Ruined by Romance

The first book in the series, THE HUNTER, is coming May 11th. It is a delicious, enemies-to-lovers story about a notorious playboy who is completely unstoppable and on the brink of dragging his family into a massive scandal. Our beautiful, unassuming heroine is assigned to keep him out of trouble--and out of other women's beds. Title: The Hunter Release date: May 11th, 2020. Cover Designer: Lori Jackson. Model: Chase Mattson. Photographer: Michelle Lancaster. 🖤 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗯: 𝔅𝔬𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔫’𝔰 𝔡𝔢𝔟𝔞𝔲𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔤𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔲𝔭 𝔦𝔫 𝔣𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔰, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔱’𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔉𝔦𝔱𝔷𝔭𝔞𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔨 𝔣𝔞𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔰𝔢𝔱 𝔦𝔱 𝔬𝔫 𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢. ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀ I didn’t mean to star in a sex tape, okay? It was just one of those unexplainable things. Like Stonehenge, Police Academy 2, and morning glory clouds. It just happened. Now my ball-busting father is sentencing me to six months of celibacy, sobriety, and morbid boredom under the roof of Boston’s nerdiest gi...

I met Bianca in an elevator. She was on her way to interview me when we got stuck. The beautiful raven-haired reporter assumed I was a delivery guy because of the way I was dressed. She had no clue I was really Dex Truitt, the wealthy, successful businessman she’d dubbed “Mister Moneybags”―her afternoon appointment. Bianca told me how much she hated Dex’s type―snobby, over-educated, silver-spooned men who didn't appreciate the simple things in life. So, after the elevator finally started moving again, I canceled the interview and let her believe I was someone I wasn’t―a bike messenger named Jay. I loved the way she looked at the fake me and didn't want it to end. I began dating her as “Jay”―all the while letting her interview the real me over email. I didn’t expect that our chemistry online would be just as hot. I didn’t expect the mess I’d gotten myself into. I didn’t expect that Jay and Dex would fall in love with her. And she was falling for two men. Only, both men were me. ...

The night I met Drew Jagger, he’d just broken into my new Park Avenue office. I dialed 9-1-1 before proceeding to attack him with my fancy new Krav Maga skills.  He quickly restrained me, then chuckled, finding my attempted assault amusing.      Of course, my intruder had to be arrogant. Only, turned out, he wasn’t an intruder at all.      Drew was the rightful occupant of my new office. He’d been on vacation while his posh space was renovated. Which was how a scammer got away with leasing me office space that wasn’t really available for rent. I was swindled out of ten grand.    The next day, after hours at the police station, Drew took pity on me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. In exchange for answering his phones, while his secretary was out, he’d let me stay until I found a new place. I probably should have acted grateful and kept my mouth shut when I overheard the advice he was spewing to hi...

I owe him a debt. A big one. The payment can't be settled with money or favors. He only wants one thing. Me. Every action gets a reward. A button. Once I fill his jar with three hundred and sixty-five buttons, he'll let me go. He'll let me walk away. But I have to earn every single one. By submitting to the darkest, cruelest, and the most beautiful man I've ever known. ** TRIGGER WARNING ** There are some dark and disturbing scenes of abuse and punishment.

I'm working off my buttons. But I'm also giving them away. The more I fall for Crow, the more I want him to do the things that I want. Dinners, dates, and evenings at the beach. Everything comes at a price, and quickly the hoard of buttons I worked hard to earn are depleted. Will this go back and forth forever? Or will someone run out of their buttons first?

When I saw my escape, I took it. Now I'm in New York City and trying to get my life back on track. Despite the tracker in my ankle, Crow hasn't come for me. He hasn't even called me. I told him the depth of my feelings but he cruelly rejected them. Maybe he's forgotten about me. One day, I walk into my apartment and spot the pile of buttons on the counter. I never left them there, and there's only one explanation for their presence. Maybe Crow hasn't forgotten me after all.  

