Nick by A.S. Kelly

Title: Nick

Series: O'Connor Brothers

Author: A. S. Kelly

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: August 20, 2019

I’ve never liked lies. I’m an honest guy: I say exactly what I’m thinking without any filter. Without considering the consequences.

That’s why people always think I’m an idiot. Someone who only wants to have fun, who never has any problems.

Someone who never worries about the future.

I’ve made my decision.

I’ve chosen myself and left everything else behind.

But what happens when karma comes back to turn your life upside-down? When you find yourself standing in front of someone who could break down all of your walls?

The only woman capable of looking past the façade, and seeing Nick O’Connor for what he really is: a liar.

Would it make sense to keep lying? And, for the first time in my life, could I live with just being Nick?

It’s a dangerous game, a match to be played.

The last match. My match.

I’m Nick O’Connor, and the whistle’s about to blow: I’m about to face the biggest match of my life. But will I be able to fight until the end? Or will I give in, like I always do?

Because I already know I’m going to lose this challenge. We both will.

Because she deserves everything.

And I have nothing to give.

“Nick O’Connor,” she says, smoothing down her uniform.

I stand there, frozen, my jaw on the floor and my airways blocked.

“C-C…”

She looks at me, her head tilted. “Stuttering problem?”

“W-what? N-no!”

She laughs, and I nearly have a heart attack.

“C-Casey.”

“Wow, we got there in the end. What’s up? Memory loss?”

I shake my head vacantly. “What…How…?”

“What am I doing here? How am I?” she helps me out.

I nod, but I still can’t close my mouth.

“I work in the hospital,” she says, gesturing to her uniform. “And as for the second question…Was that supposed to be ‘how are you’?”

I move my head up and down.

“You used to have so much to say,” she says, raising an eyebrow.

Used to.

Has someone just plunged a knife through my stomach?

“You look good,” she says, letting her eyes slide over my figure.

You look incredible.

“Well, thanks,” she says, grinning.

What? Did I say that out loud? Has my tongue become independent from my brain?

“My brother’s just had a baby,” I manage, trying to fill the silence with something logical in case she thinks I’m an idiot – which, I guess, is what I actually am. But better not to shove that in her face at eight ‘o’clock in the morning.

“Oh,” she says, incredulous.

Surprise effect. Always works.

“Ryan?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Ian.”

“That’s amazing! Congratulations!”

I smile, full of pride. I knew that baby would save my life.

“Maybe I’ll pop in later and say hi to the new arrival.”

“You should. She’s stunning.”

She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear slowly, tracing it with her finger. Her lips gently curl into a smile that reaches her ears, lighting up her face with tenderness.

What about you? Do you have children? Are you married? Do you have a boyfriend? Are you…?

“I should get going.” She glances at her watch.

Did I not say anything?

Luckily, this time, my brain decided to use its anti-arsehole filter, and prevent any more slip-ups.

“My shift starts in ten minutes and I haven’t had a coffee yet this morning.”

“Can I get it for you?” I ask, suddenly.

The question leaps over my anti-arsehole filter with both feet and lands right in my stomach.

She looks at me for a few seconds, her brow furrowed.

“You’re eight years too late, Nick O’Connor.”

Ah. Busted.

My ego, my pride, and…better stop there.

“Take care,” she says, before striding past me and disappearing down the hospital corridors, leaving me standing in the entrance like a dick, incapable of saying anything that could make her stay.

“Hmm.”

Shit.

I turn to see Ryan leaning smugly against the wall a few metres away from me.

“Was that who I think it was?”

“Shut up.”

He bursts out into such shrieking laughter that it must have come straight from the mouth of hell.

“No way, Nick. This time I definitely won’t shut up.”

“I could put an end to all this right now and kill you out in the car park. There’s already too many of us, and now that Jamie’s here, everyone will be so busy suffocating her with love that no one will even realise you’re gone.”

