Were they things I even wanted anymore?Spencer Broten was a pain in my backside from the moment we met.I was conned into going on a road trip with him.Within hours, I realized he wasn't just my trainer. He was much more.This unnamed, unplanned winding road turned into us getting to know each other as we truly were.Two broken bodies, two broken souls finding out we were more the same than different.The line between hate and love is a bitter edge.Outside or inside.Where will we land?

    Uprooting her isn't an option which means heading back to the sticks of New Hampshire, to the small town I fled.Because of Charlotte.Because of Liam.My two best friends, the ones I’d been reluctant to pursue but couldn’t deny.Attempting to avoid facing my past doesn’t work, and I see them both—together. They appear to have moved on while I can’t.I still want her.I still want him.But secrets lay between us, betrayals that threaten to crack the egg shells we walk on.I’ve got more than my own heart to look out for now, and I’ll protect those I love this time around.No matter the cost.

    Not until my firm closed up, my boss moved away, and I was asked, nearly begged to step in and help. Once I found a decent allergy medication and adjusted to the smell that accompanied the shelter, I was oddly excited to start my new venture.That is until I met our on-call Veterinarian.Greyson Knox.Local animal doctor, famously rich, unfathomably gorgeous and my worst nightmare.I can put up a good fight, always have, but against Greyson; I’ve always been flustered, irritated…weak.Especially after what happened.Four years I've managed to avoid him. I’ve stayed on my side of town with my head down and now he’s here…and I can’t escape him.Some men are cordial, kind, professional…but Greyson Knox is nothing but a vicious vet looking to score.My first order of business was to strip him of his job, get him out of my clinic. But like everything between us, it turned into a war.Except for this time, losing would strip me of something I never expected to have. Something I’ve been too afraid to want and when Greyson plays dirty by revealing a secret he’s been harboring; my battle lines grow weak, leaving me vulnerable for attack.

    It’s not her fault our dance instructor called me fat and awkward, and our parents funded Lisa’s training because I had a better head for business.So when Lisa went off the rails after her injury, it naturally came to me to track her down. The trail starts at the Spearmint Rhino —an upscale gentlemen’s club five minutes off the Las Vegas strip, where a group of hot Aussie soccer players are having a bachelor party. Hello, Chance Bateman! My sister still wears his jersey as a nightgown. However, Lisa's trail goes cold at Dalton’s, which is owned by a world-famous bouncer, Miles Carvello—six feet four inches of muscle, tattoos, and swagger. Combined with his intense green-eyed gaze, Miles makes my insides sizzle. I’m just not sure if Miles Carvello is the reason she’s hiding out or not. Danger seems to surround him.How does a former Broadway hoofer wind up in Vegas as a stripper? I’m about to find out, since no one will talk to me because I’m an outsider. And besides, Miles thinks I’m too much of a prude to do it.I need to find my sister. She’s in trouble. I can feel it. I keep running into the bachelor party as well as Miles while I'm out searching for her. And while both of them are a good time, they're not getting me any closer to finding Lisa. And I've got a terrible feeling that her time is running out. ***I don’t remember Jackie Mitchell’s sister. Just another stripper with baggage in a long line of them. But Jackie? Damn, she’s the real deal. I don’t want to get distracted. I need to shoot this club into the stratosphere. I owe it to my uncle’s memory not to let the gangsters win. But she oozes sensuality that reminds me that I should take time to enjoy the finer things in life – like her long, toned legs wrapped around my shoulders.However, the demons of my past are pushing into my future. If they’re going after my employees, as a way to get to me —they picked the wrong guy to mess with. And if they touch Jackie, all bets are off and I’ll put them in the ground—and to hell with the consequences. ***Tough Guy takes place a year before the events of Cocky Bastard and features a few appearances by our favorite Aussie soccer player, Chance Bateman before he meets the love of his life, Aubrey.

    Alec is the last person Brie wants to be stuck on an international flight to London with, but hey…at least they’re in first class.When their flight has to make an emergency landing in a snowstorm just before Christmas, Brie and Alec are thrown together in a single bedroom in a tiny English village. As the snowstorm rages outside, things get intense and emotions and lust run hot. Alec reminds Brie just how much she misses being with a man and how easy it is to fall head over heels too fast.What should have been an amazing one-night stand turns into a week-long secret romance at Alec’s family estate when Brie realizes her new boss is Alec’s mother, a British countess. While Brie tries to focus on writing a Christmas book with the countess, all she can think about is getting back into bed with Alec.She shouldn’t fall for the arrogant brit, especially when their lives are oceans apart and neither of them wants a serious relationship. But Christmas magic has a way of working miracles. Maybe Santa will bring her a happy ending after all…

    Right. He wouldn’t exactly call himself a street rat, but his life had somehow become a rags-to-almost-riches story—one he’d rather keep to himself. The best part about being a stand-in to some of the wealthiest a-holes in New York? Access.To anything, and anyone, he wanted.And that certainly wasn’t little Miss Moneybags, PRESLEY KINCAID. No, he had his sights set on someone even hotter—her stepmother. But when Lauren asks him to stand in for her richer-than-sin fiancé at their rehearsal dinner, and then he’s later paired up with her spoiled daughter Presley at the wedding, Carter can do the only thing he’s truly good at: Shut up. Smile. Be charming.Be the stand-in he was born to be.But when Presley turns out to be more than she pretends—and a one-night stand gives her more access to his past than he intended—Carter’s simple, easy-going lifestyle starts to unravel, exposing the biggest lie of all. One so big, Carter never even saw it coming.Will Presley accidentally expose The Stand-In for who he really is? Or will her discovery free Carter from the street hustle he’s perfected and finally help him claim a life, and love, that was always meant to be? Mister Stand-In releases NOVEMBER 8 as part of the Cocky Hero Club stand-alone collection. If you loved Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward's Mister Moneybags...then you'll absolutely swoon over Mister Stand-In.

