Kandi Steiner – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Kandi Steiner – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com Wed, 13 May 2026 18:52:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.ilovenovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Kandi Steiner – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com 32 32 Love Overboard Read Online Kandi Steiner http://www.ilovenovels.com/love-overboard-read-online-kandi-steiner Wed, 13 May 2026 18:52:13 +0000 http://www.ilovenovels.com/love-overboard-read-online-kandi-steiner Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary Authors: Kandi Steiner Advertisement

Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)

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From USA Today, #1 Amazon, and BookTok bestselling author Kandi Steiner comes a brand new standalone. Fans of Below Deck will love this angsty, tumultuous romance between two exes surprised to find out they’re working on the same yacht for the season - and that their every interaction, innocent or not, is being filmed for a television show

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

He loved lying with me almost as much as he loved lying to me.

It was a harsh truth, one that pierced like a knife between the ribs as I walked the empty shoreline of Kontokali Beach, a half-empty bottle of white wine in hand and mascara-stained tears drying on my cheeks.

Less than twenty-four hours ago, I couldn’t imagine a life without him.

Now, I had no choice.

I collapsed onto the beach, flopping down in a heap without a care in the world that the water was now soaking my lower half with each wave that washed upon the shoreline. My ribs tightened around my already struggling lungs as I stared at my feet in the sand. I dug my toes in deep after each wave only to have the water wash away any attempt at hiding them.

All the promises we made in the hours where night kisses morning were broken now, the shattered pieces blowing away with every rush of the salty breeze.

“I want you,” he’d whispered against my neck that first time we touched, both of us shaking, panting, yearning.

“I need you,” he’d groaned into my mouth the night he told me about his dreams, the night he let me see what drove him and realized I wasn’t laughing.

“I love you,” he’d confessed, unwillingly, his forehead against mine on this very beach, brows furrowed like the words pained him as much as they freed him.

Now, all those words were being washed away like the grains of sand around my toes, replaced by the truth that always existed beneath them.

We’re nothing. We never were. We never could be.

Four months.

That’s how long it took for me to fall in love with him.

Four minutes.

That’s how long it took for him to wreck my whole world.

TWO YEARS LATER

POST-PRODUCTION CONFESSIONAL

CLOSE QUARTERS

SEASON 4

EMBER REED: CHIEF STEW

PRODUCER

Alright, Ember. Ready to get started?

EMBER

As ready as I’ll be.

PRODUCER

You can relax. We promise — nothing to be nervous about.

Ember laughs softly.

EMBER

If you say so.

PRODUCER

We have the talking heads footage we captured on the boat, but now that you don’t have guests to tend to, we hope to dig a little deeper. We’re just going to go through and remind you of some of the things that happened this season, get your reaction and thoughts. These interviews will help tell the audience what you were feeling in that moment. You can start over as many times as you need to, and we just ask that you answer the question in a complete statement. For example, “I was upset when the guests didn’t tip us well, considering the hell they put us through.” Make sense?

Ember gives a thumbs up.

PRODUCER

Great. To start, we’ll just have you tell us who you are, your experience in yachting, and what you wanted when you agreed to this season — any goals you had. And just look at us when you answer, not the camera.

EMBER

I’m Ember Reed. I—

PRODUCER

Big smile! Remember, this is going to be the viewers’ first impression of you.

Ember pauses, drinks water, resettles in with a beaming smile.

EMBER

I’m Ember Reed. I’m twenty-six years old and I’m from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I’ve been a yacht stewardess for four years now and this is my first time as chief stew.

PRODUCER

Why don’t you elaborate on that, tell us how excited you are.

Ember’s smile wanes. She drinks water, exhales, smiles again.

EMBER

Being chief stew has been my dream for years. This is the opportunity I have been waiting for; so, when Captain Gary called me up and offered me the gig, I was over the moon. I’m so excited to finally show I have what it takes to run an interior team.

PRODUCER

And what’s the main role of chief stew? Why are you so excited to have this opportunity?

EMBER

Working as a second and third stew for years now, I know everything it takes to make the interior team sparkle. It’s not just serving the guests; though, that is the number one priority. It’s laundry and cabins; it’s table décor and pulling off perfectly themed parties; it’s booking local dancers for entertainment. There’s so much that goes into every second a guest is on board. The goal is to make them feel like it’s a six-star experience without them even noticing how hard we have to work to make that happen. As for why I want this opportunity…

Ember shrugs.

EMBER

This is my chance to prove myself and open doors to the career I’ve always wanted.

PRODUCER

Prove yourself to who… your father, perhaps?

Ember pauses, nods.

EMBER

Sure, that’s always been a goal of mine. But it’s about proving to myself that I can do this, too. When you’re chief stew, you’re the boss. I want to manage a team. I want to create the best guest experiences this show has ever seen. And, in the end, I want to use this experience to get me where I want to be — a purser on a private yacht.

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Right Your Wrongs (Kings of the Ice #6) Read Online Kandi Steiner http://www.ilovenovels.com/right-your-wrongs-kings-of-the-ice-6-read-online-kandi-steiner Fri, 03 Apr 2026 23:15:28 +0000 http://www.ilovenovels.com/right-your-wrongs-kings-of-the-ice-6-read-online-kandi-steiner Genre: Alpha Male, Angst, Contemporary, Forbidden, Sports Authors: Kandi Steiner Series: Kings of the Ice Series by Kandi Steiner
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Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 114951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)

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What happens when the youngest, most successful coach in the NHL comes face-to-face with the woman he never got over — only to find out she’s married to his new General Manager?

Everything I’ve spent my life building is suddenly at risk.

I loved Ariana Ridley long before the world knew my name. Before the NHL. Before the pressure of being one of the youngest coaches in the league. Before I learned how to survive by locking my heart down tight.

Leaving her was the hardest thing I’ve ever done — and the one choice I never made peace with.

Now she’s back.
And she belongs to another man.

My new General Manager.

I tell myself I can handle it. Discipline is my job. Control is my strength. I know how to keep my distance — how to respect the lines that should never be crossed.

But every glance drags the past to the surface. Every quiet moment reminds me the love I buried never died.

I see the cracks she tries to hide, the fear she’s learned to live with, and the way she still looks at me like I’m the one place she can breathe.

I want to protect her.
I want to fight for her.
And I want things I have no right to want.

Because if I cross that line, I don’t just risk my career — I risk shattering the woman I never stopped loving.

Some choices haunt us forever.
Some loves never let go.

And trying to right my wrongs might just ruin us both

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Bound

Shane

If a heart was tied to a person, mine was inextricably bound to her — and it stopped beating the day I left her behind.