He steps towards me, with a smile plastered across his face that tells me he’s about to get his revenge. He bends down to pick up my phone and hands it back to me.

“Now it’s your turn to swim through the shit. That,” he says, pointing in the direction that Casey had disappeared, “is your sea. I’m just going to sit back and watch while you splash around, looking for the life raft. And don’t expect me to offer you a hand, unless it’s to hold your head under.”

That’s when I realise that I’m completely fucked. Not because of what Ryan said: his words have no effect on me. He’s nothing against me, I’d squash him like an ant.

The problem is something else.

Something much bigger.

And its name is Casey Madigan.

HOSTED BY:

Kiss Me, Kill Me Anthology

Title: Kiss Me, Kill Me.

Anthology for American Forests

Authors: Ashleigh Giannoccaro & Jason Hes ▪️ Yolanda Olson ▪️ J.M Walker ▪️Elizabeth Cash ▪️ Emery LeeAnn ▪️ Ellie Midwood ▪️ Peyton Banks ▪️ K. Larsen ▪️ C.M Radcliff ▪️ Donna Owens ▪️ Virginia Johnson ▪️ Petra J. Knox ▪️ A.A. Davies ▪️ Murphy Wallace ▪️ Ally Vance ▪️ Renee Dyer ▪️ Ed Bar ▪️ William Joseph ▪️ CF Rabbiosi ▪️ Avery Reigns ▪️ Muriel Garcia ▪️ HB Jasick

Genre: Dark & Gothic Romance

Release Date: August 13, 2019

USA Today and International Bestselling authors come together to deliver stories of dark decadence for a cause.

Watch A Serenade of Fireflies follow Sweet Caroline as she attempts to hide her Silent Deception from the Alpha. Only in Stolen Dreams will you learn the secrets of Our Tormented Love, that are kept under Locke & Key.

Can you survive The Syndicate or will you run from the White Widow and fall prey to her Beautiful Mercy? Be careful not to swallow the sweet poison of Bloodlust and become one of the vanished.

With Stained Hearts, follow along with the Master Marionette as he captures his Twisted Little Bird whether she’s Ready or Not. Will the Writhe finally bid a long Goodbye to The Dark Knight as endures the sorrow of the night’s bitter song.

Try not to do a Double Take when the Message Received is MINE: Press Start to Continue, because the monsters that lurk in these woods Watch Me Losing Faith in The Kiss.

And when all is said and done, watch as Getting Her Back in her bloodstained Stiletto heels becomes a much easier task than originally assumed.

Elizabeth Cash is an avid lover of all things dark and sexy. She spends most of her time inside textbooks earning her degree, all while playing the mother role to her awesome kiddos and writing words when she can for all her horror loving fans! 

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Author Avery Reigns is a multi-genre author who bleeds words onto paper from the heart. She loves writing from the darkest places inside her mind, creating stories woven for those with an open mind, stories based on truths or familiar stories stretched beyond belief. Avery is a kind and determined coffee addict who hides her demons well.

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A. A. Davies is the darker half of Abigail Davies' brain. A. A. Davies writes dark romance and wants her readers to automatically know when they're getting this. Abigail Davies grew up with a passion for words, storytelling, maths, and anything pink. Dreaming up characters—quite literally—and talking to them out loud is a daily occurrence for her. She finds it fascinating how a whole world can be built with words alone, and how everyone reads and interprets a story differently. Now following her dreams of writing, Abigail has found the passion that she always knew was there. When she’s not writing: she’s a mother to two daughters who she encourages to use their imagination as she believes that it’s a magical thing, or getting lost in a good book. If she’s doing neither of those things, you can be sure she’s surfing the web buying new makeup, clothes, or binge watching another show as she becomes one with her sofa.

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Virginia Johnson is a multi-genre author that will dabble in anything. She hates walking on the beach and a hangover is her most regrettable moment. Writing gives her great pleasure and the ability to kill without consequence. 

