Book picks similar to
Drawing Closer by Jenny Schwartz


short-story
contemporary
romance
contemporary-romance

Tempted


Elizabeth Kelly - 2013
    The arrival of her new boss, Jason Young, has her co-workers competing to see who can bed him first. Lucy refuses to admit her own attraction to him, and his rude behavior towards her only strengthens her resolve to ignore her growing attraction. When a power outage traps her in the elevator with her sexy new boss, she soon realizes his coldness hides his own dark desire for her. Jason Young is determined to show her just how good it can feel to lose control, and Lucy is aching to give in to the sweet temptation.Author's Note: Although Tempted was originally a stand-alone story, reader's enthusiasm inspired me to write a second part to Jason and Lucy's story. Twice Tempted gives readers a look into what happens with Jason and Lucy after that crazy first week.

Falling for My Best Friend, Part 1


Sharon Cummin - 2016
    They say senior year is the best, but I wasn't so sure. Lance Smith, a retired Pittsburgh Pirate, was the most overprotective man I'd ever met. He was also my dad. I was Sammie, his little tomboy baseball player. That was the only way he'd ever see me. My bedroom walls were still covered with scenes he'd painted before I was even born. A picture of him still hung on my wall. The words date, boyfriend, and college all sent him into a crazy speech about his little girl not growing up. He used to joke that I wouldn't be able to date until I was thirty, but I was starting to think it wasn't a joke. I had one goal for the year. That goal was to go to prom. Every girl went to prom. It was the most important night of high school. My dad would surely have to let me go to that, right? When my parents told me that James Reid was moving into our house, I wasn't sure how I felt. They were so excited, especially my dad. James had finally agreed to sign on with the Pirates. He was a pitcher just like my dad. The thought of having him there to practice with had my dad jumping for joy. While I loved the game and played with him all the time, I'd never be a Pirate. Believe me, If I could, I would. You're probably wondering why James moving in would matter to me at all. He'd never be around. He'd always be with his team. We'd never see each other. James was three years and ten days older than me. We'd spent hours and hours playing ball with our dads growing up. Every time our families visited, we were together the entire time. He was the one person that never judged me. He was the one person that promised he'd always protect me and keep me safe. He was my best friend, he just didn't know it. There was something else he didn't know. I'd had a crush on him since I was thirteen. I would remember that moment forever, the moment that changed it all. James kissed me. It wasn't a big kiss. It was just a tiny moment where his lips touched mine. It was my first kiss. It meant nothing to him, and we never mentioned it again. Something about that tiny moment changed my life. One year, I told myself. I could get through one more year with the most overprotective father in the world. I could get through one year with James Reid living on the other side of my bedroom wall. In one year I'd be off at college and free of all the Pirates. Nothing was going to get in my way. A Love for the Game Series Order: 1. Showing Him Who's Boss Part 1,2,3 2. Playing Hardball Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 3. Falling for My Best Friend Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 4. Hacked by Love Part 1, 2, 3 5. Out of My League Part 1, 2, 3 6. Unbreakable Bond This story contains content which is intended for readers over the age of 18.

The Party


Katie Ashley - 2013
    But after standing up as godfather for his great-nephew, Mason, that’s just what he gets at the Christening Party. Escaping the wrath of his father and sisters, he wants nothing more than to get to the company Christmas party. There he knows he can knock back a few stiff drinks and find some new no-strings-attached girl to take home for the night.The last thing Emma Harrison wants is to attend another party—least of all one at work. After throwing the annual life celebration (for the anniversary of her fiancée’s death) with close friends, she’s finally gotten the courage to take matters into her own hands and become a mother. Convincing her slightly inebriated best-friend, Connor, to be her sperm donor was a lot easier than she thought, and all that’s left now is to start the process. But at her best friend and work colleague, Casey’s, insistence, she decides to make an appearance at the company Christmas party for her new boss’s sake.Neither Aidan nor Emma could imagine what fate had in store for them at the party.

