They aren’t a match between two men both lowered into crouches, each jabbing tentatively at the other.In an actual confrontation, people get cut. There was no way to avoid it. A war of attrition predicated on trading shots. Calculated real-time risk assessment.A maxim I learned many times over the years, bearing more than a few scars to prove as much. One I was all too happy to embrace again now.For the past year, Hawk Tate lived in a perpetual state of dread over when the phone might ring. A call stemming from his actions just north of the border many months before, resulting in a marker owed to a certain government agency. An organization that will not be refused, and always comes to collect their debts.A message from an unknown sender arrives on his work answering machine one Sunday morning. An individual with shared history needing help of a vastly different nature, and Hawk can’t say no.Not to Lake Pawlak, someone he first met when he was tasked with protecting her from an international cartel three years prior. Certainly not to Savanah Vinson, Lake’s friend and neighbor, and the reason Lake comes to seek Hawk’s help. Savanah, while fighting to provide for her and her young sister after the death of their parents, went missing two nights prior with nothing but a fraudulent text message to explain her sudden disappearance.Despite a litany of concerns, Hawk agrees to return to Los Angeles with his friend, embarking on a hunt that plunges him into a world he barely knew existed. Full immersion into social media influencing and launch parties. Southern California nightlife, online message boards, and international politics.A growing web far surpassing anything he understands, forcing him to rely on contacts and acquaintances new and old—including the very people he fought to avoid for so long...

    And even though Kara feels like she is chasing her dreams, she doesn’t realize that she is losing herself and who she once thought she would be. That is until one evening where Kara and her band found themselves playing during The Broken Oar Bar’s Biker Night.Bug, Zombie, and Viper – three bikers who frequent the Broken Oar – immediately took Kara under their wings. They showed her a new world of bikes, the open road, and a relationship where she didn’t have to choose just one.

    I wanted adventure. What I got was two men, one giant town secret and enough passion to light me on fire- literally!I moved to Utah to find myself, to find my destiny.What I found was love.I fell in love with the town, the people and two unbelievably sexy men.Roger was sexy and sweet.From the moment we met, he swept me off my feet.He impressed me, seduced me, and melted my insides.If you could bottle romance, the label would say Roger.But something was missing.I didn’t know what, until Luke.Tall dark and handsome, he sizzled my blood with just one look.He showed me his world.Roger swept me off my feet, but Luke saved me from myself.So who do I ride off into the sunset with?Romance or Passion? They tell me I have to choose.But I have to wonder- Why can’t I have both?Adventure and Fire. Romance and Passion. Secrets and Lies. Who said small towns are boring?

    When she last saw him Varini was left completely shattered as Aariyan walked away from their newfound love and out of her life. He was the first man she longed for, the first man she truly desired, and the first and only man she had ever loved. Aariyan had loved her back, but fuelled by uncontrollable demons he abandoned her, ending their love in devastating heartbreak. In order to seal the deal of a lifetime Aariyan needs a wife. By entering into a temporary marriage, Aariyan gets a made-to-order wife to help him secure his deal, and Varini finds herself shacked up with the love of her life. Love has no place in a business deal, and no one should mix business and pleasure - the lines blur, giving them a one way ticket to a messy disaster. This is a gripping and angsty romance, truly an amazing debut novel by this South African-Indian author. Five stars for sure! - Author Poppet

    He’s supposed to be the prince to my mafia princess. But Dario Colombo? Notorious playboy. Bad boy. The guy never takes a single thing seriously. I’ve kissed enough frogs to know he’s no mafia prince. But this would all be a lot easier if he wasn’t so damned good-looking.Dario - Settling down with one woman, a white picket fence, two-point-two kids, and a dog was never my version of happily ever after. But everything changed when my brother John married Gastone Gambino's daughter to ensure peace between our families. That's when Sara Codutti, a fierce and fiery mafia princess, enchanted my soul and my heart. I will make her mine at all costs. This time, I have to get it right, which would be easier if everything else wasn’t going to so wrong.

    When he met the hauntingly gorgeous wanna-be actor Scot Townson, they were both freshman in college. Drue had never even considered being with a guy before Scot. But the night before graduation when their two naked bodies met, it shaped the rest of Drue’s life. How do you live the rest of your life after you’ve been with the sexiest man alive? Drue’s answer? A lot of sex. Who would have guessed that destiny would lead him to the love of his life? And could his true love be Scot? Written by international bestselling author A. Anders, this super-steamy stand-alone includes explicit MF, MM and MMF scenes as well as an HEA ending. Filled with the twists and turns of a complicated love story, ‘Before He Was Famous: MMF Bisexual Romance’ will bring you to tears as intensely as it turns you on.

