Book picks similar to
The Tie That Binds by Catharina Maura


romance
marriage-of-convenience
dnf
age-gap

Vow to Protect


J.L. Beck - 2021
    As the ruthless leader of the Doubeck family there is a certain standard of brutality I have to uphold.To be gentle or kind is a weakness I cannot afford.That is until the day I meet her.Beautiful, innocent, and so very afraid.Valentina is a rival family's daughter, and the little temptress has purposely tangled herself in my dark web.She seeks me out, needing my help, but the price for what she wants will be steep.Since my father’s death I’ve needed a wife to solidify my family name and this woman has piqued my interest.We strike a deal intertwining our futures.I’ll put a ring on her finger, own her body, keep her safe, and kill them all.I make a vow to protect her at all costs.That is until her secrets come to light, and I’m left with the choice of becoming the monster she’s only ever heard rumors about.**This is a dark forced marriage mafia romance, that ends on a cliffhanger. It contains dub-con/non-con as well as other scenes that may be triggering to some readers.**

Escorting the Billionaire


Leigh James - 2015
    except everything.When billionaire mogul James Preston hires an escort as a date for his brother's wedding, he knows he's taking a risk. One thing he won't be taking? The escort's clothes off. He just wants a date--not a girlfriend. Not a relationship. No strings. No ties. No games. No sex. He has his reasons. He lost someone he loved, and isn't interested in trying again. Too many opportunities for mistakes or worse, heartbreak.Audrey Reynolds became a high-end escort to keep her brother in his expensive group home. James Preston is the client of her dreams--he's offering to pay her more money for two weeks than she's ever made before. But James is...difficult. He's gorgeous, troubled and all too human for Audrey's business-like tastes. Determined to complete her assignment and collect the money, Audrey tries to play by James's rules. But before she knows what's happening, he's rewriting the contract.When Audrey ends up in James's bed, he realizes that she's everything he's wanted...and everything he's been running from.Escorting the Billionaire Part 2Two weeks is all they have... is it enough?High-end Escort Audrey Reynolds opened herself up to real feelings for James Preston, the billionaire who hired her. And then he turned on her. Now she's back on assignment and guarding her heart.All Audrey wants is to finish the assignment; she needs to make enough money to keep her brother safe. That's what she keeps telling herself, anyway.James is determined to earn back Audrey's trust. When Audrey's mother threatens to expose that her daughter is a prostitute to his family and the press, James takes matters into his own hands. Unfortunately, his own mother is much more difficult to manage. Carefully guarding her family fortune, James's mother is beginning to see Audrey as a real threat to the Preston name.And she doesn't even know the half of it.Escorting the Billionaire Part 3She's an escort... but is she a sure thing?High-end escort Audrey Reynolds is determined to protect billionaire James Preston from anything that could hurt him--including her.Everything changes when James tells her his real feelings.When James's mother steps in, Audrey has to decide if being with James is worth the risk. She wants to protect him, and James wants to be with her, but can they find a happily ever after together--and in one piece?

The Dom's Virgin


Penelope Bloom - 2017
    Spoiler alert: it’s as sad as it sounds. My roommate thinks I should do some research to help my writer’s block. When a billionaire publishing executive rejects my book, she has the perfect idea. The perfectly terrible idea of tricking him into bidding on me through a BDSM site. I know how it sounds. Crazy. Stupid. Irresponsible. Check, check, check. I couldn’t agree more. Yes, he’s practically dripping with sex appeal. Yes, any woman with a pulse would kill for a “hello” from him. And yes, he looks like he belongs on a movie screen. But as far as I’m concerned, he’s just the jerk who rejected my book, and all I care about is getting a chance to tell him off in person. That’s it. Mostly. Then again, maybe my roommate has a point. A night with him would probably give me enough material to fill half a book. He wants more than a night, though. He wants a month. And he wants me to sign a contract saying I’m completely and totally his. I can sign the contract and basically become the heroine from one of my books, or I can say no and keep on living my normal, boring life. Hmm, tough call… **This is a full-length, standalone billionaire BDSM romance. No cheating or cliffhangers, and as always, Happily Ever After guaranteed. Includes bonus content!