The Importance of Being Denny


Kari Gregg - 2011
    Loving his very closeted stepbrother cost Denny everything once: his home, his family, the safety net of his trust fund. Everything. Denny built a new life. Matt finally coming out has stirred his stepmother's wrath, though, and four years of not loving Matt is about to cost Denny everything. Again.Or is it?Original Prompt:Dear Author,Sometimes you can find the love in the most unexpected places. He was younger and so full of himself that I couldn't even stand the sight of him. Unfortunately, we've know each other our whole life, so I couldn't ignore him. And then he decided to prepare a surprise...I've fallen in love with this picture and I'd be really grateful if someone wrote a story about these handsome men. It could be about close neighbours or even brothers (but not friends :). When I look at this picture I see sparks of love, passion and admiration flying between both men and the story should be the same.Photo Description: Two dark-haired jean-clad young men stand chest to chest, faces angled together, eyes closed. Bare muscular abdomens touch. Their mouths hover a breath away from each other. The taller, his back pressed to a rough wall, has a finger tucked in the other man's waistband, pulling him close.Download the story, read it online or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 2.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, brothers, stepbrothers, family, drama, angstWarnings: brothercest (stepbrothers)Word Count: 9,946

Blackbird


Cheryl McIntyre - 2013
    I love you, Hope. And I'm not the only one. I know you care about me. I see it in your eyes. I feel it. Everybody needs love. Everybody. And some people need it more than others. You're a liar if you say you don't. I'll do that for you. I'll love you. All you have to do is let me." –Sometimes Never What happened in the years between the final chapter and epilogue of Sometimes Never? Blackbird is an 18,000+ word novella that continues Mason and Hope's story as they finish high school, start separate colleges, and confront their demons. Though Blackbird can be read on its own, it is better enjoyed after reading Sometimes Never. Recommended for 17+ due to harsh language and some sexual situations.

Stay Close


Alexa Riley - 2017
    Forever.If she were to simply whisper my name, I would be at her feet, begging to touch what I shouldn’t, taste what doesn’t belong to me, run my hands along with the sweet innocence she taunts me with.Penelope Justice is eighteen, old enough to graduate high school but—according to her parents—not old enough to live without 24/7 security. The practice has made her an expert at ditching her bodyguards. One look at Ivan and she never wants to run again.I’ve been hired to protect her.I can’t help but think that perhaps someone should have protected her from me.Ivan steals the breath right out of her lungs, something no boy has ever done. Then again, he’s far from a boy. This man, this man who looks like he could kill someone with the flick of a wrist, is everything. He is her future.I can’t let her go and I won’t give her up. I’ve done bad things in my life, and I don’t deserve her. But I can’t do the honorable thing.I’ve never been noble, and I’m not starting now.

Sinful Rewards 1


Cynthia Sax - 2014
    And a good girl deserves a nice guy—just like the gorgeous and moody billionaire Nicolas Rainer. He is everything she wants in a man.Or so she thinks, until she takes a look through her telescope and sees a naked, tattooed man on the balcony across the courtyard. Hawke is mysterious, the bad boy she knows will bring only heartbreak. He has been watching her, and that makes him all the more enticing.But when a mysterious and anonymous text message dares her to do something bad, she must decide if she is really the good girl she has always claimed to be, or if she's willing to risk everything for her secret fantasy of being watched.Is her mystery man the reclusive billionaire with a wild side or the darkly dangerous bad boy?

Men of Steel


M.J. Fields - 2013
    Sexy tattooed and pierced bad boy, Jase Steel lives on the Jersey shore. Jase his mother, and brothers, Cyrus, Zandor, and Xavier own a tattoo shop. Jase sees Carly his best friends cousin from California who is there to visit her father before going back to Californa for her Sophmore year in college. Jase is immediately drawn to her quirky, funny,Nerdy, and seemingly shy ways. She is equally as attracted to him. Jase and Carly are from two different world, when these two worlds collide will it be a heavenly explosion or just another summer fling.

