2309 Book(s) Related to shrines of gaiety a novel

She buried her parents, shedding tears of blood as the only family she had left was gone. She was left alone in a brutal world but that wasn’t the scary fact. She was a cursed individual who has to live forever without dying.

The curse of immortality will force her to live and watch her beloved ones dying, while she remains powerless to stop it.

A woman who has a cold heart and is not moved by anything, will her heart be moved by the disciple she took in?

Will she be able to finally open her heart to someone and love like any other person?

Destiny is not your ordinary girl.
Besides the fact that she straggles two world’s.
She is also the spirit the powers that be have been waiting for.
That’s right.
Destiny is a spirit. Not born on this plane of existence.
She hails from beyond the veil. Where a soul goes when the vessel can no longer hold it.
Spirits like Destiny are called shadow agents.
A shadow agent hunts down and returns the souls that flee back to the mortal side of the veil. Where these souls start to cause trouble.
The Powers that be have sensed uneasiness for a while now and need Destiny to accept. Well. Her destiny.
All Destiny will have to aid her in her task is a sassy best friend and a talking, scruffy white cat.
Destiny will need all her skills, all her courage and wits if she is going to prevail and bring the missing souls home.

“One million dollars!”. A deep voice bid making everywhere to go silent.


Just a day after Ashley turned eighteen, her parents sold her off to a gangster in order to pay their debt. The gangster decided to resell her in an audition where she was brought for a million dollars.

Ashley was brought by Xander Cage the don of the biggest mafia organization in the state. Xander needed a wife in order to present himself as a responsible man to him big time client.

Ashely found herself thrown into the ruthless world of the mafia where love is impossible. Will she be able to fit into the world or will she run done the hills. Find out more as you read.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) ONCE LOST is book #10 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download with over 900 five star reviews! Still reeling from her former partner Lucy’s death and from her partner Bill’s PTSD, FBI Special Agent Riley Paige does her best to try to keep herself stable and to patch together her family life. She has to decide what to about April’s boyfriend, recovering from his abusive father, and about Blaine, who is ready for their relationship to move ahead.But before she can work it out, Riley is summoned for a new case. In an idyllic suburban town in the Midwest, teenage girls are going missing—and a body has already turned up. The police are stumped, and Riley is called in to catch the killer before another girl goes missing.Making things worse is that Riley is assigned a partner she does not want—her nemesis, Special agent Roston—who had been interrogating her in Shane’s case.Even worse: Shane is on the loose, he wants revenge—and he has Riley’s family in his sights.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE LOST is book #10 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #11 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

The very day she came back into her home country, she heard the most absurd news. "Your sister is getting married with Mr. Stephenson".
"What did you say?" She couldn't believe it. At the engagement party, she was shocked to see her sister getting engaged to her fiancé.
"Daniel, remember this, I dumped you! Did you hear that? I dumped you, not the other way round."
.....
Who could have guessed that after being betrayed by her fiancé and sister and being labelled as a home wrecker, someone would still want to marry her?
"Don't you want to get revenge on your fiancé for what he did?" Nathan Clemon asked Hilda.
"What has that got to do with you?" She snapped back.
"It has got everything to do with me. I am the only person who could help you achieve that whiles giving you the happiness that any woman would wish in this world."

Lucille was one of the most skilled female assassins, and on the previous night, she embarked on a top-secret mission. However, the mission's details were leaked, leading to her untimely demise at the hands of a traitorous companion. She never discovered the identity of the person who betrayed her before her death. But by some miracle, she was granted a new life, and was reborn as a girl with the same name. Determined to uncover the truth and seek revenge for her family, Lucille seized her second chance at life. She planned to avenge her loved ones. However, her plans were complicated by Joseph, an apparently frail man who was actually skilled in martial arts. And he seemed to fall for her deeply, now this newfound knowledge only added to the complications of Lucille's revenge plan...

She was her own person and knew exactly what she wanted.
He owned the shit and thought he could do anything.
She had something he wanted, but she didn't know it.
He had what she'd always dreamed of, but she had no idea how to get it.
She lied for love.
He didn't forgive anyone.
She hated him from the first time she saw him.
He tried to destroy her in every possible way.
Bárbara Novaes never imagined that her peaceful life would suddenly turn upside down, when a deathbed request would make her main objective be to enter the life of the best known CEO in the country.
Heitor Casanova has never seen a woman as persecuting and insistent as Bárbara. But it didn't cross her mind that she didn't want the same as everyone else: "him".
The bond that united them would force them both to live under the same roof, with a single common goal: to protect what they loved most.
Was it possible for mutual anger to turn into love?
Would they admit the new feelings that arose, which they were not able to accept?
And they would overcome together all the obstacles that would be created to prevent this relationship from happening???

I pulled her closer and entered her again. Again and again, picking up the rhythm. The more intense my movements, the louder she screamed.

"Amelia?" I asked.

"Stop asking if I'm okay and take me, Leonardo!" she shouted. "Harder!"

