Book picks similar to
Alpha by Sybil Bartel


military
age-gap
romance
virgin-heroine

If I Were You


Lisa Renee Jones - 2012
    Or so I told myself. Later, I’d question that, as I would question pretty much everything I knew about me, my relationships, and my desires. It all began when my neighbor thrust a key to a storage unit at me. She’d bought it to make extra money after watching some storage auction show. Now she was on her way to the airport to elope with a man she barely knew, and she needed me to clear out the unit before the lease expired.Soon, I was standing inside a small room that held the intimate details of another woman’s life, feeling uncomfortable, as if I was invading her privacy. Why had she let these items so neatly packed, possessions that she clearly cared about deeply, be lost at an auction? Driven to find out by some unnamed force, I began to dig, to discover this woman’s life, and yes, read her journals—-dark, erotic journals that I had no business reading. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I read on obsessively, living out fantasies through her words that I’d never dare experience on my own, compelled by the three men in her life, none of whom had names. I read onward until the last terrifying dark entry left me certain that something had happened to this woman. I had to find her and be sure she was okay.Before long, I was taking her job for the summer at the art gallery, living her life, and she was nowhere to be found. I was becoming someone I didn’t know. I was becoming her.The dark, passion it becomes…Now, I am working at a prestigious gallery, where I have always dreamed of being, and I’ve been delivered to the doorstep of several men, all of which I envision as one I’ve read about in the journal. But there is one man that will call to me, that will awaken me in ways I never believed possible. That man is the ruggedly sexy artist, Chris Merit, who wants to paint me. He is rich and famous, and dark in ways I shouldn’t find intriguing, but I do. I so do. I don’t understand why his dark side appeals to me, but the attraction between us is rich with velvety promises of satisfaction. Chris is dark, and so are his desires, but I cannot turn away. He is damaged beneath his confident good looks and need for control, and in some way, I feel he needs me. I need him.All I know for certain is that he knows me like I don’t even know me, and he says I know him. Still, I keep asking myself — do I know him? Did he know her, the journal writer, and where is she? And why doesn’t it seem to matter anymore? There is just him and me, and the burn for more.

Fight For Us


Jolie Vines - 2019
    She needs to save them both. Sharpshooter Kit never planned on joining the military, but her mom’s expensive medical care leaves her no choice but to sign up. Not that it matters. Her dream of a future with her childhood sweetheart is long over, and she’s on her own.Until years later when she receives orders to save his life.Green Beret Nate has Kit’s name tattooed across his skin and his soul. When he sees her face in a God-forsaken hellhole, he knows she’s walking into a trap, but damn if he can let her. Even if rescuing her destroys his best chance to avenge his murdered father.When Nate is sent back to the US before he can carry out his self-ordered mission, Kit has no illusions. He isn’t planning on staying. Helping him return becomes her priority, though it means risking her career and her heart. But love burns brighter than vengeance, and saying goodbye for good will be far harder this time around. --Fight For Us is a standalone steamy second-chance romantic suspense featuring one trigger-happy heroine and a warrior hero. The story centers on a childhood romance, intrigue, and betrayal, but naturally, it ends with a HEA.Buy this military romance now!

Ready


Lucy Monroe - 2005
    Her highly charged, sensual stories touch on the realities of life while giving the reader a fantasy story not easily forgotten. In Ready, she delights a whole legion of fans with three ex-Army rangers who make Chuck Norris look like a wimp and one introverted writer who is about to enter into the most explosive affair of her life. As a writer, Lise Barton is used to coming up with wild scenarios for her characters, but the one that's playing out for her right now is no fiction--it's frighteningly real. Someone is stalking her, someone who knows where she lives and what she does. Someone who has even threatened her family--her brother, his wife, and their precious baby girl. Lise isn't about to let someone hurt them, so she packs up and leaves Texas for the anonymity of Seattle. And then the threats start again. Joshua Watt's mission is simple: Go to Seattle and bring Lise home for Thanksgiving or he'll never hear the end of it from his sister. It's not like "Aunt Lise" to stay away from their adorable niece, and Joshua's pretty sure he's the reason for it. He's spent months trying to forget the taste of her lips, the feel of her soft hair in his fingers. Yeah, okay, he wants her--badly--but family comes first. But the minute he sees the fear in Lise's eyes, his survival instincts kick in. The former Army Ranger isn't about to let some creep terrorize an innocent woman--not on his watch. He's going to do what it takes to protect Lise and try to keep his personal feelings out of it. Because if there's one thing he's learned, it's that sex and work don't mix. Not ever. So far.

Heartless Hero


Mary Catherine Gebhard - 2019
    with cruel protection.Love is off limits with Abigail Crowne, but no one said anything about hate.Heartless Hero is the first book in the Crowne Point universe. You do not need to read any of the others to enjoy it, though it is recommended. It will enhance your reading experience as you will catch easter eggs and the timelines overlap.

