Book picks similar to
The Closer He Gets by Janice Kay Johnson


harlequin
romantic-suspense
contemporary
hero-pushing-away-heroine

Serial Love


Maryann Jordan - 2015
    Pulling together like-minded men from the CIA, FBI, ATF, DEA, Border Patrol, SEALs, and police, they were devoted to the missions that no one else wanted or could solve. When the Campus Killer strikes again, Jack’s team is tasked by the Governor to find the killer, using whatever means they can. While following the trail of the serial killer, he becomes entangled in the life of the beautiful woman living next to his property. Bethany Bridwell moved in with her grandmother to take over running Mountville Cabin Rentals. She had no time for the handsome, mysterious man living next door who continued to intrude into her life...and her thoughts. >Jack battled his growing feelings for Bethany, worried his life would not allow for the white-picket-fence world she deserved. But he was unable to stay away. When the trail of the Campus Killer strikes close to home, can Jack protect Bethany long enough to give her what she needs? ****Due to scenes of an explicit sexual nature and language that some consider crude, please be warned - for 18+ only! If you do not like alphas with heart who fall instantly in love with strong female characters while dealing with real life issues...again be warned!!*****

Adjusting Addie (Triple A #1)


R.J. Gray - 2019
    He is an accomplished chiropractor. Her life needs an adjustment, and he’s just the man to do it.Addisyn “Addie” Gabriel always knew she needed an alpha male to take her in hand. Former Marine Special Forces Operator turned chiropractor, Doctor Bradley Murphy, is that and so much more. Addie soon discovers that happiness lies with following the doctor's orders.Publisher’s Note: This steamy contemporary romance contains elements of domestic discipline and is intended for mature audiences.

Defying Her Desert Duty


Annie West - 2012
    Returning the Princess to her bridegroom might not be such a simple operation after all… Soraya Karim has always known one day she must resume her royal obligations – just not so soon! Clinging to the last shreds of her freedom, Soraya insists they take the long way back to Bakhara – and their attraction reaches a dangerous fever pitch ... Once they reach the gates of the palace such a liaison will be utterly forbidden. From then duty must reign ...

Call After Midnight


Tess Gerritsen - 1987
    Newlywed Sarah Fontaine must join forces with special agent Nick O'Hara to find her husband Geoffrey, who is presumed dead, and as they journey to Europe to discover the truth, they become the pawns in a deadly game of espionage.

Best Man...with Benefits


Nancy Warren - 2015
     Lauren Sanger is practically the perfect maid of honor, except for one tiny flaw. She hates the best man. Jackson Monaghan is beyond hot -- his body is the stuff of sexy lady dreams -- but he's just such a jerk. So when a prank lands them in the same bed, Lauren should have flipped out, instead of having the best sex of her life with the best man! Jackson can't figure out how two people with anti-chemistry during the day can have such a wickedly hot sexual chemistry at night. Worse still, he wants more. Enough to dare Lauren into doing the last thing she should be doing...him. But friends with benefits is one thing...enemies with benefits is quite another.

Owned by the Hitman


Alexis Abbott - 2016
    I will not hurt you, unless you want me to.”I'm in deep to the Mafia. My father was the one who made the deal, and when I inherited his club, I also inherited his troubles.Ivan wants to save me, or so he says. More like he wants me to be his slave for a year. After the one-night stand I had with him, though, would that be so bad? With his impossibly hard body, and the way he always makes me scream...But he's still a monster. He's a criminal, and something so much worse.And yet I can't stop the tingling in my body every time I think of how he touched me, and those dark but delicious words rolling off his tongue, tinged with his Russian accent.He knows what I'll say, even before I do. "I'll take your offer."

The Billionaire's Con


Mackenzie Crowne - 2012
    Crazy-busy with her new restaurant, she can't deny a fascination for her hunky new tenant. But will her secret connection to one of New England's most powerful families poison her recipe for success, and leave her heart flambeed?Trevor Bryce Christos would do anything to protect the woman who raised him. Even seduce a beautiful con artist disguised as a chef and bent on cashing in on his family's wealth. Taking up residence in Meggy's carriage house while disguised as a writer doing research on small town New England is the perfect ploy to catch her at her game. But when the truth of her parentage is revealed, and his ruse exposed, he'll need the townsfolk's help with spin control if love is to remain on the menu.

Until Death Do We Part


Fiona Davenport - 2016
    Code Name: Justice Contracts attorney. Adoring husband. Spy with a reputation for being able to break anyone. Genevieve Shaw. Code Name: Scarlett International art dealer. Loving wife. Covert operative with more kills to her name than any other agent. They’re crazy in love… and completely unaware of what the other is hiding. Four years of wedded bliss is blown apart when they finally cross paths on a mission. They’re hunting the same target, but with very different goals. Justice has been sent to retrieve and interrogate. Scarlett to eliminate the threat. On opposite ends of a mission, their love is put to the ultimate test.

