Book picks similar to
Desert Heat by Elizabeth Reyes


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
new-adult

Last Hit


Jessica Clare - 2013
    For years I savored the fear caused by my name, the trembling at the sight of my tattoos. The stars on my knees, the marks on my fingers, the dagger in my neck, all bespoke of danger. If you saw my eyes, it was the last vision you’d have. I have ever been the hunter, never the prey. With her, I am the mark and I am ready to lie down and let her capture me. Opening my small scarred heart to her brings out my enemies. I will carry out one last hit, but if they hurt her, I will bring the world down around their ears. Daisy I've been sheltered from the outside world all my life. Home-schooled and farm-raised, I’m so naive that my best friend calls me Pollyanna. I like to believe the best in people. Nikolai is part of this new life, and he’s terrifying to me. Not because his eyes are cold or my friend warns me away from him, but because he’s the only man that has ever seen the real me beneath the awkwardness. With him, my heart is at risk... and also, my life.

The Library of Lost Things


Laura Taylor Namey - 2019
    There, she can avoid the crushing reality of her mother’s hoarding and pretend her life is simply ordinary. But when a new property manager becomes more active in the upkeep of their apartment complex, the only home Darcy has ever known outside of her books suddenly hangs in the balance.While Darcy is struggling to survive beneath the weight of her mother’s compulsive shopping, Asher Fleet, a former teen pilot with an unexpectedly shattered future, walks into the bookstore where she works…and straight into her heart. For the first time in her life, Darcy can’t seem to find the right words. Fairy tales are one thing, but real love makes her want to hide inside her carefully constructed ink-and-paper bomb shelter.Still, after spending her whole life keeping people out, something about Asher makes Darcy want to open up. But securing her own happily-ever-after will mean she’ll need to stop hiding and start living her own truth—even if it’s messy.

Seduction by Design


Sandra Brown - 1983
    But Hailey's tough exterior hides a fragile self-image that dashes any hopes of a love life. Until a minor emergency brings her into contact with Tyler Scott.

Tycoon


Katy Evans - 2017
    This hot. This difficult.Aaric Christos was a guy who protected me. Wanted me. Maybe even loved me.That man is gone.In his place is the most powerful real estate tycoon in the city.He’s a cold, ruthless, aggressive businessman.The only one who can save me and my startup from ruin.It takes every ounce of courage to put my pride aside and ask for his help.I didn’t expect him to offer it easily.And he doesn’t.Instead, he vets me harder than he’s vetted anyone.Don’t invest in what you don’t know, he says.He's assessing every piece of me, to the point I've never felt so bare.I yearn for the boy I once knew, whose touch once craved me.Putting it all on the line will be worth it, I tell myself.Until I realize—too late—that some risks are not worth taking.

Dirty Talk


Lauren Landish - 2017
    So right. The moment I heard his velvety voice growl that I’m his ‘Kitty Kat’, I knew I was in trouble. Derrick ‘The Love Whisperer’ King gives out relationship and sex advice on the radio to everyone, but he’s giving me something a bit more personal. Nobody’s ever talked to me the way he does. Daring, Demanding, Sexy… and oh, so Dirty. Maybe we started this whole thing a little backward, sex first and getting to know each other after. But I'm starting to let my guard down, my untrusting heart beginning to think that maybe fairy tales do come true. Even for me. I feel beautiful and hopeful when he worships my body. I feel dirty and naughty when he whispers filthy things in my ear. But is it real? Can something so naughty really be good for me? And more importantly, against all odds, can it last… forever? Dirty Talk is a full-length Romance with a happy ever after, no cheating, and no cliffhanger!

Stripped


Jasinda Wilder - 2013
    When you're faced with being homeless and hungry or taking off your clothes for money, the choice is easier than you'd imagine. That doesn't make it easy, though. Oh no. I hate it, in fact. There's nothing I'd like more than to quit and never go into another bar again, never hear the techno beat pulsing in my ears again, never feel the lecherous gazes of horny men again.Then, one day, I meet a man. He's in my club, front and center. He watches me do my routine, and his gaze is full of hunger. Not the kind of desire I'm used to though. It's something different. Something hotter, deeper, and more possessive. I know who he is; of course I do. Everyone knows who Dawson Kellor is. He's People Magazine's Sexiest Man alive. He's the hottest actor in Hollywood. He's the man hand-picked for the role of Rhett Butler in the long-awaited remake of Gone With the Wind. He's the kind of man who can have any woman in the entire world with a mere crook of his finger. So what's he doing looking at me like he has to have me? And how do I resist him when he looks at me with those intoxicating, changeable, quicksilver eyes? I'm a virgin, and he's an American icon of male sexuality. I'm a stripper, and he's a man used to getting anything and everything he wants. And he wants me. I know I should say no, I know he's the worst kind of player…but what my mind knows, my body and my heart may not.And then things get complicated.