My boss, proposes that we get married for six months to improve his bachelor image and save his company. I agree, thinking it's just a game. But from the first kiss in this fake marriage, I realize my innocence won’t last long.

Rule number one? Some boundaries are meant to be broken, no matter the consequences.

The year is 1924. The air in Willow Lane is thick with the scent of red dirt, old secrets, and a storm that has been brewing for a thousand years.

Cassia Marlowe is a woman of the lens, capturing a world that is slowly fading. But when she meets Evan Cole, a man with a violin that speaks to the moon and a past shrouded in shadow, her quiet life shatters.

What starts as a forbidden romance between a photographer and a mysterious musician quickly unearths a truth buried beneath the roots of the Great Oak. In a valley ruled by the powerful and ruthless Board, a biological curse is waking up. Every secret Cassia solves only peels back the mask of a much larger conspiracy, a bloodline war that stretches back to the dawn of the peaks.

Evan is changing. The woods are watching. And the man Cassia loves may be the very beast she’s been taught to fear.

In a world of silver-plated lies and ancient hunger, can their love survive the turning of the moon? Or will they both become casualties of a war that has waited ten centuries to claim its final prize?

One choice.
One bite.
One thousand years of secrets.

Elsie Clarke spent three years in a secret marriage, and just as long in cold, silent separation. As their third anniversary approached, she still held on, foolishly hoping her love could melt her husband's frozen heart.

But all she received was a call from his private club. His voice was indifferent. “You wanted to see me? Bring a condom.”

That was the moment everything shattered. The marriage she had clung to was nothing but an empty shell, and she was finally ready to let it go.

But just as she turned away, he began to chase her with reckless desperation. The man who once ignored her now couldn’t bear to let her go.

"I, King Logan, rejects you；Audrey Chadwick, as my mate, Luna to the Royal Moon pack, and Queen to the werewolf race."

No no no!

The Chadwick Lineage have had a generation of powerful werewolves, but so far, Audrey was the most powerful of them all. She possessed insane abilities and strength, that went hand in hand with her arrogance and great beauty. Fueled by the wrong kind of parenting, Audrey would do anything for power. Audrey sets her sights on becoming the next Queen of the werewolf kingdom, but she can only achieve that if she marries Prince Sebastian, and helps him steal the throne from his weak and wolfless older brother; Logan.

Very determined to get the mission done, Audrey sojourns to the palace, only to meet the shock of her life!! Prince Logan is her fated mate! The very same weak and wolfless Prince she planned on ousting.Unbeknownst to Audrey, Logan is going to be the greatest creature to ever grace the supernatural world.

This is a story of betrayal, redemption, and true love. Follow Audrey on her story, as Logan rapidly changes the course of her life, and leaves her fighting for a second chance with him.

Alex Lee has spent three months watching Elias Reed from across library aisles and lecture halls, too terrified to speak. When the campus launches an anonymous Valentine’s letter program, Alex finally finds the courage to tell Elias everything he’s been feeling, one unsigned letter at a time.
Elias Reed is weeks away from graduation and convinced he’s better off alone. After a devastating breakup left him feeling like he was too much to love, he’s built walls nobody can climb. Until anonymous letters start arriving in his mailbox, letters that see him in ways nobody else does, letters that make him feel found.
As February unfolds in a blur of snow and roses and secret confessions, Alex and Elias build an intimacy through words that neither has found in person. They pass each other on campus, strangers separated by fear and time and the carefully constructed distance Alex maintains. But the closer they get on paper, the harder it becomes to hide in the safety of anonymous ink.
When Valentine’s Day forces Alex to choose between revealing himself and losing Elias forever, he discovers that the hardest part of love isn’t finding it. It’s being brave enough to let yourself be seen.
A story about the words we write when we’re too afraid to speak. About loving someone from a distance and learning that sometimes the person you’ve been searching for has been watching you all along.

Violet loses her parents as a young child and is brought up by an elderly aunt. As she approaches her 17th birthday her life is turned upside down when her Aunt tells her that the life she has built with her must end - she has to go and learn about the background of her father. Secrets have been kept and those secrets turn Violet's life on it's head!

Not only does she have to accept that her father wasn't who she thought he was, but she too, is something she didn't even realise existed! It seems a whole plan had been in place for if something happened to her parents, including learning of her heritage and all it means.
So, Violet is sent to Autumn Moon Pack, where an elderly relative of her father's still lives to give Violet chance to be surrounded by others like her. In truth, she plans to learn what she needs to learn what she needs to and leave to live alone like her father before her.
But will meeting the handsome Beta, who seems quite taken with her, change her mind? And could there be yet more secrets to be revealed?

"As you make your bed so you must lie in it. Pretty noble to sell your body for your brother. And you nearly lost your life for your cheap friend? A sacrifice must be your life motto. Who do you think you are? A saint?"

He captured her, and no way to escape this devil. In his peculiar way, both tough and gentle, she can only accept it and lower her guard down.

He was looking for someone who stole his disc and took someone who's just an ordinary and young supermarket staff. Her life totally changed since she met him.

