Trouble always seems to find Will Murphy. Or maybe it’s Will that’s the trouble. His disregard for his actions and his constant lack of responsibilities are his trademark.
One kiss from a sweet girl like Miley Reese may be exactly what he needs. It just might be the jolt of electricity that motivates him to get his act together.
C.A. Harms is an avid romance and mystery reader. She’s always had a love for books, getting lost in writing and storytelling even as a young girl. She enjoys happy endings and HEA love stories.
She lives in Illinois and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. She holds an addiction for Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha’s and KitKat when she should really be focusing on water and maybe a fruit or two to make herself feel less guilty, but that feeling quickly passes…thankfully.
She is easy going, fun, and although she may seem like one of the quiet ones at first, you just wait until she gets to know you better…that quietness changes, fast.
Greed, the first book in the dark and gripping romance in the all-new A Sinful Empire Trilogy from bestselling author Eva Charles is available now!
Some girls grow up in castles with fortresses to protect them from monsters.
Other girls grow up in castles with fortresses to protect the monsters.
I am both these girls.
Antonio Huntsman comes to call soon after my father dies.
Unannounced, unapologetic, and unmistakably in charge.
With a dangerous gaze and bespoke suit, he looks every bit the man who haunts my dreams.
I’m sure he wants the priceless vineyards.
They’ll be the crowning jewel of his empire.
But I’m wrong.
He wants me.
Grab your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3nFNGWK
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/GreedEC
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2ZuGh45
Nook: https://bit.ly/3jDzGLK
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3mjgGUs
Add Greed to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3beXrFl
Lust, Book 2Releasing March 24th
Reserve your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vOEcfc
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/LustEC
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3jKIJui
Nook: Coming Soon
Kobo: Coming Soon
Add Lust to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3bgOwTT
Envy, Book 3Releasing May 19th
Reserve your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3BfFa5v
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/EnvyEC
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3jKLax1
Add Envy to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3BkmSA6
Grab the FREE prequel, A Sinful Empire today!
https://bit.ly/3nQ7xD
Enter the cover reveal giveaway for a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card: https://bit.ly/3dpZKXr
About Eva Charles
Eva Charles is the best-selling author of sexy romantic suspense, and contemporary romance. She spent a career working as a social worker and an attorney, specializing in domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and civil rights. Aspects of this work often sneak their way into her books.
When she’s not writing steamy stories, trying to squeeze information out of her tight-lipped sons, or playing with the two naughtiest dogs you’ve ever met, Eva’s creating chapters in her own love story.
Connect with Eva
Facebook: https://bit.ly/31jqYML
Amazon:https://amzn.to/31kd4tF
Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rsnGBm
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3dc4tvq
BookBub: https://bit.ly/3deDYp6
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3odbx1p
Website: https://evacharles.com/
When Joey decides to stay in Mason Creek a little longer than planned, Cole Jackson comes to the rescue and volunteers a room at his place—and his unsolicited advice on how to land the perfect cowboy.
Cole quickly realizes Joey is perfect for him in every way, and he’d much rather be lovers than friends. There is only one way out of this. The perfect plan? Sabotage.
Cary Hart hails from the Midwest. A sassy, coffee drinking, sometimes sailor swearing, Spotify addict, lover of all things books!
When not pushing women down the stairs in the fictional world, Cary has her hands full. Soccer mom in all sense of the word to two wild and crazy, spoiled kiddos, and wife to the most supportive husband. In addition to writing full time, she enjoys binge watching Netflix, laying around in her hammock and baking up cookies for her family and friends.
Cary writes real, raw romance! In her stories the characters deal with life’s everyday struggles and unwanted drama, they talk about the ugly and they become the broken. Everyone deserves a happy ending, but sometimes before you can appreciate the light, there has to be darkness.
Growing up, if someone would have told her she would become a writer, she wouldn’t have believed them. It wasn’t until she got her hands on her first romance novel, that the passion grew. Now she couldn’t imagine her life any other way – she’s living her dream.
Is it only princesses that get a Happy Ever After? Or is there hope for a hot mess like me?
