Book picks similar to
The Villain by Victoria Vale


historical-romance
historical
romance
dark

The Highwayman


Kerrigan Byrne - 2015
    But for the women who love them, a hint of danger only makes the heart beat faster…STEALING BEAUTYDorian Blackwell, the Blackheart of Ben More, is a ruthless villain. Scarred and hard-hearted, Dorian is one of London’s wealthiest, most influential men who will stop at nothing to wreak vengeance on those who’ve wronged him…and will fight to the death to seize what he wants. The lovely, still innocent widow Farah Leigh Mackenzie is no exception—and soon Dorian whisks the beautiful lass away to his sanctuary in the wild Highlands…COURTING DESIREBut Farah is no one’s puppet. She possesses a powerful secret—one that threatens her very life. When being held captive by Dorian proves to be the only way to keep Farah safe from those who would see her dead, Dorian makes Farah a scandalous proposition: marry him for protection in exchange for using her secret to help him exact revenge on his enemies. But what the Blackheart of Ben More never could have imagined is that Farah has terms of her own, igniting a tempestuous desire that consumes them both. Could it be that the woman he captured is the only one who can touch the black heart he’d long thought dead?

Capture Me


Anna Zaires - 2015
     Yulia Tzakova is no stranger to dangerous men. She grew up with them. She survived them. But when she meets Lucas Kent, she knows the hard ex-soldier may be the most dangerous of them all. One night—that’s all it should be. A chance to make up for a failed assignment and get information on Kent’s arms dealer boss. When his plane goes down, it should be the end. Instead, it's just the beginning. He wants her from the first moment he sees her. Lucas Kent has always liked leggy blondes, and Yulia Tzakova is as beautiful as they come. The Russian interpreter might’ve tried to seduce his boss, but she ends up in Lucas’s bed—and he has every intention of seeing her there again. Then his plane goes down, and he learns the truth. She betrayed him. Now she will pay.

Claiming the Courtesan


Anna Campbell - 2007
    Men fight duels to spend an hour in her company. And only he comes close to taming her. Flying in the face of society, he decides to make her his bride; then, she vanishes, seemingly into thin air.Dire circumstances have forced Verity Ashton to barter her innocence and change her name for the sake of her family. But Kylemore destroys her plans for a respectable life when he discovers her safe haven. He kidnaps her, sweeping her away to his hunting lodge in Scotland, where he vows to bend her to his will.There he seduces her anew. Verity spends night after night with him in his bed ... and though she still dreams of escape and independence, she knows she can never flee the unexpected, unwelcome love for the proud, powerful lover who claims her both body and soul.

Training Lady Townsend


Annabel Joseph - 2014
    Unfortunately, she grew up into a pillar of propriety while her betrothed grew up into a renowned rake. Of course, no one would expect such an unsuitable match to go forward…which is why they find themselves at a loss when circumstances force them to the altar and into each other’s arms. Hunter, the beleaguered marquess, believes he’ll survive the uneven match by continuing to frequent his well-trained coterie of whores and courtesans, but Aurelia’s powerful father has other ideas. When he blocks Hunter’s access to the only women shameless enough to cater to his decadent needs, the marquess informs his new wife that something will have to be done. That “something” will be the immediate commencement of her erotic training…whether she wants it or not. This 70K word novel contains acts of punishment and discipline, anal play, and other sensual practices. The Properly Spanked Series: #1 Training Lady Townsend #2 To Tame A Countess #3 My Naughty Minette #4 Under A Duke’s Hand

The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne


Elisa Braden - 2015
    And it is—perfectly boring. Agree to marry a lord who has yet to inspire a single, solitary tingle? Why, of course. Smile as though this is not the thousandth time he’s mentioned hounds and hunting? It’s all in a day’s work for the oh-so-proper sister of the Duke of Blackmore. Surely no one would suspect her secret longing for heart-racing, head-spinning passion. Except, perhaps, a dark stranger… on a terrace… at a ball where she should definitely not be kissing a man she has only just met.The obsession that leads to ruin…Hatred, not love, drives Lucien Wyatt, Viscount Atherbourne, to tempt the “Flower of Blackmore” into sin. Her brother has done unthinkable damage to Lucien’s family, and he intends to exact revenge in the only way left to him: Ruining his enemy’s sister, then stealing her from Blackmore by making her his own.The woman who will set fire to her husband’s heart…As Lucien carries out his ruthless plan, tutoring his new bride in the finer points of pleasure, her surrender leaves him breathless… and soon a new obsession awakens—a scandalous fascination with his irresistible wife.

The Pawn


Skye Warren - 2016
    He tore down my father with cold retribution, leaving him penniless in a hospital bed. I quit my private all-girl's college to take care of the only family I have left.There's one way to save our house, one thing I have left of value.My virginity.A forbidden auction...Gabriel appears at every turn. He seems to take pleasure in watching me fall. Other times he's the only kindness in a brutal underworld.Except he's playing a deeper game than I know. Every move brings us together, every secret rips us apart. And when the final piece is played, only one of us can be left standing.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *THE PAWN is a full-length contemporary novel from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren about revenge and seduction in the game of love. It's the first book in the brand new ENDGAME series.

