David Baldacci Best Stand-alone Books Novels & Stories

“Give it” I ordered, gesturing to my mask and lingerie. “Give them to me.” Something playful trotted in his eyes. “Take them” he toyed. I lunged in, and he leaned back, shifting to the side until I collapsed first against the cotton sheets. I turned to look at him, and he towered on top of me, looking down in a way that rolled spikes over my flesh. I could feel the heat from his body, and as if he noticed, he leaned closer. Until his breath steadied over my neck. “Max—” “What?” He said it so innocently. Like he didn't know what he was going. Like he… “You're the one holding my shirt.” I suddenly noticed the silk feel to my hand. My fingers already starting to mindlessly wander over his buttons. Let go. Let go Bianca! Why won't I let go?! “Does that mean I have permission to this?” *** To make earns meet, a struggling college student creates an OnlyFans page with a hidden identity. Her secret pays the bills, keeps her in school, and protects the quiet, invisible life she’s built. Until one message ruins everything. “Hi, Bianca.” Someone knows who she is, behind the mask… and he wants to meet. The culprit, a man that belongs to her best friend. A longing that should be off limits… until it isn't. Caught between a darkness deeper than her wildest imaginations, a desire stronger than the control that slowly slips away, and a truth that could destroy her reputation, Bianca is forced into a dangerous game of control and temptation. Where saying no is never simple, and saying yes could cost her everything.

Mia attends her high school reunion with the hope of reconnecting with her long-lost love, but fate has other plans. She accidentally stumbles into a stranger's private room and finds herself waking up next to a man she doesn't know. The passion between them ignites as they give into their desires, and they have a one-night stand. However, she doesn't wait to find out the identity of the man and runs away, leaving behind her necklace. Several weeks later, Mia discovers that she is pregnant as a result of that one-night stand. Despite the challenges ahead, she decides to keep the baby and raise it on her own. Meanwhile, Zenith, a powerful and wealthy billionaire, finds himself under pressure from his family to settle down and get married. Little does he know that a secret from his past is about to change his life forever. He discovers that he has a child from a one-night stand, and he still has the necklace he found from the night of pleasure with the woman who disappeared at sunrise.

At the company's year-end party, I'm about to get on the stage and give away the awards when I suddenly overhear two employees gossiping behind my back. "Hurry! It'd be awful to miss out on the scene where the legitimate wife gives the biggest award away to the mistress!" "I've already hated that Raven crone for the longest time! Winnie really is smart for pulling this trick!" Oh? Do they intend to watch me humiliate myself in public? My lips curl into a cold smirk as I accept the microphone and get onto the stage. Winnie Lane, the secretary of my husband, Fred Colson, shoots me a taunting and mocking look right away from her spot beneath the stage. I know that she's waiting to watch me make a fool out of myself. I also know that the receiver of the best sales performance award with the prize money of a million dollars has already been switched to Winnie. The day before the party, I, the sales champion of the company, suddenly get nominated as the guest who would give away the awards at the party, courtesy of Fred. I thought it was an additional praise meant for the sales department. It turns out that it's just Fred doting on his darling mistress even more than usual. I clear my throat before I slowly unfold the list. "The first award that I'd like to give away is the best…" Before I can finish speaking, Winnie draws to her feet instantly. A sweet smile is already playing on her lips at that moment. "The Best Office Snake Award! And the winner is…"

My best friend, Maya, flew in from Miami for my bachelorette week. My last days of freedom. She insisted on a girls' night in to celebrate, ordering all my favorite takeout. She asked me to hold her mobile phone and wait.Then her phone lit up. A message from some guy. A shirtless pic. Text: I need you tonight. Another photo buzzed through. Sex toys. Bondage gear straight out of a movie. My face burned. My heart hammered against my ribs. I’d just stumbled into her secret life. But the next image made my blood run cold. A close-up of the man's chest. A jagged scar I knew better than my own reflection. It belonged to my fiancé, Luciano Carbone.

Layla Hayes is used to surviving. Raised by adoptive parents who treated her like a burden, she learned to keep her head down, keep quiet, and dream of escape. When her long-term boyfriend cheats and leaves her with nothing, one wild night in a bar is supposed to be her only rebellion — a kiss of freedom before going back to hell.But the stranger she gives herself to isn’t just anyone. He’s Colden Frost. Elusive tech billionaire. Ruthless CEO. The media calls him the Ice King for a reason.So when he offers a flash contract marriage—cold, clinical, and signed in ink—Layla says yes. She wants out of her old life, and she doesn’t care if her new husband has a frozen heart.Only he’s not the monster the tabloids claim. He’s just… never home. Never warm. Never hers.But slowly, walls begin to thaw. And Layla realizes the man she married may be the one thing she never thought she'd find:Safety.