Ariana Ridley had tried desperately not to be noticed when we were in college, but one look at her and it was clear how impossible that mission was. She was like a diamond buried deep, and her beauty was the volcano that unearthed her. It wasn’t only her piercing blue eyes or snow-white complexion. It wasn’t just her heart-shaped lips or her goddess-like curves.

It was the untold stories in her gaze, the way she wore her trauma like a cloak.

She called to me in a way I couldn’t fight, because I saw what everyone else overlooked.

Ariana was a survivor.

She was just like me.

We fell in love too easily, too quickly, at a rate that should have foretold how bad it would be once we finally hit the ground.

I was young and stupid when I let her go, when I chose my dream of hockey over her because I thought I was doing the right thing, and because hockey was the only thing I’d ever been able to depend on. I hated myself for the choice I made, and I regretted it every day.

I saw her once after that, years later, when I got injured and watched my dream go up in smoke. I begged for her forgiveness. She rightfully denied it.

I never thought I’d see her again.

Which was why I was grinding my teeth together to keep my jaw from dropping now, my heart kicking back to life in my chest with a force strong enough to take me to my knees.

Because here she was, in front of me again.

My Ari.

Standing next to my new General Manager.

As his wife.

Resilience

Shane

2006

Her hand shot into the air, and with it, she knocked my whole world off balance.

It was January 2006. I was a junior at Boston College, playing hockey for the university’s team and counting down to when I’d have my psychology degree in hand on my way into the NHL. I’d already been drafted by the Jacksonville Barracudas, my rights held by them while I attended college.

Four years to hone my skills on the ice with the Eagles, earn my degree, and enjoy a little bit of a normal life.

And then, it was off to the races.

I’d had a plan ever since I was ten years old. That was the year I realized hockey was everything to me. That was also the year I stopped treating it like a game and started manifesting a career.

I’d play my ass off through high school. I’d get drafted. I’d make sure the team that drafted me understood I wanted to go to college, and they’d hold my rights until I graduated. I’d go the full four years, get better and stronger on the ice, and make sure I had a backup plan in the form of a degree that could be used for a future career.

So far, I’d checked the boxes.

I’d played like a beast through high school, securing a spot in the USHL when I turned sixteen. I garnered scout attention early and was drafted the summer after I graduated high school, with the understanding that I would attend college, but the team would retain my rights. And here I was, the top-scoring winger for the Eagles and just three semesters away from graduation.

I had a plan.

And I was following that plan perfectly.

Until the second that girl raised her hand and ruined everything.

“Is resilience an individual trait, or is it built through community?” Professor Reid asked, scribbling Nature vs Nurture in the Home Environment on the whiteboard as he did. It was the first day of my Human Behavior in the Social Environment class — an elective I’d selected with team leadership in mind.

If I wanted to be a leader, not just on this team but on the ones I’d play for in the future, I needed to understand how humans ticked. I needed to know how to work with players from all backgrounds and upbringings.

Again, all part of the plan.

Two rows in front of me in the lecture hall, a hand bolted into the air.

I had a clear view of the girl the hand belonged to — or at least to the back of her head. She wore a white t-shirt, and her dark blonde hair was plaited into a thick braid that she had pulled over one shoulder. Even from two rows back, I could see that her nails were bitten short.

And she had a scar — right in the middle of that hand suspended above her.

“Yes,” Professor Reid said, nodding to the girl as he clasped his hands behind his back. “Miss?”

“Ariana Ridley,” she answered, lowering her hand. Her voice shocked me. It was smooth and raspy, like that of a woman twice her age. “I believe it’s an individual trait.”

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Stand Your Ground (Kings of the Ice #5) Read Online Kandi Steiner http://www.ilovenovels.com/stand-your-ground-kings-of-the-ice-5-read-online-kandi-steiner Wed, 29 Oct 2025 22:16:03 +0000 http://www.ilovenovels.com/stand-your-ground-kings-of-the-ice-5-read-online-kandi-steiner Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Sports Authors: Kandi Steiner Series: Kings of the Ice Series by Kandi Steiner
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Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)

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I wrote up the contract myself.
Legally binding. Crystal clear.
No strings. No feelings.
Just sex — and two million dollars in exchange for my time and expertise.

Carter Fabri may be Tampa Bay’s newest rising star, but off the ice, he’s all Bambi eyes and inexperience. He’s a virgin in desperate need of lessons in dominance, seduction, and everything in between.

And I happen to be just the woman to teach him.

I don’t need his money.
But I do need what it can give me.

I’m thirty-two, cut off from my family, and one bill away from drowning in student debt. The fantasy I’ve built around my lifestyle is getting harder to maintain. This pay day would secure the lifestyle I’ve worked too hard to let slip through my fingers and finally give me the chance to save for something I’ve always wanted — something I’ve never told anyone about.

So, I take Carter on as my student. I lay out every rule, every boundary, every carefully controlled term of our arrangement.

What I don’t plan for is how quickly he’d catch on — or how much I’d enjoy letting him take the reins.

This was supposed to be a lesson in power.
But somewhere along the way, I stopped being the one in charge.

I thought I could keep my heart out of it.
I thought I’d accounted for every risk.
But some consequences you can’t predict — no matter how carefully you draft the terms

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

To the ones who rise from the wreckage

and turn pain into power.

This one’s for you.

Bark, Bark

Carter

“Did you take a pill before coming in?” Livia asked me, hanging one hand on her slim hip as the other pointed a very sharp tool in my direction. “Because that shot only numbs your jaw, and I know you gotta be high to say what you just said to me.”

“Come on, Liv. Look—”

“Doctor Young,” she corrected me, one dark brow sliding up into her hairline. “This isn’t a barbecue at Daddy P’s house. You’re in my chair, at my job, and you will respect me and call me by my hard-earned title.”

Fuck.

My cock hardened at her tone, at the way she snapped at me, at how she made me feel small and somehow made me buzz to life at the same time.

“Yes, Doctor,” I breathed.

Livia narrowed her gaze, dropping it to my lap before she rolled her eyes. She was trying to keep her sassy attitude intact, but I saw the smile she was fighting. “Oh, my God, Carter, you don’t seriously have a boner right now?”

“Can you blame me? That was fucking hot.”

My words slurred a little as my jaw began to numb.

As a professional hockey player, I’d had my fair share of dental work. But somehow, I’d managed to avoid taking a high stick hard enough to break my tooth and send most of it flying onto the ice.

Until last night’s game.

Which was why I was here now, in Dr. Livia Young’s chair, shooting a shot that, until now, I’d been too afraid to shoot. And no, I wasn’t just asking her to fix my tooth.

I was asking her to take me under her wing and train me to be better in bed — and in dating, period.