He forces everything, including a three-year contract, to be his woman. Her enchanting beauty captured him, and the love-hate journey started.

Thirty-eight year old Levy a successful business owner and bike finds himself lost and lonely after his wife, Lilly has passed away. It's been two years and despite all the efforts of his close friends, Levy just isn't ready to date anyone or let them close. He's frightened to love and lose again. He doesn't think his heart will ever be the same.
That is until he starts to notice his son's ex girlfriend, Harper. At just twenty she knows her own mind. And Levy is all the man that she wants. And when Harper wants something she usually gets it. She makes no bones about letting Levy know that she is interested in him leaving him reeling.
Levy is blown away by her, he can't stop thinking about her but will he risk his relationship with his only son to chase love, friendship and happiness with a young woman, 18 years his junior?
Only time will tell.
A heart-warming, spicy, age gap romance.

High-school misfit Julian fell in over his head into a relationship doomed for dysfunction. When the love of your life turns out to be a polyamorous vampire, eternity together is bound to be a messy rollercoaster, but even after all the trauma and heartbreak, this one of a kind devil still holds his heart. If only Luc shared his devotion... He certainly shares his obsession.

“Your girlfriend’s pretty cynical, now isn’t she?” Luc speaks into my ear, leaning casually on my shoulder. I blush bright red, and his smile grows all the broader.
He takes both our hands and leads us off across the dance floor, and the crowd parts for him like he’s the King of England - the bouncers steering away anyone that tries to block us.
“Holy shit. You really are the owner?!” Heather drunkenly shouts, as we make our way up the stairs and into that VIP booth.
“My club and my right to lay claim to anyone who catches my eye,” Luc drawls, and I shoot him a look, shifting my weight to get in between him and Heather.
“Look, you can’t just… I mean, thanks for the drinks, but she is not going to…” God I sound like an idiot, and staring straight in Luc’s eyes I feel more than a little intimidated, especially because he is not intimidated by me whatsoever. He’s smiling like I’ve just gifted him a shiny new present. I turn to tell Heather we should go, and Luc catches my arm.
“I wasn’t trying to steal away your date,” he laughs. “I invited the both of you here, now didn’t I?” He pushes a hand through Heather’s hair, turning boldly to face her dreamy eyed gawking. “You ever had a three way?”

Christian Caine, the heir to the Caine Crime Family, has been designed to drive any woman beyond seven sensations of pleasure. His body is carved to perfection. His biceps clench and flex, and his abs tighten with his every movement. He is powerful and elegant. Drawn to danger and a determination to conquer, he is yet to keep a woman's heart.

Cassandra Cumming, she is mysterious but the girl that every man desires. She presents all the things that Christian cannot have, and this is the very thing that draws him to her.

Their love is forbidden from the start, but neither of them is willing to let go of each other. Christian goes against what seems to be right and so goes up again his father and the Mafia world.

After one fateful night, Christian sets out to the start of a Mafia War.

Will Christian and Cassandra rise from this stronger?

Will she ultimately become his Mafia Princess?

Five years of marriage, and he never once looked at me with love. He called me a gold digger. He forced me to take birth control. And on our last night together, he moaned another woman's name in my ear.
I left with nothing but my dignity—and a secret I didn't even know I was carrying.
Six years later, I'm back. Not as the doormat wife he discarded, but as an award-winning scientist with a five-year-old son and a powerful family behind me. He's still engaged to his precious first love. And neither of them knows that the little boy calling me "Mommy" has his eyes.
He wants me back. He says he regrets everything.
But regret doesn't undo the past. And this time, I'm playing by my own rules.

"I've seen the way you've been staring at me, doll and I know you want me "He said his voice so cold as always , sending shivers down my spine. His frosty gaze bore into mine, void of any warmth or emotion, as his hands traced a deliberate path from my chest down to my belly button, sending a shiver down my spine.

"You can't escape from me doll, so I'll advice you to be submissive. Besides..... You're mine now"He said his eyes digging deep into mine,so cold..... devoid of any emotion.

"You think I don't know you've been drooling over me??"He said and I gasped loudly immediately.

“I…I…I don’t know what you’re talking about, Master,” I stammered, attempting to project confidence. However, my trepidation seeped through, and he let out a hearty laugh that echoed in the cold air.

"You don't?....You know how much I hate lies doll"He said and chuckled loudly.

“It seems you’ve forgotten, sweetheart, that I can quite literally hear your thoughts,” he continued, and I instinctively bit my lip,avoidind his eyes....... He hates it when I look at him directly in the eyes.

"I can hear your heartbeat too Doll..... So loud and clear and guess what...... It's beating like a party drum."He said and pushed some strands of hair from my face.

“I... I’m truly sorry,” I managed to whisper, my voice trembling slightly. Lowering my head almost instinctively, I averted my eyes from his piercing stare, knowing that it was the safest course of action in this fraught moment.

"I hate that word 'sorry' and you know it"He said and I bit my lip immediately shivering.

"I crave you and I want you now"He said and smashed his lips on mine leaving me helpless.

