From The Rule Breakers Standalone Series
He's too good to be true, but taboo usually is.
When Oryana’s world imploded, she never thought she would smile again, but befriending Flora made her days okay, and seeing Flora's brother Devon, filled her nights with illicit dreams.
She promised Devon would always be off-limits, but when he dangles himself before her, Oryana cannot deny her lustful desires.
Just one night... What could it hurt?
Oryana is about to discover that some vows are not meant to be broken, but shattering them completely can be most satisfying indeed.
It’s time I return to the living; time for me to look at the bright sun and let it warm my face, and permit myself to be free from the cold burden of grief that’s tarnished my soul.
That’s easier said than done when my heart died with my husband. Our hopes and dreams of a lifelong future with him by my side, fathering my children, and watching them grow into parents of their own have vanished.
I endure, but I’m not truly living… Until my elderly neighbour passes away and his dark-haired, hazel eyed son comes to town bearing burdens of his own.
*If you are someone grieving over the loss of a spouse, keep in mind that this book deals with such grief and the difficulties that follow. Also, this book contains sensitive situations such as descriptions of violence, and fully-consensual sexual situations including bondage and kink.
Arrow’s job is to keep Jade safe from her stalker, but saving her from herself proves challenging when she’s determined to run. His dominance could silence her haunting past if only she’d submit to him.
JADE:
Fifty-thousand people scream and pump their fists as they rock to the beat of my music. They think they know me, but I hide the real me at the bottom of a bottle.
I fear no one, not even my stalker. My manager won’t take any chances and hires a strong-willed bodyguard to babysit me, but he won’t keep me under lock and key. I may have met my match with Arrow.
ARROW:
Every time I close my eyes, I’m shaken to my core by nightmares that replay my horrors of war. Hired to keep Jade safe proves damn near impossible when she defies me at every opportunity.
She’s a spoiled wreck of a woman with a sharp tongue. It’s her defence to keep people at a distance. Alone, her demons arise. Through submission, she’ll learn to overcome, but she must let her guard down and put her trust in me.
Rule Breakers Books' Teasers
Rule Breakers #1 My Best Friend’s Brother
© Pebbles Lacasse 2024
I’m in charge of a chain of six grocery/department stores in and around the Toronto area. Corporate prefers me to work from the main office in Mississauga, but I find it too stuffy and impersonal. Besides, I had to dress in business attire every day, and that rarely makes for a comfortable workday. My preference is to wear dress pants or nice jeans and a silky blouse with a casual cardigan when needed.
High heels aren’t my idea of comfort, but they’re sometimes deemed necessary. I’m only 5’2”, and my female presence doesn’t intimidate enough for some of the male egos who deem me more of a nuisance than a district manager. Maybe high heels boost my confidence enough that I feel tougher and insist they mind me. Or it’s all in my imagination and they don’t respect me—they simply want to get in my pants. Earning respect isn’t easy when I’m dwarfed by tall, thick men swinging their dicks around as if that earns them privilege.
“Skip the meeting. Come to the shop,” Flora says, but it’s the toilet flush in the background that has my tired eyes rolling. “I’ll make you a special donut just how you like it.”
“Were you pooping when you called me?”
My feet press to the chilly hardwood floor, causing me to shiver and sift through my sheets in search of the sweater I wore last night.
She laughs. “Yeah. Sorry. I was prairie-dogging it.”
“You’re so gross.”
She laughs harder. “So, are you coming to the shop?”
The bathroom ignites with LED brightness and my squinted eyes don’t ease the painful glare from the pale blue-painted walls. The reflection of my puffy eyes and a cheek indented from a pillowcase wrinkle are causes for another groan.
My tired voice matches my appearance. “If the meeting goes well, I’ll go. But I can’t make any promises.”
“All right. If you show up, you show up. Please come to the club.” Flora pauses before she adds, “I have to let you go. Text me if you’re coming… Or if you’re not… Whatever. No pressure! Okay, so maybe a little pressure.”
