New York Public Library Desk Reference 5th Edition Novels & Stories

He is the man her father wants erased. She is the only woman who can bring him to his knees. In neon-soaked New York City, power isn’t inherited—it’s stolen. Twenty-three-year-old Ava Moretti was born into one of Manhattan’s most feared real-estate dynasties, raised to preserve its empire—not question it. Invisible, controlled, untouchable… until she slips into an illegal underground auction hidden beneath a luxury skyscraper. That’s where she meets him. Damian Kade—ruthless tech billionaire, the “Silicon King,” and her family’s greatest enemy. A man who doesn’t lose, doesn’t beg, and doesn’t spare mercy. When a violent deal spirals into chaos, Damian drags her into the shadows and kisses her—hard, commanding, forbidden—just to keep her alive. He doesn’t know she’s a Moretti. She doesn’t know he’s the man her father has spent a decade trying to destroy. What begins as a secret client arrangement quickly turns into obsession. In public, they are enemies whose names should never be spoken in the same room. In private, they are ruin—ripped silk, bruised lips, and truths neither of them were ever meant to survive. “I should walk away from you,” Damian whispers against her skin. “But I don’t believe in should.” But love in their world is never safe. When an attack on Ava’s family is traced back to Kade Industries, she’s forced into an impossible choice: expose the man she loves… or protect him and risk watching her entire bloodline burn. He is the empire her father wants destroyed. She is the key to his downfall. In a city built on betrayal and blood, love is the most dangerous crime of all. How far will you go for the one person you were never meant to survive?

Evelyn Moore is just another disenfranchised American girl, trying to scrape by with the help of her best friend, Lily, during the Depression in New York City. When a tumultuous event cascades into a roller coaster series of them a few short weeks before the grand opening of the much anticipated 1939 World’s Fair, Evelyn worries how she’ll survive, even more so when she realizes that her every near miss ends up that way by the deliberate effort of her new and complicated boss, Andrew James. Cool, collected and complicated, Andrew James is the wunderkind behind much of his family and employer’s success but knowing the ropes so well you can always pull all the strings is only so rewarding. When Evelyn unexpectedly tumbles into his life, he finds himself pushed outside his wheelhouse and peering into a new and delightfully intriguing unknown, one with a future he relishes. A world of tomorrow.

Ginny never expected one wild night to upend her entire life. What was supposed to be a carefree celebration turns into a morning of regret and a hastily scribbled note from a man she’ll never forget: "You're really something for a first-timer." Horrified, Ginny tries to move on, boarding a flight to New York, where her future awaits. But fate isn’t done with her yet. "Meet Raymond, my new husband!" her mother says with a proud smile. Ginny’s heart stops. Standing before her is the man from that unforgettable night. Her mother’s new husband. Her stepfather. Caught between the tangled threads of family and forbidden attraction, Ginny’s world spirals out of control. Can she keep her shocking secret hidden, or will the truth tear her family apart? For readers who crave romance with an edge, this story will keep you hooked until the last, breathtaking page. Specifically for 18+

I am Wyatt Hayes, New York's most eligible bachelor, CEO of Hayes Enterprises. I’m also known as The Reaper, New York’s most feared Mafia Lord. The Reaper is my secret identity, and no one knows I am the man everyone wants to do business with, but will have nightmares about. I am getting engaged with the woman every man has dreams about, except me. She is a business deal. A business deal I will have to break because when I see HER, everything I know about Love seems wrong. She is someone from my past I didn’t see coming. She is a loose end that I have to end or bring into the darkness that is my life. My name is Blake Pierce. I am a promising freelancer journalist who specializes in crime. My friends call me the next Avenger. Bringing criminals to their knees is my passion. I do a better than the police. I am not afraid to bend the law to get the scoop I need. But when I see HIM, I realize that Love and hate walk hand in hand. He is my worst nightmare and the man I have always dreamed of having by my side. Between Love and Hate, there’s only a thin line. Will Wyatt and Blake hate loving each other or love hating one another?

WARNING!! THIS STORY CONTAINS A LOT OF MATURE THEMES, ELEMENTS OF HARDCORE BDSM, PRAISE KINKS, SLUT-SHAMING KINKS, AND DEGRADATION KINKS. READ WITH CAUTION. (BOOK ONE OF THE DELUCA KINGS SERIES) Serena would do anything to uncover the death of her parents, including sleeping with the most dangerous man in New York, Nero DeLuca. And he knows this, so he strings her along so he can see how far she’s willing to go. *** “Get on your knees,” Nero said. “Excuse me—” “You’re my submissive, and you exist for the sole purpose of my pleasure. I don’t tolerate defiance. When I say get on your knees, you get on your knees.” “Yes,” I replied as I got on my knees, hating how much his commanding tone turned me on. He put his finger under my chin and lifted it so I could look at him. “Yes, what?” “Yes, sir.” “Good girl. Now get on the bed and show me that beautiful cunt. I want to see what it looks like before I destroy it with my cock. Tonight, the whole of New York will know you belong to me. I’ll not take anything less than you screaming my name, and by the time I’m done with you, you’ll feel me between your legs for a week.”

