Georgia Smoke Series by Abbi Glines – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Georgia Smoke Series by Abbi Glines – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:23:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.ilovenovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Georgia Smoke Series by Abbi Glines – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com 32 32 Legions (Georgia Smoke #7) Read Online Abbi Glines http://www.ilovenovels.com/legions-georgia-smoke-7-read-online-abbi-glines Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:23:57 +0000 http://www.ilovenovels.com/legions-georgia-smoke-7-read-online-abbi-glines Genre: Alpha Male, Bad Boy, Mafia Authors: Abbi Glines Series: Georgia Smoke Series by Abbi Glines
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Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)

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From the moment those grey eyes the color of the water just before sunrise met mine, I’d acted without thought to the consequences to protect her. I had been her vengeance on any and all who would cause her pain without her even realizing it. If only it had stayed that way. The things I’d done because the demons inside me couldn’t stand the thought of her being wronged even the slightest were meant to be kept secret. She was too pure for the evil I was capable of unleashing.

Our story began with my immediate infatuation. Lies, deception, obsession, and undying devotion made it as complex as a Shakespearean tale. Unlike the characters in William’s story, not even death could have kept me from her.

And it would end with her by my side, in my bed, no matter what lengths I had to go to in order to keep her. My reason for being had begun rotating around my little doll long before I even realized the power she held over me.

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

• Prologue •

There was a time when I had no regrets. I felt nothing, or perhaps that was what I wanted to believe. Others thought it was true, so why not buy into it? My actions backed it up. When I sought retaliation, I didn’t hold back. I considered the cause and effect. I determined what the effect would be, not once questioning whether it fit the cause, as long as it eased my craving for the punishment I enjoyed inflicting.

From the moment those gray eyes, the color of the water just before sunrise, met mine, I’d acted without thought to consequence in order to protect her. I had been her vengeance on any and all who would cause her pain without her realizing it. If only it had stayed that way. The things I’d done because the demons inside me couldn’t stand the thought of her being wronged even the slightest were meant to be kept secret. She was too pure for the evil I was capable of unleashing.

Our story began with my immediate infatuation. Lies, deception, obsession, and undying devotion made it as complex as a Shakespearean tale. Unlike the characters in William’s story, not even death could have kept me from her.

And it would end with her by my side, in my bed, no matter what lengths I had to go to in order to keep her. My reason for being had begun rotating around my little doll long before I even realized the power she held over me.

• One •

“Provoking me is dangerous.”

Capri

My bright pink nails ran over the teeth marks that were a slight shade of blue just over my left nipple in the mirror, causing me to smile. It was tender to the touch, but I loved thinking about why it was there. Thatcher’s eyes had been darker than usual, and his gaze disturbed when he’d gotten home. I’d come to recognize the different moods of Thatcher Shephard and learned what he needed with each one.

Last night he’d needed a distraction. I had given him one.

Lifting my gaze, I watched as he walked into the bathroom behind me. I dropped my hand, not wanting to draw his attention to the bruised imprint of his teeth that he’d left on me. While I loved being marked by him, he didn’t handle it as well. Anyone hurting me was something Thatcher could not deal with rationally. That included himself.

His eyes met mine in the reflection. The hungry gleam in them made me shiver. There was no need to soothe his internal demons this morning. I’d done that last night. The way he was looking at me now was pure desire. Having this man want me the way he did still didn’t make sense to me. How was it that I had gotten so lucky? There didn’t seem to be an answer to that question.

“You weren’t in bed,” he said in a thick raspy voice.

“I was going to come back,” I assured him.

His eyes dropped, slowly moving down my bare back. He rarely let me sleep in clothing, but then, most of the time, I passed out after wild, incredible sex.

He tilted his head slightly as a pained expression crossed his face. “I spanked you too hard.”

I laughed. “I disagree. I liked it. If I remember correctly, I begged you to do it harder.”

“You shouldn’t do that,” he told me. “I don’t like hurting you.”

Our eyes met again in the mirror. “Thatcher,” I used a firm tone. “I got off on it. You didn’t hurt me.”

He closed the distance between us until his large, calloused palm covered my right butt cheek. “It’s wrong for me to blemish your perfect creamy skin.”

I smirked. “That’s one of the things I love about you. All the wrong things you do to me.”

The flare in his eyes should probably be a warning, but it had become something that I craved. It excited me.

