❀ FEATURED ON WATTPAD'S EDITORS' PICKS LIST ❀ [The Closer is intended for readers with an appetite for the dark and sexy. Read at your own discretion.] "What about that no fucking colleagues policy, huh? The one you so haughtily rubbed in my face?" The way to wound my heart is through my pride. The bastard knew that. But the look in Hans' eyes told me this wasn't a game to get me all riled up. "If your office ethics involve you getting into Tim's pants, then why don't I get to play too?" His hands flew down to my legs, tickling the bare skin on my legs and shocking me into stillness when I felt him pull up the corners of my dress till they were bunched up at my waist. "You can't," I breathlessly whispered as he forced my legs apart. One hand sauntered up to my neck, resting at my collarbone while the other snaked between my legs, parting my thighs until he had all of me resting at the tip of his fingers. "Is this cause of him," he growled, his finger dipping into my heat just slightly, circling the entrance, "or me?" He sounded so needing, so deprived. It turned me on knowing that I was the one making him feel this way, that despite being the one thrown up against a wall, I had the ultimate power over this man. "It's...It's you." I gulped and met his eyes. "It's all you." ● What happens when an unstoppable, hard-hitting business woman meets an unmovable, chauvinist, and utterly exhausting heir to a multi-million empire? Disaster, of course. For Tris, Hans Castellan proves to be more than a challenge of the heart and of the body. For Hans, Tris Henderson turns out to be a woman worth fighting for, despite a rocky start and more than a few broken hearts. Then again, no one said closing this deal would be easy. ● © Beatrice Manuel, All Rights Reserved

When protection and passion collide. She can run, but she can't hide. Jessica Turner tries her best to blend in. You'd think she's the average B+ Psychology major whose life revolves around decorating her small Boston apartment and never having enough free time between work and school. But Jessica has a past. A dark past that never stops tracking her down, no matter where she goes. She thought she'd covered her tracks this time, but you can't outrun someone determined to find you. Joey Cavannaugh has been on the Boston police force for three years. His number one priority has always been helping people. When the department doesn't take an imminent threat seriously, Joey takes matters into his own hands, breaking rules and risking his career to protect a woman he doesn't even know. But will saving her cost him everything? 2018 Evergreen Books. All rights reserved. Warning: This novel contains graphic sexual encounters, strong language, and other mature content. Reader discretion advised. EXCERPT: As he leaned over with his arms folded, resting on the table, I took a second to admire the way his slightly messy hair fell in front of his face and the back of his black jeans hugged his ass. He glanced up at me, knowing I'd been staring at him, and I felt my face heat up. "I'm going to give you fifteen minutes to grab a bag with some spare clothing, your toothbrush, and whatever necessities. Then we're leaving," Joey ordered. He walked back into the living room and plopped down on the couch, tapping his foot impatiently. "If I go with you-" "When you go with me," he corrected. "You will not take your phone or computer because they can be tracked. And now you have fourteen minutes."

I stood with my back to her, shielding her, and my murderous eyes stared down at the poor excuse of a man, promising unimaginable pain if he dared to move or even flinch. The enormity of control it took me to suppress the impulse to eradicate the piece of scum, who dared to even think about laying a hand on a woman, was inconceivable. My whole body was trembling with rage. The guy was intimidated by the fury in my eyes and stumbled back to his intoxicated friends who were too dazed to understand the situation. I was disappointed and relieved at the same time that the chaos didn't end in a fist fight. When I turned around to console her, she was gone. And as I looked around, I saw her back just leaving the bar through the entrance. I hurried out to follow her. She walked ahead of me aimlessly and disoriented like a wounded animal that had just escaped the claws of death. My heart ached for her. I found a kindred soul in her. She evidently had been wounded in the past. Just like me. But in an even worse way than I had been hurt, and it angered me, that someone had dared to harm her. *** Eden Marie Simmons is still recovering after escaping an abusive relationship when she meets Keane, the broody and enigmatic neighbor who is shrouded in mystery. Both are still being haunted by their past and are not ready for a new commitment, but when fate repeatedly puts them in each other's paths, they can't deny their attraction for each other. Life challenges them both with secrets, lies, and broken trusts, and confronts them with their pasts. They both must learn to be brave enough to love again. *** Story is previously called "Paradise Lies"