The Barefoot Bandit

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!

Misah, gadis 16 tahun harus menikah dengan Raden Wikrama Manggalayuda. Pernikahan itu terjadi akibat siasat licik Nyai Sri Gandawangi yang tidak lain adalah istri pertama Raden Wikrama. Ramalan Ki Jaya Wijaya yang menyebutkan bahwa putra Raden Wikrama dan Misah kelak akan mewarisi tahta kerajaan Singapatih membuat Nyai Sri yang memiliki ambisi besar akan tahta harus mengorbankan Misah untuk mencapainya. Misah gadis desa yang masih muda dan lugu akhirnya terjebak dalam siasat itu. Gadis itu menjalani kehidupan seperti di neraka sejak mendapat hukuman diasingkan ke hutan. Disaat hidupnya berada di titik terendah, ia bertemu dengan Sanjaya. Pemuda tampan itu tanpa sengaja membawa Misah bertemu dengan paman-pamannya yang merupakan bandit. Seketika hidup Misah berubah, keterpurukan membuatnya sadar bahwa harus ada yang bertanggungjawab atas semua yang telah dialaminya. Sejak saat itu Misah memutuskan menjadi bandit dan memulai rencana balas dendamnya. Sepak terjang Misah membuatnya terkenal dan mendapat julukan Nyai Selendang Wungu. Mohon untuk para Reader, ini beneran cerita untuk 18+ yaa, karena mungkin nanti akan banyak adegan XX nya. Jadi harus bijak memilih bacaan! hehehe, happy reading.

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?

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.

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.

To prevent the merfolk from being slaughtered, I decided to go ashore and seduce my childhood friend Cyrus, who had become the Alpha King. He still loved me deeply, and we spent three passionate days and nights together in bed. Waking up from a haze of pleasure, I hadn't even had the chance to rejoice before a corrosive elixir was dunked over my head. Listening to my pained wails, Cyrus smirked. "So even an immortal mermaid can feel pain, too? "Well, this is just a taste of what's to come if you don't tell me where my parents are!" Yes, he was convinced that the merfolk were behind his parents' disappearance. From then on, I was forced to watch him flirt with his mistress, Emily; had to extract my mermaid pearl to help heal her body; was forced to dance barefoot to entertain Emily so that she could sleep… Cyrus hated every fiber of my being, yet always held me tenderly in his arms whenever I was on the brink of death, carefully feeding me medicine. Sometimes, he was cruel. "Do you think I'll go easy on you just because I love you? Quick, continue torturing her!" Sometimes, he was gentle. "Can't you be good and tell me where my parents are?" Silently, I endured his twisted love without a word. Soon, however, these days would come to an end, and I wouldn't have to keep that secret any longer. After all, a mermaid who did not return to the sea after three years on land… Would turn into seafoam. And now, there were only three days until my time was up.

Perfection was the curse. I was born into wealth, beauty, influence, and a family empire that stretched across continents. People envied my life, not knowing it was nothing more than a gilded prison. The only thing that ever felt real was ballet, the passion my parents forbade because it brought them no power, no profit, no leverage. My parents; greedy, ambitious, unfillable, hid their cruelty beneath luxury. And on my eighteenth birthday, they revealed the ultimate betrayal. I was engaged to a powerful man twice. . . no, three times my age. A man feared across Europe. A man whose hands were stained with secrets the world pretended not to see. They sold me to strengthen an alliance. So I ran. Barefoot, shaking, heartbroken. I stole one of our visitor's chopper and fled to Sicily, thinking distance could save me. I thought I escaped the monsters who owned my life. But I only ran into a darker one. Because Sicily is his territory; Aldrick Moretti, the shadow king of the Italian underworld. Cold. Untouchable. Beautiful in the most devastating way. The man people whisper about as if speaking his name is a sin. A man with eyes that see through lies. . . including mine. And the moment he found me trespassing on his land, bleeding, terrified, and wearing the remnants of a runaway bride. . . He didn’t return me. He didn’t free me. He claimed me. Not as a business deal. Not as an alliance. But as something far more dangerous. He became my captor, my protector, my obsession, and the forbidden flame I should never have touched. Because in his world, love is not tender. It’s a weapon. And I am the sacrifice wrapped in a veil he refuses to let go.

My body was drenched from the intense downpour, which also made the path and steps away from the sore spot damp. There was no umbrella to offer me some shade, so I was left cold and drenched in the bad weather. I follow the road barefoot, following its path to wherever it leads. My face was chilly and damp, and there were hot tears in it. It seems as though the sky eradicates my pain and hiding from everyone just how miserable and down I am at the moment. "How long would you walk? How many times do you have to cry just to laugh again?" We're strolling along this lengthy road in the pouring rain, he said as he followed me. He stopped in front of me, causing me to tumble as well. When I stared into his azure eyes, tranquility was all I saw. His warm smile gave me hope, all the while I was staring at it. "Your life's challenges would bring you storm clouds and torrential rain, but what would come next was your hope. It doesn't imply that fate wasn't on your side or that you are finished. A sunshine that might offer your life meaning. That way, destiny won't ever work against you again!" He seems sincere, but I'm not sure If I will believe in him. He turned away from me, which made me anxious. I tried to call his name, but he never answered. Nevertheless, it appears that he will also leave just like the others, leaving far from me, just like everyone else. "Seah, be that sunshine! ...In order to discover love, you must first learn how to love yourself." He spoke and then disappeared. Where should I start and when should I stop? I'm really confused and scared.

Listen up, everyone!" I yelled to gain everyone's attention "Your trainer Antony, is going to be gone for the foreseeable future. YOU lucky ladies have the pleasure to be trained by me. Antony is a nursery teacher compared to the hell you will soon be facing by me" I stated authoritatively. "Little girl I have morning shits bigger than you" yelled a testosterone-induced jokester from the back causing snickers to erupt throughout the crowd. "Then I'd suggest eating more greens and lessening up on protein and testosterone. You do know that shit causes your willy to shrink up and fall off right" I retorted. I watched the man turn purple with rage before charging towards the stage. Immediately taking a side stance I prepare to take on the idiot Alpha 'gracefully'.  Kicking off the stage I performed my perfect Tornado barrel kick to the dumbass's head. Connecting with a loud crack and landing gracefully on my feet bowing to my audience of alphas, knowing full well that alpha is not getting up for a while. "Any more volunteers?" I said smugly. "Nope, alrighty then. So, going forward I am not someone to mess with. I do not take lightly to those who challenge me and I do not respond to assholes who think little ladies belong barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen. If you have those prejudices, I am more than willing to knock those thoughts clear from your head. And for jackasses like this one, off your head. Do I make myself clear?" Gabriella's family was cursed as she puts it. She cannot be commanded by any Alpha and for that, she cannot belong to any pack. From an early age, her father and 6 older brothers taught her how to fight, and turned trainer. Until she finds her Mate!