Fab Fun & Tantalizing Reads > Books: fftr-simply-not-enough-stars‎ (145)

...I run away from it as fast as I can, like it’s a deadly siren’s call, like it represents a black pit of emotional fuckery from which I just know I will never emerge. - Harlow

“You are my everything. You’re the reason I learned how to laugh. You’re the reason I learned how to be strong. You’re the reason I learned how to be good. I am who I am because I found you. Because you let me love you.” - Marcus

This is the man who broke me. This is the man who kept me going during the darkest time of my life and then disappeared.
This is the man who made me.
And I hate him. - Harlow

My heart is thudding against my ribcage, each beat threatening to crack the thin veneer of stability I have erected around me and let it all out: all the tears, the heartbreak, the grief. The loneliness. The lust. - Harlow

Jesus.
So. Fucking. Beautiful.
My world goes from black and white to color, from dead and dull to alive and intense. It’s almost too much, like my entire nervous system clicks on at once, every never firing at maximum capacity, telling me to get the hell over there and claim her. - Marcus

For a second I’m her again. I’m feeling what she feels. I feel warm and happy and light, the grief peeling off me in waves, leaving only relief behind. I feel happy, and I feel safe. Just for a second. It’s like looking through a window on a beautiful day. - Harlow

The physicality of this man, and my attraction to him, removes all sense from my brain. I feel like a zombie, or like I’m hypnotized... - Harlow

He’s kissing me like he’s dying, like he’s been lost at sea and now by some miracle he’s been found. - Harlow

“Mind. Body. Soul. All of you for me. All of you mine.”

“You are going to love me until I die. I’m going to make you love me even if it hurts, and when it hurts, I’m going to make it better, Brooke.”

“Every second that you and I breathe, you belong with me.”

"His smile flashes at me from the ring, and very clearly, his two dimples tell me how much he enjoys leaving me in a puddle of love and longing. The devil.”

"You’re everything I never knew I wanted.”

“I want you. I want you to touch me, to put your lips on mine – like before. I want you to love me. Stop fucking punishing me, Brooke. I love you.”

“You don’t have to understand me – just love the hell out of me. Can you do that? Can you?”

"How lovely! It's seems your whore has arrived!"

"How lovely! It's seems your whore has arrived!"

"Oh dear, oh dearie, don't cry. Grandma's here, she's here. Now if you're scared, that's perfectly normal. Well, men can be absolute beasts! They make noises no human should make in public. They find themselves funnier than hell, and don't understand the concept of doing dishes-"

What the hell? A pain hit him sharp in the gut. Was it disappointment? Guilt? Shame? He wasn't really sure, but the last thing he wanted was to continue to let everyone down in his life.

"Jake? Oh goodness! I thought you'd died!"
"God isn't that just. Believe me. I've begged."
"Oh, Jake." Grandma plopped on his bed. "Chin up! Think of me firing you as an extended vacation."

'Karma. It was finally coming for him. And it was in the form of an eighty six year old woman with lipstick on her teeth. Hell.'

"Let me finish. I love your eyelashes; they smile with the rest of your eyes. And your hands, God made them to hold mine, seriously, Grandma even asked, he said yes, by the way..."
"Oh yeah, what else did he say?" Kasey joked.
"That you were mine, from day one, from the first desire to see your shoulder, to hold your hand, to kiss that perfect mouth. It was you and me against the world, and it always will be." He sighed. "Marriage is just the beginning of our story, and I hope to God that when he writes The End, it's us, on that last page, still holding hands." - Travis to Kacey

"We're the worst best man and maid of honor ever. They couldn't fix it in time. So it says-"
"Tits forever! Grandma yelled over the microphone. "And let me tell you, those Titus boys love their-"
"A toast!" Bets screamed over grandma. "To Travis and Kasey."

"I'm not backing out of the fight. I'm just choosing not to participate in it, especially when I know I don't deserve to even participate, let alone win."

"After all, what girl wants to fall in love with a boy who doesn't come to her rescue when she needs it most?"

