The Barefoot Bandit

The day before the semester began, my childhood friend Daniel Carter asked if he could borrow my private jet. Thinking he'd finally changed his ways, I agreed without a second thought. A moment later, he transferred a single dollar, calling it rent because he couldn't stand the thought of freeloading. The quirky amount said more than words ever could. I smiled and accepted it. On the first day of school, I kept things low-key, taking a cab back to campus. But when I arrived, there it was, my private jet parked right in the middle of the quad. The jet had been decked out in bubblegum pink, and students crowded around, their eyes shining with envy. My heart leapt. For once, I thought Daniel had finally figured it out. Beaming, I braced myself for his surprise. But as I drew closer, my smile froze. Sitting barefoot in the pilot's seat, my seat, was Clara West, the campus' queen bee.

Because of the violence in the town of the beloved princess, Princess Chandra of Campbell, the only child of the old King Edric. The princess presents to find the culprit in their village. On her journey she met the most handsome pirate whom she would not have thought was a bandit who sailed only to steal every island they would land on so she was angry with them. But what if she was captured by this pirate, Randell, the most handsome pirate that Princess Chandria has ever met in her entire life? She was made the pirate's wife in exchange for her freedom to do whatever she wanted but the princess was very cunning. A few days after their wedding, the princess fled to the island owned by pirate Randell. But Randell is just a Prince hiding as a pirate. And when they meet again, the princess seeks the help of the pirate a Prince in the tragedy that befell her town. Will Prince Randell help Princess Chandra despite what the princess did to the pirate? This pirate was so furious as he searched for the princess. When did their married relationship end up to?

Du Shen, anak muda dari desa terpencil Yaocun, hidup damai bersama orang tuanya hingga tragedi mengerikan menghancurkan segalanya. Ia mendapati desanya terbakar habis, dan warga, termasuk ayahnya, menjadi korban kekejian para kelompok bandit. Ketidakberdayaan menyaksikan kehancuran itu menanamkan dendam mendalam di hati Du Shen. Sayangnya ia terlalu lemah untuk mencoba menghentika para bandit itu. Tubuh kecilnya menyerah pada kelelahan dan trauma, hingga ia terbangun di tempat asing, dirawat oleh seorang lelaki tua misterius. Lelaki itu menawarkan bimbingan untuk menjadikan Du Shen lebih kuat. Di bawah pelatihan keras sang guru, Du Shen menempa dirinya, bertekad menuntut balas dan melampaui batasnya. Namun, perjalanan menuju balas dendam ini dipenuhi tantangan dan misteri yang akan menguji tekadnya. Inilah awal dari kisah epik seorang anak muda yang kelak dikenal sebagai "Dewa Racun."

"To a strategic merger." With those four words, Ryan Blackwood shattered Ava’s heart. After three years of building his empire, Ava wasn't his mate—she was a "placeholder." A mid-tier distraction to be discarded for a wealthier bride. Exiled by her heartless father and left barefoot in the rain, the "soft-tempered" girl Ryan knew died on that wet pavement. In her place, a Dark Horse is waking up. In the city's "Gray Zone," Ava finds a fallen legend to sharpen her claws. But she also catches the eye of Leo, a hauntingly handsome Alpha with a "sinister, feline grace" and a toxic obsession for broken things. He doesn't want to save her; he wants to own her wreckage. Leo offers her the ultimate weapon: a way back into the elite world as his "hidden gem." The Wedding of the Century is coming. Ryan thinks he’s won. He has no idea that the "stray" he kicked is coming back with a leash—and she isn't wagging her tail. The Counterattack has officially begun.

Before I married Gavin Whitaker, his mother put me through a so-called premarital obedience test. She made me kneel and serve tea to the entire family, so I knelt. She made me walk barefoot across a reflexology path to prove my "resilience". I went through it. She made me sign a prenuptial agreement stating that if we ever divorced, I would leave with nothing. I signed. Throughout it all, Gavin watched coldly from the sidelines. All he said was, "Sienna, don’t make a big deal out of this. Just bear with it. These are our family’s rules." I smiled and nodded, even as tears slid down my face. The final test came without warning. His mother slapped me hard across the face. "If you marry into this family, you need to understand what humility means." I didn’t move. However, upstairs in the study, where Gavin was in the middle of a video conference, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed. He clutched his face and stared at me in terror. [System Notification: You and Gavin Whitaker have successfully bound to the Empathy Sync System. From this moment on, all harm inflicted upon the host will be experienced in full by the other party.]

