Crushed — Charmaine Pauls

(Please note that this book has previously been titled CRUSHED. The cover has been changed, but the story remains the same.)

If your father is a powerful criminal, you can't trust anyone, especially not the stranger who saves you.

Lily is on the run for her father's sins. Having escaped a brutal attack on her home that left her dad's small army and her beloved nana dead, she finds a job and a cheap room in Camps Bay, South Africa. When the men from Sky Communications track her down, she's forced to flee again. This time, Lily ends up homeless, alone on a bench under a brewing winter storm in a violent city. It's a lucky coincidence that Jacob appears through the mist just before a gang finds her in the dark, deserted park. Or is it?

After offering Lily shelter for the night, Jacob's flat is destroyed in an explosion. With Jacob's help, Lily tries to locate her father in search of his protection. In a whirlwind escapade from Africa to France, danger always a step behind, Lily learns about desire, love, survival and trust. Eventually, she'll also learn about betrayal … and the truth about the savior to who she gave her body and heart.

This full-length novel is a prequel to the Seven Forbidden Arts series, but reads as a stand-alone. There are no cliffhangers.

* This book is a fast-paced, action and adventure erotic romance that contains consummated love scenes and explicit language. Reader discretion is advised.

The SEVEN FORBIDDEN ARTS series in order:
#0 Loving the Enemy (Prequel novel, previously titled Crushed)
#1 Pyromancist (FIRE)
#2 Aeromancist, The Beginning (Prequel novella, AIR)
#3 Aeromancist (AIR)
#4 Hydromancist (WATER)
#5 Geomancist (EARTH)
#6 Scapulimancist (EARTH)
#7 Necromancist (SPIRIT)
#8 Chiromancist (TIME)