Lock & Key

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. I’d had four years to stew on what Daria Followhill did to me...now my heart was completely iced. I took her first kiss. She took the only thing I loved. I was poor. She was rich. The good thing about circumstances? They can change. Fast. Now, I’m her parents’ latest shiny project. Her housemate. Her tormentor. The captain of the rival football team she hates so much. Yeah, baby girl, say it. I’m your foster brother. There’s a price to pay for ruining the only good thing in my life. She’s about to shell out some serious tears.

Chained in brutal darkness, they fell in love. Free in the world, they were torn apart. Empires rise, empires fall, and still, she burns in his soul. But between them now runs a wild river of ambition, greed, and blood. So much blood. He'll do anything for revenge, and she'll do anything to protect him.

Bad boys? They run right over good girls like Georgina Keller. But after a confidence-shattering breakup, she’s determined not to let anyone at her new workplace push her around - least of all the brooding creative director, a “bad boy of publishing”. Sebastian Quinn's taste for fast cars, late nights, and beautiful women may have gotten him to the top of a leading New York magazine, but the reputation that made him is suddenly threatening to end his career. Georgina can help Modern Man shed its bad reputation, but in order to do that, she’ll have to start at the top.

I'm the guy whose name brings fear into the hearts of even the hardest men. They call me Cross because I've killed enough men to fill a cemetery, and I never saw any problem with that - until a woman I hardly remember brought my 11-year-old daughter that I didn't know existed to my doorstep and left her for me to take care of. At first, my daughter was a complication I didn't need, but now I'll do everything I can to raise her right. I'll even stay away from her hot-as-sin guidance counselor Roxanne, who makes me feel like I'm 20 again, and not pushing 40.

They say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it's true. The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares. He is a brilliant lawyer. A skilled criminal. A beautiful liar. A bully and a savior, a monster and a lover. Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. Now, he came for me in New York, and he isn't leaving until he takes me with him.

It was just a typical Monday. Until the big boss asked me to make the pitch for a prospective new client. After two years on shaky ground at work because of my screw up, an opportunity to impress the senior partners was just what I needed. Or so I thought, until I walked into the conference room and collided with the man I was supposed to pitch to. My coffee spilled, my files tumbled to the ground, and I almost lost my balance. And that was the good part of my day. Because the gorgeous man who crouched down and looked at me like he wanted to eat me alive was none other than my ex.

I don't believe in fairy tales and Prince Charming. I believe in fear. He taught me how to be afraid. We first met on a playground on a wonderful summer day. It was the first time he hurt me and it wouldn't be the last. For 10 years, he's been my tormentor and I've been his forbidden. But then he went away, and yet I was still afraid. Now, he's back, and wants more than just my tears. You see...he thinks I sent him away so now he wants revenge...and he knows just how to get it.

Jesse - I was the poor kid from the wrong end of town, and she was the little rich girl who thought she was better than me. F--k her, I told my young heart. It wasn't like I'd go without. And I didn't. My bedroom became a revolving door. Years later and she's back in my small town. Well, well, the little rich girl has become a luscious woman with curves I want to lick. Best part of all is she's in a jam and needs my help. Sure, baby. Sure, I think I might have just the tool you need....

Wren Ballard is trying to find herself. She never expected to be divorced at 27, but now that the court date has passed, it's official. The paperwork is final. Her feelings on it aren't. Spending the summer in a small mountain town outside Seattle is exactly what she needs. The peaceful scenery is a given, the cat with the croaky meow is a surprise, but the real kicker? A broody neighbor with nice arms, a strange reputation, and absolutely no interest in her.

I'm a lot of things - a screwup, a basket case, a flunky. But when I take a nanny job to be near my pregnant sister, I swear to myself I'll walk the straight and narrow, which means I cannot fall for my insanely hot boss. I don't want to be tempted by that rugged rancher. By his chiseled muscles or southern charm or the way he snuggles his kids at bedtime. Ethan Carter won't get the key to my heart, no matter how much I want him.

When I was 13, he stole my heart. When I was 18, he took my innocence. When I was 23, he said he would love me forever. When I was 28, he broke my heart. Now I'm 33... and there's a knock at the door. He's back, again. And this time he's not alone. 

Vanessa Mazur knows she's doing the right thing. She shouldn't feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans, and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary. But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she's beyond shocked.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've taken care of everyone around me, including my self-centered older sister, Anna. When her poor choices make us targets of the Devil's Rejects Motorcycle Club, I grab her, and we run like hell. A new city, a new job, a new life. It's almost perfect - and then I meet Ryker. He's gorgeous, rugged, and too cocky for his own damned good. But he's a biker - exactly the type of man I've been running from. I have no business getting involved with a man like him. Too bad I can't get him out of my head.

Jackson "The Beast" Boudreaux is rich, gorgeous, and unbelievably rude to the staff at Chef Bianca Hardwick's New Orleans restaurant. Bianca would sooner douse herself in hot sauce than cook for Jackson again, but when he asks her to cater his fundraiser, Bianca can't refuse, knowing the cash will help pay her mother's medical bills. Then Jackson makes another outrageous request: Marry me. The unconventional offer includes an enormous sum - money Bianca desperately needs, even if it does come with a contract - and a stunning ring.

He's loved me since the day I was born. He's taken care of me. He's awakened me. Tor is my father's best friend. Fifteen years older than me, he's always been my protector. The one I should never, ever want. But I was born to be his.