Then comes marriage. Then comes a—Hold up. You’re joking right? As if life works off a neat little list like that, moving down, checking things off before jumping to the next task. We’re not married. We’re not lovers. Hell, we’re hardly even friends. Noah Wilson isn’t exactly “life partner” material, and he sure as hell isn’t “father material”. He’s my older brother’s best friend, and has been off limits, sworn off, locked in the highest tower and out of reach since we met over ten years ago. With his devilish good looks, tattoos, motorcycle, and trail of broken hearts and tears, I’ve had good reason to stay away from the bad boy my mother warned me about.Until one night. One stupid, regrettable night that changed both of our lives forever. And now I only have nine months to decide our fate, to see if Noah’s rebel heart is capable of anything more than a one night stand.This isn’t a love story. This is a life story. And life doesn’t go according to plan.

    Juliana knows his desire to be the loner and to never settle down.But none of that stops her from showing up at his hotel room late one night.Months later, she imagines every scenario for when she runs into Shane again. However, she never imagined him brushing off their scorching night together. She never imagined him calling her a ‘little girl’ who can’t handle a man.His words ignite a fire in Juliana. If she has to date every single guy in Cincinnati, she’ll prove that she is more than capable of “handling” a man. Except Juliana and Shane can’t stay away from each other, so they set up some rules; only sex, and no telling her brother.It doesn’t take long for the sex to turn into feelings, and Juliana can feel his icy exterior melting. Is he willing to risk his best friend for a chance at love?For Juliana, that might be too good to imagine.

    That will bring the two of you closer.Step two: Go on date with lots of random women, proceed to get stupid drunk and talk about your best friend's sister, thus gaining the courage to finally make a move.Step three: Randomly show up at her apartment and confess your love. Women love that, right?It all seemed so simple. A fool-proof three step process that will guarantee the love of your life to fall madly in love with you.At least--that's what I thought was going to happen. But my attempts to win over Julia Westin backfired in more ways than I can count. The thing about Julia? She's smart--really smart--and her wicked gaze cuts through all the charm I've tried slinging her way. She's not interested in games, my gifts, or my stories. She might want me too; but she's not giving in that easy...

    Gorgeous girl next door. Homecoming queen. But to me, she'll always be so much more. The light in my dark, my best friend, my everything. But there's one thing she can't ever be. And that's mine. Because I'll make damn sure to keep my filthy hands off her. Even if it kills me.BellaHe's the boy of broken whispers. The one dripping ink. The one sowing fear. But to me, he'll always be so much more. The music in my soul, my best friend, my everything. And pretty soon, he'll be between my sheets, too. Because what baby girl wants, she gets. Just watch.

    Take me, for instance. I look like a respectable doctor with his shit together, but the rural Montana mental hospital I work at is actually a sanctuary from my demons. At just thirty-five years old, I’ve already failed on an epic scale. Treating patients at Hawthorne Hill is part of my atonement. I’ve found peace when a new patient turns me inside out. Allison Cole is a beautiful, haunted survivor who fell into silence after witnessing a murder. But even without words, I’m drawn to her. The closer we get, the more I’m tempted to cross my professional boundaries and give in to my desire. Soon I find myself in a desperate race to put the pieces of Allison’s silence together. Her life becomes inextricably entwined with mine as I fight to save the second chance I never thought I’d have. I’ll break whatever rules I have to in order to protect this woman who’s been to hell and back. For her, I’ll do harm.

     At eighteen, PJ was full of dreams. She was on her way to becoming a serious artist and moving across the country, away from the unrequited, tortured dream of her much older brother’s irresistible best friend, Dylan. But when she forced herself to let that dream go, she never expected it to bounce back and refuse to let her. One fall may have cost Jack everything. After being severely injured while responding to a fire, he lost the girl, the use of his leg, and possibly the career he’s dreamed of all his life. While away at rehab, he connects with Danielle, his physical therapist and a girl from his past. She can heal him in more ways than one, but she’s nursing her own wounds. When your heart is warring with your head, there’s no time to Think Twice.

    Never fall for your brother’s best friend. Bracken Casey. Our hometown’s playboy. My brother’s best friend. The man I love. He doesn’t do girlfriends. He doesn’t do commitments. And he doesn’t see me as anything more than his best friend’s little sister. Until one night changes everything. A drunken kiss leads to a drunken screw. Now he can’t keep his hands off of me, and I can’t say no. Rules are set: No one can find out. It can’t lead anywhere. But rules were always meant to be broken. And that’s exactly what we are doing. Breaking them all. Something bad is bound to happen.

    He also happens to be a devilishly handsome movie star, a cocky, chauvinist prick…and my identical twin sister’s fiancé. When I get the devastating call that my sister Avery has died suddenly from a drug overdose, I have to go back home and face the people who’ve caused me so much pain—my parents, neighbors, family friends…Jackson. When I see him again it’s like no time has passed. It’s sickening to think that after all these years, after all that’s happened, he still has so much power over me. I try to deny my feelings, to tell myself that I hate him…after all, what kind of monster crushes on her sister’s fiancé? Then he lays a bombshell on me: He and Avery were in the middle of filming a new movie, his magnum opus, and he wants me to pick up where she left off. The role comes with a million-dollar salary. I’ll play his co-lead, his romantic love interest…sex scenes and all. But Jackson leaves out one little detail… …Filming starts this week. This is a stand-alone Contemporary New Adult Romance novel. No Cliffhanger. Content suitable for mature readers, contains sexual content and harsh language.

