Book picks similar to
Out of the Ashes by Lietha Wards


romance
contemporary-romance
contemporary
virgin-heroine

Swallow Me Whole: A Friends To Lovers Romance


Gemma James - 2018
    She’s my sister’s best friend. The girl I’ve known since grade school. The girl I’ve always considered off-limits. She’s the girl that crawled under a table in a bar one night and changed everything between us. Now the brain in my pants is more than willing to step up. The rules are simple. No kissing. No screwing. No falling in love. But the more I let her use my body in the name of experimentation, the more I know being friends isn’t enough. Is it too much to want it all with her? The taste of her lips. The sweetness of her innocence. The chance to earn her love. I might have a real shot with her…if her douchebag ex and my past don’t ruin everything. Note from the author Swallow Me Whole is a friends-to-lovers standalone romance. Full-length at 77,000 words. Please note that parts of this story were previously published as a serial under the pen name of Angel Allen. This standalone novel includes the complete story. For a limited time, Trashy Foreplay is included as a bonus book in this copy of Swallow Me Whole, so the main book ends at about the 58% mark.

His Holiday Gift


Jordan Silver - 2014
    Now this year as the holidays approach, he can't seem to shake the memories of the fair Christina. She haunts his dreams and follows him into the waking hours. Forsaking family and friends, he deciders to head to the picturesque mountains where of Colorado where he first met her. Maybe there he can make peace with the past and move on.

Forever


Blue Saffire - 2017
    One world sees me as a successful business man. Owen Mason, an upstanding pillar of the community. My brothers back home know the real me. Brick, a member of the Lost Souls MC. One of the last people you want to see come through your door.I’m no good for her and nine years too old, but I’ve had a thing for Eva Kennedy for way longer than I’ll admit. One night is all it takes for me to lose focus and take what I’ve always wanted. I know I owe my pound of flesh for what I’ve done, but it’s done now and she’s mine. I don’t care about anyone that thinks they’re going to stand in the way of that. I’ll put you to ground for coming between me and my woman.I’ve been in love with Brick since I was a little girl, but he doesn’t know it. I didn’t think he knew I existed in the first place. However, I find out a lot during one of my epic Eva situations, that Brick is sent to get me out of. I’m stuck in a bathroom the night Brick bursts the little bubble I live in. Now I don’t know which way is up from down. I just know that everywhere I turn he’s there.I just hope he makes it when I really need him. This one moment is the only one that counts.Source: Bluesaffire.com

Toxic Girl


Chantal Fernando - 2014
    I knew no one.I could be anyone, or so I thought.I wanted to be invisible, to blend into the background. But it turned out keeping my secret wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.Enter Grayson Mills.When Grayson noticed me, so did everyone else.He wanted me. Bad.And what Grayson wanted, he usually got.

Play Only For Me


R.B. O'Brien - 2021
    She hasn't done anything wrong to me. She seems nice actually, sweet. She’s attractive, that's for sure, but she certainly isn’t trying to capitalize on it. A baggy sweatshirt and a pair of jeans? Maybe it's the UGGS that get under my skin. The screaming designer label on her sweatshirt. Maybe it's the fact that I haven’t stopped fantasizing about what she might look like underneath it.Lauren Percy:Why is he being so rude to me? He has a face that has that boy charm. Dimples, big brown eyes, sandy hair, clear skin. But as I travel to his chest, I can see this is no innocent boy. Through his white t-shirt that grips his biceps, I see the black ink of tattoos. Where I come from, I have never seen a tattoo up close and personal. His hands are calloused, his fingernails slightly bitten, and he has a slight scar on his collarbone, but it’s hard to see under the hemp choker he’s wearing. He's sexy as hell.Colton Masters: “You done staring, Princess?”Lauren Percy: Damn it. Why I am so drawn to him?*****Play Only For Me is a standalone New Adult Romance of two college music majors discovering themselves but ultimately discovering that true love and dreams can come with sacrifice, and that happy endings are not always one-note, scripted, already-heard songs.