I’d known Livia for years. She was the dentist for the Tampa Bay Ospreys, the team I was now on a one-way contract with. She was also best friends with Maven Tanev, who was married to one of my teammates and closest friends. Because of that, we ran in the same circle — attended the same parties, went out to the same places, watched the same group of friends grow up and get married and move on while we played on the sidelines.

Maybe that was what had courage swelling up in my chest like a wave. It hadn’t even been two months since we celebrated the wedding of our friends Aleks and Mia, and now, the whole friend group was preparing to celebrate Will and Chloe and their nuptials.

I had a sneaking suspicion Livia didn’t care one way or another, but I was tired of watching everyone else find their happiness when I couldn’t even find a fucking date.

Don’t get me wrong — I loved my teammates, even when they ragged on me, and I was happy they were all finding their soulmates.

I was just also unhappy that my confidence had been eviscerated by an absolute hard ass of a coach when I was fifteen, and I had yet to recover it.

It pissed me off that something I should have been over by now had soiled not only my performance on the ice, but off it, too.

But that’s how trauma works, as my therapist so often loved to remind me. We don’t get to choose how long it sticks around and keeps its claws in us. We don’t get to turn a dial and make it suck less. It’s a part of us, like a mole or a scar, and we have to learn to live with it.

So, that’s where I was now — acceptance.

My confidence was shit. I couldn’t land a date to save my life, let alone a girlfriend.

But Livia Young was just the woman to help me change that.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, that sharp tool still dangling in her other hand. Her dental assistant stood by silently, a mask covering part of her shocked face, though I could see the young girl’s eyes flicking between me and Livia. What I could see of her pale skin was flushed red. But I had no shame when it came to Livia Young, and she’d never been afraid to speak her mind, either.

That was just one of the many reasons I knew she was right for this job.

“Carter, you are in my chair because you were hit in the face and your two lower central incisors have been blown to bits like a mortar went off in your mouth.”

“I love when you talk dentist to me.”

“And the only lesson I will be giving you,” she continued, waving that tool around like a wand. “Is to get a better mouth guard and learn how to dodge a high stick.”

She was so gorgeous I could barely think straight as I listened to her threats, the corner of my mouth lifting helplessly. Deep brown skin, smooth and enticing, dark black hair pulled into a tight, professional bun. She wore little makeup today, and she was still stunning.

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Save Your Breath (Kings of the Ice #4) Read Online Kandi Steiner http://www.ilovenovels.com/save-your-breath-kings-of-the-ice-4-read-online-kandi-steiner Thu, 17 Apr 2025 13:12:59 +0000 http://www.ilovenovels.com/save-your-breath-kings-of-the-ice-4-read-online-kandi-steiner Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Sports Authors: Kandi Steiner Series: Kings of the Ice Series by Kandi Steiner
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Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)

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THIS JUST IN: HOCKEY BAD BOY AND POP STAR EXTRAORDINAIRE ENGAGED!
That was the headline we'd wanted. If only I’d known the cost to get it.

Aleksander Suter has been my best friend since high school—and the only man who’s ever been able to truly get under my skin. With his reputation for trouble and a smirk that could melt ice, he’s also the NHL’s favorite bad boy.

When my publicist’s plan to fix my image collides with his need to clean up his own, we find ourselves in a fake engagement that feels too real from the start.

Now, I’m releasing my new album, putting on a show for the paparazzi I usually try to dodge, and falling too fast for a man who never falls for anyone. Every stolen glance, every heated touch blurs the lines between us until I’m wondering where the lies end and the truth begins.

And when a hurricane traps us together in his high-rise condo, all my carefully built walls collapse, and resisting the pull between us becomes a losing game.

Suddenly, the stakes are higher than just headlines, and the risks feel more personal than ever.

But as our past resurfaces and old feelings reignite, I realize the biggest risk isn’t losing my career—it’s losing my heart to the one person I thought would never be mine

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

The Charade

Aleks

She wanted to hit me.

I wanted to kiss her.

That was how it had always been with us.

“This is just… great. Just fucking perfect,” Mia said, throwing her hands up in disbelief before she sank down into my giant bean bag with a huff. As soon as she realized where she was sitting, she hopped up with a frustrated growl before stomping over to the couch, instead.

She hated that fucking thing, thought it was childish and likely had some assumptions about what she thought had taken place on it. Usually, I found her disgust with it hilarious.

But nothing was funny in this moment.

She buried her face in her hands, shaking her head.

“What am I going to do?”

I didn’t mind seeing her flustered in most cases because I was most often the culprit getting under her skin. Ruffling her feathers was one of my favorite pastimes, if only to see that fire within her spark to life. But in this instance, I hated it, because she was upset over something I had no control over.

Under normal circumstances, I’d toss a smart-ass remark at her and smirk as that perfect mouth of hers gaped open at me, as her cheeks turned red and that little vein in her forehead popped. I knew exactly how to push her buttons, how to make rage pour through that normally put-together woman.

But right now, that side of me I always kept tied up in the basement of my cold, dead heart was thrashing, urging me to go to her, to pull her into me, to hold her and find a way to make it right.

I kicked that motherfucker hard enough to knock him out, snuffing the lights and reminding him why he was locked away in the first place.

Her dark hair fell over her shoulders in a silky curtain as I took the seat next to her. I hovered one hand over her slender back before I carefully, slowly, rubbed it. “I’m sorry.”

Mia froze under my touch.

There it was again, that shock of electricity between us, that zap of heat I felt any time my body made contact with hers.

But just when I thought she might melt into that touch, Mia yanked away, uncovering her face so she could properly glare at me. Those sharp blue eyes of hers narrowed into slits. “Well, you should be. This is all your fault.”

And just like that, we were back to sparring.

“My fault?” I gaped at her, smirking even with my mouth open because I wanted her to feel as ridiculous as she was being. “Mia, it’s a fucking hurricane. What the hell am I supposed to do about it?”

“You’re the whole reason I’m here instead of in New York to begin with. I’m doing all this to save your ass! And now I have to cancel a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.”

The truth of that seemed to hit her full force, her face going white.

“Oh, God,” she whimpered, burying her face again. “I have to cancel a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.”

Any desire I did have to comfort her was receding now, held at bay by her accusation. “Saving my ass,” I repeated, tonguing my cheek. “So, this is all about me suddenly? I’m the big bad wolf and you’re just doing this to be a little saint, huh? Nothing at all in it for you?”

“Oh, shut up,” she spat, shoving me away. I barely budged.

“Because I’m pretty sure this was your publicist’s idea,” I reminded her.

“Well, your agent is the one who made me come here for your stupid game!”