No Match for Her, an all new billionaire romance from bestselling author Stacy Travis is coming February 15th and we have the first look at the gorgeous cover!
I need a date to my brother’s wedding in six weeks, and Charlie Walgrove owns a tux. Billionaires are like that.
He’s also my sister’s boss, and I agree to let her set me up with the awkward genius, who apparently has even less luck in the dating game than a struggling artist, aka me.
We’re total opposites, but the date goes okay. We agree to be friends, the kind who won’t become lovers.
Famous last words.
On a series of “friend dates” involving bar snacks, acrylic paint and hedgehogs, I discover that Charlie is nothing like what I expected. Under his hoodie and glasses, he’s handsome and down-to-earth, stuck in a job he hates and afraid to disappoint people by walking away. His heart is as gorgeous as his hidden face.
I’ve always felt like the flaky sister in my family, but Charlie sees me as the artist I want to be. As our friendship deepens, so do my feelings for him. Maybe I’m even falling in love.
But gambling with my heart feels dangerous when all my relationships end in failure–especially if he’s only looking for a friend.
Is it only princesses that get a Happy Ever After? Or is there hope for a hot mess like me?
Reserve your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3oAZUQK
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/NoMatchforHer
Apple Books: https://apple.co/30MiiOy
Nook: Coming Soon
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3oGStrd
Google Play: https://bit.ly/3cxaLp3
Add No Match for Her to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fYeH3X
Start the Berkeley Hills series today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3tJ4JJG
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/secondchanceatus
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3Df2Bh2
Nook: https://bit.ly/3on7QoJ
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3qwcKm1
Google Play: https://bit.ly/31YOgYl
Cover Designer: Shanoff Design
About Stacy Travis
It’s a rough world out there, and we all sometimes need a good, romantic beach read, even if we can’t make it to the beach. I’ve spent many lazy days walking the streets of Paris and other gorgeous European cities, and if I’m doing it right, I’m bringing you a dash of romance and a vacay fantasy.
I can’t sit still, so when I’m not hiking, biking or running, I’m playing a very average game of tennis. Background music for writing undoubtedly features some U2, Lizzo, Billy Joel, Pink, Taylor Swift, and Led Zeppelin. Not necessarily in that order. And if I could only eat one food group, it would be cheese. Or wine. Or bread. Are those food groups? Whatever.
Connect with Stacy
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2UbPlWv
Instagram: https://bit.ly/2xdBd62
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Uw1bcD
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2QBKcEU
Stay up to date with Stacy by joining her mailing list: https://bit.ly/2y6nYod
Website: https://stacytravis.com
But Jess isn’t willing to get hurt again . . . no matter how persuasive, how determined, how deliciously possessive her new roommates are.
Down and Dirty, an all-new slow burn sexy heroes romance and the first book in the Italian Stallion Series from New York Times bestselling author Mari Carr is available now!
What happens when a down-on-her-luck single mom meets not one, but two sexy saviors? Roommates with twice the benefits.
Jess has one goal in life—protect her son. But when an overcrowded shelter puts her and Jasper out on the street in the dead of winter, she fears she’s going to fail that mission. Help comes in the form of confirmed bachelors, Tony Moretti and Dr. Rhys Beaumont.
Tony and Rhys share the same motto—work hard, play harder. But when fate drops a homeless waitress and her young son on their doorstep, their wild and free lifestyle takes a sharp turn. Their desire to help her is only surpassed by their desire to claim her, share her, make her theirs.
When Tony and Rhys offer Jess a place to stay and security, there’s no denying the chemistry between the three of them. All she has to do is let them in. But Jess isn’t willing to get hurt again . . . no matter how persuasive, how determined, how deliciously possessive her new roommates are.