The Sheriff and the Innocent Housekeeper


Lynda Chance - 2011
    Mesmerized immediately with his raw masculinity and sinewy strength, her fascination turns to love as the years pass and his honest integrity is revealed. Jake Cooper manages to ignore his pretty, little orphaned housekeeper for three long years. But when she begins a subtle metamorphosis from girl to woman, he can’t control his consuming need for her any longer. It has been his job to protect the town all these years, but who will protect her from him? Excerpt: Becky clutched the plate to her mid-section, standing as still as a rabbit caught in a predators sight, when she saw the way he stood at the door, watching her. Her hands began the all too familiar shaking, and she heard a roaring sound in her ears and a crashing, splintering noise at her feet. She looked down at the broken plate and in her confusion quickly bent down to retrieve it. A sharp pain in her hand jerked her upright again. The spell was broken when his deep voice intruded on her consciousness. “Goddammit!” Becky stood immobile as he pushed off the door and was quickly upon her. He picked up her hand in his. “Becky, what the hell?” She looked down at his hands holding hers and saw a stream of blood running from a cut on her finger. She realized she had compounded her mistake by cutting her finger. The plate was in shards on the floor. She knew those plates had belonged to his mother. Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Sheriff.” He pulled her to the kitchen and his large body crowded her against the counter as he held her hand where it was bleeding. His arms wrapped around her from behind, his chest pressed into her back as he held her bleeding finger in the pail of cold water. The water turned pink as she tried not to faint. His mouth moved to her ear. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth.” He growled the words in her ear. His warm breath caressed her face. “I’m sorry about your m-mother’s china.” Her voice wobbled from the impact of his nearness. He reached around and tugged her chin up and around so he could look into her eyes. “You know this isn’t about the goddamn china, don’t you, Becky?”

About Last Night


Belle Aurora - 2015
    He's so good at his job that he's booked months in advance.An enquiring email from a potential client finds him intrigued about the shy, awkward woman. A back and forth is started and before Quinn knows it, a friendship is formed.Time passes and Quinn is smitten.There's only one problem...The client is his best friend's little sister.She's off limits.He knows better.Staying away from one another is easier said than done.

I Don't


Ella Fox - 2017
    After all, the sexy and charming Mateo is everything she's ever wanted—and more. But she needs to protect herself—and her heart—before it’s shattered once and for all. Mateo has no choice but to let her go. His woman needs space, and he loves her enough to give it to her—no matter how much he hates it. The only thing keeping him sane is the certainty that their separation will be short-lived.Ava thinks it’s over, but she’s about to find out that Mateo will stop at nothing to turn her “I Don’t” into an “I Do.”

Protecting Macy


C.M. Steele - 2019
    He was unsure of his future. Richer than sin, Sean Cavanaugh had it all, and yet, he chased the dream of being a homicide detective like his father had been. When merit and effort failed, he decided to change his path. He had one last day on the job... Macy Garcia lived in a trailer park with dreams of getting out. All her life she's wanted a bit of security and peace—doing everything she can to find it—until a little bit of speeding gets her into a world of trouble. Like many high-speed chases, this one ended with a crash. Their worlds collide and it's an explosion neither was prepared for. Could Macy getaway or would Sean catch her? Would she even want to run? Would he let her try? This is a full-length novel filled with romance, passion, and danger.

Trucker


Jamie Schlosser - 2016
    Hitchhiker. When you see me walking along the side of the road with my thumb out, you'll probably keep driving without giving me a second glance. You probably think I'm foolish. Naïve. You might assume I've made some bad decisions. You might think I'm too young to be on my own. You might be right.TRAVIS I love my job, but driving an eighteen-wheeler comes with a certain stereotype. When you hear I’m a trucker, a specific image might come to mind. Uneducated. Dirty. Perverted. Rough around the edges and a little bit dangerous. But the truth is, I’m not any of those things. In fact, I’m pretty far from it. You’d be surprised to find out I’m one of the good guys.Trucker is a standalone novel. Due to language and sexual content, this book is intended for readers 18 and older.This is an alternate Cover Edition for ASIN: B01HLOVDP8.

