But beneath the fast-track facade is a small-town girl who's never forgotten her humble beginnings—and whose past is a closely guarded secret. Until Chloe's family comes to visit and brings a special holiday gift. Sensual Southern charmer Lyfe Alton was her childhood sweetheart…and is the man who still owns her heart.Lyfe was devastated when Chloe left their Georgia hometown for the bright lights of the big city. Now he has just four weeks to seduce her back into his bed…or lose her forever. With Chloe nestled in his arms where she belongs, can Lyfe turn their sizzling Christmas affair into a season for second chances?

    Her childhood friend Tracie is a computer expert whose personal vendetta backfires. Eva is a jurist but uses men to hide her pain and mask her childhood tragedy, and her cousin Tina wears a sweet exterior but takes risks that threaten to jeopardize her professional career. Kevin and Aaron are sexy twins who go to great lengths to get the women they want; and Angelo, gorgeous and ambitious, lets nothing stand in his way to accomplish his career goals, even at the expense of friends.Pilar is a beautiful but naive orphan who overnight is catapulted to fame; and Denene, a woman scorned, is determined to wreak havoc in the lives of those she feels has wronged her in some way. From the heart of Los Angeles to the South of France, In Laws and Play Cousins tells a story about love and heartbreak, success and envy and the price it ultimately commands.

    After three years of widowhood, she's ready to date again, but dating services are enough to put any woman off men forever. Her friend Mya jokingly suggests that Fatima will only find the perfect guy if she writes a script and hires an actor to play the role, and Fatima decides to do just that. Good-looking, intelligent, and talented, Rashad Watkin's acting career is going nowhere. The money Fatima offers is good--but her companionship is even better. What he feels for Fatima is the real thing, but now he has to prove he's not just acting...

    . .. Summer Fever by Donna Hill Nina Forbes is excited to house sit in the Hamptons-but her handsome neighbor, Barbados native Ian Harrison, excites her even more. Soon the two are sharing conversation, kisses. . .and sizzling sleepovers. Ian promises to keep in touch after he returns home in the fall. But as the days pass, Nina fears their passion was just summer fever. . . One Hot Summer by Niobia Bryant After a high-profile divorce, event planner Simone "Love" Lovey swears off dating famous people. . .until sexy star athlete Maleek Trenton enters her life. Their romance is bliss, but Love again finds herself amid paparazzi, groupies-and calls from a woman who claims she's involved with Maleek, and has intimate details to prove it. . . Too Hot To Handle by Zuri Day Choice McKinley gets stuck in an elevator during a blackout, on the hottest July 4th ever. That she's locked in with gorgeous Trey Scott only adds to the heat. Soon, relief from the high temperature requires clothing removal and sultry kisses. But Trey doesn't know Choice is his boss's off-limits daughter-and Choice doesn't know Trey is a wanted man. All that will come after the doors open to reality. . .

    She's enjoyed her hiatus, the peace, quiet--and no unexpected interruptions. But now she's ready to have someone to come home to. And her timing is perfect, as not one, but two, handsome possibilities enter her life. . .Ted, a powerful, blue-eyed CEO sends a thrill of excitement through her that shocks Victoria out of her comfort zone. Meanwhile, Parker, a talented surgeon, melts her defenses with his warmth and ebony good looks. The men are as different as can be--inside and out--but they have one thing in common: they both want Victoria. And as she struggles to decide what--and who--she really wants, Victoria will have to face her deepest fears, secrets, and desires--and decide if she's brave enough for true love, no matter what color it comes in. Her answer just may surprise everyone, including herself. .

    Randolph knew the moment he saw Jenna Haywood that he had to make her his. But the path to love is not an easy one. His wealthy Grandmother Julia disapproves of the match and unbeknowst to him, his brother's seemingly docile fiancee has a few plans of her own that she would like to set in motion. Betrayal and devastation lurks in unexpected places and tests the bond they believed was unbreakable. As they struggle with love and passion, secrets and lies the question is: Is love enough to help them see each other through the storms that await them ahead?

    He's also a notorious, no-good player—the wrong kind of man for a woman with big responsibilities. But at a mutual friend's lavish wedding, passion and curiosity get the best of maid of honor Vanessa, and Ralph reveals himself to be the best man in more ways than one.Ralph has had more than his share of women, but none has captivated him like Vanessa. To convince her that his player days are behind him, he'll have to show her what kind of man he truly is. He'll have to fight every inch of the way to break through her defenses and claim the blazing ecstasy they both want . . . and show her why she can't—and shouldn't—say no.