WARNING: THIS BOOK MAY CONTAIN STEAMY AND SEXUAL CONTENT WHICH IS STRICTLY NOT FOR KIDS UNDER +18! The bathroom door creaked open. And then—barefoot, toweling his hair, abs slick with water, stood. Broad-shouldered. Golden-tanned and muscled like a demi-god. The thing swinging between his legs, long and thick and heavy. Our eyes locked. My mouth dropped. My voice cracked. “Brother-in-law?" The Lycan King’s face hardened with recognition. “What the hell are you doing naked in my bed?” ***** After being cheated on by his boyfriend, betrayed by his best friend, and framed by his boyfriend's first love, Lucian thought life couldn’t get any worse as he scrubbed servants’ filthy toilets with a bruised face. Until he was stripped and thrown onto the bed of the homophobic Lycan King, awaiting his death. Elias, the newly crowned Lycan King and Lucian’s brother-in-law, is cold, ruthless, and homophobic. He believes Lucian, who ran away with his so-called "boyfriend," irresponsibly abandoned his sister, blaming him for all the misfortune that followed. This deep-seated hatred has festered within him ever since. ***** If Elias discovers that Lucian is his mate, will he abandon his intention to torment him? On the other hand, will Lucian, who can not communicate with his wolf, realize that his mate is actually his brother-in-law?

Do you ever wish a secret billionaire would sweep you away to a tropical island? Do you ever wish that you could be like Cinderella and find your happily ever after with the prince? From New York Times bestselling author Krista Lakes, comes a sweet but spicy Billionaire Romance Series that will have you believing in happily ever after! Each story in this series is a stand-alone one. But with all the stories happen in one world, characters will reappear in other stories. ****** The First Set: Saltwater Kisses– An accidental marriage between Jack and Emma. Rainwater Kisses– Falling in love, and finding how they fit together with Owen and Kaylee. Freshwater Kisses– Finding love in childhood friends with Robbie and Sam. BONUS: Kisses From Jack: The first half of Saltwater Kisses, but from Jack's perspective! Timeless Love Stories: Champagne Kisses– A story of long lost love and second chances with Dean and Rachel. The Second Set: Sandcastle Kisses– Finding love in all the wrong places with Noah and Izzy Hurricane Kisses– Surviving the storm together with Logan and Olivia Barefoot Kisses– A Cinderella story with Aiden and Lena The Third Set: Sunrise Kisses– Ava and Bastian discovering true beauty Waterfall Kisses– Leo finally succumbing to Charlotte's charms Island Kisses: Gabe finally meets his match in Harper!

On our wedding anniversary, my CEO husband, Michael Grant, invited me to watch the ocean with him. Tragically, a typhoon hit. I stood there in the raging wind and rain for over two hours, and he never showed up. In the end, all I got was a text that he was suddenly going on a business trip and couldn’t make it. Right after that, his intern, Nora Blake, posted a video on her social feed. It showed my usually pampered husband barefoot while helping fishermen haul crates of seafood. Her caption read: "Our hardworking CEO loves to get his hands dirty!" I laughed and commented: "Diligent and enduring—a true role model for us all." The company Slack channel instantly exploded. Everyone was betting on whether I’d finally blow up this time. Michael called me, his voice tight with fury, "Lauren West! What the heck did you mean by posting that comment? Are you trying to humiliate Nora in public? "It was a typhoon. I helped her family move some fish. What’s the big deal? You’re such a pampered little princess who has no idea how hard life really is. Delete that comment now. I’ll take you to the coast another day." Disgust churned in me. I replied, "Let a man who’s already rolled in the mud take me to the ocean? Forget it." Yes. Michael was now tainted, and I didn’t want him anymore.

Anastasia Danish Lily Mondragon was born differently. Unusual, for she never shed a tear even after months of being born. When her mother looks at the infant staring back at her blankly, her heart is filled with pure hatred. She believes she is a monster in child's clothing. When Anastasia was eight, she was abducted by a group of researchers. Yet no one knew what she had suffered at the hands of those cruel humans. After a few days, she returned home. Barefoot and bruised, she walked home and landed in her worried mother's arms. She was in a state of coma for more than five months, her body responding weirdly. Anastasia woke up after twelve years. Her body recovered, but all her memories were lost. The worst tragedies happened not so long after. Clueless Anastasia was treated badly by her father, and her mother left without a trace. Now that she's twenty, Anastasia has become more curious about her past. As if something unknown haunts her until dawn. Fierce and determined, she started to make a move toward regaining her memories. But to know the truth, she has no choice but to take a dangerous path. She will meet a being that is supreme to all human beings. Is she willing to take the risk and gamble her life for the sake of bringing back her lost memories?

I watched my family scrape and starve so I could save enough to come to Sicily for a tan, a fling, maybe my first proper kiss— maybe even lose my virginity to a hot stranger I’d never see again. I did not come to wrestle a kidnapped toddler out of a speedboat at gunpoint. One minute I was hiding from a flirty Italian on the beach. The next, I was running barefoot across the sand in a bikini with a terrified little boy in my arms… while men in black suits shot at me. Now the whole island thinks I’m the kidnapper. Especially the grey-eyed man with the gun who looks at me like I’m his next target. I don’t know his name. I don’t know who the boy really belongs to. I just know the man hunting me isn’t a hero and he’s not going to let me walk away. If I survive this holiday, I’m never leaving England again. If he stops looking at me like that… I might even miss the danger. Holy hell. I didn’t just grab any child. I snatched the heir to the Don of the most ruthless mafia outfit in Europe. And his best friend—the grey-eyed man with the gun—wants my head on a spike. I never imagined I’d die a virgin. But here I am.