Book picks similar to
The Bad Guy by Celia Aaron
dark
romance
dark-romance
favorites
Close Quarters
Kandi Steiner - 2021
So when his steel gray eyes first meet mine, I expect him to pass right over me, to not give so much as a second thought to my presence.Instead, he sees me. Truly sees me. And for a girl who prefers to hide behind her camera lens, it’s the most unnerving experience of my life.Until he asks me to stay on his yacht for the summer.All I have to do to earn my keep is be Theo’s on-call photographer when he has guests, and I’ll get a free ride through the Mediterranean with my boyfriend. Easy peasy.Still, my skin prickles in warning when I say yes.As the humid days fade into balmy nights, I can’t seem to avoid Theo. And when he finds me, it’s like a rabbit running into a wolf.His intense gaze immobilizes me. The way he speaks strips me bare. Every brush of his skin sears me like a violent flame.My boyfriend’s billionaire boss always gets what he wants.And this time, I think he wants me.
Possession
Jaimie Roberts - 2017
A domineering man. A powerful man. On that day, the first of two transactions were made with my very unloving parents. I became his possession.Something to own.Something to keep.An object intended only for his desire, his pleasure, and his ... indulgence.Although promised to this man, I at least remained safe ... untouched ... pure. I was to be his and his alone. On my eighteenth birthday, the second transaction took place.I escaped...But he came for me.Now, I'm his. He owns my body and my soul.And, as if all of that wasn't enough, he wants to own my heart too.I’m trying to resist him—trying to fight that irresistible monster inside of him. But, as with everything else in my life, nothing is ever that easy.Warning: Contains graphic scenes with sexual assault content. Please proceed with caution.
Playboy Pilot
Penelope Ward - 2016
Did I mention it's a lot of money? A hell of a lot.I needed to go far away to think it through.As I embarked on an impulsive trip, I hit a detour when I met sexy Carter in the airport lounge. We struck up a heated conversation.Then, he left.I thought I'd never see him again.But fate had other plans.Surprise! He was the pilot of my flight.The bigger surprise was the adventure that followed after the plane landed.Carter was dangerous and always on the move.Even though our connection was magnetic, I knew it was only temporary.He would give me tickets, and I would follow him around the world to exotic places.A bevy of flight attendant exes and rumors about Carter's reputation were never far behind.I didn't know what to believe.But I was addicted. Nothing else mattered anymore. And I was going to get hurt. Because a part of me wanted to be the one to finally ground the playboy pilot.At the very least, he was taking me on a thrilling ride.All good things must come to an end, right?Except our ending was one I didn't see coming.
Dark Notes
Pam Godwin - 2016
Maybe I am.Sometimes I do things I despise.Sometimes men take without asking.But I have a musical gift, only a year left of high school, and a plan.With one obstacle.Emeric Marceaux doesn’t just take.He seizes my will power and bangs it like a dark note.When he commands me to play, I want to give him everything.I kneel for his punishments, tremble for his touch, and risk it all for our stolen moments.He’s my obsession, my master, my music.And my teacher.
Deathless & Divided
Bethany-Kris - 2015
This is how a war starts.A life for a life. That’s the mafia way. Damian Rossi owes his life to a man who is ready to collect. That payment comes in the form of an arranged marriage to the daughter of another leading family in the Chicago Outfit. He’s ready to follow through, even if that means making sure Lily knows she’s his.Lily DeLuca isn’t being given a choice. Forced home to marry a man she doesn’t know and back into a life she’d rather forget, her world is full of half-truths, buried pain, and uncertainty. But Damian is nothing like she expects. His motives aren’t clear. Her beliefs are being tested.When it comes to this world, no man can be trusted. Someone is ready to flip the Chicago Outfit on its side all for the promise of something better. But no one runs a clean game and these men play for keeps. When blood begins to paint Chicago red, four families will be divided by loyalty, hatred, and revenge. There is no hiding. There is no safety.No one is deathless.No one.
Take Me with You
Nina G. Jones - 2016
A set of rules for myself. I don't take unnecessary risks. That's how I've been able to evade capture all these years.But there's something about this girl that is different than the others. When I finally meet her, the rules become a blur. And I break the most important one of all--I take her with me.-----It's just my imagination--that feeling of being watched. That those icy eyes-- a vivid turquoise with a distinct golden fleck--aren't watching me.It's just stress. I am the person everyone relies on. Maybe that's why I haven't been feeling so content with my life lately. Why I dream those eyes belong to someone who can tear me away from all of my responsibilities.But these are just shameful fantasies, never meant to breach reality.Then one night, the dream comes true, only it's a horrific nightmare.Now, I only have one task: survival.Trigger warning: If you need one, this is really not the book for you.
