California Burning

Natalie Grimaldi has always been a fighter. Rebellious, sharp-tongued, and unwilling to break under pressure, she’s spent most of her life enduring the cruelty of her uncle, Gideon Grimaldi , a greedy man who raised her only to use her as a pawn. When Gideon announces that she’s to marry Viktor Roman, a Russian billionaire twice her age, in exchange for a debt settlement, Natalie is furious, broken and frustrated. On the day of the wedding something unexpected happens she is claimed in a contract marriage by California's most feared Italian Mafia family, LORENZO DE LUCA. She finds herself being sold twice!! Lorenzo doesn't know her name, doesn't care about her except his own gains(the real reason he bought her) but something in her fire, her refusal to bow, stirred something long buried in him. He buys her for something much more deeper —nothing more. But Natalie refuses to break. Even as he claims her body, her life, she hides her heart, planning escape, revenge, and freedom. But the longer she remains under Lorenzo's roof, the more she begins to see cracks in his stone facade: his silence, his shadows, his haunting grief and most of all HIS SECRET. The real reason he bought her. And against every wall she’s built, Natalie begins to feel the tug of something she vowed never to give him—sympathy. Maybe even more. As Natalie secretly builds her own power, forging connections and learning the dark truths behind Lorenzo's empire, she must face the hardest question of all: Can she destroy the man who bought her, if he’s the first one who ever saw her? Or will she fall for the devil who was never meant to love?

Just two days before our engagement, my fiance, Theodore Scott, kneels to adjust the hem of my dress, his fingers suddenly brushing lightly against my ankle. "Isabella, I've never seen you wear heels. You have such beautiful feet." I adjust the waistline of my gown in the mirror and answer casually, "I'm not used to them. My legs hurt when I walk in heels." "Just try them. High heels would look perfect with your mermaid dress." His palm glides up along my leg, stopping at the back of my knee. He murmurs, "Red-bottom stilettos—each step would sway so gracefully, and the way they'd peek out when you walk… You'd look breathtaking in them." I look up and catch his focused, burning gaze in the mirror. "Since when do you know about these things?"

Before my crazy grandmother died, she gave me three walnuts. According to her last wish, I cracked open the first walnut on my twenty-fifth birthday. Inside the walnut was a slip of paper. 'Go to the skybridge and grovel at the first beggar you meet' was the instruction written on it. When I looked at the note, I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Still, I did as told. To my surprise, the beggar turned out to be an undercover cop. Only later did I learn that I had long been targeted by human traffickers, and the bow had saved my life. As for the second walnut, my grandmother told me to crack it open before I got married. When I put on my wedding dress, ready to marry the policeman who saved me, I happily opened it. This time, there was a crumpled old photograph inside. In the photo, my fiancé was smiling as he strangled another bride.

Stacey Galvez has been working for Golden Gates Corporation under the research department for more than two months. Tahimik at magaan ang takbo ng buhay niya, nagtatrabaho siya para sa sarili at sa kaniyang pamilya. Sa pagnanais maibsan ang boring cycle ng buhay, mag-isa siyang nagtungo sa bar sa unang pagkakataon. Hindi niya lubos akalaing sa matindi niyang paghahangad na magliwaliw ay naisuko niya ang pagkabirhen. Never in her wildest dreams did she think of having a one night stand with the Chief Financial Officer of the banking company she works for. But it happened. Stacey and the CFO came up with a mutual agreement to keep their secret all by themselves. Will it be easy for her if before their one steamy night she already has feelings for the dazzling CFO bachelor Izaac Buencamino? Her burning desire for him is out of control, so she comes up with a plan to seduce and make him hers.

…she will be his doom and salvation, both of them will end up burning each other and the dark blood of sorcery will run without end if they meet before she turns 18… The cloaked figure couldn’t hold back the tears as he dropped the child in front of the orphanage, “live a normal life child”, he said as he walked away from the child. The cute bundle felt the first drop of rain and let out a loud wail… ********* The fact that Aramina was Zach’s mate and suffers from hyperacusis is enough burden. She must prove to be capable of being the pack’s Luna and the bride the council wants for Zach. Alpha Zach had his demons, and he had learnt to fight then alone, until Aramina came along… Will he be able to give in to his heart and allow her fight alongside him or will he be swallowed in his fears and darkness and allow the only one who truly love him become a pawn for the overwhelming forces that have conspired to keep them apart?

