A broken girl... Twenty years old and I'd finally had enough. I couldn't take anymore, so I packed up my things and disappeared, leaving behind my drunken, abusive father and the mother that stood by and watched as I slowly died. I knew I was going, but not where I'd stop. The last thing I expected once on my own, was to be spending my nights stripping at a club in Florida, barely getting by. I should have known running from a past wouldn't make it stop haunting me, because misery will always find me and tear me down until there's nothing left of me. It always has... Things can always change though, right? Like looking up at a handsome, tattooed stranger, and with one stare he has me questioning everything I've ever believed in. I wasn't expecting or prepared for someone to storm into my life. Not him. Jace Montgomery. The name I'll never forget. The need to save me lies in his eyes, but I don't need a savior. Trust- what he wants to teach me. That I'm something more than what I've grown up believing and that I'm worth loving. Those are the things he wants me to believe. How am I supposed to let him in and show me I'm something when I've spent my entire life being... nothing? He won't give up, and honestly, I'm hoping he never does... Because maybe... just maybe... I am worth saving after all.

(Book #5 out of Best Friend Series) ______________________________ "Nina." I halt in my steps, moving away from Jace as he walks closer to me with a thunderous expression. "Jace?" I question, still backing away from the man in front of me. The Best Friend of my boyfriend. "Be quiet," he demands softly, his eyes on mine in a dangerous, predatory way that has my insides quivering. So wrong. I want to speak again, but his body is so close to mine now. He pushes into me, ever closer than before and I suck in a shaky breath. He's so close that I can feel his body heat sizzling against my chest. I feel my face flush. "We can't," my voice cracks. Get it together, Nina! "I don't care," he growls, pushing me against the wall until I'm fully pressed to the cool material. His forearms glue themselves beside my head, his face only centimeters from my own, and his hips pin me in place. "I'm sick of trying to ignore it, Nina. I'm sick of seeing you with him, seeing his fucking lips on yours." "Jace-" "They should be my lips, Nina." His voice grows quiet. "They always should have been." I don't get a chance to respond this time, not like it would've changed anything, because his mouth is on mine. That's not the worst part. The worst part is me closing my eyes and giving in. Worst mistake yet. WARNING: sexual content, explicit content, violence, swearing and drugs. Read at own risk!

Sometimes you need just one person to make all the difference in the world. And even better if you get a whole family of them. Zach's been living in his car for a month now. He has nowhere to go, no job and his money is starting to run out. Life has been rough on him, growing up in an abusive home and later in life becoming the center of a vile man's attention. Just as he thinks his life is never getting better, he meets the charming business owner Dean. Zach is a broken boy and has nothing to offer to a successful businessman who's so handsome he could be on a magazine cover. But life has a way of putting the right person in your path even if you didn't know you were on the one. This is a finished, full length (80k words), slow burn romance about learning to trust, falling in love and healing after life has beaten you down. !Trigger warning: This story deals with child neglect, child abuse, domestic violence and rape. I wasn't overly descriptive about these situations, but they are still a big part of the story. !Explicit sexual scene. Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.