Showing results by narrator "And Arndt." in All Categories

One story. Two couples. I fell in love with a man who didn't exist. What started out as romance ended in hell. His words turned to razor blades. His kisses converted to fists. His embrace became my cage. His body transformed into a weapon, stealing parts of me until ultimately...I broke. I hated him. My sole job in life became to protect our daughter. I wasn't sure I'd ever escape the prison he'd skillfully crafted from my fears. Until the day our savior arrived. This is the story of how I escaped the man who thought he owned me.

Okiku wants vengeance...and she gets it. Whenever there's a monster hurting a child - the same way she was hurt 300 years ago in Japan - her spirit is there to deliver punishment. But one American boy draws her like no other. The two are pulled into a world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from the American Midwest to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan. The boy is not a monster, but something evil writhes beneath his skin, trapped by a series of intricate tattoos.

Sweet, nerdy, lovable Keaton. She's my best friend and has been for years. Sure she likes numbers and math, and thinks doing other people's taxes is fun. And I like...none of that stuff. She reads novels I'll never understand, and yet we just click. There's no one I'd rather share breakfast burritos with or binge watch hours of Netflix with. She's my person. And so when she takes off her glasses and asks me to help her improve her skills in the bedroom, I barely have to think about it. Of course I'll help her. There's no one better for the job. But what happens when she's ready to take her new-found confidence and move on?

I broke her heart 10 years ago and left town. She hates me, and rightly so. It doesn’t matter that the rest of the country loves me, that I’m a starting quarterback with a multimillion-dollar contract. Because when I look in the mirror, all I see is a failure who was too young - and too afraid - to fight for what I wanted. But I’m not that guy anymore, and all I need is one shot to convince her.

Rule number one for a professional matchmaker? Don’t fall in love with your client. I screwed that up when I fell for my best friend, Reid Fortino. He’s gorgeous, successful, and sexy as hell. I figured it would be easy to find him a match - and save the family business at the same time. But the more time I spend attempting to find the perfect girl, the more I realize how much I want him for my own.

Everything is clicking for the Vengeance. We may be new, but we’re well on our way to winning the championship, and I’m having the time of my life headlining the sports media as the hottest goalie - hell, player - ever. I, for one, am going to live up to my name...because I am Legend Bay. Dragging my ass home from the gym, I’m blinded by some gaudy, glowing holiday lights. As usual, my hot-as-hell neighbor Pepper Nantais has gone way over the top. But just as I’m about to tell her off, something else catches my eye.

That smoking hot one-night stand with a former rock star? Turns out, he's my son's new teacher. Oops. But I didn't know that the night I met Campbell. All I knew was he played my body the same way he played a guitar - like he owned it. My libido is still high-fiving me after being self-served for too many years, and we're both ready for another night or two of fun, especially since we don't just have chemistry in bed - we connect over everything. That is, until I learn he's the man who'll be coming to my house twice a week to teach my son the best music lessons money can buy.

While I was off pitching in the big leagues, my family was back in the small town of Sweetwater, Texas, running the family ranch. Then tragedy hit and I discovered there were secrets that my family kept, problems they hid. I went home, left behind the money, women, and fame. I took over the ranch, took care of my grandmother, and took over hiding the secrets. Then she came to town. A smart-mouthed, clumsy, too-smart-and-too-pretty good city girl hiding out to write a book, in the cottage my grandmother rented her without my permission, and she sees too much. She knows too much.

I have no idea how to survive without my beloved Ava. She had no choice but to move on with her life during my six-year deployment and has now married Eric. I hate him for taking her from me. I’d prefer to wallow in my depression and heartbreak, but the whole damned world wants a piece of the SEAL Team leader who helped capture the world’s most-wanted terrorist.

