When I moved to Ironhaven I thought that things would get better, and for a while they did.

I managed to find work on a ranch, see the world for what it really was and not from the horrors that I remembered.

But the terrors came back, only in the guise of nightmares instead of walking daydreams.

Until I saw her.

Until I wanted her.

I have to convince her that I’m not a bad guy.

I have to convince her to give me a chance.

That talking to strangers isn’t the worst thing that could happen.

Ignoring them is.

They’ll have their vengeance—and their pleasure, too.

Revenge is like ice cream. Best served cold, and in bed.

And nobody serves up vengeance like the villains in these stories.

Because there is no better way to exact your revenge than to make your target crave your touch. To make them beg you for their pleasure, to drive them to the brink of madness as they scream your name.

But there is a thin line between love and hate. And an even thinner line between vengeance… and obsession.

Someone once said that if you talk about the devil, he's bound to appear.

Most would keep silent, hoping that they'd never be found by such a monster, but I prayed for his touch every night. I knew the devil when I was a child and fell in love with him the first time he taught me that I wasn't as damaged as I was led to believe that I was. He cared for me, helped me learn how to smile, and see the world in a different way even though he didn't realize that he had done so. But they feared him; hated him. So seventeen years ago, they ripped him away from me. What they didn't know was that he had already created a monster in his very image. I thought I'd never see him again—I finally resigned myself to that. But then he came back, just like he promised he always would through that smile of his. We're together again. And now, no one will be able to keep us apart ever again.

I knew that life was never meant to be easy.

I knew that wishes made on stars were nothing more than just that.

I was happy before he came along.

Home was where my heart truly was, and I never wanted to feel any different.

But sometimes those wishes we make have a way of coming true.

And when I found out that a new family moved into town, that was the day everything changed.

Home wasn't where my heart was anymore.

It was with him.

This wasn't what I signed up for.

Hell, I don't ever remember signing up for anything at all, but when there were debts to be paid, and time had run out, I was delivered to Miss May's doorstep.

The man who had paid a handsome fee to make me his wife was the only person in the world that I ever learned to fear.

It was when he and I first locked eyes that I knew I was in for a worse hell than I could imagine. I never expected the cruelty that accompanied it.

But rage can do something to a heart that once was gentle.

It can do something to someone who was once quiet and full of hope.

It can slowly turn a caged, once-frightened animal into a feral one.

It did because I wasn't afraid of him anymore, I was determined.

And I was ready to break free.

Weave your way through the Complex Taboo love that's Thicker Than Blood. Lose yourself in the Wrath and Ruin of The Loveless, and always remember that Daddy Knows Best how to pull you out of The Chaos Between illicit emotions as you Double Down on everything you feel.

These Family Ties is an extremely taboo anthology that is not for the close-minded. Due to the nature of these stories, it's best to leave your morals at the door.

Featuring:

Jay Leigh Brown

Emery LeeAnn

Ayden Perry

Nicole Blackwood

W.P. Woodbine

A. Roux

Ally Vance

Yolanda Olson