Things go from chaotic to scorching hot when I run into my old crush, Miles Thatcher, on my way out of the building.Talk about disastrous timing. I haven’t seen him in years – five to be exact.Since the day we buried his sister – my best friend.That was both the best and worst day of my life.It was also the day Miles kissed me – and promptly forgot about me.Some things never change. He still has no clue who I am. Miles is no longer the boy I fell in love with. Now he’s just a stuck-up big shot with a big bank account and bigger ego.I wish I didn’t still have feelings for him but seeing him again only makes me want him more. If only Miles would finally ‘see’ me. A lot can happen over five years, but time hasn’t erased the guilt he carries. Underneath his fancy façade is a man who can’t get over the grief of losing his baby sister... or the regret of not being able to prevent it.And I’m just the girl who can’t get over him.

    The opportunity to host a satellite radio show gave me a new lease on life and everything was great…until I was forced to interview a ghost from the past.I guess what they say is true…some ghosts are meant to haunt you. He was always my ultimate dream but instead he became my devastating heartbreak. With his interview over, I was ready to move on with my life. However, he had other plans. While his focus was getting reacquainted in a way he said was meant to be, I just wanted him and the memories he brought gone. He challenged me. I built up my walls—my heart was closed to him—but I forgot he was ruthless in the pursuit of what he wanted.They say there is a fine line between love and hate and I skated it until I couldn’t fight it anymore.

    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.

    Too bad men like HRD4U don’t exist in real life. Apparently, finding a nice guy with a nasty mouth and a mammoth gift between the legs is asking too much. Instead, I just get snooze-inducing lovers and dates with no chemistry. Having my BFF Flynn McAllister right next door helps ease some of the pain of breakup after breakup.But he can’t know what I really want or why my relationships always fail. I just want to be dirty. But now, all my dreams might be coming true…All because of my filthy friend.

    Not really. But I didn’t need him rubbing his happiness in my face either. The whole friends with benefits thing was really working for us, until he humiliated me and discarded me for the real deal, true love thing. I definitely didn’t love him, which is why I was so shocked at how worthless I felt after our breakup. I was Caroline Gower—I had power, money, and a distinguished family name. I had everything I ever wanted, but as it turned out, not everything I really needed. And what I realized I needed was to get the hell out of New York City. Some said I was running. They were right. And while I tried to adapt to my new inconspicuous life, I ran straight into one man who wanted to hurt me and another who wanted to control me. The latter was the most egotistical jerk I’d ever met. One look in his glacial eyes and I knew he was a monster. His intensity proved it to me. He was definitely the opposite of someone I wanted to spend any kind of time with. Except—I couldn’t just walk away from him . . .or my new life. And while he thought he could dominate me, haze me, and break me, he didn’t know that those bully tactics wouldn’t work on me. Caroline Gower has never been afraid of monsters.

    But the heat of the moment took over... We went too far... and I liked it. Maybe I should just leave the city and change my name to spare myself the embarrassment. Stop me now before I do it. Please. Royally Screwed in the City, Piper

    My neighbor's Siamese to be exact. When Mrs. Higgins begged me to go up on my roof to save Chloe, I did it to appease her because she thought the cat was stuck.The cat wasn't stuck.But I was.The ladder fell, Mrs. Higgins called 9-1-1, and the guy I’d had a crush on since high school arrived with the fire department and saved me.To my surprise, he asked me out, and our relationship took off.That was until I got the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Paris for six months and didn't see him again for two years when he was a passenger on the flight I was working.I was still in love with him, but he told me he was now a part-time gigolo, and there was no way I could ever share him with anyone else. Even if the job was only for money. So, I let him go.Like I should have done with that damn cat in the first place.

    Imagine my surprise when a drenched, flustered brunette slipped into the booth across from me, acting like she was supposed to be there.When she slipped back out with a snappy goodbye, I never thought I’d see her again.Until I walked into my Friday morning meeting.At first, I didn’t recognize her—she was dry this time. But from the look on her face, she recognized me.When she gave the worst pitch I’ve ever sat through, I thought my boss, and mentor, was going to show her the door—except he accepts the proposal and tells me we have to work together.I didn’t anticipate I would like her, let alone be interested in her. Sure, she was hot and sassy.But something about her rubbed me the wrong way.And yet I couldn’t stop thinking about her.So, when she leaves the room and her phone chimes with a new text, I knew I wasn’t supposed to look.I also knew I wasn’t supposed to cancel her date for later that evening.And I definitely knew I wasn’t supposed to delete the entire exchange, so she had no idea what I’d done.But I did. And then I showed up at the restaurant, pretending like this was all a big coincidence.When the date is over, I want more. I need more.We start pretend-dating because she needs practice, and I tell myself, New York’s most eligible billionaire bachelor, that this is just a bit of fun.What could possibly go wrong?