“Made you?” I stood, jaw tight. “You are a woman with free will, Mia. In case you forgot. No one can make you do anything.”

She looked up at me then, her eyes softer, something in the relaxing of her jaw telling me I’d struck a nerve without trying. She was a woman of free will, yes — but she was also a pop star puppet, her strings being pulled by an entire team she paid to keep her career skyrocketing.

That softening in her reminded me so much of when we were younger that I had a hard time taking my next breath.

For a split second, we were both eighteen again.

She was begging me to kiss her.

I was begging her not to let me.

I knew even then that we were wrong for each other.

I knew even then that we’d break each other’s hearts if we ever tried to be more than friends.

“Whatever,” she said after a moment. The word was resigned, not laced with any sort of edge, and that upset me more than if she’d screamed it.

I could handle her yelling at me.

I couldn’t handle knowing I’d hurt her — even with all the practice I’d had over the years.

She sniffed, waving her hand in the air like I was one of the people paid to wait on her. “Do you at least have some tequila or something?”

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False Start – Red Zone Rivals Read Online Kandi Steiner http://www.ilovenovels.com/false-start-red-zone-rivals-read-online-kandi-steiner Thu, 13 Jun 2024 07:54:50 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/false-start-red-zone-rivals-read-online-kandi-steiner Genre: Alpha Male, Sports Authors: Kandi Steiner Advertisement

Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >133

Kyle Robbins: Seattle's rookie tight end and the first boy to break my heart.
Oh, did I mention he's also my new client... and fake boyfriend?

I thought I left Kyle and our complicated past behind me, but when he saunters up as my new client at a house showing, I’m quickly reminded how much he still haunts me.

I try to walk away, but the stubborn jerk isn’t having it. In fact, he doubles down on working with me, as if our tragic history doesn’t exist at all.

The commission from working with him is the key to a new life for me and my son. It’s worth putting up with the cocky athlete long enough to find him a house. But when Kyle sees the bruises left by my darling ex-husband, he thinks he can save me — and suddenly, he’s interested in much more than just being a client.

Before I know it, I’m wrangled into a scheme so crazy it just might work. Kyle pretends to be my fake boyfriend so he can keep my ex in line until I get the commission from this house sale and get the hell out of Seattle for good.

But with a past as thick with chemistry and tension as ours is, it’s not long before those fake touches feel all too real. Every brush of his hand against my back has me spinning back to that night. Every kiss has me dizzy with the love I felt at eighteen. And every day that passes without me finding him a house has me wondering how much longer I can survive this game we’re playing.

Fake-dating each other was supposed to be for my safety.

But I can't help thinking my heart is more at risk now than ever before.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Madelyn

I wondered how big his cock was.

It was an entirely inappropriate thought for a real estate agent to have about her new client, but standing in the middle of the vast mansion with marble floors, high ceilings, and a striking view of Mount Rainier, it was all I could think.

Because this smelled a lot like overcompensating.

My guess was the guy wasn’t even serious. I’d been alerted at two in the morning by a real estate app that someone wanted to see this house, and since I hadn’t slept through the night since I was a kid, I was easily the first agent to respond to the request. It was a nearly four-million-dollar home, which got my attention, because even if it was likely just a prank, the possibility of that commission was life changing and too good to pass up.

I’d also learned that in today’s day and age, most people preferred to be texted rather than hounded on the phone.

So, I’d sent a text right away, saying I had availability today and sending over my times. My mystery client had picked the first one, and so here I was, tea in hand, standing in the middle of a seven-thousand-square-foot home and wondering who the hell could possibly need this much space.

I sighed.

It was probably a joke.

I’d dealt with enough of those in my five years as an agent. People loved to play that trick, pretending to be interested in buying just to see the inside of a nice house. Most of the larger homes required some sort of background check before allowing anyone in to see, some sort of proof that the client had real intent to buy. But, sometimes, like in this case, anyone could request a viewing.

The listing was new, and my guess was the sellers would learn their lesson to put some parameters in place soon enough.

I glanced at my watch, noting that the guy was already twenty minutes late. Of course, it could be a woman. It wasn’t fair that I assumed it was a man. But judging by the house listing boasting a man cave complete with an indoor golf simulator, I guess you could say I had a pretty good hunch.

The name they’d given in the app request was Nunya Biznaz, which either meant this was absolutely some nosy prick who just wanted to see inside a mansion, or that it was someone high profile who didn’t want the media snooping on their real estate inquiries.

Both were plausible in Seattle.

I was just about to break my text-only rule and call the guy when a loud engine alerted me to his arrival.

That overcompensating thought came rushing back.

Slapping a smile on my face, I let my stiletto heels carry me toward the front door, the soft click-clack a bit soothing as I did. I’d left the door open, so I stood in the foyer, ready to greet my client — who’d just pulled up the stone drive in a forest green Aston Martin that still purred even while idle.

The engine cut, and the door opened, revealing one long leg and a very large sneaker.

My theory on overcompensating went out the door when the man stood.

He towered over the tiny sports car.

In fact, I was trying to figure out how he fit in that car at all as he smoothed a hand over his long-sleeve shirt, his eyes surveying the house in front of him like it wasn’t measuring up to be what he expected.

He was insanely tall, at least six-foot-seven, but built like a tank. His waist was lean somehow, but his shoulders broad, his arms thick and corded with muscle that strained against the fabric of his shirt. He wore a pair of light-gray joggers that stretched over thick thighs, thighs I didn’t have to study long to know were just as muscular as his arms. He also didn’t have to turn around for me to know he likely had an ass to match.

His hair was hidden under a beanie, but I imagined it matched the brown of the stubble lining his jaw. That wasn’t oops I forgot to shave stubble, either. It was purposeful, neatly trimmed, the kind of stubble that drove a woman mad if she thought about what it would feel like brushing her neck.

My neck heated with that thought, one I hadn’t had in years, a feeling I thought was dead stirring to life deep in my gut.

The man was dripping in sex appeal, from his casual attire to his hot sports car.

And though I wanted to be immune to it, I wasn’t.

My thighs clenched, and I tried to fend off the electricity buzzing in my veins by standing a bit straighter as I waited for him to climb the steps. He wore sunglasses, even though it was too early for him to need them, and his thick lips were in a sort of unamused pout as he scanned the yard.

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Learn Your Lesson (Kings of the Ice #3) Read Online Kandi Steiner http://www.ilovenovels.com/learn-your-lesson-kings-of-the-ice-3-read-online-kandi-steiner Sat, 27 Apr 2024 17:48:46 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/learn-your-lesson-kings-of-the-ice-3-read-online-kandi-steiner Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Sports Authors: Kandi Steiner Series: Kings of the Ice Series by Kandi Steiner
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Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 130307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >138

My mother only wanted me to learn one lesson growing up…
Men are trash.

