Surviving LOVE by M.S. Brannon
“She is my heart and the other half of my life, and now, that life no longer exists." ~Drake Evans, Surviving Love
For Drake Evans, life was once happy. He was living the kind of existence that any man would envy. By his side was the woman he loved and a daughter he cherished. Life was truly perfect, until the day demons from the past came crashing into their perfect world, destroying everything he had been so sure would last forever.
Today, Drake’s life is shrouded in misery. Every day he faces the unyielding pain of losing the love of his life at the hands of a drug dealing murderer. On top of it all, he has to live with the anguishing betrayal caused by the devastating role his brother played in Presley’s death. Gone are the days of carefree happiness and impending futures. They've all been replaced with the shallow emptiness hollowing out his heart and the undeniable rage pumping through his veins. Drake is only moving through the motions of life, raising his daughter and earning a living, in the only way he can tolerate—alone.
Since the day she was banished from her family, Zoe Ledoux lives her life as a free spirit. For the past four years, Zoe’s been moving through life day by day, place by place. She never stays in one area long enough to establish relationships. She refuses to get close to anyone, protecting herself from the fear of once again being left behind. Then a turn of fate sends her to Sulfur Heights where she lands a job working as a bartender.
In a chance meeting, an instant connection forms, bringing together the wounded souls of Drake and Zoe. It is together that they begin to cope; to mend the brokenness of their pasts and feel what it is like to truly live again. However, will their newly formed friendship be enough to pull Drake and Zoe from their dark pasts? Can Drake overcome the fear of losing someone he loves and eradicate his anger just enough to let someone in? Will he learn that Surviving Love with Zoe is what he ultimately needs in order to be happy?
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I yank open the door and pull the half empty bottle of whiskey left in the cupboard. Unscrewing the cap, I tip the glass to my lips and allow a few more tears to fall down my face.
“Here’s to the rest of a useless life,” I toast to no one and chug down the whiskey. It instantly burns and calms my insides. The raging ocean of emotions I can’t seem to shake is finally subduing, and it’s welcome. Jack Daniels is always welcome to ease my agony. Always.
I rip my tucked-in shirt from the waistband of my pants and move down the back stairs. The last time I wore this fucking shirt was when I saw Presley in rehab. I will never wear this piece of shit again. Still grasping the bottle, I rip open my shirt, popping buttons as my chest is exposed to the cold, damp air.
I walk to the driveway and see the spot where I last held Presley alive. My boots scuff the pavement when I walk toward the dreaded spot. I hold the bottle to my lips again and chug. Then again and again. It’s burning my gut and suffocating my throat, but I keep gulping it down. My legs give out, collapsing to the concrete. The pain stings when my knees connect with the ground. I relish in it. It’s more welcome than the pain in my heart.
“This is the only way I can get you out of my mind,” I whisper out loud to no one, or maybe to her, but I don’t fucking know. “I need you out of my mind. I need peace for just a day. I love you, Presley, but I just need peace.” I expel a deep breath and choke back another drink. “Don’t hate me, baby, but please…give me some peace.”
I lay down on the cold concrete just as the rain begins to pick up again. I don’t care. I want to be in this spot. I want to be with her. And I want to be numb. I choke back a few more drinks until the bottle is empty then close my eyes, envisioning only her honey-brown irises and the world I will no longer possess. ~ Drake Evans, Surviving Love
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I yank open the door and pull the half empty bottle of whiskey left in the cupboard. Unscrewing the cap, I tip the glass to my lips and allow a few more tears to fall down my face.
“Here’s to the rest of a useless life,” I toast to no one and chug down the whiskey. It instantly burns and calms my insides. The raging ocean of emotions I can’t seem to shake is finally subduing, and it’s welcome. Jack Daniels is always welcome to ease my agony. Always.
I rip my tucked-in shirt from the waistband of my pants and move down the back stairs. The last time I wore this fucking shirt was when I saw Presley in rehab. I will never wear this piece of shit again. Still grasping the bottle, I rip open my shirt, popping buttons as my chest is exposed to the cold, damp air.
I walk to the driveway and see the spot where I last held Presley alive. My boots scuff the pavement when I walk toward the dreaded spot. I hold the bottle to my lips again and chug. Then again and again. It’s burning my gut and suffocating my throat, but I keep gulping it down. My legs give out, collapsing to the concrete. The pain stings when my knees connect with the ground. I relish in it. It’s more welcome than the pain in my heart.
“This is the only way I can get you out of my mind,” I whisper out loud to no one, or maybe to her, but I don’t fucking know. “I need you out of my mind. I need peace for just a day. I love you, Presley, but I just need peace.” I expel a deep breath and choke back another drink. “Don’t hate me, baby, but please…give me some peace.”