”I came here with the intentions of being nice, civil, even friendly. People don’t get friendly from me, especially when I am their boss. But I gave you the benefit of the doubt, because I fucking like you, Levi Parker. But do not mistake my kindness for weakness, because we all know I am the one in charge here. In the boardroom, and the bedroom. Don’t think for one second that I didn’t notice your need for submission under my hand.”

The line I have always drawn in the sand has been crossed. Crushed. Erased. Pulverized. Fuck!

Something about Levi just breaks me; I can’t hide the slightest thing from him. He is my kryptonite, and it sucks balls.

”No one has ever wanted me. I have never wanted anyone. I use sex to copy with the emptiness in my life. I’m a whore. I fuck almost anything that walks, including my best friend. If you want me, I can’t give her up."

A single tear falls from my eye. Emotion overcomes my entire being, and my soul is warmed from nothing more than his touch. This man actually wants little, broken, unwanted Seven James.

”Fuck me, Levi. Fuck me hard against this wall for all of fucking London to see.”

Only a minute more and I can crack. Shatter. Retreat back into my fucked up head. Back to my fucked up life where I am worthless and where no one wants me. There, I am safe. The only person I am safe with is myself.

…the possibility of a happily ever after is right in front of my face. I want to jump and take it. I want to grab the American Dream by the horns and make it my bitch.

Sometimes in life, you have to throw caution to the wind. You have to take a chance on something that may not be a sure thing. This is what we call living. It isn’t fair to tread through life calculating the repercussions of every move. Simply existing isn’t for me anymore.

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Links:  | Amazon | Smashwords

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Links:  | Amazon | Smashwords

SOME OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES

Shit. I’d really done it this time, huh? I was officially a skanky hot flame and he apparently didn’t want to get burned from it. I’d like to think that I was more of a forbidden fruit, but hey, I had to be realistic here.

***

I’ve seen, and heard, and felt a shit ton of things in my life before, from abuse, to wolves, to magical witches’ and warlock’s spells. But none of those things have ever affected me the way this one single sentence had. Nothing had ever made my heart ache in betrayal like these words.

***

This was me…and him…finally seizing our fates. Together. There would be no time for regrets. This was it…this was our destiny.

***

Emmy is my world. And there was no way I was going to let me world be shattered into pieces that couldn’t be fixed. I would be her super glue, her band-aid, whatever the hell she needed to keep herself together. I just hoped I’d be able to last long enough.
I was strong…but really, was I strong enough for this? For her?
You can bet my life I am…

I don’t believe in holding regrets or taking things for granted. What is handed to me is not always welcomed, but I’ve learned to deal with it one

I don’t believe in holding regrets or taking things for granted. What is handed to me is not always welcomed, but I’ve learned to deal with it one day at a time. I’ve learned that in order to build strength, there has to be a struggle. Living is my struggle. It may seem so simple, but for me, it’s far from easy.

Cancer.
It can break you.
Or it can make you stronger.
I choose stronger.
I choose survival.

Someone once told me that it’s not about whether there is life after you die, but whether you’re alive before you die. I didn’t believe I could ever feel alive. Not until Parker.

A man I'm spending time with.
A man I enjoy spending time with.
A man who makes me laugh.
A man who makes me feel alive.
A man who makes me forget about the shit I have going on.

I refuse to give in.
I refuse to back down.
I refuse to submit.
I refuse to cry.

“… I get it. You’re scared, but just because you can’t see your future, doesn’t mean I can’t. I see it clear because I can see mine.”

"I want all of you, Aundrea. Everything and anything that you will give me. I want it all. I want to be your legs when you can't walk. I want to be your arms when you're too weak to eat. I want to be there for you day and night."

I am Aundrea McCall, and I am a survivor.

Don’t even bother reading reviews…just trust me when I tell you it’s the bomb freaking diggity, the bees knees, ducks nuts and the butter to my bre

Don’t even bother reading reviews…just trust me when I tell you it’s the bomb freaking diggity, the bees knees, ducks nuts and the butter to my bread – need I say more? Go and get this book already...