Her father left her, and then my father left us. Being raised by her and my grandmother, I was surrounded by the reminder to be independent and guard my heart.

After my one and only experience with a boy in college fell flatter than a pancake, I realized they were right — and I was content to live the life of a twenty-six-year-old cat lady.

Until Will Perry blew my quiet world to smithereens.

Starting goalie for the Tampa Bay Ospreys and the kind of hot that scrambles your brain, all I was ever supposed to be to him was his daughter’s kindergarten teacher. Then, in a twist of events, his temporary nanny.

But temporary turns to permanent, and when I move into his pool house, everything changes.

He’s impossibly grumpy and focused on only two things: hockey, and taking care of his daughter. I’m only focused on using this new income to pay back my student loans.

But in that house, I feel his heated gaze beneath that permanent scowl, the way it lingers and warms my skin. And though I know my mother would lose her mind if she knew, my dreams have become midnight fantasies about my long-haired, muscle-lined mystery of a boss.

When the tension becomes too much, we break, and we make a deal.

He still needs a nanny. I still need a paycheck and for my matriarchy to not disown me. But Will agrees to teach me everything I’ve always wanted to learn, and I’m all too eager to be his student.

I can do this. I’m a grown woman. I can explore my sexuality with the hottest goalie on earth and still remain one-hundred percent professional. And I can definitely do it all without catching feelings.

I have to.

Otherwise, I’ll end up heartbroken in my mother’s arms while she shakes her head and asks me if I’ll ever learn my lesson.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Yes, Sir

Will

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

I growled the words, ripping my mask off as I skated past our wide-eyed assistant athletic trainer. She was new to the team, joining us for her first season, and I didn’t mean to make her pale as a ghost with my reaction to the message she’d delivered — but I couldn’t help it.

Grumpy was my natural state of being lately.

And I was extra grumpy at the moment from being interrupted in the middle of our practice by a trainer telling me my daughter was here.

Ava was my fucking world. Other than hockey, she was all that mattered to me. I looked forward to every minute I got to spend with her.

The issue was that she should have been at home right now with the newest nanny I’d hired — not standing in the penalty box.

I tried and failed to school my breathing the closer I got, both frustrated by a clear sign my latest nanny had bit the dust, and worried something might have happened to Ava. But she looked content as could be, perched on the seat inside the box, pressing up onto her toes to get a better look at the rink through the glass. She was watching the rest of the team as they ran drills, her mop of dark brown curls falling out of the ponytail I’d tried to wrangle them into earlier that morning.

Like me, my daughter didn’t smile much. It was an unfortunate side-effect to having me as a father and the only steady parental figure in her life.

But right now, her eyes were big and filled with excitement — well, as much excitement as she was capable of showing, anyway. The kid loved hockey just as much as I did, and any time I let her come to the arena, she lit up like I’d taken her to Disney World.

Except this time, I hadn’t let her come. This wasn’t an approved visit.

She was supposed to be at home — playing house or running in the yard or swimming in our pool.

Instead, she was watching pucks fly.

And it wasn’t her nanny standing beside her and making sure she didn’t fall.

It was Chloe Knott — her kindergarten teacher.

She stood out like a sore thumb, not just because the stands were empty, but because that woman wouldn’t be able to blend in anywhere no matter how hard she tried.

Her bright copper wave of hair was lobbed just above her shoulders and parted down the middle, her brown eyes framed with thick, dark lashes that dusted her rosy cheeks every time she blinked. Other than that blush, her skin was like porcelain, pale and smooth like she bathed in sunscreen every morning before leaving the house.

She wore a long black skirt with white polka dots and a white t-shirt with a rainbow on it. Under the rainbow, it said no rain, no rainbow. Jade green arches dangled from her ears to complete the look, and they shimmered in the stadium lighting the closer I got.

I remembered the relief I’d felt in my chest the first time I’d met her, how she’d warmed at the sight of Ava as if she were her only student. Chloe had bent down to her level, looking her right in the eye and talking to her like an adult. She’d managed to get my daughter to smirk, and I’d felt the weight on my chest dissipate.

It was one thing to have Ava in a half-day of early learning last year, but to have her officially in school had put my emotions through the wringer. I didn’t want her to grow up. I didn’t want to have to face everything that came with school — bullies, friendships breaking down, the struggle of learning.

I wanted her to hold onto her innocence forever, to always stay this young.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Perry,” Chloe said when I was close enough to hear her. She smiled apologetically, her coral-painted lips curving up just a fraction as she looked at Ava and then at me. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

I could put the pieces together before I even got an explanation.

After the run of bad luck I’d had with nannies over the summer, I’d made sure to let Miss Knott know when I hired a new one. I’d also written consent for Miss Knott to be able to drive Ava to me should anything happen.

She had already been added to my approved list from when she’d tutored Ava in the first semester of the year, as my daughter had struggled with speaking in front of a class of twenty kids. When Ava finally started feeling comfortable, she excelled — but I didn’t revoke Miss Knott’s access even now that we were in the second semester, because I had a feeling I’d need her.

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Watch Your Mouth (Kings of the Ice #2) Read Online Kandi Steiner http://www.ilovenovels.com/watch-your-mouth-kings-of-the-ice-2-read-online-kandi-steiner Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:55:57 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/watch-your-mouth-kings-of-the-ice-2-read-online-kandi-steiner Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Erotic, Forbidden, Sports Authors: Kandi Steiner Series: Kings of the Ice Series by Kandi Steiner
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Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >129

My brother’s teammates know not to touch me — but that doesn’t stop me from daring Jaxson Brittain to be the first to break the rule.

After one steamy night in Austin, I’m all too aware of the hot, broody defenseman with icy blue eyes and ink sprawling his muscular arms. He was the one my brother assigned to keep me safe — and I had far too much fun tempting him to be the one to put me in danger.

It was just one night of tip-toeing the line, of teasing and flirting and messing around knowing nothing would ever come of it.

But when the universe throws me back into his lap two weeks later and we end up on a secret road trip together, all bets are off.

I can’t help but touch him. I can’t help but pray for him to touch me. And I can’t resist the temptation to test him at every turn.

Jaxson is smart and doesn’t have a death wish. So, like a gentleman, he keeps his hands to himself… the jerk.

But the closer we get on the road and the farther we get from reality, the less those warning signs from my brother seem to deter him.

When we started this road trip, we set a boundary. We promised to keep all arms and legs safely in the friend zone.

Now, miles and miles away from all the reasons we shouldn’t, all I can hear is my heart thumping out the resounding reason we should.