    BelindaAs a political blogger living in Manhattan, I have no time to date. My few free hours are spent with best friend Soraya, and her husband Graham. Love has no place in this equation. Then Prince Zan walks into the coffee shop. He’s confident and different from other men, making it clear from our first conversation royal lineage won’t stand in his way.I know better than to be carried away by green eyes and soft lips.But if that’s the case, how did I end up in his bed?ZanMy dark past is a nightmare I can’t escape from. It was anything but easy to become a royal. Then I met Belinda. She might be a commoner, but there’s nothing at all common about this woman. One look is all it takes. Maybe if I bring her to my homeland she’ll be under its spell too.But the differences between our two worlds seem impossible to overcome. I refuse to ignore my duty and passion for my people, and Belinda won’t abandon her career. The right woman or destiny? Whatever it takes, I'm determined to have both.**Royal Pain is another steamy edition to the Cocky Hero Club series by author Leslie Pike. Opposites attract in this royal romance of choosing between love and duty. Follow your heart by devouring this passionate love story today!

    I knew who I was and what direction my life was headed. I owned the most prestigious night clubs down the east coast yet I kept my identity a secret. I don’t like being in the lime light and my hometown was none of anyone’s business. However, making people happy was. I did that with my clubs. Until the day tragedy struck my family. I had a choice to make and it wasn’t an easy one.At the end of the day, family always comes first. I went home to take care of my mom and the ranch. I didn’t plan on that little smart mouth Hope showing up with a laptop in hand. Just out of a cheating relationship the girl was hell bent on hating all men. Me included. Hating me wasn’t the only thing she came back home for. She needed a quiet place to write her next article. Her interest? The man that suddenly closed down all the upscale clubs on the east coast.I wanted to be anonymous for a reason. I didn’t want the cameras and all the tabloids in mine or my family’s business. So, I don’t give her anything. Well, nothing she wants anyhow.I give her the cowboy, the man that I’ve once again become with the dirty mouth. Until she learns the truth and wants to run with it. I should have known that a second chance at love wouldn’t happen for me. All fairy tales have to end, right?

    comes a falling for my older brother’s best friend romance.Subject: Delete this message after you read it...Dear Hayley,I'm assuming you're still hungover, so I'll make this brief.Last night, you slipped under my sheets (without my permission), and we almost had sex. I got the hell out of the bed once I realized it was you, and I took you home.That's the story.The end.Period. Just in case you've forgotten, you're my best friend's little sister. We will never be anything more. (We can't be anything more.) Our previous friendship is still unresolved--or "over" in your terms, so I'd prefer if we worked on becoming 'just friends' again since you're in town.Nonetheless, I'm not a man who leaves questions unanswered--even the drunken ones, so to properly close our inappropriate conversation:1) Yes, I liked the way your lips felt against mine when you were on top of me.2) Yes, I do "prefer" rough sex, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't rough with you.3) No, I had no idea you were still a virgin...This message never happened,Corey

    Still, with his derisive green eyes, tats peeking out from beneath the edges of his sleeves, and the scruff on his jaw, he was the sexiest man I’d ever seen in my life.He also seemed to delight in disrupting my life.I was there to fix a few pipes; he was there as a guest artist. I was there to do a job, he seemed to take pleasure in upsetting mine.I was a grown up.He was a tattooed troublemaker.This was not going to end well.Tattooed Troublemaker is a standalone story inspired by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward’s (Stuck-Up Suit). It's published as part of the Cocky Hero Club world, a series of original works, written by various authors, and inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling series.

    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.

    Corporal Cole Morgan is a cocky jerk.He may have everyone else fooled, but I know better.After my sister died, I was left to sort out her affairs and pick up the pieces.30 days and then I’m on a one-way trip back to our hometown.Back to my perfectly planned life.Back to what family I have left.Everything was going according to plan, too.Until Cole, with his stupid green eyes, perfect hair and ridiculous good looks, ruined everything.Including my panties.One little fling won’t hurt anything … will it?Casper Townsend is a pain in my ass.I take one wrong turn, ending up with a head injury and an inconvenient little case of amnesia.All of a sudden, I can’t report for my next duty station for 30 days.That’s fine, I’m going to make it a month well spent.Visiting my grandmother, since she feeds me.Berating my business-savvy cousin, because why should I have to suffer alone?My dirty little secret? I’ve upped my Peeping Tom game, spending every night watching the girl next door.She’s accident-prone, annoying, and the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.Casper might have brought me to my knees, but there’s no chance I’ll stay there.There’s only one thing more dangerous than the chemistry we have together.A secret that, if exposed, could burn everything around us to the ground.

    Sexy and confident—or maybe arrogant—he had me yearning for more with just a smoldering look and a smirk of his lips.But when a night of drinking leads to getting in bed with him and having the wildest, most intense night of my life, I didn’t know if I should ask to see him again or do the good old walk of shame.And it’s when I walk into my interview the next day and come face-to-face with my prospective employer that the reality of my situation sinks in.Because there, sitting across from me with that devilish smile on his face, that knowing expression of what we’d done the night before, is the one and only Jason, my supposedly one-night stand.Looked like my humiliation wasn’t over just yet.