Fall in love with Tony and Rhys!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3i8G1i2
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/DownandDirty
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3BPY0BL
Nook: https://bit.ly/3lbmwqL
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3j3xMD0
Google Play: https://bit.ly/34Utz10
Add Down and Dirty to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3AhDdX9
About Mari Carr
Virginia native Mari Carr is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance novels. With over one million copies of her books sold, Mari was the winner of the Romance Writers of America’s Passionate Plume award for her novella, Erotic Research. She has over a hundred published works, including her popular Wild Irish and Compass books, along with the Trinity Masters series she writes with Lila Dubois.
Connect with Mari
Facebook: https://bit.ly/37bo2jC
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33f2pwG
Instagram: https://bit.ly/2A2XAgl
BookBub: https://bit.ly/3h7lloa
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2MGhiRm
Stay up-to-date with Mari, sign up for her newsletter:
https://bit.ly/2Y7WMyI
Website: https://maricarr.com/
What the Fang? an all-new fast paced paranormal romantic comedy and the first book in the Undead Ever After series from USA Today bestselling author Stacey Kennedy is now live!
Sink your teeth into this irresistible forbidden romance from USA Today bestselling author Stacey Kennedy about the vampire Warden of Charleston and the new-in-town witch who’s causing him all kinds of trouble…
Willa Farrington’s magic is broken. Shunned by her coven for failing to pass the Summer Solstice Rite, Willa escapes to the one place no witch belongs – Charleston, a city that belongs to vampires. Determined to embrace her new life, Willa opens Cauldron Boil Books, and unexpectedly finds some friends among the vampires…
Until one terrible night Willa ends up on the wrong side of a pair of fangs. Thankfully, her captor’s plan is ruined when Killian Constantine, the drop-dead gorgeous Warden of Charleston, shows up to save her. But just when Willa thinks she’s safe, Killian, rumored to be the most feared vampire in the city, furiously demands to know why she – a witch – telepathically called him for help.
Intent on finding answers, the two embark on a journey to unravel the mystery behind Willa’s attack and their unusual connection. As they get closer to the truth, the fiery passion between them ignites. But their forbidden romance isn’t making them many friends, and just as Willa starts to think that her entire existence is a lie, deadlier forces come out of the shadows. She will need to believe in her malfunctioning magic, trust bloodthirsty vampires, and cross her fingers that she and Killian make it out together… and that neither end up dead.
Sink your teeth in today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3cjlOCg
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/WhattheFang
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3oC4ez8
Nook: https://bit.ly/3ckmPKy
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3HonhFX
Add What the Fang? to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3nlUppO
Excerpt
As I set the last dish in the cupboard, Killian said, “Thank you for tonight. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this.”
“Had lunch with someone?” I asked with a snort, shutting the cupboard door, turning to face him.
Energy pulsed like a heartbeat, causing my nipples to pucker as he took a step closer. “Had a meal with a woman.”
I swallowed against the way his voice lowered at woman and how those two syllables stormed through my blood. I inhaled sharply, his wintery pine aroma overwhelming my senses. “You’re welcome. I enjoyed myself too.”
The silvering of his eyes told me I was failing miserably at hiding the excitement building inside me. He closed the remaining distance between us slowly, letting me watch every powerful step he took. His hand came to my arm, and that intentional touch kicked up my heart rate even more. Suddenly everything between us became charged, damn near electrified. His presence was all around me, his power washing over me, his mouth close to mine.
Aware of my desire, his nostrils flared, as he brushed a soft kiss against my cheek. The world stopped spinning as the air left my lungs in a rush, and my head turned without so much as a thought, only a pure desperation to feel him against my flesh.
Except, before my lips met his, he pulled away.
His glowing eyes were dancing. “Thank you again.”
As he strode away, and feeling like he suddenly had one up on me, I shoved all my desire, all my drenched, aching need into the air, letting him scent that.
He stiffened at the doorway, glancing back. His bright, glowing eyes, paired with the ravenous hunger on his face, nearly melted the panties off my body. “Are you prepared to finish what you’re starting?”
“Oh, are we starting something?” I asked, striding up to him. He went ramrod stiff as I molded myself to his body, leaning against the hefty erection at my stomach. “Aren’t we just saying goodbye?”
His chest rumbled.