And the way those heated blue eyes watch me, I know I’m not the only one.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

To the weirdos.

Keep that shit up.

We Ride at Dusk

Jaxson

My whole life, I’d been walking in a fog, in a dense and heavy cloud that I thought would stay with me forever.

But one night with her had brought in the sun.

From the time I was born, I knew the plan for my life. That plan revolved around hockey. I had a stick in my hands at the age of three. I was playing on a team by the time I was five. My parents sacrificed family vacations for hockey camps, Christmas presents for hockey gear, and board game or puzzle nights for evenings watching video of every team we could study.

I was meant to live out the dream my father had. The dream that was stolen from him.

And that’s what I did.

Don’t get me wrong — hockey was my dream, too. Nothing filled my soul the way being on the ice did.

But no matter how I performed, I had a lashing waiting at the end of every game from the man whose approval I desired most.

It was impossible for that not to chip away at someone’s spirit.

Before I even realized what was happening, I woke up in the middle of a life that felt like it was being lived by someone else. I was a professional hockey player — a defensemen who made my father passively okay with my performance twenty percent of the time and angry as hell the other eighty. He always felt I could do better. He was always pushing me to do more.

I survived the pressure through numbing myself with whatever substance I had available — mostly, alcohol and women. Fortunately, I’d also found a family in my teammates, especially in the last year.

Most days, they were the only thing keeping my head above water. They gave me a reason to play — not just for my dad, or for me, but for them.

One of my teammates who was like a brother was Vince Tanev, our new winger who’d stepped in like the leader he was born to be.

Which was exactly why I was trying to ignore the fact that I hadn’t thought of much other than his sister since the night he won NHL rookie of the year.

I was at his house now, waiting on our goalie to meet up with us so we could play a round of golf. I hadn’t seen them since our weekend out in Austin two weeks ago, everyone settling into the off-season. But now that I was in Vince’s space, I couldn’t help but think about his sister.

Which was a real fucking problem.

I’d spent the better half of the last fourteen days doing my level best to erase her and that night from my mind. Because it didn’t matter how easily the conversation came, how heartily she’d made me laugh, or how my body had hummed to life with her hips in my hands as we danced in a crowded club.

Grace Tanev was off limits.

She was in a relationship. She was eight years younger than me.

She was my teammate’s little sister.

That was a hurdle not even I could jump.

I didn’t understand why I even wanted to jump it, but she had done something to me. If my life were going according to plan, then she was the nuclear bomb that blew it all to bits.

It was like she’d shaken me from a deep slumber, and now I was wide awake, looking around with a new perspective on life and absolutely zero desire to go back to bed.

I’d done a somewhat decent job of letting the idea of her go. I had resisted the urge to look her up on social media, had ignored the fact that she’d given me her number, that she’d put it in my phone before we said our goodbye.

Because that was exactly what it was — a goodbye.

Until it wasn’t.

“You really want to lose your money that badly, Fabio?” Vince asked Carter with a whistle, shaking his head. We were at his new place on the beach, half of it still littered with boxes, waiting for Will Perry to show up so we could hit our tee time. “You know my game puts yours to shame.”

Carter Fabbri, or Fabio as we called him, had been a rookie this past season, too. Unfortunately, he’d also been sent down to the AHL in March to help them during playoffs. That happened sometimes, if the NHL team could spare a player and the AHL team needed some help. But it always stung like a bitch when you were called down, because it meant one thing was clear: you were expendable.

Still, everything reset after playoffs. Carter had moved to Tampa to show his dedication to the team, and he’d be at camp with the rest of us come September. I wasn’t sure where he’d end up after that, but I hoped he’d be with us.

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Meet Your Match (Kings of the Ice #1) Read Online Kandi Steiner http://www.ilovenovels.com/meet-your-match-kings-of-the-ice-1-read-online-kandi-steiner Thu, 20 Jul 2023 19:19:39 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/meet-your-match-kings-of-the-ice-1-read-online-kandi-steiner Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Sports Authors: Kandi Steiner Series: Kings of the Ice Series by Kandi Steiner
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Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >110

One Month with Vince Tanev: Tampa’s Hotshot Rookie
Twenty-four-seven access on and off the ice.

The headline says it all, and my bosses are over the moon when the opportunity of a lifetime lands in my lap. Of course, they aren’t aware that I’ve already met Vince Cool at an all-star gala — and that we were at each other’s throats the entire time.

It doesn’t matter that he’s the kind of hot that shows God has favorites — messy brown hair, heated hazel eyes, the smirk of a rockstar, and a scar over his eyebrow that makes every woman particularly feral.

He’s a rich, cocky playboy — a brand I’m all too familiar with, and one I’m determined to never be around again.

But after my coverage of the gala stirs up buzz, the team’s General Manager and my CEO strike a deal. To help fill the arena at home games, I’ll get up close and personal with Tampa’s new shiny toy. Whether he’s at practice, playing in a game, partying, or drinking coffee half-naked in his condo — I’ll be there for all of it.

Vince gets under my skin like no one else. It isn’t long before that paper-thin line between hate and lust blurs, and being around him every waking minute of the day leaves no chance to escape his devilish stare.

The air crackles between us. The tension is hot enough to melt my inhibitions.

But I know the way this story ends. I’ve lived it once before.

As much as I work to guard my heart, my body is a traitor — and if this man puts his hands on me, I know I’ll submit to desire.

I thought one month with Vince Tanev was a game I could win easily.
But I might have just met my match.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

To the ones who run despite the rain,

who jump without fear of falling,

who open their hearts when the world says it’s foolish to do so,

and who are just crazy enough to believe in love.

This one’s for you.

The Most Heinous Vase Ever Created

Maven

“It smells like rich assholes in here.”

I wrinkled my nose to hammer that point home, and my best friend let out a soft laugh before sipping from the glass of champagne she held daintily between her fingertips. The diamonds on her warm brown wrist glittered under the chandelier, but as impressive as her jewelry was, it didn’t hold a candle to the long, black, starlight-like dress hugging her curves and draping down to the floor in romantic sweeps of shimmering fabric.

“And you know that because you’ve had your nose buried in a rich asshole a time or two in your life?”

“Don’t even have to get that far to sniff one out. Just being in the same room suffices.”

The room we were currently in was of the ballroom variety, with elegant chandeliers, pristine marble floors, and a majestic, vaulted ceiling painted like an Italian chapel. It was one of the most historic buildings in Ybor; an old social club transformed into an upscale party for tonight’s event.

When we walked up the grand staircase earlier, I was entranced by the lush gold and blood red tones. The way they mixed with the expensive wooden trim transported me back in time, as if we were attending an 18th century royal affair.