His eyes were the darkest blue. They couldn’t be real. Frankly, those eyes were overkill. I’d have swooned perfectly fine without them.

“Let me get this straight, you don’t remember anything?”
“No,” I said, swallowing hard. “What did we do last night?”
“We got fucking married,” he growled.

“…Seriously, man, does your wife even speak?”
“She speaks. His tone of voice made it obvious he wished I wouldn’t, ever again. Or at least, not within his hearing.
No wonder so many marriages ended in divorce. Marriage sucked and husbands were the worst.

A song called ‘San Pedro’ was their favorite. The yelling would reach a crescendo every time the singer made it to the chorus, “But the sun was low and we’d no place to go…”
Apparently, later they were planning on burning me in effigy.
Which was fine, I wanted to die. – Ev on the media circus

Lauren: I can handle him. Whatever happens, do not break up the band!!!
Me: Got it.
Lauren: But break his heart. He wrote San Pedro after what’s-her-face cheated on him. That album was BRILLIANT!
Me: Promise to leave him a broken quivering mess.

“Fuck-drunk suits you, Evelyn.” A hand smoothed over my hip and he smiled down at me. “I’ll eat you out whenever you like. You only have to ask.”

“Now, let’s see what happens when I strum your clit.”
Feather light strokes worked me higher and higher, all centered around that one magic spot. No great surprise he could play me to perfection.

“…He’s wonderful.”
“Keep going.”
“I mean really wonderful.”
“You already used ‘wonderful’. Try a new word, Cinderella. Give my inner fangirl something to work with here.” – Lauren and Ev on David

“We’re in the middle of nowhere,” Mal complained. “Don’t let him throw me out into the wild. I’ll get eaten by fucking bears or something.”

“Do you actually state what a pain in the ass I am in these songs?”
“Not those words exactly. No.”
“You don’t want me to lie and say everything’s always ducking unicorns and rainbows, do you?”
“Maybe. Yes. People are going to know these are about me. I have a reputation as a constant delight to protect.”
He groaned. “Evelyn, look at me.”
I did so.
“You are a constant fucking delight. I don’t think anyone could ever doubt that.”
“You’re awful pretty when you lie.”
“Am I now? They’re love songs, baby. Love isn’t always smooth or straightforward. It can be messy and painful,” he said. “Doesn’t mean it isn’t still the most incredible thing that can ever happen to you. Doesn’t mean I’m not crazy about you.”

“This is about your fucking plan, isn’t it? Let me clue you in on something. You don’t have to make sense. You just have to want to be together and be willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. It’s amazingly simple. That’s love, Ev, putting each other first. Not worrying about if you fit into some fucktard plan that your dad brainwashed you into believing was what you wanted out of life.”

"When you love someone, you fight. You fight for them, and you fight with  them."

"When you love someone, you fight. You fight for them, and you fight with  them."

"I am Denise Ann Roberts. Strong, proud, and independent. A loyal friend, godmother, and I radiate fucking happiness so that people will never see how lonely I really am."

"I can tell, deep down, that she wants someone to hold her hand through life, but damn if she'll let anyone do it. There isn't any doubt in my mind. She's worth sticking this out for..."

"I can tell you right now, after just one taste of you, I want you more than my next breath."

"You've got nothing to be scared of with me. Not one damn thing… Fighting for you, and this relationship might drive me mad at times, but it's the fight I want if it ends with you in my arms… Please, Dee. Take a chance on us, and I swear to you, baby, you won't regret a day of it."

Let’s just say I’d been blessed with the equipment to make women squirm – in a good way, that is.

His hand brushed against my erection as he slipped inside of her panties.
My body jolted in shock against the feel of his touch. As accidental as it was, it had ignited something inside of me. This was fucking unbelievably arousing.

Whoever said you couldn’t mix work with pleasure obviously wasn’t getting paid for sex.

I wasn’t just complicated; I was fucking impossible.

