“Let’s get married,” he blurts out when we get outside.
I look around for Ashton Kutcher, wondering if I’m being punked. Or perhaps I heard him wrong. Yeah, that has to be it.
“Come again?” I gawk at him.
“I’d love to. But the studio’s occupied right now, so it’d be hard to sneak into the closet,” he teases.
I punch him in the stomach, and he keels over.
“Jesus Christ, you’re so dang feisty, woman!” He stands up, shaking his head. “What I was saying is … let’s get married.”
“And why the hell would we do that?” I scowl. “Have you lost your mind?”
He steps toward me, taking my hands in his. “Because you need a green card. And, hey, I’m sort of over getting attention from all the single … and taken women on campus. You’d be doing me a favor, really.” He gives me a small grin. “What do you say?”
“You’re mocking me, right? My whole needing a green card thing? You’re making it a joke?” I shrug, pulling my hands from his. “Well, sorry to be a party pooper, but joke’s over.”
I start to turn, but he grabs my arm, forcing me to look at him.
“I’m not joking. I one thousand percent mean what I’m saying.” He moves his hand to my wrist, enveloping it with his fingers. “What do you have to lose, Ryann?”
“Marriage is a big deal,” I whisper, gawking at him like he’s insane. And right now, I kind of think he might be. “I mean, not really to me. Because I’ve never even given it a thought. But to guys like you? It’s everything.” I narrow my eyes slightly. “Don’t you get that?”
“Why haven’t you given it a thought?” he asks softly.
“Because I don’t believe in all of that happily ever after marriage crap.” I shrug lazily. “I never have.”
“Well, that’s sad, Ryann.” He’s so relaxed, and I don’t understand how he could be. “But just because you refused to be my friend, basically used me, and hate the sight of me—that doesn’t mean I don’t consider you a friend of mine. Because I do.” He pauses. “I like you, Ryann. You’re badass. And to be honest, I’d be pretty honored to have you as my wife. If you’ll have me, that is.”
“This is … crazy,” I say, thinking out loud. “Don’t you get how crazy this all is?”
“Maybe it is. Maybe I’m nuts. But if it keeps you here and you get to keep chasing your dreams, I’m okay with that.” He shrugs. “Look, I have to go to practice. Just think about it, okay?”
As he starts to turn, my voice stops him. “Watson?”
“Yeah, Tiny Dancer?”
“You actually mean this? You’d really do this for me?” I take a step closer. “Even though you hardly know me?”
“Hell yeah, I would. And I know you enough.” He reaches down, brushing his thumb against my chin and tilting my head upward. “I want to help you, Ryann. Take my help.”
My heart is beating so fast. I have no idea what I’m about to say. I know in the long run, this decision is probably going to bite me in the butt. But I can’t help but do what my brain is telling me.
“I’ll marry you,” I croak. “As long as you’re sure. I mean, obviously, we’ll be getting a divorce at some point. But … this is your first marriage. Are you sure you want to waste it on me?”
“Damn straight, I do. Wouldn’t want my first wife to be anyone else, Tiny Dancer.” He winks, dropping his hand. “Meet me at the courthouse at three o’clock.”
BLURB:
An entire campus knows my name. Women throw themselves at me, hoping I’ll take them home that night. Whispers from the NHL say I’m the one to watch. And the weight of each game is on my shoulders because if our opposing team scores … that’s on me. All the things that keep me up at night are probably someone else’s dreams.
From the moment I saw Ryann Denver in my Business 101 class, I was intrigued and determined to get to know her. But unlike most girls at Brooks, she hates athletes. And when I introduce myself to her, she makes it perfectly clear that she’s not interested. So, I walk away forever with my tail tucked firmly between my legs.
But as fate would have it, we’re paired up together in a charity dance event. And now, whether she likes it or not, she has to spend time with me. A lot of time. I guess I’m in luck because it turns out she can use me in her corner right now. And when she finds herself in trouble and I’m the only one she can run to, she figures out maybe I’m not that bad after all.
Ryann is going to see I’m not like the players she’s dated in the past.
𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐫𝐭 by USA Today bestselling author Mira Lyn Kelly is coming March 1st!!! This is a friends to lovers, second chance hockey romance set in the Slayers Hockey series. Take a peek inside today!
Her head hangs low, that smile I’ve done crazy things to earn nowhere to be seen. And I hate myself for being the reason it’s gone.
I need to knock it off and fix this. “Hey, I don’t want you to leave.”
