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Waking to Black by V.H. Luis
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Darius
Marie Skye - 2018
At night you can find me on stage at the hottest male strip club on the strip. If you're lucky I may even let you thank me for putting on a good show by putting your mouth to good use. Kidding...maybe. What am I up to these days? Glad you asked. Taking my clothes off at night to make a living. Check Having a summer fling with a sexy AF raven haired babe. Check Snagging a prestigious job at a private school. Check Finding out that sexy AF raven haired babe is my student. Check We're not talking college. Say What?! What other crazy shit can I get into? Let's find out. They call me Dare. But my friends call me Darius. Be good to me. **Darius was previously released as Dare in the SIX: A Men of the Strip Anthology**
Dirt
Cassia Leo - 2017
Then, in one brutal instant, the universe tilted on its side, discarding us into black nothingness.Now, I have a cocky a**hole for a husband. The only way we communicate anymore is when we’re fighting or f**king.With nothing left to lose, I write Jack a goodbye letter and head for Portland, where I quickly meet a neighbor who helps me find a job. My new neighbor—hot, tattooed ex-soldier Isaac Evans—is complicated. Nevertheless, we form a fast friendship, bonding over our mutual desire to create something beautiful from the wreckage of our lives. But despite the distance between us, Jack and I are still trying to make things work—fighting and f**king dirtier than ever. And he doesn’t appreciate my new friendship with Isaac. Not one f**king bit.
The Accidental Cougar
Tiffany N. York - 2012
Her friends have decided that while her son is away for six weeks, it's the perfect opportunity for Nicole to have a summer fling. Heading the top of the list is Wil -- sexy, successful, full of life...and twenty-five! Regretfully, Nicole declares him "hands-off," but soon he's complicating everything, from her job at the advertising agency to her self-imposed ban on relationships. When Wil becomes her top client, she has even more reason to adhere to her "hands-off" policy. So why is Nicole finding it so hard to keep her hands off him?
This is a new release of a previously published edition.
Lip Service
Simone Sowood - 2017
Who wouldn’t?I didn’t count on being tempted by her sexy voice or her full lips.Too bad she’s off limits.Being a single dad isn’t easy, and I have rules — no relationships and no f*cking anyone my daughter knows.But when I become the subject of her posts, I can’t keep my hands off her any longer.I have to teach her everything she got wrong in her videos.
The Best Possible Answer
E. Katherine Kottaras - 2016
But her quest for perfection is derailed when her boyfriend leaks a private picture of her to the entire school—a picture only he was supposed to see. Making matters worse, her parents are getting divorced and now her perfect family is falling apart. For the first time, Vivi feels like a complete and utter failure.Then she gets a job working at the community pool, where she meets a new group of friends who know nothing about her past. That includes Evan, a gorgeous guy who makes her want to do something she never thought she’d do again: trust. For the first time in her life, Vivi realizes she can finally be whoever she wants. But who is that? While she tries to figure it out, she learns something they never covered in her AP courses: that it’s okay to be less than perfect, because it’s our imperfections that make us who we are.
Falling Fast
Aurora Rose Reynolds - 2017
After a year of rehabilitation, losing his career as a Marine along with his fiancée, he’s had to learn quickly what’s really important. Colton grew up wanting to serve his country. Managing his parents’ biker bar was never part of his plan, but after meeting Gia Caro, he’s beginning to think that’s exactly where he’s meant to be.Ever since Gia Caro arrived in the small, sleepy town of Ruby Falls, Tennessee, her life has spiraled out of control. Between losing her grandmother a little more each day to dementia, and her hot boss’s constant attention, her once quiet existence isn’t so quiet anymore.After weeks of sidestepping Colton, things get out of hand, and before Gia knows what’s happening, she’s spending her nights in his bed and her mornings in his kitchen. And as he cleans out drawers and makes room in his closet, she starts to wonder if she’s falling too fast.
Blind Kiss
Renee Carlino - 2018
Fourteen years ago, this shop was her childhood dance studio... Now she’s a suburban housewife, dreading the moment her son departs for MIT, leaving her with an impeccably decorated McMansion and a failing marriage. She had her chance at wild, stars-in-her-eyes happiness, but that was a lifetime ago. After The Kiss. Before The Decision.The Kiss was soulful. Magical. Earth-shattering, And it was all for a free gift card. Asked to participate in a psych study that posed the question, “Can you have sexual chemistry without knowing what the other person looks like?” Penny agreed to be blindfolded, make polite conversation with a total stranger, and kiss him. She never expected The Kiss to change her life forever and introduce her to Gavin: tattooed, gorgeous, and spontaneous enough to ask her out seconds after the blindfolds came off.For a year, they danced between friendship and romance—until Penny made The Decision that forced them to settle for friendship. Now, fourteen years later, both of their lives are about to radically change—and it’s his turn to decide what will become of their once-in-a-lifetime connection."
Aftercare Instructions
Bonnie Pipkin - 2017
She finds refuge and stability in her relationship with her boyfriend, Peter—until he abandons her at a Planned Parenthood clinic during their appointment to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. The betrayal causes Gen to question everything.As Gen pushes herself forward to find her new identity without Peter, she must also confront her most painful memories. Through the lens of an ongoing four act play within the novel, the fantasy of their undying love unravels line by line, scene by scene. Digging deeper into her past while exploring the underground theater world of New York City, she rediscovers a long-forgotten dream. But it’s when Gen lets go of her history, the one she thinks she knows, that she’s finally able to embrace the complicated, chaotic true story of her life, and take center stage.This powerfully immersive and format-crushing debut follows Gen from dorm rooms to diners to house parties to auditions—and ultimately, right into readers’ hearts.