Awakening


Serena Grey - 2014
    “I am going to make love to you now.” He says, “So if you want me to stop, tell me.” I shake my head frantically. If he stops at this point, I’ll probably die. Sophie Bennett has virtually no experience with men. Orphaned from birth, she’s gone from living with her reclusive spinster aunt, to a sheltered education in boarding school. So nothing prepares her for David Preston. The intensely attractive business-man is entirely out of her league. Can she handle such a dangerous man, or is she in over her head?

Crowned by Hate


Amo Jones - 2017
    Daughter of the current President of the United States, wealthy, famous, and all things that some girls wish they had. Only I'd dream of having a simple life. A life where I wasn't marrying the scariest man I have ever met. Well, I thought I had just met him, but it turns out, there's so much I don't know about myself. That's all thanks to a past so twisted, so warped, that no amount of money, or presidential status could wipe it clean. I'm the rebel child. Or as some may see it, the disappointment. I’ve never cared about expensive wedding gowns, or how much someone paid for a tailored suit. I don’t care if your wedding dress is from Walmart, or if it’s from some fancy, upscale designer line. So why am I marrying the devil dressed in a thousand-dollar suit? I'm about to find out how I got here. To marrying one of the most powerful men in the country. The road to finding out, though, is paved with darkness, painted with the blood of innocents, and it leads my ass straight to hell. Only this hell is a multi-million-dollar penthouse suite in New York City where Bryant Saint Royal, sits on his throne.

Teach Me Dirty


Jade West - 2016
    They tell me it’s infatuation, and will never come to anything. Never mean anything. Because what would I know, right? I haven’t even finished school. I’m just a silly little girl. And no little girl should want the things I want from him. No little girl should have the thoughts I have… But they’re wrong. I really do love Mr Roberts. I love Mr Roberts because he’s the most amazing man, the most amazing artist, the most amazing teacher that could ever have existed. And what if… just what if Mr Roberts wants me, too? What if Mr Roberts really does want to Teach Me Dirty? (Please note that the heroine is 18 years old) For mature readers only.

Yes & I Love You


Roni Loren - 2021
    But no one knows Hollyn, the real face behind the media star...or the fear that keeps her isolated. When her boss tells her she needs to add video to her blog or lose her job, she's forced to rely on an unexpected source to help her face her fears.When aspiring actor Jasper Deares finds out the shy woman who orders coffee every day is actually Miz Poppy, he realizes he has a golden opportunity to get the media attention his acting career needs. All he has to do is help Hollyn come out of her shell…and through their growing connection, finally find her voice.A beautifully emotional new contemporary romance from New York Times and USA Today bestseller Roni Loren.

Magnificent Bastard


Lili Valente - 2016
    Sometimes, you need a Magnificent Bastard.Face it, ladies: love sucks and then you cry...while your ex rides off into the sunset banging your best friend. But why let a break-up end in tears when it can end with sweet revenge? Enter Magnificent Bastard Consulting and me, chief executive bastard. I've got it all--looks, brains, a heart of gold, and the killer instinct guaran-damn-teed to make your ex regret the day he said goodbye.With the help of my virtual assistant, I've built an empire giving broken-hearted women the vengeance they deserve, while keeping myself far from the front lines of the heart. Life is a bowl of cherries, until my virtual assistant shows upon my real doorstep for the first time, begging for a Magnificent Bastard intervention of her own.  Damn... She's a bona fide sex kitten. I pride myself on being a true pro, but pretending to be her lover soon leads to giving it to her good, hard, fast, and up against the wall. And somewhere between getting balls deep in my sweet and sexy assistant and watching her ex beg for a second chance, I break every last one of my damn rules--professional and personal.So what's my next move? Fight for the girl who makes me want to get up on a white horse and ride to her rescue, or stay a Magnificent Bastard to the end? Warning: MAGNIFICENT BASTARD is a stand-alone erotic romance told from the hero's point of view. No cliffhanger. Lots of dirty talk. A Sexy Flirty Dirty Standalone Romance