The real me?
Well that’s someone not many people got to meet. The real Coop was generous, funny-and modest too-and will do anything for his friends and family. I hated feeling vulnerable, which is why it was easier to create an alter ego who was all the things I wasn’t.

Women who say size isn’t important are usually lying-if it wasn’t important, they wouldn’t be seeing me on the side or investing in industrial size dildos.

Submission is something that needs to be earned by the Dom and given by the sub when she is fully lucid. ~ Dylan

Submission is something that needs to be earned by the Dom and given by the sub when she is fully lucid. ~ Dylan

I wasn't broken by my divorce, it was the decade spent with a man who wanted to dictate every facet of my life that had shattered me. ~ Tasha

When she's thinking about something unpleasant, her eyes get dark and dull. I want to shine a light deep into her soul and banish the darkness. ~ Dylan

I want to maim the bastard who shattered her. I only hope there is a way to find all the pieces to make her whole again. ~ Dylan

Sex with Dylan isn't an activity, it's an event. A well-choreographed scene in which he always leaves me begging for more. ~ Tasha

You're what I've been searching for. You're the missing piece to my puzzle. ~ Dylan

In life, there are those who save us, sometimes in big ways and sometimes in small. Sometimes that means being set free from a dark, windowless room, or being pulled out of a burning building. More often, it means being saved from ourselves, and made to finally believe that letting someone love you, isn’t just a big lie that you are unwilling to tell.

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Sometimes therapy takes years and years, and sometimes it can happen in one miraculous instant, a lifetime of doubt and self-hatred healed in a moment of astounding love.

"Looks like we're both here to learn how to be best at getting people off."

"Oh God, gross, Abby. I wouldn't touch a porn star with a borrowed body. Especially one with as few brain cells as him." ~ Carson

Oh God, he was really big. Really big. And I was rubbing on him like a cat in heat that had gotten a hold of some crack. Or catnip... or whatever notched up the level of crazed cat in heat. That was me.
Meow!

I was going to live for all the years I had said no to dessert, and all the years I had rejected relationships that might have come naturally because I was so focused, for all the years I had make choices I thought would make other people happy, never considering what would make me happy. ~ Grace

”Wait, this is brilliant. You actually don't like Titanic because it isn't romantic enough for you. That's sweet.” ~ Grace to Carson

"Jack, Jack, don't ever let me go... well, that is, unless I try once to pull you up on this two-person raft and can't do it. Then, God Speed, human popsicle. It was fun while it lasted." ~ Carson

Each stroke of her tongue on mine sent an electric current straight to my cock. She tasted like fucking heaven.I was vibrating like a tuning fork.

I sat silently, staring ahead, hating life, hating myself and my stupid choices, and most of all hating the fact that we could never explore what was blossoming between us.

"What it comes down to is how much heart you have, and how you will give this your all, not because anyone will give you accolades, but on the contrary, because no one ever has, and you don't depend on that for your success...It's your ace in the hole. I'd bet on you, Carson Stinger."

I thought about how you ship off to fight for your country, and no one ever tells you that the things you see might seep into your very soul and irrevocably change who you are. They never tell you that a million miles from one moment, it will all suddenly come back to you – where you were, what you felt, what you saw, that one frame-on repeat, over and over and over.

“... I agree that us woman should be gatekeepers, but I also believe that this world needs strong, good men, men who are raised by mamas who have seen what weak men do. You overcome by making your son everything his father was not.”

“I understand.”
And were there two words in the English language more beautiful, more comforting than those two? In that moment, I knew for sure the answer was no.

‘... You’re the real boss here. You think I don’t know that?” He looked down at me tenderly. “I’d do anything for you, Grace. I’d slay a dragon for you,” he said softly.

"Yeah, life can change on a dime." I grinned. "Wild, isn't it?" ~ Carson

Walking away from this life, I make a vow to myself; never again will my life be dictated by a man, and never again will I let love lead me astray.

She can’t be serious. Three dates without sex? Holy God, my cookie will have packed up and left by then.