Tampa’s rich and famous filled the lavish space, dressed to the nines in tuxedos and gowns that cost more than everything I currently owned put together. The only reason I was able to dress to fit in was because of Livia, who had a flair for designer clothes even before she was the highest-paid dentist in the state.

Mostly because her dentistry didn’t just consist of filling cavities and routine cleanings — although, she’d argue she did plenty of that, too — but rather handling the absolutely brutal mouth trauma suffered by professional hockey players.

She’d been ecstatic for the chance to get me out of what she referred to as my “hippie clothes.” I much preferred the flowy fabric of my Free People dresses to the form-fitting mermaid number Livia had strapped me into tonight. Although, the gorgeous yellow tone of it was my favorite. It complemented my rich, creamy brown complexion beautifully, and I’d styled my hair back in a sleek ponytail so all attention stayed on the dress.

Livia folded one arm over her middle, balancing the elbow of the other on her wrist and tilting the champagne flute to her lips again. “What exactly is the scent?”

“Dirty money, designer leather, and Bond No. 9,” I said easily. “With a hint of that particular fragrance that you only find in the lobbies of million-dollar condos.”

“Does my condo lobby smell?”

“It’s the most pungent one in Tampa.”

Her coral-painted lips curved into a saccharine smile, one that told me she took that as a compliment.

“Well, good thing you’re only here to report on the event and how much these rich assholes raise for charity tonight,” she said. “Wouldn’t want you to catch the stench.”

She elbowed me with the joke, and I smiled, pulling my phone from my clutch and switching it to cinema video mode before I took some close-up shots of the elaborate centerpiece glittering on the cocktail table we were standing at.

When I had that clip, I tucked my phone away and wrapped my hands around the camera hanging from my neck. I adjusted a few settings before taking a photograph of the table, then of Livia as she winked and tipped back the last of her champagne.

Outside of this event, when people saw us together, we didn’t fit. Livia was born and raised in Long Island, New York — and her parents had the vacation house in the Hamptons to prove it. I was from the opposite side of the tracks, a humble upbringing in a suburb inland from Tampa Bay. She was also four years older than me, graduating with her doctoral degree when I had just barely clinched my bachelor’s.

Still, from the moment we met, there had been an understanding between us. It was the kind you only found in someone who saw you for who you are and didn’t expect you to be anyone or anything else. It was rare, and special, and something I never took for granted — especially since finding any kind of connection like that with the opposite sex seemed futile at this point.

Livia Young was the best thing to come out of the most traumatic relationship of my life.

As if she could sense where my head was going, Livia gently touched my shoulder. “You good?”

I ignored the twinge in my stomach when I responded. “Good. You want a picture with any of these prissy athletes?” I teased, holding up my camera.

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >110

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Hail Mary – Red Zone Rivals Read Online Kandi Steiner http://www.ilovenovels.com/hail-mary-red-zone-rivals-read-online-kandi-steiner Sun, 26 Feb 2023 20:45:14 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/hail-mary-red-zone-rivals-read-online-kandi-steiner Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Sports Authors: Kandi Steiner Advertisement

Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 130380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >139

Leo F*cking Hernandez.

North Boston University’s star running back, notorious bachelor, and number one on my people I would murder if I could get away with it list.

And now?
He’s my new roommate.

I used to think I loved him.
But that was before I hated him.

He doesn’t remember who I am, or how he made my life miserable for years. And before I unknowingly moved across the street from him, I couldn’t have cared less. I was living my life despite him and what happened that summer, chasing my dream of becoming a tattoo artist.

“The Pit,” as the university so gracefully nicknamed the house he lives in with three other football players, has served as nothing more than a pain in my ass and a constant reminder of the boy who broke my heart. Watching him parade his one-night-stands in and out of it never helped, either.

But with rent this cheap and so close to the tattoo shop, I’ve learned to ignore him — no matter how he’s tried to get under my skin.

At least, until this summer. Because when a water and mold disaster leaves me with no choice but to vacate my house, I have nowhere to go. And Leo Hernandez offers me a deal I can’t refuse.

Live at The Pit with him and the guys, free of charge, until my landlord fixes this mess.

Ignoring him was easy when I lived across the street, but in the same house, with him shirtless half the time and watching me with his cocky grin and searing gaze? It’s impossible.

Still, I have to try. I have to push him away, even when he makes it infuriatingly difficult to do so.

He’s broken my heart once.
I won’t let him do it again.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

To the girls who love

tattoos,

video games,

fucking shit up,

and hot, cocky, infuriating playboys.

This one’s for you.

Then

Mary

Asking for Halo 5 for my fifteenth birthday was the biggest mistake of my adolescent life.

First of all, my mother about fainted when I did. It was hard enough to get her to even allow me to have an Xbox with a few single-player fantasy games, and that was because she thought it was a phase I would grow out of. But asking for an Xbox Live subscription and a game I could play with people around the world where our main goal was to kill each other?

My poor mother didn’t know what to do with that.

“What about cheerleading? What about hanging out with your friends, shopping at the mall, boys?” She’d asked each question more frantically than the last, all the hope dwindling in her eyes.

Fortunately, I had Dad, who I think knew from when I was a young age that I was not going to be what he and Mom pictured.

Mom wanted a cheerleader and debutante just like her. She wanted her daughter to rush the same sorority she’d been a part of in college and dreamed of planning a huge wedding day with a fluffy white dress.

Dad wanted me to be in acquisitions, just like him and my older brother, Matthew, who was in college and destined to follow in his footsteps. To be fair, I did get my sass from my dad, and my take no shit attitude. But using those skills to be ruthless in a business merger was not exactly on my radar.

No, what they got instead of all that was an emo kid with a love for doodling and a dream of being a tattoo artist.

But that’s not even why Halo 5 was the beginning of my demise. Because as much as Mom hated it, Dad encouraged her that it was fine for me to play. Good for the brain muscles, he jokingly said over dinner as Mom angrily chewed an asparagus sprig.

And so, on my fifteenth birthday, I ripped open the present shaped like a video game first and squealed with delight, abandoning all my other gifts and running back to my room to play immediately.

It took me a while to figure the game out, but not too long to realize that I was years behind most of the people I was playing live with. Not that that deterred me. I was a teenager on summer break with all the time in the world. And if there was anything I loved more than drawing or gaming, it was a challenge.

I played as much as I could those first few weeks of summer vacation, leveling up and honing my skills. It wasn’t unusual for me to still be awake when Dad’s alarm went off for him to go into the city. He’d pop his head into my room, smile, and warn me to at least pretend I was sleeping when Mom got up.