     He’s a billionaire businessman … Luciano Donati, entrepreneur and eligible bachelor, lost his first wife to cancer. So though he lives in romantic Charleston, SC, he has every intention of ignoring the upcoming holiday for lovers … at least until he sets eyes again on his younger sister’s best friend. He remembers Anastasia as a teenager who idolized him, not this lovely, fragile woman with heartbreak in her eyes. Heartbreak that he finds himself wanting to cure. Her smile warms his soul, her touch ignites his desire, and her little girl Soo-Min melts his frozen heart. Adopted internationally himself at a young age, Luciano understands all too well the strong need to belong somewhere. She’s a single mom … Anastasia Markow, cancer survivor and divorced mother, didn’t come to Charleston, SC, for romance. She's here to make sure she has custody of her adopted daughter, Soo-Min. But when she encounters the first man she ever loved, here in the city of horse-drawn carriages and candlelight, her battered heart can’t help but bloom again. And when Luciano and Soo-Min take to each other, resisting his charm becomes even harder. Handsome, self-assured, every inch the successful billionaire, Luciano is out of Anastasia's reach. But when a hurricane strands them together and they must trust each other to survive … things heat up despite the driving rain and gale winds. Can Valentine’s Day bring this unlikely pair together … this time for good? Author's Note: Thousands of families around the world have opened their homes and hearts through international adoption. Soo-Min is the embodiment of many, many fortunate adoptive children and parents who’ve together created forever families. Don’t miss this poignant story of love, loss and renewed hope—get your copy of the novella today!

    

    McKay,You don’t know me at all, but I’m the love of your life.My name is Kim Dailey and as of just about five minutes ago, you and I are in a very serious committed, relationship. Hot and heavy of course because well, let’s face it, I hear you have a twelve pack under those scrubs and I’m basically a doppleganger for the star of Scandal. (I’m sure you’ve seen it. If not, the internet is your friend.)Anyway, here’s the real story.I’m celebrating my birthday in Pete’s Bar tonight. Low and behold, Tammy, AKA old high school mean girl, walks up to me to say hello and tries to one-up me. She even made fun of my Happy Planner stickers! Anyway, I may have told her that I was seriously dating the most prestigious, most attractive pediatric oncologistthis side of the Rocky Mountains (that's you by the way) and that we were shopping for the perfect ring. That seemed to shut her up.So yeah. That happened.She deserved it, I swear.If you’re a decent man, and I hear you are, maybe you’ll just let that little white lie slide if she brings it up during the Seattle CARES Charity Event. Oh, and if you need an out for bringing a date, I told her I might not be able to make her event. That’s a lie too of course. I’m more than available if you need a date, but I’ll hold to that little fib just for you if you need me to. You’re welcome.The new love of your lifethat you have yet to actually meet and fall in love with,Kimberly Dailey.ps. Please don't sue me. I can't afford the legal fees.

     But taking that initial leap of faith is difficult when you’ve tumbled in the turmoil of your past and you know just how much it hurts to relive it. I get it. I’ve been there. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes when it comes to the dating department. And as far as I’m concerned, most men are complete assholes. So why should I waste my mine? It’ll always end the same. Or, at least, that’s what I kept telling myself as I kept my head down and focused on becoming a veterinarian. Forget them, I repeated over and over again. You don’t need them. How many times have you cried for them and they never shed a single tear for you? Maybe that voice in the back of my head had a point but what’s the point of living if you’re always on your own? Because, trust me, being alone sucks. And the constant silence of an empty apartment is a surefire way to insanity. So, why am I so opposed to Dr. Goodman? The dreamboat that fell out of the sky and practically landed on my lap due to a little airplane mix up. Because I’m afraid that he’s going to turn out like every other lowlife that’s ever shown their interest in me. And I’m not about to get my heart broken by a surgeon even if he knows how to stitch it back together again. I think I’ll just save myself the pain.

    He doesn't know about the baby, dog, and two cats. He actually doesn’t know much about me, anymore.But it’s not him I’m really here to see.I’m going to tell Kash something and change his life forever. He’s tall, tatted to the hilt, slightly brooding, and he says and does all the right things.I want to trust him, but my past tells me men can change. Will he always be like this and will he turn out to be the one?KashI could tell she was special and from the moment I met her eleven months ago, and I wanted to make her mine. But she asked me to go without any contact.When the curious kitten with a body so hot it could melt metal takes a little time away from the baby, she asks me to lay down a design on her pristine skin.But the session gets away from both of us and I can't take back what I do or say.Her brother finds us and it’s never good when Cray’s involved.She can trust me. But maybe I can’t trust myself around her.

