At Lancaster Prep, the girls love her. They all want to be her friend. Only I see Wren for who she really is.
A repressed little virgin who keeps her feelings locked up so tight she’s probably close to bursting. She thinks she’s above us all.
Even me.
I shouldn’t be drawn to her. She’s not my type.
Until we’re forced to work together in class and realize we might have more things in common than we originally thought. Soon enough I find myself completely obsessed. I will do anything for this girl to make her fall in love with me.
Anything.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
The Deceit of a Devil, the passion-filled and emotional conclusion to The Taste of an Enemy Duet from Holly Renee is available now!
Sinless. Stunning. Damaged. Tempting. Allie Taylor had been the girl I hated for as long as I could remember. And now she loathed me just as much. It didn’t matter that I betrayed her to save her. Completely devastated and infuriated by my dishonesty, she had no intentions of ever trusting me again. Her trust was shattered, her hate raging on with each second. She would never look at me the same again. Our past was full of pain and lies that could never be forgotten. I knew what I did was irreparable, but I refused to let her walk away without another chance. I should have left things in the past. I didn’t. I couldn’t. I won’t. I needed her. Even if it cost me everything.
“What?” I chuckled as I slipped on my socks and shoes.
“Nothing.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just impressed, is all.”
I chuckled and Beck shoved his sister’s chair, almost making her fall. “That’s my friend, asshole. You don’t get to be impressed.”
“No. She’s right.” Josie was still staring at me too. “I really expected you to have the smallest dick.”
“I feel like I should be offended.” I leaned back in my chair.
“It’s your personality.” Allie shrugged. “You know, cocky guy, small dick. Showy car, small dick.”
“Okay, Allie.” I pressed my elbows into my knees and looked across the fire at her. “Truth or dare?”
She stared at me, and I had a feeling that no matter what she picked she wouldn’t do it. “Truth.”
I let my gaze slide to Eli before it went back to her. I shouldn’t have even called her name. I should just ask her something stupid and move on, but my heart raced in my chest, and I didn’t hesitate with what I asked her next. “When was the last time that you were truly turned on? I mean really and truly, couldn’t-think-about-anything-else turned on?”
A few people snickered, but I didn’t look away from her. She didn’t pull her gaze away from me either as she answered, but I knew her answer was a lie the moment it left her mouth.
“When Eli kissed me.”
“Carson, truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“When was the last time you were really and truly turned on? And I mean to the point that you actually considered kissing the girl?”
“Oh shit.” That came from Olly, but no one said anything to stop us.
“Just about any time I’m with you, but if you’re looking for a specific moment, the night the cops walked in while I was going down on you.”
Laughter rang out around us, but neither of us was deterred.
“Allie, truth or dare?”
“Truth.” There was no hesitation in her eyes. She wasn’t scared of what I had to say.
“Do you actually like Eli, or are you just pissed off at me?”
“This is the exact reason people think you have a small dick.” She crossed her arms. “You assume that everything anyone does it about you when it isn’t. I actually like Eli, for your information.” She tucked a blonde curl behind her ear. “Carson, truth or dare?”
“This is about to get messy,” Josie whispered to Beck, but I heard her. She was right. It probably was.
“Dare.” I cocked my head to the side and looked at her.
“I dare you to stop being such an asshole and just tell us what the hell your problem is.”
“My problem?” I rubbed at my jaw. “Currently my problem is you. You haven’t barely spoken to me in days, you’ve been avoiding me like the plague at community service, and now…”
“Now what?” She was angry.
“Now I have to sit here and watch you with him.” I pointed at Eli, and he had the nerve to fucking smirk at me.
“I haven’t spoken to you because the last time we spoke, you made it very clear where we stood. I’ve been avoiding you because I don’t want to deal with you, and you’re going to have to continue to watch me with him because I like him. And it’s the oddest thing, but he likes me too.”
“Truth or dare?”
“I’m done playing this stupid game.” She pushed out of her seat, and I knew that Eli was about to follow her.
“Truth or dare, Allie? It’s not that hard.”
She spun back around to face me, and I could see the anger in her eyes. “Fine. Dare.” She held out her arms because she thought by ending the truths, she was going to end this argument between us.
“I dare you to kiss me.”
