Book picks similar to
Heart of the Matter by LaQuette


romance
interracial
contemporary
interracial-romance

Leather & Lace


Samantha A. Cole - 2015
    Devon, an ex-Navy SEAL and private club owner, is all too happy to help.Soon, a single weekend of hot and dirty sex turns into something more. But while they fight their connection, a killer has Devon in his sights. Will they survive with their hearts and lives intact?**This book contains adult content.

True Mates


Zena Wynn - 2008
    Her life is all about control...her control. She owns her own business, her own condo, and conducts her relationships the same way she runs her business--by her rules. Any man that doesn't like it is welcome to leave.Alex Wolfe is the town of Refuge's only veterinarian. He's also a shape-shifter, and the Alpha of the Raven Pack. He's been waiting for the woman who can complete him, his one True Mate. Even though the odds of finding her are slim, he refuses to settle for second best. Once he finds her, he'll never let her go.Their worlds collide when Kiesha is snatched out of her nice, safe world and mysteriously teleported to a clearing in the woods outside of Refuge. She's out of her element and things are out of her control.Life just got a little bit more interesting...

Wicked Games


Maureen Smith - 2015
     Wicked Games (Book #1) College recruiter Nadia Warner has sworn off jocks for good. So when her sports reporter brother drags her out to a hockey practice, the last thing she’s looking for is romance. But when she locks gazes with hockey superstar Reid Holden, all bets are off…. Reid is the resident bad boy of the Denver Rebels. On the ice, he delivers bone-crushing hits that often land him in the penalty box. Off the ice, he has a reputation for snubbing reporters, partying hard and breaking hearts. No woman has ever been able to crack his tough shell…until Nadia comes along. When their eyes meet, the electricity between them is hot enough to melt the ice beneath Reid’s feet. In exchange for giving Nadia’s brother a quote for his column, Reid wants an introduction to Nadia. But that’s just the beginning….

Twisted Bond


Emma Hart - 2015
    I’m passionate and shoot before I think. You only f*ck with me if you’re stupid.Photograph cheating spouses. Hand over the evidence. Cash my check.That was my plan when I returned home to Holly Woods, Texas, and became a private investigator.Finding the dead body in my dumpster? Yeah… Given the choice, I think I would have opted out of that little discovery, especially since all three of my brothers are cops. And my Italian grandmother is sure the reason I’m single is because of my job.Of course, my connection to the victim is entirely coincidental. Until I’m hired by her husband to investigate her murder and shoved bang-smack into the path of Detective Drake Nash. My nemesis, a persistent pain in my ass, and one hell of a sexy son of a bitch.Shame he still holds a grudge from that time I shot him in the foot twelve years ago, or we could have something. In another life.So now all I have to do is avoid my nonna’s blind dates, try not to blackmail my brothers into giving me confidential police files, and absolutely do not point my gun at Drake Nash. Or kiss him. Or jump his bones.All while I hunt down the killer.Sounds totally simple—until a second body proves that sometimes things that start as coincidences don’t always end up that way…(Twisted Bond is book one of the Holly Woods Files series and while it does not end in a cliffhanger, it is not a standalone.)

Glutton for Pleasure


Alisha Rai - 2009
    She likes it spicy. Devi Malik knows how to heat things up. She does it every night as head chef in her family’s Indian restaurant. Her love life, though, is stuck in the subzero freezer. Now, with a chance to fulfill a secret fantasy with her long-time crush and his brother, it’s time to put her desire on the front two burners. For Marcus Callahan, a love-’em-and-leave-’em attitude isn’t only a necessary evil of their kink. It’s a protective device. Lately, though, his brother Jace has been making noises about craving something more. Jace’s dissatisfaction with their lifestyle grows with every glimpse of sweet little Devi. Yet Marcus is too haunted by the pain of their shared past to give love a chance. Despite their reputation for vanishing with the dawn, they discover one night with Devi isn’t nearly enough. And Devi finds herself falling in love with two very different men. It’ll take more than explosive sex to light up the shadows surrounding the Callahan brothers’ secrets. But Devi’s never been afraid of the dark…

Love Is a Stranger


John Wiltshire - 2014
    A lie so profound that when the shadows are lifted, Ben realises he's in love with a very dangerous stranger. Ben has to choose between Nikolas and safety, but sometimes danger comes in a very seductive package.