    Piece of cake, right?Wrong.First, I have to stay in my client’s guesthouse while he’s in the main house working on an important project. That may not sound so bad, but HE is Hollywood’s Bad Boy, Rocco Romano, voted “Sexiest Man Alive.”The guy could charm the pants off a mannequin.Luckily he’s not my type.Seriously.A rich, sexy, generous man? Pass. Ten-pack abs? Whatever.My heart palpitations are obviously caused by something else.As for the dog, he’s sweet and adorable, but he’s named Houdini for a reason.Then I accidentally kiss him.Rocco, not the dog.Then he escapes.The dog, not Rocco.Things can’t get any worse, right?Wrong, wrong, wrong.Men or Paws is a hilarious, opposites-attract, closed-door romantic comedy with sizzling chemistry and a guaranteed happy ending.

    She's even more heartbroken and confused when a hired private investigator tracks him half a world away, to a seaside town in Colombia. But the country has recently been ravaged by a massive earthquake and deadly tsunami, shutting down outside communication and making travel all but impossible. Still, Olivia is determined to make it to Colombia to find the answers she so desperately seeks. What she needs is a guide—a mercenary.The man named Thomas arrives in shadows, an unmistakable air of danger about him, promising to help lead her through the ruined, crime-infested country. But when Thomas and Olivia find themselves fighting an undeniable attraction, danger takes on a whole new meaning. Then again, in the lush jungles of South America, all the rules are different and Thomas and Olivia are about to discover that sometimes the thing you seek, isn't necessarily the thing you find.Seek is a STANDALONE novel with a small, fun connection to the Sign of Love Collection

    Or so the world has been led to believe. In reality, the former Special Ops warrior is still fighting for good, leading a small band of freelance covert operatives who take care of high-stakes business in highly unofficial ways. That makes Ian the hands-down choice when the U.S. government must breach a heavily guarded embassy and rescue a pair of children kidnapped by their own father, a sinister foreign national willing to turn his own kids into casualties. Shockingly, Ian passes on the mission... for reasons he will not–or cannot–reveal.But saying no is not an option. Especially not to Phoebe Kruger, Ian’s bespectacled, beautiful, and unexpectedly brash new attorney. Determined to see the abducted children set free, she not only gets Ian on board but insists on riding shotgun on his Mission: Impossible-style operation, whether he likes it or not.Though Phoebe has a valuable knack for getting out of tight spots, there’s no denying the intensely intimate feelings growing between Ian and Phoebe as the team gears up for combat. But these are feelings they both must fight to control as they face an array of cold-blooded adversaries, including a vindictive mob boss who’s got Ian at the top of his hit list and a wealthy psychopath who loves murder as much as money. As they dodge death squads and play lethal games of deception, Ian and Phoebe will do whatever it takes to save the innocent and vanquish the guilty.Or die trying.

    But the four of them are determined to strike back at their father by marrying the most unsuitable brides they can find...Second son Samuel Rathborne-Paxton cares for three things above all else—his brothers, financial speculation, and his mistress, the fiery Irish courtesan, Alice Woodmont. When he and his brothers hatch the plan to marry, he seeks Alice’s help. Their search for the right bride looks like it will come up short, until Sam hatches the idea of marrying Alice herself. She has been investing right along with him, after all, and Sam is convinced she’s been successful at it. Wealthy? Check. Socially unacceptable? Check. His best friend? Check. Alice has it all. Little does Sam know... Ever since leaving Ireland two years before, Alice has been determined to make a place for herself and her son, Ryan, in London, whatever it takes. What it has taken is visiting the beds of some of the most distinguished rakes in London. But Sam’s is her favorite bed, and for some time, his has been the only bed she indulges in. And when he asks her to marry him and spend the rest of her life in that bed, she jumps at the chance. The Rathborne-Paxton family is one of the most respected and upright families in England, after all, and by marrying Sam, her reputation will be restored. Which is handy, since her financial speculations have all failed, leaving her scrambling to pay the rent. But, of course, nothing goes as planned... When Sam discovers Alice isn’t wealthy, and Alice discovers Sam and his brothers are determined to destroy the Rathborne-Paxton family name, there doesn’t seem to be any point in them continuing down the aisle. Except for that annoying little problem called love...That’s Why the Lady is a Tramp is a fun, sizzling-hot, unconventional love story that involves friends-to-lovers, rags-to-riches (and riches-to-rags), dressing like a man, an enormous hat, plenty of trips to the theater, and a happily ever after that will leave you in stitches.Please Be Advised: Heat Level – Super Steaming Hot!