Not the drama of working in a tattoo parlor, which seems to be around every corner. When things get him down, he smiles and cracks a joke. But he’s not the kind of man you cross, or you’ll find yourself at the wrong end of his fists.Annika Belousov takes everything seriously.Like her job as a reality television producer, given that she typically has something to prove. Or her love life, which is defined by a series of requirements — affluent, ambitious, accomplished, to name a few. Definitely her family, who worked their whole lives to afford her every opportunity, a sacrifice she doesn’t take lightly. When she’s tapped to produce a reality show at Joel’s shop, she doesn’t think twice, just goes in for the kill, as if there were any other way.The second Annika walks into Joel’s shop, he makes it his mission to crack her open, but she’s not having it. He’s all wrong — too crass, too hairy, too un-serious. But it doesn’t take her long to find out there’s more to him than smirks and tattoos. And what she finds could put her career and his heart on the line.Not that Joel cares. Because for the first time in a long time, he’s found his tonic.

    It’ll never happen. Not today, not tomorrow, not five years from now. Not when some idiot breaks your heart, or when you realise what your little sundresses do to everyone. Not when you’re thirty, not when you’re fifty. I’m going to push your limits, break you down, make you cry, and in the end … I’ll save you.”Some people exist in the blessed light of day, but I'm not one of those people. I exist in the bleak grey of a post-twilight world, where the warmth is sucked from the air and the weightless shadows come out to play. I will never be free, because I have a demon. It wasn’t always with me, but something happened, something bad. I lost a year of my life, and now here I am, just me and my demon.Maybe the demon is him: Nicholai Fell. He exists in the horrible darkness of a moonless night: quiet, full of mystery, completely unreachable. He might be in the profession of saving people, but it isn’t going to work this time. Not even when he starts to break all of his own rules.Because maybe …Just maybe ...My demon is me.

    Power, prestige, and plenty of women, the dapper politician’s life is pretty phenomenal. But in the midst of the biggest campaign of his life, he needs to focus. The last thing he can afford is a distraction.ALISON BAKER is a work-in-progress.As a single mother to HUXLEY, she’s rebuilding life on her terms. She’s focused on family, faith, and a future for her son that can’t be taken away. Putting her child first means not being careless, no matter what. A chance encounter forces Barrett and Alison to redefine what they really want out of life. But everything comes at a cost ... and sometimes, even for love, it’s a price too steep to pay.

    Secretly...of course. Devin Andrews loves his job at Fierce-The Brewery and working for his cousin Mason. What he doesn’t love is that his Aunt Jolene has set her sights on making him the next target of her matchmaking scheme. But he’s onto her and has no plans on falling prey like her unsuspecting children did. Besides, he’s not sure he has what it takes to fall in love since he never has before, even being the oldest of the family. Hope Hall picked up her life and moved to Charlotte for a man. She should have listened to her family when they cautioned her against it, reminding her that she was too spontaneous with everything in life...even men. After being blind, stupid, and naive once again, she doesn’t want to go home and listen to them say they were right. Instead she is trying to make a life for herself—one without a man in it—and prove she can do it on her own.

    Lesson #1: Nothing goes the way you plan.Lesson #2: You can’t trust men. Especially not the pretty ones.Lesson #3: Turns out, appearances are almost always deceiving.Emma thinks she has life all figured out, and what she knows isn’t good. For years, she’s put her big sister, who was born with Down syndrome, first. Now Emma’s ready to start her own life, but fate has other plans. To do the right thing for the sister she loves, Emma’s dreams will just have to wait.She doesn’t plan on meeting Landon — a rich, flirtatious jock, who never has to wait for anything. Not for attention, not for money, and certainly not for girls. Meeting Emma marks the first time in his life that he’s had to fight for something. And Landon doesn't know how to lose.Emma has no interest in wasting her summer with a superficial guy like Landon. But very soon she realizes she is wrong about him. The question is, can she trust him? Or will he let her down like every other guy in her life? But most importantly, can Emma trust herself enough to live the life she's always dreamed of?Life has a way of sneaking in the most important lessons when you aren't looking. And once the heart gets involved, that's when the real learning begins. *** This book is intended for mature audiences. 18 and over!

    She guards her secret truth—the desire she harbors for her guardian. Liam North got custody of her six years ago. She’s all grown up now, but he still treats her like a child. No matter how much he wants her. No matter how bad he aches for one taste. Her sweet overtures break down the ex-soldier’s defenses, but there’s more at stake than her body. Every touch, every kiss, every night. The closer she gets, the more exposed his darkest secret. She’s one step away from finding out what happened the night she lost her family. One step away from leaving him forever.

    Her life was everything she wanted it to be; until one fateful night changed everything – leaving her broken and without direction. Nearly a year later, she still has little faith in anyone or anything. Desperate to reclaim her life’s ambition, she takes an unexpected offer that promises to solve all her problems. But as Mia moves forward, she’s faced with obstacles she couldn’t have foreseen. The biggest of them lies within the mystery of Ethan Fitzgerald; a man who affects her like no other, but who she should avoid pursuing, at all costs. On a mission himself, Ethan Fitzgerald didn’t care who he pissed off on his road to fulfill his mother’s dying wish. He relied on himself, and was closed off to the world around him – until Mia Ryan walked through his door. Normally one to avoid messy emotions, Ethan’s world is turned upside down by Mia, and he can’t seem to get enough of her. There are lines you can cross that will change the course of your life forever …

