Book picks similar to
Just Between Us by Hayley Oakes


romance
favorites
contemporary-romance
taboo

The Summer Remains


Seth King - 2015
    The first is that due to a quickly worsening medical condition, she faces a risky surgery in three months’ time that may or may not end in her death. The second is that she would like to fall in love before then.As spring sinks into her namesake season on the Florida coastline, Summer plays the odds and downloads a new dating app - and after one intriguing message from a beautiful surfer named Cooper Nichols, it becomes clear that the story of what may be her last few months under the sun is about to be completely revised. All she has to do now is write something worth reading.Tender, honest, devastating and triumphant, The Summer Remains explores a very human battle being waged in a very digital age: the search for a love that will outlast this temporary borrowing of bones. In an era when many feel compelled to share and re-share anything about everything, prepare to feel a love so special, you will want to hug it close and make it yours forever.

Force of Nature


Melissa Toppen - 2018
    I didn’t remember much about him- except that he pushed me off a swing set when I was four years old and broke my arm. Not the best thing to remember about a person but there it is. He moved away a couple years later and soon became a distant memory. That is until I walked into my parent’s house after being gone for four years to find him sitting at the kitchen table with my family like he’d been there all along. The second his blue eyes found mine it was instant- the attraction, the spark, the zing as some people call it. In that moment my entire world shifted. Every second, every minute that followed became a whirlwind. Thad didn’t just turn my life upside down; he ripped through it-- an unstoppable force of nature that wouldn’t be satisfied until there wasn’t a single facet of my life left unturned. And yet somehow at the end of it all he was still the only thing I wanted. Haunted by a past he can’t escape- the only question that remains is can I find a way to calm the storm that rages inside of him or will I end up just another casualty in his unrelenting path of destruction?Force of Nature is a complete standalone.

Off the Clock


Roni Loren - 2016
    Doing it? That’s another story. In the research lab, Marin’s lack of practical knowledge didn’t matter, but now that she’s landed a job at The Grove, a high-end, experimental sex therapy institute, she can’t ignore the fact that the person most in need of sexual healing may be her. Dr. Donovan West, her new hotshot colleague, couldn’t agree more. Donovan knows that Marin’s clients are going to eat her alive unless she gets some hands-on experience. And if she fails at the job, he can say goodbye to a promotion, so he assigns her a list of R-rated tasks to prepare her for the wild clientele of The Grove’s X-wing.But some of those tasks are built for two, and when he finds Marin searching for a candidate to help her check off her list, Donovan decides there’s only one man for the job—him. As long as they keep their erotic, off-the-clock activities strictly confidential and without strings, no one will get fired—or worse, get attached…Exclusive to this edition only—a bonus short story

I Stand Before You


S.R. Grey - 2013
    How can you move forward when you're anchored to the past?When it comes to tattooed bad boys, Chase Gartner was the real deal. Partying, engaging in meaningless sex, getting into fights---Chase indulged in it all during his late teen years, thus firmly solidifying his status as a heartbreakingly gorgeous but way-too-dangerous-to-trust guy in his hometown of Harmony Creek, Ohio. Then, following one fateful night of reckless decisions, Chase's actions finally caught up to him and landed him in prison.Now, four years have passed and Chase finds himself a free man. He returns to Harmony Creek, ready to pick up the pieces and start rebuilding his shattered life. Things are off to a promising start when he meets Kay Stanton, a young woman with a tragic past of her own. Despite a powerful attraction, Chase and Kay are naturally hesitant to become involved. That's why friendship feels like the safest option. But when passions ignite and love blossoms, a relationship that is destined and meant to be can only be resisted for so long. When Chase and Kay finally succumb to their feelings they realize being together feels more right and true than anything they have ever experienced. But their love is soon tested. Chase's wild past still haunts and tempts him, and Kay is keeping a secret that could tear them apart. I Stand Before You is a journey of hope and forgiveness, coming to terms with the past and moving forward. But mostly it's a story of two damaged people who take a chance, open their hearts, and find true love. New Adult/Contemporary Romance genres. First in a series. ***warning: contains explicit sexual situations, drug use, some violence, and profanity***

The Roommate Equation


Jillian Quinn - 2020
    The sexy genius can solve any problem… except for me.I'm his new roommate.His best-kept secret.And his best friend’s sister.So, when Dylan gets the nerve to tell my brother about us, he knows where to find me.

The Hate Vow


Nicole French - 2019
    Looks like millions. Worth billions. A body like the David with a mind to match. Unfortunately for this wayward heir, to keep his money, he needs a wife. And of all the women in the world, he chooses me. Too bad I’ve hated him for five years, since he took all my tears and tossed me away. The guy slept his way through half of New England and discarded women like hotel toiletries. Been there. Done that. Still...what would you do for twenty million dollars? Would you wear the dress? Fake a smile for the man who broke your heart? Or would you run far, far away? Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’ll see you at the church.