Dedicated three years to marriage, I shed the aura of the genius venture queen, pouring all my connections and resources into helping Simon Coldridge, who had nothing, ascend to the position of CEO. I thought this was a testament to our love, until that stormy night when he hung up on my call for help, yet gently opened the car door and styled the hair of the poor student I had funded.
When I confronted him, he disdainfully said, “You’re Mrs. Coldridge. Don’t take her seriously.” He might have thought I would continue to tolerate it like before. When I threw my ten-carat wedding ring into the trash and withdrew funding from the project he valued most, he finally understood that the Aurora Montague who loved him to the point of losing herself was already dead.

Shantel Leaster is twenty-five and, to put it simply, a mess. She’s clumsy, spoiled, and never on time. Her parents, tired of her careless ways, cut her off and force her to survive on her own. After hopping from one failed job to another, Shantel finds herself desperate, with nothing but her small car, a pile of rejection letters, and a growing sense that life is passing her by.

That’s when she crosses paths with Kelvin Zee. He is everything she’s not: disciplined, powerful, respected, and blind. At first, Shantel doesn’t know how to feel about him. He’s cold and intimidating, but there’s something magnetic about him, something that makes her want to stay. Kelvin offers her a job as his personal chef, and though she doubts herself, she takes it.

Eva Fransis had everything—until the people she loved most took it all away.

Drugged and betrayed on her 18th birthday by her best friend, Eva's perfect life crumbled in a single night. A desperate escape led her into the arms of a stranger, and one forbidden night left her pregnant and alone.

Forced into a marriage she never wanted, Eva endured years of abuse, humiliation, and heartbreak—all while her husband lived off her family's wealth. The final blow? Catching him in bed with the very woman who destroyed her life.

Now, Eva is done being a victim.

She wants a divorce. She wants her freedom. She wants to give her children the life they deserve.

But her husband refuses to let her go—not out of love, but greed.

And just when she thinks things can't get more complicated, a powerful stranger appears, claiming to be the real father of her children.

He wants them back.

He wants her back.

She spent years protecting her heart. Now she must protect her children—even if it means facing the man from that unforgettable night.

Can she break free from her past? Or will she be stolen by the man who already owns a piece of her?

I came to Frostveil Academy to because it was expected.
I never expected to be claimed….. especially not by him.

At Frostveil Academy, magic is power—and only the most powerful wolves rule the ice.

My name is Elira Frostborne. I am used to being invisible. I arrives at the elite Frostveil Academy already marked as an outsider. I don’t have my wolf yet. I don’t know my magical limits. And in a school built on dominance, that makes me dangerous—or disposable.
Especially when he starts to notice me….

Kade Pyrrhos is everything Frostveil respects. Powerful. Feared. Unbreakable. His wolf is fully awakened, his strength unquestioned, and his future already written. As the academy’s golden boy, he knows control is everything… until I arrives and his control begins to crumble.

Because something about me calls to him.

Every glance sparks tension. Every moment of closeness ignites power neither of us understands. My magic reacts to him in ways it never has before, and Kade’s wolf refuses to ignore me—no matter how forbidden I am.

Bound by secrets, divided by blood, and drawn together by a force older than the academy itself, we must decide whether to fight the bond forming between us… or surrender to it.

At Frostveil, strength is tested, power is claimed, and some bonds are impossible to break.
Even if he is my stepbrother.

My heat hit me in the middle of my own engagement party to a man who kills Omegas.
The air in the ballroom was suffocating, filled with the scent of expensive wine and predatory Alphas. I felt the familiar, terrifying burn start low in my stomach. My suppressants were failing. I am an Omega pretending to be a Beta, and my fiancé, Reign Montgomery, is a powerful Enigma who believes Omegas are nothing but weak whores.
I rushed to the restroom, locking myself in, praying the scent wouldn't leak. My hands shook as I dialed for help, but the door handle turned. Reign stood there. He didn't look at my face; he grabbed my wrist, pulling it to his nose, inhaling deeply. His dark, soulless eyes bore into mine. "You smell different," he whispered, his voice dangerously low. If he finds out what I really am, I’m dead.


Reign Montgomery promised himself he’d never get involved with an omega. Not romantically, not physically, not even by accident. He doesn’t trust them, doesn’t want them, and refuses to let anyone become a weakness.
Soren Fox has lived his whole life making sure no one ever learns what he truly is. An omega pretending to be a Beta, fighting in underground rings just to survive and keep his sister alive.
But one contract drags them into a dangerous partnership of lies, heat, and power, and when Soren is kidnapped, Reign realizes too late that the omega he never wanted has become the one person he can’t live without.

After many thousands of years, the flame of war between human clans and demon clans continued to cause chaos. However, in just a few years in the future, one kingdom managed to bring harmony to these two clans. Come and go as you like but never harm. If you do, punishment awaits you.

Zeliker (Demon Prince): I wish to see the peace created like the Eskimos Kingdom.

Stiria (Human Princess/Duo?): It is not impossible. You are from the demon royalty. Maybe your presence will create the peace you seek. We are here to help you, Zeliker.