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.

Jacob


Kris Michaels - 2015
    Yet, she survived each torture session with single-minded determination, but human flesh has its limits. She knew her time was running short.Jacob King led a privately funded black ops group into that Afghani village to gather intelligence. He didn’t expect to find an American woman. He admired her brave humor in the face of her agonizing injuries. This kind of tough-minded woman was someone Jacob wanted to know, so he asked her for a date…same time, next year.He checked out of the hospital against medical orders to make that date. The bullet wound he nursed wasn’t going to stop him from meeting the woman who’d haunted his memory. The leggy, blond, bombshell in the red dress who showed up for their date blew his mind. Bullet wounds and battle scars were something Victoria knew how to recover from, and she had just the place for this sexy-as-sin southerner to rehab. Time, proximity and their natural attraction blossomed into something neither expected.In a world of shadows, deceit and dangerous covert missions, where people in Jacob’s line of work routinely vanish and living one more day is never a given, Jacob and his men disappear on a mission to rescue another team. To save Jacob and the men of Guardian, Victoria walks back into the profession that nearly killed her, but this time she was playing by her rules.

Vulnerable


April Wilson - 2015
    Both books can be read standalone, and both books end in an HEA, but to get the most enjoyment out of them, they're best read in order. The second book - Fearless - is due out early 2016.)Beth Jamison had a rough start in life. She survived a childhood abduction, but her traumatic past still haunts her, and she suffers from anxiety and issues with intimacy. Beth doesn't know it, but the man who kidnapped her has just been released early from prison. When Beth’s brother hires McIntyre Security, Inc. to protect Beth and conduct surveillance on her kidnapper, Beth has no idea she has secret bodyguards keeping her safe 24/7. With his money and good looks, CEO Shane McIntyre has never been short on feminine company, and he’s developed a reputation as a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” kind of guy. But that changes when Shane meets Beth. Their mutual attraction is instant and intense, and Shane falls hard for Beth. Shane has his work cut out for him if he’s going to gain her trust and get past her fears. This alpha protector is determined to keep Beth safe, but he’s also determined to make her his.

Until Mayhem


Layla Frost - 2019
    I was her psycho. Two worlds colliding with a BOOM. There was a sh*tstorm brewing. Whispers. Rumbles. A rot—fueled by greed and protected by corruption—that’d seeped like sewage, eating away at everything it touched. The only people I trusted were my brother by blood, my brothers by patch, and the crazy Irish-Scottish bastard I did jobs for. That was why, when the hot-as-hell blonde started trailing my brothers and me, I had to act. Maybe Ophelia Kline was working with the enemy—playing me with lies from that damn mouth. Or maybe she was innocent—caught in the spread of toxic rot. Either way, she was mine. And when push came to glock-in-the-face, I wouldn’t let her go. Because all good relationships start with a BOOM and a little kidnapping… right? This is a Happily Ever Alpha novella featuring crossover from the Hyde Series and Aurora Rose Reynolds' Until Series. It can be read as a standalone, but it's recommended you read Until Nox first since a certain accented someone shows up often. Warning: Not recommended for readers under the age of 18 due to alllll the good things: Adult language. Adult situations. Biker hotties who work in the gray. And an OTT hero who knows what he wants when he gets hit by the BOOM.

Slashes in the Snow


M. Never - 2019
    Away from our MC club, all his responsibilities, and me. We haven’t spoken since the day he handed me the keys to the kingdom. Shoved them down my throat was more like it. I hate him, and the new family he’s playing house with. He left his entire life behind for a woman he barely knows. But I’m strong, resilient, and don’t need a damn soul to survive. At least, that’s what I thought...until she walked into my bar. Kira Someone is watching me. I can feel it. I wake up in the middle of the night freaked out of my mind, paranoid a stranger is there. My skin prickles every time I leave my house, because I know someone is following me. I’m afraid. Alone. And there’s only one person left to turn to. The stepbrother I never met. The man my stepfather speaks so highly about, but never sees. He’s the president of a notorious motorcycle club, and exactly the kind of person I need to protect me. Little did I know, Ky Parish, freakin’ hates my guts. Slashes in the Snow is an enemies to lovers, stepbrother romance, romantic suspense (emphasis on romance) with dark elements. Reader discretion is advised.