Once Upon A Coffee


Kait Nolan - 2014
    Invoking her favorite romantic comedy, they arrange to meet in a local coffee shop with a flower and a book. Under a serious deadline to finish a group project for his MBA--solo--the only thing Dillon Lange wants is peace and quiet. When a beautiful stranger sits down in his booth at the coffee shop, he knows he ought to say something about not being who she thinks he is, but he can't resist her smile or her engaging conversation. How long can he keep up the charade? And what will happen when her real date shows up? A short story of approximately 7,500 words. This story is a crossover with the Wishful series."Meet cute" is a term used to describe a situation in which a future romantic couple meets for the first time. Meet Cute Romance is a series of romantic shorts celebrating the possibilities of that first meeting.

The Kiss: An Anthology of Love and Other Close Encounters


C.A. NewsomeBen Cassidy - 2014
    It can also be an exchange, a betrayal, an assault, a promise, a hope...or it could be a goodbye. The intimacy of a kiss cannot be denied. Whether shared, stolen or simply dreamed of, its recipient will be affected. Thirty-one stories by authors from around the world will tease your imagination as you anticipate ‘The Kiss’ in each weird or wonderful tale. This cross-genre anthology contains stories by Kate Aaron, Saxon Andrew, Jacques Antoine, Alison Blake, E. B. Boggs, Shirley Bourget, Ben Cassidy, Jason Deas, Sharon Delarose, Meghan Ciana Doidge, Suzy Stewart Dubot, Corrie Fischer, Brandon Hale, Traci Tyne Hilton, Colleen Hoover, Mona Ingram, J. L. Jarvis, Elizabeth Jasper, Anna J. McIntyre, Jess Mountifield, C. A. Newsome, S. Patrick O'Connell, Suzie O'Connell, Jeanette Raleigh, J. R. C. Salter, Molly Snow, Holli Marie Spaulding, Cleve Sylcox, Robert Thomas, Chris Ward and George Wier. 130,000 words

Ryder


Chantal Fernando - 2013
    His band ‘Morning Alliance,’ has just gotten signed, and are now touring with one of the most popular bands in the world. When he meets Lexi Raine, the timing couldn’t have been worse. But like they say, love finds you when you aren’t looking for it. The stunning blonde manages to turn his world upside down, through the fierce connection they share. When Ryder is given the choice between the past and present, he is forced to choose between his career, and a woman he has felt something for like no other. Will he make the right choice? Or spend the rest of his life living with regret? Lexi is all alone in the world, besides her best friend and partner in crime Tee. After traveling around the world, drifting from place to place, she tries to settle down in Perth, the place she grew up in. When she meets Ryder, he seems almost too good to be true. What happens when she finds out that when things seem too good to be true, they usually are?

All Revved Up


Sylvia Day - 2011
    But she always knew his future was in New York, while hers was tied to the auto shop that was her close-knit family's livelihood. Pushing him away nearly broke her, but when he took her heart with him, he left something precious behind.Now he's back, demanding her body, her desire, her very soul as retribution for the pain he still carries. He won't settle for anything less than everything she’s got, but she still can't leave with him and he still can't stay, and their past has secrets too explosive to share.

Sarah Mine


Riann Colton - 2013
    A quick tumble in her bed and things usually look better for him. However, the Sarah he's come back to has changed from the girl he walked away from five years ago. There are secrets in her sad eyes and she's doing everything in her power to push him away. Hill is going to have man up and figure out what she means to him, because every time she tells him to go he's unable to stay away. When he learns Sarah's secrets his life and heart will never be the same.Recommended for 17+ due to mature themes and sexual content.

Trinity


Elizabeth Nelson - 2013
    Even after a one-night-stand with her sexy boss, she resists his attempts to further their personal and business relationship.Billionaire CEO Laszlo Csatary is used to getting what he wants - and he wants the future with Trinity that she keeps denying him. When Trinity reveals she's pregnant with his child, and a dangerous threat targets her and the baby, Laszlo discovers just how far he's willing to go to protect the future and family he can't live without.

Talker


Amy Lane - 2010
    But Brian has spent his whole life being the invisible man, and he's used to looking below the surface. What he sees in Talker is a fragile and lovable human being. Brian is outwardly straight, but Talker is desperate for love, and when Talker's behavior leads to some painful consequences, Brian is forced to come out of his closet-in dramatic fashion. He'll do anything to make sure Talker sees that he's the Prince Charming Talker has always needed.