“Really?”
She won’t even look at me.
Maybe I wasn’t sure before, but I am now. “Yeah.”
Lara worries her lip between her teeth. “Okay. I’m taking you at your word about the apartment. Thank you. But if you change your mind, you’ll let me know. And even if you don’t, I don’t expect— I— We don’t have to be friends.”
Ooph.
The words hit like a blow. Harder than they should after all this time. I turn them over once more. It’s enough.
“Here’s the thing, Elliot.” I scrub my jaw. “Our baggage is from a million years ago. Sure, we crossed some lines, had some fun… A lot of fun.”
Her lips part in surprise.
Yeah, didn’t see myself going there either. But this needs to be said.
“We were young. Headed in different directions. College. The league. Life happened and we drifted apart. That’s all.”
It wasn’t her fault that I’d quietly gotten it in my head we might be more. Or that when I realized more wasn’t in the cards for us and she was moving on with her life exactly the way we promised each other we would, I couldn’t handle it. That when the time and distance started to grow, it was easier to let it build and build… until that’s all there was.
It wasn’t her fault. And it wasn’t totally mine. Which I’m feeling mature AF being able to acknowledge.
It’s kind of freeing, actually.
I reach out and take her hand. “But before all that? We were really, really good friends.”
Her eyes meet mine. “Yeah, we were. The best.”
I nod. “I miss being friends with you.”
“I miss it too.”
Damn, there’s that smile again. A little bittersweet. A little hopeful.
I shrug. “So maybe we give it a shot. See if there’s a way we can get some of that back?”
I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to look at her without seeing all the stuff that’s about being more than friends. But even though it’s there, might always be there… That line between friendship and more is not one I’ll cross again.
“Yes.” Her grin is as bright as the sun. “I’d like that a lot.”
Blurb:
𝘽𝙖𝙙 𝙄𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧
I’m Ben Boerboom, the NHL’s favorite puck boy, and Lara’s my slamming hot, former bestie. She’s also the friend who got away and my dirty, dirty accomplice from those two insane weeks that weren’t supposed to change anything… but did.
I wanted it all. Would have wrapped my forever around her finger if she’d let me. But if making bad decisions is my special skill, Lara’s is making good ones… Like prioritizing her career goals and the kind of security she didn’t have growing up.
Hard pass on that kind of heartbreak again. So cue the bunnies. Years of bunnies.
Now Lara’s back in my city. Temporarily. And thanks to a burst pipe and a miscommunication with my sister, she’s living in my spare room.
A lot has changed, but two things haven’t. Her goals and the way she sometimes believes my bad ideas are good… like crossing those lines I swore we wouldn’t cross again.
*All titles in the Slayers Hockey series are loosely connected but can be read as standalones.
Find more books by Mira Lyn Kelly: miralynkelly.com
As Treasurer of the Untamed Sons MC, I don’t have time to deal with a bratty kid. Briella is nineteen. I’m thirty-one. I’m too old for her tantrums, but I’m sure there’s something more to her acting out than a late teenage rebellion. When I look in her eyes, I see her demons glaring back at me, and I want to know who put them there. I shouldn’t be thinking about her at all, but I’m willing to stand against my club brothers and break vows I’ve made to keep her, but first I have to uncover what she’s hiding.
Briella
I’ve got darkness in my past that I can no longer keep buried. When Daimon finds out the truth, he’s going to drop me and run. I shouldn’t be falling for my brother’s best friend, but I can’t stop my feelings from growing. I want him. No, I need him. He’s becoming my everything and I have no idea how to be without him. But that choice might not be mine. Once he finds out the truth about me, he’s going to walk away because the truth is I’m broken, I’m damaged and my past is coming back to haunt me.
Lisa Shelby is an international bestselling contemporary romance author. She’s also a self-proclaimed love geek and cake-pop addict. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, this is still where Lisa calls home with her husband and their dogs. When she isn’t writing her next happily ever after, you can find Lisa with her husband traveling, listening to live music, and impatiently waiting for her next FaceTime call with her son, who is currently deployed with the United States Marine Corps.
That was the deal we made. But the moment she sat beside me at the hotel bar, I wanted her to complicate the hell out of my life. I agreed to all her terms but one. I wanted her name.
She promised to give it to me before checkout.
She lied.
