Traveling Library Novels & Stories

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

"You are just a golden cage ornament, Celestine. Two years. No touch, no real feelings, and never enter my room. I bought your freedom, so you owe me your life." ​To save her sick father from a lifetime behind bars, Celestine Aragon commits the ultimate sacrifice: she sells her freedom to Cyrus Valdemor—the ruthless, cold-hearted billionaire CEO who rules the city's corporate empire with an iron fist. ​The rules of their marriage contract were simple, practical, and completely devoid of warmth: Maintain a flawless public image, smile for the cameras, and remain absolute strangers behind closed doors. Celestine expects a lonely prison, but she doesn’t expect the strange, suffocating tension that ignites every time Cyrus is near. Nor does she expect the fierce, alpha protectiveness he unleashes whenever the world tries to tear her down. ​But one forbidden, alcohol-fueled night in his private library shatters all their rules. A dangerous passion breaks through Cyrus’s icy defense, leaving them breathless and bound by a desire neither can deny. ​Just as the lines between their fake marriage and real feelings begin to blur, a dark secret from the past comes to light. Cyrus discovers that Celestine's family is tied to the tragic accident that killed his parents decades ago. Stricken by guilt and targeted by his sudden, icy hatred, Celestine is cruelly cast out into the freezing rain—shattered, helpless, and carrying a secret of her own. ​She is pregnant with the billionaire's heir. ​When the truth finally unravels and the ruthless CEO realizes he banished the only woman he ever loved, will it be too late? Can a marriage built on vengeance and secrets survive the ultimate betrayal?

Bella’s life takes a dark turn when her father’s debt to the Jacksons falls on her shoulders, and the price is paid in blood. Lucas, one of the Jackson brothers, steps in, claiming her as his wife to save her. But before the wedding, Bella finds herself drawn to Damon, Lucas’s enigmatic brother. The ceremony shatters when gunfire erupts, leaving Lucas critically wounded. As he lies in a coma, Bella and Damon grow closer, crossing a line they can’t undo. When Lucas finally wakes up, shaken by his brush with death, he pleads for a chance to make their marriage work. Damon, however, drops the bomb about their affair. Lucas whisks Bella away, determined to salvage what’s left, but secrets and unfinished business loom. Will Damon fight for her, or will Lucas prove he’s the one who can truly win her heart? While traveling through Europe, Lucas discovers Bella is pregnant, with Damon’s child. It’s a gut punch, but he decides he’s got to step up if he’s going to keep her. Just as things start looking up for them, life throws another curveball. A freak accident sends them tumbling down a flight of stairs, Bella breaks her leg, and Lucas fractures his spine, leaving him wheelchair bound. Determined to see him recover, Bella throws herself into rehabilitating him while secretly using her father’s hidden Swiss funds to build a company. Back in America, the family drama kicks into high gear. Bella’s accused of shoving Lucas down the stairs to get rid of him, because, of course, she’d risk breaking her own leg for that. Damon’s met with a version of Bella he doesn’t recognize, convinced she’s only staying with Lucas out of pity.

Olive came home one day to find her one and only long-term boyfriend balls deep inside her roommate. With her heart crushed, her fighting spirit from hell, and her best friend at her side, she sets out to prove a point. She can be with anyone, if she wants to be. She finds the hottest guy at the nightclub, and has her one night stand with a stranger. In a turn of events, Liv meets Leo, Lucas's best friend, on campus through an accidnet. unaway of the relationship between the two Liv agrees to hang out with Leo and a group of friends unexpectedly running into Lucas again. Lucas, the billionaire playboy, is determined to make her his, but so is Leo, the sweet and innocent billionaire. How will these best friends handle fighting for the same girl? With the trauma of the past sneaking into their lives who will Liv choose? Only one of them gets the girl.*********"If you keep biting your lip like that I won't be able to contain myself." I could feel the warmth of his breath fan over my lips, making me hungry to feel them against me. I bit my lip again as my way of giving him permission. He gave me a sexy smirk before he crashed his lips against mine. His hands gripped at my hips, lifting me up and placing me on the kitchen island. I parted my legs allowing his torso between them as he grabbed my bottom, while parting my lips with his tongue. I let him explore my mouth with a soft moan. His hands left my rear, traveling up my thighs, pushing my dress up along the way. He ran his finger over my dampening slit. "I want to know what you taste like, Rose."