    Angela Head down, eyes peeled for any opportunity to get off the dead-end course my mother carelessly paved for me years ago.My plan takes a sharp turn landing me directly across the hall from Creekwood’s resident bad boys. The three streetbike riding misfits are as stubborn as they are sexy. And they. Are. Sexy. Especially the one with the mocha swirl eyes watching my every move.But even the six-foot hallway separating us can’t keep the overbearing trio from constantly getting in my way.When my past threatens to catch up with me, I quickly learn not every detour promises an easier route, no matter how tempting my new neighbors might make it look. Coty Head up, eyes locked on anything threatening to throw me off the carefully constructed path I have mapped out.I live my life the same way I ride my bike, never once regretting the roads I’ve chosen.Lately though, after years of the same scenery, everything’s starting to blur together. It’s only when our elusive neighbor girl comes out of nowhere that I realize what’s been missing.And now that I have, I don’t think I can let her pass by so quickly. At least not without proving the lengths I’ll go for her first.

    Growing up, Mallory Dodge learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it's been four years since her nightmare ended, she's beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime. Now, after years of homeschooling, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at a public high school. But she never imagined she'd run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn't seen since childhood, on her very first day. It doesn't take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet soon it becomes apparent that she's not the only one grappling with lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider's life spiral out of control, Mallory must make a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants and the truths that need to be heard.

    Fierce. Nothing at all like the girl I used to know, which is absolutely terrifying because Danika Winters is the only person outside of that room who knows the truth. She could ruin me, and I’m not talking about my reputation. I couldn’t give two shits about what the kids at St. A’s think. I’m talking major, life altering, jail time ruined.I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her quiet. Even if it means destroying the only person I’ve ever cared about.DanikaThey say when you meet the person you’re supposed to be with, time stops. Your brain takes in every microdetail, committing it all to memory, and you’re hit with this unexplainable need. A need to get to know that person, talk to that person, simply be beside that person. And then there’s the kiss. A fire spreading, earth-shattering, kiss that wipes all others from your memory. I’ve felt that pull towards someone once, and it consumed me. I wasn’t supposed to fall for my middle school best friend. But he wasn’t supposed to break my heart.

    I don’t have time to fall in love—I’m too busy trying to run a business, keep the red socks out of the white laundry, and get the damn pillowcases on without owing a dollar to the swear jar. Sure, Frannie Sawyer is beautiful and sweet, but she’s twenty-seven, the boss’s daughter, and my new part-time nanny—which means she’s completely off-limits. It’s bad enough I can’t stop fantasizing about her, what kind of jerk would I be if I acted on the impulse to kiss her? (Exactly the kind of jerk you’re thinking.) Actually, I’m worse than that—because I didn’t stop with a kiss, and now I can’t stay away.  She makes me feel like myself again. She reminds me what it’s like to want something just for me. She’s everything I ever needed, but nothing I ever imagined. I’m a former Marine. I should have had the strength to resist her from the start. But I didn’t. And now I have to choose between the life I want and the life she deserves. Even if it means giving her up.

    They went hand in hand; just like we did. The pain of the past encompassed my soul. It was on a path to destroy me—that was if I didn’t do it myself first.I was drowning in the depths of my sorrow, trying to push through each day to get to the next. And then he turned up. There was a time when he was the only beam of light within the darkness.But he snatched that away when he left and forgot all about me. Only now he was back, and standing at the front of my World History class.Cade Easton was no longer the charming sixteen year old who never failed to put a smile on my face. Instead, he was my new teacher.They said there was nothing quite like your first love. That all consuming feeling—the infatuation.It should have mattered that I was his student, but it didn’t. And neither did the eight year age gap.Age was just a number.Time which would pass us both by. Lines blurred.Rules were broken. And there was nothing that could stop us.Until my past resurfaced and threatened to demolish everything we’d built. With Cade by my side, I was sure I’d conquer everything. I just hoped he stayed there.A thousand steps separated us, but nothing could keep us apart.Or could it?Defy Fate is book one in the Fated Duet. A two-part, angst-filled, all-consuming, captivating story of forbidden love.

    He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

    Both Elliott and Catherine feel like outcasts, yet they find an easy friendship with each other. But when Catherine needs him most, Elliott is forced to leave town.Elliott finally returns, but he and Catherine are now different people. He’s a star high school athlete, and she spends all her free time working at her mother’s mysterious bed-and-breakfast. Catherine hasn’t forgiven Elliott for abandoning her, but he’s determined to win back her friendship…and her heart.Just when Catherine is ready to fully trust Elliott, he becomes the prime suspect in a local tragedy. Despite the town’s growing suspicions, Catherine clings to her love for Elliott. But a devastating secret that Catherine has buried could destroy whatever chance of happiness they have left.

    There’s only one problem—she’s pretty sure he doesn’t even know she exists. A friend of her older brother, Six is five years older than her. Plus, there’s the pesky fact that he’s had a steady girlfriend for months. Still, even though she knows there’s no chance for her, she can’t seem to let the fantasy go.Six Jagger has had a thing for Brooklyn Hall since the first time he laid eyes on her a year ago. However, after finding out she's his friend's younger half-sister, not to mention the daughter of the high-rolling mayor, he wiped her off his list of possibilities. That should’ve been the end of it, but for some reason, he can’t stop watching and admiring her from afar. Happy that he’s successfully maintained his distance, all that changes on the night Brooklyn walks into Inked Edges, asking him for a tattoo. After that, all his carefully constructed barriers come tumbling down, taking them on an explosive ride of lust, passion, and desire.All’s well that ends well, right? Too bad that wasn’t the end, but merely the beginning…