She snuck out without a trace, leaving me to wonder if the best weekend of my life had been a figment of my imagination. Now, two years later, she’s here. In my town. At my store. Only she didn’t come looking for me. In fact, her arrival is nothing more than a coincidence. With the anger I’ve bottled up since the morning she ditched me threatening our shot at a second chance, I know I have to take control of the situation.
A devastated planet. A mindless, voracious killer. Survival is not enough.
Zuri thought she knew pain…
But seeing a soldier burn her own squad to end the agony of being eaten alive…things changed.
“Me and mine. We survive.” Alien or human, don’t get in Zuri’s way.
After leaving the dangers of Haven behind, Delta make planetfall on Bathsen, desperate for resources to keep their ship flying. On arrival, they are thrown immediately into an interspecies war, where the only winner will be the last one standing.
As politicians struggle against their own prejudices in the face of complete annihilation, the squad take up arms to stand side by side with the human population as their land, cities and families are devoured by the relentless alien horde.
With the team learning more about themselves and how far they are willing to go to help others, Yasuko, the ship’s AI, finds her own purpose as she emerges from the Haven shackles on her capabilities to work alongside her human crew.
Their determination to help brings together a disparate people, building hope in the wreckage of past mistakes. But the squad still face devastating life and death decisions, ones that will change some of them forever.
And as thousands die, Zuri rises to the challenge among the city ruins, where the alien swarm descends to feed on the living and the dead.
Laurelin Paige has revealed the gorgeous covers for Brutal Arrangement!
Releasing: March 13, 2024
He can have any woman he wants. He wants his brother’s.
Alex Sebastian is the billionaire who knows exactly how to re-launch the pop career I walked away from to raise my little sister.
He knows everything, apparently, about what’s good for me. For my image. Even for my lingerie. Everywhere I turn, he’s there, smirking. I cannot stand him.
So why can’t we stop sneaking around?
Maybe it’s his filthy, bossy mouth that does things more wicked than his insults.
Maybe it’s that he does know what’s good for me when he uses it—backstage before my show, during a black tie event, in another man’s living room.
Because maybe deep down, I’ve never been the good girl the world sees, and the dirty, shameful things he makes me do are exactly what I crave.
The problem? Alex isn’t the Sebastian billionaire I’m dating—I’m dating his brother.
With millions of books sold worldwide, Laurelin Paige is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author. She is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however.
When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones or Letterkenny, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She’s also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn’t do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio.
Thanks for joining me for a cocktail and some girl talk. I live the dream in my own slice of paradise where I get to enjoy colorful sunsets from my rocking chair while I’m working. I have my very own romance hero with Mr. Rose and there’s more than a few little rose buds running around. A couple aren’t so little anymore! We keep things interesting with cats and a dog and the critters that roam though the yard (fingers crossed the mountain lions stay away).
From J.D. Hollyfield, author of Power, comes a devilishly spicy, enemies-to-lovers romance about overcoming the past, undeniable attraction, and finding love in the untimeliest of ways.
A best friend, a stalker, and a bodyguard walk into a bar…
Current status: Living my best life. *Flips hair* What more could a girl want?
Just kidding.
My life has gone to shit. All the fun, late nights, and single life come to a screeching halt when I find myself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, thanks to my overbearing best friend, I’ve adopted a guard dog to keep me safe until they find the guy who attacked me.
Insert Tate Deveraux, my newest inconvenience. He’s brawny, not bad on the eyes, and a pain in my ass. Not only am I stuck with him until I’m out of danger, but he’s moving in with me.
He’s become a nuisance in my life and needs to go—stalker be damned. So do the urges to strip him naked and see if the rumors about hand size hold true. I blame my crush on booze and the kiss that should have never happened.
The simmering attraction between us is undeniable, but he’s made it clear I’m just a job. With lines being crossed and my life at stake, I guess I’ll find out if he’s better at keeping me safe or sated.
Liam Romero has the mother of all hangovers in more ways than one after he wakes from a wild night in Las Vegas to find he’s married. Not only has he got to explain it to the rest of the band, but he also needs to figure out why he’s got an overwhelming urge to keep his new wife by his side. He should run for the hills, but something about her is drawing him in. Will Yivi Ward be his downfall or his salvation?
Yivi Ward’s world has been transformed in a couple of days; she doesn’t know what is going on anymore. Her first ever drink of alcohol has left her married to a famous rockstar whose music she’s never even heard. But the real problem is the dark secret she’s been keeping buried. She knows she should come clean but fears her new husband would never understand. She should run before its’s too late, but something about him is making her stay. Will Liam Romero be her salvation or her downfall?