I loved that summer. I loved the feeling of a winning streak, of staying up until the sun rose, of surprising my team when I spoke into my headset and they realized I was a girl. At school, I was a nobody, a loser, just another overweight teenager with acne and bad teeth and baggy clothes who lost more and more friends as she discovered her true interests.

But online? I was a bad ass.

I was almost a god — or goddess — when I was playing Halo. I controlled what I looked like, who I played with, and what a huge part I was of our team’s victory. People wanted me on their team. They wanted to play with me. They wanted to be me.

Everything was going great.

And then, a month and a half after my birthday, when summer was in full swing but school was looming on the other side of it, I was popped into a game with the absolute last person I ever expected.

Leo Hernandez.

Anyone who went to my high school knew who Leo was. Every girl knew his messy hair, his crooked smile, his lean, muscular body, his golden skin and infectious laugh. Every boy knew his speed and agility, the ease with which he excelled on the football field and off it, too. He was a star athlete with a dad who used to play in the NFL. He was popular. He was funny. He was rich.

He was the kind of boy who could smile at you and make you feel like the only girl in the world.

Little did I know he was also the boy who would ruin my life.

I knew it was him as soon as his username popped up: leohernandez13. Sure, there had to be other Leo Hernandez’s in the world, but that 13 gave him away. It was his jersey number since he played Pee Wee, and if there was any doubt left that it was him, it was obliterated when his familiar voice rang out in the chat.

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >139

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Behind Closed Doors Read Online Brittainy C. Cherry, Kandi Steiner http://www.ilovenovels.com/behind-closed-doors-read-online-brittainy-c-cherry-kandi-steiner Fri, 03 Feb 2023 20:31:52 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/behind-closed-doors-read-online-brittainy-c-cherry-kandi-steiner Genre: Contemporary, Romance Authors: Brittainy C. Cherry, Kandi Steiner Advertisement

Total pages in book: 9
Estimated words: 9848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 49(@200wpm)___ 39(@250wpm)___ 33(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 >9

From the bestselling authors who brought you Goodreads Choice Award Nominee A Love Letter from the Girls Who Feel Everything comes a sophomore collection of powerful poetry and prose.

Written and collected over the course of more than five years, Behind Closed Doors is a personal, emotional journey through heartache, love, loss, hope, and every emotion in-between. Brittainy Cherry and Kandi Steiner come together in an unapologetic display of emotion that will sit with the reader long after the last word.
“We invite you to join us on this journey and hope our poetry can bring you even a fracture of the healing it provided us. We hope that you, too, will laugh and cry and burst with emotions. Because, from this point on, we refuse to keep our struggles behind closed doors.”

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Dear Reader,

A few years ago, we came together to create a poetry collection that showcased the ins and outs of our emotions. We were the girls who felt everything. We bared our souls on the pages, bled out our truths, and shared every jagged edge of who we were with you. We’ve learned that our struggles, heartaches, and bursts of joy weren’t solo adventures—they were universal feelings that many could relate to.

It’s no secret that life across the board has been a rollercoaster over the past few years. We’ve fought against the pressure of societal norms, said goodbye to loved ones, and battled waves of depression. Yet, within this time, we’ve also discovered new friendships, had seasons of success, and fallen in love.

So many times in life, people only show the highlight reels of their stories. So often, people hide their struggles, making them feel so utterly alone. They put on a happy face for others while wearing a mask to cover up their most sacred, intimate feelings. Yet, we believe that healing can be found within the scars. We believe that beauty can be discovered within pain. For that reason, we invite you into our hearts and minds as we travel behind the closed doors of our souls.

Our sophomore poetry collection has been a work in progress over the past five years. It showcases us falling in and out of love, the storms we’ve endured in silence, our sharpest hurts, and our sweetest victories.

It shares our heartbeats.

We invite you to join us on this journey and hope our poetry can bring you even a fracture of the healing it provided us. We hope that you, too, will laugh and cry and burst with emotions. Because, from this point on, we refuse to keep our struggles behind closed doors.

We invite you into the home of emotions. Get comfortable, grab a drink, and stay a while. And by all means—feel. Cry, laugh, get angry, get quiet, get loud. Succumb to the deepest and most raw feelings in your heart. Welcome home, Reader. It’s so great to see you.

Now, let’s go inside…

Love always,

Kandi & Brittainy

Something in the water is attached to my ankles.

It pulls me down. It makes me drown in every mistake I’ve ever made.

The waves remind me of the awkward exchange with a stranger two weeks ago.

I play the scene repeatedly.

Stupid.

The once clear water is murky with thoughts of self-doubt that shouldn’t belong to me.

The sharks surround me, waiting for me to surrender.

The tides are high. The panic settled into my chest.

I scream, I choke, I pray, I cry.

Attack.

The water is cold, and I want out.

I try to make it to the mainland before the ocean swallows me.

Something in the water fills me with doubt.

All I want to do is find my way out to feel the sun.

— B

He knew he loved me,

he said.

But he didn’t know if I was the one.

He knew he wanted me,

he said.

For now, but maybe not forever.

He knew he didn’t want to lose me,

he said.

At least, not yet.

But in the end, it didn’t matter what he knew

or what he said

but rather

what I did.

I did not wait,

I did not beg,

I left.

— K

I used to drink you as my favorite shot of whiskey.

Your essence was smooth on the way down.

Your soul warmed me from the inside out.

But it was a temporary buzz.

I gave you up for sober days.

Still, your taste lingers.

— B

When you’ve found your person, you simply just know. I can’t tell you how you will feel, exactly, but you will know. Maybe they’ll make you feel the way you did when you were a child, in the safety of your mother’s home the night before Christmas. Maybe they’ll feel like a song, one you’ve always known, one that always makes you dance. Maybe you won’t be able to place it at all — whatever it is — but you’ll just look at them and see it. “This is what forever looks like,” you’ll say to yourself. “This is where my search ends.”

— K

Our framed photographs are removed from the apartment walls, leaving holes that need to be patched. The walls we painted vibrant hues are returned to off-white. Two change-of-address forms sit on the dining room table. Post-it notes mark his and her items. Yours and mine. You get the coffee pot. I’ll take the television. I get the vacuum. You take the broom. I cry in the bathroom, covering my mouth so you don’t hear me. Still, you hear me. Moving boxes crowd the space where we used to dance at one o’clock in the morning. You sleep in the guest room. I still roll over in bed, expecting your feet to touch mine. Instead, the chilled sheets greet me with reality.

You’re leaving first. Your belongings that once belonged to me are packed in the moving van. You place the key on the kitchen island. I stand in the corner, uncertain of how to feel. Relief? Pain? Grief? Grieving the loss of our possibilities.

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