Having the upper hand again, I grinned and meant to walk out of the door, except that a blast of wind slammed the door shut. Killian pressed me against the wall, his hard muscles a shield I never wanted gone. His hands braced my face, his lips inches from mine. Eyes glowing, he murmured, “You know we’re starting something.”
“Maybe I do.”
The air was on fire between us, electricity pinging as he brought his mouth closer, enough to smell Italian spices on the tongue I craved to taste. “If I kiss you, Willa, there is no walking away for me.” His gaze swept over my lips before meeting my eyes.
My head was spinning at the feel of his hands on me—at the power in the air around us. I could feel him entering every molecule of my body. His icy, woodsy aroma enveloping me. His touch burning me. His passion searing along my skin. It was like I knew all of Killian without knowing him. I didn’t question if I should let this happen, I knew it had to. I threaded my hands into his hair and brought his mouth to mine.
He groaned against my lips, and I echoed the sound, parting my mouth, allowing his tongue entrance. I moaned as I tasted him, and he grunted for all the same reasons, his hands exploring my body like he needed to learn it, to feel my curves. I dragged my hands from his hair to his strong shoulders down to his rippling arm muscles.
Until Killian broke the kiss, leaving me breathless after hearing a soft knock on the door. “Go away,” he growled.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Raphael said from the doorway. “But Ari requests your presence in the library.”
“Thank you,” I breathed, desperately trying to get control of my tingling nerve endings.
Killian waited for Raphael to leave before he set that smoldering stare on me, cupping my face, and cursed. “We need to go.” I saw the question there. All it would take was for me to say: I need you now, and we’d be late to meet Ari …
About Stacey Kennedy
Stacey Kennedy is a USA Today bestselling author who writes contemporary romances full of heat, heart, and happily ever afters. With over 50 titles published, her books have hit Amazon, B&N, and Apple Books bestseller lists.
Stacey lives with her husband and two children in southwestern Ontario—in a city that’s just as charming as any of the small towns she creates. Most days, you’ll find her enjoying the outdoors with her family or venturing into the forest with her horse, Priya. Stacey’s just as happy curled up indoors, where she writes surrounded by her lazy dogs. She believes that sexy books about hot cowboys or alpha heroes can fix any bad day. But wine and chocolate help too.
Connect with Stacey
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2GndEc8
Website: http://bit.ly/38IpidY
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/30UzJIw
Facebook: http://bit.ly/38IX6au
Twitter: http://bit.ly/38I0Zgc
GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2sXZlYo
Stay up to date with Stacey by joining her mailing list:
http://bit.ly/38L2R7T
I don’t have time to be distracted by the brilliant Azalea Clark.Even if she does make me ache with insatiable need.
The Lottery, an all-new steamy romance set with a futuristic twist from USA Today bestselling author Karpov Kinrade is available now!
What happens when the man who made the rules is the first to break them?
ZAE
I didn’t want to enter The Lottery.
Didn’t want to leave the Earth to burn.
But being paired off with a billionaire was the only way left to survive.
The algorithm said it would be a perfect match.
It forgot one thing.
Marek Volkav.
The billionaire.
The one who set all this up.
I despise him.
And now I also owe him my life.
Seriously…
F*ck Billionaires.
MAREK
I have one mission. Keep everyone alive.
I don’t have time to be distracted by the brilliant Azalea Clark.
Even if she does make me ache with insatiable need.
I can’t have her.
I can’t break the rules.
Or I’ve doomed us all.
MAREK VOLKAV
“I remember the moment I realized it was doomed to fail. My plan to save Earth.”
She raises an eyebrow and waits for me to continue.
“I was in a room full of rich and powerful people. I was trying to raise the funds needed for terraforming on Earth. I knew I could not do it alone, that it would take many of us–if not all of us–to make the changes needed.”
“They didn’t listen, did they?” she asks, her lips forming a hard line.
I shake my head. “In the end, Mars was the only option we had left.”
Azalea sits straighter, moving her hand from under her chin to place it gently on my leg. For a brief moment, my body is entirely focused on her touch and every worry I have fades away. She has the power to shift my reality in an instant.
