Showing results by author "Lauren Blakely" in All Categories

Let me make a few things clear. I didn’t go to the wedding intending to dance with the best man, to dare him to show me a very sexy pic on his phone, or to accidentally kiss him in the hotel elevator after the reception ended. But things just happen at weddings. The next day, Crosby and I agree to put all those shenanigans behind us. The fun-loving, stupidly gorgeous, all-star baseball player might be my brother’s best friend, but he’s my good friend too and has been for years. I can't risk losing him, even though now I can't stop thinking about how I want him to be my first.

Ten years ago, I let the love of my life slip through my fingers. It’s my greatest regret, especially since she’s all but disappeared. When she walks back into my world unexpectedly, I have one mission - win her back. Whatever it takes. But the gorgeous, brilliant, tough-as-iron Shannon has secrets of her own, and a family past she’s trying to escape. Slowly but surely, I break down her walls over our sinful nights together, with a connection more passionate than ever, an intimacy more fiery than it was before.

I swear I’ve been a good boss. And a good boss resists his sexy, smart, and thoroughly charming assistant. But then, Natalie and I travel to Vegas for a job. Yeah, you've heard this one before. Bad news on the business front, drowning our sorrows in a few too many Harvey Wallbangers, and then she’s telling me she’s been crushing on me for months. Bam. All my resistance crumbles, and we’re testing the strength of the Titanic slot machine at the Flamingo (don’t ask).

But when I met the sexy, powerful older man shortly after my business school graduation, he was simply the seductive stranger I wanted to notice me, and he sure did. Fast forward a few months later, when my college ex—now a good friend—introduces me to the person he looks up to most…his father. The man I spent that one hot night with.

The second the test-the-sexy-scenes offer landed in my lap, I said yes. After all, I've been damn curious about a few things I've read in romance novels. Do buttons truly go flying across the floor when you rip off a guy's shirt? Is staircase nookie hella hot, or does it leave you with a big old bruise mark on your back? And don’t even get me started on all that panty shredding, and whether it even works. Time to find out as I embark on Project Sexy Scenes Research, at the request of my hotshot book editor bestie. All I need is a willing scene partner.

There are three words most men can’t resist - I dare you. So as you can see, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I had no choice when my buddies said, “I bet you can’t get that brunette beauty to kiss you before the night ends.” I proved them wrong, and oh how good it felt to be right when I swept the quick-tongued woman into my arms and kissed the breath out of her at the party. But, I made a slight miscalculation. Turns out she’s my brand new enemy.

For one fantastic evening, at a masquerade party in the heart of Manhattan, I’m not the millionaire everyone wants a piece of. Fine—multimillionaire. But who’s counting all those commas? Not me, and not the most intriguing woman I've ever met, who happens to like dancing, witty banter, and hot, passionate up-against-the-wall sex as much as I do.

I don't mean to just blurt it out. "Why, yes, I'm engaged!" But once I say it to a potential client, there's only one logical thing to do - cast the role of my fake fiancé. Easy enough. As a casting director, my job is to find the most talented players for every part, so I choose dreamy, edgy, sexy, sarcastic Reeve. And I sign him up for one week in the role of mine. It's not as if I'll fall for him in five nights even if we get a little cozy one night at theater. It's not as if I'll want more even after a scorching afternoon in the stacks of the New York Public Library.

Don’t play dirty. That’s the code I live by on and off the field. The other?Don’t get distracted. Not by the media, not by hookups, and definitely not by our rival team’s ridiculously charming star player, who loves to whisper dirty nothings to me every time we play ball. And sure, his offers are tempting, but he’s the love ‘em and leave ‘em type, and I want the real thing.

Dog trainer Cara Bailey wants to find “the one,” but fantasizing about her sexy-as-hell client, firefighter Travis Jansen, is getting in the way. Her only option? Get the confirmed bachelor out of her system - in every position possible - so she can settle down with Mr. Right. Starting right now. Travis doesn’t do relationships, so no matter how badly he wants the pretty little brunette, he keeps his distance. Until Cara goes and changes the game. She’ll fulfill all of his fantasies if he agrees to walk away when it’s over.