Close Quarters


Kandi Steiner - 2021
    So when his steel gray eyes first meet mine, I expect him to pass right over me, to not give so much as a second thought to my presence.⁣⁣Instead, he sees me. ⁣Truly sees me. ⁣And for a girl who prefers to hide behind her camera lens, it’s the most unnerving experience of my life.⁣⁣Until he asks me to stay on his yacht for the summer.⁣⁣All I have to do to earn my keep is be Theo’s on-call photographer when he has guests, and I’ll get a free ride through the Mediterranean with my boyfriend. Easy peasy.⁣⁣Still, my skin prickles in warning when I say yes.⁣⁣As the humid days fade into balmy nights, I can’t seem to avoid Theo. And when he finds me, it’s like a rabbit running into a wolf.⁣⁣His intense gaze immobilizes me. The way he speaks strips me bare. Every brush of his skin sears me like a violent flame.⁣⁣My boyfriend’s billionaire boss always gets what he wants.⁣⁣And this time, I think he wants me.

Into the Storm


Melanie Moreland - 2013
    Pain, loneliness and terror are what she is leaving. Where she is headed doesn’t matter as long as it’s away from the hell her life has become. Joshua Bennett is trapped in a prison of his own making by the memories of his past. Traumatized and isolated, he is a reclusive writer, living a quiet, lonely life, his only companion his dog, Bear. It is what he knows, what he has accepted to be his life.One dark night, one huge storm, and one ice patch brings them together. He finds himself with an unexpected houseguest with no memory. She wakes up a stranger to herself and the man watching her. Even more mysterious is the lack of any sort of identification with her or in her car. She is an enigma to both of them. Trapped by the storm and isolated from the outside world, they slowly open up, learning to trust and love, until the world once again shows up, threatening the fragile peace of their newly discovered world, and tearing them apart. There are many twists and turns as they struggle to find each other, overcoming both the mental and physical elements that keep them apart. A story about overcoming our fears, finding love and learning to live again.

Until It Fades


K.A. Tucker - 2017
    It isn’t until after the police have arrived that Catherine realizes exactly who it is she has saved: Brett Madden, hockey icon and media darling.Catherine has already had her fifteen minutes of fame and the last thing she wants is to have her past dragged back into the spotlight, only this time on a national stage. So she hides her identity. It works.For a time.But when she finds the man she saved standing on her doorstep, desperate to thank her, all that changes. What begins as an immediate friendship quickly turns into something neither of them expected. Something that Catherine isn’t sure she can handle; something that Catherine is afraid to trust.Because how long can an extraordinary man like Brett be interested in an ordinary woman like Catherine…before the spark fades?

Knocked Up by the Dom


Penelope Bloom - 2017
    He gave me three things that night: His first name, the sweet taste of submission, and his baby. Now my Dom is back and this time he won’t stop until I’m his. Kylie One wild and reckless night changed my life three years ago. I got a taste of what it meant to be with a real man--how just a whisper could ignite my desire, and his commanding voice could have me kneeling at his feet in submission. He was my everything and I only knew him for a few hours. But like everything good in my life, it went up in flames. When I learned the truth about him, I ran as fast as I could. I’d like to think I would’ve stayed if I knew about the baby… but I doubt even that would’ve stopped me, not after what I learned. Damian It has been three years since she got away. Three f*cking years. I knew she was mine from the moment I saw her. I had to have her. To touch her. For one night, I owned her submission and she loved every second. I finally found her again. There’s not a chance in hell she’s going to slip away this time. Not again. Not ever. I’m going to bring her into my world. I’ll give her everything she wants and all the things she didn’t even know she needs. She’ll be crying out my name. She’ll be dreaming of spankings, handcuffs, and blindfolds. I’m going to dominate her in every way imaginable. Mind, body, and soul. Especially her body. But it’s not going to be as simple as I thought because she has a son now… my son. **As always, this is a totally SAFE, full length book with a happily ever after, no cheating, and plenty of steam. Bonus content included.**

Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin


Mariana Zapata - 2015
    When her twin brother invites her to go on tour as his band’s merch girl, she isn’t exactly screaming at the top of her lungs with joy. With no job opportunities pounding on her door, an ex-boyfriend she would still like to castrate, and no end in sight to moving out of her parents’ house in Dallas… it would be dumb to say no to the chance of a lifetime. Two bands, three continents, one tour. Spending the next ninety-plus days with three beloved idiots and eight complete strangers shouldn’t be a big deal, right? If only the singer of the headlining band didn’t have tattoos... a great personality… a fantastic body… and if he wasn’t so funny…. Let’s be real: Gaby never had a chance against Sacha Malykhin.

Fast Lane


Kristen Ashley - 2019
    Forming in a garage in a small town in Indiana. Taking their licks on the road. Going balls to the wall until they made their big break.And then Preacher McCade and the Roadmasters redefined rock and roll.Guided by their tortured lead singer and songwriter, the Roadmasters changed the face of music in the 80s and 90s. And on their journey to becoming one of the most enduring bands in history—dogged by rumors and myth and fueled by drugs and booze—the Roadmasters had one touchstone.Lyla.Preacher’s muse, the love of his life, and the band’s moral compass, from the beginning, Lyla is along for the ride. But with fame and acclaim in their grasp, they’ve entered the fast lane.And they didn’t know it, but they were headed for a crash.

The Man in the Black Suit


Sylvain Reynard - 2017
    When her superior, Marcel, is attacked in a supposed random mugging, she is tasked with serving one of the hotel’s most mysterious and attractive guests.Nicholas Cassirer checks into the hotel under an assumed name every three months. Usually, he stays in the penthouse suite with a beautiful female companion but on this occasion, he arrives alone and is displeased in having to deal with someone new. A match of wits ensues as he tests Acacia’s expertise with a series of almost impossible demands. Her intelligence and creativity rise to the challenge, earning his respect.They strike a tenuous accord until Acacia discovers a famous stolen painting in his suite, she contacts a former boyfriend who works for the elite BRB, a unit of French law enforcement that deals with art thefts.Nicholas is questioned by police and released when it is revealed the painting is a reproduction. Irked with her behavior, Acacia’s supervisor demotes her threatening dismissal and the cancellation of her work permit.But Acacia has already attracted Nicholas’s attention. Remorseful that she may lose her job on his account, he offers her a choice – she can wait until her supervisor dismisses her, or she can leave the city of lights behind and become his personal assistant.Acacia initially refuses his offer, but Nicholas is persistent. He reveals himself as a man who quietly acquires stolen art in order to restore it to its rightful owners. Faced with mounting familial debts and the possibility of dismissal and deportation, she agrees to work for him.Nicholas opens up a whole new world of beauty and intrigue to Acacia as they travel the globe. Soon the line between employer and assistant is blurred, and the two lonely people embark on a passionate relationship.

The Outskirts


T.M. Frazier - 2017
    Finn wants to forget he ever had one. After a tragedy, Finn Hollis escapesinto the swamp to be alone. That is until Sawyer Dixon shows up, all SCORCHING HOT innocence, claiming she owns the land less than fifty feet from his front door. Sawyer gets under his SKIN, but even worse? She makes him CRAVE things. Things Finn hasn’t thought about in a very long time. Finn WANTS Sawyer gone.Almost as much as he wants her in his BED.The swamp is about to get a whole lot HOTTER. The Outskirts was originally set to be a standalone. It is now book one of a duet. The Outliers is the title of book two.

Wilder


Rebecca Yarros - 2016
    He’s Paxton Wilder.Twenty-two-year-old, tattooed, smoking-hot leader of the Renegades.Five time X Games medalist.The world is his playground—especially this year—and for the next nine months I’m stuck as his tutor on the Study at Sea program.He’s too busy staging worldwide stunts for his documentary to get to class.But if I can’t get him to take academics seriously, I’ll lose my scholarship…if I don’t lose my heart first.Six unlikely friends on a nine-month cruise with the Study at Sea program will learn that chemistry is more than a subject and the best lessons aren’t taught in the classroom…but in the heart.