“It’s funny, I always thought you had too big an impact,” she says. “With so many people ruining the world, sometimes the environmentalist groups tried to paint everyone with the same brush. Everyone was failing. Everyone had to do more. Especially the rich. The news made it seem like you were ignoring problems instead of trying to fix them.”
I think about the Azalea I never knew, angry with me before we ever met. I would have fallen just as hard for that woman, I think. Would it have changed anything? Had we met earlier? I push the thought from my mind. There is no point obsessing over what might have been.
“The discourse was fraught from the start,” I say. “It was easier to lay blame than take action. In trying to inspire people to work together rather than just fan the flames of their anger, I felt like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the mountain, only to begin again each day. I finally became so disillusioned that I shifted my efforts.”
“To Mars,” Azalea says.
I nod. “Da. To Mars. I had the money to do whatever I wanted, and no government on Mars could senselessly slow my efforts.”
Talking of Mars draws both of our attention to the window, and we sit silently for a moment, taking in the expanse of space. We float together in a silent sky, countless miles away from our home planet. Right now, I exist only in this moment—alongside this woman, my past forgotten, my future a mystery. There is only now.
I hope the same is true for her, but I do not dare assume as much. Whatever her feelings about the process, she has Robert. They spend their days–and nights–in each other’s company. Surely their connection must be growing stronger.
The lucky bastard.
“Well,” Azalea says, turning to face me as she gives my leg a soft squeeze that makes me feel like Cupid has bludgeoned me with his bow. “I’d like to formally apologize for all the terrible things I said about you before we ever met. And, I’d like to thank you for bringing me along on your journey. I’m grateful.”
It means the world for her to say so, and I place my hand on top of hers, finally giving in to the temptation. The touch feels so right, yet just outside of the bounds of appropriateness. The entire purpose of assigned partners and an infallible algorithm was to avoid just this situation.
The jealousy.
The animosity.
The aggression.
Nothing good comes from broken trust and infidelity. No one has exchanged wedding vows, but they have all committed to this common goal. What happens when the man who made the rules is the first to break them?
Distinguishing right from wrong has never been a challenge for me. Helping people. Helping the planet. Ensuring the ends justify the means. It has always been a simple, logical code that has served me well.
Every second spent in the company of Azalea flies in the face of that. My feelings for her will have repercussions. If they are reciprocated, it will be even worse.
And yet, I have never wanted anything more.
“What are you thinking?” she asks.
The question slices into me like a heated blade. I cannot begin to tell her my thoughts without annihilating what little line remains between us.
I should not.
I shall not.
“I am thinking…”
About you. About your eyes, and hair, and scent, and body.
“About you.”
The words are out of my mouth before I know what to do with them. Azalea’s eyes grow wide, and I realize I cannot leave those words to stand on their own.
“Oh?”
I sigh. There is no mystery. My secrets are exposed. The moment I took her hand to make sure she knew I had no partner, I made my feelings clear. We can dance around the conversation as long as we like, but I cannot pretend this beautiful, brilliant, intuitive woman does not see right through me.
I lean in. Only an inch. Testing the waters.
She does not move.
I close the distance more.
She blinks.
I am close enough to feel the breeze of her breath. It hitches.
We are each living on scraps of breath, taking in only enough air to survive, lest a single inhale disrupt this moment.
I bring my lips to hers, and she does not retreat.
As our mouths meet, I return to the blissful state of pure existence, my mind nowhere but here, no sense of the universe beyond the exquisite creature in front of me and the soft lips touching my own.
Blood rushes through my tingling body.
I inhale her breath into me as I deepen the kiss, parting her lips a sliver with the tip of my tongue, bringing my hand to cup her cheek, my other reaching around her waist to pull her closer.
She groans, her mouth opening for me, the taste of her like dark chocolate and rich red wine. Her tongue slicks against mine and my pants tighten uncomfortably at the touch. At the instant arousal she produces in me.
This kiss is everything, and yet I want—need—so much more.