Tristan is one of my biggest clients. He always pays on time, and he always keeps his word. But this time, he's short on cash. He needs the shipment now, so he offers me collateral. He loans me his slave. Adelina. Now that Pearl and I are so close, I can't condone this type of exchange. It's wrong. Inhumane. But she wants me. I can tell. And I definitely want her. *Buttons and Shame is told from Cane's point of view, but Crow and Pearl have their own POV's to develop the overall story*

I'm supposed to return her to Tristan to finish the deal. But now I'm dreading the day when I have to drop her off. Can I really do it? I'm not supposed to care about this woman. I'm not supposed to care about anyone, actually. But I care about Bellissimo.

I started a blood war. I've made a terrifying enemy. Over a single woman. It was a stupid decision but I don't have any regrets. Because Bellissima is finally mine.

One word. Stay. It was all he had to do. Instead, he got on that bus and took my heart with him. That was seventeen years ago. I moved on. Marriage. Kids. White picket fence. Everything I ever wanted, but my husband betrayed me and I was left once again. Alone, penniless, and with two boys, I had no choice but to return to Tennessee. He wasn’t supposed to be there. I should’ve been safe. However, fate has a way of stepping in. This time around, the tables are turned. It’s my decision. Second chances do exist, but I don’t know if we can repair what’s already been broken...

There’s no way I’ll fall for Wyatt Hennington. He can keep his Southern drawl, irresistible smile, and those pick-up lines all to himself. I made the mistake of sleeping with him not once, but twice. I’m not stupid enough to give him round three, especially after he left me in the middle of the night so I could see myself out. I vow to return to Philadelphia and forget him. It proves easier said than done. When the doctor informs me I’m the winner of door prize number two, I put my life on hold and head back to Bell Buckle. Three months and if we can’t make this work, I’m gone. The problem is—when the cards are stacked against us, and I can’t bring myself to leave him, I’ll finally know if he truly loves me or if all my fears were real...

I spent twenty years waiting for Trent Hennington to open his eyes and see me. But it was all for nothing. He chose to keep himself guarded and let me walk away, proving that my time and efforts were wasted. I’m done being invisible. It’s time to move on. A single dance sets my new reality into motion, and I welcome it. After all, Cooper Townsend is perfect. He’s kind, sexy, and attentive—everything a girl could want. I thought I got it right this time. That my heart could mend, and I would be happy. Apparently, some things really are just too hard to walk away from.

Emily Young had two goals in her life: 1. Make it big in country music. 2. Get the hell out of Bell Buckle. She was doing it. She was on her way until Cooper Townsend landed backstage at her show in Dallas. This gorgeous, rugged, man of few words was one cowboy she couldn’t afford to let distract her. But with his slow smile and rough hands, she just couldn’t keep away. With outside forces conspiring against them, Cooper hires the McKay-Taggart team to protect her. Emily refuses to let Cooper get hurt because of her. All she wants is to hold onto him, but she knows the right thing to do is to let go...

The first time I met Chase Parker, I didn’t exactly make a good impression. I was hiding in the bathroom hallway of a restaurant, leaving a message for my best friend to save me from my awful date. He overheard and told me I was a bitch, then proceeded to offer me some dating advice. So I told him to mind his own damn business—his own tall, gorgeous, full-of-himself damn business—and went back to my miserable date. When he walked by my table, he smirked, and I watched his arrogant, sexy ass walk back to his date. I couldn’t help but sneak hidden glances at the condescending jerk on the other side of the room. Of course, he caught me on more than one occasion and winked. When the gorgeous stranger and his equally hot date suddenly appeared at our table, I thought he was going to rat me out. But instead, he pretended we knew each other and joined us—telling elaborate, embarrassing stories about our fake childhood. My date suddenly went from boring to bizarrely exciting. When it was over ...

Dimpled smile of a boy Hardbody of a man Sings like an angel Fucks like the devil I was stuck between a rock(star) and a hard place. At fifteen, his poster hung on my bedroom wall. At twenty-five, his body hovered over mine. Every girl’s fantasy became my reality.  I was dating a rockstar.  Yet I was slowly falling for another man. The problem was—the two men—they shared a tour bus. Flynn Beckham was the opening act. Dylan Ryder was the headliner. What happens when the opening act begins to shine so bright, it seems to dim everything else in its wake? I’ll tell you what happens. Things get ugly.

