A statistic. A victim. A single teenage mother from the poor part of town. Most of the time I'm too busy working and struggling to care what people think. Survival doesn't come easy.I have a dark secret, a pressure valve, a rare moment just for myself. On these nights I visit a club. There I find men who give me what I need. Men who aren't afraid to take what they want.Men like Colin.But he takes more than a few stolen hours. He demands more than my body. He wants my heart and soul--my happily ever after. I never thought I'd be Cinderella. I never thought a man that rough could be my prince.

    But that wasn't always the case. Andi never knew what a “normal” life was like. Having been raised in foster care from the age of six after the death of her parents, Andi became emancipated at 16 after an especially horrible incident forced her into a psychiatric hospital. Luke Woods, the family black sheep and street-brawler, is determined to be a successful professional boxer despite his family’s protests. He needs Andi’s help to get there. The wedge between him and his family over his past relationship issues and career choices is not easily overcome. Luke must learn to face the past mistakes, fears and demons that constantly plague him. Fireworks and passions quickly ignite between Andi and Luke in the midst of the chaos that surrounds and threatens them. She never revealed the secrets and lies that have plagued her, but when she publicly inherits her family fortune, the living, breathing past comes back to torment her and threaten all that she holds dear. For the first time in her life, Andi must learn to rely on someone else to love and protect her or risk losing the man she loves. Sometimes love isn’t enough. Sometimes it’s all you need.

    Katie, just out of high school, struggles with a tortured home life she cannot escape. Everything changes when Katie hops into the front seat of Adam's ambulance. Overwhelmed by what they are feeling, neither possess the confidence to make the first move. They walk away from each other, full of regret. To find her, Adam risks his future. To be with him, Katie sacrifices her security. Little do they know, what little time they do have, is being measured by a heartbeat that is slowly dying out.

    But now he's back in her life, and ready to steal a heritage protection contract that could make or break her career--if he doesn't steal her heart first. Samantha's vowed to hate him, but it's more than anger heating the competition between them. With sparks flying across the conference table and sizzling in every touch, Dean proposes a weekend liaison. Anything to have Sam again; anything to get her out of his system. But the unresolved feelings between them complicate both their personal and professional lives, and one wild weekend could turn into a disaster that would destroy the one job that means more to Samantha than anything. For a shot at love...is it worth the risk?

     ------- He wants all her tomorrows Small town mechanic Gage Jenick’s been waiting for this moment ever since his best friend’s little sister transformed from annoying tagalong to desirable woman. When sweet Katy Thompson kicks her boyfriend to the curb, Gage makes his move. In spite of an assignment that will take him completely off the grid for five long months, he steals her away for one night of steamy passion with the promise of more in the future. She can’t remember yesterday When a freak accident on a storm-swept road leaves Katy with a memory full of holes, she can’t remember her own email password, much less how the little pink “positive” on the pregnancy stick got there. She’s at a loss to explain what happened, or when…or with whom. Suddenly she’s got two men claiming to be her baby daddy: her redneck ex, and her long-time crush, Gage. But what the mind forgets, the heart remembers. Still, it’s going to be a long, hard ride to a happily-ever-after for two, plus one. *This book was previously published as BABY, BE MINE.*

    Dating one of the hottest guys in the biggest fraternity? Done. Failing out of College? Oops... When Libby Gentry's parents receive the letter that she's failed out of school, Libby is forced to pack her Prada bag and head to work for her great aunt in rural Louisiana. Nothing about tiny Elsbury, Louisiana, entices her until she locks eyes with the southern charmer, Blaine Crabtree. Libby is used to getting what she wants and Blaine is no exception, but as the two grow closer, bigger problems arise. Libby doesn't know how much more pain her already paper-thin heart can take and when new opportunities in Chicago pop up she is presented with a difficult situation: wait for her redneck Romeo, or move on.

