Palm Beach County Library Jupiter Novels & Stories

Jack Saunders wanted one last hurrah before taking the mantle of DS Oil & Gas, the billion-dollar company that his father founded. His friend, Owen, let him borrow his mansion on a tropical island so that he could throw a final party before “marrying” the business that would dominate the rest of his life. He brought his secretary, Brandy, hoping that he could kindle a relationship that would last through the long days and nights of running a company. However, while the party was great, the gold digging woman he brought was not, and Jack resigned himself to a lifetime of loneliness. That was until he took a walk down the beach and met her. A woman who didn’t recognize him from the tabloids and only saw him, the man behind the money. Of all the women Jack had ever met, there was nobody like Emma LaRue. With one pretend marriage ceremony, she would change his life forever, and become the only one he ever wanted to give his saltwater kisses to. This novella is the first half of Saltwater Kisses written from Jack’s point-of-view, with a few bonus scenes thrown in as well.

When Samuel Larson came to pick me up from work at the county clerk's office, he suddenly slid a marriage license through the service window. "Actually, this one was fake the whole time. Getting back together with you was just a joke." Before I could process what he'd said, he waved a brand-new marriage license in front of me and grinned. "Yesterday, Jessie sat on my lap and kissed me. It felt so good I couldn't help myself. So I went and got a real marriage license with her." The second betrayal hit me as a bucket of cold water dumped over my head. I stared at him in disbelief. "Why?" I asked in a trembling voice. "Because you're gullible." He narrowed his eyes and savored the sight of me tearing up. He then smiled and handed me a tissue. "Back then, it took you three years to figure out Jessie and I were secretly seeing each other. "So we made a bet. We wanted to see how long it would take you this time." His gaze shifted to the fading hickey on my neck. He paused briefly before shrugging. "She bet it'd take you a year at most. That's why I've been leaving obvious clues all year. "But I got tired of acting, and you still didn't catch on. "Today's the last day of the bet. I wanted her to win and be happy. "I had no choice but to just tell you myself."

I was hit by a car and suffered a brain injury while trying to save my fiancé. Before I was taken to the hospital, I accidentally saw him locked in a kiss with his assistant, Sarah Mineli. I suspected he was cheating, so after I woke up, I pretended to have amnesia to test him. "Do we know each other?" Ethan Meyer paused, his expression faltering. Then he suddenly pointed at his best friend. "I'm your fiancé Grayson Hudson's closest friend. I came to attend your engagement ceremony." I watched as he and Sarah stood there, their fingers tightly intertwined, my face turning deathly pale. Grayson stepped forward and draped his coat over my shoulders. "Baby, I'm your fiancé," he said softly. "It's my fault I couldn't protect you." I felt the warmth of his palm and gave a faint smile. "Then let's go home," I said. "We still have an engagement ceremony to prepare for."

Everyone knew that I was the treasure Lorenzo Vitali held in the palm of his hand. When I said I wanted to see the stars, he would have every light outside the estate shut off, leaving the whole night sky just for me. Any emerald I glanced at twice at a private auction, he would win for me, no matter the competition, no matter the price. Back then, I believed, and so did everyone else, that I would walk into the Vitali family chapel in a wedding gown and become Lorenzo's wife. Until that dinner party. I accidentally cut Bianca Rossi's cheek with a shattered wine glass. And everything fell apart. Lorenzo didn't hear me out. He had his men take me down to the wine cellar beneath the estate. There were no windows, only damp stone walls, and an iron door as thick as a coffin lid. For three days I had no water, no food. When the pain made me shake, all I could do was curl up on the ground and claw at the cold cracks in the stone with my nails.

