New York Public Library Ebooks Novels & Stories

At the Colonetti family banquet in New York, I stood in the center of the grand hall with more than a dozen girls from different families, all of us waiting to be chosen. Victor, the heir of the Colonetti family, was supposed to announce his fiancée tonight. Along with that announcement, he would present her with the family heirloom, a lily brooch. As an illegitimate daughter of the family, I understood that if I didn’t receive that brooch tonight, it meant I would be sent to Chicago for an arranged marriage. Victor, who had once promised to marry me, changed his mind without warning. With a smile, he pinned the lily brooch onto the chest of the woman standing beside me instead. Then, he leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Let your sister Emily have her moment today. She’s also an illegitimate daughter like you, and she’s also never been valued growing up. Don’t worry. With me here, no one will force you into an arranged marriage.” Even as I looked at him with pleading eyes, he reached out and let Emily take his arm. “Emily is kind and gracious,” he said. “She deserves the lily brooch.” Those words—kind and gracious—turned me into the joke of the entire evening. The next day, I boarded a flight to Chicago alone, but Victor panicked. He used every connection he had and managed to ground every flight heading to Chicago.

Warning: 18+, strong mature, and sexual content. Sneak peek: "I don't believe in God, Hailey," he murmured, as his firm hands settled on my hips and lifted me from his lap, placing me onto his desk, "But... if I did, I would have thanked him for making you." A soft gasp escaped my lips as his hands slid under my college skirt, his fingers brushing on my pussy over my panties. "Damien, you are my brother..." I managed to whisper amid overwhelming desires. This felt so wrong. He emitted a husky chuckle, leaning closer to my ear, his lips brushing against my earlobe. "Correction-Stepbrother." "But-" Before I could utter a word, his hand swiftly slipped down inside my panties, his fingers landing on my bare, wet heat and just when a moan could escape my lips, his mouth forcefully met mine swallowing the scream of pain as well pleasure when two of his fingers thrust into my pussy just like I'd felt them in my dreams... *** When I was dragged across the country to Los Angeles to live with my mom's new husband and his son, the last thing I expected was for my stepbrother to be off-limits. Least of all, I never imagined I'd find myself tempted by the forbidden. Damien Black: sinfully attractive, irrefutably irresistible, and seemingly devoid of warmth. Emotions meant nothing to him; girls were mere toys for him to have in bed. And there came my biggest mistake-believing I could be more than just a toy for him...maybe more than just another conquest in his collection. I was his dirty little secret, one that he wouldn't let go of, accept, shatter entirely, or mend. I was his toy; Well....his favorite one.

During a company dinner, I overindulged in alcohol and mistakenly addressed my boss, Brogan Sheppard, as "husband" in front of everyone. My coworkers laughed it off. "She’s gone crazy trying to chase the boss." Brogan shot me a cold look. "If you can’t control your mouth, maybe you shouldn’t be drinking." In the brief silence that followed, the most difficult client in the room, Leon Williamson, let out a low, mocking laugh. "She was calling me. So why are you getting so worked up?"

During the summer break, I took my daughter, Stella Quinton, to a private beach that I own for some fun and some scuba diving. That's when Felicity Portman, a famous actress, barges into the beach with a group flocking behind her. "This is a private beach that Micah has given me permission to entertain VIP clients at! Hurry up and get lost, you filthy commoners!" The arrogant Felicity has the gall to bring up my husband, Micah Morrison, just to threaten me. When she finds out about my identity, she even makes fun of me for being a useless woman who relies on him for survival. I'm furious, to say the least. As the heiress to the richest family in Seacrest City, how am I a useless woman who relies on men for survival? Also, I'm the one who gave Micah his movie company and all of his resources! But when Micah reaches the beach, he works with Felicity to coerce my darling Stella into putting on a diving performance for a lecherous investor. With a sneer on my face, I summon the Seashark Special Forces, who only take orders from the most elite members of Seacrest City. "Seashark Special Forces, come to Moonrise Bay right now and clear out the area!"

