Grayslake Public Library Novels & Stories

What started out as a deal of marriage ended up being something that no one expected. The deal was simple. They attend public meetings together. They are seen as the happy couple together. They stand by one another side for the media. But when an enemy starts to rise, when that enemy starts to threaten, things end up taking a turn that they do not expect nor do they like.It starts out with a kiss, and that kiss flourishes more than they would have ever liked to think about happening. And when that kiss starts to take effect, when feelings start to emerge, when a spark grows between them, an ex triggers rumors that push Jasmine away from him, the fated husband that was supposed to be her betrothed.Only this time, Blake wants her.Now, he’ll fight not for legacy, but for love. Enemies once. Strangers under the same roof. But in the end, they might just become something unstoppable.

⚠️⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ ⚠️ This series is NOT for the faint of heart or the easily offended. Inside these pages you’ll find cops riding criminals in the interrogation room, priests bending nuns over sacred altars, CEOs spanking interns with platinum cards, mafia kings breeding undercover agents on stacks of blood money, professors grading with their tongues, therapists hypnotizing patients straight onto their cocks, and one very wicked boss lady who keeps her boy collared under the boardroom table. Expect: rough breeding, knife-to-throat sex, sacrilege, public claiming, age gaps, cheating, dub-con that melts into desperate consent, spanking, pegging, blasphemy, gun play, and possessive alphaholes (and alphabitches) who don’t ask… they take. If you blush at “yes, sir,” close this book right now. If the thought of getting caught mid-orgasm makes you wet… keep reading, baby. One-click if you dare. Your panties not included.

I took a shortcut through the alley and watched Dante Marchetti put a bullet in a man like it was nothing. He saw my face. That was the end of my normal life. Within an hour I was in the back of his car being driven to an estate I had never seen before with gates that locked from the outside and a wardrobe full of clothes in my exact size waiting like someone had known I was coming before I did. He told me I wasn't a prisoner but a guest. He said people who wanted to find me were considerably worse than him and that his walls were the only thing standing between me and a conversation I wouldn't survive. Maybe he was right. The problem is the longer I stayed the harder it became to remember which one was true. Because the man who caught me in that alley wasn't the only version of him. There was another one that nobody else seemed to get to see. The one who stood alone in his dead mother's library looking tired in a way that had nothing to do with sleep. The one who had my cat brought to the estate because he heard me crying through a closed door and didn't know what else to do about it. The one who almost smiled when I threw a glass at his head. That version of him was the one I couldn't stop thinking about. I came here as a witness. I stayed as something else entirely. Somewhere between the locked doors, the candlelit dinners and the secrets we started sharing in the dark I stopped wanting to leave. The question was whether a woman like me could survive loving a man like him. I was about to find out.

16 year old Scarlet Paine struggles to understand what’s happening to her, as she wakes and realizes she’s becoming a vampire. Alienated from her parents and her friends, the only person she has left to turn to is Sage, the mysterious boy who has quickly become the love of her life. Yet Sage, whose house she finds boarded up, is nowhere to be found.

Scarlet, alone in the world, with nowhere left to turn, seeks out her friends and tries to reconcile with them. All seems to be patched up when they invite her to join them on a trip to an abandoned island in the Hudson—but as things get out of hand and Scarlet’s true powers are revealed, who her friends and enemies are becomes more confusing than ever.

Blake, still interested in her, tries to make amends. He seems sincere, and Scarlet is confused as she has to grapple with whether to be with Blake or to wait for Sage, who is nowhere to be found.

When Scarlet finally finds Sage, they have the most romantic time of her life; yet it is tinged with tragedy, as Sage is dying, with but a few days left to live.

Kyle, meanwhile, turned into the only other vampire left in the world, is on a murderous rampage, seeking Scarlet; Caitlin and Caleb consult with Aiden, and they each embark on different missions—Caleb to stop and kill Kyle, and Caitlin, to the famed Yale University library, to research the ancient relic rumored to both cure and kill vampires for all time.

It is a race against time, and it may be too late. Scarlet is changing rapidly, barely able to control what she’s becoming, and Sage is dying with each passing moment. As the book culminates in an action-packed, shocking twist, Scarlet will be left with a monumental choice—one that will change the world forever. Will Scarlet make the ultimate sacrifice to save Sage’s life? Will she risk everything she has for love?

