Long Shadows David Baldacci

It is a love story of two sisters, Clara and Isabella who struggle endlessly to win the heart of a wealthy billionaire named Leo. Leo, an averaged-height white man who is handsome and intelligent  manages the company of his late father, 'The Dante's' as the C.E.O. He  choses to marry Clara but seems difficult because Isabella shares the same feelings and desires for him.  Clara also seizes the opportunity of becoming a maid in order to revive the love she shares for Leo. He eventually marries Clara, but still keeps a secret affair with Isabella, who gets pregnant for him. He tried to avoid those secret relationships, in order to make the marriage between him and Clara work, but Isabella remains all over him, until he married her as a second wife. After he married her but the child dies unluckily. Isabella plans killing Leo, who had strongly rejected her after her child died. She caused a wild fire around the house after she took Clara for a walk.Leo woke up to find himself trapped in between the fire. Clara with tears still in her couldn't save him as the fire consumed a larger part of the mansion. After years of this event she completely buried herself in a mournful time, only to find the greatest shock of his life that Leo didn't die, and survived thorough the help of Nanny Divine who risked her life to save his. Leo, now was accompanied by two police men who seized Isabella and kept her in their custody. She tries to escape from the prison through a car and suddenly explodes in it after sporadic shootings by the police men. She died and Clara and Leo lived happily ever after.

I’m not gay...sir...I'm not attracted to men...I don't find men attractive.,” Jace said quickly. “Okay...that was way too straight forward.” Elias stood, two hands on his hips, frustrated at what Elias just said. "Sorry sir" "Stop Calling Me SIR!"   Jace kept quiet and didn't respond.  "The other day, you said I was attractive." Elias pointed out, trying not to look more frustrated. "Sir, that was....it was...I just admired and appreciated your appearance...cause we hardly find anyone with your looks...nothing more sir." Jace adjusted himself on the bed, still covered and protecting himself for his own dear sexual orientation. Elias, a powerful and blind Alpha, has waited a lifetime for his mate but he never expected it to be a Null. Nulls are servant-class werewolves, ranked even lower than Omegas, and they don’t go into heat. Especially not someone like Jace a sharp-tongued Null who insists he’s straight and not the least bit interested in men. In their world, Alphas don’t mate below Omega. Servants are expected to bond only with their own kind. But everything changes when Jace starts going into heat, something Nulls aren’t supposed to experience. Is Jace really what he thinks he is? Or is something awakening inside him? Will Jace give in to the pull to Elias? Will Jace and Elias pull off this forbidden relationship?

Liam, my stepbrother, has been a pain in the rear for three years. We fight every time we talk. Every time we see each other, we remember that moment, which we never talk about. The one in the yard behind where our parents had their wedding dinner. The event that almost made everything bad. Our parents are now going for a trip to celebrate their first anniversary, leaving us all alone in the house. Simple plan: we'll stay on different sides, ignore each other, and act like we're working. But then there's a fire on my side of the house, and all of a sudden I have to share a floor, a hallway, and a wall that is too thin to be safe with him. The worst times are at night. I hear him. I can feel him. And every disagreement ends too close. Every stare stays too long. Every breath turns into heat I can’t escape. We’re supposed to protect our parents’ happiness. We’re supposed to act like good brothers. But how do you pretend you hate someone when all you want is to drag him into your bed? Then the holidays arrive with our whole extended family. We’re forced to play perfect boys while nearly pulling each other apart behind locked doors. And just when I think things can’t get worse, Liam’s cheating ex shows up begging to take him back. The jealousy nearly wrecks me… and reveals everything. But the real disaster hits one night with a broken condom and a hurried hospital visit. Two scary weeks that make us imagine a life we’re not supposed to want. A future that feels too good to lose. The test is negative. But the damage is done. We want each other.

One day her life took a turn for the worse. Carine Gonzales is an innocent and sweet soul who has been through hell in the hands of her family, especially after the death of her father. Her world was flipped upside down the day she sold to a mafia lord by her stepbrother in exchange for his unpaid debt. Gianluca Martelli is a cruel and domineering mafia lord who would do anything to get what he wants. But what happens when the mafia lord gets tangled with the stubborn yet innocent and sweet Carine?

Ella, after losing her child and womb to her abusive boyfriend, spiraled into a life of despair and emptiness. With no dreams left to chase and her past haunting her, she gave up on everything and began to live her life drinking in clubs. But one fateful encounter with Damien Rojas, a charismatic billionaire and CEO of the biggest fashion industry in Texas, changed everything. A one-night stand turned into a lifeline when she requested that he offer her a job in exchange for their night together. Damien, impressed by her designs and charisma, offers her a chance to rebuild her life at his company as an intern. Unknown to Ella, her best friend Sylvia, Damien's ex, who was also his personal secretary, wasn't ready to let go of Damien. Things took a spiral twist when Damien accused Sylvia of embezzlement and fired her from the company immediately. Ella was immediately promoted to Sylvia's former position, causing gossip to spread about her relationship with the CEO. As sparks fly between Ella and Damien and certain truths begin to unfold, Ella is torn between saving her best friend and falling for the man who had caused her best friend's downfall. What would Ella choose? Her loyalty towards Sylvia or her feelings for Damien?