“Little doll,” he murmured, lowering his head until his lips brushed against my ear. “Provoking me is dangerous.” His fingertips barely brushed over my bottom back and forth.

I started to open my mouth and taunt him more when his gaze snapped to my breast. The narrowing of his eyes and tightening of his jaw told me the bite mark was upsetting him more than whatever he had left on my butt.

I lifted my hand and cupped my breast, then ran my nails over the bruised spot. “It makes me feel claimed.”

His gaze swung up to meet mine. I watched as his nostrils flared. Taking a step forward so that his chest pressed against me, I sighed with pleasure from the contact.

“There was too much shit in my head last night. Coming home to you was what I needed, but I got too rough.”

I sighed and reached for his arms, pulling them around me. “How many times are we going to have this conversation? I like it. No, I love it when you get rough.” I moved one of his hands up to cup my marked breast. “Just think. Today, when I’m walking around, underneath my clothes, I’ll bear your bite mark on my body.”

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Smolder (Georgia Smoke #6) Read Online Abbi Glines http://www.ilovenovels.com/smolder-georgia-smoke-6-read-online-abbi-glines Mon, 21 Oct 2024 11:27:18 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/smolder-georgia-smoke-6-read-online-abbi-glines Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Contemporary, Erotic, Mafia Authors: Abbi Glines Series: Georgia Smoke Series by Abbi Glines
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Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)

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I had one job. Charm the girl, win her trust, and use her to get the information I needed.

The problem with that was that she ended up being more than a pretty face. The more time I spent with her, the less I cared about what I was supposed to be doing.

She had awakened something in me that had a dangerous edge, and only she had the power to sate it.

When the truth comes out, and the threat that she will be taken from me rears its head, I do what I have to in order to keep my sanity.

I take her and run.

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

• One •

“I’m the reason you have food to eat and a roof over your head.”

Royal

The brand-new box of cereal I had bought yesterday sat open on the kitchen counter, along with two unused glasses, a jar of peanut butter, and the carton of milk that had been left on the stove. The bright side was, Grams hadn’t turned on the stove. Rubbing my face with both hands, I groaned. I shouldn’t have slept past six. Never a good idea. Not with Grams on the loose.

“You woke up hungry, I see,” I called out, then covered my yawn as I walked over to get the milk and tuck it back into the refrigerator before it went bad. Thankfully, it was still cold.

The sound of her shuffling feet coming from the living room to the kitchen was a relief. At least she hadn’t gotten out of the house. The new child locks on the doorknobs were working. I added water to the coffeepot. I needed caffeine. This was my only day during the week that my first class didn’t start until ten. Sleeping until seven had been my plan this semester, but if Grams was gonna start fixing her breakfast, that wasn’t going to be an option. Six o’clock it would have to be.

“There’s a man on the sofa,” she whispered loudly behind me.

I closed my eyes and sighed, then scooped the coffee grounds into the machine before turning back to look at my eighty-two-year-old grandmother. It was going to be one of those days. The days where she didn’t remember who her son—my dad—was. Sometimes, I wished I could forget him too.

“It’s okay, Grams,” I assured her. “That’s just Dad. He’s your son, Vin, remember?”

She frowned and glanced back while straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin. “That is not my son. Vinson is a fine boy. That man in there,” she said, pointing her arthritis-gnarled finger toward the door, “he stinks of liquor.”

Yeah, Grams, he’s always stunk of liquor.

Most nights, I managed to get him to the back bedroom so she wouldn’t see him in the morning. Last night, he’d been too difficult, so I’d left him in the living room before he decided to take a swing at me.

“He was at Miller’s Bar last night, Grams,” I told her, not feeling like sugarcoating it today.

I had to get to class, and I couldn’t do that if she was living in the past. Although I doubted my dad had ever been a fine boy.

“He drank until he got mean and started a fight,” I continued. “Glenn called me to come get him.”

The smell of the brewing coffee filled the small kitchen, and I inhaled deeply. I loved that smell. It reminded me of the past. The life I’d had growing up here when Grams’s head was still clear.

“Hmph,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “He did no such thing.”

I motioned to the cereal. “What did you fix yourself to eat?” Might as well change the subject. Arguing with her was pointless. She’d forget about him in there soon enough.

She frowned at the mess she’d left behind. “I don’t know.”

I reached for a coffee cup and filled it to the top. “I’ll get Dad up and have him go take a shower. Why don’t you have a seat at the table? I’ll fix you a nice cup of coffee and make you some toast just how you like it.” Which was too much butter on a slice of almost-burned bread.