“That’s not happening.” Eli had the balls to say that out loud to me, and it took everything inside me not to close the space between us and finish what we had started last weekend.
“The last time I checked, you weren’t Allie’s boyfriend, and you don’t speak for her.” I looked back to Allie, and she was staring at me. “Allie can either kiss me or she can drink.” I lifted the bottle of liquor and shook it between us.
“You kissing me changes nothing.” She shook her head.
“Then it won’t hurt.” I shrugged my shoulders and tried to act like I didn’t care one way or another, even though I didn’t know what would happen if she walked away from me now. “If you’re so into Eli and kissing me won’t change anything, then what are you so scared of?”
About Holly
I’m Holly Renee, a small-town east Tennessee girl who is obsessed with all things romance. I love bringing flawed, sassy, and real characters to life in a way that makes you feel like you’ve been best friends with them for years. No two Holly Renee books are the same, but if you love real, relatable, fun female characters and swoon-worthy heroes, I’m your girl.
When I’m not writing or reading, you can find me momming so hard, being disgustingly in love with my husband, or chilling in the middle of a lake with my sunglasses and a float. #lakelife
I have a 2-year-old adorable little man who is as wild and sweet as they come and a baby girl on the way.
The Deceit of a Devil, the second angst-filled new adult romance in The Taste of an Enemy Duet from Holly Renee is available now!
Sinless. Stunning. Damaged. Tempting. Allie Taylor had been the girl I hated for as long as I could remember. And now she loathed me just as much. It didn’t matter that I betrayed her to save her. Completely devastated and infuriated by my dishonesty, she had no intentions of ever trusting me again. Her trust was shattered, her hate raging on with each second. She would never look at me the same again. Our past was full of pain and lies that could never be forgotten. I knew what I did was irreparable, but I refused to let her walk away without another chance. I should have left things in the past. I didn’t. I couldn’t. I won’t. I needed her. Even if it cost me everything.
I’m Holly Renee, a small-town east Tennessee girl who is obsessed with all things romance. I love bringing flawed, sassy, and real characters to life in a way that makes you feel like you’ve been best friends with them for years. No two Holly Renee books are the same, but if you love real, relatable, fun female characters and swoon-worthy heroes, I’m your girl. When I’m not writing or reading, you can find me momming so hard, being disgustingly in love with my husband, or chilling in the middle of a lake with my sunglasses and a float. #lakelife I have a 2-year-old adorable little man who is as wild and sweet as they come and a baby girl on the way.
Trilina is a former professional dancer (you may have even seen her on the MTV Music Awards) and a USA Today Bestselling author who loves cupcakes and bourbon.
When she isn’t writing steamy love stories, she can be found devouring Netflix with her husband, Anthony, and their three kiddos. Pucci’s journey into writing started impulsively. She wanted to check off a box on her bucket list, but what began as wish-fulfillment has become incredibly fulfilling. Now she can’t see her life without her characters, her readers, and this community.
She’s known for being a trope defier, writing outside of the box and creating fictional worlds her readers never want to leave.
Things I Wanted To Say (But Never Did) by Monica Murphy is now live!
Whit Lancaster burst into my life like a storm. Dark and thunderous, furious and fierce. Cold, heartless and devastatingly beautiful, like the statues in our prep school gardens. The school with his family name on the sign. He can do no wrong here. This is his domain.
He’s a menace on campus. Adored and feared. Hated and respected. His taunting words carve into my skin, shredding me to ribbons. Yet his intense gaze scorches my blood, fills me with a longing I don’t understand.
When I stumble upon him one night alone, I find him broken. Bleeding. My instincts scream to leave and let him suffer, but I can’t. I sneak him into my room. Clean him up. Fall for his lies. Let him possess every single part of me until I’m the one left a gasping, broken mess.
When he leaves me alone in the dead of night, he takes my journal with him.
Now he knows all my secrets. My hate. My truth. And he promises to use my words against me. I’ll be ruined if my darkest secret gets out.
That’s when I strike a bargain with the devil.
I’ll let Whit Lancaster ruin me behind closed doors instead.
Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance. She’s also known as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson.
A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, two kids, one dog, and four cats. When she’s not writing, she’s an assistant coach for her daughter’s high school cheer team, which is a two season sport. Meaning, she’s at practice with a bunch of teenage girls all the time. Or she’s at a football game. Or a basketball game. Maybe someday, she’ll even write about this experience.
