Book picks similar to
Avoiding Intimacy by K.A. Linde


romance
new-adult
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contemporary-romance

Thursday Nights


Lisa N. Paul - 2013
    But when fate brings two weak souls together, will the love they find mend the fragments that are barely holding them together, or will the weight of their past finally cause them to crumble?Max DeLucca has spent seven years trying to forget the betrayal of his past. He lives his life from day to day never looking forward and never looking back. The walls around his heart keep anyone from getting too close and prevent him from feeling too much…until he meets her.Her entire life, Janie Silver searched for the kind of love that wouldn’t leave her broken and more importantly, wouldn't leave her behind. She longs for a love that can heal the wounds of her past and give her the future she knows she deserves. She thought she was looking for something that just didn’t exist…until she meets him.Danny’s on Main is where their story begins. A neighborhood bar where strangers become friends, friends become family and some … become lovers… it all started on Thursday Nights

Forever & Always


Jasinda Wilder - 2013
    Even if it’s just random stuff, nothing important, they’re important to me. Gramps is great, and I love working on the ranch.But…I’m lonely.I feel disconnected, like I’m no one, like I don’t belong anywhere. Like I’m just here until something else happens. I don’t even know what I want with my future. But your letters, they make me feel connected to something, to someone. I had a crush on you, when we first met. I thought you were beautiful. So beautiful. It was hard to think of anything else. Then camp ended and we never got together, and now all I have of you is these letters.S**t.I just told you I have a crush on you. HAD. Had a crush. Not sure what is anymore. A letter-crush? A literary love? That’s stupid. Sorry. I just have this rule with myself that I never throw away what I write and I always send it, so hopefully this doesn’t weird you out too much. I had a dream about you too. Same kind of thing. Us, in the darkness, together.Just us.And it was like you said, a memory turned into a dream, but a memory of something that’s never happened, but in the dream it felt so real, and it was more, I don’t even know, more RIGHT than anything I’ve ever felt, in life or in dreams. I wonder what it means that we both had the same dream about each other. Maybe nothing, maybe everything. You tell me.Cade----------------------------------------------------------------Cade,We’re pen pals. Maybe that’s all we’ll ever be. I don’t know. If we met IRL (in real life, in case you’re not familiar with the term) what would happen? And just FYI, the term you used, a literary love? It was beautiful. So beautiful. That term means something, between us now. We are literary loves. Lovers? I do love you, in some strange way. Knowing about you, in these letters, knowing your hurt and your joys, it means something so important to me, that I just can’t describe. I need your art, and your letters, and your literary love.If we never have anything else between us, I need this. I do. Maybe this letter will only complicate things, but like you I have a rule that I never erase or throw away what I’ve written and I always send it, no matter what I write in the letter. Your literary love,Ever

The Stranger


Kyra Davis - 2013
    In this New York Times bestselling erotic enovella trilogy, a buttoned-up businesswoman takes her friend’s advice and has a fling with a stranger on a trip to Vegas—only to find herself under his mysterious, sexy power both in the boardroom and the bedroom. Kasie Fitzgerald knows who she’s supposed to be. She’s a rising-star-workaholic at a global consulting firm. She’s the fiancée of a well-connected man who’s won the approval of her parents. People know that she’s reliable, serious, proper, cautious, pragmatic, and yes, a little predictable. She’s who Dave and her family want her to be.But as her thirtieth birthday looms, buried feelings begin to resurrect. Her friend takes her to Vegas for one last wild and crazy night. In a dress much shorter and sexier than anything she has ever dared to wear before, she hits the blackjack tables. And meets him. Under the tailored clothes it’s clear that this is a man who is intense, powerful, and maybe even a little dangerous. With a touch of trepidation she accepts his invitation to get a drink, and before long, she’s in his hotel room.She never gets his full name. Perhaps his anonymity is one of the reasons she’s able to give herself over to him and to the moment so completely. Perhaps it’s why she’s just had the most exquisite and passionate sex of her life. Shaken by her own behavior, Kasie tries to chalk it up to one crazy night. But when the mysterious gentleman she’s just had a fling with shows up in her office—as the CEO of a firm her company does a billion dollars of business with a year, demanding that she handle his account, and so much more—things will never be the same again. And there’s no telling where this will go…

