Erotic Romance Serial Novel | ~15,000 words | Part 3 of 5"There is more than one way to be strong, Julia. You know one of them, I can teach you the other."With Julia's company weeks away from falling into the hands of her rival, Valerie James, things can't possibly get worse.But Julia's father's condition is worsening and she finds herself at wit's end. Now that her father's life on the line, her relationship with Mark worsens.Can she find a way to let Mark in and work together to save not just her company, but herself as well?Excerpt:“Mark, I’m exhausted,” I gasp. “Mentally, physically, emotionally exhausted.”“Sit down,” He responds sternly. I obey in an instant, plopping down beside him.“You could have stopped our deal at any time. I’ve given you chance after chance to say you don’t want to submit to me. But every time you continue to give yourself to my instructions, my desires and directions. Every time you keep the deal. Do you know why I even offered you our deal?” He looks directly at me; his beautiful eyes trying to make contact with my soul. For a moment I feel myself opening to him and then before I can speak, the hard protective shell covers my heart and mouth.“Oh, I don’t know. Free sex for a change?”“I’ve paid for a lot of things in this world, but I’ve never had to pay for sex,” he counters, batting away my bitter retort like a horse swats a fly. Even when I don’t want him to be, he’s perfect.“Because I’m so hot?” I ask disagreeably.“Because you are so sad,” He says, all humor falling from the sky. “So lonely, so…lost.”“That’s not your business.”“I think it is. I’ve watched you bully employees, push your weight around, shut out honest offers of friendship and stoke the fires of rage and regret. Lynx isn’t a job; it’s a battle ground where you pit your passion and talent against anything you can find. You win. You always win because you give it everything you have, and you have so much. So when I saw you in my office that day, ready to tear the building apart with your bare hands, I knew you needed help.”“Of course I needed help, Mark, I was robbed.”“Not help with Lynx. Help with life. Help with love. I knew you needed at least one person in your life who was willing to tell you ‘no’. You need someone gentle enough to listen and strong enough to give you direction. You didn’t just need another man to push against. You needed a man who wouldn’t be pushed and who would give you the freedom to accept what’s given to you, not just the ability to get what you want. You need submission, Julia. It’s not just a game, it’s a gift. For both of us.”The hot stinging tears forming in the corner of my eye threaten to fall. I stare at the ceiling, willing them back but it’s too late. I drop my head and try to look away but he puts his hand under my chin and catches my tears in his palm.“Don’t hide these,” he says, showing me small wet dots on his hand. “Tears are honest. Real. And they are part of you too. Don’t fight them. Let them fall.”I try to push his hand away but he brings it back, holding my shoulders then brushing my hair off my forehead.“You don’t understand,” I gurgle. “You’ve never needed anything in your whole life.”“That’s not true. I have needs, just like everyone,” he says quietly.“Really?” I pull myself back, forcing him to lower his hands from my face and drop them to my shoulders. “Name one thing you have ever needed.”Mark reaches up and lets his finger run across my cheek following the path of my tears. He looks directly at me, no distraction, no diversion, just truth.“I need you.”

Erotic Romance Serial Novel | ~17,000 words | Part 5 of 5"There is more than one way to be strong, Julia. You know one of them, I can teach you the other."Just when Julia Sharp thought that they were close to exposing Blake for the corrupt man that he is, a major wrench is thrown into their plan to save her company. Will she be able to make it to the courthouse in time to save Lynx and the jobs of all of her employees. If she does get her company back, will that solve all of the problems between her and Mark?

"There is more than one way to be strong, Julia. You know one of them, I can teach you the other."Julia Sharp has always been a strong woman. Her strength is what helped her through the days when her fledgling company struggled through the grip of a global recession.Since that time her business has grown tremendously, aided in part by the investment firm, Sandstone Ventures.For once in her life, she feels like she has everything she could ever want, but fate has other plans for her.In the span of one day, everything that Julia has worked for crumbles in front of her.With no other options, she turns to the wealthy and enigmatic partner of Sandstone Ventures, Mark Stone, for help.What Mark Stone asks of her will delve into her darkest fantasies and test the very limits of her strength.Excerpt:“No, but I have a plan. It’s going to take almost all thirty days, and it’s risky for me, but I think I might be able to find something you can use to file. However, I’m going to need your help and I’m going to need you to trust me.”“I must trust you, I’m here aren’t I?”“I mean you need to trust me with more than a passing glance. You need to trust me body and soul, to give your whole self to me and rely on me to do what’s right.”“Here we go again with a lecture on what I need. Can you please stop being my life coach and just help me save my job?” I’m shocked by this turn of events, and this talk about my body makes me edgy and wet all at the same time.“I have a proposal for you. Are you ready to listen with an open mind, or should I wait a few more days while the clock ticks down on Lynx?”His face is passive, calm, waiting. I consider throwing another casual snide comment at him, to drive a barb into him, to spur him to drop his cool exterior just for a second. I want see the real Mark again, the human one, the one that can feel pain. The Mark that had been in the office. The caged animal just underneath the surface that had grabbed my hips, bent me over and used me like an object. That Mark had been frightening, but even more terrifying is how much I want to see that part of him again.Stop it. This isn’t just about me, or my company. Dad is counting on me. So is Janice. And the rest of my employees. Time is not on my side and tossing cruelty at Mark won’t bring me any closer to getting Lynx back. “I’m ready,” I say with my head down like a school child in the principal’s office. How does he keep doing that to me?“Here’s my proposal: I think I have a way to get you the proof you need to file a rejoinder. I can’t tell you what it is, or how I’m going to get it. But I’ll need your trust, your cooperation, and a source inside the magazine you can go to who won’t reveal you. You need to be very close to your former employees. I will give you my expertise, time, investment, and strategy to make this plan work. In short, I will give you your job back and the humility necessary to run it.”“And what do you expect in return?”“You will give me your body, your will, your trust and your obedience for the next thirty days. You will do what I say without question, and you will submit to my instructions, my desires and my discipline.”