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A lover of cats and books, equally, Petra J. Knox is an author of Dark Romance, including the bestselling Reverse Harem series, Saving Setora. Editor, wife, and mom, she lives in the desert of Eastern Washington, dreaming of thunderstorms and rolling, green pastures.

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H.B. Jasick: I live in Springfield, Missouri with my husband, and our two daughters. I have a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics and History Education that I don't actually use.

My Favorite things include: movies, music, books, dachshunds, the color brown, LISTS, The Denver Broncos, sushi, coffee, Moscato d'Asti, and terrorizing all of my friends.

My Favorite Books: Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy & Public Enemies by Brian Burrough.

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Murphy Wallace is an International Bestselling Author with works in several different genres, but most of her work has been in Dark Romantic Suspense. She currently resides in a small Eastern Florida town with her husband, who doubles as her best friend and their two boys. When she’s not getting in touch with her inner child at Disney World, or enjoying everything that Florida has to offer with her family, she enjoys writing and watching true crime documentaries. She has a cat named Maisy who is her constant writing partner.

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K. Larsen gives good words, born in Maine, she fled the state for a short period to experience, well, anything else, but now resides there again. She writes romantic suspense and psychological romance primarily but has dabbled in most romance sub-genres. She sometimes writes with Mara White, when something viral sparks a fire between them. They've been known to wrench hearts from chests and tears directly from readers eyes. And sometimes she writes with Yolanda Olson, they've been known to push the boundaries of readers moral compasses. 

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Emery LeeAnn is an International Best Selling Author who lives in Ohio with her family. Besides being addicted to coffee, she is a true believer that variety adds spice to your life. Writing in every genre gives her the variety she craves. Her characters like to invade her mind every hour of the day usually waking her up in the middle of the night. Loving the dark and gray side of things, she is exploring her passion with the written word. There are many wonders to come from her in her twisted Wonderland..... Stick around you may find you enjoy her special brand of torture.

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Donna Owens: Who am I that's a good question?

I'm a Dark poet and a lover of all things scary and gory 

A wife to Bill Owens whose the love of my life 

A mother to Joseph Scholl my only son 

A grandmother to three amazing grandsons 

I also have two adorable furbabies 

I've lived many places in my life and currently live in Savoy TX but Cleveland Ohio will forever be home to me 

My writing has been published in The Raven's series By R.L.Weeks

Southern Fried Anthology and I was lucky enough to a guest author in Shivers with the amazing author Emery LeeAnn 

Writing dark poetry is something I truly love 

And I hope you as reader will enjoy.

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Muriel Garcia is an indie author from Belgium. 

She started writing in 2005 but never published anything until 2015 when she decided to bite the bullet and just do it. She's grateful for all the amazing people she got to meet through her passion for writing. 

The 'Last Hangman MC Series' is the one that made people find out about her but since then she released a contemporary series - Love At Firsts - and a dark gory thriller trilogy - The Reaper Trilogy - which people have compared to Stephen King on crack — thing she's rather proud of. 

Some of her favourite things include snowy days, live music, horror movies, ghost stories, travelling and of course, a cosy day spent with a good book. 

Feel free to keep in touch with Muriel, she loves to hear from her readers.

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Jason Hes: A visionary, a man, a reification of the most contradictory and illusive darkness in our collective unconscious … keeping the thug life alive. Jason Hes is a Johannesburg-based author who lives with his cat and loves to write horror stories. Our Immaculate (an occult horror story set in an all-girls school) is his debut novel. Sleight of Hand, a YA LGBT dark fantasy novel is his second, co-written with Ilse v Rensburg. Locke & Key, written with Ashleigh Giannoccaro, is his first dark romance.

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Bestselling Author Ashleigh Giannoccaro writes edgy dark romance and erotic horror, self published by choice she writes the stories others don’t dare. Currently rising in Johannesburg South Africa with her husband and two daughters Ashleigh enjoys writing stories that make you fall in love with the unlovable and leave you asking questions. When not writing she can be found with her kindle in a sunny spot reading or traveling with her family.

