Book picks similar to
The Protector by Jodi Ellen Malpas
romance
dnf
contemporary-romance
contemporary
Losing Control
Jen Frederick - 2014
Anything, including ask Ian Kerr for help. I don’t know much about him, except that he has more money than some small countries. And he’s willing to spend it on me. Just one catch: there’s a string attached, and not just the one I feel pulling me into his arms and his bed. There’s also the plan for revenge he wants my help with. Every time he says my name, it makes my body shiver and my heart stutter. I know he’s going to wreck me, know there won’t be anything left of me but lust and sensation by the time he’s done with me, but even though I can see the heartbreak coming towards me like a train, ready to crash into me, I can’t get out of the way. I want what he makes me feel. Want what he’s offering. <This may have started out as something to save my mother, but now…now it’s about what he makes me feel. I’m in danger of losing everything that’s important. Worse? Ian's whispered words and hot caresses are making me believe that's okay.
Ruthless
Lexi Blake - 2016
Riley, Drew, Brandon, and Mia believe the CEO of StratCast orchestrated their parents’ murder twenty years ago to steal their father’s software program. And there’s only one way Riley can find some solid evidence... Heir to the StratCast legacy, Ellie Stratton hires a new attorney to handle a delicate business matter—and she’s shocked by her attraction to him. Over the course of a few weeks, Riley becomes her lover, her friend, her everything. But when her life is threatened, Ellie discovers that Riley is more obsessed with settling an old score than in the love she thought they were building. And Riley must choose between a revenge he’s prepared for all his life and the woman he’s sure he can’t live without...
Wounded
Jasinda Wilder - 2012
My family. My home. My innocence. In a country blasted by war and wracked by economic hardship, a young orphan girl like me has very few options when it comes to survival. Thus, I do what I must to live, to eat, and I try very hard to not consider the cost to my soul. My heart is empty, and my existence brutal. The one impossibility in my life is love.And then I meet HIM.War is hell. It takes a chunk out of a man's very soul to do the kinds of things war demands of you. You live with fear, you live with guilt, and you live with nightmares. If you haven't been through it, there's no understanding it. War leaves no room for love, no room for tenderness or softness. You gotta be hard, closed off, and ready to fight every moment of every day. Lose focus for a split second, and you're dead.Now the only thing that can save me is HER.
Sloth
Ella James - 2015
– I am writing to express my gratitude for your gift. There are no sufficient words, but please accept my sincerest thank you. Yours, R. She writes me back. I didn’t expect that. She tells me she’s a lover of chicken pizza and video games, a hot sorority girl with the nickname Sloth. She wants to know something about me in return. She says I owe her. This is how she saves my life. She doesn’t even know it. We’ve never even seen each other. But I need a reason. Just one reason to continue. She becomes mine.The anonymity is good. She doesn’t need to know me, but I need her kindness. We both live our lives: a letter here, a post card there. For three years, I escape my demons. And then one day I’m pulled back in. I’ve resigned myself to what I know is coming. Until the girl I’m spanking gives her safe word: Sloth. And then the lie I’m living starts to unravel. --Sloth is a 500-page, 150,000-word stand alone novel with many twists, one huge secret, and a non-cliffhanger ending. It will wreck you, but you'll like it. BTW: Part of the fun of reading this book is trying to guess the secret. I would appreciate it if you could avoid spoilers in reviews and review headlines, so others will be able to enjoy the guessing game.*Sloth is part of a collection of stand-alones inspired by a sin, and centered around a terrible secret. The second stand-alone, My Heart for Yours, is inspired by the sin of murder, and is the story of Kellan's oldest brother, Barrett Drake. It's free via Kindle Unlimited and also for sale here in the Kindle Store.*This book was updated and re-edited in fall 2017, and now includes a bonus story.
Wrong Number, Right Guy
Elle Casey - 2015
Her sister has sent out an SOS, but when May gets there, she’s nowhere to be found and May is the one in trouble—she’s wearing pink espadrilles, she’s got a Chihuahua in her purse, and she’s in the middle of a shootout.After tall, muscular Ozzie comes to her rescue, May has no choice but to follow him to safety. At the headquarters of his private security firm, the Bourbon Street Boys, she finds a refuge for the night—and the offer of a job. But it’s not long before a gun-toting stalker isn’t the only complication in May’s life: the more time she spends with Ozzie, the less she can deny that they’ve got some serious chemistry. A wrong number got her into this mess…Will it also get her the right guy?
Unteachable
Leah Raeder - 2013
The summer before senior year, she has plans: get into a great film school, convince her mom to go into rehab, and absolutely do not, under any circumstances, screw up her own future.But life has a way of throwing her plans into free-fall.When Maise meets Evan at a carnival one night, their chemistry is immediate, intense, and short-lived. Which is exactly how she likes it: no strings. But afterward, she can’t get Evan out of her head. He’s taught her that a hookup can be something more. It can be an unexpected connection with someone who truly understands her. Someone who sees beyond her bravado to the scared but strong girl inside.That someone turns out to be her new film class teacher, Mr. Evan Wilke.Maise and Evan resolve to keep their hands off each other, but the attraction is too much to bear. Together, they’re real and genuine; apart, they’re just actors playing their parts for everyone else. And their masks are slipping. People start to notice. Rumors fly. When the truth comes to light in a shocking way, they may learn they were just playing parts for each other, too.Smart, sexy, and provocative, Unteachable is about what happens when a love story goes off-script.