Mark of the Loon


Molly Greene - 2012
    She struggles with the inability to put down roots years after the sudden death of her beloved parents. Madison and her three wise, hilarious friends all wonder if she uses her busy, work-centric lifestyle as an excuse to avoid connection with anyone but them.When Madison checks out a probate sale outside Healdsburg, California, she falls in love with the European-style house on a private tract of land overlooking Lake Sonoma. In fact, she likes the place so much she climbs in the window for a private tour. With help from lawyer and friend Genevieve Delacourt, Madison soon learns that the estate’s corrupt attorney has manipulated the sale and is attempting to steer the purchase to an anonymous client in a deceitful plan for personal gain.Good fortune enables her to purchase the Blackburne’s property, but far more than a new home and lush gardens await discovery during this renovation. As Madison works on the remodel, she’s drawn into an old love story with dangerous consequences. In the process, she discovers herself as she unearths buried secrets. The series of events both endanger Madison and lead her to love – and a permanent home. Mark of the Loon is the skillful combination of history, mystery, and romance in a novel that explores deep friendship, choices, and how individuals cope with loss.

No Regrets


JoAnn Ross - 1997
    Now, tragedy will bring the sisters together again, offering them the chance to find happiness in sorrow. A POWERFUL AND PASSIONATE STORY OF THREE SISTERSTorn apart by tragedy, Molly, Lena and Tessa McBride chose different paths ... until fate and one man reunited them.Molly chose God -- but could never forget the child she gave away ... or her sister's husband.Lena always searched for love -- Dr. Reece Longworth offered her that. Raising her sister's child created the family she so desperately craved.Tessa wanted fame -- but the love of a man led her into terrible danger. A vice cop who needed her to betray her friends offered her the only promise of survival.Only after tragedy strikes once again can the surviving sisters choose happiness .... if they dare pay the price.

Bullet to the Heart


Lea Griffith - 2013
    She has become everything but is no one. Known only as Bullet she was long ago forced to shed the name her parents gave her. Changed, molded and trained to kill with sharp-shooting efficiency she is one of The Collective’s most valuable assets. In a cadre of killers, Bullet is death waiting but her time for vengeance has come.He was loved and then he lost. He has become a hunter in search of revenge.Everything was taken from Rand the day a bullet ended the lives of his beloved wife and daughter. He has searched for their killer seven long years and may have her in his hands. Rand has suffered but now the time has come to make The Collective pay or die trying.Joy and sorrow are two sides of the same coin. Vengeance draws them together but before all is said and done they will learn love can either break you or make you stronger.

Her Mother's Killer


Melissa Schroeder - 2009
    She tries to ignore them until someone drives her off the road, then begins sending her sick letters. Althea returns to the small Texas town where the murder happened, planning to solve the case herself. Her main problem is avoiding the sheriff, her old crush, Duncan Perry. Duncan can't believe his best friend's little sister has grown into such a wonderful bundle of curves. At first he's stunned by his reaction to her, but never one to be slow, he starts putting the moves on her. It isn't until he's completely seduced by her that he realizes she's putting herself in danger to solve the old crime. As they fall in love with each other, the stalking and danger escalates. Women matching Althea's description are being found raped and murdered. The new lovers must now work overtime to figure out just what went wrong twenty years earlier, but the mysteries they will reveal could jeopardize everything they're fighting for.

Three of a Kind


C.P. Smith - 2016
    Now she's ready to break down her walls and see what's hiding on the other side. With the help of her new friends, Poppy Gentry and Sienna Miller, the three band together to find their happily ever after. One Wallflower at a time. Former Atlanta Homicide Detective, Devin Hawthorne, moved to Savannah for a change of pace and a fresh start as a Private Investigator. He finds it right under his nose in the form of a Southern beauty who drives him to distraction, and deadly secrets that threaten her very life. Rated mature for language and sexual content.

Dakota Peace


Megan Kinney - 2020
    Her peace is short lived when a flat tire strands her on the other side of South Dakota with nothing but her high heels and a speeding ticket. State Trooper Travis Wilkins offers to keep her company while she waits for a new tire, but the quick fix turns into an overnight stay which turns into an extended stay. She soon finds herself in the middle of a foster child’s kidnapping case helping the handsome law man. His presence doesn’t quite settle her anxious heart. With the support of her new friends and her blossoming relationship, Natalia starts to believe she could finally experience a peaceful life … until an armed madman threatens it all.

Alluring


Sarah Curtis - 2015
    Alexis Taft fills her days and nights working to pay off her mother's medical debts and put her sister through college. She doesn't have time for fun or men. Her life is predictable if boring, that is until she meets Jack. Then life is anything but predictable.The first time he saw her, he knew he wanted to make her his. Handsome, wealthy, powerful, Jackson Cole could have any woman he wants and often does, that is until he sets his sights on Alexis. With her unsurpassed beauty, he was hooked with just one look from her amber eyes.Unfortunately, Alexis is the one woman who doesn't fall easily for his charms, and Jack has to do something he's never had to do before. Pursue a woman. However, Jack always gets what he wants, and Alexis soon discovers, she is no exception. But there's someone else that wants Jack. Someone that would stop at nothing to have him. Someone that wants Alexis out of the way.And Jack and Alexis have to stop them or lose all chance at happiness.***This is a full length novel with no cliffhanger. It is part of a series, but each book is a stand alone centering on new main characters. This is a steamy contemporary romance. Due to sex and language, it is recommended for persons over 18.*** HEA ***Note from author***As of May 28, 2015 I did another edit of Alluring. I can't promise I caught all the grammar issues and typos, but I did catch a lot, so hopefully it makes for an easier read.