Showing results by author "J. H. Croix" in All Categories

Playing ball is easy. Falling in love is complicated. I want her. There's just one problem. She's my doctor, and she says it's a no-no. I've never been one to play by the rules. But she's not falling for me. Olivia is the challenge I have to beat. With her lush curves and her by-the-book attitude, all I want to do is show her exactly what she's missing. Again and again and again. I'll bring her to her knees . . . in more ways than one. I didn't count on her bringing me to my knees.

When I met Ryan, I might’ve been trying to break into his basement. It was for a good cause. I swear. Also, my dog broke in first. Ryan Blake is jaw-dropping handsome, wealthy, and cocky. Not quite my type. By some miracle, he doesn’t call the police on me when he catches me trying to rescue my dog. He even fetches a doctor for me. Don’t ask why. I don’t figure I’ll see him again. Then, I do. Then, he kisses me. Once. Twice. Is three times the charm?

Boone Reeves was my everything once. Not anymore. Boone is back in town, and I want nothing to do with him. He might be panty-melting hot, but I can stand the heat. All I have to do is remember how he dumped me. Boone never did anything in half measures, and when he broke my heart, he broke it good. He was never supposed to come back to our small town. He definitely wasn't supposed to want a second chance, and I'm not about to give it to him.

My new job as a chef in a small town was supposed to be my ticket to peace and quiet. I didn’t expect to run into the former hockey star who gave me the hottest nights of my life. And, oops, he’s sort of my new boss. So much for keeping my past where it belongs. Ty still thinks I’m the fun party girl. He has no idea how much things have changed. One thing that hasn’t changed: the spark between us. It’s hotter than the blowtorch I use on my crème brûlée.

My priorities are my daughter and my job as a first responder. Romance isn't even on the radar. Until one little package changes everything. In a single mind-blowing hour, I end up with a package meant for Valentina Smith, and I find out she's innocent. I won't even mention what's in that package. Next thing I know, my other brain gets the best of me. Valentina deserves the best, so that brain says, running my mouth like it has no business. I don't expect to fall for her. So hard it brings me to my knees. Did I mention she's meant to be worshipped?

Rhys Cannon is that kind of guy—wealthy, family means everything, loyal, and sinfully handsome. I hate him. He's my brother's best friend, the teenage crush who never even noticed me, and the guy I will *never* fall for. I made a huge mistake and believed he'd changed. After he stomped on my heart, I vow never to be so foolish again. Yet, I never expected him to fight for me, for us. To make matters much more complicated, I'm breaking every rule I set for myself, and Rhys wants more than I ever expected to give. To anyone, much less him.

My rules: No players. No flirts. No cocky jerks. My exception: Dawson Marsh. Dawson might be every girl's crush in this small town, but not mine. I can appreciate him from a distance, and that suits me fine. Except that one time he kissed me. Up close and personal. Once is a mistake. But the second time? Sublime. The man should come with some kind of a warning sign: Not safe for work! Hot to the touch! But what kind of girl can't handle a little friends with benefits action, right? The one who missed the most important warning: Danger, risk of falling.

Problem: My ex is marrying my ex-bestie. Plan A: Burn the church down? Plan B: Fake marry my friend. I haven't seen Archer since fifth grade, but when he shows up in our tiny hometown and offers me a ring, I don't ask too many questions. It's a win-win: I get to save face, and I'm not about to turn down the chance to one-up my ex. All Archer has to do is sell the lie when my ex and his blushing bride roll into town. Easy. Except now I'm fake-married to a ridiculously hot guy who has his own reasons for needing a wife.

True story: Jack Hamilton gave me a black eye when we met. He didn't throw a punch, but he did open a door right into my face. On the same day I was a bridesmaid in my brother's wedding. My head spun when I took a good look at him. Maybe it was running full-force into a door, but maybe it's because he's melt-your-panties H-O-T. Oh, and he's a hotshot firefighter. But I don't date, and I don't ever intend to fall in love. It's all so simple. Until the chemistry that's hot enough to melt me nearly does. Maybe Jack can help with that, what with the whole firefighting thing.