Exasperated, my voice rises. “Um, yeah! Vice-like pressure.”
Flora snickers before she says, “Bye, bitch. See you later!”
“See you—maybe.”
I laugh, hang up, and set the phone on the sink’s edge. One more disappointed look into the mirror proves the indents likely won’t puff out for at least an hour. ...
Rule Breakers #2 The Widowed
© Pebbles Lacasse 2025
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - Heather
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Parked next to my house, the headlights fall dark as I absorb the silence with my keys in my hand.
Why did I tell him I had work to do? I always have work to do, but what awaits me will hold until tomorrow.
As the canopy of trees hovers like a vast umbrella above my truck, the darkness offers no visual into the forest. Through the passenger’s window, the beginning of the trail leading to the rushing waters of the river is dusted with moonlight. It’s just bright enough to deter any monsters from skulking about in the darkness.
“Monsters? Really?” My head shakes as I snicker and open my door. The truck’s cab explodes with brightness, so I close my eyes until I’m outside and shut the door to kill it.
Monsters… Leo would tease me by making up a scary story whenever we would go for a walk at night. Back then, I hated how he enjoyed scaring me. But I’d give anything now to hear one of his stories. I miss him.
Maybe it’s time I make my own story as I take a night stroll.
I set my purse on the porch along with my keys but keep my phone handy to use as a light source should it be required.
The soles of my running shoes pad the trail, making me wish I’d taken a moment to put on my hiking boots and get an actual flashlight. Every stone and branch jutting from the dusty trail stabs at my feet through the thin soles.
Each step brings me closer to the stark darkness. It’s time to begin my first solo story.
“As she walks through the forest, lost and alone, a creature with yellow eyes follows her every step. The scent of her fear teases the nostrils of the beast. Sticky saliva reeking of rotten fish and the blood of past victims drips in globs from its sagging jowls.”
It’s so dark, I don’t notice the thick branch I keep forgetting to cut down. It overhangs the path a few inches too low to miss my head. Before the sharpness of the branch meets my forehead, the delicate brush of a spider’s web is first to meet my face. I’m instinctually doing my best karate moves to shake the web from my face and hair.
Please, don’t let the spider take up residence in my hair.
When I’m positive an eight-legged passenger isn’t on me, I take several deep breaths while my hand covers my chest with the intention of stopping my pounding heart from thrusting itself from my ribcage. I continue down the path with caution.
I’m no longer interested in finishing that story. Out of habit, I turn to look over my shoulder to scold Leo for laughing during my traumatic dance with a spider web. But I’m met only with shadows. Was he here? Did I hear him laugh, or did I imagine it?
The sound of rushing water welcomes me before the path opens to moonlight’s kiss on the waves as they gently crest and sink back into the dark water.
Splashes off boulders rude enough to impede the water from its final destination miles downstream interrupt the silence. Crickets serenade me as the coolness of the fresh air lightly misted with the scent of pine fills my lungs.
Whether Leo is here to hear me or not, I must tell the universe what has me so torn.
“If anyone’s listening, thanks for being here with me.”
This is so silly! No one’s here.
My fingertips rub my forehead as my weight shifts to one hip. With my arms crossed tightly over my chest, I begin again. …
Rule Breakers #3 The Rockstar’s Bodyguard
© Pebbles Lacasse 2025
CHAPTER ONE
Jade
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Fifty-thousand people scream and pump their fists as they rock to the beat of the music. Having all those eyes staring at me will never cease to thrill me. They love me! They love my voice. They love the steady, heavy beat of Venus’s drums, the screams from Lacey’s guitar, the deep thrums from Pony’s bass, Dex’s thunderous trombone, and the high and low notes from the voice that got me to where I am today: a rock star making millions of dollars every year and touring the world.
