He’s part of the screw crew. He’ll just use you and leave you. He’s ruthless and always gets what he wants. Just look for the trail of broken hearts and dreamy sighs and you’ll find him. “Hot as sin, Carter.” I don’t have time to fall head over heels for any guy. Besides, he’d never notice someone like me. I have a three step plan. Get through college. Get a job. Get my sister out of the hell hole I left her in. That’s all I have time for. That’s until I hear of the betting pool the guys started. Whoever screws me first gets the money. The moment Carter looks at me, I know it’s only because of the bet. I tell myself our first kiss is only for show. I hate my heart for falling for his irresistible charm. For one foolish moment, I actually want him to be my first earth-shattering love. All it takes for me to give in is a little attention, a cocky smile, and a fake promise of a happily-ever-after. When I’m surrounded by crumpled sheets and the smell of sex, I realize I let him have me for four hundred dollars. To save what little pride I have left, I pretend it didn’t mean anything, that he’s just one last screw before we all leave college. I’ve spent the last four years lying to myself. When I’m ready to take the final step of my plan, and save my sister, guess who walks through my front door? This is a full-length, stand alone, unrequited love/second chance romance. Note: The book ends at 77% with samples of Predator and Protector.

    My father says it’s my birthright, but all I see is a curse. It’s because of the Kelly name my mum was slain by the Doyles—our enemies in Dublin, the fellas livin’ on borrowed time. All of Belfast fears my family, especially me. I’m Puck Kelly, otherwise known as Punky; the lad ye don’t want to double cross. I don’t do feelings or emotions. I never have…until she walks into my world.Babydoll is a liar and a thief, but I can’t stay away. We both thrive in the darkness because that’s where our demons can play.No word af a lie, sixteen years later, those monsters still haunt my dreams. But every monster is scared of somethin’…and that somethin’ is me.No more hiding in the shadows because I’m huntin’ youse. Run, wee monsters, run.

    Nate Jackson always viewed her as a pesky kid…until the day she got sick. The one bright spot during her illness? He realized she was all grown up. But just when she allows herself to believe that dreams can come true, Nate disappears from her life, taking her heart with him.Nate knows he lost more than his best friend when he deserted Charlotte to enlist in the Navy. He thought he was doing the right thing, sparing the girl he loves from the shame and humiliation of his actions. Nine years later, it’s time to right his wrongs. He returns home determined to win back his first love…only to find that Charlotte's moved on without him.But if there's one thing that being a Navy SEAL has taught Nate? Never give up, even when all hope seems lost. And Nate's never going to give up on Charlotte. Ever.

    That’s child’s play. Here’s how I do it: I avert my eyes when he walks out of his room, shirtless in all his toned glory. I squash the butterflies that fill my stomach every time he slowly unfurls a dimpled smile. And, most importantly, I keep an arsenal of “personal massagers” in my bedside drawer. Wink. Not to brag, but Aiden Smith isn’t hard to resist if you’ve been doing it for as long as I have. In fact, we might have continued as best friends forever if not for the fact that I needed him to play the part of my fake boyfriend.Date me like you mean it, I told him. Nudge nudge. C’mon, just go along with a little lie, help a girl out, and then we can all return to life as we know it.Except he veered from the plan.He crossed the line.Flirting with me when no one else was around? Pinning me down and kissing me like that? Okay, how exactly is taking off my bra part of the ruse, Aiden?!I’d ask him about it if I could, but well…things got ugly and we’re not best friends anymore.In fact, we’re the exact opposite. Now, I have to play nice even though I want to crush his heart in the palm of my hand. Pretending not to love Aiden was the easy part.Pretending not to hate him?Well…I might need a little more practice.

    It isn't supposed to leave you bleeding. Kona pushed, Keira pulled, and in their wake, they left behind destruction. She sacrificed everything for him. It wasn't enough. But the wounds of the past can never be completely forgotten and still the flame remains, slumbers between the pleasure of yesterday and the thought of what might have been. Now, sixteen years later, Keira returns home to bury the mother who betrayed her, just as Kona tries to hold onto what remains of his NFL career with the New Orleans Steamers. Across the crowded bustle of a busy French Market, their paths collide, conjuring forgotten memories of a consuming touch, skin on skin, and the still smoldering fire that begs to be rekindled. When Kona realizes the trifecta of betrayal—his, Keira's and those lies told to keep them apart—his life is irrevocably changed and he once again takes Keira down with him into the fire that threatens to ignite them both.

    Once upon a time, they were childhood friends. But that was before everything went to hell. And now things are... awkward.All they want to do is avoid each other, and their past, for as long as possible. But now that they're forced to share a bathroom, and therefore a shower, keeping their distance from one another becomes less difficult than keeping their hands off each other. Welcome to the hallway of awkward tension and sexual frustration, folks. Get comfy. It’s going to be a long summer.