I didn’t wait to see if she would do as told before heading toward the living room. The house was small, and I could easily hear her slippers as they slid across the linoleum floor toward the table.

The living room was a scattered mess. I had cleaned it up last night before I went to bed. Grams seemed to have been into many activities this morning. Including throwing things at Dad. There were several items surrounding him that didn’t belong. Smirking, I hoped the spoon she’d tossed at him struck his head and left a lump.

I stared at my dad. One of his arms hung off the side of the faded sofa that had once been a flower-printed velvet. It was patched up with duct tape in several places now and still held the stench of cigarettes from when my dad used to smoke in the house.

A low snore came from his open mouth, and drool dribbled out the side onto the pillow he’d found to sleep on last night. I started toward him and glanced over to see a bowl full of oat cereal with no milk beside Grams’s plastic covered green recliner that sat in the corner of the room. I hoped she hadn’t done anything gross to the cereal. That was too much to waste. I’d just bought groceries yesterday.

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Demons (Georgia Smoke #5) Read Online Abbi Glines http://www.ilovenovels.com/demons-georgia-smoke-5-read-online-abbi-glines Thu, 22 Aug 2024 20:05:07 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/demons-georgia-smoke-5-read-online-abbi-glines Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Forbidden, Mafia Authors: Abbi Glines Series: Georgia Smoke Series by Abbi Glines
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Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >90

The evil of the world was pretty cut and dry. I did my best to do good, be good, and make a positive mark on the world.
The emotions that Thatcher stirred inside me couldn’t be labeled good. Now that I knew how exciting, tempting, and addicting the darkness could be, I wasn’t sure I would have the strength to stay away.

Thatcher
There wasn’t a moment in my life that I didn’t feel detached. My earliest memory is that of my mother looking at me as if I was something to fear. I’d never had a relationship with her. The ones I did have were forged from loyalty. Love was a concept that was used to explain a broad range of emotions that one felt. I had very few of those, so I didn’t require labels. When a situation presented itself that required a reaction, I thought it out—made my decision. Even if those closest to me believed my actions weren’t something I could control. I let them think it because their misconception gave me power. I was the master of my impulse.

Except once- when wide, terrified gray eyes locked on mine. She’d been in trouble, and my questionable sanity snapped.
That day, I realized my twisted soul wasn’t the only thing buried deep inside me. Perhaps it was what my mother had seen in my eyes as a child that kept her from caring for me like she did my brother. The evil that seemed to dwell but not stir had been provoked. The sweet little minister’s daughter had no idea the demons she’d awaken.

Capri
Just when I get a chance of a lifetime to ride for Shepherd Ranch and make a mark in the horse racing world, everything else in my life seems to take a downward spiral. I’m terrible with flirting, and I can’t seem to keep a guy interested long enough for any real relationship. I spend most nights alone, and my imagination is starting to get the best of me. I’ve almost convinced myself there is something in the shadows watching me. I shouldn’t have stopped praying. Now, my list of sins has gotten out of hand in God’s tally book. I doubted he had enough saving grace to wipe all I’d done clean.

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

• Prologue •

thatcher

Nine Years Ago

This wasn’t because I was harboring any guilt or regret. Nothing in me required I find redemption for my actions. Those were pointless emotions that I’d never experienced. I hadn’t come here, looking for her, in hopes of finding vindication either. I was just fucking curious. I mean, she was the trigger that had caused me to kill a guy who’d not done shit to me. Normally, when I took a life, it was family stuff. Something I’d been told to do. But the day I’d snapped Beauden Redd’s neck had been because of her.

Wavy honey-blonde hair hung free down her back as her laughter drifted across the parking lot. As I watched her, I was too far away to see the gray color of her eyes. But I remembered them. She’d changed over the past five years. Grown up, although she was still petite and too damn fragile-looking. Her glasses were gone, and I’d bet her braces were too. The preppy, Bible-toting prick who was smiling down at her like the sun rose and set at her feet led me to believe the girl had become a looker.

I inhaled one last time before taking the cigarette from my teeth and dropping it onto the pavement. I’d assumed seeing her from a distance would be enough, but I wasn’t so sure now. She was an anomaly for me. I couldn’t put my finger on why either. Thus my current location—a church parking lot. Not a place I frequented.