I lay down on the cold concrete just as the rain begins to pick up again. I don’t care. I want to be in this spot. I want to be with her. And I want to be numb. I choke back a few more drinks until the bottle is empty then close my eyes, envisioning only her honey-brown irises and the world I will no longer possess. ~ Drake Evans, Surviving Love
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Other books in this series:
Scarred LOVE
"I am certain, without
any doubt, she was meant to be in my life. We belong to each other. I
spent too much of my time consumed with what everyone else thinks of my
feelings for Darcie, but the truth is, it was always supposed to be this
way." ~Reggie EvansDarcie Claiborne spent several years of her young life living with a monster, always fearing what he would do next. Clasping onto her last ounce of hope, Darcie releases a scream. It’s her final attempt to live; to survive the villain of her reality. Sweeping her up in his arms, Darcie’s knight in shining armor rescues her from the hell she’s been living; from the stepfather she's feared for all those years.
Reggie Evans has been forced to grow up before he’s ready when his mother dies of an overdose, leaving him responsible to raise his younger brothers. One fateful night, Reggie jogs by an old, run down house and discovers a young girl clinging to life as she screams for help.
Three years later, Darcie is healing and always protected by the man who saved her, but now she's fighting with something she isn't prepared to face. The growing love for the man who saved her life three years ago, the same man who’s nine years older. All the while, Reggie fights to protect Darcie from the demons of her past and new ones of her present.
**Mature Content Warning** 17+ for language and sexual content**
Get your copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, & Kobo!
* * * * * * *
Tragic LOVE
“From the moment I
locked eyes with hers, we've had this undeniable connection that was and
will always be wicked. A love that would literally kill me if it didn't
survive, but lately, could kill me if it did.” ~Drake Evans.
For Drake and Presley, life has handed them more challenges than any one person should ever face in a lifetime. Together, they've survived Presley’s captivity from her deranged uncle, but now they must learn how to live with the events that surrounded her time spent with him, while keeping the details of her rescue a secret.
For Presley Quinn, living the last two years has been practically unbearable, constantly drowning in nightmares put there by a man responsible for the violent images continually playing in her mind. She keeps moving forward, but is barely clinging onto the edge when she’s faced with another obstacle from her past that is so unavoidable, so tragic, it threatens to break her apart—herself.
Drake will do anything to protect Presley from ever feeling pain again. His love is irrefutable. He walks side by side with her, vowing he will never let anyone harm her again. However, when an unexpected event turns Presley against everyone she’s ever loved, Drake is faced with trying to save the only woman he’s ever loved or severing the only lifeline she’s ever had—himself.
**Mature Content Warning** 17 years and older for language and sexual content.
For Drake and Presley, life has handed them more challenges than any one person should ever face in a lifetime. Together, they've survived Presley’s captivity from her deranged uncle, but now they must learn how to live with the events that surrounded her time spent with him, while keeping the details of her rescue a secret.
For Presley Quinn, living the last two years has been practically unbearable, constantly drowning in nightmares put there by a man responsible for the violent images continually playing in her mind. She keeps moving forward, but is barely clinging onto the edge when she’s faced with another obstacle from her past that is so unavoidable, so tragic, it threatens to break her apart—herself.
Drake will do anything to protect Presley from ever feeling pain again. His love is irrefutable. He walks side by side with her, vowing he will never let anyone harm her again. However, when an unexpected event turns Presley against everyone she’s ever loved, Drake is faced with trying to save the only woman he’s ever loved or severing the only lifeline she’s ever had—himself.
**Mature Content Warning** 17 years and older for language and sexual content.
Get your copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, & Kobo!
(currently FREE except on B&N)
* * * * * * *
Blind LOVE
"She is magnetic to me.
Every emotion she feels pulls me that much closer to her charm and
energy. For reasons unbeknownst to me, I want her to know what she means
to me." Jake Evans For Jake Evans, life was as it should be. No
responsibilities. He was the master at embracing his reckless lifestyle
whenever it presented itself. Surviving on his ability to expertly
hustle, fight and womanize, Jake could do it all; lived it all. Raised
in a rundown city, filled with crime and drugs, he had survived the
death of an abusive mother and a life with an absent father while only
having his brothers to depend on. His lifestyle became fast and Jake had
lived it the only way he knew how, until the day he met Delilah.
Delilah St. James was the epitome of flawless. Brought up in an affluent
southern household, Delilah's life had been planned from the moment she
was born. She was raised to be the perfect socialite and daughter, and
groomed to be the ideal wife. When a school internship moved her to
Sulfur Heights for the summer, Delilah collided with the bitter reality
of life outside her comfortable gated community when Jake Evans upset
her perfect world. Over the next two years, Jake and Delilah became best
friends, embracing a friendship neither one was prepared to have,
although they soon found it to be a relationship that neither one of
them were willing to sacrifice. A tragic turn of events brings Jake and
Delilah together once again. Only this time, the feelings are different.
Lines within their friendship are blurred. Everything they vowed never
to do, becomes the very thing they cannot deny. Will Jake and Delilah's
relationship withstand the changes surrounding them? Or will the
emotions sever the two year friendship they'd fought so hard to keep?
Get your copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, & Kobo!
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About the author:M.S. Brannon was born and raised in the Midwest. She still resides there today with her wonderful husband and son. When she is not writing or reading, M.S. Brannon spends time with her family, watching movies, and discovering new music. She writes romance because she believes love and heartache is the rawest emotion one can experience.
Stalker Links:
Website ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Twitter @MSBrannonAuthor
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