A long and eventful Christmas Eve party with her new colleagues at the day spa left Katie with a fitful night’s sleep, her mind buzzing with a mixture of excitement and unsettling temptation. Raised in a strict, religious household, Katie had always steered clear of behavior deemed promiscuous, feeling a strong sense of guilt and discomfort at the mere thought. In the past, having only gone as far as making out with her f...

It’s strange how life brings you back to places you thought you’d outgrown. I hadn’t planned on returning to my hometown, not after spending ten years carving out a life far away, one I thought was solid. But life doesn’t care about your plans. And when everything fell apart, my job, my marriage, there was nowhere else to go. I stared up at the house, my fingers tightening on the cold metal of the keys. It was big. Bigger...

Sister Noelia was alive. To begin with, there can be no doubt about that. To confront a further suspicion the reader may have of her, based on events in this tale, she was not only alive but very much sane. In fact, she was beloved and respected throughout not just the convent but the town of Santiago de Compostela, where she lived. And no wonder! None of the sisters were as diligent in their duties to God, nor as modest...

The cool air moved as she crept into the room. Inky darkness precluded the ability to see, but the vision of her tousled crimson locks was vivid in his mind’s eye—a sight that took up residence there years ago when she first touched him. She glided noiselessly until she reached his bed. What would she demand this time? Suddenly, he felt her breath on his neck as she whispered, “I need you inside me.” His body quivered as...

Series Introduction Once upon a time, there was a family of five who lived in Madrid. In the Lopez family, there was Paco, the father, and Carolina, the mother. The oldest child of the three was called Biel. And Biel had twin sisters called Jordina and Elia. In the summer that these stories take place, Elia and Jordina turned eighteen and Biel was twenty-one. Carolina’s mother, Pilar, was very elderly and in rapidly faili...

It started so slowly, she thought she was crazy at first. Other than the strangeness, it was a great house. Tiny, but much bigger than any apartment, and the landlord was just trying to keep it occupied. The heating actually worked, the appliances were up to date, everything seemed wired correctly- she had been taken aback when she saw the price, and tentatively waited for the catch to show itself. And, subtly, it began t...

“Clap these cheeks. Clap these cheeks. Clap these cheeks.” The dark-skinned, ponytailed beauty stared into her bathroom mirror and shook her head in an “I knew this bullshit wouldn’t work” motion. It probably served her right for buying into nonsensical urban legends that floated around in the office earlier that day. “You believe what they were saying?” her light-skinned, curly-haired friend asked while adjusting her gla...

A room, locked from the inside, the key plainly visible on the bedside cabinet. No spare keys. No other entry point into the room. No dodgy recent building work or amateur DIY projects to investigate for exit routes. No loose floorboards or wall panels. All the windows shut and locked from the inside. No murder weapon or anything to use as one. And inside the room, she lay on her back on the large double bed, her eyes ope...

Rose had been on the road for six hours. Her coffee was gone and the snacks she brought were picked at to the point they were no longer desirable. Signs on the side of the freeway announced a Ghost Town just up ahead. She still had several hours until she hit her destination. Her back felt tight, her legs pent up, and her mind reasoned that stopping to experience something new wasn’t a bad thing. She pulled off the exit a...