Hanna, Teresa Lamai, Michelle De Leon, Naleighna Kai, William Fredrick Cooper, Pat Tucker, James W. Lewis, and Nikki Sinclair. Zane always selects stories that turn her on, and she guarantees they will turn you on, also. These storytellers take risks. The stories are unique and creative. The contributors to this book are great at what they do: making readers hot.

    Gathering the backing of the wealthiest women in California, she convinces her best friend, Brooks Kennedy, to run for governor.Morgan's campaign strategy is nontraditional, but she knows her plan to sexually blackmail each of Brooks's opponents is virtually foolproof. Once she convinces the team of her tactics, they do whatever it takes to get incriminating evidence on Brooks's opponents.One by one each candidate is forced to withdraw from the governor's race, and Morgan couldn't be happier, until someone attempts to kill Brooks. With so many enemies, Brooks has no idea who wants her dead.When a secret is revealed, Morgan feels betrayed and will stop at nothing to get revenge. Now, Brooks doesn't know who to trust and the women stand to lose more than they bargained for.

    Big, bold, and beautiful are three adjectives that describe Erika to a tee. Named after her mother's favorite soap opera vixen, Erika Kane is self-assured, headstrong, and opinionated. But Erika is also unlucky in love. Whenever she thinks she's found everlasting love, it always ends up being short-lived--literally. She has three dead husbands to prove that point, and it has earned her the title of The Black Widow. Just when Erika is about to give up on true love, she learns that, like it does in the soaps, love sometimes shows up when you least expect it--though sometimes it can be deceiving. Once again, life has gone wrong for Artemis Clay. It seems like she's always been unlucky in love, and this time is even worse than she could imagine. Her own family looks down upon her, and everything looks hopeless. Artemis decides to leave everything behind for a last-minute getaway. While she's enjoying her newfound freedom, she comes across not one, but two reminders that maybe not all hope is lost. Is she ready to take a chance on love again?

    Age is just a number, and whoever said that full-figured women don't know how to bring fire to a relationship was sadly mistaken.

    But five years ago, her husband of fifteen years walked out on his family without a backward glance. Since then, Yani and her two children have played a waiting game, certain that he is coming back. Now, with the help of her friends and her sister Asia, Yani is finally over her love hangover and ready to get on with her life. At a party, she meets Alex Chance, a prominent New York businessman who's looking for a relationship with a woman who isn't out for everything she can get. Their powerful attraction leads to a whirlwind courtship and a fairy-tale like wedding. But their happy ending is threatened by Jarrin's sudden reappearance, which forces Yani to face the truth about her marriage -- and the life-altering choice she will have to make as another man's wife.With generous helpings of affection, humor, and romantic suspense, Shonda Cheekes has created a story that crackles with wit and the rifs and rhythms of modern life. Alternating between the first-person outlooks of Yani and Alex, Another Man's Wife captivates readers with a sassy tale of brothers and sisters on the move andsearching for love and fulfillment. Imbuded with the author's fresh, unique voice, it is a provocative and seductive look at relationships in the twenty-first century.

    . .After a long bout of misfortune, betrayal, and broken hearts, the Livingstons and their soul food empire are thriving. Toussaint Livingston is the Food Network darling, Malcolm Livingston's BBQ Soul Smoker is still the toast of QVC, and Bianca Livingston's brainchild TOSTS--Taste Of Soul Tapas Style--is a sizzling sensation on L.A.'s Sunset Strip. It seems that nothing can stop the progress of this third generation--until a dish called trouble gets added to the menu.Jefferson Livingston is the only sibling who feels he hasn't made his mark, a fact for which he partly blames Toussaint. But with a recent promotion and a sexy new assistant, Jefferson is ready to show his cousin just how big a mistake he made. Then a fire breaks out, an old enemy rears his ugly head, and a stranger threatens the family's legacy. Jefferson and Toussaint must now work together to keep the dynasty from falling apart. Can they put their differences aside long enough to take care of business? There's only one way to find out. . . ."A great new taste in the literary world." --Carl Weber

    Rock's a reclusive hitman and "cleaner" who's been in service to Candy's father for years. He takes her in, and together they vow to avenge the murders. When she turns eighteen, her plans go into effect as she knocks off all her father's enemies, one by one, going up against some of the most dangerous killers in the game. But has she put her trust in the right hands? Or is she destined to face the same grisly fate as the rest of her family?