Liam and Yivi are two strangers trying to work out a marriage neither one had planned. But will Yivi’s past catch up with them and destroy any hope they have of a future together?
As a star senior on the Tiff U volleyball team, it’s been my goal to come back strong after an injury that nearly took me out of the game. But I’m Laney freaking Price, and I’m taking my shot to make it on the new pro women’s team, despite the lack of support from my father.
The problem? Cutter McCreary. He is the Captain of the Tiff U hockey team, all-around loveable guy, and a total player. And did I mention a complete thorn in my side since freshman year? Yeah…that guy. His charms don’t tempt me.
Until…a mix up with our housing situation forces us into a bit of a predicament. We were both promised a room. The same room.
His proposal? A bet. We split the room in half—for now. Whoever falls in love with the other first has to move out. The winner gets to stay.
But when strategic glances turn into late night talks, and fake kisses start to feel real, I’m finding myself without a game plan. And winning suddenly doesn’t feel like the only thing that matters.
*The Tomboy and The Captain is written in dual pov.
Falling for Mr. Bad by Melissa Foster is now live!
She’s a badass musician with no patience for overinflated egos. He’s a billionaire tasked with wrangling her into submission. Going head-to-head has never been so much fun. Especially since neither one is afraid to play dirty.
Sable Montgomery loves her single, do-as-she-pleases small-town life. She sees family often, spends her days working in her auto shop and many evenings playing at a local pub with her band, Surge. She has no desire to settle down or let any man tell her what to do. When Surge is offered what most people would consider the chance of a lifetime to tour with and open for Bad Intentions, the hottest rock band of the decade, her bandmates are all in, but she’s determined to walk away. Sable has no patience for glitz, glamour, or overinflated egos, and that includes the infuriatingly hot billionaire sent to wrangle her into submission.
Taking over as manager for his brother’s band wasn’t on business mogul Kane Bad’s agenda last year, much less negotiating with the stubborn and beautiful lead singer for Surge, but there’s nothing he won’t do for family. Including trying to stifle his desire for Sable. He needs to convince her to accept the contract, but he’d rather wrangle the sexy, headstrong, boot-wearing, tough-talking musician into his bed.
Loyalties are tested, lies are told, and greedy pleasures are satisfied. Are they just a chorus between chaotic verses, or will falling for Mr. Bad be Sable’s greatest love song?
Melissa Foster is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of more than 100 novels. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance and women’s fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic, always family oriented, and feature fiercely loyal heroes, smart, sassy heroines, and complex relatable issues. Melissa enjoys chatting with readers and book clubs. Send her an email invitation to your next event!
🎤Review🎤 Sable is brazen and bold but what she values most is supporting those she loves without a second thought. Leaving those she loves to tour with a rock band was never one of her dreams, but there is something about Kane that breaks through her walls and convinces her to go.
Managing his brother’s music career was not part of Kane’s plan but when he needs him, he can’t say no. He knows that Sable and her band are exactly who they need on tour and while he expected convincing her to come would be a challenge, he never expected that the way he challenged her at every turn would be a challenge he couldn’t live without.
Both Sable and Kane are independent people who never back down. When it comes to the interactions between them, they give as good as they get and that is only one of the reasons they are so perfect for each other. Hot chemistry, entertaining banter and all the feels combine into a story you won’t be able to put down.
Captain Jordan Threat is determined to overthrow the oppressive and tyrannical Hallion Imperium. But to lead the revolution, he’ll have to level-up his steampunk pirate ship and master his new magical powers. Fortunately, his flirtatious first mates are willing to give him plenty of hands-on attention…
But the sinister Lord Governor Jakjobb won’t go down without a fight. In order to crush the budding rebellion, he seeks a demonic relic with enormous destructive power. When Jordan and his crew set out to find it first, they make an unlikely ally in the form of a slick-talking demon aviatrix.
The sensual succubus has an antique airplane, a shady history, and a very dangerous secret. But the relic is the only thing that can save her from an eternity of sexual servitude in the pits of the deepest hell. And Jordan Threat is not the kind of man to abandon a devilish damsel in distress.
Can Jordan and his crew of captivating companions uncover the artifact and turn the tide, or will the Imperium unleash all seven hells on them? Fast-paced, swashbuckling adventure awaits in this humorous tale of seduction, rebellion, and aviation!