Dear Agony


Georgia Cates - 2017
    You cleverly disguised yourself as some form of pain or suffering as I grew into a young woman. We were unwavering companions … until I severed our ties.I traded homelessness on the streets of New Orleans for a luxurious bed covered by the finest linens. I traded dumpster diving for dinner in the finest restaurants. I traded myself to a stranger—Bastien Pascal.I have a good life within my platonic and mutually beneficial companionship with Bash.He’s my friend. My mentor. My roommate.Until everything changes.I’m not supposed to get goosebumps when his hand brushes my skin.I’m not supposed to be eager for his soothing touch following one of my nightmares.I’m not supposed to think about what might happen if I reached out to him in the darkness.Falling in love with him? Preposterous . . . unavoidable. Agony, why are you back with a vengeance to rob me of this life I’ve come to love so dearly?I’m finally happy. Don’t ruin this for me.Always yours,RoseIn this epic love story, Dear Agony forges a connection between an unlikely pair—a beautiful rose entwined in barbed wire and a shipwreck sinking into the darkest depths of the ocean. This agonizing romantic novel poses some gut-wrenching questions: What does a woman do when the man she loves is planning his own demise? And how far will she go to give him something to live for?

Here With Me


Tia Louise - 2020
    No cheating. No cliffhangers.)

Just Ten Seconds


Jeannine Colette - 2019
    It wasn’t until I happened upon a bereavement group when I finally found a place I felt understood. I told them my husband was dead when, really, I was the one who had died inside. It was also where I saw the smoldering gaze of Dean Delgado, the single father whom I’d helped just days before.Just Ten SecondsThat’s all he wishes he had with his late wife.Despite Dean’s widowed status, he has a robust thirst for life. He’s a protector and a giver. A man who fixes things with his hands, is devoted to his child, and wants to spend his days with me. I try to avoid him, knowing a woman with my past has no business being in this man’s life. With every run-in, he makes me laugh. With every touch, he ignites me. And with every second, he makes me feel like myself again.Just Ten SecondsThat’s all it took for me to fall in love with Dean Delgado.I'm in too deep and my secrets are about to be exposed. I only hope he can forgive me for the lies I never meant to tell.

Fighting


Cat Phoenix - 2013
    Until a man walks in and offers her a job at his private security company. A job where she has to be a bit more than a thief. Will she join his crew? And if she does, can she get over how much she doesn't like his absurdly attractive right-hand man, Ethan?**Story ends at the 90% mark, includes sneak-peek of the sequel.**Reader discretion is advised for graphic violence, explicit language and sexual content.

Rookie Move


Sarina Bowen - 2016
    But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast....

Say You Still Love Me


K.A. Tucker - 2019
    On the other hand, she’s considered a pair of sexy legs in a male-dominated world and constantly has to prove her worth. Plus, she’s stuck seeing her narcissistic ex-fiancé—a fellow VP—on the other side of her glass office wall every day.Things get exponentially more complicated for Piper when she runs into Kyle Miller—the handsome new security guard at Calloway Group Industries, and coincidentally the first love of her life.The guy she hasn’t seen or heard from since they were summer camp counsellors together. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The guy who apparently doesn’t even remember her name.Piper may be a high-powered businesswoman now, but she soon realizes that her schoolgirl crush is not only alive but stronger than ever, and crippling her concentration. What’s more, despite Kyle’s distant attitude, she’s convinced their reunion isn’t at all coincidental, and that his feelings for her still run deep. And she’s determined to make him admit to them, no matter the consequences.

One True Loves


Taylor Jenkins Reid - 2016
    They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

Fragile Bonds


Sloan Johnson - 2014
    When she walked out of the house Xavier Ross bought as their forever home, she thought she was closing that door permanently, but fate had other plans. Xavier Ross tried to keep everyone at a distance until Melanie came into his life. The more he tried to fight his feelings for her, the more he fell in love. One rash decision fractured the trust that was essential to their relationship. Six years later, she is the last person he expects to see walk through his front door. Will Xavier and Mel be able to learn to trust one another again so they can fulfill a dying woman’s wish?

Unleashed (A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance)


Emilia Kincade - 2015
    At the hotel pool. The beach.My innocence.We had a deal. Just one time, and nothing more, and I'll never forget the memory of his rock hard body over mine, his hard muscles clenching as he claimed me, as he made me scream out in pleasure.I don't need some MMA cage-fighting bad boy thinking I'm his, even if he makes my panties melt.I definitely don't need to be sharing a room with him on a family vacation for two weeks. Alone.But then things go horribly wrong, and Chance is the only one who can get us out.Before, I hated wanting him.Now, I just hate that I need him to save my life.---I turned a good girl bad...I'm not looking for a wife, just a hot lay.I wanted a taste of Cassie the second I saw her.Hit it and quit it never sounded so damned good.If only it stayed that way. Now, she's my stepsister, and knowing she's off limits just makes me want her more.I can't even look at her without wanting to tear her clothes off and feel her uncoiling around me.Without wanting to take every sweet inch of her again. And again.When I hear her old man's gotten her into trouble with the mafia, I lose it.I'll do anything to protect her, make her mine, and tame her lips for good.Nobody endangers what's mine. I'll never abandon what's mine.