She promised to loathe him. He never meant to hold her. The heart was never addressed in their contract. Elena Vega has to marry the guy who broke her family's inheritance in order to save it. Julian Thorne is a millionaire who is cold and calculating. His proposition is straightforward but cruel: one year of perfect, public marriage in exchange for her family's safety. There are no feelings and no true closeness; it's all a show for the cameras. She enters his world of chilly luxury, holding on to her wrath as her only protection. But the line between their fake love and real, dizzying tension starts to blur. A lingering touch, a kiss stolen in the dark, and whispered secrets in the dark—none of these things were in the tiny print. The most dangerous thing for them right now isn't that their lie will be found out; it's the horrible, unmistakable truth: they are falling for the one person they were told to stay away from. A marriage based on hate. A love built on secrets.

She loved him in silence. He denied her without remorse. Alvara gave her heart to a man far above her world, believing his promises meant something. But when consequences followed, Adrian Vale chose power over love—and erased her without hesitation. Forced into a marriage built on cold rules and public lies, Alvara quickly learns that being a wife does not mean being wanted. Every kindness has conditions. Every smile hides control. And every mistake is hers to bear alone. When the marriage ends, Alvara walks away with nothing but scars and a vow never to be weak again. Years later, she returns...changed, guarded, and no longer willing to beg for what she deserves. But the man who once denied her isn’t ready to let go. In a world ruled by power, pride, and regret, can love survive after divorce… or is denial the one thing that never truly ends?

📖 Synopsis When Grace Morgan agrees to a contract marriage with powerful CEO Nathaniel Blackwood, the world sees it as a convenient business arrangement. What no one knows is that Grace carries a past tied directly to the man she is now married to. Years ago, a false accusation destroyed her life, erased her identity, and cost her everything. Nathaniel was the one who signed the papers that sealed her fate. He never learned the truth. Now bound by a public marriage built on rules and distance, Grace returns under a new name, not for revenge, but for justice. As hidden truths resurface and old wounds reopen, Nathaniel is forced to confront the consequences of his choices. What begins as a cold agreement slowly turns into a journey of accountability, healing, and forgiveness. But some damage cannot be undone, and love cannot exist without truth. Can a marriage born of convenience survive the weight of the past, or will the truth tear them apart before redemption is possible? Author: Okechukwu Chinedu

She married him knowing one thing clearly: love was never part of the agreement. Their marriage was built on terms, not promises. A shared home. A shared bed. A public image to maintain. Nothing more. He was distant, controlled, and never cruel — but never warm either. To him, she was a wife in name, a solution to a problem, a role that needed to be filled. What neither of them expected was how silence could become dangerous. How intimacy without love could still leave marks. How wanting someone could come long before admitting it. As the line between obligation and desire begins to blur, she must decide how long she can stay where she isn’t truly chosen — and he must face the truth he never planned for. Because sometimes, the most dangerous thing isn’t loving someone too much… It’s realizing you never meant to love them at all.

Kyle Bennett has everything: the family name, the inheritance, and the perfect reputation as the university’s Student Body President. But under the shadow of his controlling father and a persistent ex-girlfriend he can’t shake, Kyle is suffocating. To keep his image intact and the pressure at bay, he needs a distraction, someone to play the part of a devoted partner. Enter Finn Parker. A focused nursing student with a sharp tongue and a practical head on his shoulders, Finn isn't interested in the elite world of the "Golden Boy." But the tuition for his degree is piling up, and when Kyle offers a transactional contract to fake a relationship for a semester, the money is too good to pass up. The rules are simple: no feelings, no personal baggage, and absolutely no honesty. But as the lines between their scripted dates and their private moments start to blur, the "Perfect Bennett" begins to crack. When the lie finally explodes in a public scandal, Kyle is forced to choose between his father’s millions and the boy who saw through his mask.

She had dreamt about being in his arms again for five years. But, now, seeing him, she wanted nothing to do with him ever again. ~~~~~~~~~~ Valerie, a devoted wife and mother, gets into a steamy affair with her brother-in-law while married to her abusive husband. While their affair went on, a mysterious character was hell bent on ruining their lives and exacting an almost a decade long revenge. What happens when Valerie's husband finds out about his wife and his brother? How'd the Carsons manage to hide this big scandal from the public? Being one of the most influential and secretive families in the world drew more enemies to them. How long will Valerie and Alan manage to keep their affair on the low? How long will it take for them to find out who this mysterious character is before they ruin their lives forever? Read to find out Rated 18+ and contains the use of foul language, violence, and abuse.