Dirty Headlines
L.J. Shen - 2018
Shen, comes a new standalone, enemies-to-lovers romance.Célian Laurent.Manhattan royalty.Notorious playboy.Heir to a media empire....And my new boss.I could have impressed him, if not for last month's unforgettable one-night stand.I left it with more than orgasms and a pleasant memory--namely, his wallet.Now he's staring me down like I'm the dirt under his Italian loafers, and I'm supposed to take it.But the thing about being Judith "Jude" Humphry is I have nothing to lose.Brooklyn girl.Infamously quirky.Heir to a stack of medical bills and a tattered couch.When he looks at me from across the room, I see the glint in his eyes, and that makes us rivals.He knows it.So do I. Every day in the newsroom is a battle.Every night in his bed, war.But it's my heart at stake, and I fear I'll be raising the white flag.
Hardwired
Meredith Wild - 2013
Determined to overcome a difficult past, Erica Hathaway learns early on how to make it on her own. Days after her college graduation she finds herself face to face with a panel of investors who will make or break her fledgling startup. The only thing she didn't prepare for was going weak in the knees over an arrogant and gorgeous investor who's seemingly determined to derail her presentation. Billionaire and rumored hacker Blake Landon has already made his fortune in software, and he's used to getting what he wants with very little resistance. Captivated by Erica's drive and unassuming beauty, he's wanted nothing more since she stepped into his boardroom. Determined to win her over, he breaks down her defenses and fights for her trust, even if that means sacrificing a level of control he's grown accustomed to. But when Blake uncovers a dark secret from Erica's past, he threatens not just her trust, but the life she's fought so hard to create.
Crown of Lies
Pepper Winters - 2017
Until he showed up and saved me. THREE DAYS Since I threw a drink at the man my father expected me to marry, then found myself slammed against a wall with Penn Everett’s seductive voice whispering a proposal I couldn’t refuse. THREE HOURSTo fall into hate with the man who reminded me of so many things and hid so much behind his lies. He couldn’t be the man who saved me three years ago…but there’s something so familiar…THREE MINUTESFor our relationship to switch from no-strings to marriage. He announced it to my father—he’s ecstatic. He told my friends—they’re shocked. But he didn’t ask me, he commanded me—and I’m livid. THREE SECONDSFor his lies to slowly steal my heart and make me believe, hope…trust. THREE BREATHS For his truth to destroy me.
The King
Skye Warren - 2017
My father gambles every night, falling deeper and deeper into debt. When he hits the bottom, he places a new bet: his daughter. I'm his entry bet to the biggest underground poker game. Every kind of danger circles the velvet-covered table, but only one man makes me tremble. A trailer park princess. The son of a criminal king. We don't belong together, but I'm caught in a twisted game. His eyes meet mine with dark promise. And when he puts down his cards, I know I'm going to lose more than my body. I'm going to lose everything.
Risking it All
Tessa Bailey - 2015
Even if it means insinuating herself into a rough, Brooklyn street gang and going so far undercover, she’s not sure she’ll be able to get out. Every minute she spends in their midst means the clock ticking down on her life, especially when she overhears something that could get her killed.Bowen Driscol is the heir to a crime enterprise. He never asked for the job, but with his father behind bars, he has no choice but to step in and keep the operation running. But when the NYPD blackmails him with a piece of damning information in exchange for aiding an undercover cop, he finds himself on the other side of the law for the first time in his life. Bowen knows the danger Sera is in, and keeping her safe trumps saving his own ass. The problem? She can’t know he’s on her side. And there's the matter of the seriously inconvenient heat sparking between them that's incinerating his resistance. But Sera only sees Bowen's past, and men like him are the reason her brother is dead. If they're to get out alive, he'll have to risk exposing the man beneath, and hope to hell he doesn't blow the whole operation in the process.
Blackburn
Brynne Asher - 2018
I’m her boss’s boss. Hell, I own the company. Pursuing Lillian Burkette was a line I shouldn’t cross. Until a work trip from hell changed everything. I didn’t just step over the line. I annihilated the damn thing. When it comes to her, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do. I’d even kill for her. When they say the corporate world is a jungle … they have no idea.
The Friend Zone
Abby Jimenez - 2019
She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children. Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen—especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length. The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.
Mr. Perfect
J.A. Huss - 2016
I just know what I like.A powerful billionaire in a suit wasn’t even my first choice. McAllister Stonewall was never on my radar, I didn’t even know he existed.But I do now.His hands are all over me at work. The heat of his chest pressing against my bare back as he bends me over the desk is the only thing on my mind.He is my most forbidden desires unleashed. He is my new secret obsession. He is my Mr. Perfect.Until the moment I realize… There’s no such thing as perfect.
Call Me Daddy
Jade West - 2017
I want him to be the one. I want him to be my everything. I didn’t expect to spend my eighteenth birthday stranded in the pouring rain with no way to make it home. I didn’t expect to be rescued from the worst night of my life by the most amazing man I’d ever seen. His name is Nick, and he says he wants to take care of me, says he’ll look after me, says I don’t need to be alone anymore. He treats me like a princess, like the fragile little girl he saved from the cold. But I like him… I like him like that. I’ve never liked anyone like that before… And it’s weird, this thing we have… It’s like I can’t decide how we’re supposed to be… what we are… Until he says the words… Call me Daddy.