I shouldn’t want my bodyguard the way I do. His job is to protect me. It’s not to fulfill all my nighttime wishes. And so, I resist him, working hard on the hotel reopening, all while fighting the enticing pull of the powerful man who watches over me. Until the night we combust in my penthouse suite. It won’t happen again, we say the next day.

I really don't need a bodyguard—I run a small-town lavender farm, for bee's sake! But I'm getting one anyway since my identical twin sister just booked the movie role of a lifetime and it's being shot in my hometown. And guess who my new broody, tattooed protector is? None other than the guy I had a one-night stand with last month.

Lucas Xavier is the last person I want to spend 24 hours with, let alone two minutes. Exes are exes for a reason. In his case, for a million reasons. Because he's not only an ex-lover, he's also an ex-friend. We didn't just break up - we combusted in a spectacular bonfire of barbs and doors slammed. Nothing will change that. Not his clever wit, not his ridiculous good looks, not his unfair levels of charm. And definitely not a wild dash through the city that takes us on an accidental scavenger hunt through our past, where we stop for a tango lesson, pancakes and a visit with llamas.

I wasn't in the market for a man. I definitely wasn't looking for a man like Clay Nichols, with a dirty mind and a mouth to match. But then he walked into my life one night, and he was everything I wanted. He's also exactly what I can't have. Because there's a price tag on my head. I'm a wanted woman, and I owe debts that were never mine. The dangerous men I owe have threatened to hurt anyone in my life if I don't pay up. So I work off my debts by playing cards in an underground poker ring. One so risky I shouldn't get involved with a soul.

I live my life by a few simple rules - let no one in, trust only my family, and don’t ever spend more than three nights with a woman. Those are easy enough to abide by when I meet gorgeous, captivating and absolutely brilliant Sophie Winston, who wants nothing more than to explore all her sinful desires with me after dark. Desires that put me firmly in control in the bedroom. That works for me - as long as I can keep the secrets I need to protect. Not only the ones about my family, but the ones about how she’s interwoven into my dangerous past.

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve got it bad for my good friend Mia. But I’ve never acted on this crush. She’s my best friend’s little sister and, oh, there’s that little problem of her living 3,000 miles away. So I resist her every time I see her...until one night she’s in town and she confesses she’s been wanting me too. What’s a guy to do? I give in till she’s screaming out my name. But in the morning we swear we won’t let it ruin our friendship. Especially since she hires my adventure-tour company for a weeklong retreat for her new business.

Let me just say -- none of this was supposed to happen. I didn't expect the letter to go viral. I didn't think anyone would figure out who Dear Sexy Ex was. And I especially never thought he would find out about it. Yeah, bit of a miscalculation there. But see, I need the money to fund my brand new venture. And Dear Sexy Ex, well, it turns out he needs me to save his business.

In my defense, putting a fake ring on my best friend’s finger seems like a good idea at the time. My dad needs me to look like a committed guy to close a business deal, so what’s the harm in boasting to, well, everyone that I’m the marrying kind of man? Now, I just need my best friend to help me out and play my fiancée for the next week. Good thing Charlotte has her reasons for saying yes to my plan. Just as long as we agree to zero touching, and absolutely no feelings. I can do that no problem.

It was only supposed to be one time. But that red-hot one-night stand from the party? The sexy man in the suit who gave me more Os in a few hours than I've had in a year? Turns out my charming British stranger is keeping a little secret. He's as much of a whiz in the kitchen as he is in the bedroom, and soon, we'll be going head-to-head in NYC's biggest bake off. My one-time lover is now my enemy. I vow to loathe him for all eternity, though that would be easier if I wasn't dying to get naked with him again.

Let me tell you everything I know about love.... Love is a lie, a game, a chase. And most of all - it’s a battle every man and woman must fight for themselves. I don’t trust love for a second. Until I meet Trey. He’s just like me - dangerous, scarred, and keeping secrets that might be darker than mine. And I can’t seem to stay away from him even though I’ve promised to. How can this be the start of something when tomorrow it has to end?