The Way We Fall


Cassia Leo - 2015
    Maybe we shouldn’t have fallen so fast and so willingly.Maybe we shouldn’t have moved in together before we went on our first date.Maybe we should have given our wounds time to heal before we tore each other to shreds.Maybe we should have never been together.Houston has kept a devastating secret from Rory since the day he took her into his home. But the tragic circumstances that brought them together left wounds too deep to heal.Five years after the breakup, Houston and Rory are thrust together by forces beyond their control. And all the resentments and passion return with more intensity than ever.Once again, Houston is left with a choice between the truth and the only girl he’s ever loved.The Way We Fall is the first book in The Story of Us series, which follows the tumultuous love story of Rory and Houston. The sequel, The Way We Break, will be released Spring 2015.

All over You


Emily Snow - 2012
    . .Lucas Wolfe is used to getting what he wants—from everyone but one person, that is—so when he meets the wardrobe assistant hired to work his band’s newest video, he’s got to have her. From the moment Sienna first obediently whispers “Yes, Mr. Wolfe”, he knows she’s perfect for him. Three days. And he’ll have her stripped down and bound to his bed.Set two years before the events of DEVOURED, ALL OVER YOU is the story of Sienna and Lucas’s first encounter.

Cloud Walking


A. Meredith Walters - 2013
    Rachel Bradfield has loved Daniel Lowe for most of her life. She has had to sit quietly by while he throws his feelings away on a girl who doesn’t deserve them. Rachel knows she can be everything he needs.Daniel has always known Rachel was special. She is one of his best friends. But what Daniel doesn’t realize is that the girl he has known forever might just be the one he really wants.Love pulls two people together, while tearing two others apart. As Daniel and Rachel discover the beauty of first love their best friend loses her heart to the deepest darkness. Unable to hold Maggie together, Rachel and Daniel find out that love doesn’t have to hurt and that it can change your life.

Birthday Cake


Minx Malone - 2011
    How hard can that be?My best friend is deployed and he worries about his little sister being alone. But I don’t mind taking her out for her birthday. I just have to remember one thing. 1) Keep my hands off her ridiculously curvy body.But there’s just one problem. Mara has her own ideas about what we should do for her birthday. And she wants a lot more than a Hallmark card.

Damian


Jessica Wood - 2013
    The man, the legend, the heartbreaker. As a self-proclaimed man-whore, Damian doesn’t believe in love or commitment. In fact, he can’t remember the last time he’s had feeling for a woman that went beyond hot, no-strings-attached sex. The only things he cares about are his bar, his appearance, and his needs.But then he meets Alexis.Meet Alexis Blythe. A small town girl that has lost a lot of love in her life. Wanting to leave her past behind her, she moves to San Francisco looking for a big change. Yet, despite everything she’s gone through, she still believes in true love.But then she meets Damian.When Alexis shows up at his bar, Damian’s caught by surprise. She’s different. She’s sweet, innocent, and feisty. But above all, this woman didn’t respond to his charm and piercing-blue eyes the way every other woman did. To Damian, she’s his ultimate challenge.Could Alexis be the girl that will break through Damian’s wall of perpetual bachelorhood without getting hurt? Or will Damian remain true his ways and break Alexis’s heart and her hopes of true love?

Stalk Me


Jillian Dodd - 2012
    Discover a breathless fairy-tale romance with swoon-worthy characters, suspense, and a glittering celebrity world. Fans of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and reality TV will devour this pulse-pounding, sexy teen drama set against the backdrop of Hollywood and an East Coast boarding school. Keatyn has everything she ever dreamed. Her life is following the script she wrote for the perfect high school experience. She’s popular, goes to the best parties, dates the hottest guy, and sits at the most-coveted lunch table. She’s just not sure she wants it anymore. Because, really, things aren’t all that perfect. Her best friend is threatening to tell everyone her perfect relationship is a scam. Her perfect boyfriend gets drunk at every party they go to. It’s exhausting always trying to look and act perfect. And, deep down, she isn’t sure if she has any true friends. To add to the drama, her movie star mom has a creepy stalker. A hot, older man flirts with her and tells her they should make a movie together. And she’s crushing on an adorable surfer. Dating him would mean committing social suicideSo she writes a new script. One where all the pieces of her life will come together in perfect harmony. But little does she know, there's someone who will do anything to make sure that doesn’t happen.