The Awakening of Ivy Leavold


Sierra Simone - 2015
    Handsome and possessive, it’s not long before Ivy falls for him. But Mr. Markham has dark secrets, secrets that may put Ivy in danger...I am afraid...As Ivy unravels the mystery surrounding her cousin’s death, she falls deeper and deeper in love with Julian, who opens her body and her mind to his indomitable will. But even as he draws pleasure and desire from her night after night, Ivy can’t shake the feeling that their passionate affair may end in violence…And I'm completely his.***The Awakening of Ivy Leavold is the first book in the Markham Hall Trilogy. It is 40,000 words. ***For Mature Audiences only**

Dirty Little Secret


Kendall Ryan - 2017
    I’m dominating and possessive, and my control streak runs a mile wide. The way she looks at me—like I’m one of the heroes in the books she loves, like I’m broken, and she wants to be the one to piece me back together—it only complicates things further. I’m nobody’s hero. But there’s no denying my tragic past reads like one of her favorite literary classics. It’s raw. Visceral. Captivating. And together, we’re a perfect mess. How can I resist when the sexual sparks zapping between us set me on fire? The need to control, and claim her force my walls to come tumbling down, but when she learns about my dirty little secret, will my world come crashing down with it?

Perversion


T.M. Frazier - 2018
    New/alternate cover edition here.USA Today bestselling author of the King Series, T.M. Frazier, brings you an all-new trilogy with a sexy anti-hero you're going to love to hate, and a ballsy heroine with more up her sleeve than just tricks. Love is supposed to be a fairy tale.Ours is a death wish.I'm the executioner for the Bedlam Brotherhood. She's a con artist working for my greatest enemy. I use her. She manipulates me.We find ourselves on opposite sides of a bloody war. My heart and head tell me I have to stay away. My lust for her doesn't give a sh*t. Nothings fair in love and gang war.

Simply Sexual


Kate Pearce - 2008
    Ten years as a sex slave in a Turkish brothel left Lord Valentin Sokorvsky with an insatiable appetite for sex. Now the time has come for him to marry, but finding a woman who can satisfy his lustful desires proves a challenge...until he meets Sara and all he can think about is having her lie under his rock-hard body, begging him to taste and touch her...Sensual Seduction... Sara Harrison knows she should be shocked and scandalized by Lord Sokorvsky's bold advances, but instead she is secretly aroused by this sensual, seductive man. For beneath her calm and composed manner is a wanton woman who longs for a man's intimate caress. She is most willing to be educated in the art of sensuality, to receive and give pleasure and to succumb to the wild desire that knows no limits...

An Introduction to Pleasure


Jess Michaels - 2012
    Lysandra Keates is running out of options. Her father is dead, her mother is ill, and her efforts to find respectable employment have ended in failure. With her small savings bleeding away, she swallows her pride—and her terror—and turns to Vivien Manning, an infamous courtesan, to match her with a wealthy protector. For years, Viscount Andrew Callis has lived a monastic existence at his country estate, hardening his body against the snobbish, lazy young man he once was, hardening his heart against grief over the deaths of his wife and infant son. When Vivien asks him to spend one month training a young woman in the ways of a mistress, his mind resists…but his body responds with an ache he thought long dead. As Andrew begins his gentle tutelage, he finds himself falling under the spell of Lysandra’s innocent charms. And as they give in to the powerful hunger, the last thing Andrew ever expected, or wanted, forms between them. An emotional connection that could carry them well past the training period—if only Andrew can open his heart to the possibility of love. Product WarningsIncludes training in all kinds of sexual positions and delights, as well as an emotional romance. May produce swooning.

Echo


A. Zavarelli - 2015
    He says he owns me. And it’s true. I’ve signed over complete control of my body and life for six months to a man I don’t know. Five years he’s been planning this. They say revenge is a dish best served cold. But my blackmailer serves it up white hot. He’s addicted to my innocence, and I’m addicted to him. He likes to hurt me. I love to let him. He brings me to life. He sets me free. He makes my heart feel things it shouldn’t. But he also scares me. He holds the fate of my brother’s life in his hands. A life behind bars for crimes I know he didn’t commit. My blackmailer can’t give up his revenge on my family, and I can’t be with him if he doesn’t. But I’m nothing more than a butterfly caught in his net. Do I really have a choice?

Ruthless


Anne Stuart - 2010
    And among this secret society, where exiled Georgian aristocrats gather to indulge their carnal desires, fewer still can match the insatiable appetite of their chief provocateur, the mysterious Viscount Rohan.Pursuit of physical pleasure is both his preferred pastime and his most pressing urge, until he encounters the fascination of a woman who won't be swayed. And while his dark seduction appalls the pure and impoverished Elinor Harriman, she finds herself intrigued...and secretly drawn to the man behind the desire.

The Duke Who Knew Too Much


Grace Callaway - 2015
    Tormented by his past, Alaric knows better than to trust a woman yet finds himself ensnared by a spirited, virtuous virgin—who accuses him of a crime he didn’t commit. Is she his foe... or his salvation? A Novice to DesireEmma Kent is an independent country miss cast adrift in the ton. When a depraved encounter with an arrogant rake lands her in intrigue, Emma’s honor compels her to do the right thing. But desire challenges her quest for justice, and she must decide: can she trust her heart to discover the truth? Bound by Passion and PerilAlaric and Emma engage in a battle of wits and will. As their attraction flares, the true enemy stalks their every move. With danger looming, will they solve the mystery and find true love— before it’s too late?

Dark Side of the Sun


Addison Cain - 2017
    For years the young widow has been hunted across England, running from her past, thrust onward into desolate wastes until there is nowhere else to hide. With the little time she has left, her desperation has driven her into the arms of an extremely sinister man who desires more than just her company. Gregory Harrow, bastard born gentleman, takes what he wants, and is willing to use anyone and anything to achieve his aims. Greedy, cunning, cruel, he claims to love her, offers to kill for her, but lies come easily to his tongue. She knows she cannot trust him, but making a deal with the devil might just be her only chance for survival. DARK SIDE OF THE SUN is a full-length regency era dark romance from internationally bestselling author Addison Cain about depravity, desire, and acute retribution.