My gaze drifted down to her ass, which, in the jeans she was wearing, appeared round and toned. For a tiny thing, she had some long legs. Her high waist made them longer than most girls her size. Her bare arms were tanned. I doubted that golden skin color came from a tanning bed, but rather a lot of time outdoors.

Another laugh. I was annoyed, and I couldn’t put my finger on why. My gaze shifted to the blond guy talking to her, and I scowled. He was as fucking pedestrian as you could get. Squinting, I took in how smooth his arms were. Did the fucker shave them?

I reached in my back pocket and pulled out another cigarette, then clamped it between my teeth. She could do better than that. I mean, there had to be guys who liked the innocent, sweet shit she had going on that didn’t look like they’d bore a room full of Grannys.

Flicking my lighter, I continued to study her as I lit my next smoke. Her head turned in my direction as if I’d called her name. I lowered my hand and puffed at my cigarette before sliding my lighter back into my pocket. Holding her gaze, I watched as she tilted her head slightly to the left, and those gray eyes dropped to my mouth, then came back to meet mine. A soft smile touched her face as if she knew me and was pleased to see me, although I suspected she didn’t remember me. We’d never really spoken.

The braces were indeed gone. Those lips, which used to stick out like a damn duck because of the metal in her mouth, were now perfect. Her arched brows, full and perky cheeks, and heart-shaped face seemed to all fit together with that mouth of hers. It worked.

She swung her attention back to the guy in front of her. Shifting my gaze to his, I found him glaring this way. Smirking, I took the cigarette from my teeth and held it between my fingers as I leaned back on the bed of my truck and crossed my arms over my chest. I hadn’t come to cause her any problems, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope that fucker would walk over here. The threat in his gaze made me want to laugh.

“Don’t be stupid, little boy,” I muttered before taking another pull from my cigarette.

He swung his gaze back to her and was talking now with more intensity than I liked. Was he correcting her? I felt a nudge against my chest that I fought to push back. Not my problem.

“Excuse me, but there is no smoking on church grounds,” an uptight feminine voice said, and I flicked my gaze over to my right, where an older lady stood, frowning at me.

The helmet hair of hers barely moved in the breeze as she narrowed her eyes. There were few cars here, but then it was a Thursday. I wasn’t a churchgoer, but I knew the folks here seemed to fill up the parking lot on Sundays, not Thursdays. Someone’s granny must have stopped by to pray or feed the needy. Hell, I didn’t know what went on inside. Whoever she belonged to, they needed to come get her. She didn’t know when to keep her mouth shut and mind her own fucking business.

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Storm (Georgia Smoke #4) Read Online Abbi Glines http://www.ilovenovels.com/storm-georgia-smoke-4-read-online-abbi-glines Mon, 08 Jul 2024 20:39:11 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/storm-georgia-smoke-4-read-online-abbi-glines Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Mafia Authors: Abbi Glines Series: Georgia Smoke Series by Abbi Glines
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Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69777 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)

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This is the conclusion of Storm and Briar's story.

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

• Prologue •

Another reason he deserved to die.

Briar

Four Years Ago

I wasn’t sure which was worse. The cold sweat that had broken out over my body or the hammering of my heart against my chest. If anyone were to look at me, they’d think I had taken something. Drug use was most likely common here. No one would think much of it if they did take notice of me standing outside the run-down trailer, where the man who had assisted in giving me life and his wife lived. I didn’t know her, and I had no intention of getting to know her. My biggest concern was her getting in the way. She’d done nothing to me, but if I had to, I’d take her out too. Because I wasn’t leaving here until Roger Ball, my father, was dead.

If it was just me he’d ruined, broken, then I could let this go. Move on with my life. The nightmares would never go completely away. I’d already accepted that. I’d learned to work through the horror and compartmentalize it. Forget the nightmare my childhood had been. But this wasn’t just about me. I wasn’t the only girl he’d broken. I had just been the first.

He’d stopped looking for me long ago. I was the last person he’d expect to show up on his doorstep. The gun tucked at my side, hidden under my jacket, wasn’t something he’d be looking for either. I wasn’t the young girl who had run away six years ago, and I wasn’t Melissa anymore either. I’d become a survivor. Fighting my battles and overcoming my past without any help.

This new life I’d forged for myself didn’t take away all that he’d done. That would always mark me. Killing Roger wouldn’t take away my demons I kept buried deep inside, but it would stop him from damaging other girls. Stealing them of their innocence. Not everyone was as strong as me. I would fight for them because I could.

