Bound To The Beast

An erotic paranormal romance short story between a wolf shifter and the curvaceous woman destined to be his mate. A CENTURY OF WAITING IS ABOUT TO END Olivia's life is about to change. She has no idea that the impossibly tall, dark-haired stranger watching her at the bar of her favorite club has actually been watching her for weeks. TWO SOULS DESTINED FOR ONE ANOTHER Vance knows what he wants and he's not about to wait another moment to claim his woman. By night's end, she'll be bound to the beast. A contemporary paranormal love story of approximately 6,900 words. It is intended for mature readers only. EXCERPT: The hair on the back of my neck prickled and I slowly turned, praying that I was simply being melodramatic. But somehow I knew before even turning that it was him standing there, blocking my exit and watching me with open hunger. I turned and my heart jumped into my throat. "What are you doing?" I asked, my voice a high-pitched squeak as I flattened against the opposite wall. "This is the l-ladies room." "You smell like honey and rain," he said, his mouth curving in a sensual line that did weird things to my ability to remain standing. I almost forgot that he was likely a weirdo or psychotic killer but I remembered quickly when he began walking toward me. "Stop!" I cried, my voice shaking. "Or I'll scream. Get out and leave me alone and we can just forget this ever happened and you won't have to go to jail for being a creeper." "Forget? And why would I want to do that? It's taken a century to find you...I'm not about to walk away." "W-what? Are you crazy?" I asked, my mouth trembling. Had he said...a century? Fabulous. I was locked in a dimly light club bathroom with a crazy person. Hadn't my evening been crappy enough already? I looked furtively for something I could use as a weapon but aside from throwing soggy paper towel wads his way, I was screwed. This was how it ended, I thought grimly. Savaged by a nutball in a dirty bathroom. Tears pricked my eyes. "I don't want to die," I whispered as he strode toward me. At my whispered plea, he simply smiled darkly and pulled me roughly to him. "Who said anything about dying, sweetling?" he murmured, crushing me against the granite of his chest. "Humans," he chuckled with amusement even as I stiffened against him. "Such alarmists." He didn't give me a chance to respond as his head dipped down and suddenly his lips were moving across mine. He smelled of masculinity and raw power; sex and leather. The heady combination was enough to dampen my fear and sharpen my sudden arousal. He pressed me against the bathroom wall that was covered in profane graffiti and I gasped at the shock of his tongue searching for mine. I clung to him as he ground his hardened length against me through the rough denim of my jeans. I wiggled against the delicious pressure, quickly losing all sense of why this was a bad idea, and simply gave in to the intoxicating feel of being ravaged. Yes, ravaged was a good word for what he was doing to me. There was nothing soft or sweet about the way his hands were roaming my body as if memorizing every curve, every valley. I'd never been so consumed by another person in my life. Every boyfriend or casual sexual relationship I'd ever been in or with had always left me wanting for something deeper, more primal. He filled his hands with my breasts and when the fabric of my blouse impeded his questing touch, he growled and simply ripped it from my body.

A tale as old as time is made new in Ashley Poston's fresh, geeky retelling of Beauty and the Beast—now with a bonus Starfield story! Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills. On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember—with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he’s forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there’s a library in the house. Too bad he doesn’t read. When Vance’s and Rosie’s paths collide, sparks do not fly. But as they begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off—and they may just find that there’s more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts.

After falling off the roof, fifteen-year-old misfit Dylan must attend a therapy group for self-harmers where he meets Jamie, a beautiful and amazing person he doesn't know is transgender.

England, 1588. When a fairy betrothal ritual goes wrong, village lad Tam is bonded to Herne the Hunter. Warrior, legend, and Greenwood spirit, Herne once led the terrifying Wild Hunt, an army of the undead who rode as harbingers of doom. When his passions are stirred and his blood is up, Herne sports the antlers of a mighty stag. Herne could be the dominant lover Tam secretly craves, but Herne's past makes Tam fear the brooding warrior will enslave or kill him. While Herne admires Tam's toughness and humor, he has rejected love-as he has sworn off leading the Wild Hunt-and wishes only for solitude. To break their betrothal, they must travel into the Greenwood, a realm of magic and bondage where their desires for each other grow dangerously irresistible, and the Wild Hunt bays for their blood. As the threat rises, Herne's mastery and compassion realize Tam's darkest sexual fantasies. Soon he's no longer fighting for his freedom, wishing to be bound to the beast forever. But can Herne's tortured heart be reawakened? And if so, will their love destroy them both, or prove Herne the Hunter's greatest weapon?

Once upon a time, a scorned Queen opened a box, unleashing horrible evil on the world's heroes. Instead of gallantry and chivalry, they now possessed much more perverse traits. They've fallen victim to their darkest and most deviant desires. This is one of their stories... A regular at my club racked up a large debt that he couldn't afford, so I sent my men to collect. Instead of delivering the money I was owed, they brought me her. Unable to fulfill her father's debt, I told her he would pay for it with his life. When she begged to trade her father's life for her own, I was intrigued. But she couldn't hide the shiver of fear cloaked beneath the façade of strength and bravery she tried to portray. Silly girl, you don't know what you've gotten yourself into. I'm going to snuff out your pride and stomp on your courage. My father was a good man with strong values, who put his family above everything else. We weren't perfect, but we were happy. Then, Mom died and took our happiness with her. Dad quickly got caught in a downward spiral that spun our world into chaos. The warm, caring man that I knew from my childhood was replaced with a complete stranger. It sucked the light from my world. Now, I fear I will pay greatly for his transgressions.

I didn't mean to steal the book-but I did... and now I'm in big, big trouble. The moment I convinced one of my loyal customers to buy the leather-bound spellbook, I regretted it. At first I thought it was because I could've gotten more than fifty dollars for it-money that would've come in handy while I was on vacay-but while I was on the beach, all I kept thinking about was the book. It called to me for some weird reason, and when I got Shannon's message that she had a question about it, I hoped that meant she would let me buy it back. Nope. She wanted to know where I got it from. Too bad I had no idea. Almost as if by fate, it popped up in one of my boxes of stock, but I couldn't trace it. Believe me, I tried. So when Shannon offered to drop it off so that I could get a closer look at it, I jumped at the chance. And that's how I found the "true love" spell in the middle of the book. I don't know what made me decide it was a good idea to read it out loud, or what came over me when the beastly shadow monster appeared in my bedroom and crooked his claw at me... One thing led to another and, suddenly, I'm the bonded mate to a horned demon who doesn't speak English, who stole me away to a terrifying world of shadows and skulls, and who I can't stop touching even so. When I finally understand him, there's only one thing my new mate wants to make sure is clear: I'm his. He has no intention of letting me go, either in Sombra or my world. And it isn't long before I start to wonder if it would really be so bad to be forever bonded to the beast... especially when I discover just what mating during the gold moon in Sombra leads to.

A doctor of crocodiles meets her most challenging patient yet in this awe-inspiring story about how even little kids can be fearless, and even big, mean creatures sometimes need help. Full color.