Book picks similar to
Empire of Desire by Rina Kent


age-gap
romance
marriage-of-convenience
arranged-marriage

By a Thread


Lucy Score - 2020
    Okay, so I’d had a bad day and took it out on a bystander in a pizza shop. But there’s nothing innocent about Ally Morales. She proves that her first day of her new job… in my office… after being hired by my mother.So maybe her colorful, annoying, inexplicably alluring personality brightens up the magazine’s offices that have felt like a prison for the past year. Maybe I like that she argues with me in front of the editorial staff. And maybe my after-hours fantasies are haunted by those brown eyes and that sharp tongue.But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to be the next Russo man to take advantage of his position. I might be a second-generation asshole, but I am not my father.She’s working herself to death at half a dozen dead-end jobs for some secret reason she doesn’t feel like sharing with me. And I’m going to fix it all. Don’t accuse me of caring. She’s nothing more than a puzzle to be solved. If I can get her to quit, I can finally peel away all those layers. Then I can go back to salvaging the family name and forget all about the dancing, beer-slinging brunette.AllyHa. Hold my beer, Grumpy Grump Face.Author’s Note: A steamy, swoony workplace romantic comedy with a grumpy boss hero determined to save the day and a plucky heroine who is starting to wonder if there might actually be a beating heart just beneath her boss’s sexy vests.

Pushing the Limits


Brooke Cumberland - 2015
    From USA Today Bestselling Author comes a new adult student/teacher romance...He's my art professor.I'm his student.With an electric connection and undeniable chemistry, I know it won't be long until one of us cracks.When the opportunity arises to pose naked for the entire art class, I can't help the thrill of knowing he'll be watching me.While they all look past me with their eyes narrowed and concentrated, drawing only the lines and angles of my body, he sees right through me down to my vulnerability.He sees more than just the physical aspects--he sees me.That's when I see the struggle in his features as he tries to stay in control.How do we keep our distance when everything seems to be pulling us together?What feels so right can only go wrong if we keep pushing the limits.Recommended for 18 & above due to explicit sexual content, language, and adult content.*Pushing the Limits is a 102,000 words standalone.*

Broken French


Natasha Boyd - 2021
    She impulsively takes up her roommates' offer to nanny for a little girl on a mega yacht in the South of France. Even though she can't stand boats, this seems like fate giving her an opportunity to lick her wounds in a bucket list paradise while she figures out how to get her life back.But this little girl she's arrived to look after has a daddy. A widowed, hot, young, billionaire of a daddy. A man who, for all his wealth, is grumpy, conceited, and utterly closed off. But Josie can't help but be drawn closer to this enigmatic man.Xavier Pascale is on an emotional island of his own making. It's just him and his daughter and he likes it that way. He works hard, his shareholders are happy, his best friends are his bodyguard, and the people who work for him. What's wrong with that? But then he meets Josephine Marin. Her arrival in his life is like a deep ocean tremor along a catastrophic emotional fault line. And now... well, now, he's very, very aware of his isolation and his very human need. But he can't be distracted. When he gets distracted terrible things happen.He should send the nanny home.He really should.But what if he just takes what he wants, just this one time ...This is a standalone, contemporary romance. It includes luscious scenes of sparkling blue ocean, and tantalizing, seductive food, as well as a smoking hot, dirty-talking Frenchman. If traveling scares you, or sexy times scare you, then this book is not for you. But if you're looking for a decadent armchair vacation after being stuck in one place for over a year--that will make you laugh, swoon, and cry--then this one is for you!

Her Best Friend's Dad


Penny Wylder - 2017
    Moving back home was never my plan. Except here I am, struggling under my evil step-mom's crushing thumb while I look for work. I feel just like Cinderella, but I never expected my best friend's DAD to be my prince. He's just as hot now as he was when I was a teen; maybe hotter. He's also rich and powerful, and when he offers me a job working under him at his company... I can't say no. I don't WANT to say no. All our flirting is bad enough--we can't get caught, my best friend would hate me--but then we go too far. Hiding our relationship was one thing... How the hell do I hide a baby? Penny Wylder's first full length novel! It's all the fun and filth you expect, just a lot more of it! This story has a romantic core and a happily ever after that will make you melt.

Chasing Love


Kat T. Masen - 2020
    So when the ever-so-perfect Julian Baker proposes marriage, I'm ready to forget the past and move on with my new love.In a cruel twist of fate, my past and future collide. I'm forced to face the man who destroyed my heart back in high school.Lex Edwards, turned billionaire tycoon, is ruthless, cunning, and will not stop until I'm his.A complicated love triangle was never something I imagined when Julian proposed to me. Especially not involving Lex.Hearts and egos are bound to be broken.But whose heart will capture mine when the darkness fades? **This title was previously published as Into the Darkness. It has been extensively rewritten, re-edited, and has a steamy new cover**

Rivalry


Laurelin Paige - 2019
    I only took the meeting because I was curious. I thought he was going to offer me a job.But that's not what he's after at all. His proposal is much more intriguing, and I see an opportunity. An opportunity to turn the tables and bring down the devil.I've gotten in trouble playing these games before. I know when the risk is too great, when the stakes are too high. I know how to be cold and strong-willed and destructive. I know how to withstand dominant men with arrogant charm and rugged features.Yet I can't resist taking on Edward.And I can't resist the pull he has on me.Soon I'm not so sure which side of the battle I'm standing on--if I'm the warrior meant to slay,Or the one who will be slain.Slay is Book One in New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author, Laurelin Paige, next dark and edgy series.