“Beta Andre is my mate?… Oh moon goddess why?” Lillian is a Doctor who had left the pack when she was fifteen. An high school student who was opportune to be in the same institution with the sons of the Alpha and beta—Drake and Andre, with their best friend, Lucas. Despite their social class and untouchable status, she found herself falling deeper and deeper for Drake—the son of the Alpha, which led her to make an unbelievable mistake that made her life in the school and pack so unbearable that she had to relocate to a faraway pack to start her life anew. After some time, she was required to return to where it all started, back to the nightmare she had been running from all her life and had intended to do so quietly until everything came crashing down when she stumbled on her fated mate and she was then torn between the one her heart truly desires and the one meant for her heart. But fate and matters of the heart may be delayed, but can never be denied. This is a story of passion and intense emotions…of pain and regret…..of pure love and patience interwoven in every word, sentences and character and a question boldly hanging over it; Can one successfully decides one’s fate, not minding the one destined for him?

The seven Jennings sisters were all born unusually fertile, while I was born extremely virile. My grandmother wanted me to marry a woman with high fertility so we could have lots of kids and thrive as a family. In my previous life, I followed her wishes and chose Kara Jennings. But she joined forces with her six sisters to steal my family estate, locked me in a basement, and tortured me until I died. Now that I had come back to life on the day I had a banquet to announce my bride-to-be, I chose Michelle Cooper, the powerful CEO rumored to be sickly and infertile...

On my eighteenth birthday, Alpha called me up in front of the whole pack and told me to choose—one of his sons as my mate. Whichever I chose? He'd be the next Alpha. I didn't flinch. I picked Cayce, his eldest. The room went dead silent. Everyone knew I used to be stupidly in love with Kain, the younger one. I'd confessed at every pack dance. Took a silver dagger for him once. Cayce? Coldest, meanest wolf we had. Total menace. No one got close. But they didn't know the truth. In my last life, I was bonded to Kain. On the day of our Bonding Ceremony, he slept with Lena, my cousin. My mom lost it. Shipped Lena off to Duskwolf Pack to get bonded to their Beta. Kain? He blamed me. Paraded in she-wolves with Lena's same ice-blue eyes. When he found out I was carrying his pup, he made sure I saw him with every one of them. It was torture. When labor hit, he locked me in the dungeon. Blocked everyone out. My pup got crushed. I died hating him. Maybe the Moon Goddess felt sorry for me—she gave me a second shot. I came back. This time? I let Kain keep Lena. Didn't think he would ever regret it.

In the third year since my husband, Axel Kramer, starts working as a rideshare driver, we finally manage to buy a home of our own. On the day we move in, he suddenly says to me, "Some friends want to come over for dinner tonight. I already said yes." I'm someone who values boundaries and doesn't like outsiders coming into my home. Even when we host relatives, we take them out to restaurants. "Can't we just go to a restaurant?" I ask. He looks helpless as he replies, "I already suggested that, but Lindsay said it would be more fun if we hang out at home. She said we should liven it up in our new home. And since everyone knows I'm a good cook, she wants to try my cooking too." One corner of my eye twitches with displeasure. Lindsay Brun is the female driver he's mentioned the most over these three years. She's also the only woman in their rideshare drivers' group chat.

You'll never know what the future holds, You'll never know where destiny might takes you, For life has its own right turns, a roller coaster of life starts when you lease expect it. With will bring Joy and Prosperity, Pain and Sufferings. But, We always have someone to fight on. Someone we can lean on, Someone who will accepts us, ~~~~ Watch out for my new story! Thank you very much!

Three years ago, Adeline Wright tossed a stack of money at her boyfriend, Christian Shaw, broke up with him, and flew home to submit to an arranged marriage. Now, three years have passed, and Christian flies back to the country as well, right on the cusp of Adeline's wedding. The once-impoverished man turns out to be the heir to one of the most prominent families around—and is also a good friend of Adeline's fiance, Stanley Cooper. She dumped him, and he lied to her. That makes them even, right? Believing that to be true, Adeline is keen to keep her distance from Christian, who feels like a ticking bomb. Alas, step by step, Christian locks onto her, mocking her when he witnesses the way Stanley hurts her. The two pretend to be barely more than strangers in public while secretly engaging in a clash of wits behind everyone's back. The only person who knows the truth about their relationship asks Christian, "Do you seriously hate her that much?" Christian doesn't answer. Eventually, Adeline calls off the engagement, flies off to a foreign country, and becomes a war correspondent. Amid the gunfire, Christian appears once more. As the stray bullets whiz through the air, he shields Adeline beneath him, his eyes bloodshot. "Even if you're gonna die, Adeline, you're gonna have to die with me."