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Not all of my adoring fans are good people. I’ve had stalkers threaten to kidnap, rape, or kill me. Any of these people looking at me now could be one of them. I don’t fear them. When I’m alone, the memories of those who’ve already hurt me are what have me shaking with fear.
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Clearing that thought from my mind, the last note tears from my body followed by a gasp to fill my emptied lungs as the last few beats of the song come to an end.
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My screamed words rip through the humongous speakers. “Thank you, Calgary, Alberta!”
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The roar of the crowd explodes through every cell in my body. Is my pride making it difficult to catch my breath or the exhaustion from the efforts of the high-adrenaline performance of an amazing concert?
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I set the microphone back on its stand, step back, and wave with both arms. The crowd screams for an encore at a deafening level and the urge to perform yet another song has my adrenaline pumping enough to make me want to begin the entire playlist again, but my band is striding off the stage as they too wave and smile.
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In the wings, Venus and Lacey hug and kiss, as they were married in secret two years ago. Lacey’s reputation is that of a loose woman with a need for dominance, which doesn’t draw in a crowd if they knew she wasn’t available for their fantasies of owning her. Venus is stunningly gorgeous with deep, brown skin, and she’s known as the good wild woman with an adventurous reputation. Following tradition, they’ll head up to their room and make love all night to take advantage of the adrenaline spike.
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Pony and Dex will likely party in one of their rooms with some of the set-up crew until late into tomorrow morning. The hangover they’ll bear will last for hours, but it’s their way of celebrating a great concert.
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Me, I’ll go back to my room and drink alone to drown my sorrows while I cry in a bathtub of bubbles. Coming off the high isn’t as easy for me as it is for the band. I have trouble leaving it all behind; the excitement of knowing how much they want me. When, in reality, I’m lonely.
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Millions of people love my music and claim to love me, but I have nobody to call my own who truly knows me. My band and manager know the real me well and not just my rock and roll persona.
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For twenty-six years, the girl who lived next door to the Frewns, Rachel Hanover, has tried to understand the shitty attitude I earned from the torment I suffered as a child. She knows me about as well as anyone could. We basically grew up together, but I can only handle her clinginess for short amounts of time before I need my space. I still call her my bestie, but we’re not as close as we used to be. Maybe we were never close as young children, and I put her in my circle simply because she was the only person my age I could trust. We live completely different lives as adults, but I’ll always give her extra financial support whenever she needs it. Not that she asks all that often.
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My career has been my life. It’s cluttered up every moment of my days, weeks, months, and years. At thirty-two years old, I’m coming to realize how much I wish a man knew me, the real me and not the vixen my career has driven my reputation to carry.
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Each time I meet someone who may be a great prospect, his true colours show through, proving he doesn’t value me as much as my financial success or my status which could boost his own claim to fame. Where are all the trustworthy men? Can a life in the limelight allow for an honest love story or will my music be the only true love of my life?
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We’re ushered by two members of our hotel’s security team plus one of our longstanding guards, Brick, through the back halls of the stadium to the private elevator. The sounds of excited fans continue to hum through the air until the metal doors slide closed. My bandmates excitedly recall their favored moments through the performance as I quietly watch the lighted numbers ascend. A low ding signifies we’ve reached the exclusive twenty-eight floor where only the elite can afford to lay their heads.
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We pile out while Lacey’s steps mimic a child’s enthusiasm. She leads the group down the wide hall. Her and Venus disappear past the open door to their room before Venus kicks it closed with the three-inch heel of her thigh-high leather boots. Nobody will see them for the rest of the night.
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Pony’s calm as he hugs me and tells Dex he’ll shower and see him soon. He pulls off his leather vest before disappearing through a door in his room I assume is the bathroom.
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When we come to Dex’s room, he reaches for my hand to stop me from continuing to my presidential suite.