‘Oh by the way, Daniel, I fucking dig your cock, especially when it’s deep inside me. And I want to continue sexing you into the next millennium, but I also have three other equally hot, equally talented friends that I sleep with occasionally, and I wouldn’t not say no to you becoming the fourth member of my penis harem.’

Two and a half weeks, nineteen long days without nakedness, without an orgasm that wasn’t self-induced. It may be our first time together, but there was no time for seduction or niceties.

All of Daniel’s physical attributes are already measuring mighty high on the Makenna scale of hotness, but that laugh...the low baritone time that can stop wars, solve world hunger, and cure women of their need for underwear all at the same time...it is the work of the devil.

Yes, it may be our third date and I’ve managed to follow my new rule, but it definitely hasn’t been easy. Had he agreed to coming inside last weekend, I would have told him to go straight to my room, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. And there wouldn’t have been any Monopoly going on, that’s for sure.

“Damn, I could never forget how you taste, Mac. You’re like the finest champagne, and all I wanna do is get drunk on you.”

He’s hot. Check!
He’s kind and courteous. Check!
He’s totally fucking hot. Triple check!
And he’s a gentleman. Home run!

Do I like Daniel? Hell, yes!
Does he rock my world? Yes, again.
God does he know how to rock my socks off...inside, outside, in bed, in the shower. Honest to god. I think the man has a magical penis. If I wasn’t so sure that Superman wasn’t real, I’d say that Daniel’s superhere power was in his pants...or his hands...or his mouth...

There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go. - Authors Note

***

"I hurt too. For six years I fought every day not to think of you, and I lost, because every day you were all I could see. You were the best thing in my life-so sweet and innocent, and so goddamn tempting." - Ryan

***

Everyday he trained--how to crash a car properly, using explosives, climbing, roping, diving, parachuting, tracking. He could speak three different languages. He was taught how to sat lives and taught how to kill at the same time. He could take a man out, quickly and silently, with his bare hands. He learned how to lock his emotions down, but when it came to Fin, none of it mattered. - Ryan

***

"I want you, Fin," he finally admitted. "So damn much I can't sleep from it. I lie in bed at night and I dream of my lips on yours, my mouth tasting every inch of you. I want to fuck you until I go blind from it and even then I don't think it would ever be enough." - Ryan

***

"I have a thick skin, baby, when I'm near you I'm consumed by you-your smile, your eyes, your heart. Even though we've never been together, you've always been mine, and even if I never get to keep you, you'll still be mine." - Ryan

***

"I am a smartass. Don't you like nerds, Ryan?"
"Only drunk ones," he teased as he rummaged around in her purse. "Jesus, Fin. How do you find anything in here?"
"Fin tugged on it. "Give it here. You're having a man's look."
"Well you can't do much better. You're blind," he pointed out.
She paused to glare at him. "I only need glasses to read." - Hahahahaha sounds like me and hubby fishing through my handbag!

***

"I'll love you longer than the stars that live in the sky."

***

Why did everyone always pain love as pretty rainbows and happily ever afters? It wasn't any of that. To love was to feel the greatest of agony, burn in the hottest fires of Hell, and fail the only people who ever mattered.

***

You're the strongest person I've ever known, but someone smart and brave once told me that it's always the strongest that fall the hardest.

***

"You're all I see, Nothing holds more beauty in my eyes than you do. No one will ever love you the way I do."

"...When I was holding you and inside of you, I watched your eyes come alive, and fuck spring because you were hotter than summer..."

The sucky reality was I'd been dealt a shitty hand in life, but the way I saw it I could choose to either fold my hands or raise the stakes and play on. I chose the latter, and because I didn't do anything half measure, I played hard.

"He broke me. He took every piece of me I had left, and he smashed it apart. Nothing fits properly anymore..."

"I can't do this."
His brow furrowed, confusion clouding his eyes as the towel he held hovered over his chest. "Can't do what?"
"Life," I muttered under my breath. "It wasn't meant for me."