Retreat


Jay Crownover - 2016
    My best friend, sick of watching me drown in misery and melancholy, harassed me until I agreed to go with her on a week-long wilderness retreat.She promised days spent bonding and getting in touch with our inner bad-asses. It was supposed to be all about the two of us roughing it and making do with the bare minimum. She assured me we were going to be pushed to our limits in ways that were unimaginable. Neither one of us could have ever guessed just how right she was.Nowhere in the glossy brochure did it say anything about the fact I was going to have to battle the insufferable but deliciously rugged and sexy trail guide instead of the elements. The brochure also forgot to mention the part that warned when you left civilization behind, there was no place to pack your inhibitions and fears.I was told that I would be facing a week where the only thing I should expect was the unexpected. However, no one mentioned that I was going to have to fight for my life…and my heart as soon as I ventured into the unknown. I was a pro at hiding from my feelings but when it came time to face a real threat, one that could change everything, I learned I was more of a no surrender, no retreat kind of girl.Retreat is a standalone novel, the first in the Getaway series which centers on the hardheaded and brokenhearted Warner brothers and the women that dare to love them.These boys are very good at putting the wild in wilderness.

Control Freak


Brianna Hale - 2019
    I need it in every aspect of my life. Some would say that makes me an asshole. A freak. But as long as everything’s exactly how I want it, I’m completely flexible. I’m kidding. Okay, I’m not kidding. Lacey needs someone in her life who’s bigger and scarier than her demons, and she wants that man to be me. Her boss. The Viking in a suit.I hope she understands what she’s getting into. This daddy isn’t going to pat her on the head and tell her she’s a good girl for nothing. Especially not when she’s spinning out of control. Author's note: this book includes depictions of eating disorder recovery.

Surface


Anna Brooks - 2018
    Too young. The boss’s daughter. Forbidden.I knew it all along, but it didn’t change the absolute possession I felt when it came to her… nothing would change how I felt about her. So I did what I had to; I waited until the time was right to make her mine, only to find out there is one thing that could ruin it all.

Dirty


Callie Hart - 2018
    Body of a god. And a mouth so dirty he could make the devil blush… Fix Marcosa’s time can be bought with money, but he isn’t selling sex. Murderers, rapists, criminals: if you’re on the wrong side of Fix’s moral code, you’re in trouble. The kind of trouble that winds up getting you killed. As a hitman for hire, Fix is no stranger to violence. He’s merciless. Relentless. A true savage, down to the roots of his very soul. You can beg. You can plead. You can pray, but it won’t do you any good. Once the tall, dark stranger arrives at your doorstep, it’s already too late to repent. Sera Lafferty’s no stranger to heartbreak. With an abusive father and a dependant sister, her life has been one of sacrifice and compromise. As soon as she sets eyes on Felix ‘Fix’ Marcosa, she recognizes the darkness in him and makes a vow: she will not get involved. But trapped inside a motel room with the sexiest man to ever walk the earth? Throw in some tequila and the storm to end all storms, and Sera finds herself worshipping at the altar of Marcosa. She knows she made a mistake. She knows she needs to run. But when she witnesses the assassin at work first hand, she knows it’s far too late. Thrown into the back of his sleek black ride, Sera finds herself trapped, and in more way than one. Fix is deadly. He’s demanding, he’s dirty, and he’s determined to claim her for his own.

Raw Power


Jackie Ashenden - 2018
    Now they fight for you. To find the people lost in the shadows, you need the men who live in them. The former soldiers of 11th Hour are unaffiliated, unacknowledged, and definitely illegal. They protect the innocent, destroy the guilty--and capture hearts along the way . . .Rugged, skilled, and hard-bodied, Jack King's whole life was the Marines until an injury left him discharged from active duty. But he finds a new purpose when he's recruited by a special unit that employs ex-military to do very special jobs. Yet he's not impressed when his first assignment is babysitting the pretty, perfect daughter of a politician--especially when she's far from the angel she appears to be . . .Callie Hawthorne hates politics, and she hates playing the part of a senator's goody two shoes daughter even more. It only gets worse when her father decides she needs a security detail 24/7--and the bodyguard happens to be the most insanely hot guy Callie's ever seen. Still, she's not going to be ordered around just because of some half-assed threat to her father. . . . But when it turns out her dad's no angel either, Jack has to kidnap Callie in order to protect her. And as danger closes in, he'll need all his considerable talents to keep them both alive. The greater challenge will be to keep his hands off her . . .Praise for Jackie Ashenden's Dirty for Me"An intense scorcher of a story that is sure to delight fans and win her a legion of new devotees. . . . Unforgettable." --RT Book Reviews, Top Pick "Tension and heat pervade the frequent sex scenes . . . Readers will eagerly anticipate future installments in the series." --Publishers Weekly "Explosively sexy." --Heroes & Heartbreakers

Pull You Through


Kaylee Ryan - 2018
    The hell I lived through with my drug-addicted parents led me to the Marine Corps. Committing my life to my country was easy. My brothers were my family--all I had and all I needed. I wasn’t looking for her, but I should have known life had other plans.It led me to her.From the moment we met, I knew he was different--I just didn’t realize he'd change my life. He was a guy on leave, an acquaintance. Until he was something more, something unforgettable. I never imagined he'd leave ten days later, taking a piece of me with him. Then again, maybe I did know. I just didn't care.He was worth it.