Emma Scott has always had it all—wealth, beauty, and power. As the privileged daughter of a business tycoon, she ruled her university years with confidence, arrogance, and an undeniable presence. But beneath her sharp tongue and ruthless attitude was an obsession she never dared to name—Killian Thomas, the one man who never bowed to her. Killian, a hardworking scholarship student from a middle-class background, despised Emma for the torment she put him through. She was cruel, entitled, and always seemed to have a target on his back. But when one heated argument after class turns into something far more physical, their hatred transforms into an addiction neither of them can resist. What starts as secret, no-strings-attached encounters after lectures spirals into something far more dangerous. They become study partners, but their breaks are filled with untamed passion. One night, they get locked inside the library and spend the entire night indulging in their darkest desires. Their obsession only grows stronger. Upon graduation, Killian is offered a job at Emma’s father’s company, the very place where Emma works. Their sinful rendezvous continue in secret—stolen moments in offices, forbidden trysts during business trips. They think they’re careful, but when Emma’s father catches them in a compromising position overseas, their affair is exposed. Faced with an ultimatum, Emma refuses to back down. She confesses that her bullying was always a twisted way of masking her love for Killian. She threatens to leave everything behind if her father dares to fire him. Forced to confront their true feelings, Emma and Killian finally make their relationship official. But even after marriage, their hunger for each other remains insatiable—whether at home, at work, or in places they should never be. Their passion is reckless. Their love is ruthless. And their temptation?

Amanda Light, I am a normal girl, but the thing is, I don't live in a normal town. I don't go to a normal high school; I go to a high school of werewolves because, you guessed it, I'm human. Also, I get bullied by the Stone Rock Fab 4. They call me humi, plus they are gorgeous. They told everyone at the school not to talk to me, including my cousin Arica, Xavier, and Xavier, one of the Fab 4. He is best friends with the demon himself, Sage Stone, the Future Alpha of the Stone Rock Pack. So now it's been a week since school started. I am heading to the Library, but just as I was walking down the hallway. I heard a growl, then when I look up I saw the most blueish grey eyes I have ever seen it was Sage Stone, and the next minute I felt being lifted up in the air and onto his shoulder, he then shoved me in the Janitors closet I feel heavy breathing on my neck .."humi I mean girl" he says but then I wasn't focusing on him I was focusing on the locked door I was scared of him now then he says "you better not be talking to other guys " then he slammed me in the wall and says something in my ear stop wearing slutty clothes and showing your bits no one wants to see that and look at the filth" then I look down at myself then thought I just wore jeans also a T-shirt. Still, I look up at Sage; he has his hands on my hips, growling. He is clenching his fingers. It was hurting, then I said, " Get off, Sage, now.

"Didn't know a clumsy girl would be sent to me?" He said, and I felt a ripple go through me. His voice! It was the deepest one I have ever heard of. His aura screams power but I don't know why I kept on looking at his face as if I was under a love spell. "You keep looking at me, did you find me too pretty?" He asked, and his deep voice jolted me awake, goosebumps traveling down my skin when I realized he grabbed my ass cheek. Fuck! Now, I wasn't expecting that. "Sorry, I don't think I heard you well," I said in a calm voice, averting my gaze. And thanks to the mask, he would have seen my cheeks red with blush. "What music would you want me to dance to?" I said as I stood upright, my heart beating wildly against my chest. "I think another person should be brought in, don't you think?" He asked, his head cocked to one side and I swear, his words hit a nerve in me. No client has ever belittled me before and his rude remark felt like a blow to me. "I don't think you will be needing another girl," I said and touched the collar of his shirt *** Valeria seems like a regular omega on the surface but beneath that perfect smile lies a great secret. Driven by vengeance and revenge, she works as a stripper at night to find her parents' killer. Her thirst for vengeance ultimately makes her cross paths with a mysterious masked man she feels holds the answers she seeks. But what will happen when Valeria is arranged to marry the Lycan King, who seeks an open marriage? She is forced to live a double life to keep her secrets.