Sektar (Human King): You want to marry my daughter? Are you not afraid of the hatred from your father, the demon king?

Nekruis (Demon King): I'm going to see the princess who captured my son's heart. If she is unworthy, might as well kill her before she taints him more.

Author Warning!
This is a dark novel. Some parts may contain scenes that are unsuitable for underage such as abuse and torture.

Fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum and Jana DeLeon's Miss Fortune will find a new character to love in Holly Hands!Holly Hands. 29. Single mom. Disgraced, former boxing pro. Repo woman.Repossessing Lamborghinis and other exotic toys from criminals is second-hat for Holly.But finding a dead body—and solving a murder—is not.Luckily, Holly has Lucky by her side—a neglected pit bull she found on the wrong side of a job, who refuses to leave her side—and who, like her, has nowhere to go but up. Together, maybe they can crawl their way out of the urban hell of their bad slice of Baltimore, where coming home at night is even more dangerous than going to work. Maybe Holly can manage to get her young daughter the medical treatment she desperately needs, and manage to get her out of her dangerous public school and into the private school of her dreams. Just maybe, she can fall in love with that private school Dad from the other side of town and start a whole new life.Or maybe not.Life has never been easy for Holly. And if the past few days—and the dead body in her trunk—are any indication—it’s about to get a whole lot worse.KNOCKOUT (A HOLLY HANDS COZY MYSTERY) is book #1 in a riveting new cozy mystery series, a page-turning thriller that grabs you from page one and does not let go. Get ready to find yourself reading all night, bleary-eyed, and falling madly in love with a new character who will fight her way into your heart.Book #2 (SUCKER PUNCH) and Book #3 (BELOW THE BELT) in the series are also available.

Thaniel Eldan was the Alpha of his pack in a society where dating a mortal is forbidden, but when he hears a woman, Amy Everly, cry out for help from the one beta in his pack that he can't stand... how can he help but not save her? But falling for her wasn't what he had signed up for either.

Warning: Mentions of the word rape, abuse, fertility issues, sexual content, and violence.

Suggested age range: 18+

Until I Found You: A Secret Forbidden Romance is created by Minette Enfers, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Alpha Adonis finally found his mate after waiting for seven years. Alpha Adonis is beyond happy except there are two problems;
His mate Alex is the son of the Hunter lord terrorizing Alpha Adonis’ pack.
Secondly; An Alpha with a human Mate is seen as weak and unacceptable. As much as Alpha Adonis wish to reject Alex as his mate, he can’t because he promised his mother on her dying bed that he will only be mated to his destined mate.
Alpha Adonis have no choice than to fight the hunters and also convince the werewolf council to accept Alex as his mate. Will Alpha Adonis be able to accomplish all this or will it be the cause of his downfall? Find out more as you read…

Aaron Buckley the city's first trillionaire is met with the biggest devastation of his life losing the love of his life to mysterious death, and suffers years of loneliness, and the trauma of her death. He is compelled to hire a mother for his twin daughters Paige, and Piper. A contract bride, and a contract mother for his daughters.
No intimacy. No shared feelings. No sleeping in his bedroom. They are to act as the perfect couple in public and avoid each other in private and her job was to cater to the kids until the time elapses and she quietly leaves with the money never to be seen or heard from again.
What becomes of this strange situationship, and what happens when old debts emerge?

I warned my family and neighbors that the extreme cold would come in a year and a half, but they all thought I was crazy.
I had no choice but to prepare myself a year and a half in advance: renovating houses, building arks, stockpiling supplies...
When the extreme cold arrived, the neighbors who ignored the warnings turned into thugs, yet my brother still wanted to let them into the house; the bandits pretending to be wounded were exposed by me, but my brother still didn't believe me and let them in; I finally managed to defeat the spy bandits, but when I wasn't paying attention, my brother, in order to save his own life, personally handed the Ark to the bandit leader...

After three years of agonizing IVF, I was forced into three abortions. The reason? My mafia in-laws’ pet bird stared at my belly and shrieked, "End it."
Even when I was carrying healthy twins, my own parents held me down and forced abortion pills down my throat. My husband—the man I once took a bullet for—watched coldly. "Listen to the bird. Abort."
Lying in a pool of blood, I finally discovered the horrific truth. There was no "sacred bird." My marriage, my ruined womb, and all the IVF tortures were actually part of a terrifying conspiracy.
On my fourth pregnancy, the bird finally decreed, "Keep it!"
As the whole family treated me like a queen and rejoiced to welcome their precious heir, I quietly walked into the operating room.
Armed with lethal evidence, I crashed their grand succession ceremony.
You want an heir? I’ll send you all to hell instead.

Reunited, I became the “perfect wife” Julian had always dreamed of.
I didn’t ask where he was when he didn’t come home.
When his “one that got away” came to our door to provoke me, I greeted her with a polite smile.
I even caught them in the act, and instead of screaming, I thoughtfully closed the door for them.
The Elara who used to break down in hysterics over his infidelity was dead.