    What he can't seem to run is his love life. He's closing in on the perfect vintage and the perfect game, but so far the perfect woman has eluded him.Veterinarian Jackie Brandon is eluding her aristocratic past and memories of a soccer star who jilted her just before their wedding. She devotes herself to a marine mammal rescue center on the northern California coast, where hundreds of seals and sea lions are washing up dead.A chance meeting in a midnight storm brings Alex and Jackie together to rescue a stranded whale. Watching her work, he realizes she's the passionate, courageous woman he thought he'd never find—he just has to overcome her deep distrust of jocks. Jackie’s passion and courage lead her to discover what's killing the sea mammals. The culprits want to silence her, and Alex is the only one standing in their way. What will he sacrifice to save the woman he loves?While each book in the Tavonesi Series, by award-winning author Pamela Aares can be read as a standalone, you may enjoy reading the entire series.Love Bats Last (Book 1)Thrown By Love (Book 2)Fielder's Choice (Book 3)Love On The Line (Book 4)

    Each can stand alone. The Carringtons, like most rich, influential people, are good-looking, fast-driving, hard-hitting men and women whose impulses lead them into trouble every time. Here are a few of their stories. Book 4-MAKE-BELIEVE WIFE He was her childhood crush come to life and he seemed to want her this time. Did she dare risk her famous father's scorn--again?Kathy's whole life is focused on winning at swimming to redeem herself with her father. She has no time for Jason, a champion himself, who doesn't believe she can do it. Will she let his handsome face and intoxicating lovemaking throw her off the track again? She has to make a choice--love, or winning. Either one will tear her life apart. Original published in print by Pageant and recently revised as part of the Destiny Bay Series.Book 5-PROMOTED TO WIFEShe has to prove she can do the job as butler. But is sleeping with the hot shot son part of the job description?Terry Yardley is trying to keep her father's butlering job open for him until he recovers from an accident by doing the work herself. Cleaning and preparing for a ball she can handle, but no one told her she would have to deal with a blow up doll, a set of hard-to-handle children, Rick's Aunt Julia and the very sexy Carrington gentleman himself. Original published in print by Dell Candlelight Ecstasy and recently revised as part of the Destiny Bay Series.Book 6-NOT THE MARRYING KINDWill she risk her heart to catch a thief?Shelley Carrington isn't sure if movie-star handsome Michael Harper is a conman or one of the good guys. It's hard to tell and she's had so much uncertainty in her life, she doesn't dare to trust her own judgment. She watches him fool and dazzle others-is he doing the same to her? Is that why she can't even trust what her own heart tells her?

    Tobias Andrews, guardian of the magic, assists each trapped spirit—but not until every story’s happy ending is assured.In She’s Me, chubby, shy Lucy McGillicuddy who lives in a small English village in 1963 is forced to share herself with 2006 top model Jenna McBride. This experience teaches them both valuable lessons that enable them to finally accept true love.In He’s Her, schoolteacher Carrie Temple has to make space for Vegas casino owner Rhett Parks, whose spirit invades her heart as well as her mind, and won’t leave. At first she desperately wants him to get out, but soon she can’t bear for them to be apart.In We’re One, Vegas nightclub star Crystal Davis wants nothing to do with men until she’s seduced by Ashley Parks while they flee from a killer. Ashley traps her spirit inside of him to keep her safe, but she soon convinces him to trust her—it’s his safety they need to worry about.

    It hasn’t always been easy. One heartbreak almost ruined her. Some days it’s hard to keep a smile on her face and stay positive, but there are a lot of people counting on her to keep it together. Just when it seems like she’s at the pinnacle of her career, her life takes a turn. She meets a man who challenges everything she knows about herself and makes her question if the life she’s living is for her or for the Nashville machine. Heavy Metal’s bad boy.Hair trigger temper.Struggling to deal with pressure of the industry. Garrett 'Reaper' Thompson is tired. Touring and keeping up appearances with his band “Black Friday” is beginning to wear him out. He’s ready for a change, ready for something different. When he meets Hannah at an awards show, he knows that she’s the one, he knows that he can’t live without her.The problem?Their own insecurities, their fans, her ex-boyfriend, and the media themselves. Can they look past it all and come through on the other side? For their story – this is only the beginning.

    THE ONE! Though the name of her celebration and wedding cake business is up in lights, Bronte Ludlow doesn't care for the trappings of success. All that matters to her is her company, her independence and her heritage,The Dower House. Home to her ancestors since the seventeenth century, no way will she part with it to ‘a man with too much money and no soul’. Nico Ferranti’s only passions are money and power... He's a man who stopped believing in romance long ago and Bronte's a romantic, yet the attraction sparking between them like fireworks over the Piazza del Popolo stuns Nico. When Bronte's brother is badly hurt in a car accident in Rome, Nico whisks Bronte to the Eternal City. He wants her and he wants The Dower House and Nico Ferranti always gets what he wants. But Bronte’s heart has already been broken by one ruthless charmer and although tempted she isn’t about to give up either her heart or her home to the charismatic Italian without a fight!