I feel a rumble inside me, our contact shifting the tectonic plates of my soul, making every piece of me tremble.
Our lips part, but the quaking remains.
And now there is a sound to it.
My eyes lock with Azalea’s, whose face shows the same mix of ecstasy and concern.
The shaking is not from our kiss.
It is coming from the ship.
About Karpov Kinrade
Karpov Kinrade is the pen name for the husband and wife entertainment duo Lux and Dmytry Karpov-Kinrade, aka The KK Duo.
Together, they write award-winning, internationally and USAT bestselling books, make music, create art, write screenplays and direct — all the things.
Look for more from Karpov Kinrade in the Vampire Girl series, The Nightfall Chronicles and The Forbidden Trilogy. If you’re looking for their suspense and romance titles, you’ll find those under Alex Lux.
Check out their music by clicking on the Music tab.
They live in wine country California with their three offspring who have crazy creative genius oozing out of them in the form of music, art, performance, and all the things, and too many cats who all think they rule the world (spoiler alert: they do).
When the baby-making ends will something else begin?
Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, an all new laugh-out-loud friends-to-lovers romantic comedy from bestselling author Sarah Ready is available now!
New Year’s Resolution:
Have a baby
Preferably with Josh Lewenthal
Meet Gemma Jacobs. She’s driven, energetic, and a positive thinker. She has a great career working for famed self-help guru Ian Fortune, she lives in a cute studio apartment in Manhattan, and her family is supportive and loving (albeit a little kooky). Her life is perfect. Absolutely wonderful.
Except for one tiny little thing.
After a decade of disastrous relationships and an infertility diagnosis, Gemma doesn’t want a Mr. Right (or even a Mr. Right Now), she just wants a baby.
And all she needs is an egg, some sperm, and IVF.
So Gemma makes a New Year’s resolution: have a baby.
Josh Lewenthal is a laid back, relaxed, find-the-humor-in-life kind of guy. The polar opposite of Gemma. He’s also her brother’s best friend. For the past twenty years Josh has attended every Jacobs’ family birthday, holiday, and event – he’s always around.
Gemma knows him. He’s nice (enough), he’s funny (-ish), he’s healthy (she thinks) and he didn’t burn any ants with a magnifying glass as a kid. Which, in Gemma’s mind, makes him the perfect option for a sperm donor.
So Gemma wants to make a deal. An unemotional, business-like arrangement. No commitments, just a baby.
To Gemma’s surprise, Josh agrees.
They have nothing in common, except their agreement to make a baby and their desire to keep things businesslike.
But the thing about baby-making…it’s hard to keep it businesslike, it’s nearly impossible to keep it unemotional, and it’s definitely impossible to keep your heart out of the mix. Because when you’re making a baby together, things have a way of starting to feel like you’re making other things too – like a life, and a family, and love. And when the baby-making ends, you wish that everything else didn’t have to end too.
Josh is on my bed.
What the heck?
It’s like he has some sort of super-psychic power that lets him know when a woman needs him. I think about him stealing my undies all those years ago and I realize that yes, he probably does have a secret power. Some sort of man radar—mandar.
We haven’t really spoken in years, except for the casual greeting at the New Year’s party or a “hi, how are you” at a random friends and family get together. Yet here he is, right when I need him.
I step into my bedroom and shut the door. Josh is spread out on my pink lace coverlet, his arms behind his head, and his legs crossed—the picture of relaxation. He’s in his standard outfit, faded jeans and a tight T-shirt depicting some obscure graphic novel character. His black hair needs a trim and he has at least two days’ worth of dark stubble on his face.
Even though I’m indifferent to him as a person and I know for a fact he’s not my type, my lady parts still clench. He’s that good looking.
He smirks at me, like he knows the effect he’s having. Here’s the thing about Josh, he’s completely unable to take life seriously. It’s like the whole universe is a funny joke to him, and he’s just living his life so he can be amused.
When he graduated from high school he was voted the most likely to succeed. He was captain of the football team, the basketball team, homecoming king and the valedictorian. Everyone thought he was going places. Especially me.