Seek
Mia Sheridan - 2018
She's even more heartbroken and confused when a hired private investigator tracks him half a world away, to a seaside town in Colombia. But the country has recently been ravaged by a massive earthquake and deadly tsunami, shutting down outside communication and making travel all but impossible. Still, Olivia is determined to make it to Colombia to find the answers she so desperately seeks. What she needs is a guide—a mercenary.The man named Thomas arrives in shadows, an unmistakable air of danger about him, promising to help lead her through the ruined, crime-infested country. But when Thomas and Olivia find themselves fighting an undeniable attraction, danger takes on a whole new meaning. Then again, in the lush jungles of South America, all the rules are different and Thomas and Olivia are about to discover that sometimes the thing you seek, isn't necessarily the thing you find.Seek is a STANDALONE novel with a small, fun connection to the Sign of Love Collection
Shiver
Suzanne Wright - 2018
Instead, she has a mother who lives in her head, a stepfather who’s on death row, and the stigma that comes with being the child of an extramarital affair. Writing has always been her escape. Knowing the reception her books receive will be tainted by her personal life, Kensey secretly writes under a penname when she’s not working part-time at her godmother’s bar. Her world might not be exciting, but she likes it exactly as it is. When she meets alarmingly compelling businessman Blake Mercier, the snap of attraction is instant. She doesn’t like it. Doesn’t want to be drawn to this man who is blatantly dangerous, carries dark secrets, and lives life by his own rules. Neither of them make a great first impression on the other, so she’s more than surprised when he begins to pursue her with a single-minded focus that is unsettling, thrilling, and infuriating. Her gut tells her to keep her distance, but Blake won’t let her run. Won’t give her space. There’s another person who won’t give her space. Someone who has discovered the secret of her penname and who seems intent on taunting her. And as Kensey struggles to identify her persecutor, Blake is by her side, determined to keep her safe … because Blake Mercier always holds tight to what’s his. Always.
I Dare You
Shantel Tessier - 2018
Austin Lowes is new to town. She's running from a mom who hates her to her dad who cares nothing about her. Only a few months and she will be free, or at least, that's what she hopes ... until she meets him. Cole Reynolds is the devil disguised as a man. He wants her fear, he wants her blood, and he wants her soul. Just a little game, he says, I dare you. Will Austin survive him, or will she lose herself and the game? Secrets are revealed and justice will be served, but at what cost? Who survives and who doesn't?
Crime Lord's Captive
Mia Knight - 2016
She created a new identity and has been living a quiet life, but that’s at an end. He’s found her and is bringing her back to where she belongs. As Lyla navigates through the dark secrets of her past, she’s forced to face a man who won’t accept no for an answer from the woman he still claims as his.
Taint
S.L. Jennings - 2014
Oh, stop it. Don’t cringe. No one under the age of 80 clutches their pearls. You might as well get used to it, because for the next six weeks, you’re going to hear that word a lot. And you’re going to say it a lot. Go ahead, try it out on your tongue. F*ck. F***ck. Ok, good. Now where were we? If you enrolled yourself in this program then you are wholly aware that you’re a lousy lay. Good for you. Admitting it is half the battle. For those of you that have been sent here by your husband or significant other, dry your tears and get over it. You’ve been given a gift, ladies. The gift of mind-blowing, wall-climbing, multiple-orgasm-inducing sex. You have the opportunity to f*ck like a porn star. And I guarantee, you will when I’m done with you. And who am I? Well, for the next six weeks, I will be your lover, your teacher, your best friend, and your worst enemy. Your every-f*cking-thing. I’m the one who is going to save your relationship and your sex life. I am Justice Drake. And I turn housewives into whores. Now…who’s first?
The Professional
Kresley Cole - 2014
Ordered to protect her, Aleksei will do anything to possess her as well—on his own wicked terms.Rules are made to be broken…Grad student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the dark and breathtaking Sevastyan before the professional enforcer whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. Every day under his protection leads her deeper under his masterful spell.Are you ready to play?Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy’s reach, Sevastyan spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-wealthy in Paris, the two lovers will discover that even their darkest—and most forbidden—fantasies can come true...
First Touch
Laurelin Paige - 2015
Though the two were once notorious party girls, they haven't spoken in years. Although the message might sound benign to anyone else, Amber uses a safe word that Emily recognizes, a word they always used to get out of sticky situations during their wild days. And what's more chilling than the voicemail: it turns out that Amber has gone missing.Determined to track down her friend, Emily follows a chain of clues that lead her to the enigmatic billionaire Reeve Sallis, a hotelier known for his shady dealings and play boy reputation. Now, in order to find Amber, Emily must seduce Reeve to learn his secrets and discover the whereabouts of her friend. But as she finds herself more entangled with him, she finds she's drawn to Reeve for more than just his connection to Amber, despite her growing fear that he may be the enemy. When she's forced to choose where her loyalty lies, how will she decide between saving Amber and saving her heart?
After Hours
Cara McKenna - 2013
Needing to move closer to her dysfunctional family, she takes a dangerous job at Larkhaven Psychiatric Hospital, where she quickly learns that she needs protection—and she meets the strong, over-confident coworker who’s more than willing to provide it.Kelly Robak is the type of guy that Erin has sworn she’d never get involved with. She’s seen firsthand, via her mess of a sister, what chaos guys like him can bring into a woman’s life. But she finds herself drawn to him anyway, even when he shows up at her door, not eager to take no for an answer.What Erin finds even more shocking than Kelly’s indecent proposal is how much she enjoys submitting to his every command. But he can’t play the tough guy indefinitely. If they want to have more than just an affair, both will have to open up and reveal what they truly need.
Manwhore
Katy Evans - 2015
Don’t be fooled by that last name though. There’s nothing holy about the man except the hell his parties raise. The hottest entrepreneur Chicago has ever known, he’s a man’s man with too much money to spend and too many women vying for his attention. Mysterious. Privileged. Legendary. His entire life he’s been surrounded by the press as they dig for tidbits to see if his fairytale life is for real or all mirrors and social media lies. Since he hit the scene, his secrets have been his and his alone to keep. And that’s where I come in. Assigned to investigate Saint and reveal his elusive personality, I’m determined to make him the story that will change my career. But I never imagined he would change my life. Bit by bit, I start to wonder if I'm the one discovering him...or if he's uncovering me. What happens when the man they call Saint, makes you want to sin?