The woman standing here now was nothing more than a shell, existing solely for her daughter.
Finally, Julian began to panic. He knelt in the pouring rain, begging me to curse him, begging me to still love him—or even hate him.
But as I looked down at him, I didn’t just feel nothing. I felt sick.
"Julian, I don't hate you."
I just find every second spent with you utterly disgusting.

Carlisle said that he would marry me when he became the godfather.
Gritting my teeth through the pain, I dug the bullet out of my arm and bandaged the wound out of habit. By the time I finished the whole process, I was already drenched in cold sweat from the agony.
The last candidate had been secretly taken care of by me ten minutes ago.
I returned to the dessert shop and hid the ring I had spent over a month designing inside a strawberry mousse cake.
Carlisle loves the cakes I make by hand the most. Tonight, I’m going to propose to him—I can’t wait for him to marry me anymore.
"Boss, one strawberry mousse cake, please make it quick."
I looked up at the customer who had just walked in and immediately lowered my head, afraid she might recognize me.
It was my stepsister, Karina.
"We’re closed. No cakes today."
Karina pointed at the cake I had just packed. "Isn’t there one right here? I’ll take this one. I’ll pay double."
I was about to refuse when Karina’s phone rang. "Sweetheart, why aren’t you back yet? Our son is getting impatient."
Karina put the money on the counter, grabbed the cake, and walked away. I didn’t stop her.
Because I saw the person on her video call—it was my fiancé, Carlisle.

He grabbed my hair and dragged me downstairs. His grip on my hands and feet ached terribly. I sobbed and wept, silent tears streaming down my face. I was powerless to break free, my left hand clutching my broken right wrist.

He was a beast inhabiting this mansion, inflicting inhuman torture on my poor soul. He had created a living hell for me, this pitiful girl, within his castle.

On this cold winter night, he threw my wounded body into the icy pool, arrogantly enjoying it all, drinking and smoking expensive cigars. A satisfied, cold smile played on his lips as he reveled in my pain. His face was filled with the darkness of sin.

“How...more...am I…still…standing?” I stammered, my lips trembling.

Zain paused, thinking. Then, turning away from her, he replied:

“Until you die!”

With that, he left. As he wished. At that moment, my wish came true; I died.

But not in a frozen pool; I was struck in the head by a bullet from afar, blood splattering everywhere—that was far more gruesome.

My consciousness began to fade, but suddenly, I opened my eyes again and found myself mopping the floor in an ordinary restaurant.

I was startled: What happened? I was reborn? This is unbelievable!

Everyone knows that Qin Sicheng is desperately in love with me. To cure my depression, he gave up the opportunity to study abroad and stayed by my side.
But on the day of my birthday banquet, he disappeared.
When I found him in a corner of the back garden, he was pitifully clutching the hem of my best friend Qiao Anran's dress.
That man—usually so devoted and obedient to me—now had red-rimmed eyes and a trembling voice.
"Anran, how much longer do I have to keep acting? Lin Jiaqi is already better. Please, just look back at me, won't you?"
Qiao Anran closed her eyes, her face twisted in pain, then coldly pushed him away.
"Qin Sicheng, I'll say it again: as long as Lin Jiaqi is alive, you can only be her husband. This is what you owe me, and what I owe the Lin family."
I covered my mouth, staring at the diamond ring he had just given me, my heart shattering completely.
So the husband who had always loved me so deeply—it was all an act.

"Do you think I'm beautiful?"
Anderson's back stiffened.
Undoubtedly, she was beautiful.
After a while, he said uneasily, "Yeah."
Clarissa moved closer to him. She whispered in his ear and she thought that her voice was very low, "If I want to sleep with you, will you agree?"
He narrowed his eyes slightly and said with meaningful eyes, "You have to pay the price for sleeping with me. Are you sure?"
"Money? I have money." Clarissa laughed, "Aren't they looking down on me? I'm going to find someone who is much better than him. I want to piss them off!"
She then put her arms around his neck and kissed his lips.
It was a torrid night.
The next morning, however, he handed her a copy of the marriage application she had signed.


Clarissa Chapman, one day, when delivering condoms to a hotel room, she found her client was her... fiance?
She caught her fiance and half-sister in bed! Only then did Clarissa realize that her six-year-relationship boyfriend had cheated on her!
What's more ridiculous? Her father said it was because she wasn't attractive and her sister's more deserving of him.
Dumped her douchebag fiance, she bumped into her Mr. Right by a one-night stand!
Wait... why was this man looked exactly like the Billionaire CEO - Anderson Jordan on TV?!
Anderson was of many things, handsome, considerate, and loyal.
She'd never imagine a gorgeous like Anderson would fall in love with her, until that day...
Her nightmarish family found her, trying to drag her to the miserable past...again...