I kept telling myself those words over and over as I made my way to the door, having to step over garbage, pieces of what I assumed had been a motorcycle once, and empty cans of beer. Tracking him down had been easy enough. The internet didn’t hide those who didn’t want to be hidden. This was better than the meth house he’d been living in when I left, but I doubted much had changed inside the walls he called home.

I slid my clammy hand over the cool metal at my side, reminding myself it was there. I was safe from him, but he wouldn’t be safe from me. The cool autumn breeze brushed my hair back from my face, but did little for the full-body sweat I was experiencing.

This had to be done, and I was the one who had to do it. He was a monster, and the world needed to be ridded of monsters.

Taking my hand off my pistol, I took a deep breath, then knocked on the door. A sick knot began to twist inside my stomach, and I felt bile in my throat. Being this close to him again was harder than I’d imagined it would be. It had taken me months after stealing this gun to get the nerve to come here. I’d always known I would come back for this reason alone. But thinking it and planning it were different from actually acting on it.

After a few moments, I knocked again. If he wasn’t home, I’d have to hide out somewhere and wait. I was ready to get this over with. I wanted to get away from here. Back to my new apartment that I’d been given. I wouldn’t think about how I’d been given such a nice place to live because it would bring on the shame that I didn’t have time for at the moment.

One thing at a time, I told myself.

The doorknob turned slowly, and I watched it as my hand went back to the gun at my side. There was a peephole, and I hadn’t covered it. I wanted him to look out here and see me. But the way the door was being eased open put me on alert.

Perhaps he expected me to come back one day and take his life. What if he had a gun? I hadn’t thought of that. There was always the chance he was high on whatever his newest fix was.

The door was opened barely a crack. My hand tightened its grip as I waited. He wouldn’t shoot me at his door, where the neighbors could witness it. This wasn’t the classiest trailer park. In fact, it could be defined as trashy. But even here, a woman shot in broad daylight would draw attention.

When the crack widened just a tad more, I saw no one there. My gaze dropped until a pair of eyes stopped me. They were staring up at me. A few inches shorter than I was. A girl.

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Sizzling (Georgia Smoke #3) Read Online Abbi Glines http://www.ilovenovels.com/sizzling-georgia-smoke-3-read-online-abbi-glines Thu, 13 Jun 2024 07:54:45 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/sizzling-georgia-smoke-3-read-online-abbi-glines Genre: Alpha Male, BDSM, Erotic, Mafia Authors: Abbi Glines Series: Georgia Smoke Series by Abbi Glines
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Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >77

Briar

Running. It seems that’s all I ever do. I’ve been running since I was fifteen. Some days I wonder if I’ll ever be able to stop. Would I even know how to live a normal life if I could? Doubt it. No reason to waste good time thinking on it either. Sitting around wishing for something never did anyone a favor. If you want it, then you go and get it. By any means necessary. And I was an expert at using my strengths. I’d been born with beauty, and it had been a curse that haunted me until, one day, I grabbed it and used it to my advantage. Don’t judge. You have no idea the demons I’ve fought… and the ones I still do.

Storm

Sure, I was raised to kill when needed and to protect the family. However, my momma also taught me to open doors for women and respect them unless they prove they’re not ladies. It was a damn shame the sweet little piece I’d been unable to get out of my head had never been a lady a day in her life. That gorgeous face and mouthwatering body were real nice wrapping paper to distract men. Briar Landry was a liar, a thief, a cheat, and a very talented gold digger. She disgusted me. The more I was forced to be around her, the more I hated her. I knew the evil inside her and I had enough twisted darkness of my own. Treating her with cruelty, I hadn’t known I possessed, was the only way to keep from letting her pull me inside her web.

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

• one •

“You boys must be lost.”

Storm

Well, damn. This little mission that we’d come on was turning out to be more interesting than I’d expected. When King had asked us to come with him to seek revenge on a man who had hurt his fiancée when she was a child, I hadn’t expected we’d end up here. Glancing over at Thatcher, I knew he hadn’t either. He was as intrigued as I was, and getting a reaction from him was hard to do. We’d hunted down and killed many hits in our life, but this was definitely a twist.

“Who’s the singer?” King asked the bartender, although he already knew the answer to the question.

She was why we were here. The only lead we’d been given when the man King wanted to torture wasn’t where he was supposed to be.

“Briar,” the man replied, smirking before setting a glass of whiskey in front of King. “And she’s taken.”