On the Rocks


Sawyer Bennett - 2014
    Now he’s returned home to the sand and salty breeze of the North Carolina Outer Banks so he can open The Last Call, a beach bar nestled among the dunes of the Atlantic.Five years ago, Gabby Ward drunkenly threw herself at her best friend’s brother, only to have her young heart crushed. Hunter is back but Gabby is content to stay far away from him and his dangerously charming ways. Gabby’s well-schemed plans to ignore Hunter go up in flames when he presents her an offer she simply can’t refuse. Working together day in and day out proves problematic for two reasons—Gabby realizes her feelings for Hunter are still very much alive, while Hunter struggles to break through to Gabby’s cold heart. What starts out as a mutual business arrangement soon turns into a passion that neither can deny.But when the pro surfing tour comes knocking and Hunter has a chance to reclaim his former glory, hard choices lie ahead for both of them.Choices that could destroy what they have built or take them further than they could ever dare to hope in their second chance at romance.

Unbreakable


Rebecca Shea - 2013
    She’s a good daughter, makes excellent grades, and always strays on the safe side of life. The last thing she thought would ever happen was falling in love with her best friend’s brother. But sometimes fate just has a way of bringing two people together. Wide receiver for the University of Arizona, Gabe Garcia, seems to have it all. When his feelings for Jessica come to surface, Gabe will give up everything to be with her. But what happens when a tragedy abruptly changes the course of your life? For Jessica and Gabe, everything they thought they knew about each other will be questioned. Sometimes, there are scars in life that are cut too deep to completely heal. Will their love prove to be unbreakable, or will it shatter and prove fate is just another lie?*This book contains mature subject matter and is not intended for those under 17 years of age.*

This Magic Moment


Virna DePaul - 2010
    She prides herself on being a lady in public, but after she's dumped yet again for being a lady in the bedroom, she's ready to go back to school.Determined to find her inner sex diva, she enlists her childhood friend, Max Dalton, to tutor her after hours. Instead, she ends up in the wrong bed and gets a lesson in passion from Max's twin brother, Rhys Dalton, a man Melina's always secretly wanted but never thought she could have. Despite craving the occasional adventure, Melina's a small-town girl who wants roots and a family. Rhys and Max, on the other hand, are celebrities who travel from one city to another, changing bed partners as easily as plane flights. Rhys is outwardly the more reserved of the two but, unable to believe his good luck when he finds Melina waiting for him, he gives Melina her first taste of multiples right out the gate. Come morning, she's so mortified that she threw herself at Rhys that she blurts out the truth about her tutoring experiment. Not about to let her get away from him, Rhys convinces Melina that when it comes to sexual lessons, he's more than man enough for the job. His biggest challenge is teaching Melina that when it comes to pleasure, the key to his own is hers.Can a woman who's always longed for hearth and home find satisfaction with a man whose entire life has been about moving on to the next big thing?

Tragic


J.A. Huss - 2013
    Some girls get parents. Rook got the foster care system. Some girls get Prince Charming. Rook got an abusive frog. Some girls get lucky…Rook got a second chance.And she took it. Because when fate throws you a bone – you grab it with both hands and run.Antoine Chaput knows the minute he spies Rook in his photography studio that she’s got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.Rook is paired up with top model, Ronin, and he’s everything her abusive ex-boyfriend wasn’t. Patient, gentle, happy, attentive, and sexy! He knows exactly what to do to make Rook blush for Antoine’s camera. Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world. It’s a dream job to go with a dream guy and all she has to do is look pretty and follow directions. But there’s always a price to pay – and Rook is about to get the bill.New Adult Contemporary Romance *Mature Content* Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language usage

My Everything


Heidi McLaughlin - 2013
    Alone and in a foreign country, Nick is working on rebuilding his life one patient at a time, that is, until a striking volunteer makes her presence known.Can Nick finish his year in Africa without risking his heart being broken again, or is he willing to start a new chapter in his life before his return to Beaumont?

Something Beautiful


Jamie McGuire - 2015
    Unlike his cousins, Shepley is more lover than fighter, but a road trip to her parents' home in Wichita, Kansas could mean the next step, or the end of everything.