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)ONCE CRAVED is book #3 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download!When prostitutes turn up dead in Phoenix, not much attention is paid. But when a pattern of disturbing murders is discovered, the local police soon realize a serial killer is on a rampage and they are in way over their heads. Given the unique nature of the crimes, the FBI, called in, knows they will need their most brilliant mind to crack the case: Special Agent Riley Paige.Riley, recovering from her last case and trying to pick up the pieces of her life, is at first reluctant. But when she learns of the grievous nature of the crimes and realizes the killer will soon strike again, she is compelled. She begins her hunt for the elusive killer and her obsessive nature takes her too far—perhaps too far, this time, to pull herself back from the brink. Riley’s search leads her into the unsettling world of prostitutes, of broken homes, and shattered dreams. She learns that, even amongst these women, there are glimpses of hope, hope being robbed by a violent psychopath. When a teenage girl is abducted, Riley, in a frantic race against time, struggles to probe the depths of the killer’s mind. But what she discovers leads her to a twist that is too shocking for even her to imagine.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE CRAVED is book #3 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.Book #4 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.

On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...

Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.

George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.

His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"

Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.

When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.

"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"

George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible."

Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."

In everyone's eyes, Bertha and Derek had the wrong marriage. Bertha was married for three years and thought she would melt Derek's icy heart, but she was wrong. Derek's heart only goes out to Laura - his ex-girlfriend. Derek treats Bertha poorly. One day, she saw her husband having an affair with Laura. Unable to continue anymore, she decided to divorce Derek. She will not waste her youth on a heartless man, someone who has trampled on her heart many times. After the divorce, Bertha returned to her parents' home, becoming the heir to the fortune left by her parents. No one knows her true identity. A life like a queen awaits her. As for Derek, he thought that after the divorce Bertha's life would be miserable until one day, he found Bertha and said. “I want to remarry with you. What are conditions?" Hearing Derek's words, Bertha just smirked, looking at him with disdain.

I've played the broken girl for years, hiding behind a fake scar. They think they've crushed me. They're wrong. Revenge is mine.

"You can't run from me," Jack Sterling smirked, eyes blazing.

"I've destroyed worse." I snapped, "Underestimate me. Big mistake."

In his private suite, his touch claimed me. "You're mine to break," he growled, his kiss igniting a hunger I can't escape.

Tortured by my cruel sister, betrayed by my ex, nearly sold off—my life's hell. But I'll save my loved ones and burn them all.

Ella Blake, the forgotten heiress, hides her power behind a fake scar, her medical skills a deadly secret. Swapped at birth, she fights for her truth and her dying sister. Jack Sterling, a ruthless billionaire, battles pain only Ella can soothe. Their explosive bond, built on lies, fuels a dangerous game of lust and betrayal as Jack's control tightens.

Just when Ella's ready to crush her sister, a shocking truth drops: she was pregnant and had a child. As her world shatters, will this secret tear her and Jack apart—or bind them in unthinkable ways? Read now to uncover the truth!

I watched my boyfriend down on one knee proposing to another woman.
Turns out that he was cheating on me with her for two years.
Our five years together meant nothing to him. He claimed that he needed her money –connections and that I should be the one to play the role of a mistress. I refused.
I didn’t stick around. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I wanted something strong to numb my pain— and yes, I ended up in the loudest club.
Then I met him, Adrian Foster. The wealthiest and powerful CEO.
The moment I lost my balance, he caught me and pulled me straight in to his chest.
Fate? I didn’t believe in it.
But may be …. He did.

"We literally just met. Don’t you think a flash marriage is moving a little fast?" said Michael, a blind date arranged by my mother.
"People get married quick all the time now," I shot back. "We could get the paperwork done, take time to actually get to know each other. If it works out, great. If not, we divorce."
He smiled. "Alright. Then let’s try it."

Sarah Martinez works as a restaurant server. Haunted by fragmented memories of a past she can’t fully recall, she’s desperate to escape her mother’s constant worry about her future. When she meets Michael Johnson, a man who seems to be the perfect solution to her problems, she impulsively proposes marriage.
However, Michael is not who he appears to be. He’s a man of power and wealth. When Sarah mistakes him for her mother’s arranged blind date, he decides to play along, intrigued by her sincerity and the possibility of a marriage free from the gold-diggers he’s used to.
Their marriage starts as a practical arrangement, but as they navigate their new life together, feelings begin to blur the lines of their agreement.

Will Sarah discover Michael’s true identity? Can Michael trust Sarah’s intentions, or is she just another woman after his wealth? And what will happen when Sarah’s ex, a Hollywood star, tries to win her back?

"Si... Sienna, you're drunk..." he rasps.
"Nope." I smile. "I know exactly what I'm doing. And... I've always wanted this."
"I've had a crush on you since forever... so I can never be wrong."
I never expected that crashing at my best friend's family lake house while her parents were away would lead to something forbidden. Her father—the man I'd known all my life—became the center of a night I couldn't resist. The attraction between us ignited into a dangerous, consuming connection that left me trembling until dawn. I slipped away quietly in the morning, hoping to forget and avoid him entirely.
But fate had other plans. Soon, I found him sitting across from me as my new boss. Every glance, every word carried an unspoken tension, a power struggle I couldn't escape. I tried to resist, but the pull between us was irresistible. In the privacy of my office, I indulged in the memory of that night, testing boundaries, surrendering to desire while he watched and controlled, reminding me who held the power.
Eventually, the line between defiance and submission, punishment and reward, blurred. And just when I thought our secret was safe... his daughter walked in, shattering everything.

