The scariest thing about life is that it can change in an instant... A broken promise.A chance encounter. A forgotten phone call.A shot at forgiveness. The hardest thing about love is letting go... A crippling addiction.A broken heart. A costly mistake.A lingering past. The funniest thing is that no one knows which way is up... With a break-up--or is it a proposal?--in the wings, a sick baby and stretch marks to worry about, a Christmas party that probably could have gone better, and the pressure to find that perfect gift, these four friends are just trying to make it through the holidays. Without losing their minds--or any other important body parts. And that gives this Christmas the potential to be their craziest one yet...**

A reclusive inventor meets a man who will give her wings. Well, he will let her use his.Ula has hidden from her own people in an effort to cease pressure from local government to create weapons against the Nine. When a man with wings comes knocking, she slams the door in his face.Deniir has gotten as much information on the designer as he can, but seeing her taming some of the wild flying predators out back eases her rude dismissal of his presence. She is as wild as the beasts she uses to get airborne, and he sees the means to get her to follow him to the stars.Offer her complete freedom and she will follow him wherever he leads.

Artist Sadie MacElroy has landed a sweet gig as the personal assistant to her best friend, Felicia Waters. Despite her scattershot creative nature, she's a whiz at organizing, planning, and ordering people around. But her sweet gig turns sour at a charity art auction she's organized when she bumps into a stage lackey and sends a 17th century Qing Dynasty vase crashing to the ground. Electing to take the fall, Sadie attempts to arrange payment of the vase to its owner, eccentric billionaire and (extremely) amateur artist Malcolm Ward. But Malcolm doesn't care about the money or the vase; inspired by Sadie, he decides he only wants her, any way he can have her. In front of his camera, under his brush... or in his bed.His Acquisition is a 16,300 word novelette. Part one of five in The Billionaire's Muse series.EXCERPT:“Oh yes. I knew from the moment I saw you from across the ballroom that I wanted to paint you. Or take your picture. Or perhaps sculpt you...” He took a step closer, and my hands tightened on the bar stool. He was so tall, and I caught a whiff of a very masculine scent underneath his aftershave. The hard muscles of his body filled out his tux, and I found myself praying that he was telling the truth, because if he tried to kill me I'd be no match for a barrel chest and biceps like the ones he was sporting.“Wow,” I said. “You, uh, work in a lot of mediums.”“I'm quite versatile,” he assured me. “And that is what I have planned for our date. Or rather, for our several dates.”I scowled. “Excuse me? I never said anything about several dates.”He raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Well, I paid nine thousand dollars for you. I feel that I have procured your services as a model, or perhaps I should say as an inspiration, for as long as it takes to complete one masterpiece featuring you.”For an artist, this guy sure talked oddly about it. “I... I suppose we should see how it goes,” I said cautiously. Nine thousand dollars weighed pretty heavily on my conscience, but I wasn't about to let him see that. “Let's stick with one and if I'm comfortable with you, then we can maybe negotiate more.”“A woman who drives a bargain,” Ward said. “I like that. I knew you were different just looking at you.”“Yeah,” I said. “I bet you did.” He gave me a strange look and I shook my head. “Okay, fine. But here's the deal. No nudity unless we discuss things first. I won't have you doing that creepy thing some male photographers do when they say, 'oh, just take a little more off, show me some nipple,' because that is gross and we are both professionals.” I caught myself. “Well, I am, at least.”“I'm professional in many things,” Ward interjected, sounding almost hurt.“Uh-huh,” I said. “Well, since you yourself said you're an amateur, you'd better read up on the rules of engagement first.”In the dim light, I saw his eyes gleam and harden. He seemed to think I was presenting a challenge to him rather than giving him the benefit of the doubt and kindly instructing him on how civilized people behaved toward each other in situations such as these. “Hey,” I snapped. “I'm not joking around here. This is how professionals behave.”“Of course,” he said smoothly. “And I vow I shall behave quite professionally.” From the depths of his jacket he produced a white card and held it out to me, pinched between two elegant fingers. Gingerly I reached out and took it, trying to ignore the sudden dark hum of my blood in my veins when our fingertips brushed together. I ripped the card from his grip as I snatched my hand away. His eyes glittered down at me, but he said nothing about my reaction.“My home address and phone number,” he said instead. “Are you available tomorrow afternoon?”...

STEEL by Carrie Cox is an addictive new motorcycle club romance novella serial perfect for fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and readers of Nicole Snow. Once you’ve had your first bad boy biker, there’s no going back… Ella Anderson had no idea what she was getting herself into when she gave into temptation and agreed to a one night stand with hot, tattooed biker, Nick Steel. She stumbled onto the Blackthorne Motorcycle Club’s darkest secret, and they are not prepared to let her go until they know their secret is safe. She’s in serious danger of losing her heart, and if she’s not careful, her life. (This romance contains steamy love scenes and lots of twists and turns.)

Jackson has to make a choice between the woman who will fulfill his every need and his business - or does he?

A reject on her own world, she had no idea what would happen when she twisted souls to find her freedom. Aymin lived a normal life until she was told that her brand of talent was forbidden. A tattoo, nanites and a life as a social reject were the result. Backers were supposedly protected by law, but there were ways to torment them, and that is what wracked Aymin each and every day. When the Backers started disappearing, Aymin got worried, and when she was the last woman standing, she gave herself to the inevitable. Waking on a space station was a shock. Seeing what they were doing to the other Backers was worse. An escape thwarted and a rescue by strangers starts a new phase in Aymin’s life if she can prove herself to those around her.

In the aftermath of the Trinx attack, Star Force must get the Uriti to the destination system and deal with the ramifications of being the only empire capable of controlling the gigantic interstellar beasts. "Quenar" is the 88th episode in the Origin Series. Word Count: 30,100**

He's the billionaire she should resist......but he's the billionaire she's bound to!Hotel tycoon Lukas Blackstone is shocked to learn he has an orphaned nephew—and infuriated by the electricity sizzling between him and his nephew's guardian, Bronte! Despite their powerful attraction, Lukas knows to steer clear of Bronte—he learned the hard way that family life isn't for him. But when the sensational fire between them ignites, the dramatic consequences will tie them together—forever...Experience the intense chemistry of this pregnancy romance!