Showing results by narrator "Ava" in All Categories

Collins Drake exercises control over all facets of his life. From his business, to his relationships, to satisfying his physical needs...it all happens on his command. So when a woman shows up at his door and reminds him of a promise they made each other when they were just 10 years old, it shouldn't have the ability to rock his entire world.

When my business partner asked me to do him a favor, I had no idea he was sending me on the blind date his mother had arranged for him. I walked into the bar, saw the woman drinking her third martini, and knew I was in for an eventful night. After an unexpected second date, she didn't know my real name or who I really was. By that time, the lie was too far gone, and I wanted her too much to admit the truth.

For the last 10 years, he never stayed with a woman longer than it took to screw them. But then she walked in. Back then she was nothing but a little girl, but now she’s all grown up, with curves, and a smile that reminds him of everything he’s spent the last 10 years trying to forget. His attraction to her is instant, and wrong, on so many levels. He’ll do anything he can to stop it, even make her hate him if he has to.

Meet the men of Manning Grove, three small-town cops and brothers, who meet the women who will change the rest of their lives. This is Max's story.

Sullivan and Will are as close as two friends can be. Growing up in the system forced them to rely on each other, and they've become accustomed to sharing everything - including women. Now they're ready for more. To find love. To start a family. To see the dreams they've shared since childhood come true. Apparently I tick off every box on their list - brains, beauty, and sass. I never hesitate to put both men in their places - which they find sexy as hell. One problem, I'm a traditional girl, with traditional values - one man, one woman, till death do us part - kind of values.

Dropping a handsome billionaire CEO isn’t easy, but Jude Flores can’t forgive his betrayal. So she’s taking the steps she needs to move on - and far away - from her ex-boss, ex-lover, ex-whatever. And a good place to do it is at her father’s house in Spain. Eric Zimmerman isn’t the kind of man who gives up. Nothing is going to keep him from following the fiery dream girl who’s left him a little brokenhearted and a lot frustrated. It turns out Jude is willing to play chase. But if he wants to catch her, it’s her rules or nothing.

Arpad growlypants Beauchamp a.k.a. Grumpzilla. The first time he met me, he told me that he hated my company. I retaliated by spitting my Chai Tea Latte all over his tailormade slacks. He granted the security agency I run his business, anyway, huh? Clearly, it's because he wants to control me. To make my life miserable. To become a thorn in my side, glowering down at me from his superior height. So when I end up stowing away on his boat, by a quirk of fate, I demand he turn back.

I had the girl - THE girl. Kay. My Skittles.... MINE. Then a blitz from the past flattened me like a linebacker. Time for a new playbook. Mason Nova is...argh! I told myself to stay away. Warned my heart not to fall for him. Did it listen? NOPE. Now it feels like it’s crushed under a fallen cheer pyramid. Sorry to tell you, but you are NOT a game changer.

Hudson Ashford, a former Navy SEAL turned private security expert, has sworn off romance—especially when it comes to his best friend’s sister. Between protecting clients, running his bar, and avoiding the political spotlight as the son of a prominent governor, Hudson keeps his life tightly controlled, leaving no room for complications—or emotions. Isabella Costa, a headstrong billionaire with a compassionate heart, refuses to give up on the future she dreamed of with the man she thought she could never have.

Full disclosure: Before we move forward with this email, I would like it to be known that I have consumed an adequate amount of alcoholic beverages to intoxicate myself tonight. Three margaritas, two shots, and one beer - because it was free. I think it's important to be open and honest with your coworkers, don't you? So here I am, being open and honest. Drunk but honest. Or just drunk with lust? You decide. I have a hopeless, foolish, schoolgirl crush on you when you are the last person on earth I should be falling for. Did you know people around the office call you a sadist?

There’s nothing like a spring day in Boston to make your heart sing. I’m out with my girls, having drinks in a bar, enjoying the bright pulse of our beautiful city, when I see Caleb. The second my eyes meet his, I know this is the moment when everything will change. All I have to do is choose him.

Evan was excited for a quiet week in his boss’s big, beautiful house. He was hired to housesit: water the plants, feed the cat, keep the dog company. But his boss never mentioned Lila, his nineteen-year-old daughter, would be at the house with him. This isn’t a housesitting gig; it’s glorified babysitting. She’s a spoiled transgender princess. A brat. And she’s a flirt, determined to make the week as awkward as possible for Evan.

He was more than a bully, he was what living nightmares were made of. It started as a childish game played between two friends, which ended in heartbreak. She knew him once. A long time ago they may have even called each other friends. That was before she moved away, before her mother married his father, and before an entire life fell apart. She lost friends, popularity, and a future. This was supposed to be a fresh start, but it was real life hell.

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 27 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2017.

My name is Pet. My story is going to break your heart. The first thing you should know about me is that I'm a good girl. I follow directions. I bend at the waist. I do anything and everything my King tells me to. But King is demanding. King is dangerous. He wants to hurt me. And there is only one person who can help me run away from King.... Except I don't know if I want to leave him. I don't know if I can. Good pets always obey their master...but what if I want to have two?

After a shoulder injury put my NHL career on ice, I resigned myself to the fact I’d never see my way out of the minor league again. As my career faded, my estranged brother’s star shot into orbit as the first-line left winger for the Pittsburgh Titans. But when the team’s plane crashed returning home one night, his light was snuffed out, and I was given the opportunity of a lifetime. Now I’m in Pittsburgh, playing for the Titans, and face-to-face with my dead brother’s ghost at every turn.

Twenty-eight-year-old James Fenici has been an assassin since he was 16. He's amassed debts and favors from countless Company brothers and participated in hundreds of Company jobs. But there are not enough favors in the world to clear his debt and make him worthy of the only girl he's ever wanted. Eighteen-year-old Harper Tate is the girl who doesn't exist. Born and raised on a mega-yacht in a tropical paradise, she was destined to be a secret until now. Now she must choose between two Company men.

EAT. SLEEP. FOOTBALL. Those are Jackson Jennings Jr.’s three mantras. His entire life, he’s been a trained athlete with only one end-game: the Pros. No girls. No parties. No alcohol. EAT. SLEEP. FOOTBALL. Repeat. Every Friday night, Triple J cruises the strip on campus, bored, lonely, and conditioned not to party. But the night he meets Charlotte Edmonds on the side of the road, he wonders if his three mantras will ever be enough.

Maddie doesn’t really owe drug lord Carlos Castillo money. So she hadn’t taken his threats seriously. Until now. He wants it, whether she owes it or not. Tyler would save the world if he could. So if Maddie thinks she’s gonna deal with an insane drug lord on her own, she’s crazier than he is.

The assignment should be a fashion stylist’s dream. Dane Scotland - a brilliant programmer, millionaire, and partner in my brother’s company - is going to a big-money meeting, and he needs to look the part. The problem? Dane doesn’t want a makeover. He’s grumpy and reclusive, and his wardrobe consists of two pairs of old jeans. He doesn’t want me anywhere near him. Did I mention that he’s my brother’s best friend?