Palm Beach State Library Novels & Stories

"Before you go, was there something I could have said to make it all feel better?"- Lewis Calpadi Economic hierarchy strips a twenty three year old accountant, Maria Crawford, of a five year relationship with trillionaire Mama's boy, Dominic Payne. Things get a tad bit dramatic when a body is found in Dominic's trunk and love scores again as Maria does everything she can to prove that her ex is innocent. The Good news; she has a best friend who's a good lawyer and actually the best in the state named Zack Osborn, who lucky for them is in town. The Bad; our lawyer friend once had a bruised cheek courtesy of Mama's boy. With pleas from Maria, Zack agrees to be Dominic's lawyer even as he still hates his guts. What could a simple accountant know about murder cases? Would she be throwing herself out too for the murderer to find, or will she leave all these unscathed? ©️ Hillary 2022 ®️All rights reserved

What will you do if your feelings for someone are not reciprocated? When your emotions and thoughts are put in a troubled state? That's what happens to Dave Walters who falls in love with Julie Kelv, his best friend, who doubles as his coursemate. He gets friendzoned. As their distance begins to grow apart, Julie finds love in the arms of a football star, Tom Jeremy. Things begin to turn sour as Julie discovers he is aggressive. Julie gets back Dave and starts an intimate relationship with him as a rebound. Tom out of jealousy goes back after her, and reveals an important past about his life which makes her feel touched. Julie makes Tom promise to allow her change him, as the only ransom to accepting him back to her life. Dave on the other hand attempts suicide. He gets rescued by his friend and neighbour, Lindsey. While comforting him, she then plants an unexpected kiss on his lips to reassure him that there is also a 'special one' in the world left for him.

I suffered critical injuries that left me in a persistent vegetative state when I tried to rescue my wife, Regina Livingston, from her abductors. Regina spares no expense, spending millions of dollars to bring in the best medical experts in the country to treat me. She watches over me every single night, never weary of caring for me. Four years into my coma, I overhear a conversation between Richard Sutherland—a man I don't know—and Regina. "You've done all you can, Regina," he says. "You don't owe him anything anymore." Regina remains silent. Then, a young boy, Franklin Sutherland, suddenly asks, "Mommy, why do you always visit this man? Who is he?" I'm instantly shocked. Regina and I don't have a child together. I'm completely bewildered, and just as I try to figure it out, I suddenly wake up from my coma.

Vivienne Crane was a billionaire and vampire queen looking for a way to make synthetic blood for vampires in the Imperial Colony which had been once an old city where vampires fed on humans for blood. She reversed the state so the city became naturally kind for the humans to live. Love was never in her mind as she was so sure that being a vampire queen meant legal for her to be alone forever, until she met Dr. Lazlo Howard who would help her formulate the synthetic blood for the vampires. A constant temptation was all about him. There was something ancient about the scientist that Vivienne's crystal ball couldn't see what behind his genius brain and drop-dead gorgeous feature was. Curiosity could kill you. But it wouldn't matter if you were the vampire queen. Especially when you found out he was also an incubus, the perfect lover for a vampire queen. Will Vivienne be able to resist falling for her handsome colleague? Or she'll be wondering forever after their one night stand?

My wife, Wendy Sinclair, has a severe sleepwalking disorder. After she falls asleep, she always wanders out in a state of unconsciousness. The night before our wedding, she disappears without a word. I have no choice but to postpone our wedding. Only then does she walk out of her childhood friend's house next door, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Afraid I might overthink, she cries and apologizes to me. "There's no cure for my condition. From now on, just tie me up when I sleep, okay?" I feel sorry for her, so I just change the door lock to make sure she cannot go out. But in the middle of the night, I wake up and see her standing on the edge of the balcony. She climbs in through the window and goes into her childhood friend's house again. Soon, suggestive and intimate sounds come from inside. My blood runs cold. Her sleepwalking isn't an illness at all—it is out of love.