We’d already known she was using the alias Briar Landry, but she’d been born Melissa Ball. That much we had traced down easily enough.

She had gone off the radar from the age of fifteen until she turned twenty, where she reemerged as Briar Landry. She moved around a lot the first three years and had over fifteen different jobs, and from what King had dug up on her, she dated some high-profile men—or rather had affairs with them. Large sums of money were deposited into an account with her name just before she moved out of town. That account had since been drained and closed.

Watching her, I could see how she’d managed to reel in the men she had. A couple of politicians, a minister at mega church, and a CEO. They were always married men with a lot to lose if they were caught cheating. I imagined her tied up, naked, on my bed. Wasn’t like I could go there. Not when King was hell-bent on finding her father and killing him slowly.

Long, dark ginger hair hung in loose curls at the ends, and her blue eyes twinkled with mischief as she held my gaze. The smooth drawl in her voice as she sang while her fingers expertly played the guitar in her hands made a lethal combination. She had every man in here ready to worship at her feet, and she knew it. She expected it. Bastards had no idea they didn’t have a chance.

When the third song we’d listened to came to an end, King drank down his glass in one gulp and set it on the bar. “Let’s go,” he said, standing up.

I already knew we weren’t actually leaving. We were going to find the back entrance and meet Briar Landry backstage. If King tried to talk to her in here, she’d have a roomful of men ready to protect her, and we’d end up causing more damage than was necessary.

“Keep it quiet and tidy,” was all Blaise Hughes, our boss, had told King when he asked if we could do this.

I’d known King all my life, and if this had been pre Rumor, his fiancée, I would have been able to guess how he was going to get the information out of Briar. But seeing as he was now a fucking psycho whenever Rumor was concerned, I wasn’t so sure what to expect. Thatcher didn’t seem too worried about it as we followed King to the exit. But then I wasn’t sure Thatcher’s brain worked like the rest of ours. He was emotionally detached from things. I wasn’t going to be able to let King hurt the woman. Not just because she was a fucking stunner, but also because she was a female. This wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t hurt Rumor.

Sure, I’d pulled a gun on her stepmother earlier, but the crazy bitch had grabbed a knife and thrown it at King. He easily dodged it, but still, that had been unnecessary. Thatcher had taken her knife with ease and held it at her throat, forcing the whereabouts of her husband from her while trickles of blood from where he’d pierced the skin ran down her chest.

When the door to the bar closed behind us, King turned right, which was like I’d expected. We weren’t headed to the SUV. We were going to find another entrance.

“I volunteer to fuck the info out of her,” Thatcher said as we walked around the building.

“Shut up,” King snarled, not looking back at him.

“It’s better than you putting a bullet in her,” he replied.

I wasn’t so sure about that. Thatcher had some twisted shit in his head when it came to sex. But then I didn’t want to see King hurt her either. This was about her father. Not her. As for her profession as a gold digger, that wasn’t our business. If men allowed their dicks to control them, then that was their issue. Not ours. I felt the need to remind King of that.

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Slay King (Georgia Smoke #2) Read Online Abbi Glines http://www.ilovenovels.com/slay-king-georgia-smoke-2-read-online-abbi-glines Sat, 27 Apr 2024 17:49:20 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/slay-king-georgia-smoke-2-read-online-abbi-glines Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Insta-Love, Mafia Authors: Abbi Glines Series: Georgia Smoke Series by Abbi Glines
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Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)

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“This world I live in isn’t one that builds strong relationships. It rips them apart.”

Perhaps that was true, but nonetheless, I had fallen in love with him anyway. The man who had lied to me, the man I couldn’t trust, the man who would never love me back, yet even knowing all that, I loved him still. His smile could make me forget all the reasons why I shouldn’t. I was so easily blinded by the charm that was King Salazar.

He used it like a weapon, and I was one of the many who fell under his spell. Accepting that I had nowhere else to go and running from the southern mafia was impossible, I gave in to my feelings for him. All the while knowing he would eventually break me in a way that my abusive husband he had killed had not.

While he kept me locked away, safe from the gang bent on finding me, I had to sit back and watch him live out a fake relationship with the next Governor of Georgia’s only daughter. We all know how that story goes. I’d read enough of those tropes in books to prepare myself for the end. When he would fall for her and, I would, once again, be left alone. Shattered beyond repair.

This is the second book in the Slay duet in the Georgia Smoke Series.