Ensnared
J.S. Scott - 2018
Scott.
Wildlife conservationist Jade Sinclair isn’t used to having money. But when she and her siblings learned they were part of the mega-rich Sinclair dynasty, they became billionaires overnight. Jade doesn’t even know how to act rich, especially when she’s dealing with an arrogant, privileged, unreasonably sexy snob like Eli Stone.Unlike Jade, Eli grew up rich, and he just keeps getting richer. Eli is always looking for an adventure, and he’s found an inviting one in Jade—as resistant as she is irresistible. His less-than-honorable plan? Get her alone in the wilderness by buying out all the spots in her survival class.Calling a truce, they strike a bargain: Jade will teach Eli basic survival skills, and he’ll teach her how to navigate the world of the wealthy elite. Jade has only one condition—she will not let herself be seduced by him. But some things are easier said than done…
The Gilded Cuff
Lauren Smith - 2015
. .Journalist Sophie Ryder has been following Emery Lockwood’s story since she was a little girl. There has always been something in his haunted eyes that she couldn’t resist and now, when she’s certain he holds the key to solving a string of kidnappings, she’ll do anything to speak to him. Even if it means venturing deep into the seductive world of the Gilded Cuff, a luxurious BDSM club on Long Island’s Gold Coast and Emery’s personal playground.From the moment Sophie enters his shadowy, sensual domain, Emery Lockwood knows this tantalizing new little sub was meant to belong to him. However, Sophie wants more from Emery than just pleasure . . . she wants his past. And that is something he isn’t willing to give—no matter who is asking. But every moment he spends with Sophie, Emery feels his control slipping and he knows it’s only a matter of time before he surrenders to her heart, body, and soul.
The Sweeney Sisters
Lian Dolan - 2020
But their mother’s death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren’t quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature.But as guests pay their respects and reminisce, one stranger, emboldened by whiskey, has crashed the party. It turns out that she too is a Sweeney sister.When Washington, DC based journalist Serena Tucker had her DNA tested on a whim a few weeks earlier, she learned she had a 50% genetic match with a childhood neighbor—Maggie Sweeney of Southport, Connecticut. It seems Serena’s chilly WASP mother, Birdie, had a history with Bill Sweeney—one that has remained totally secret until now.Once the shock wears off, questions abound. What does this mean for William’s literary legacy? Where is the unfinished memoir he’s stashed away, and what will it reveal? And how will a fourth Sweeney sister—a blond among redheads—fit into their story?By turns revealing, insightful, and uproarious, The Sweeney Sisters is equal parts cautionary tale and celebration—a festive and heartfelt look at what truly makes a family.
Faster
Deana Birch - 2018
The junior producer knows she's dodged a bullet. Because, despite his melt-your-heart chocolate eyes and rising fame, Jake Riley is not boyfriend material. And those messages he sends in the middle of the night get filed under, "drunk text, best to ignore," without delay.Twelve grueling years of paying dues has finally resulted in a hit song for Jake. But, knowing the new zeroes in his bank account come with as many ways to blow it, he craves stability. So, stocked with an arsenal of charm and a reminder of what happened against her front door, he persuades Louana to see him again the next time he's in town. Now, certain he's found the calm to his storm, he asks her for the previously unthinkable-monogamy.
Maintenance Required
Giulia Lagomarsino - 2020
There are right and wrong ways to do things, and I always make sure that I'm on the right side. My brothers call me a wet blanket. They say I'm buttoned-up, boring, and that I don't know how to let loose. There's a reason I'm that way, and she just walked through my door. With one wild night, I've thrown all my moral guidelines out the window. Now I'm stuck with her and there's no possible way this could work between us. We're complete opposites in every way, but damn she's sexy. Not that it matters. There will never be more between us. One of us will end up killing the other first.KatAfter a long shift in the cancer ward at the children's hospital, I just want to let loose. My friend set me up on a date, and I gladly took it to let off some steam. I've got a fun outfit and I'm ready to let loose. But my one night of fun was spoiled the minute he walked through that door. I was just looking for a good time, and I got him instead. He's good-looking, but that's about all that he has going for him. He's not at all my type, and now he seems to think that I'm some loose whore. It was one night! But I'm stuck with him, so I have to find a way to make this work. If I don't figure out a way to make the man loosen up, I'll go insane.
The Request
David Bell - 2020
Ryan Francis has it all--great job, wonderful wife, beautiful child--and he loves posting photos of his perfect life on social media. Until the night his friend Blake asks him to break into a woman's home to retrieve incriminating items that implicate Blake in an affair. Ryan refuses to help, but when Blake threatens to reveal Ryan's darkest secret--which could jeopardize everything in Ryan's life--Ryan has no choice but to honor Blake's request.When he arrives at the woman's home, Ryan is shocked to find her dead--and just as shocked to realize he knows her. Then his phone chimes, revealing a Facebook friend request from the woman. With police sirens rapidly approaching, Ryan flees, wondering why his friend was setting him up for murder.Determined to keep his life intact and to clear his name, Ryan must find the real murderer--but solving the crime may lead him closer to home than he ever could have imagined.
Screwed Up
Harloe Rae - 2021
And the pressure is getting to me. Those who know me best highly recommend I take the edge off by any means necessary. As it turns out, the new security guard at Bayside Regional is just what the doctor ordered. Dane Owens is a disaster waiting to happen.Maybe that’s why I can’t look away. He plays fast and loose with no plans of slowing down. Especially when it comes to dating.We’re polar opposites, which is precisely why this arrangement is temporary.But there’s plenty to keep us occupied until our expiration date.All I need is for Dane to follow the rules that long.A Bayside Heroes standalone romance.