Diamonds in the Rough Page 19
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Girls like me, we live.
We don’t get a choice.
We step over the cliff and fall.
Eat, sleep, die, and repeat.
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Diamonds are Forever (Book 3) – 15 September 2020
My love is wasted like gemstones in the dust, walked over by an oblivious shoe. It takes many suffering years and layers of mountains to squeeze carbon into a precious stone. Now that I’m polished and hard like a diamond, he doesn’t get to kick me back into the dirt.
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Men like him don’t love women like me.
They don’t love.
Period.
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But he made me.
He’ll live with me.
Because diamonds are forever.
Standalone Novels
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(Enemies-to-Lovers Dark Romance)
Darker Than Love
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Once upon a cold, dark night, a Russian killer stole me from an alley. I’m dangerous, but he is lethal. I escaped once. He won’t let me do it twice.
The revenge is his. The betrayal is mine. But so are the lies to protect the ones I love.
We’re cut from the same twisted cloth. Both merciless. Both damaged. In his embrace, I find hell and heaven, his cruelly tender touch destroying and uplifting me at once.
They say a cat has nine lives, but an assassin has just one. And Yan Ivanov now owns mine.
* * *
(Second Chance Romance)
Catch Me Twice
If a man tells you he’s no good for you, best heed the warning. I learned the hard way. I had Jake Basson’s baby. He left to chase his dream. Now he’s back, demanding a second chance, but why should I give him anything after four years of nothing? No correspondence, no news. I finally have my life back on track. Jake has never been uncomplicated. He never follows the rules. I should’ve known he’d play dirty in his war to win me back. He caught me once. I’m not going to let him catch me twice.
The Loan Shark Duet
(Dark Mafia Romance)
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Dubious (Book 1)
I’m a loan shark. Breaking people is in my blood. The Haynes’s were supposed to be a straightforward job. Go in and pull the trigger twice. One bullet for Charlie, one for his sister. But when I saw Valentina, I wanted her. Only, in our world, those who owe us don’t get second chances. No way in hell will my mother let her live. So I devised a plan to keep her.
* * *
It’s depraved.
It’s immoral.
It’s dubious.
* * *
It’s perfect.
Just like her.
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Consent (Book 2)
When Gabriel broke down my door, he took over my body and life. Never with force, but always with clever manipulation. He stripped me of my independence, my defenses, and my clothes and turned me into an addict. My addiction is him.
* * *
Once, I had dreams and a future. Now I have fears, scars, and insatiable needs. I’m damaged beyond repair, but if I’m to survive the most dangerous man in Johannesburg, I can’t allow him to break me, because broken toys are destined for the garbage dump.
* * *
Box Set (Book 1 & 2)
The Age Between Us Duet
(Older Woman Younger Man Romance)
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Old Enough (Book 1)
Society says I'm too young for her. What do they know? It's not my age that matters. It's my experience. I’m everything she never knew she needed. Meeting her was no coincidence. How and why our paths crossed are every shade of twisted and wrong, but she’ll never know. I'm taking those sinister secrets to my grave. I’m keeping her forever, no matter what it takes.
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Young Enough (Book 2)
I thought I’d lost everything. My life was in tatters when a man half my age broke into my property and invaded my future. Our love is forbidden, but I’m single and he’s all the taboo I crave. For once in my life, why not? But what if I start wanting more than a fleeting love affair? What if his secrets will destroy me? I had no idea how much more I was about to lose.
* * *
Box Set (Book 1 & 2)
Krinar World Novels
(Futuristic Romance)
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The Krinar Experiment
When Drako’s space pod malfunctions over Johannesburg, his secret reconnaissance mission goes horribly wrong. Wounded in the crash, he’s captured by the South African Secret Service who sees an opportunity to strengthen their army and make a fortune by using the alien pilot in an unorthodox experiment. They send a female to tend to Drako’s injuries, a human girl with the pretty name of Ilse who’s sweet and caring. The perfume of her skin is like a drug, her blood an aphrodisiac. He can still smell her and taste her on his tongue. Her betrayal cuts deeper than the testing and torture. No matter. His escape is pending. When he comes back to Earth, it will be to find her, and when he does, he’ll show as little mercy as she did.
* * *
These are the events that led to the Krinar Earth Invasion. This is the untold story.
The Krinar’s Informant
Zavir is a guardian. He’s the best the Krinar has. His assigned vocation is to uncover the Resistance movements popping up around the earth, and eliminate them. New information about a fast-growing Resistance camp sends him to Costa Rica, home of the largest Krinar Center. His informant is a human girl. She wants to make a deal—her traitorous family’s lives in exchange for information—but Zavir doesn’t make deals, and he takes no prisoners. When the time comes to wipe out the secret organization, his pretty, innocent little mole will learn the truth. She made a deal with the devil, and the price is something far more tantalizing than information.
About the Author
Charmaine Pauls was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. She obtained a degree in Communication at the University of Potchefstroom and followed a diverse career path in journalism, public relations, advertising, communication, and brand marketing. Her writing has always been an integral part of her professions.
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When she moved to Chile with her French husband, she started writing full-time. She has been publishing novels and short stories since 2011. Charmaine currently lives in Montpellier, France with her family. Their household is a lively mix of Afrikaans, English, French, and Spanish.
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