Color Me Pretty


B. Celeste - 2020
    He offered me shoes to dance on, a shoulder to absorb my tears, and the harsh reality of where my life was leading when I was at my lowest point. And when the future my parents planned derailed after a statewide scandal, I had no choice but to fantasize about one for myself that didn't involve them. But Theo? He was always in it. My father's best friend. The man who would undoubtedly end me if I didn't end him first.

Brutal Prince


Sophie Lark - 2020
    He’s ruthless, arrogant, and he wants to kill me.We got off on the wrong foot when I set a (very small) fire in his house.Our families believe a marriage pact is the only thing that will prevent all-out warfare.I think I might need to murder him while he sleeps.This would all be a lot easier if Callum wasn’t so damned good-looking.But I’ve got a lockbox around my heart. Because even if I’m forced to marry him…I could never love a brutal prince.“Brutal Prince” is the explosive first act in the epic “Brutal Birthright” series. It’s a stand-alone Dark Mafia Romance, complete with HEA and no cliffhangers. It contains blazing hot bedroom scenes for mature readers only!!!

No Prince


Stevie J. Cole - 2020
    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…

Bad Teacher


Clarissa Wild - 2016
    Thomas Hard, the pleasure is all mine … literally.I can’t help it that my name suits me well.You know what else suits me well? That girl sitting across the bar, with her lips right where I tell them to be. I want her, and when I want something, it’s gonna be mine.One night. No names. No phone numbers. Just me, her, and pure pleasure.Except, that one girl turns out to be the biggest mistake of my life.Why?Because I broke my cardinal rule …Never b*ng a student.Author’s note: Don’t like reckless decisions & unbridled scr*wing? Don’t love girls that are obsessed with rainbows, unicorns, and ice-cream? Don’t enjoy a bit of corny humor sprinkled on top? Then this book is not for you. And last but not least, if you hate cats with huge jewels… Don't even bother.

Untouchable


Isabel Love - 2017
    One-hundred percent untouchable. Too bad I didn't know that when we first met. We were just two strangers in a club, drawn together by chemistry. Hot, SIZZLING chemistry. Imagine my surprise when I discover that she's my new boss.And now that we work together, she's determined to keep it professional. My problem? I can't forget the night we met. That searing kiss. The way she felt in my hands. I find myself willing to break the rules to get closer to her.Though she tries to fight it, I know she feels it, too. This pull. It's all in the way she fidgets whenever I'm around. It's all in those lingering, hungry looks she casts my way when she thinks no one is watching. Despite the risk to my job that comes with pursuing her, I can't seem to stay away from her.I want to forget about the rules and make her mine. Warning: This book is recommended for readers over 18 years of age.

Veiled Innocence


Ella Frank - 2014
    Tick, tick, tock.Time.That’s all I have now.A small room, a photograph, and time.They want me to trust them and confess my sins.They told me they wouldn't judge me—they lied.I thought we could convince the world that this wasn't a crime.We were wrong.Time doesn't stand still.The clock keeps ticking, the world is unconvinced, and now…Now he is gone.

Things I Wanted To Say (But Never Did)


Monica Murphy - 2021
    Dark and thunderous, furious and fierce. Cold, heartless and devastatingly beautiful, like the statues in our prep school gardens. The school with his family name on the sign. He can do no wrong here. This is his domain. He’s a menace on campus. Adored and feared. Hated and respected. His taunting words carve into my skin, shredding me to ribbons. Yet his intense gaze scorches my blood, fills me with a longing I don’t understand. When I stumble upon him one night alone, I find him broken. Bleeding. My instincts scream to leave and let him suffer, but I can’t. I sneak him into my room. Clean him up. Fall for his lies. Let him possess every single part of me until I’m the one left a gasping, broken mess. When he leaves me alone in the dead of night, he takes my journal with him. Now he knows all my secrets. My hate. My truth. And he promises to use my words against me. I’ll be ruined if my darkest secret gets out. That’s when I strike a bargain with the devil. I’ll let Whit Lancaster ruin me behind closed doors instead.

Intoxication


Charlene Namdhari - 2020
    GOING IN WITH AN OPEN MIND IS BEST.***"Take a risk. Just for the pleasure of it."My past:He was my lover.My present:He's my future father-in-law.My future:Who do I choose? Promises are not meant to be broken. Are they?NOTE: Please be aware that this book deals with sensitive topics like cheating.

Cavalier


T.L. Smith - 2018
    Enter at your own risk, and always remember our number one rule— You must never speak of Crimson Elite—the punishment is severe. Creed ‘Too Hot for Words’ Christopher If God created the perfect man he would closely resemble Creed, on the outside that is. He’s as cavalier as they come. Unconcerned. Cold. Dismissive. I wonder if he has any feelings at all. And when his lips touch mine, everything goes black. He takes me into his world, and it’s the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced. And I’m sucked in time and time again. Like a moth to the flame, I am ready to be set alight. Elicea ‘F*cks With My Head’ Beckham Elicea is a firecracker. She has piqued my interest, and no one piques my interest anymore. Beautiful women are what I do—it’s my work. Not one of them has managed to get their claws into me the way she does. It’s as if she’s seeing my icy heart and trying to melt it, set it alight with each touch of her sinful lips. But that can’t work, it won’t work. Not in my world. *Please note all books can be read as a standalone*