Rhonda Vons is a brilliant tech mastermind who had spent years hiding in the shadows, quietly building her Alpha husband’s tech company. She returns home on their anniversary to surprise her Alpha husband with the truth behind his company’s success, only to find him raw-dogging their son’s nanny on his office desk. She was shattered, but what broke her the most was discovering that her precious pup she almost lost her life for chose his nanny over her. For six years, she had been the perfect wife and Luna to Theodore. But not anymore. She intended to ruin him and then vanish afterward. When Theodore finally realized who she really was and how much of a failure him and his company was without her, he came crawling, begging for her forgiveness. But it was too late. She was now the tech director at a rival company owned by her childhood sweetheart, and old flames may just be burning hotter than ever!

Elena thought she had it all, a loving husband, a perfect life, and a bright future. But when her husband Marcus dies in a car accident, everything falls apart. Drowning in debts she never knew existed, Elena loses everything. The mafia her husband owes money to, takes everything from her and she lives on the streets and becomes a shadow of her former self. Then she discovers a shocking truth. Marcus isn't dead, it was all staged and he is living comfortably with her step-sister as his new lover, while Elena suffered for his lies. When she confronts him, he kills her to keep his secret safe. But death isn't the end for Elena. She is reborn back to the moment the doctor told her Marcus was dead, and this time, she knows exactly what's coming. Armed with the truth and burning for revenge, Elena is about to make everyone who destroyed her life pay and she's going to make them go through every single thing she did.

My husband, Joaquin Landon, is a renowned wax sculptor. He hangs up on me when I call him to save my life so he can focus on the wax sculpture his cousin wants. Amphetamine is injected into my system, so my mind is clear as I watch my nails get removed one by one. Every inch of my skin is covered in burning hot wax. My hair and lashes are plucked off, and my organs are ground. Steel pipes are inserted into my legs, and I'm turned into a wax sculpture. Joaquin sees me during an exhibition. His colleague tells him that the wax sculpture he sees looks eerily like me, but he merely looks disgusted. "All she does is cause trouble and act unreasonably. She's better off dead." What he doesn't know is that I already am. Joaquin doesn't recognize that I'm the wax sculpture before him.

“What’s your name?” The alpha asked, seemingly unsettled by all the attention on him. “Jessica.” She replied quietly. She was about to ask for his name when the other’s thumb brushed her lips, before he released his hold. It left a sensation that was domineering and territorial. The Alpha stepped back, earnest stare burning into Jessica giving a slight glare of irritation at the other wolves before walking away. Tasha giggled, eyes turning into crescents. “Jessi. He claimed you.” “H-He did not,” Jessi started. “Yes, yes he did. He didn’t mark you, but he like, scent-claimed you in front of – of everyone!” Tasha said with glee. “He left his scent on you.” *** *** Jessica Hart is an Omega wolf who wants to find a mate who will accept her and she’s determined their story would be ‘love at first sight’ until she meets him and ... he’s an Arrogant Alpha. Chadwick Kai, who is a mysterious, devastatingly handsome Alpha that confuses Jessica.

"I will not only make you forget this pain, but I will also make you forget the thought of looking at any other man. It will be only me forever. I will please you in ways you can never imagine. Just say yes." He spoke as he pinned her chest to his. "This is wrong! This is forbidden!" She murmured as her body continued to tremble with forbidden desires. He was supposed to return from the States as the stepbrother she loathed with the whole of her heart, but he seemed to have undergone a spellbinding transformation abroad. And him? He anticipated meeting his nettlesome, egocentric stepsister, who was good at nothing but irritating his demons. Contrary to his thoughts, the jaw-dropping hot babe that came to pick him up at the airport whetted his every sense of being—everything that depicted him as a man. It's wrong. It's forbidden. Yet, they went undercover and under the covers to quench their burning desires, which seem like irresistible obsessions. But how prepared are they for the consequences when their dirty secrets are revealed?