    Kim Luchetti fled her home at the young age of 18, swearing to never return and trying to forget the tragedy that had broken her heart. Eight years later, Kim comes home to see her ailing father and faces everyone's questions - especially those of the former boyfriend who shares her secret.

    Having lost half her body weight, she's headed to her small hometown to test out her new body on an old flame. Just a harmless fling to get her self confidence back before she returns to the city and the new man in her life.But Lizzie's plan has a few bumps in the road.Finn Robbins can't believe Liz is back in town. Desperate to be the holder of her innocence eighteen years ago, he never got the chance. Now she's back and he can finally check her off his to do list.But her friends, his son, and the mysterious Annie may have something to say about that.Book 2:Worth The DriveAll Katie ever wanted was a baby. Be careful what you wish for.Katie Lipton is the town beauty, but that never got her what she wanted most—a baby. And, oh yeah, a faithful husband would have been nice, too.Reeling from her husband’s cheating and desertion, Katie embarks on a one-night fling with professional golfer Darío Luna. Never could she have imagined that one night with Darío would give her something fifteen years of marriage couldn’t—morning sickness.Darío was raised without a father, and he has no intention of the same fate befalling his child. He’s still not sure about Katie, though. Did she trick him? Lie to him? But his feelings for her, and this crazy attraction he feels, soon has him putting his doubts aside to spend more time with her. He tells himself it’s for the sake of the baby. Yeah. Right.Agreeing to try to work out some sort of relationship before the baby is due, Katie travels with Darío to his golf tournaments, walking the course with him by day...and giving in to their attraction by night. But will it be enough?Book 3:Worth The FallAlison is way too smart to be this dumb about a guy.Alison Jukuri is the smart one. But it hasn't seemed to help her much in her relationships with men. And now she's on the verge of making one, big stupid move.Again.Petey Ryan has spent his life hitting and being hit as a defenseman in the NHL. But now he's about to go up against his biggest foe of all ... tiny Alison Jukuri.A woman with whom he shares a long-held secret. * * * * * * * * * * These books each contain 2-3 fairly graphic love scenes and the F-bomb is detonated somewhat frequently. If they were movies, they would be rated R.The Worth Series thus far:1. Worth the Weight (Lizzie and Finn)2. Worth the Drive (Katie and Dario3. Worth the Fall (Alison and Petey)4. Worth the Effort (Deni and Sawyer)4.5 Totally Worth Christmas - novella (Phoebe and Charlie)5. Worth The Price (Liv and Twain)6. Worth The Lies (Kelsey and Huck)

    He broke her heart to save his own.As an elite police diver tormented by her father's fatal drowning accident, Piper Harland is forced back to the one place she'd sworn never to return. Her tiny hometown on New Zealand’s isolated Stewart Island hasn’t much changed in the nine years she’s been gone. But she soon comes face to face with everything she ran from — grief, regret, and the scalding pain of a love lost.The one place Ryan "West" Westlake belongs is a hundred feet below Stewart Island’s dangerous waters with one breath of air and only a line to guide him to the surface. Down deep he can forget his mentor’s death. Down deep he can forget the one woman who seared his heart when she left. Only now she’s back, and as it turns out, he hasn’t forgotten a thing.Desire and tempers flare when West and Piper cross paths again. Can they face their past and be together? Two hearts. A second chance. Everything on the line...IN TOO DEEP is the first story in Tracey Alvarez's best-selling Stewart Island books set against the stunning backdrop of Aotearoa, New Zealand. If you like heartwarming, sexy and sweet small town romances with a touch of comedy, you'll love sharing the journey with these authentic men and women struggling to find their special someone.Intended for mature 18+ aged readers who enjoy their feel good romance on the steamier side.

    If you want a book like that, I'd be happy to recommend one, but I don't have that kind of story to tell. Instead my story is about rash decisions and finding out that your dream guy is bad in bed. It's the story of when I finally went skinny dipping, and how my life was never the same again. Oh, and it's also the story of my freshman year of college and realizing Mr. Right might have been there all along.