Overdrive Pierce County Library Novels & Stories

Yselle Morel is watching her family's glassworks collapse—unpaid wages, angry suppliers, a bank ready to shut the gates. When Renaud Valois, a feared billionaire financier, offers a rescue, it comes with a cruel condition: marriage. He says it’s business. His eyes say it’s revenge. In Valois’s riverside estate outside Paris, Yselle plays the obedient wife—smiling, thanking staff, acting harmless. She calls it "wife camouflage." Then she finds a locked room behind the library wall: a war room filled with files, photos, and timelines about her father’s life… and a folder stamped with Yselle’s name. Renaud didn’t choose her. He planned her. As “accidents” start closing in—tampered brakes, poisoned tea, a near fall on a dark stairwell—Yselle realizes the marriage isn’t only punishment. It’s protection. Someone wants her silent before the Day 30 board vote that will decide her family’s future. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more she fears the man who raised her. On the eve of the vote, Yselle opens the last drawer in the war room and finds an envelope addressed to her—in her mother’s handwriting. The ink looks fresh. Then the lights go out, and a voice behind her whispers, “Don’t trust your husband.”

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

Pierce Blue is an open book-what you see is what you get. At eighteen, a life-changing event pushed him into the spotlight, earning him a reputation for living boldly and unapologetically. He owns his choices without shame, indulging in his desires and embracing every moment with abandon. His mantra: pursue pleasure until his last breath. Despite his bold exterior, Blue has those who care for him. Katleya, one of his closest friends, has fallen in love with him. But her feelings run deeper than friendship, and when she confesses, it shakes Blue to his core. He's always seen her as a younger sister-his companion, his confidante-but now, everything is changing. One fateful night, their bond shifts, and an unspoken line is crossed. They sleep together. For Blue, the physical connection is undeniable, but it stirs something new within him-a conflict he's never felt before. For Katleya, the night brings a mix of desire and hope, leaving her wondering if this is the beginning of something more than just a physical encounter. Now, Blue must confront the unexpected depth of his feelings. Are they destined for nothing more than fleeting encounters, or could they be fated for something real, something deeper?

On the day I vomit blood while eating on a livestream, I rise to the top in the platform streamer rankings. My older brother, Julian Everhart, bursts into my room, kicks over my streaming equipment, and violently shoves me to the floor. My fiance, Dominic Pierce, tells everyone on the livestream that I'm just trying to attract attention and rake up the views by faking my illness. In an instant, I get cyberbullied by everyone. The Internet users keep leaving malicious comments and cursing me to die. All of my photos are crossed out. Someone even dumps silver acid onto my front door. What everyone doesn't know is that I will die in three days because of Wolf Soul Deterioration. On the day I die, I start the livestream for the final time. Tens of millions of viewers rush into my stream instantly and begin cursing me out for my lack of morality. They bash me for faking my illness just to gain popularity and attract attention. But the next thing they know, my heart monitor flatlines right away. Everyone begins panicking instantly. Julian and Dominic shift into their wolf forms instantly and rush toward the hospital desperately begging me not to die.

My Alpha husband, Ryder, has always hated the sound of a crying pup. But recently, he started caring for my adopted sister's newborn pup, staying by its side in the nursery every night until dawn. Every time Ryder left our bedroom for the nursery, an inexplicable stabbing pain would pierce through my chest. This agony would last all night until dawn when he returned. I had finally reached my breaking point. At the Full Moon Festival, I announced in front of the entire pack that I was rejecting our mate bond. The pack's mind-link erupted with whispers that the battle had damaged my mind. A golden light ignited in Ryder's eyes as he stared at me in disbelief. "Because I was too busy to check on you when you were injured, you're rejecting our bond over a six month old pup?" I didn't meet his eyes. Instead, my gaze lingered on the faint lipstick mark smudged inside his collar. My voice trembled, yet it did not waver. "Since you love her pup so much, once our bond is severed, you can openly be the father."

#DarkRomance #Steamy #CEO #Possessive #ContractMarriage #Revenge #Betrayal #ContractMarriage #FamilySecrets #Dominant Twenty-four hours. That's how long Grace Vance has before her father's empire collapses. With bankruptcy looming and scandal threatening to destroy everything her family built, she has only one option: sign a marriage contract with Elias Thorne—the ruthless billionaire who owns half the city. The terms are simple. Two years of marriage. Perfect devotion in public. Separate lives behind closed doors. And one rule she must never break: Never enter the East Wing library after midnight. But when Grace discovers a hidden wall filled with photographs of herself taken long before they ever met, she realizes her husband isn't the man he claims to be. Because Elias Thorne didn't choose her by accident. He's been watching her for years. And the deeper Grace digs into the secrets surrounding her mother's death, the more she begins to suspect that the man she married isn't her savior. He's the reason she was trapped in the first place. Now she's bound to a billionaire who will do anything to keep his secrets hidden—even if it means destroying the woman he can't let go.

