David Baldacci Stand Alone Novels Novels & Stories

Everyone said I was lucky. After the Don, Lucas Vaughn, brought me back to his estate, I became the woman he treasured most. He would halt billion-dollar deals just to be home on time to put me to sleep. He even learned sign language in secret, just so he could communicate with me after my vocal cords were damaged. At first, I didn’t dare give him my heart. Whenever he looked at me, his focus would drift. He showered me with gifts, yet always disappeared on the days that mattered most. As the child in my womb grew, and as Lucas’s devotion intensified day by day, I let my guard down. I devoted myself completely to the role of wife and Donna. Until the night I gave birth. I hemorrhaged during a difficult labor, but Lucas never showed up. After surviving by sheer luck, I finally saw the trending news. Lucas attended a Thames-side gala arm-in-arm with rising movie star, Serena Vale. That was when I understood. To him, I had only ever been a substitute. He broke his rules for her again and again. He indulged her humiliations toward me and even shoved me toward armed attackers at the brink of life and death. Filled with hatred, I closed my eyes and sank into the deep sea, just as he wished. Later, he knelt, clutching the hem of my dress, begging, "Zoe, please give me one more chance. I’ll repay you with my life." His life was worth too little now. I no longer wanted it.

For eight years, I was James Carter's secretary and secret lover. Eight years of giving him my heart completely. I truly believed he loved me back - he was always tender and attentive when we were intimate, seemingly caring about my every need and desire. But then I overheard him telling others, "She's nothing but a stand-in, just someone to satisfy my physical needs when I'm bored. Did you really think I would marry her?" In that moment, I finally found the strength to let go and stop loving him. I handed in my resignation and walked away from it all. Yet after my whirlwind marriage to someone else, why did he suddenly start searching for me desperately across the city? Now he's here with tears in his eyes, claiming I'm the one he truly loves? Wasn't I just his convenient replacement all along?

After a falling out with my long-distance boyfriend, I decide to secretly fly home to patch things up with him. Unexpectedly, I catch him fooling around at home with his secretary. "Do you need to be so mad? I only got someone to act as your stand-in. Ultimately, you're still the one I love." I listen to his preposterous lies and hide my stomach cancer diagnosis behind my back. I say, "It's not a bad idea to gather more of these fakes. You won't be too upset when I'm dead." But after I die, he loses his mind when he looks at his secretary's face.

Jasper, the son of the alpha of the Crimson Claws Pack, couldn't find his mate in the Werewolf World in his eighteen years. And although he doesn't worry about it at first, the possibility of his wolf getting out of control and his human form being affected by staying too long without finding his mate makes him follow his father's instructions and go to the Human Word, to look for his future Luna. And to accomplish this, he decides to look for his mate in the human schools. However, when Jasper meets a mysterious and very attractive girl in a club, his interest is immediately caught, especially after they have a one-night stand, and she disappears before dawn, without leaving a single note. It turns out that the girl who caught his eye is Scarlett Davis, a nerd who has just been cheated on by her boyfriend. Scarlett doesn't want to face his one-night stand, but she doesn't expect him to be the new transfer student in her class, who is actually willing to win her over and, for that, starts a passionate pursuit of her. However, Scarlett doesn't know that Jasper is a werewolf… and that even her identity is shrouded in deep secrets and mysteries that involve her own family — and Jasper's as well.

Heartbroken and humiliated, Almira thought a wild night on a cruise ship would help her forget her cheating mate. Instead, she wakes up tangled with Lysander Hitwell—the ruthless Alpha of the Shadow Weavers Pack and a billionaire whose name dominates headlines and a strange possession of powers. She planned to leave him and that night behind forever, but fate has other plans. Now carrying the twins of the most powerful man in the werewolf world, Almira is caught between protecting her heart and facing the Alpha who could destroy her—or complete her. But what if she discovers more than just her pregnancy? Something powerful that she unlocked the night they shared together.