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Knowing how difficult it is for me to ease myself back to reality, the sadness in his sexy blue eyes forces me to fake a smile to ease his concerns. Although I treasure all of them, Dex is my closest friend among the bandmates. If he weren’t strictly a lover of the penis, we’d be years into a marriage.
​
“Do you want me to come in? We can drink all the booze in your stocked bar, order everything on the menu, and eat until our stomachs explode.” Seeing that I’m unconvinced, his eyes stop halfway through a roll. “Fine. You drive a hard bargain. We can watch whatever sappy, tearjerker movie you want, and you can cry yourself into a puddle.” The humor in his tone was mixed with honest concern.
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My brows nearly ascend to my hairline. “Who’s going to cry themselves into a puddle?”
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Dex’s eyes dart down and to the right. “Okay. I’ll be the one crying, but I’ll let you laugh at me.” He scoffs teasingly at my chuckle. “It’s not my fault you’re dead inside.”
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“It’s true; I am, but no, thank you. I’ll be fine. Really, I will.” My head tips as a weary grown escapes me. “I’m going to take off the layers of make-up clouding my pores, pour myself a giant glass of wine, and slide my tired body into the tub.”
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He takes my hands in his as the bodyguards talk quietly among themselves. “Jade, I can join you. We’ll leave our panties on, so none of our bits mistakenly brush past each other.” Feigning disgust, his lips pinch and brows lower as a cringing shiver lifts his shoulders.
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I pat a gentle kiss to his cheek before my palm presses to the sweaty skin over his heart aside the leather harness criss-crossing his chest. “Dex, we can bathe together when you decide to give vagina a go. Until then, this girl soaks alone.”
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Defeated, he pouts with a twist of his mouth. “All right. If you need me, I’m only a phone call away. Well, for the next hour anyway. After that, I plan to be deep in someone’s ass or a slurring, drunken fool. If you need me…”
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My green eyes squint. “Maybe I’ll wait until you’re drunk so I can sway you into a night of passion with my feminine wiles.”
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Dex saunters away from me backward and says, “Girlfriend, I’m looking for a hairy chest and a deep voice begging me to go deeper into his tight ass.”
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“Maybe if your equipment were longer, they wouldn’t have to beg for more.” I tease as my long legs stride further down the hall. “But I suppose we’re out of luck: I have a tight ass but no hairy chest. Looks like I’m going to do it solo again tonight.”
“Call if you need me,” he says as he winks at the second security guard who doesn’t seem flattered by the wink.
***
The mirror reflects a beautiful brunette with dark, heavy make-up a mess from sweat. Dancing, singing, and simply standing before those bright, hot lights had me sweating beneath my leather shorts and barely-there bra and harness. It’s damn near impossible to see the crowd gleaming at me from meters away, but their excitement could be felt in spades.
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The rockstar behind the reflection is a simple woman whose professional dreams have come true. She has almost everything she’s ever wanted. Almost.
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Hidden behind the façade called Jade is a broken child who barely survived being raised by a physically abusive alcoholic mother until fostered by a diddler at the age of four. His secret was exposed when I was seven and finally sent to live with Mike and Feona Frewn.
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Living with them was like I’d struck gold. Mike and Leona Frewn were the perfect couple for a shattered little girl who needed space and time to heal her emotional scars.
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They did their best to show me how to love, and that I could be loved, but it was too late. I was damaged goods. For that reason, I make sure to call them once a week to check in with them because I know how much they worry about me.
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Do I love them? I suppose, but what is love? How can it be measured? Do I want them to die? No, but I don’t want to see the people at my concerts die either, so do I love them, too? Do I want to talk to the Frewns every day and hug them at every greeting? No. So, the question remains; what the fuck is love?
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My heart bears an impenetrable armour built from years of pushing down the anger and pain associated with those memories, and that’s not going to change.
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As the gauze pads and witch hazel remove layer after layer of the rockstar make-up, tears drip down my cheeks. As the black mascara smears from the oil, the image mirrors the person I am today: broken but strong.
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