    The risk, The chance, The odds. Which is why I'm here again, In over my head, Drowning in debt, With no clear way out. But when a sexy, commanding boss makes me an offer. I can't refuse. After all, It can't be that hard being married to the Brash Boss. But deals struck over money should never involve the heart...

    

    I refused to ask my Uncle Hollis for more help. He had given up his life to take care of me, no way was I going to ask him for anything else. However, my new professor, Declan Berkshire,  just happened to be a huge cocky jerk. As the heir to a real estate franchise, he was both rich and a celebrity-- and truth be told, the hottest guy I had ever met. He also happened to be a client at Morgan Financial Holdings. Just my luck, right?While I tried to keep a safe distance from Declan, he was finding every way possible to get my attention. We both knew it was wrong to fall into a relationship. He is my professor and I had way too much to lose if anyone were to find out, but we just couldn’t help ourselves. Then, we became front-page news.Fearing I may have to drop my last class before earning my degree, I tried to end my relationship with Declan. Refusing to give me up, Declan fought for us when I didn’t think it was possible. With so much on the line, Declan made one of the most difficult decisions and one that led us to our own magical romance. But, it hasn’t been easy and someone is out to stop us from getting our happily ever after.

    I was the kind of woman who lived inside the lines—until I broke the rules for a smooth-talking, creative Casanova. I really shouldn’t have been surprised when I woke up alone in his hotel room. Three years later, our worlds collided once more, and this time, I wasn’t only caught off guard by Ryder’s sexy, dimpled smirk, but also by the little boy standing at his side. A little boy he never mentioned, who looked just like him and was old enough to be one of my kindergarten students. The minute Ryder extended his hand to introduce himself, it was clear I had simply been another notch on his bedpost. Anyone in my shoes would have assumed the same thing I did—that Ryder DeLuca was nothing more than a womanizing jerk. Then again, you know what they say about assuming, don’t you? Both of us were marred by a past we couldn’t change, but with a little help from fate, two geriatric cupids, and a dog named Turtle, we just might get our second chance.

    Dear Ida,The arrogant man at the dry cleaners made my bad day worse.So, the last thing I expected was for him to offer me a job.I shouldn’t have accepted—not if I wanted to maintain my sanity.But the allure of a big paycheck overpowered my reservations.Now, I know he’s just as infuriating as a boss as he was the first day we met; yet, the sparks that fly between us are far more than on a professional level.The more time I spend with him, helping him secure investors for his new restaurant chain, the harder it is to ignore the attraction between us.Playing with fire, you’re bound to get burned.And this man has seared himself into my soul.Tell me, Ida, is there hope for our future, or is it impossible to really please this Tough Customer?

    Demanding. Cocky. All words I would use to describe Kingston Avery. The owner of Avery Capital Holdings— and my new boss. It was tempting enough working together everyday, but ignoring his wicked promises under his roof was impossible. But the company had a zero fraternization policy, and things were already complicated enough. I needed to focus on doing my job. And avoid doing my boss. Kingston wasn't just another suit... He was a cocky suit. And when the suit came off, He was a man who could steal my heart. Gorgeous. Attentive. Compassionate.I just hope it didn't cost me my career.

    The moment I step foot off the plane, I had a feeling my life was going to change. It wasn’t the new contract I’d signed, and it certainly wasn’t the Big Apple that called to me, it was her. Shy and sweet, Violet Kennedy, captured my attention. But I’m far from what she expected to walk into her office. I live by the moniker they’ve given me. Even though I’m nothing like the image they portray, I have a job to do, and that may be the reason I lose the woman of my dreams. I may be the Brazen Bachelor, but for Violet, I would walk away from it all. The only problem is, she believes the lie.

    And why did British slang suddenly sound like a name in my fantasies?When Mr. Wanker shows up on my train to Italy, we make a deal that he’ll take me to Monte Carlo and then we can continue onto Rome, together.My lonely honeymoon for one is now heating up. And the more time I spend with my Mr. Wanker, the stronger my fantasies of tossing everything and moving to Europe play out in vivid color in my mind. Falling in love wasn’t supposed to be a part of this vacation. Reality always ruined fairy tales…

    The cop who pulled me over was good-looking, if you’re into clean cut guys with expressive eyes. He was also cocky and gave me three tickets.One for speeding.Another for blowing a light.And the third for not producing an insurance card.Jerk.When he finally let me go, I realized I was more than an hour late for my first day as an intern for the infamous advice column, Ask Ida. So much for trying to be the only one in my family with a legit job. Lucky for me, my new boss, Soraya, didn’t fire me on the spot. But that’s where my luck ran out.A couple of weeks later, in between fetching coffee and finding the missing paperclips, I received a text message from my dad, the president of the Corrupt Hellraisers MC, ordering me to the compound.Yeah, try explaining that to your new boss. Hey, I’ve gotta go. Everyone in my family is a criminal and we’re all on lockdown.You’re fired.Sure enough when I arrived at the clubhouse, everyone was in cuffs and the jerk who pulled me over was the one ushering my father out of the clubhouse.They say you never see the bad guys coming.Well, I didn’t see the cocky jerk coming either.