"Some of us have to learn how to save ourselves," I whispered, blinking the tears away.
"How do you do that?"
"All I know is that you have to find strength somewhere inside of you and hold onto it, but I'm still figuring out where mine is."

"...Quinn is mine, Travis, and I won't have your attitude crapping all over everything that's bright and shiny and have you scaring her away." ~ Mac

"But Casey is so fucking all that, he could have a show all on his own and screw calling it Supernatural, you could call it Badassnatural because that guy is so fucking cool he was born an ice cube." ~ Tim

He frowned so I nodded again.
He shook his head.
Did he not understand? I pursed my lips. Wasn't the head nod the universal language of all men?

"I don't know who I am, Travis." I turned back to face the person in the mirror. "I don't think I've ever known."
"I know who you are," he said hoarsely.
"Please tell me."
"You're a survivor, and on the inside that makes you more beautiful than you could possibly imagine..."

"...when you're shown every day you're not worth being loved, you tend to believe it."

When I first saw her sitting in the bar, I wanted her. When I first kissed her, I knew her taste would never be enough, and the moment I realised I was sleeping more, smoking less, and laughing hard, I fell in love and fought to keep her.

"You have me everything that helped me find myself. Your support gave me confidence, your determination made me fight, and your strength helped me find my own."

Whatever McCarthy writes, I will read. Bravo...

Music was

Music wasn't just my therapy, it was my life, and as long as I had that, I had everything I needed.

This was not good news. In fact, there was only bad and worse news. The bad was I was watching Jared busily fling healthy food into the trolley. The worse was none of us would actually eat any of it, our systems would declare war. Not only that, there would be riots. Without chips and chocolate, we would all turn on each other. It would be like Lord of the Flies.
Panicked at the notion of being flayed with a stick, I started flinging chips and chocolate in the trolley with unprecedented reckless abandon. I watched in horror as Jared kept putting it all back on the shelves, and I literally gagged when he replaced it with bags of brown rice and chickpeas.

"Bet your sweet ass I am going there. I'm tired of your silly geek parade, Sandwich. You might have no trouble lying to yourself, but I am not lying to you when I tell you that you're being a giant, fat, retarded idiot." ~ Mac

"Evie. Up there? Wow. I already knew you were the hottest fucking thing I'd ever see in my life, but that voice of yours..." he leaned in close until the warmth of his breath tickled my ear "...makes me want to fuck you."

"I feel like everything is so much brighter when I'm with you. When you're not there it's like someone turned out the lights."

I had no clue what they were doing running around tackling each other for a ball. As much as I could commend them for their athleticism and fiery determination to pound each other to the ground, I just watched it for the little shorts. ~ Evie on Sunday arvo footy

I could do this. I could. I am a cool cucumber. No, fuck that. I am Snoop Dogg. You can get no cooler than that.

I decided Casey wasn't real. He simply descended from the heavens to fool us poor woman into believing that the perfect man really did exist and thus continue the eternal chase.

"You're the light I can't live without and the only one that has ever held my heart. I want to be the man standing beside you, laughing with you, crying with you, holding you, and loving you..."

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"...I miss the scent of a woman beside me, the feel of fragile fingers laced with mine. So I've been looking Cameron, whether you are or not. And I see you, I see beauty and vulnerability, and I see yearning..."

"I just get so sick of people looking at me and seeing a victim. God, I get so sick of looking at myself and seeing a victim."

"...You and me, we're a team, you know?"
"Yeah dad, I remember. Team Caswell. And I'm the star, and you're the old guy."
"Uh, no. I'm the star. You're just the little guy who gets to travel along in my duffel bag."
"Yeah right, Dad. I make this team cool. I bet I can even make Cameron think so."

"What if I can't be fixed?" Cameron asked.
"What if you aren't broken?" He answered.

"I'm really, really okay. He's good to me, and patient, and - -"
"Gentle? Sexy? Tender? Does he whisper sweet nothings? Your father always- -"
"Mom! Please don't tell me what dad does," Cameron hissed. ~ hahahaha

"...why can't we all just look in the mirror and get happy with what's looking back?"