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

• one •

Craving a man wasn’t smart. Ever.

Rumor

When one made rules, drew boundaries, protected themselves from situations that could cause damage, it must be something they stood firm on. That they demanded others respect. Showing weakness made those rules and boundaries seem like suggestions instead of guidelines.

King Salazar made it very difficult to remember why I had set the rules. He was the cause of them, yet every time he tried to push too far, I found myself unable to stop drawing closer to the flame. Craving a man wasn’t smart. Ever.

Especially a man who had lied to you and manipulated you. Yet that was where I stood at the moment. Wanting what I shouldn’t have. Wishing it were something it would never be.

I sat on the bed in the cottage that was located on the back of Maeme’s property and listened to the silence around me. I’d been back in this house and out of King’s bed for two weeks. Every night, King showed up with dinner. Talked to me as if we were friends, and we often watched television. Then, when I went to bed, he slept on the sofa. He refused to let me stay here at night alone. He didn’t believe it was safe yet.

I didn’t know who or what to believe.

What I did know was that I was a widow and I wasn’t sad about it. My husband had been hell-bent on eventually beating me to death. King had made it possible for me to escape that life. It was one of the reasons I struggled with my feelings for him. Part of me felt as if I owed him. Another part held a slight worshipful reverence for him. It was messed up, but it was my truth. If he and the others hadn’t come after Hill, the man I had made the mistake of marrying, then I’d still be there, being beaten. Or dead.

I also knew that I was willingly living under the protection of the Southern Mafia family. The sweet grandmother who had brought me in, given me a roof over my head, a sanctuary, was also part of the Mafia, just like King, her grandson.

Lastly, I was aware that there was a gang who wanted me for information on my dead husband. Which I did not have. Hill had never told me anything about his life. I knew nothing of his work or illegal activities.

So, I was here. This was the only safe place for me. Living in a storybook cottage with no bills. I’d stopped feeling guilty for being here. I no longer thought I was taking advantage of a nice lady’s hospitality. They’d brought me here. I lived in this house because of their manipulation and planning. It shed a new light on the situation.

The door to the cottage opened, and I heard the screen slam shut. Standing up quickly, I stood there, frozen, listening. The only person who walked in without knocking was King, and he’d been gone when I woke up this morning. His pillow and blanket in a neat, folded pile on the end of the sofa.

“It’s me,” his familiar voice called out.

Sighing in relief, I made my way to the door that led into the living room just as he walked into it from the kitchen. My eyes locked on him, and the way my stomach fluttered at the sight of him frustrated me to no end. I didn’t want to feel these things for him. I needed to protect my heart. But he made that so incredibly difficult.

The sexy smile that spread across his face didn’t help matters. My chest joined my stomach at its fluttery mess of feelings.

“Morning, sweets,” he drawled. “Sleep good?”

Yes, and no. Once I’d finally gotten to sleep and stopped fantasizing about him, then, yes, I’d slept well. It’d just taken me two hours for that to happen. Knowing he was asleep on my sofa, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs, had been a distraction.

I simply nodded.

“Good,” he replied, closing the space between us. He reached out and wrapped one of my curls around his fingers. “Damn, I like the way you look when you get up in the morning.”

Hello, area between my legs. It was now wide awake with my stomach and chest. On high alert that the traitorous, lying man in front of me was close. Touching me. Making me want things.

“What are you doing back?” I asked, wishing I hadn’t sounded breathless.

He didn’t respond right away. Instead, he continued to play with my hair. I should move away. I had rules, and this was breaking one of those rules.

“I came to get you. Take you to breakfast at Maeme’s,” he replied finally.

Do not react. Do not melt. Stand firm.

“We had Sunday breakfast there three days ago,” I replied.

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Slay (Georgia Smoke #1) Read Online Abbi Glines http://www.ilovenovels.com/slay-georgia-smoke-1-read-online-abbi-glines Sat, 30 Mar 2024 18:34:00 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/slay-georgia-smoke-1-read-online-abbi-glines Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Mafia Authors: Abbi Glines Series: Georgia Smoke Series by Abbi Glines
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Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)

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Rumor

There are moments in life when you make a decision. Accept who you are. What you have become. This was one of those times…The fairytale I thought I’d found had become a nightmare so quickly after I said, “I do.” Which was the reason I ran when I had the chance. Not thinking about the consequences. Just knowing I had to get free before it was my life that was taken.