    One thing she doesn’t know is how to be a mother. So when a cruel twist of fate claims her sister’s life and leaves Raina with custody of her six-year-old niece, Zoe, Raina can think of only one place to turn. Zoe’s father has to be out there somewhere, and she intends to find him. When sexy sports agent Spencer Davis is confronted by the feisty beauty, he is torn. He does not believe he is the father of Raina’s niece. Yet he is reluctant to let the beguiling chef slip away. Soon he and Raina are engaged in a passionate liaison that is both unwise and inevitable. With Zoe’s parentage still in question, Spencer knows their relationship may be short-lived. But his longing for Raina is quickly outweighing his judgment, and he is willing to risk everything on the chance that they might be meant for each other …

    Despite the exceptional qualities and his obvious interest in her, things are moving too slow between them. Unlike most men who can’t wait to get in her pants, this particular man refuses to take things to the next level.DARYL JACKSON has grown tired of the nightclub scene and wants to settle down, but he has a secret that always seems to interrupt any potential love connection once he reveals it. He believes Michelle is the ideal woman, but can she handle the truth?After six weeks of dating, and still no attempt from him to get her “horizontal,” Michelle grows sex-starved. She is driving herself crazy trying to figure out Daryl’s problem! During a weekend getaway in Palm Springs, Michelle finally puts an end to the what’s-wrong-with-Daryl guessing game and demands to know what’s up. Not only does Daryl answer all her questions, Michelle learns first hand that you really need to be careful with what you wish for!

    Charles Hester, aka Dripping Chocolate, is mouth-wateringly fine, but he came with two baby-mamas, a prison rap sheet and plenty more drama. Charles swears he’s on the right track now, and it’s not like Nicole doesn’t have baggage of her own. She’s struggling to raise three children, and one of her exes might be a stalker. Can Charles and Nicole find happiness, or is their wild ride destined for failure? Anything’s possible when you give in to the possibility of true love…

    She's tired of being overweight, she's had it with her overbearing family, and she's fed up with settling for any guy who'll have her--especially since she caught her boyfriend cheating with her best friend.  But working out and avoiding delicious food is easy compared to resisting the charms of Los Angeles' hottest personal trainer, JaJuan "Night" Simmons. Six feet of chiseled muscle and fine chocolate, he's challenging her body in all the right ways--and proving there's a sensitive, caring guy under the good looks. Their shared career goals of promoting health and fitness bring them even closer together. But D'Andra feels it may be too much of a good thing. After succeeding in taking command of her life, can she risk losing control of her heart?

    Complacency had managed to set in again. . . A decent job, warm home, food on the table, and a body to curl up next to at night; he'd made the mistake of getting comfortable. Comfort fooled him into thinking it was all good when it wasn't. Damn nightmares had a way of reminding him of that."Ever since he was fifteen, John King has been on the run from the ghosts of his past, always drifting, never settling down in one place or with one woman, though more than one has certainly made the offer of forever-after. But every time his memories of life back in Texas start to haunt him too deeply into the night, John realizes that it's time to move on. That is, until he rolls into Denver, Colorado, grooving to Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It on," and meets Connie Rodgers, a woman who grew up on the mean streets and has the pain and the battle scars to prove it. And yet, she inspires him to think "If indeed there were a home for the perfect kiss, it would be on her lips." John is reluctant to admit that here is a woman who just may understand his very soul, even if she does have some baggage of her own. But both must face their pasts if they ever hope to be free to live and love.Filled with completely unforgettable characters, One Day I Saw a Black King is a stunningly powerful story that explores the power of the past over the present, the search for love and belonging and the healing gift of an extraordinary love.

    She's still looking for the perfect man: very tall, very educated and very cultured--all wrapped up inrich chocolate brown. So far, her insecurities about her generouscurves and her independent streak have kept her searching.Nick is a self-made mogul who works hard, plays hard and loveslife's finer things. He's not perfect, but he makes Dakota feelbeautiful, desirable--and maybe a little too vulnerable. Dakotacan't surrender to a take-charge man, and Nick has worked toohard for everything to give up control. Moving on would beeasy--except for a little complication called love.

    . .Rochelle Alers, "Love Lessons"Tyrell Hardcastle is knocked off his feet when he meets a local high school teacher. Now all he has to do is overcome her objections to him being the "younger man".Donna Hill, "Lady in Waiting"Noah Hardcastle is engaged to beautiful Tara Mitchell. However, their relationship is threatened when Noah's first love Rachel, returns to D.C. to prove to him that he is all she ever really wanted.Brenda Jackson, "Irresistible Attraction"Sydney Corbain never forgot her explosive encounter with Tyrone Hardcastle at her brother's wedding. So when she runs into him in New York City on business, they both see this as an opportunity to explore their undenaible attraction.Francis Ray, "Blind Date"Ayanna Hardcastle pretends that she is dating wealthy businessman Tanner Rafferty, in order to get her matchmaking friend off her back. But, she never imagined that Tanner Rafferty would show up to collect on that claim!

    - Starred Review, Publishers WeeklyEllis starts her new Gibbons Gold Digger Series, about a family of women who seduce men for money, in fine form. - RT Book ReviewsOver three generations, the Gibbons women of Chesterton, Virginia, have built their reputation as a family of shameless--but refined--gold diggers. They even have a strict set of rules by which they operate. But the rebellious, youngest Gibbons is about to break them all...Lauren Gibbons is committing the ultimate family betrayal: abandoning the tradition of seducing men for money. Nothing is worth the abuse she's endured from her sugar daddy. Now a sous chef, Lauren is hoping to break from the past for good. And when she meets hot former NFL player Crisanto Weaver, she even lets herself imagine a future. But the small-town rumor mill--and her own sisters--aren't ready for a new Lauren. Between her conniving relatives, her vengeful ex, a mountain of debt, and a whole lot of haters, can she escape her old life, and create something new?