Catherynne M Valente Books Novels & Stories

This was bad. “The book,” she muttered, catching Lylah's attention. Lylah fixed her eyes on it and immediately realized that was the book Selene must have been looking for. “I hate to admit it, but I knew you wouldn't be fooled by my trick,” Valoreth said, halting right before Lucas and sighing. “But at least I got what I was looking for—the proof.” Lucas’ gaze didn’t waver.

The shuffle of hangers, the low hum of a dusty radio playing soft rock in the background, the occasional exclamation from a customer who’s found a hidden gem. In the back corner, I discover a wooden crate filled with books. My fingers hover over the spines, titles half faded, pages worn. I crouch down and start flipping through them, the paper whispering under my touch. Valerie appears beside me a moment later with a woven basket in one hand and a sequined scarf slung dramatically around her neck. “Any treasure?” she asks, crouching beside me. “Not sure yet,” I murmur, pulling out a leather bound book with a cracked spine. The title is barely legible. Myths of the Forgotten Realms. My breath

TO BE CONTINUED. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to everyone who has followed this story to the very end. You've stuck with me through my long hiatus' and through my struggle to get this story out the way it deserved. I appreciate each and every one of you and love you. Please know that this is only the end of Part 1 and soon I will begin Part 2 which will be told from both Valerie and Elias' prospective. With that said... please keep a lookout for My Dear Prince Of Redemption coming this Summer. Again thank you and I look forward to us continuing this story together!

“We’ll be back… to fuck you so much you forget how to walk.” I straightened. Valentino kept staring at her—chest rising and falling too fast, pupils blown, white hair falling into his face like a veil. His control was fraying; I could smell it. The bond pulsed between us—his hunger echoing mine. I stepped away from the bed. Valeria whimpered at the loss, thighs pressing together instinctively, trying to ease the empty ache. I didn’t look back as I walked toward Valentino. He thrust a thick manila folder into my chest the second I reached him.

Author Pov Valerie stared at the man in whose arms she was locked in disbelief. Can't he see how much she disliked the way that man was handling the girl? This wasn't the way a man should touch a girl. It was brutal and ruthless. She always knew that her body will be her Master's only. But she had a little hope of getting better treatment. At least he will consider her way of being intimate with him. Gently and carefully. But what she never understood that Xavier Valentino is the second name of cruelness. He loved roughness. He loves being in control. He loves when his woman quivers under him completely on his mercy.

My mind went back to the present after hearing Diane. "What about it? What's that?" I asked when I saw her holding a book. So she's been looking at this place just for a book? "Come here, let's see the inside." She sat on the floor, the dusty floor and it will surely make her dirty. But even more, I followed what she did to take a good look at the book she was holding. I used the torch in my hand to see the title of this book that has a black hard cover. "Three Dimensions to the other world?" Even in the title, I could tell that this is not just a normal one. I would like to see the content then.

The cool air of the hallway brushed my open legs and arms, raising tiny goosebumps. I knocked softly on the heavy wooden door of the study, my knuckles felt the smooth, polished surface. “Come in,” his deep voice answered way too quick. I opened the door, slowly stepped inside, closing it quietly behind me. The study smelled rich and masculine — aged whiskey, dark leather, faint cigar smoke, and warm wood. The air felt thicker and warmer in here than the hallway. Mr. Valenti stood near his large desk, holding a glass of amber liquid. Even in his early fifties, he looked powerful and strikingly handsome, I'll give him that. Quite tall with wide, strong shoulders that stretched his white shirt

The shadow of Dayneris was gone from that moment, forced back by my will, my love, my fire. But deep inside, I knew the war was far from over. Alessio would not stop. The relic was only the beginning. And yet, as I pressed my forehead against hers, inhaling her scent—honeysuckle, storm rain—I promised silently, fiercely, “Whatever comes… I will always be your shield, your cage, your home. No shadow, no past, no brother will take you from me. Not now. Not ever.” And in that moment, Valentina’s warmth grounded me, gave me purpose, and ignited a fire that centuries of loss and grief could not extinguish...

“You’re never going back to that university without me. Never visiting anyone without my men watching. You’re mine to protect. Mine to punish. Mine to fuck until you forget anyone else exists.” I was angry, terrified, and shamefully, addictively intrigued by the intensity rolling off him. Hours later- or what felt like it- the car finally slowed. The door opened onto a world of salt and marble and obscene money. Cold wind whipped off the Mediterranean, sharp enough to cut skin. The Valente estate rose like a fortress carved from nightmares and dreams- three stories of black glass and white stone, terraces dripping with vibrant bougainvillea, armed men stationed at every corner pretending the

Valerie arrived at the college early so she could stop by Holbert’s office and apologize for missing their book date on Monday night. She wore a knee-length skirt and a button-down top with the first couple of buttons open, exposing her creamy globes. With any luck, it would be enough for him to get a sneak peek and forgive her, and she wouldn’t need to do anything else to appease the old man. As much as Damien, Nick, and Ivy thought this would be a feather in her cap she could use later for something she needed, it still gave her the shivers just thinking about it. Holbert Warren was a perverted old man, and not in the way Damien was. No. If the rumors were true, the president of the colleg