The Safe Bet


Brittney Sahin - 2015
    No attachments, no relationships — he's too busy transforming his knack for military intelligence into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. But when headstrong event planner Kate Adams comes barreling into his life, everything changes.From the moment she arrives in Charlotte, Kate is tongue-tied by Michael. She's never fallen for a client before, but then she's never had a client like him — sleek, hard, and impenetrable as steel.While Kate struggles to keep her distance, a stalker sends her tumbling more deeply into Michael's world. The former Marine is equipped and willing to protect her, and yet Kate finds herself growing more terrified than ever in his care. For as they grow closer, she realizes that Michael has his own secret past. And while he might save her life, he will surely break her heart.Author's Note: Previously titled: Silenced Memories. This is a STAND-ALONE romantic mystery novel. Hidden Truths: Former Marines. Strong female leads. No cliffhangers.

Honor


J.L. Drake - 2016
    Normally, I could block out the pain, but not this time. Something wasn’t right…The next thing I knew, I found myself in a North Dakota hospital where things took an unexpected turn…Mia Harper was the new nurse who seemed to know more about me than she should. Yet I couldn’t help but flirt with her. She was witty, playful, and her beauty was unmatched. I couldn’t get enough.Just when I thought things were looking up, it got weird…Someone returned from my past and flipped my world around.One thing was certain—I’d put my life on the line to keep Mia safe and to finally learn the answer to the question that had haunted me my whole life. What really happened that night twenty-five years ago?

Hard to Hold on To


Laura Kaye - 2014
    He may have just met her, but Jenna's the first person to make him feel alive since that devastating day in the desert more than a year ago.Jenna has never met anyone like Easy. She can't describe how he makes her feel--and not just because he saved her life. No, the stirrings inside her reach far beyond gratitude.As the pair are thrust together while chaos reigns around them, they both know one thing: the things in life most worth having are the hardest to hold on to.

Quiver


Trevion Burns - 2016
     Ten years later, she’s a medical school graduate, has just accepted a residency in the town that crushed her soul, and she’s hungry for revenge. The best thing about medical school? It trained her to be a killer without ruining her manicure. Without a single ounce of guilt. Not a shred of evidence left in her wake. And before summer came to a close on that sleepy island called Shadow Rock, Veda Vandyke planned to put her Stanford M.D. to good use. Ten times. What Veda hadn’t planned on was being tempted by her mouth-watering Italian boss, Gage Blackwater. With pulsating biceps, a heart-stopping smile, and a savage stroke game that brought Veda to her knees, Gage threatened to spread her open in ways she’d never been spread before. Bestowing upon her an unshakeable devotion that unearthed her deepest secrets and most ardent desires, he had the power to destroy everything. But the ten animals who’d brutalized her and robbed her of her innocence needed to pay the price. No matter how persistent that spit-shined rich boy was, Veda refused to be swayed from her mission by his tongue-fueled kisses and intense brown eyes. Nothing would distract her from exacting revenge. Not even falling in love. — QUIVER is an interracial romance. Triggering elements. Strong sexual content—including graphic assault. Strong language. This story ends in a cliffhanger. The Revenge Serial is written to unfold over multiple volumes. Book 1: Quiver Book 2: coming soon

Forged in Fire


Trish McCallan - 2011
    When events in her dream start coming true, she heads to the flight’s departure gate. To her shock, she recognizes the man she’d watched die the night before. Lieutenant Commander Zane Winters comes from a bloodline of elite warriors with psychic abilities. When Zane and two of his platoon buddies arrive at Sea-Tac Airport, he has a vision of his teammates’ corpses. Then she arrives—a leggy blonde who sets off a different kind of alarm. As Beth teams up with Zane, they discover the hijacking is the first step in a secret cartel’s deadly global agenda and that key personnel within the FBI are compromised. To survive the forces mobilizing against them, Beth will need to open herself to a psychic connection with the sexy SEAL who claims to be her soul mate.

A Reservation for One


LaShawn Vasser - 2017
    . . tragic. A disaster. A catastrophe. She wanted off the break-up and make-up crazy train that left her unable to recognize herself. Her plan. End the ridiculousness and focus on getting control of her life. His plan. Which one? Love’s plan. Amp up the crazy. Love and life were about to get much more complicated. PLEASE NOTE: A Reservation for One is a 2-Part series. This NOVELLA is a traditional sweet romance and ends in a cliff-hanger. It is adult in nature and is for mature audiences only.