After he graduated from college he took a job at a tech start-up, worked his way up the ranks to VP, and then according to my brother, he just woke up one day and decided to quit. He walked into the office, took a box out of the supply closet, packed up his desk, and walked out. Ever since then he’s been doing his web comic thing. But I guess if he’s living with his dad again, it’s not going all that well.
I look him over. The thing is, I’m not sussing him out as a prospective husband, I don’t care about his career goals, how big his paycheck is, or whether he lives in his dad’s basement. I don’t care about his potential or non-potential as a life mate. I’m thinking about his genetics. And his genetics are just fine.
I close the door with a sharp snick.
“What are you doing on my bed?” I ask.
His eyes, always full of sharp intelligence, take in my sauce-covered dress and the blush still lingering on my cheeks.
“What are you doing covered in barbecue?” A small smile flits over his lips and his forehead wrinkles as he takes in my appearance.
My outfit from earlier is folded in a neat pile and sitting on my dresser. Josh starts to stand up.
“Stay there. I need to talk to you.”
I decide that rather than risk him leaving while I change, I’ll talk to him covered in sauce.
“Alright.” He scoots over and pats my bed.
I give him a look and he shrugs. “Sorry. I was up all night finishing a storyboard. Whenever I stayed the night with Dylan, your mom would always give me your bed to sleep in. I didn’t think, it just seemed natural to…”
He trails off when he sees the expression on my face. I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that Josh has apparently been sleeping in my childhood bedroom for years.
I look at my dresser and realize that my teenage diary is in the top drawer hidden under my underwear. My skin prickles with, yup, that’s embarrassment. I look at the dresser then at Josh, but he doesn’t seem any different than usual. Maybe he’s not a snooper. Probably, yes, probably he never read it. Because if he had…errr…my teenage self was not shy about fantasizing about him.
I settle onto the mattress next to him.
He clears his throat and scoots over. “So what’s up?”
Oh God.
Am I really going to do this?
Can I do this?
It seemed perfectly reasonable and normal when I was planning it out after my doctor’s appointment. I looked more into donor sperm and weighed the benefits and detriments of donor versus Josh. Every way I looked at it, Josh came out on top.
He gives me a funny look. “Gemma? What’s up? You alright?”
“I need your sperm,” I blurt out.
Josh starts to choke, then he coughs. His face turns red and he hits his chest.
Oh no. I’ve killed him.
He coughs and his eyes water.
I slap his back and he shakes his head.
Maybe I shouldn’t have just blurted it out like that, but I was nervous and I didn’t think.
Finally, he takes a wheezing breath and says, “Come again?”
“I…I need your sperm?”
I smile at him. The look he gives me makes my hand fly to my mouth in an effort to contain the laugh bubbling up from my chest. Oh jeez, I’ve lost my brain. I should’ve written talking points or a speech or something.
“You want to have sex?” Josh asks. He looks really confused. “Gemma. You really have to work on your pick-up lines.”
I shake my head. But he’s already starting to lift his shirt up. I catch a glimpse of rock-hard abs. “If you want to, we can. But we’ll have to hurry. The New Year’s Resolution reading is soon. We have maybe ten minutes. Not that I can’t blow your mind in ten minutes.”
I scoot back and make a strangled sound.
He takes in my expression and starts to snicker.
“Kidding. Gemma, I’m kidding,” he says, and he drops his shirt.
I nod and blow out a long, mind-clearing breath. “Sorry, I didn’t say that right. What I meant to say was, ummm, we’ve known each other a long time.”
“Twenty-four years,” he agrees.
“Right. We grew up in the same town. Went to the same school. You’re my brother’s best friend. You come to our holiday parties, birthdays. You’re always around.”
I scrutinize his face to see if he gets where I’m going. Unfortunately, he just looks confused.
“I feel like I know you pretty well. I can say that you’re a decent guy.”
He frowns. “Thanks.”
“If I ask you something, do you promise not to tell Dylan, or anybody?”
Josh leans back and studies me. “Gem, I don’t think we should have sex.”