Olivia Fordham was married to Ethan Miller for three years, but that time could not compare with the ten years he spent loving his first love, Marina Carlton. On the day that she gets diagnosed with stomach cancer, Ethan happens to be accompanying Marina to her children's health check-up. She doesn't make any kind of fuss, only leaving quietly with the divorce agreement. However, this attracts an even more fervent retribution. It seems Ethan only ever married Olivia to take revenge for what happened to his little sister. While Olivia is plagued by her sickness, he holds her chin and says coldly, "This is what your family owes me." Now, she has no family and no future. Her father becomes comatose after a car accident, leaving her with nothing to live for. Thus, she hurls herself from a building. "The life my family owes will now be repaid." At this, Ethan, who's usually calm, panics while begging for Olivia to come back as if he's in a state of frenzy …

“Fuck me harder, Daddy… I need you to ruin me.” My broken plea spilled out as Ryan drove into me relentlessly, his thick cock stretching me to the edge of pain, his rough palm cracking against my ass while he yanked my hair back. “That’s my filthy little princess,” he growled against my ear, slamming deeper until I shattered around him. “I’m gonna fuck this sweet pussy raw, choke you till you see stars, breed you till you’re dripping my cum down your thighs. Beg for it louder, baby girl—tell Daddy how much you want to be marked, owned, completely fucking destroyed.” Ava Carter’s carefully ordered world cracked the day she moved back into her dad’s house after college and a soul-crushing year of dead-end jobs. Heart bruised from a toxic ex, confidence shattered after a rejection letter, she accepted the only offer that came—personal assistant to Ryan Hale, her father’s best friend and the dangerously hot architect who’d always been off-limits. One late night at the office turns into forbidden fire. He takes her roughly, whispering dark promises while old threats resurface. Will she surrender everything to the man who protects and possesses her? Or will the scorching taboo finally burn them both? “Good girl. Now swallow every last drop like you were made for it.”

"Don’t worry, Sister," Lorenzo says. "Our dirty little secret is safe with me. Infact, it is already forgotten. It wasn't even that memorable. Just a few lousy sex." I gape at him, not wanting to believe the words coming out of his mouth. This isn't the Lorenzo I knew. It's like he changed to this cruel bastard standing in front of me. What happens next is out of character. It's like someone takes over my body and controls me. I don't even think about it, I just act. The slap I give to him across his face lands with a crack that draws the attention of passersby who murmur and point at us as they pass away, probably wondering who the crazy bitch is. I back away from Lorenzo in horror, my now throbbing palm held in my other hand like I just touched a hot pan. Lorenzo brings a hand to his cheek which is now spotting an angry red color and stares at me in shock then he laughs, the sound bitter and cutting through the still night's air. "When did Little Miss perfect get feisty?" He drops his hands and eyes me, a leering look in his eyes. "Maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to dump you." He rubs his jaws, still eying me. "Who knows, you might have brought this attitude to bed. It would have definitely made things more exciting." I hate him so much.

"You're too weak to be my Luna." Those were the words that shattered Erin Arckwight's world. Rejected publicly by her mate - the Alpha of her own pack - she did what any broken wolf would do. She ran straight into the Forbidden Forest, the one place most wolves never venture into. But what most people do not know is that the Forbidden Forest doesn't break you. It remakes you. When Erin descends into the feral state that all werewolves fear, she doesn't lose herself. Instead, she awakens an ancient power that's been sleeping in her bloodline for three thousand years. And she's not alone. Kade Thornhart, the scarred and dangerous leader of the feral pack, doesn't trust the stubborn, sarcastic girl who stumbles into his territory. But he can't deny the fire in her amber eyes or the way his wolf claims her as his. She was rejected by an Alpha. Now she'll be claimed by something far more dangerous.

For her whole life, Lyra Suarez had been a good girl. That one girl who was too sweet, too nice, too helpful, too kind, too easy to manipulate, too easy to use, too easy to destroy. Being too pure and too caring sometimes has its bad side. And she knew that too well. At twenty-three, she was busy working her life away just to protect herself and keep her distance from her biological father, who never even claimed her.   With just one laced drink, her trust in her only aunt disappeared. Everybody seemed to see her as a beautiful ticket to a fortune. She was sold to a filthy old man.   While her poor soul cried for help, calling all the saints never seemed to work. And as her last prayer, in her most desperate state, she called for him... the Devil.   Because a deal with the Devil is always better than living in hell. And sometimes, the Devil is not the one to fear.