“As they say, there's always a thin line between love and hate. “Ethan Frost,a 27-year -old billionaire and the powerful owner of Nexus Global International , One of New York City's largest companies . Ethan commands attention with his presence, sending chills down the spine of those nearby. Ethan frost-a name that commands power making him every woman’s dream yet everyone’s nightmare. Haunted by emotional and physical scars, he’s driven, ambitious, and emotionally guarded. Despite his good looks, he often uses others' weaknesses to his advantage. You could say he's a devil disguised in angel’s form. Juliana Adams, a 23-year-old orphan with brown skin and an average height of 5’5 . She is a ray of sunshine in a world that has never favored her. Julianna did multiple part time jobs to make ends meet. Guarded and resilient, she is unwilling to give love a second chance, determined to protect her heart from past hurt. But what happens when fire meets water ? After a series of heated encounters marked by mutual hatred, fate intervenes when Julianna secures a position at Nexus Global International.Their paths collide, forcing them to confront their animosity. Rumors about Ethan’s sexuality spread, threatening his public image and the company’s reputation. In a moment of desperation, Ethan presents Julianna with a proposal that intertwines their lives in unexpected ways. Bound by a deal they don't fully understand, their mutual hatred threatens to overshadow the fragile agreement that binds them. Will two wounded souls be the ruin of each other, or will they mend each other’s broken hearts? Get ready for a rollercoaster of emotions filled with twists as these two opposing worlds collide in a realm where desire is forbidden and love may be the ultimate downfall.

THIS BOOK CONTAINS VOLS. 1 AND 2. THE FIRST IS A YOUNG ADULT BULLY ROMANCE AND A GOOD GIRL, WHILE THE SECOND IS A BILLIONAIRE CEO AND STRIPPER ROMANCE. -- BOOK ONE He owns the school. I barely survive it. When my best friend Matt chooses my bully over me, something in me snaps. Then Lucien Knox Ravenscroft steps in. Heir to Ravenscroft Academy, dangerous, untouchable, and very aware that she is his ex. He offers me a deal: a fake relationship that turns the school upside down. I want Matt to regret everything. He wants revenge for being replaced. Then comes his bet. If Matt notices me again, I win. If not, I’m Lucien’s for as long as he wants me. The more we fake it, the more real it feels. And Lucien never plays soft. BOOK TWO: Aurora Harrison never planned to become Barbie Noir, the most coveted stripper in New York’s elite underground club. But when her mother fell sick, and her father cut her off, she did what she had to survive. Five years later, she dances in the shadows, praying the ghosts of her past never find her. But some ghosts always return. Kai Mercer is no longer the golden boy she once loved. At thirty, he is a billionaire CEO with a secret empire built on desire, power, and sin. The world sees a polished businessman, but behind closed doors, "It's been a long time, Aurora." He rules the city’s most forbidden club, hidden from his father and the public… and from the girl who broke him. Until Aurora walks into his private suite for a twenty-thousand-dollar dance. One look. One whisper. One spark. He wants her back—obsessively, dangerously, completely.

Ethan Banks never planned to fail. Fresh out of New York University with a degree in Computer Science, he expected to land the kind of career that would prove to his family back in Bay City, Texas, that he could stand on his own two feet. Instead, New York City chewed him up and spit him out, interview after interview leaving him rejected and exhausted. He refused to run home and let his parents—or worse, his older brother—fix everything for him. He needed to make it here. On his own. When he finally secures a position at Warner Industries the largest tech empire in the city Ethan thinks his luck has turned. Until he meets the man behind the empire. Aaron Warner. His brother’s childhood best friend. His secret ex-boyfriend. The boy who once set his heart on fire, then vanished without a word. But the Aaron he knew is gone. In his place is a billionaire CEO with a reputation as ruthless as the empire he built. Cold. Calculating. Untouchable. And when Ethan demands answers about their past, Aaron offers only one shocking ultimatum: marry me—or walk away. Caught between the success he’s dreamed of and the love that once destroyed him, Ethan must decide if he’s willing to risk everything for the one man he swore he’d never forgive.

“Confessions Of An Exorcist” Mason Woods is a 40 year old multimillionaire who owns Woods Travel Safe, an airline company in New York City. He lives in New York City with his three-months pregnant wife; Victoria Woods who is a cardiac surgeon and earns a good pay, his two daughters; Audrey Woods and Leslie Woods, ages eight and four respectively. A meeting with a Chinese contractor drags out longer than anticipated and causes him to miss his daughter’s fourth birthday party. Mason Woods comes out of the meeting to see series of calls from his wife. He comes back home and offers to take the family out to celebrate Leslie’s birthday- an attempt to make up for his absent.On their way to a recreational park to celebrate his daughter’s fourth birthday, they were involved in an accident and his pregnant wife and two daughters die at the spot while Mason dies on the way to the hospital. A burial is done and they are laid to rest. But a few months later, Mason Woods returns to life under supernatural circumstances and finds out that everything he owned has been taken by the government being legally dead and also that demons are responsible for the accident which took the lives of his family. He woke up to the realization that demons and ghosts are real and his family died because demons were trying to eliminate him so he won’t have to become an Exorcist. Mason Woods still overcome with guilt and grief in equal measures, leaves everything behind and move to a secluded small town, Vineyard, Utah, where he hopes to begin a new life. A life as an Exorcist. And one day hope to avenge the death of his family and stop anyone from meeting the same fate he

Claire's love for Richard was legendary — three years of devotion that everyone envied. Until the day she found her best friend Monica on top of her husband in their living room, and her world shattered. "Sign it, Claire," Richard said, tossing divorce papers at her hospital bed, his once-warm blue eyes now ice cold. "You disgust me. You're clingy, obsessed, and suffocating." One year later, Claire Winfred returns to town — transformed, powerful, and engaged to billionaire Alexander Hayes. But she hasn't come back for a new beginning. She's come back for revenge. Now she's the one calling the shots, trapping Richard behind his desk, her hand gripping his tie. "Tell me, Richard," she purrs, "do you still find me disgusting?" "Yes," he lies, even as his body betrays him. "Then explain why you're so hard right now." The seduction has begun. But in a game this dangerous, who will be the hunter and who will be the prey?