"Why did you come here dressed like this? I thought I bought a dress for you!!" Ethan's voice rang out, filled with irritation and frustration. Ashley looked around nervously before quickly covering Ethan's mouth with her palm, trying to shush him. "I am sorry, I misplaced the cloth..." she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. Grandpa Ben sat in the back, watching the exchange with a stern expression on his face. He had expected Ethan to arrive with his fiancé, and instead he was greeted with this madwoman. Ashley had known that borrowing money from Ethan's company was a risk, but desperate times call for desperate measures. She had two options: either marry the CEO to pay back her debt, or come up with the money by the next day. As she stood in front of Ethan, she couldn't help but feel like a fraud, knowing that the person he believed her to be was just a figment of her imagination. Now, with everything on the line, Ashley must decide whether to reveal the truth about her fake persona to Ethan and risk losing everything, or continue on living this lie.

Isoldie was on the run after committing an unforgivable crime in her brothel. She flees for her life but finds herself trapped in the devil’s lair, a domain owned by the cursed rogue lycan lord, Draco. This cruel fate was the beginning of her torture as Isoldie was captured and chosen as Draco’s breeder. Being chosen as a breeder for the dark lord was a sentence, especially for a savage male who had murdered nine of his Lunas. Now, she is faced with the same fate as his previous Lunas. Isoldie must do all she can to stay alive and save her sister from the Dark Lord. She strives and learns to navigate a world dominated by ferocious and savage males who want nothing but to exterminate her. In the process, she learns a deep, lost secret that changes her life forever. Will Isoldie flee or stay now that Draco’s secrets and the key to his survival lie in the palm of her hands? What happens when the demons from her past come back to haunt her? Content Warning. This book gets darker the further the story unfolds. So be prepared for the MM scenes, knife play, and a lot more others.

"I rather get dragged in the mud with chains by moving horses or be beaten with a club with nails on it than lose my virginity to you," she spat, looking at him with hate in her eyes, hoping her eyes conveyed the degree of contempt she felt when she spat out the words. Anger and disbelief flashed in his eyes. She was going to be the first woman that would ever reject him, and in such a preposterous manner. He stood up and went over to her while she gummed her back to the wall, having no other room to step back. He gripped her chin with his strong palm, forcing her to look at him, his wicked grey eyes bore into her hazel ones. "What if it's your only ticket to freedom?" "As I said, I rather die." He quickly shoved her onto the bed and she scooted away as he moved towards her. "I am Eros Castillo, leader of the El dragon gang, you dare not reject me, nobody rejects me," he said in a low husky voice, his eyes five shades darker, his countenance grim and dangerous.

I'm Kennedy, the pack's recognized Luna, and Tyler's fated mate—or so I foolishly believed. That day, the pregnancy test burned in my palm as I traced the tiny life growing inside me, my heart swelling with secret joy. But that joy turned to ash outside the club on that rainy night. Brenda's back—the woman who saved his life, the one he chose without hesitation over me. He grew colder by the day, letting her friends call me a FAKE LUNA to my face, even saying he wanted to reject our mate bond. I clung to my pregnancy like it was my last shred of dignity, terrified that if I spoke up, all I'd hear was his icy command-- "Abort it." He left me soaking in the rain, ignored me when I was burning with fever, and let me be humiliated, let me be pressured. But he forgot— I'm Kennedy, not some fragile vine that bends to his will. He'll pay the most brutal price for that stupid mistake!

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" "It is." "Please don't pull that with me." "Pull what?" "That." She pointed at my face. "Where I explain how pretty everything looks and you say yes but you would be referring to me." She waved her hands in the air, explaining. "It's cliche and kinda getting old." "Would you prefer I do this instead?" I pinned a loose strand behind her ear, my palm roamed her soft features and also on her lips. "Or this?" I leaned in to steal a kiss, stopping midway to see if she'd stop me and she didn't. I couldn't help the tiny smirk that lay on my lips after. "Aren't you going to stop me?" My raspy voice whispered in her ear. She shivered, unconsciously leaning into me for warmth. I stopped her fingers as she tried to wrap them around my neck. ********** She's not the bad girl he thought she was. He's not the good boy she thought he was.