I close my eyes. “No. No, jeez. Obviously. Ugh, did it once, got the T-shirt.”
I open one eye and look at him, then I open the other.
He grins at me. “The T-shirt huh?”
About Sarah Ready
Author Sarah Ready writes contemporary romance and romantic comedy. Her books have been described as “euphoric”, “heartwarming” and “laugh out loud”. Her debut novel The Fall in Love Checklist was hailed as “the unicorn read of 2020”. She loves to write fast-paced, emotionally compelling romances about quirky, smart women and the men who love them.
Before writing romance full-time Sarah had lots of fun teaching at an Ivy League. Then she realized she could have even more fun writing romance. Her favorite things after writing are adventuring and travel. You’ll frequently find her using her degree at a dino dig site, crawling into a cave, snorkeling, or on horseback riding through the jungle – all fodder for her next book. She’s lived in Scotland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and NYC. She currently lives in the Caribbean with her water-obsessed pup and her awesome family.
You can visit her online at www.sarahready.com
He never pretended to be anything other than the wolf he was and I fell for it. Hard.
Now I’m tangled in a web of deceit not only of his making, but mine too.
A favour. Something owed.
A promise that would come back and bite me on the ass.
Anton
I don’t know when it happened. When it changed.
When that initial combination of mild infatuation and burning hatred somehow morphed into my obsession.
When did it spiral out of control?
Was it when she first let me hold her hand? Or when my lips graced the reverence of her skin? Was it when she was naive enough to let the wolf into her inner sanctum?
Hard to say, but now I’m there. I’m not letting go.
Can I keep the girl I should have let go? Or does fate have other things in store for us?
NOTE: La Famiglia MUST be read prior to The Ties That Bind
H.L Packer is, quite frankly, a busy bee.
An avid reader as a child, her love for all things written waned into adulthood, the excitement of real life things taking over. But when her life slowed down as she finished her office job for maternity leave, her husband purchased her an e-reader, and that obsession was rekindled.
Quickly she went from reader to reviewer, and then from reviewer to blogger; street teams and promo tours galore. When she began collating her own book boxes over at Romance Readers Book Box UK and had the opportunity to include her own words and worlds, the characters began talking.
Those cheeky characters quickly found themselves written down on the page, and her first series was in progress.
When she is not coordinating her worlds, you can find her running around after her free-spirited three children, and husband, or tending to the dogs, bearded dragons, and snakes that also reside with them.
A break can be found soaking in a bubble bath or enjoying a glass of wine, often still with a book in her hand.
What happens when the man who made the rules is the first to break them?
The Lottery, an all-new futuristic billionaire romance from USA Today bestselling author Karpov Kinrade is available now!
What happens when the man who made the rules is the first to break them?
ZAE
I didn’t want to enter The Lottery.
Didn’t want to leave the Earth to burn.
But being paired off with a billionaire was the only way left to survive.
The algorithm said it would be a perfect match.
It forgot one thing.
Marek Volkav.
The billionaire.
The one who set all this up.
I despise him.
And now I also owe him my life.
Seriously…
F*ck Billionaires.
MAREK
I have one mission. Keep everyone alive.
I don’t have time to be distracted by the brilliant Azalea Clark.
Even if she does make me ache with insatiable need.
I can’t have her.
I can’t break the rules.
Or I’ve doomed us all.
About Karpov Kinrade
Karpov Kinrade is the pen name for the husband and wife entertainment duo Lux and Dmytry Karpov-Kinrade, aka The KK Duo.
Together, they write award-winning, internationally and USAT bestselling books, make music, create art, write screenplays and direct — all the things.
Look for more from Karpov Kinrade in the Vampire Girl series, The Nightfall Chronicles and The Forbidden Trilogy. If you’re looking for their suspense and romance titles, you’ll find those under Alex Lux.
Check out their music by clicking on the Music tab.
They live in wine country California with their three offspring who have crazy creative genius oozing out of them in the form of music, art, performance, and all the things, and too many cats who all think they rule the world (spoiler alert: they do).