    . . and it cuts right through the middle of their office. Bad boys? They run right over good girls like Georgina Keller. But after a confidence-shattering breakup, she’s determined not to let anyone at her new workplace push her around—least of all the brooding creative director, a “bad boy of publishing” who’s made it clear she’s enemy #1.Sebastian Quinn's taste for fast cars, late nights, and beautiful women may have gotten him to the top of a leading New York magazine, but the reputation that made him is suddenly threatening to end his career.Georgina can help Modern Man shed its bad reputation, but in order to do that, she’ll have to start at the top—and no amount of rakish charm or inconvenient attraction will distract her.Because if Sebastian gets her right where he wants her, it means she’s going down.

    She blames the mafia, its ways, and the people within the caustic culture for a painful reality that turned her world on its side. In an attempt to momentarily pause her misery, a night out puts her on a path with a man she shouldn’t get involved with simply because of his last name—Gian Guzzi. He’s the kind of man that makes it hard to say no. Gian Guzzi’s problems are piling up fast. A murdered grandfather, an unpredictable mafia, and a new boss that threatens both his family’s legacy and his life. As a Cosa Nostra underboss, Gian has a duty. First to la famiglia, and only then to himself. In the midst of the violent uncertainty that has become unrelenting in his days, Cara Rossi should only be a distraction for him to enjoy. She’s a happiness that he was never allowed to choose before. His lies. This life. Their love. It all unravels eventually.

    He was the top of the food chain. And I was next in line to be dragged into the lion’s den. At least that’s what he thought… Good girls wanted to tame him. Bad girls want to be tainted by him. Everyone bowed down to him. And me?I hated Zeppelin Hunt with every fiber of my being.Which was why I stayed away from the arrogant bad boy with tattoos and a rap sheet.Until I couldn’t.Until we traded favors, and I owed him three months of my life. I never thought I would end up in his bed, and when I did, I had to remind myself that he hated me as much as I hated him.Until I didn’t. Zepp Hunt was no prince, and I absolutely refused to be his damsel in distress…

    Then, in one brutal instant, the universe tilted on its side, discarding us into black nothingness.Now, I have a cocky a**hole for a husband. The only way we communicate anymore is when we’re fighting or f**king.With nothing left to lose, I write Jack a goodbye letter and head for Portland, where I quickly meet a neighbor who helps me find a job. My new neighbor—hot, tattooed ex-soldier Isaac Evans—is complicated. Nevertheless, we form a fast friendship, bonding over our mutual desire to create something beautiful from the wreckage of our lives. But despite the distance between us, Jack and I are still trying to make things work—fighting and f**king dirtier than ever. And he doesn’t appreciate my new friendship with Isaac. Not one f**king bit.

    I left for the military that day, vowing never to return to Pennsylvania.When my father dies, I’m forced to go home to bury him. At least I'll finally be rid of his farm, which is grown over and tangled with memories I've fought to forget.And that’s when I find her. She’s even more beautiful than I remember and has the most adorable kid I’ve ever seen.Years have passed, but my feelings are the same, and this time I refuse to let her go. They say you can't bury the past, and they're right. Because when long-ago secrets are exposed, rocking us both to the core, I have no choice but to watch her walk away again....

    (Yes, I’m well aware that’s not the actual definition, but it might as well be . . .) It’s been ten years since we've seen each other and the feelings are still as strong. I’m not going to bore you with all the details of how our love was once intoxicating, consuming, and perfect. Because it was . . . until it wasn't. I've been fine without him. I haven’t missed his cruelty, his coldness and his spite. And after the ugliest breakup in the history of breakups, I forced myself to move on. Year by year, the feelings I had for him slowly drifted away, but one encounter with him recently changed everything. One encounter made me realize how the heart doesn't forget shit, and how my mind is going to have to work overtime to make sure I never forget my definition of resentment.

    He was hiding, but that gorgeous boy didn’t belong in the dark. Nevertheless it was where he lived; a different world than mine. I was Livingston Montgomery, Southern debutante. With the world at my fingertips, I was well on my way to being another spoiled socialite.   But I didn’t want money.   I didn’t want social status.   I wanted him; tattoos, sarcastic smirk, bad boy reputation and all.   It didn’t matter that he was from the wrong side of the tracks.   It didn’t matter that my family forbade me from seeing him.   I just wanted to be Beneath His Stars.

    They all want to be her friend. Only I see Wren for who she really is.A repressed little virgin who keeps her feelings locked up so tight she’s probably close to bursting. She thinks she’s above us all.Even me.I shouldn’t be drawn to her. She’s not my type.Until we’re forced to work together in class and realize we might have more things in common than we originally thought. Soon enough I find myself completely obsessed. I will do anything for this girl to make her fall in love with me.Anything.

    But the stranger with the low, deep voice on the other end of the line tempted me, awakened my body, set me on fire. He was looking for someone else. Instead he found me.   And I found a hot, secret world where I felt alive for the first time.   His name was Dylan, and, strangely, he made me feel safe. Desired. Compelled. Every dark thing he asked me to do, I did. Without question. I longed to meet him, but we were both keeping secrets. And mine were dangerous. If I took the first step, if I got closer to Dylan—emotionally, physically—then I wouldn’t be hiding anymore. I would be exposed, with nothing left to surrender but the truth. And my truth could hurt us both.