It's so easy being best friends with a gorgeous, talented, charming guy. Said no woman ever. Except me. My friendship with Miller is a sure thing - he’s my plus one, my emergency contact, and my shoulder to lean on. He’s also been by my side helping me raise one helluva awesome kid who’s the center of my world. Nothing will change our easy breezy friendship. Until I have the bright idea to convince him to start a new band with me. Trouble is, our sizzling chemistry in the recording studio is getting harder to ignore, no matter how risky it might be.

I've waited years for my drop-dead sexy boss, Tristan Hunter, to notice me as something other than his right-hand gal. But though his dog is deeply in love with me, Tristan and I seem doomed to the friend zone. Until the night we kiss... It's all a ruse, of course - our make-out session is for the benefit of the two heartbreakers who dumped us - but very real sparks fly when his lips meet mine. At least...they're real for me.

All I want for the holidays is the willpower to resist my brother’s sexy, charming, easy-on-the-eyes new business partner. Instead, I'm stuck planning all the holiday parties with the one guy who makes me want to break my dating diet. Who thought that was a good idea? Oh, me. Yep, brilliant, strategic me who raised her hand and said yes I’d love to hang mistletoe with that hot former sports star. (Note to self: Mistletoe leads to toe-curling, knee-weakening kisses.)

That was all it took for me to know Elisabeth was my soul mate. Five years, countless infertility treatments, and the loss of our only son. That was what it took for me to lose her. One phone call, a mix-up at the lab, and a little girl neither of us knew existed. That was the hell it took to bring her back to me.

From “one of the most brilliant young psychologists of her generation” (Paul Bloom), a groundbreaking examination of how speech causes some of our deepest social divides—and how it can help us overcome them.

Sadie Hunt isn't perfect - but her husband is. Nathan Hunt has her coffee waiting every morning. He holds her hand until the last second. He worships the Manhattan sidewalk she walks on. Until one day, he just...stops. And Sadie finds herself in the last place she ever expected to be: lonely in her marriage. When rugged and sexy Finn Cohen moves into the apartment across the hall, he and Sadie share an immediate spark. Finn reveals dreams for a different life. Sadie wants to save her marriage. But while Sadie's marriage runs colder by the day, she and Finn burn hotter.

No one ever said raising children was easy...but raising a future monarch? That's another story altogether. Get a glimpse into the happily ever after of Wessco's irresistible royals in Royally Raised - a sweet, sexy, heartwarming short story set 20 years after Royally Matched.

My name is Mackenzie Locke, and I'm a loveaholic. I haven't got a handle on men. Not even a little bit. So I staged an intervention and booked me and my two best friends into Love Rehab, complete with a love shaman, horse therapy and a bunch of stones that promise to change my life. I'm not leaving until I'm cured. Lesson one: the first night of your stay, don't have a one-night stand with the hottest guy you've ever seen in your life. Fail.

Single dad Andrew Beckwith has already devoted his life to one girl - and as far as he's concerned, she's all he needs. The inked, rough-around-the-edges bad boy left his reckless ways behind six years ago when his daughter Bell was born. When Bell's mother walked out of their lives, Andrew vowed never to let another woman close enough to hurt them again. Amelia isn't just another woman. She's an independent, smart, and savvy businesswoman who doesn't have time for sex, much less love. But when sharp-tongued Amelia and stubborn Andrew cross paths, sparks fly - and burn.

He's arrogant. She's self-righteous. I hate him. I want her. I've been turning him down for two years straight. Every shutdown makes me work harder. I'm not a one-night stand kind of girl. She doesn't realize I won't settle for only one night. He's a distraction I don't need. She'll say yes eventually because I'm not giving up.

In 2006, Mary Turner Thomson’s world shattered when she discovered her husband Will was a bigamist, con man and convicted sex offender. Unbeknownst to her, this would be the start of a bold new chapter in her life, fighting to protect other women from his heartless gaslighting campaigns—and putting a stop to his endless deception. Mary thought her story would end with the revelation that Will in fact had several families—and numerous children. But when she discovered that he had continued to prey on new victims, she vowed to turn his betrayal into a force for good.