I never expected to end up finding a haven. A place where people were willing to help me hide. It was as if I had walked into my own perfect daydream.

King

“Don’t believe every pretty face you meet, sweets. You should know by now that’s a terrible f----g idea.”

She was my job. I was to make her feel safe and do whatever I had to in order to make sure she didn’t run. Underneath the abused and broken exterior, there was a fighter. It was in her eyes. I lived for the moments when she let me see that spark.

I had been headed straight to Hell years before I met Rumor, but letting her fall in love with me was going to reserve me a room in the darkest pit available. One day soon, she was going to find out I was the monster she was running from and the family she had come to trust was the mafia that had killed her husband.

*Please be advised that this is book one in a duet and is a standalone in the Georgia Smoke Series.

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

• Prologue •

The silence. It wasn’t comforting. It didn’t bring me peace. When it came, I knew it was the calm before the storm. My entire body was drawn up tight, preparing for the next moment. The one when the rage would explode from him and I would be the recipient. But it hadn’t always been that way. If it had, I’d not be here today. The six-carat diamond ring that weighed down my left hand would never have been placed there.

How easy it had been for him to charm a girl like me. Looking back, I knew I’d been an easy mark. Not hard to impress, desperate for affection, to belong, to be wanted.

Now, as I stood in the three-million-dollar home in Buckhead, Georgia, all I wanted was to be alone. A small house in the country with no one. Perhaps a dog as my companion. He’d be golden and big. We would sit on the worn, faded sofa and watch television at night together. He would sleep at the foot of my bed. There would be no moments of fear. My constant state of anxiety would no longer control my every move. I wouldn’t have to please anyone. Except my dog. I’d call him Bear. Because he would be as fluffy as one.

“Where the fuck is my striped Brunello Cucinelli blazer!” Hill shouted from the staircase.

I tensed. I’d known from the look in his eyes this morning when I served him breakfast that this was coming. The unsettled, agitated glower had been simmering in his gaze. I’d made his favorite breakfast, asked about his day, done my best to pretend that I cared what he had to say. It was a chore that I’d perfected. Pretending this was perfect. Trying my best to give him his idea of how it should look, how I should be, what he wanted the world to believe we were.

“Hanging to the left of your shoes, two blazers over on the top row,” I replied, knowing exactly where I had put it once I picked it up from the cleaners yesterday.

He had an important meeting today with a company who wanted to buy one of the buildings from a company he represented.

His heavy footsteps as he stomped down the stairs sent a shudder through me. I fought the instinct to run. Scanning the living room, I tried to decide the best place to be when he approached. Somewhere that there were no sharp edges I could fall on, free of any objects that could be used to cause more damage than just his fists. As I hurried over to the far corner, my mind raced with things I could say to defuse him. I knew his blazer was there. He’d probably found it before asking me. He had been looking for an excuse. Any reason to hurt me.

The moment he entered the room—his blond hair styled perfectly; his lean, toned body dressed in the white linen pants I had also picked up from the cleaners yesterday and a light-blue shirt that was perfectly pressed—he swung his gaze to me. The rage boiling in those eyes I had once trusted knotted up my stomach. This was a very bad day. It was rare there was ever a good day anymore, but the bad days had different levels of extremity.

“Would you like me to go see where your blazer is? I must have put it in the wrong spot.” I hadn’t, but taking the blame sometimes saved me. I had learned the ways to please him. The more I did that, the less I paid for whatever it was he was convinced I had done.

His clean-shaven face was tan, and his teeth, which he had professionally whitened, were clenched as he stalked toward me. “Did I not tell you that today was important? You live here like a fucking lazy mooch who has ONE job, Carmella. Yet you are too ignorant to even do that right!” he roared before his hand cracked against the side of my face. “There are wealthy women from powerful families who would kill to be my wife. Women worthy to carry my name! Yet I chose you. A nobody from the swamps of Louisiana. You should be grateful that I gave you this life. FUCKING GRATEFUL!” He grabbed my arm and threw me onto the floor.

I said nothing. I knew if I did when he was like this, it only made it worse. Even begging for forgiveness seemed to make the monster inside him expand.

“I let your face and body seduce me, and I pay for it every goddamn day of my life!” He sneered the hateful words, then kicked me hard, taking my breath away.

The sharp pain that shot through me made it impossible to move. If I tried to even shift, the searing in my side would cause me to cry out, and he’d do it again.

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