Luca Graven, an orphan cursed by poverty, worked under the man loathed the most— Dante Solis. He was a wealthy, powerful mafia leader who had the strongest men, including Luca himself cowering in fear. Unfortunately, Dante took a liking to him. He brought him into his home, enslaved him, treated him like rubbish….but, he never hurt him beyond his limits. Maybe that was why Luca never fully hated him, and maybe, just maybe, that was why he wanted him. Until, a new version of him shows up. He looked exactly like Dante, same voice even, but completely different personalities. This version listened, cared for him, no longer saw him as a mere slave, he nurtured him and treated him like he meant something for once. Of course to Luca, Dante had miraculously grown a heart but that person that showed him kindness and mercy wasn’t Dante. It was Allen Pierce—his doppelganger. Now torn between two different people, yet drawn to each of them and their different souls, he has to make a decision. But they don’t make it easy. Luca wasn’t the only one fighting to choose, they were both fighting to be chosen.

“Of course, I love you,” I whispered, my voice trembling with desire as I looked into Gabriel’s intense gray eyes. “But you need to be careful. We can’t let my brother find out.” He pressed me firmly against the wall, his lips brushing my ear. “I’m always careful, my little doll,” he murmured, his voice raw with need. “But right now, this man” he pointed at his hard member “needs to be inside that sweet pu**y of yours.” With a swift, passionate movement, he lifted me and laid me gently on the bed, his deepening as he circled his tongue all over my mouth. Ava Morales returns to Switzerland, haunted by her tragic past. But Gabriel Pierce, her brother’s energetic billionaire best friend, offers her an unexpected escape. As she begins to let go of the darkness and revenge she carried, their deepening connection seems like a new beginning. However, just as Ava believes she has found her haven, a shocking truth about Gabriel threatens to unravel everything she thought she knew. Can she handle the weight of his secrets, or will the revelations destroy her forever?

Warning!! This book drips with heat, desire, and forbidden pleasure. Explicit content. Strictly for 18+ readers only. One reckless night. One irresistible stranger. One taste of sin that changes everything. They thought it was just lust, raw, intoxicating, and unforgettable. They thought they could walk away when morning came. But desire wouldn't fade that easily…not when the man they gave their body to turns out to be the very one they couldn't have. Her mother’s soon-to-be husband. Her Husband's Therapist. Her Soon-to-be Father-in-law. Her own student, young and untamed. Her Husband's nephew Her dangerously powerful new boss. The forbidden fruit was never meant to be touched, yet once tasted, it leaves them aching for more. Passion deepens, secrets twist tighter, and temptation refuses to let go. A collection of dangerously addictive series: Book 1: One-Night Stand With My Stepfather. Book 2: One-Night Stand With My Husband's Therapist Book 3: One-Night Stand With My Father-in-law Book 4: One-Night Stand with My Student. Book 5: One-Night Stand With My New Boss. Book 6: One-Night Stand With My Husband's Nephew. If you crave stories that are sultry, scandalous, and impossible to put down, slip this into your library and surrender to the heat.

Blurb: When the university’s golden-boy hockey captain needs to pass Advanced Statistics or kiss his NHL dreams goodbye, the last person he expects to hold his future in his hands is Nathan Tanner. Brilliant, uptight, and utterly unimpressed by Maverick Rockwell’s charm. Nathan wants one thing: his glowing recommendation letter for the elite SiporaTech internship. Instead, he’s blackmailed into tutoring the arrogant, distractingly hot jock who represents everything he despises. But as their private sessions move from the library to Nathan’s couch, Maverick’s casual touches linger too long, his teasing grins turn wicked, and his “straight” confidence starts cracking under the heat of Nathan’s icy control. Maverick thought seducing the nerd would be easy revenge. He never expected the quiet intensity in Nathan’s glare to set his blood on fire… or how addictive it would feel to make the perfect tutor lose his composure. With only two weeks until finals, the stakes couldn’t be higher. One wrong move could destroy both their futures. But the forbidden tension simmering between them might just burn everything down first. Starting with their clothes. A deliciously steamy MM romance full of power plays, reluctant desire, and the kind of slow, scorching surrender that leaves you breathless.