    The hottest spot was Jazzy Jay's, and that's where one of the guys slipped his gun into her pocketbook, knowing that the police who had just descended on the club wouldn't check the girls for weapons. She didn't know his name or anything other than he was cute and charming. But when she tracked him down to return his property, she found out his name was Chino; his game was hustling; and his plan was to make her his woman, his wifey, and give her more than she ever bargained for out of life, love, and the pursuit of money.

    While the company is raking in the dough, its proprietor, Milan, cultivates her own personal Rolodex of willing men and women who crave to indulge her most voracious desires. It seems as if Milan has it all—but she wants more. For Milan, the ultimate catch would be the elusive Hilton Dorsey, an unreasonably handsome, former football player. But her relentless, irrational pursuit of the golden boy has caused Milan to neglect her financial benefactor, jeopardizing her budding empire. Will her obsession with Hilton Dorsey be her ultimate downfall? New York Times bestselling author Allison Hobbs returns with another heart-thumping erotic adventure with Pure Paradise, a thrilling novel that caters to the sensual tastes of a diverse audience that is sure to leave readers begging for more.

    brings realism and a compelling storyline to this timely tale of a plus-sized beauty who regains her confidence and finds love again after facing rejection from her husband.

    From this Essence bestselling author comes a sexy, fast-paced novel about astreet-smart girl determined to make it big in the glitzy nightclub business.288 pp.

    He’s married to his college sweetheart, Leah, and they have two children and a dream home in Los Angeles. But an injury has sidelined his hot career, and prescription medication and depression are pulling him into a downward spiral, leaving Leah feeling emotionally distanced and lonely. Their fighting escalates, and one night Dell commits an act of violence that changes the course of their lives forever. But Angel Lopez, the cop who arrests Dell, decides to take the law into his own hands. Determined to teach the famous athlete a lesson, he drives Dell to the worst part of town and tries to kick him out of the car. The men struggle and the car crashes. When Angel comes to, Dell is gone and no one knows if he’s dead or alive.Leah is grateful when a guilt-stricken Angel offers to chase the media away from her home and help out around the house, “just until Dell comes home.” She and her family grow to trust him, and Angel falls in love with the Roadrunner’s lovely, grieving wife. Will Dell find his way home? Will Angel replace him? And what really happened that dark night the Roadrunner disappeared?

    But each time the wedding nears, Mona finds a reason to postpone. William is frustrated and agrees to meet his first love when she emails him out of the blue. Now it's William who is postponing the wedding.

     Ghetto-born and street-raised, Katrina -- or Kat for short, is a self-proclaimed hood goddess. With her in-your-face razor-sharp attitude, alluring charm, and exotic beauty, Katrina is vivacious, vicious, and unsuspectingly dangerous. Detached from her emotions, she has no time for regrets. The product of a neglectful mother and an incarcerated father, Katrina is willing to do whatever it takes to climb -- or kill -- her way out of the hood. Calculated and cunning, Katrina already has two bodies on her hands by the ripe age of twenty. When a mysterious man invites her to join his multi-million dollar "work-for-hire" network of professional assassins, it becomes the opportunity of a lifetime. The first female killer on his team, she travels all over the United States and fulfills the bloody requests of her every client. With each murder, Katrina feels more and more powerful -- killing turns out to be an addictive aphrodisiac for her and the rush of violence is the only thing that satisfies her insatiable libido. Before killing each victim, Katrina tempts them with her irresistible, delectable charms -- and not one of them can resist. Disturbingly witty and devilishly enticing, The Kat Trap is an edgy, fast-paced urban drama with fascinating psychological elements that demonstrate how anger and bitterness can perpetuate self-destructive behaviors. Readers will be enthralled by Kat's deliciously criminal world of money and glamour, shocked by her cutthroat ambition and ruthlessness, and accosted by her physical and sexual prowess.

    He is also a recently freed felon. It's not easy to make things whole again under the rules of the halfway house to which he's been released, especially since his parole officer would like nothing more than to send him back to prison. Amp is bound and determined to make sure that will never happen.Like most felons, Amp has a hell of a time finding and keeping a job because of his record. When all else fails, he uses his body, letting women look for a price. If they're willing to pay more, they can even touch. Under the supervision of savvy club owner Madam Fox, Amp becomes one of the hottest male exotic dancers at Club Eden.Everything is strictly business until the club's attractive female DJ catches Amp's attention. Will either one of them be able to avoid the taboo of mixing business with pleasure? Ladies Night is an intense, thrilling, scandalous, and, at times, funny look at the transition of Amp Anthony from ex-con to exotic dancer, as he struggles to put the pieces of his life back together and escape the past that put him in prison in the first place.