     Until my talents no longer paid the rent every month. Once I got evicted, things got real. I tried to charm my way back into my big brother's house but the lines were too blurred. I knew better. Our secrets ran too deep. Suddenly, life was no longer going off without a hitch. Life was full of hitches. Full of secrets that weighed me down. Full of drama and tension around every corner. I felt like I was spinning around in a tornado until he came into my life... But could he accept me and the Pandora's box of secrets buried at the root of my family tree? Could he deal with the other man in my life? Could he deal with me?

     I know the feeling well. I'm the top draft prospect for the NFL, voted All-American last year, and a God at the University of Oregon. I didn't get here by fucking around or chasing fantasies—and I'll never forget where I came from. A guy like me only gets one chance to get out, to make something of himself. Passion. I thought football was my passion. But Teagan Fletcher, she's my obsession. My childhood friend is now a woman with curves for days and hair like fire. But she also hates me—and I don't blame her. I want her. But I can't have her. I need her. But I don't know how to let go. One way or another, I'll have it all: football … and Fletcher. ***KICKED is a standalone new adult sports romance with a happy ending and no cliffhanger. To celebrate the release of this bad boy, there are two free bonus books in the back: STEPBROTHER INKED and RAW AND DIRTY, both from C.M.'s pen name, Violet Blaze. All three are full-length novels, full of bad boys and tattoos, and loaded with hot, hot, hotness. Enjoy! EXCERPT FROM "KICKED": “What are we doing?” Teagan asked as I forced her to jog after me towards the tunnel. “Where are we going?” Her voice was breathy and patchy, and she panted as she ran after me, but she kept going, following me into the pitch blackness and down, down, down. At the halfway mark, I stopped, turned, shoved her back into the wall. “Tyce,” Teagan said, her voice high and reedy, like she was about to come in her panties just from looking at me. I reached up and tore my helmet from my head, tossing it aside and letting it bounce along the pavement beneath our feet. I was panting so goddamn hard in that moment, sucking in breath after anxious breath as my eyes flicked over her face, down her throat, across the full swell of her chest. I stepped forward and cupped the back of her head with a golden glove, leaned down and captured her mouth with mine. I kissed her hard and fast, frantic with time and need and desire. Less than five minutes. I bruised Teagan's mouth with my own, slid our tongues together, made her dizzy when I pulled back and looked her straight in the face. “We have five minutes,” I said and then we were working together to shove her pants down one leg, over her sneakers. Mine were next, pushed down halfway off my a**, my c*** springing free from my cup. I lifted Teagan up against that stone wall, slammed her back into the cool cement and let her curl her fingers in my sweaty hair. It was stuck to my forehead, probably a hot mess, but she looked at me like I was a god. I felt like a god there in that tunnel in the dark with thousands of fans screaming and pounding the pavement above our heads. In an instant, my coach or a security guard or one of the boys, they could come down here and find us screwing. I didn't care. Seriously. I didn't give a s***.

    In a word, she’s dangerous. And completely off-limits.Falling for her could ruin everything.Yet I can’t seem to stop, even when her company is threatened by a lawsuit, and my promotion hinges on representing the opposing client—and winning.I can’t see a way out of this mess that doesn’t end in a broken friendship, a broken heart, or a ruined career.I may have broken the bro code when I fell for Ava. But do I have the balls to handle what comes next?

    The loss of the girl who owns his heart and his best friend unleashed the dark in him. Part of a world of crime and murder, Brax knows he’s reached a breaking point and something’s got to give. He has to find her. Isabelle. The girl he's loved since she saved him that fateful day when they were nothing more than just kids. The day she went away was the day he lost his heart. That was the day he became everyone's worst nightmare. He became a monster. He is hated, feared, and has nothing left to live for. Isabelle has lived the last six years of her life without hope and in total isolation. Now she finds herself in the clutches of evil with no way out. All she dreams of is to be reunited with the one boy who showed her what it means to truly be loved. Without him, she’s surrendered herself to an existence she doesn’t know how to escape. In a moment that will change both of their lives forever, Brax comes face to face with the girl who, for six years, captured his heart. He is unable to ignore the buried desires and the hope for the future they dreamed they’d have. Can he save the girl he once lost, or will the fight cost him more than he could ever imagine?

    He's the guy who's loved her from afar. They're in for an unexpected tumble into love. She'll juggle your balls. For Stella Allesandro, chaos is good. She's a rising star at a leading sports publicity firm. She's known throughout the industry as the jock whisperer—the one who can tame the baddest of the bad boys in professional sports without losing her signature smile. But Cal Hartshorn is an entirely different kind of chaos. He'll fix your broken heart. This former Army Ranger and now-famous cardiothoracic surgeon fails at nothing…except talking to a woman he's adored from afar. Whether on the battlefield or operating room, he's exacting, precise, and efficient, but all of that crumbles when Stella is in sight. Cal always knows—and gets—what he wants, and now he wants all of her. His forever girl. But Stella isn't convinced she's anyone's forever.

    What happens when the entire world shuts down and you’re quarantined in a cabin with your brother’s best friend? You take every chance to make his life miserable, the same way he did yours, and most definitely don’t fall in love.The Two of Us is an enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend standalone romance set in modern-day 2020.

    I was never supposed to see him again.One night of passion with a complete stranger.My last tryst before senior year.But I was lost the moment his tempting lips were on my skin.His intense touch on my body.It should have ended there.But he’s not a stranger.He’s my history teacher.And wanting him is against the rules.Off limits.Forbidden.Illicit.