She gave her submission to a stranger. He was never a stranger at all. Vivian Ashworth is the perfect executive assistant. Polished. Professional. Unflappable. Nobody knows about her secret life: the anonymous platform where she kneels for a Dom who calls himself Sir. For six months, he's commanded her through screens and encrypted messages, pushing her limits, learning her body, knowing things about her desires she's never told anyone. By day, she works for Alexander Kane—CEO of Kane Industries, demanding perfectionist, the kind of boss who makes assistants cry and competitors tremble. She hates him. She respects him. She definitely doesn't dream about him. Then Alexander says four words that shatter her world: "Or should I say... Velvet?" Her anonymous Dom. Her impossible boss. The same man. He's known who she was from the beginning. Every confession she typed in the dark. Every fantasy she whispered through her phone at 2 AM. Every time she begged for permission to come. He was testing her. Training her. Waiting. Now he wants to formalize everything. A contract. Total power exchange—at work and in his bed. No more hiding. No more pretending. Complete submission in exchange for complete care. She should refuse. She should run. She should report him to HR and never look back. Instead, she's kneeling in his penthouse, reading the contract, and realizing her body has already signed. But Alexander has enemies. His bitter ex-submissive knows their secret and wants revenge. The lines between professional and personal are blurring dangerously. And Vivian is discovering that surrender isn't the same as weakness—it's the most terrifying kind of strength. The contract is about to become a problem. Will she sign away her heart along with her submission? Or will the man behind the mask prove that control and love aren't mutually exclusive?

WARNING: MATURE | R-18 She was just his secretary—until one reckless gala night forged a bond neither could outrun. When his fiancée discovered their secret, she fled without a trace… carrying the child he’d never know he’d fathered. For five years, she vanished into the world, protecting their daughter from the man she’d once feared above all else. But when he finally uncovers the truth—spotting his own face in the little girl’s smile—he gives her a choice that will shatter every carefully built wall. Vanish from their daughter’s life forever… or move into his mansion and let him be the father their child was always meant to have.

Tristan is an alpha, strong and silent, with control over everything around him, he only screws omegas, everyone knows that, he is a perfectionist, everyone knows that, Dylan Harper is the only assistant he tolerates, everyone knows that, but what everyone doesn’t know is Tristan is the Alpha under Dylan’s sheets. Dylan is just a beta, kind and invisible. When they’re forced together by work, tension builds between them, but Dylan knows his place. Alphas don’t look at betas like him. There’s no room for dreams or hope. But after waking up one day with an Alpha under his sheets, Dylan starts to wonder if he’s been wrong about everything. Will he remain just a shadow to Tristian, or is there more to his story? ••• Tristan’s breath was steady, but I could feel the tension in the air between us. I stood too close. My fingers brushed against his arm, just enough to make the heat between us undeniable. “Don’t…” he murmured, his voice a low growl that sent a shiver down my spine. But I didn’t move away. I couldn’t. His presence was too much, too magnetic. My body hummed with a hunger I didn’t know how to quiet. His eyes locked with mine, intense, searching, like he knew what I was feeling before I did. “You’re too close,” he whispered. I stayed silent, caught between the urge to pull away and the need to be closer. His breath, warm on my skin, made it harder to think. “Do you intend to trigger your heat again, my pretty little thing?” He breathed out and I could have climaxed right there and then.

Nicole Xander never imagined her life would shatter in one night. Drugged and betrayed by the one person she trusted most, she found herself stumbling down a lonely midnight road-barefoot, disheveled, and desperate to escape. When a sleek Maybach pulled up beside her, she thought it was God offering her safety. But inside was Timothy Cole, a dangerously powerful businessman with a reputation for ruthlessness. One look at Nicole, and something primal snapped inside him. What began as a night of uncontrollable passion should have ended there... but destiny had other plans. To Nicole, he's her arrogant, obsessive boss. To Timothy, she's the one woman he cannot release. Their every encounter blurs the line between desire and madness, until one question lingers: Is this love, lust... or dangerous obsession?

“We’re friends,” I said, voice barely steady. Aaron’s lips curled, slow and cruel. “No, we’re not.” “Friendship’s too pure for this.” His hand slid to my waist, hot and claiming as he yanked me flush against him. “Do friends kiss like this?” He kissed me. Hard. Possessive. “Or grab each other like this?” A squeeze to my ass. A gasp. “Or think filthy little thoughts?” His breath burned against my ear. “Touch themselves to it?” My cheeks flamed. My body betrayed me. “Stop lying, Venus.” His voice was a growl. “I feel it. Every time I’m near you.” I whispered, “But you don’t even like me.” His smile was pure sin. “I don’t have to like you to fuck you.” Then the offer: “Let’s get it out of our system. No lies. No strings. Just truth.” He grabbed my chin, eyes lit with hunger. “Say the word, princess.” A whisper against my lips— “I’ll ruin you.” And God help me… I wanted him to. --------- Aaron Sinclair needs a bride to claim his inheritance. Venus Astor needs a miracle to save her dying mother. What begins as a cold contract marriage spirals into a dangerous game of buried trauma, stolen identities, and forbidden attachment. He’s ruthless, closed off, and refuses to love. She’s resilient, lost, and refuses to stay unloved. But when secrets unravel revealing a stolen childhood, a tragic past, and a vengeful stepmother, their fake marriage is the only thing standing between them and destruction. In a world ruled by power and silence, will love dare to speak first or break them both instead?