Trilina is an author, wife, and mama to three rowdy kiddos. When she isn’t making grilled cheese sandwiches, she can be found writing saucy novels that titillate and excite her readers.
Pucci’s journey started impulsively. She wanted to check off a box on her bucket list. But what began as fulfillment has become incredibly fulfilling. And now she can’t see her life without her characters, her readers and this community.
She currently resides in Northern California with her Italian stallion and her feral children, where the days are slow and easy and wine pours are heavy. (just kidding…maybe)
“We live right next door to each other, New Girl.”
Bay Bishop aka The New Girl is my new neighbor. Glasses, stage crew black clothes and a knack for fading into the background.
She’s probably the only one who rolls her eyes when I walk past instead of cheering on my last touchdown play. But before I can shove her into the recesses of my mind filed under “Not my problem” she lands herself smack dab in the middle of my dreams.
I catch her singing with a voice unlike any I’ve heard before that taps into feelings I shouldn’t have for the girl who avoids me at all costs. I need to know why she hates me.
With three months until graduation, the final play is on. Only it’s not for more points. It’s for Bay.
Unlike my success on the field, this win is anything but assured. But I can’t stop myself from taking the risk.
There’s no flashing scoreboard.
There’s no cheering crowd.
There’s only her and me.
The countdown clock is ticking. The only thing scarier about finding my first love will be losing her.
The Art of Falling for You is the first book in the new Fulton U universe sports romance, Falling trilogy.
EXCERPT
He wanted to pretend he was a nice guy now? I ran through my first day at Greenwood Senior High. The vivid details craved an excruciatingly clear memory of just the kind of guy he was. Even if he didn’t remember, I certainly did.
If only that had been the end of it. But it wasn’t. He was back that afternoon and mom insisted I take him a glass of lemonade.
I kicked his leg and he slid out with grease marks on his cheeks and hands that only made him hotter.
The universe’s unfairness had never been clearer than Dare looking like a cover model wheeling out from under my mom’s junker of a car. If I’d had a team of stylists and beauty professionals dress me and do my makeup, I’d never be more than catalog cute. He was super-model searing without even trying.
“From my mom.” I shoved the glass toward him.
“It’s not from you? Did you make it yourself?” He set the wrench down on the concrete and drew his knees up, resting his back against the side panel of the car. His gaze locked onto mine, holding it and not letting me look away.
My pulse pounded, and my stomach back flipped into next week. “Just take it.”
“Did you poison it?” He lifted an eyebrow.
“Yes, I dropped in one of my cyanide capsules that I keep on hand for annoying neighbors.”
He didn’t say a word, only let me stand there with my arm extended, not making a move to take the glass.
My hand shook. I jerked it back and took a sip. “See, not poisoned.” I took a step closer and held it out again.
His gray eyes twinkled with amusement. He shot up, so his body brushed against mine on the way up, not trying to make room at all for my personal space. His fingers curled over mine before he pulled the glass from my grasp.
Instead of drinking from the side of glass closest to him, he turned it in his hold and took a sip from my side of the glass. My lip prints melted away by his. He didn’t drop his gaze or look away.
He froze me in my tracks like a deer caught in headlights after a long night in the forest.
“Delicious.”
COMING SOON IN FALLING TRILOGY
PREORDER BOOK 2 – THE SIN OF KISSING YOU – April 8, 2021
Maya Hughes, that’s me!, can often be found sneaking in another chapter while hiding in the bathroom from her kids! 🙂 I’m a romance writer who loves taking inspiration from everyday life, namely my husband and biggest fan. Inspiration also strikes when I hear a song, meet someone new or daydream while at soccer practice.
I love writing stories that capture the possibilities of the paths less travelled and enjoy experiencing life through my characters’ eyes.
I’m the mom of three little ones, the wife to an amazing husband and also work full time. Some of my favorite things are cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, white wine, laughing until I can’t breathe, traveling with my family and Jeff Goldblum.
From USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author, Emma Scott, comes the third and final novel in the Lost Boys series–a gritty, angsty love story about two lost souls searching for their place in the world, and what it means to be truly found.
The Last Piece of His Heart by Emma Scott is now live!