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Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, "The Girl from Berlin." Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents. 

In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their Chihuahua named Shark Bait.

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William Joseph was born in Lakewood New Jersey. He grew up in nearby Pine Beach New Jersey and has lived there his entire life. An only child and highly imaginative, William Joseph spent a lot of time writing growing up, but it wasn’t until he finally felt that he had a story to tell with THIS IS WAR that he stuck with it from beginning to end. During this time, William Joseph attended Ocean County College and graduated with honors and two degrees. While in college, he also attended a creative writing class, where, for the first time, he shared his work with other people. Sharing a short story with them and seeing how he could emotionally connect with his readers got him hooked. His short story was published in his college’s literary magazine, and since then, the pursuit for publishing his work began, as well as the dedication and dream of writing more books and stories.

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Ed Bar is the international best-selling author of In the Dark, The Slutty Bride and The Man in the Woods. He's a native-born Missourian but has spent years traveling the country. When he's not writing, he spends his time hiking, fishing and playing with his pit bull.

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Renee Dyer is a New Hampshire girl through and through. She began writing because staring at trees got boring and her mom gave her a journal to make her stop talking all the time. She’s a tea-drinking, Supernatural-watching, Patriots-loving, fuzzy sock obsessed, craft hoarder, who fights with her characters, but typically gives in because their ideas are better. Most days (because it feels like a frozen tundra three quarters of the year) you can find her huddled on her couch, under a blanket with a hot drink in her hand and typing or reading. Stories are her passion.

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Yolanda Olson is an award winning and international bestselling author. Born and raised in Bridgeport, CT where she currently resides, she usually spends her time watching her favorite channel, Investigation Discovery. Occasionally, she takes a break to write books and test the limits of her mind. Also an avid horror movie fan, she likes to incorporate dark elements into the majority of her books. 

You can keep in touch with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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J.M. Walker is an Amazon bestselling author who recently hit USA Today with Wanted: An Outlaw Anthology. She loves all things books, pigs and lip gloss. She is happily married to the man who inspires all of her Heroes and continues to make her weak in the knees every single day.

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Peyton Banks is the alter ego of a city girl who is a romantic at heart. Her mornings consist of coffee and daydreaming up the next steamy romance book ideas. She loves spinning romantic tales of hot alpha males and the women they love. She currently resides with her husband and children in Cleveland, Ohio.

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C.M. Radcliff lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two demon children. Known as the Psycho Queen, she speaks fluent sarcasm, dark humor, and has the mouth of a sailor. If she isn't reading or writing, she's probably on an adventure with her little family.

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Ally Vance has been writing since she was a teenager, and studied Professional Writing at college. It has been a long time dream of hers to finally become a published author. She finally achieved this in 2018 with her Bestselling debut book, Flower in the Dark. Ally writes Dark Romance genre, and also poetry, she is willing to expand into other genres if the inspiration takes her. Ally also co-writes with her close friend Michelle Brown under the pen name Ally Michelle. Ally lives in Kent, in the United Kingdom with her husband and stepson.

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C.F. Rabbiosi: Charity used to be a Registered Nurse in California, and though she doesn't use her two degrees in the field anymore, they have helped her with her real passion- writing. She happily writes the day away using her in depth Anatomy, Physiology and Psych background to make her death scenes more real and her killers more... colorful. But it's not all about the blood, because more than anything she loves hot romance. Her heroines are kick-ass and her men are all the dangerous and gorgeous beasts you love to hate. 

Her style is beautifully gruesome and inspired by the amazing dark romance/dark erotica writers: Trisha Wolfe, Natalie Bennett, and Jennifer Bene. She lives in the beautiful university city of Columbia, MO with her incredible husband and three girls, and loves yoga- almost as much as living and writing in her own fantasy world.

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