's loud. Lace says something into my ear but I can't make out the words. I turn to l...
My college work has been getting better grades. I’m on top of my assignments in a way I’ve never been before. I’ve even been going out more with my friends and it’s been fun. Everything’s great, except that it isn’t. I have a terrible empty feeling inside that I can’t seem to fill with promise...
I trail my fingers across the outline of his chest, rising like a dune. His skin is smooth as new leather and feels unbreakable. Although I can't see in the dark, I trace around the geometric Aztec patterns of his tattoo. Deep yearning makes me shiver with need and the desert night chill. Rocco p...
After that, she was placed in a holding cell and denied access by visitors. After his own interview, Leighton got confirmation that Gracey was in the same station and then waited patiently in the entrance hallway for her to come out, only to be swamped in the interim by scoop-hunting journalists ...
The idea that I would only see Michelle at school was enough for me. More than enough, after what we had experienced yesterday. I just couldn’t get out of my mind how much we had changed and developed as a couple. I felt in control of not only her body, but my mind too. Up...