Irresistible


Melanie Harlow - 2019
    I don’t have time to fall in love—I’m too busy trying to run a business, keep the red socks out of the white laundry, and get the damn pillowcases on without owing a dollar to the swear jar. Sure, Frannie Sawyer is beautiful and sweet, but she’s twenty-seven, the boss’s daughter, and my new part-time nanny—which means she’s completely off-limits. It’s bad enough I can’t stop fantasizing about her, what kind of jerk would I be if I acted on the impulse to kiss her? (Exactly the kind of jerk you’re thinking.) Actually, I’m worse than that—because I didn’t stop with a kiss, and now I can’t stay away.  She makes me feel like myself again. She reminds me what it’s like to want something just for me. She’s everything I ever needed, but nothing I ever imagined. I’m a former Marine. I should have had the strength to resist her from the start. But I didn’t. And now I have to choose between the life I want and the life she deserves. Even if it means giving her up.

A Deal with the Devil


Elizabeth O'Roark - 2021
    He’s the last person I want to work for, except he has a face I can’t look away from, and the longer we’re together, the harder he is to hate. Because under that smug exterior is a heart he doesn’t want to show—one that was badly broken a decade earlier.A part of me wants to fix it for him before I leave…but can I do it without breaking my own in the process?

Biker's Baby Girl


Jordan Silver - 2015
    Nine years ago an old drunk offered him his twelve-year-old daughter for his next pint. Knowing that as fucked up as he was he was still the kid’s best bet, he took the deal. He left her with an aunt he thought he could trust because Uncle Sam owned his ass for the next little while, and he had no choice. Then his babygirl turned eighteen and shit went south, literally. He knew he had to stay the fuck away from her or she’d be under him before she could blink, but he made a deal with himself. When his babygirl hit twenty-one he was taking her no matter what. Her birthday was three days away and though he’d kept his distance for the last two and a half years he’s been keeping tabs on her. It was time to collect. This book contains cameo appearances from Colton Lyon, The Lyon series, Travis Mallory, Rough Riders, Blade Master, Man of Steel, Lawton Daniels, Anarchist, Jakes Summers, Bad Boy, and members of the SEAL Team Seven series.

The Intern, Volume 1


Brooke Cumberland - 2014
    Cecilia isn’t your typical college student. Hell, she isn’t a college student at all, but that doesn’t stop her from applying for one of the biggest and prestigious enterprises in the Midwest.She wants it. She takes it.She doesn’t let anything get in her way when it comes to finding out the truth.When Bentley Leighton, soon-to-be CEO of Leighton Enterprises, meets “Ceci,” he’s instantly impressed. He doesn’t have time to train a new intern. However, when he sees her that first day, his intentions begin to change.He’s the boss. She’s the intern.Nothing can happen. It’s against the company rules.Then again, some rules were made to be broken.What starts as innocent flirting becomes raveled up into so much more—secrets, lies, deceit.*The Intern is a three-part romantic suspense serial.*Not suitable for readers under 18.

The Italian's Suitable Wife


Lucy Monroe - 2004
    So he proposes a marriage of convenience to Gianna Lakewood. Having always longed for a baby herself - and having secretly loved Rico since she was a teenager - Gianna can't say no... The passion Rico ignites in his innocent bride leaves her breathless. But when she realizes that Rico's full recovery from his injuries is imminent, and his beautiful ex-fiancee is waiting in the wings, Gianna is sure he won't want her any more. So why is Rico so intent on keeping his convenient wife by his side?

Temptation


K.M. Golland - 2012
    Our chemistry is intense.Undeniable.Unavoidable.Unforgiving.Perhaps it's fate.Will I risk everything I've ever known and succumb to temptation?

Deal with the Devil


Meghan March - 2019
    He was a predator, and he had set his sights on me.I knew better than to bet more than I could afford to lose that night. I knew better than to bet myself. But desperation leads to bad decisions, and I thought there was no way I could lose.I was wrong. Now I have no choice but to make a deal with the devil.