Things To Do With Paper

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Left on their wedding day by her fiancé, Alice finds herself in a contractual union with a wealthy man urgently seeking a bride.Over time, she came to the realization that dealing with the billionaire was no simple task, and being married to this formidable yet merciless man felt like navigating a profound abyss.Life is not always a bed of roses even for the people born with golden spoon.

One desperate contract. One year to pretend. One chance to change the trajectory of her life. Amelia Davis never expected her past to collide with her present—it almost seemed like a soap opera. When her childhood friend, Dax Hughes, wakes from a three-year coma, and the Chairwoman of Kenzyl group, his mother demands the unthinkable: Amelia must pose as Dax’s wife to help him recover—else pay a staggering debt left off from ten years ago. Bound by obligation and driven by desperation Amelia steps into the world of wealth, lies, and manipulation. What began as strictly business quickly spirals into an undeniable web of lies and deceit. A thin line between pretense and reality is crossed too many times, as her heart is tested—Dax’s charm could not be denied, pulling her whilst he drew closer, igniting feelings and emotions she didn’t care to feel. But when Dax reclaims the life he'd forgotten, old love resurfaces and Amelia's resolve shatters. Can Amelia still go on playing the role of a wife? Or will this fake marriage break her, much more than her heart in ruins?

"Darby.” My name comes out as a low snarl and I struggle to think. “I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, Alpha.”"That's how I like you.” This almost purrs. He shifts his weight to the thigh between mine, brushing against my clit and I tremble as agonizing pleasure spirals through me. His nostrils flare with his next breath and the purr is a low sensual growl. “The better to see to every pleasurable need you have.”Big bad devilishly sexy wolf. Oh shit.

I've finally gotten my wish after loving Christopher Lausten for four years. However, that's when his true love returns…

A contract. A night. A mistake that turned into something more. Naia Isadora Lastra never believed in second chances—especially not after catching her boyfriend red-handed and breaking down in the arms of a dangerously charming stranger at a bar. One night. One decision. One unforgettable mistake. She never expected to wake up sore, breathless, and tangled in the sheets with a man who disappears before dawn… only to reappear days later in a designer suit, announcing: "You're going to be my bride... on paper." Ammir Alejandro Silvestri is a cold, calculating CEO, forced to fake a perfect marriage for the sake of his dying grandmother—and the woman he shared a bed with becomes his only option. Now, all eyes are on them. The press, their families, and the ticking clock of a six-month contract. But the longer they pretend, the harder it gets to remember what's fake and what’s not. And when secrets surface, hearts aren't the only things at risk—because falling in love was never part of the deal.

Ava Reynolds is broke, desperate, and watching her little sister die slowly in a hospital bed. She’s out of options, until a cold, powerful billionaire offers her a lifeline: marry him for one year, and he’ll pay for everything. No love. No intimacy. Just a contract. Damian Kingsley needs a wife to save his empire. Ava is a nobody, and that’s exactly what he wants. What he doesn’t expect is the fire behind her quiet eyes or the way she makes his cold world start to crack. But Ava isn’t walking into this marriage blind. She knows she’s just a tool to him. And she swears she’ll never fall for a man who treats love like a business deal. Until one mistake rips her life apart. Betrayed. Humiliated. Thrown out like trash. She leaves, broken, but not defeated. And when Damian finally realizes the truth, it’s too late. The girl he once used is gone. In her place stands a woman he can’t control. A woman he can’t live without. Now he wants her back. But Ava doesn’t want an apology. She wants him to burn

Forced to pretend they're in love, Lisa and Fier become unlikely companions in a web of lies and duty. But as the waves of their story rise and fall, real emotions begin to surface. Behind Fier’s perfect smile lies a secret, and behind Lisa’s strong front hides a heart afraid to fall.

When a popular guy from another school named Eustone transferred to Shinrea SHS he encountered the toughest girl ever existed. The moment Sasha punched him in the face made him thought of something good. And from that punch on, he'd irritate her more. What he didn't know was behind that tough girl is someone who is trapped in a horrid past.

BLURB: After a whirlwind secret marriage to ruthless billionaire Kian Donovan, struggling writer Eliora Monroe disappears without a trace, leaving only divorce papers behind. Two years later, she's back as a bestselling author with secrets, fame, and a ring on her finger that doesn't belong to him. But when Kian discovers the real reason she left—and the child she kept hidden—he'll stop at nothing to reclaim what's his.