"You are mine! I will kill any fucker who dares to even look at your shadow!” Xavier growled angrily, spreading Reina's legs, his fingers traveling down her inner thighs.   "I'm not yours, bastard! I will never be yours.” Reina retorted, arching her back when Xavier lurched his fingers forward, pressing against her soaked panties, and began rubbing his fingers against the soaked fabric. "Dare me, woman, and your dear husband will be the first!”  "I hate you!” Reina cried, her voice cracking under the weight of an undeniable attraction. ~~~ Reina had everything growing up as the pampered princess and only heir of mafia boss Don Santiago and Lucas, her doting husband who put her first. Reina's fairytale turned into a nightmare after an accident claimed her parents’ lives, and her loving and doting husband, who pampered her and wouldn't even let her lift a speck of dust, began abusing her physically, emotionally, and mentally; cheating on her with her best friend, she became a shadow of herself.    With Reina's husband back to being doting overnight. They went on vacation in another country to rekindle their love. However, Reina found herself in another man's bed, labeling her as an adulterer. What would Reina do when her only hope in a foreign country is the man who made her an adulterer and homeless? Will she submit to him when all she feels for him is pure hatred? What will she do when she finds out her husband is not innocent either? ***  Xavier Romano is a ruthless mafia boss known as the "Devil" following his inhumane ways. After an event that put the woman who had been tormenting his dream for ages in his grasp, he swore to protect and heal her.  He will bring everyone who hurt her begging at her feet.

“That’s it, little sister,” he rasped against my ear, voice low and dangerous. “Soak your stepbrother’s fingers like the dirty, naughty girl you are.” Two thick fingers plunged deep into my dripping core without warning, stretching me, claiming me, pumping hard and fast. I whimpered, biting down on his shoulder to stifle the moan that threatened to betray us. “Be a good girl and stay silent…” he rumbled low in my ear, “or everyone in this library will know exactly how desperate you are to be fucked by me.” ~~~~ One reckless, drunken night. One masked stranger who set her body on fire with sin and secrets. No names. Just raw heat, tangled limbs, and forbidden pleasure. The next morning, still throbbing from the memory, Miyara walks into class only to freeze. The man commanding the lecture hall is no stranger. He’s Caden Cross, her stepbrother. The one who vanished six years ago, leaving her with a childhood crush she never quite buried. Her one-night stand. Now he’s back. Older. Darker. Her professor. The stepbrother she once ached for has returned with one purpose: to take her, ruin her, and break her completely, until she’s nothing but his. As buried secrets surface and outsiders conspire to tear them apart, Miyara must decide: fight the pull of the forbidden… or surrender to the man who’s always owned her heart and now wants every filthy, shattered piece of her. Will they burn together in the ashes of their taboo desire, consequences be damned? Or will the world force them apart before she can beg for more? ️ Warning: This story contains explicit sex scenes, stalking, non-con/dub-con acts, coercion and manipulation. Kindly proceed with caution

Synopsis - Isabelle Ellwood, a plain, fuller-figured 19-year-old, hides her poetic soul and dreams of teaching behind dry wit, overshadowed by her beautiful sister who is counted as a family jewel for her grace and beauty and an ambitious father dreaming of snagging a royal title. When Prince Sebastian Nathaniel Winthorne, a bold, dark, and formidable warrior-king at 30, announces a bride-selection season at Cresthaven Palace, Isabelle dares to hope—not for love, but to glimpse the scarred-handed savior of her childhood. Unbeknownst to her, and him, he’s Sebastian, whose commanding presence and passionate heart blind him to her worth, fixated instead on the angelic Amelia Everhart, Isabelle's dearest friend. A secret library meeting shatters Isabelle’s illusions: Sebastian seeks her help to woo Amelia, praising her mind yet oblivious to her love. Their friendship deepens—his admiration grows, her longing festers—culminating in a rain-soaked confrontation where the lavender and breeze ignites his primal desire, clashing with her insecurities. Public scorn and familial cruelty drive Isabelle to flee, forcing Sebastian to confront the void she leaves. As time apart unravels his obsession with Amelia, he pursues Isabelle, his awakening raw and relentless. Their reunion at a glittering ball sparks a dance of resentment and longing, leading to a climactic confession where love triumphs over doubt. Isabelle’s journey from invisible dreamer to empowered princess, and Sebastian’s shift from idealized obsession to soul-deep love, crafts a tale of unseen hearts finding their place—a fiercely unique love story for readers craving wit, angst, and romance. In the opulent yet unforgiving world of Regency-inspired Eldoria, The Crown's Wrong Kiss weaves a slow-burn romance of unrequited love, repressed desire, and transformative self-worth.