At Santa Cruz Central High School, they called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys…
Ronan Wentz has been to hell and back, and he carries the scars to prove it. Worse, the blood of a monster runs through his veins. After ten years in foster care, eighteen-year-old Ronan is finally reunited with family. His uncle gives him a roof over his head and puts him to work, managing a shabby apartment complex in Santa Cruz, California.
But a second chance is still a second chance. Ronan becomes a solitary hunter, a vigilante, walking the streets at night to keep the nightmares at bay. If he can use the anger burning in his tainted blood to protect instead of hurt, maybe then he’ll find the absolution he seeks.
Then he meets Shiloh.
Shiloh Barrera looks like she has it all together. Smart, ambitious and full of artistic creativity she channels into making beautiful one-of-kind jewelry. But Shiloh’s cool, capable demeanor is all a front. Her demons drive her to succeed as much as her ambition. To prove her worth to the mother who can’t stand to look at her, and who’s harboring secrets of her own.
When Shiloh and Ronan meet, the physical attraction is instant and scorching. Neither believe it will last. Falling in love is an impossible pipe dream saved for those less shattered and damaged than they are.
But as hard as they try to resist, the growing feelings between them seem inevitable… until one terrible night destroys Shiloh’s dreams and Ronan’s future. When the smoke clears, and the rubble settles, they’ll have to choose – do their pasts determine their future, or can they build a new one from the broken pieces of their hearts?
Lost Boys is a new series of interconnected, coming-of-age standalones from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott.
Emma Scott is a USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author whose books have been translated in five languages and featured in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy her novels. Visit http://www.emmascottwrites.com
RECENT RELEASES
Someday, Someday (M/M standalone)
A Five-Minute Life (standalone)
Bring Down the Stars (Beautiful Hearts #1)
Long Live the Beautiful Hearts (Beautiful Hearts #2)
Get your binge read on (and grab your tissues), The Lost Boys series is now complete!
“At Santa Cruz Central High, we called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys.”
Bay Bishop aka The New Girl is my new neighbor. In her glasses and stage crew black clothes she has a knack for fading into the background.
She’s probably the only one who rolls her eyes when I walk past instead of cheering on my last touchdown play. But before I can shove her into the recesses of my mind filed under “Not my problem” she lands herself smack dab in the middle of my dreams.
I catch her singing with a voice unlike any I’ve heard before that taps into feelings I shouldn’t have for the girl who avoids me at all costs.
With three months until graduation, the final play is on. Only it’s not for more points. It’s for Bay.
Unlike my success on the field, this win is anything but assured. But I can’t stop myself from taking the risk.
There’s no flashing scoreboard.
There’s no cheering crowd.
There’s only her and me.
The countdown clock is ticking. The only thing scarier about finding my first love will be losing her.
Maya Hughes, that’s me!, can often be found sneaking in another chapter while hiding in the bathroom from her kids! 🙂 I’m a romance writer who loves taking inspiration from everyday life, namely my husband and biggest fan. Inspiration also strikes when I hear a song, meet someone new or daydream while at soccer practice.
I love writing stories that capture the possibilities of the paths less travelled and enjoy experiencing life through my characters’ eyes.
I’m the mom of three little ones, the wife to an amazing husband and also work full time. Some of my favorite things are cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, white wine, laughing until I can’t breathe, traveling with my family and Jeff Goldblum.
Diego Garcia. Class bully. Football star. My boyfriend. I fell hard and fast for the resident bad boy and he fell just as hard for me too. We were the perfect couple, until things turned sour. Senior year and we’re both super busy. He has football. I have volleyball. Soon enough, I hear the rumors – Diego’s cheating on me. After everything we’ve been through, I’m devastated. Breaking up with him was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. He doesn’t love me. Besides, only a few more months of school, and then I’m going away to college. And Diego will be permanently out of my life. Until I find out I’m pregnant. And now we’re forever tied together…
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance. She’s also known as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson.
A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, two kids, one dog, and four cats. When she’s not writing, she’s an assistant coach for her daughter’s high school cheer team, which is a two season sport. Meaning, she’s at practice with a bunch of teenage girls all the time. Or she’s at a football game. Or a basketball game. Maybe someday, she’ll even write about this experience.
All Encompassing Books 