Just how wrong is it to want my best friend's little sister? And, how do you fix a broken heart? This inquiring mind wants to know. It probably doesn't matter though because Nora hates me. If you ever wondered, it is possible to live and work with someone in a small town and not speak to said person for months. That's how long Nora ignores me after I tell her commitment isn't for me. I didn't know I was already in love with her. I didn't know I was breaking my own heart by telling myself it was too complicated to fall for my best friend's sister.

The list of nevers when it comes to Quinn Blackthorne is long. I never looked at her like that. I never noticed how delectable she is. I never kissed her. I never even wanted to kiss her. We've never crossed that line. She's my best friend. Just my friend. Until I want so much more. I just might want everything with her.

Diego is distracting. He shows up in my yoga class with his smokin' hot bod and enough brawn to set the world on fire. Cue the melting. He oozes the rugged hero vibe, rides a motorcycle, and flies planes in the wilds of Alaska. He's all man and then some. I came to this small town for a fresh start, and I don't need to be rescued. Except maybe if Diego's the one doing the rescuing, I wouldn't mind at all. I've got it all under control until he kisses me. I'm not just melting, I'm aflame, and my heart's in free fall. There's only one man I want to catch me.

There's only one rule: Hands off. That's my personal rule when it comes to Fiona Blake. She's uptight, delectably distracting, and she works for my family. Once, just once, I break my own rule. After that, she becomes my secret. When the past she's running from finds her in Fireweed Harbor, I'll do anything to protect her.

When Max Stone saunters back into Catamount, Maine, he sends Roxanne Morgan's world spinning sideways. He's just as broody and smoldering as ever. And, he wants another chance. Max's feelings for Roxy haven't faded. She's everything he remembered and more. They were only seventeen when they fell in love, and Max's life was sent careening away from Catamount—the birthplace of mountain lion shifters. As Roxy faces her fears about what it means to maybe love again, Max kicks up dust over the mystery behind his father's death.

Heath Ashworth is a mountain lion shifter from a family whose roots go back to the birth of shifters. A grumpy former Marine, he stumbled and lost his way after a car accident where he barely escaped with his life. His grueling recovery led him down a path he never imagined. After he tangled with the shifter smuggling network, all he wants is to make it right again. Now he's trying to live up to the man and shifter he once was.

High in the mountains of Colorado, mountain lion shifters hold rare power among mountain lions and humans, able to live in both worlds at once. Secrecy has kept them safe for centuries. Daniel Hayes returns to Painter, Colorado, after learning he's a shifter, a secret kept from him by his parents after his brother died. Daniel encounters the breathtaking Sophia Ashworth by chance. The lion in him wants her with a force he can't deny.

Elias is not the kind of guy who'd fall for me. He's grumpy, and he's need-a-fan hot. I totally have a thing for him. My romance radar is broken, and I'm still smarting from my last epic disaster in dating. I'm better off giving up any hope of romance. Except I want it all: happily-ever-after and a family to boot. My stupid biological clock is ticking. Loudly. In a turn of events I did not expect, Elias saves me from a porcupine burglar and kisses me.

Dane Ashworth, a grumpy, solitary mountain lion shifter, comes from one of the founding shifter families of Catamount, a town deep in the woods of Maine where mountain lion shifters have existed in secret for centuries. The community is in turmoil after the startling death of a shifter. In the midst of upheaval in Catamount, Dane encounters the unassuming, curvy, and delectable Chloe Silver.

Noah is tall, dark, and dangerous, a shifter and military operative rolled into one. He is returning home to Catamount after years away to take care of his ailing mother. Lily tends to hide in the shadows of her family's lore and has just about given up on the possibility of love.

Phoebe Devine has loved Jake North for years, but she's kept her feelings hidden because she didn't want to ruin their friendship. Jake is a grumpy, smoldering mountain lion shifter who's put his life on the line to protect Catamount shifters. Catamount has held the secrets of mountain lion shifters for centuries, but the town has been thrown into turmoil on the heels of a surprise death that upended trust among shifters in the community.