Mr. Bentini's Lady: The Beginning


Jaye McCloud - 2014
    Bentini's LadyTo help pay the bills, overworked and underappreciated middle school teacher, Tiressa Hawkins, applies for a temp position at Bentini and Sons. By some strange twist of fate, she becomes the personal assistant of Mrs. Bentini, the matriarch of the Bentini family. Tiressa not only loves her new job, she also loves that it pays much more than she ever earned as a teacher. Everything goes well until Tiressa meets Antonio Bentini.From the first moment that powerful executive Antonio Bentini, meets Tiressa Hawkins, he is captivated by her. So much so, that he insists on breaking Mrs. Bentini’s number one rule and sets out to make himself the most important man in Tiressa’s life. Tiressa has to decide if she dare take a chance and risk not only her great paying job, but also her heart. Antonio says he wants her love, but is he really telling her the truth. Is what he offering real, or could it turn out to be nothing more than a meaningless affair? You will not regret immersing yourself in the love story of Antonio & Tiressa. Mr. Bentini’s Lady is an interracial (black woman, white man) romance. This 64,677 word novella is the first in this series. It contains adult situations, sexual language, and sexual content. Appropriate for mature readers 18+Note to Reader: If you prefer a spicier version of this book, look for Mr. Bentini’s Lady: An Erotic Romance. It’s the same great story with added erotic sizzle.Prologue I enter the building and decide to take the stairs to the third floor instead of the elevator. As I get to the second level, a voice bounces off the walls and stops me dead in my tracks. “You must want Mr. Matthews to get hurt.” I gasp in shock as I look up to see Antonio walking down the stairs towards me. My first thought is, ‘Shit did he see me with Derrick…and if he did, how much did he actually see?!’ My second thought is, ‘He’s so intimidating when he stabs me with those cold pewter eyes. Now is definitely not the time to talk about money!’ Then bizarrely I think, ‘My Gawd! No man should be that damn fine!’ To see such powerful thighs encased in a pair of very long denim blue jeans. And his chest! His chest and arms are so muscular, he must never miss a workout. There is nothing NOT sexy about Antonio Bentini. He is definitely a triple threat. “Imagine my surprise… I get back in town, rush here to see my lady… And find her in the arms of another man.” Antonio’s voice is low and dangerous. I want to say something. I open my mouth to say something. My lips move, but no words come out. “You didn’t answer my question, Ti. Do you want Derrick Matthews to get hurt?” How in the world would he hurt him? He can‘t be saying that he’ll have a physical confrontation with Derrick? –Is he? “No…No, of course not.” I start stepping back. Antonio matches me step for step until he backs me up against the wall. “Whatever is going on between you and Derrick Matthews stops today. This minute. Do you understand what I’m saying, Tiressa?” He grates out in an infuriated voice. He seems more threatening because he isn’t yelling. The more upset he is, the lower his voice—as if it takes him a great deal of control not to lose control. Although we are not touching, I can feel the heat and energy radiating from his body into mine. I guess I didn’t answer fast enough because Antonio grabs me by the arms and gives me a little shake. I quickly stammer a reply. “Yes. I understand you.

A Night to Remember


Eve Vaughn - 2006
    One thing leads to another and she seeks comfort in the arms of a stranger.Jake wanted Charlie the minute he saw her, but knows he must take things slow with this sexy damsel-in-distress. When his offer of help turns into one steamy night of passion, he knows he can never let her go. Too bad she's disappeared from his bed and out of his life the following morning..Three years pass, but Charlie is never far from Jake's mind, so it comes as a shock to him to discover that his new employee is none other than his dream woman. Charlie is equally shocked to find herself employed by Jake's company because now she has a secret.

The Lord and the Scorpion


Shiree McCarver - 2006
    Sauda Mauri is a trained assassin. She has been a slave and an assassin for many years and now she has a chance at a new life as a free woman if she can complete her final mission. Running from her Japanese master she is traveling under the guise as Lady Francis’s nursemaid so she can get her assignments from the head of the Queen’s Secret Service. She does not need any complications and Lord Ethan Clare is more than determined to be just that. When she is hurt protecting the Queen, she awakens to find Ethan at her bedside. He has been asked to help her uncover who the culprits are behind the attempt on the Queen’s life. Their union changes the destiny of many and attracts the attention of a madman who is determined to get the Blackamoor woman out of their lives forever.