He was my father's enforcer. My brother's best friend. The most dangerous man in any room he walked into.
He was the one person I was never supposed to want.

My brother disappeared in a pool of blood.
His best friend became my protector.

Enrico is a mafia enforcer, cold-eyed, ruthless, and built like a weapon. He doesn’t ask permission. He doesn’t explain. When men come to kill me, he doesn’t hesitate.

He takes me.

He says it’s protection.
He says it’s a promise to my brother.
But the way he watches me- hungry, possessive and unrelenting tells a different story.

Every touch is controlled. Every look burns.
The tension between us is sharp enough to cut—and when his restraint finally cracks, it’s devastating.

I shouldn’t want him.
He’s my brother’s best friend.
A killer.
A man who would destroy anyone who touches what he considers his.

But the deeper the secrets unravel, the more I realize the truth:

Enrico would burn the world for me.

Obsession. Desire. Blood-soaked loyalty.
This is not a love story for the faint of heart.

Because once Enrico decides you’re his…
You don’t get rescued.
You get claimed.

If you love dark, slow-burn romance where the danger is real and the love is harder to survive than the bullets, start reading. You won't stop.

TRIGGER WARNING
This book is STRICTLY EROTICA. It contains taboo themes, age gaps, and explicit scenarios intended for mature audiences only (18+). If you are underage or easily disturbed by extreme, forbidden, or mature content, do not read this book.
When desire hits fast and hard, there's no time for innocence. This is a collection of quick, explosive stories where lust takes the lead and consequences come later—if at all. Every tale unfolds in a breathless rush:
the doctor who crosses a line he swore he never would,
the golden boy with a smile too sweet to hide how wicked he can be,
a forbidden affair that starts with a glance and ends with a gasp,
and age gaps where experience meets temptation head-on.
Told through intimate first-person POV, these encounters dive straight into the fire—raw, modern, and unapologetically steamy. Opposites collide, secrets unravel, and every chapter pushes the pulse higher with drama, tension, and bodies giving in long before minds can catch up.
If you crave fast-paced heat, forbidden chemistry, and nights that blur the line between wrong and irresistible—
step inside.
These stories don't tease.
They burn.

She was spoiled and the only daughter of Italy’s most feared Mafia empire. But I was never supposed to fall for the one man paid to protect me.
Luca Bianchi. My father's most trusted bodyguard. A man with secrets darker than his tailored suits and eyes that have haunted me since I was sixteen. When threats close in and betrayal strikes from inside our mansion, my parents send me away with the one man I swore I hated.
But this isn’t just about stolen glances and red lace. Because someone is hunting me.
And Luca might be the only one who can save me.
He’s the bodyguard. I’m the heiress.
And in this deadly game of bullets and betrayal…
I might just be the one who gets claimed.

I was falsely accused of killing my sister. My husband personally sent me to prison. Three years later, he picked me up, and that very night he stripped off my clothes and fucked me brutally.

He said, "The child your sister and I had together has a heart condition. You have to give birth to a baby to save him. This is what you owe your sister!"

"Only one woman leaves alive. Choose, Jared."

My husband didn't even hesitate. He rushed past me, untying his weeping mistress, Natalie. "I choose her! Take Danika!" he screamed, refusing to look at me as I sat bound to the chair. He walked away, leaving me alone with the man paid to rape me. The monster laughed, unzipping his pants, thinking I was a broken doll. But he forgot I had nothing left to lose. As he forced himself on me, my hand found a pen in his pocket. I didn't beg for mercy. I plunged it straight into his eye socket.

Danika, the perfect wife of upcoming businessman Jared Fox is known to the world as a naive, beautiful wife who loves her husband to the core, however, no one knows just how dark her life is.

Enter Lysander Laurent-Ashworth, cold, disciplined, and feared across the business world for his ruthless precision. To everyone else, he is untouchable. To Danika, he is the stranger who saved her, and the man who seems determined to shield her, even from the truths she can’t remember.

Bound by a dangerous agreement neither of them fully understands, Danika finds herself drawn into Lysander's world but Lysander might just do anything to protect her. Absolutely, anything.

Betrayed and divorced by her husband, Lara Montgomery was chased out of her home on a cold night with a child in her womb.

Lara thought it was all over for her. That she had lost everything.

But she hadn't.

Not when the handsome billionaire—Damien Otto found her and refused to let her die on his curb.

To Lara, he was her savior. She has found reason to believe again, to hope again.
But has she?

What happens when she finds out that the man who rescued her on that cold night was just being paid to save her and might have his ulterior motives?

Lara would get everything back. Rebuild her life from the scratch but the journey to the top is not always an easy ride.

Stay tuned for a ride through betrayal, regrets and second chances.