Lily at age fifteen wanted to be so many things, but a werewolf was never part of it. Actually, she never thought of it either, because this story isn't about Lily at fifteen, nor is it about any damn werewolves. This story is about 23-year-old Lily Hills, waking up to the dead body of her one-night stand in a motel. The same man, Damien Kalashnikov, was to tie the knot the next morning, and Lily was slated to handle the magazine publishing the glamorous wedding events. Lily who just wanted an adventurous night for once in her life, was now accused of murdering a ruthless Russian Mafia boss. Just as all hope seems lost, Dimitri, Damien's identical twin brother and infamous "Beekeeper," saves her, he proposes a shocking solution: a contract marriage, with conditions for both parties to meet. The wedding, initially intended for Damien and his bride, will proceed as planned – with Lily as the new bride. As Lily and Dimitri navigate their complicated relationship, he commissions her to write his biography. With each passing day, secrets unfold, and shocking truths surface. Their bond deepens, but danger lurks. With a surprise pregnancy raising stakes, it seemed Damien left a souvenir. A Russian Roulette began. Albeit, a typical Russian will say to you: Когда река молчит, шепчет ли она секреты рыбам? (When the river's voice is silent, does it whisper secrets to the fish?) Even in silence, hidden truths may be shared, and secrets can be revealed in unexpected ways. Will Lily, wife to the Omertà Mafia Don ‘The Beekeeper’ eventually find out what happened that night?

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT, RATED 18+ “Touch your toes for me, my sweet girl.” “You're supposed to be off-limits," I breathed. "And yet, you keep finding reasons to be alone with me." he tilted my chin up. One night. One stranger. One catastrophic secret. Madison Greymond has spent years being the good daughter, careful, loyal, invisible. So when she lets herself have one reckless night with a dangerously attractive stranger, she tells herself it means nothing. Until her mother slides a diamond ring onto her finger and introduces the man she's going to marry. Derek Salvador. The man whose hands Madison still dreams about. The man who looked at her like she was the only thing worth having and apparently decided her mother was the better bet. Now he's sitting at their dinner table. Sleeping down the hall. Watching Madison with dark eyes, while she's supposed to smile and forget. She knows it's wrong. She knows what's at stake. But desire doesn't care about right and wrong and Derek has never pretended to play by the rules. The closer he gets, the harder Madison fights. The harder she fights, the more she wants to surrender. Her mother's happiness. Her own sanity. A secret that grows more dangerous with every stolen glance, every accidental touch, every moment alone where the line between forbidden and inevitable gets harder to find. Someone always finds out. The only question is….how long can a secret survive when two people can barely resist each other?

Due to my mother's last wish, I kept my identity hidden and mated the son of my father's friend, Alpha Xavier, who I grew to love after our union. The night of our wedding, war broke out. My Alpha left me for the battlefront. Before he left, he asked me to wait for him, promising that when he returned, he would spend the rest of his life with me. He only loved me. While I waited for him to come home, I took care of the Pack. I did a very good job and earned the love of everyone in the Pack. I am Luna. A year later, the war ended, and my Mate won the war. He came back with a woman and said she was his true mate. They had already completed the mating ritual and marked each other for life. Bianca is known for the best warrior on the battlefield. She says she doesn't want to be stuck in the pack like Luna, the housewife. Xavier used his accomplishments on the battlefield to trade with Alpha King for a special reward, the Luna Duet, and we two Lunas are equal. Fuck this ridiculous Luna Duet, May the best Luna win.

I've wanted him for as long as I can remember. My father's best friend. Forbidden. Untouchable. But that only makes me want him more."Sorcha has spent years longing for Karios—the man who commands every room but refuses to see her.She’s not a child anymore. And when her father leaves her in Karios’s care, it’s the chance she’s been waiting for.”But what she doesn't know is that Karios isn’t as unaffected as he seems.Alone in his house, she’s determined to make him see her. Want her. Lose control.” And once he gives in… there’s no turning back.”

“Sandra why did you wear that slutty cloth to the nightclub?” He asked her, anger flicking in his eyes.“You are a naughty girl,” he murmured, before circling her and stopping suddenly to bite her hard on her ears.“That’s for showing what’s mine out!” Prof Tyler murmured before his right hands moved down to her fat ass and spanked her hard.“Argggggh,” Sandra screamed.“You get treated like a slut if you act like one,” Prof Tyler said while his big hands continued smacking the shit out of her ass.“I’m... so...sorrry.. daddy,” Sandra whimpered. Immediately after she murmured those words Tyler eyes zeroed in on her lips before he claimed her lips voraciously.“This is mine,” He screamed while holding on tight to her ass. “And I don’t want you showing other riff raffs what belongs to me!” He snapped. Will their love story endure the weight of their hidden secrets, or will the revelations lead to its downfall? Dive into this gripping tale as Sandra faces the difficult task of confessing her relationship with her best friend's father. In the midst of this revelation, a surprising twist unfolds when Sandra discovers that Professor Tyler is a werewolf.