Ambrose. The name is not only feared, but shunned and reviled. He's a monster sentenced to a life of desolation and loneliness, and no one but his tormentor knows his whereabouts - at the bottom of the ocean. A creature of the sea cursed because of one simple mistake... Mari. Her life was a small happy bubble until it's popped by the finding out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her - just as the cruise ship she's on starts to sink! She's sure that death is near until she drowns upon an underwater cave...and a hulking man with swirling eyes. Seeing a chance to escape, Ambrose forces the terrified Mari to help them both, but not before ultimately changing her life...and her legs. Their worlds turning upside in the matter of minutes, Ambrose is on a mission to clear his name and Mari's on a mission to return to land. But how can she do that when she slowly starts to fall for the dangerous, damaged man who only wants to be free...and heal her own heart in the process? THIS IS A FREE SAMPLE

My name is Julie Quinn and I've been a New Yorker all my life. Life was good. I was swamped with work doing a job that I loved and I was dating the best boyfriend I'd ever had the pleasure to. I have always been a strong-willed and independent woman - or as my best friend puts it "control freak" - and even more after the accident, but what happened on the eve of my 30th birthday was enough to bring down Wonder Woman.

"Cay, will you look at me?" I turned around and lifted my eyes to look into his. His arms were braced on the counter and he was looking at me sideways. The glow of the light coming from the living room and into the kitchen gave his face an otherworldly impression. I waited for him to continue. He closed his eyes and sighed, "Cay... Just so you know... I wanted to do it. Right there, a while ago. But you know why I couldn't, and why we shouldn't." There was a pain in my chest at his words. But I just gazed at him, unsure of what to say. He was right. It would be a mistake. And no matter how many times my weak heart and frail mind wanted him to kiss me, it would be selfish, not to mention immoral. In the end we would both regret it, and that would hurt the most. © rainthereader 2012 All Rights Reserved