So you don't remember Lexi?" Piercing blue eyes stare in to mine, I watch as he licks his lips and he takes a sip from his whiskey. "You don't remember how you screamed our names that night?" The deep voice from beside me chuckles and I look in his direction, brown eyes, taking me in from head to toe. "We could always remind you Lex, you just have to say the word" *** 5 years ago after a drunken one night stand with two of the most eligible bachelors in town-Lexi ran away. There's two reasons why - one, they're her brother's best friends and two, it just absolutely can't happen. Now she's back in town and hopes to avoid them like the plague but Damien and Parker have other plans, they've had their share of fun but no one could ever top that night. Their little vixen ran off and they let her but she's back and they have no plans on letting her go again. That night is burned into Lexi's memory and soon these two men are everywhere she goes, in everything she touches and it's only a matter of time till she gives in. Now the only question she needs answered is how long can she avoid this fruit of temptation? And what could possibly go wrong?

My stepfather, Greg Pelton, takes me to his private cinema to watch an adult movie. Apparently, that's the coming-of-age gift he has prepared for me. As I watch the man and the woman tangling with each other in the movie, I feel itchy all over my body. I can't resist squeezing my damp thighs together while trying very hard to endure the jolts of electricity tingling my skin. Upon noticing my flushed cheeks, Greg stops between my legs and yanks off my panties immediately. "Darling, let me teach you how to blossom into a real woman. Surely you'll be obedient, right?"

Ava thought she knew heartbreak. She thought She knew betrayal. But when her world came crashing down and she was left with nothing but a stack of divorce papers on the day of their anniversary, the truth hit her harder than she could ever imagine. With nowhere to go and no one to trust, a near-fatal accident changes everything. Saved by a mysterious stranger, Ava is given a second chance at life -but not without strings attached. Billionaire Alexander Navarro offers her an escape. In exchange for her presence as his "stand-in wife," he promises her everything: security, safety, and a chance to heal. But as their worlds collide, secrets unravel and a deadly game of power, revenge, and twisted desire begins. Liam isn't done with her, and the past is far from buried. With every passing day, Ava's world becomes more complicated and her desire for vengeance burns hotter than ever. As she discovers this dangerous world, one question remains: Will Ava's revenge cost her more than she's willing to pay?

One reckless night was never supposed to change her life forever. Amara never imagined her worst day would lead her into the arms of a complete stranger. After losing her job, a night at the club ends in the bed of a dangerously irresistible man—who turns out to be Lucian Draxen: arrogant, ruthless, and the billionaire every woman in the city dreams about. When an unexpected pregnancy ties them together, Amara is forced to confront him again. Desperate and out of options, she agrees to his cold-hearted contract: work as his maid until their child turns five, then disappear forever, leaving him with full custody. The deal offers her baby financial security—but at the cost of her freedom, and maybe even her heart. Can she survive living under his roof without surrendering to the dangerous pull between them? Or will their bargain destroy them both? Find out in The Billionaire’s One-Night Stand — a story of passion, betrayal, and the dangerous line between love and ruin.

A wealthy heiress from Belvoria’s elite circle asked me to be her dead boyfriend’s substitute. My compensation included a 50,000-dollar base salary, plus 8,000 dollars per shared meal and 10,000 dollars per accompanying shopping trip. My hypocritical older sister quickly stopped me from agreeing to this deal. “We come from a respectable family. How can you sell your dignity for such little money?” Yet she later became a rich man's mistress and successfully married into wealth. Meanwhile, I struggled to balance work and studies to pay for my tuition. This hurt my academic performance. After graduation, I could only find a job with a monthly salary of 3,000 dollars. I even developed a tumor from overworking. I eventually died in a cold and impersonal hospital, unable to afford treatment. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day the young heiress asked me to be her dead boyfriend’s substitute. This time, I agreed without hesitation. I was determined to take this role.