Baby, You're Mine


Fiona Davenport - 2016
    When she finds out about a family she never knew she had, she travels half-way across the country to meet them. On the night Bailey hits town, her nerves get the better of her, making her act out of character when she meets Wyatt Kincaid in a bar and lets him take her home. After a night that rocks her world, she races out of his bed as quickly as she fell into it. But, there is one thing Bailey can’t run from, the baby she and Wyatt created. Wyatt went out looking for a good time and found a hell of a lot more than he’d bargained for. He wants more than a one night stand with the woman in his bed; he wants a chance at forever. But when he wakes up the next morning, she’s gone. He searches for her, but Bailey is nowhere to be found… until he goes looking in his best friend’s home. Warning: This novella contains a sexy alpha, insta-love, and an "oops" baby! It's quick, hot, and dirty.

Her Wedding Night Surrender


Clare Connelly - 2018
    But while Pietro hides a devastating secret, can they ever have more than a marriage in name only?

Gorgeous Rotten Scoundrel


Nina G. Jones - 2014
    The kind of gorgeous where you didn’t even attempt to hide the fact that you were staring. I knew the type: His entire life he has coasted on his good looks, artificial charm, and sex appeal. Everyone wanted to be him or be ON him. I had been hurt by jerks like him before. He was like those guys but far worse.I was the unfortunate sucker to be offered a gig I desperately needed as his live-in chef for a Summer in the Hamptons. But I wasn’t like the other girls--the models and socialites who came through the revolving door of his bedroom. I would bite the bullet, take the job, deal with his sexist comments, his expectation that I would fawn over him, and have no problem letting the door hit my ass on the way out when I was done with the gig.Then something unexpected happened that changed everything and I realized that there maybe more to him than the labels I had affixed to his character. Maybe. But if he really wanted me, it wasn’t going to be easy, not like everything else in his life. He was going to have to work, I was going to make him miserable. He was going to hate wanting me just as much as I hated myself for wanting him back.Heath Hillabrand: International Supermodel. Womanizer. Gorgeous, Rotten, Scoundrel.Note: While Nina G. Jones is known for her darker suspense series (Strapped), this is NOT dark. Not even a little. This is a HOT romance novel. There are no crazy plot twists, no one is secretly related to anyone, there are no secret identities, just a fun read with sass and snark!

Release!


J.S. Scott - 2016
    But this is a steamy alpha billionaire romance, so skip it if you dislike sensual romance and explicit language. Trace and Eva's story: My name is Eva Morales, and I was one step away from being homeless when Trace Walker came into my life. I want to hate him because of my past, but I end up making what I consider a "devil's bargain" with the arrogant young billionaire instead. Really, I have no choice. It's either take the work he's offering or starve, and I've been hungry long enough. I didn't think being his fake fiancee for the holidays would be a difficult job, but it ends up more complicated than I ever imagined, and I see a whole new side of Trace once he lets his guard down. He's haunted by his past--just like me, But there are things I can never tell him, secrets I don't dare reveal. Eventually, I find myself in a difficult situation because our volatile attraction to each other won't be denied. Should I tell him the truth, or do I finish the job he's paying me for and walk away with my secrets still hidden, my pride still intact? He's paying me enough for this job to take care of myself once it's over. I've always been alone, and I always thought I preferred it...until I met Trace. I'd have to put everything on the line to be honest with him, but he very well might be the first man who is worth the risk. Honestly, I'd be endangering more than just my pride. I could handle feeling like a loser, because I've pretty much felt that way my entire life. What really terrifies me is being vulnerable and the possibility of ending up with a shattered heart....

The Italian's Suitable Wife


Lucy Monroe - 2004
    So he proposes a marriage of convenience to Gianna Lakewood. Having always longed for a baby herself - and having secretly loved Rico since she was a teenager - Gianna can't say no... The passion Rico ignites in his innocent bride leaves her breathless. But when she realizes that Rico's full recovery from his injuries is imminent, and his beautiful ex-fiancee is waiting in the wings, Gianna is sure he won't want her any more. So why is Rico so intent on keeping his convenient wife by his side?