Barnes And Noble Desert Ridge Novels & Stories

His mouth claimed hers with a hunger he’d clearly been holding back for years, tongue sliding deep, slow, possessive. Large hands mapped her body like he’d memorized it from stolen glances—cupping her breasts through her thin top, thumbs circling her nipples until they ached and peaked. “You’ve been driving me crazy,” he rasped against her throat, teeth grazing the sensitive skin. “Every time you walked through that door in those little sundresses…” He backed her against the wall, one thigh pressing firmly between hers so she could grind down on the hard ridge of him. Melanie whimpered, already soaked, hips rolling shamelessly. Marcus groaned approval, fingers slipping beneath her skirt to find her drenched panties. “Fuck, sweetheart,” he breathed, stroking her clit through the lace in slow, deliberate circles. “So wet for me already. Been thinking about this?” “Yes—God, yes,” she gasped, nails digging into his shoulders. ********** She knew it was wrong, craving her best friend’s father, but it was a sin she was willing to indulge in... damn the consequences, even if that includes a heartbreak.

Alpha Scott hated me, his fated mate, more than anything. All because I was just a human, a useless creature without claws. His heart belonged entirely to his childhood sweetheart, Joanna. After Joanna died in an accident, he hated me for ten years. But when an enemy pack’s bomb exploded in front of our den, he saved me. Before he died, covered in blood and lying in my arms, he used his last ounce of strength to push away my trembling hand. "Elena, if only the Moon Goddess had never let us meet..." At the funeral, the former Luna—Scott's mother—grabbed my collar, sobbing uncontrollably. "Scott, it's my fault. I never should have forced you to accept this human. If I had supported your choice of Joanna, would any of this have happened today?" I didn't answer. Because she was right. After being dragged out of the funeral, I climbed Skyfall Ridge—the pack's sacred ground—alone and leaped. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day the Moon Goddess designated me as Scott's mate. This time, I decided to sever all ties with Scott, to give everyone what they truly wanted.

Ethan Hale was the name every pilot at North Ridge Air Base looked up to. I was Ava Morgan, his wife and his only flight partner. To earn my ace qualification, I had to complete three final evaluation missions within the review period. I failed all three. I refused to accept it as coincidence, so I followed the access logs, flight records, and maintenance files until every abnormal detail pointed to one person. Chloe Bennett. When I took the evidence to Ethan, I heard him arguing with his deputy, Liam Reed, behind the office door. "You are putting Chloe forward for the ace-track recommendation? She can barely hold steady in a back seat," Liam said, his anger barely restrained. "Ava is my wife and my flight partner. Chloe is different. She has nothing." Standing outside the door, I suddenly laughed. Then I turned around and accepted the return offer from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Before I left, I gave Ethan three things. And he would regret them for the rest of his life.

Naomi Venice was a daughter of one of Florence's noble family, Venice. As someone who loves books, she would often go to libraries. While strolling, she passed by an alleyway where she saw a library. She went there with her personal maid, Lillian, to browse for some books when something strange happened. It was gone in an instant and they got home completely fine. Late at night, something strange happened and when Naomi woke up, she found herself in an unknown world and occupying an unknown body. Defenseless and no fighting capabilities to protect herself, she was almost driven to her wits end. Will she be able to survive in an unknown world despite her circumstances?

I came to him broken at nineteen. He was my alpha, my guardian, forbidden in every way that mattered. Then I almost married his son. Almost. One betrayal. One ruined wedding. One night where Damien stopped being noble and started being mine. Now I know what those rough hands feel like wrapped around my throat. What that filthy mouth sounds like when he calls me good girl and means it in the dirtiest way possible. His son wanted a wife. His father wanted to own me. And God help me, I was always meant to be Daddy's.

She came to Australia from India to achieve her dreams, but an innocent visit to the notorious kings street in Sydney changed her life. From an international exchange student/intern (in a small local company) to Madam of Chen's family, one of the most powerful families in the world, her life took a 180-degree turn. She couldn’t believe how her fate got twisted this way with the most dangerous and noble man, who until now was resistant to the women. The key thing was that she was not very keen to the change her life like this. Even when she was rotten spoiled by him, she was still not ready to accept her identity as the wife of this ridiculously man.

In the summer of 1990, Rachel Weber spent a week down on the Florida coast, soaking up the sun's rays while she waited for her life to begin. It was there that she met Dean Sherman, a handsome, muscular soldier with crystal blue eyes. The two spent a week together full of champagne kisses that only ended when Operation Desert Storm forced Dean to choose between his duty and his love. He chose duty. Twenty years later, Rachel figured it was just summer love, but she never forgot those eyes. As personal assistant to powerful billionaire Jack Saunders, she never expected Dean to walk into her office after being hired as Jack's personal bodyguard. Even though she had spent the last two decades trying to forget Dean, she found herself falling for him once again. When fate forced both Rachel and Dean to choose yet again between love and duty, Rachel had to decide between the man she had always loved and the family that had become her life. She knew she couldn't have both, but she knew she wouldn't be happy with just one. Would she choose love, or be forever haunted by the memory of those Champagne Kisses?

After her family goes bankrupt, Angelina Danielle falls from a noble lady to losing everything overnight. Even her husband and only remaining relative betray her. The misfortune does not stop there, Danielle falls into the hands of her creditor, billionaire Lionel Rick, and is forced to use her body to sign a contract and repay the family’s debt. From then on, a completely new life unfolds that she never expected. Love, hatred, revenge continue to revolve, Danielle from a gentle woman also begins to become calculating to achieve her goals. When she no longer needs men, they desperately pursue her. So who will she give a chance to?

After the death of her estranged grandmother, Ayla inherits a crumbling estate—and a ring etched with runes she can’t read. But the moment she slips it on, the barrier between the mortal world and the realm of night cracks. Enter Lucien, a vampire noble exiled for treason, bound by oath to protect the bloodline that nearly wiped out his own. And Ayla? She’s the last of that bloodline—and possibly the key to restoring or destroying his dying realm. Ayla doesn't want anything to do with vampires, ancient wars, or cursed magic. But when hunters come for her, and she starts hearing voices in her sleep, Lucien becomes her only protection—and possibly her greatest threat.

Ava Kane is seventeen, unshifted, and unwanted. In a pack, failing to shift at seventeen brands you as weak—a disgrace. To her guardian pack, Ava is a stain, disposable and easily forgotten. Terrified of being cast out, she accepts a reckless dare from one of the pack’s strongest among her peers, desperate to prove she isn’t worthless. The dare changes everything, putting her on the path to an encounter that will change the entire trajectory of her life. Nathan Cross is the Alpha of Crescent Ridge—powerful, feared, and under relentless pressure to claim a Luna. One night of escape from his responsibilities as Alpha leads him straight into the path of a trembling girl with no wolf... and a scent that shakes his instincts to the core. She has no wolf within her, which should make her either too young or defective. Yet his wolf has decided on her. As Ava’s 18th birthday draws near and long-buried secrets about her past come to light, she begins to realize she may be more than anyone ever believed—including herself. When the balance between the packs begin to fall apart with her right in the center, being chosen by an Alpha wolf may not be enough to keep her safe.