They say all's fair in love and music...I say life would be a lot fairer if I wasn't so wildly attracted to the man I'm spending all my days with, who's decidedly off-limits. But then again, I can't technically complain—I have a Grammy, a hit album, and a job most people would be envious of—I'm a rock star. What I haven't had in years is a hot date. The dating drought isn't because I'm a single mom. It's because I have a little itty-bitty issue with trust because of how my marriage imploded. Matthew is determined to break down my walls, and it sure doesn't hurt that he's British, witty, and far too tempting. He's also the toughest music journalist out there, and he's interviewing me for an in-depth article. The trouble is, I want to get in-depth with him, and the more time we spend together, the more tempted we both are to cross lines that shouldn't be crossed.

When he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close at my brother’s wedding, my heart beat faster. When we danced into the night, my mind raced far ahead, entertaining all the possibilities I’d longed for. And later, when Cooper told me he’d won the starting quarterback job before he shared the news with anyone else, I started to believe we could be more. But I didn’t want to lose him as a friend, so I chose to focus on him solely as my buddy. That worked well enough for a while. Until that night, in front of everyone, when he shocked my world to its core.

Don't let the fact that I'm the leading pick in the Most Valuable Playboy charity auction fool you. These days, I'm only a player on the field. I've kept my pants zipped all season long — and it has been long — because nothing's more important than leading my team to victory every week. Except maybe escaping from the team owner's recently-widowed and handsy-as-hell sister who's dead set on winning more than a date with me. Enter Violet and a well-placed Hail Mary. She's my best friend's sister with a smile as sweet as cherry pie and a mind that runs quicker than the 40-yard-dash. After Violet saves the day with the highest bid, I don't even give her a two-minute warning before I kiss her in front of the whole crowd and then announce that she's my girlfriend. Which would be fine except my agent tells me we've got to keep up the act while he's negotiating my contract.

It seemed like a good idea at the time… As the team’s publicist, I need a football player to be the face of our charity calendar, and Jones Beckett needs a savvy PR woman to manage his new sponsorship deal. A simple give and take, and I’m sure I’ll have no problem following my iron-clad rule —  don’t date a player . And never ever fall for one. No matter how charming, big-hearted and devilishly clever the man is. But you know what they say about best-laid plans… Once I start spending my off-season days and nights with Jones, I’m following a brand new playbook, one that has me falling hard for the incorrigible flirt — heart, body, and mind. That’s against the rules, and now what seemed like a bright idea has turned into a dangerously forbidden one. It was supposed to be an I-scratch-her-back-she-scratched-mine kind of arrangement.  And man did Jillian ever drag her nails down my back on one hell of a hot night. Okay fine, it was several hot nights on the road. Now we’re back...

It's not just the motion of the ocean, ladies. It's definitely the SIZE of the boat too. And I've got both firings on all cylinders. In fact, I have ALL the right assets. Looks, brains, my own money, and a big c*&k. You might think I'm an a*&hole. I sound like one, don’t I? I'm hot as sin, rich as heaven, smart as hell and hung like a horse. Guess what? You haven't heard my story before. Sure, I might be a playboy, like the NY gossip rags call me. But I’m the playboy who’s actually a great guy. Which makes me one of a kind. The only trouble is, my dad needs me to cool it for a bit. With conservative investors in town wanting to buy his flagship Fifth Avenue jewelry store, he needs me not only to zip it up but to look the part of the committed guy. Fine. I can do this for Dad. After all, I’ve got him to thank for the family jewels. So I ask my best friend and business partner to be my fiancée for the next week. Charlotte’s up for it. She has her own reaso...

Just call me Mister O. Because YOUR pleasure is my superpower. Making a woman feel ‘oh-god-that’s-good’ is the name of the game, and if a man can’t get the job done, he should get the hell out of the bedroom. I’m talking toe-curling, mind-blowing, sheet-grabbing ecstasy. Like I provide every time. I suppose that makes me a superhero of pleasure, and my mission is to always deliver. But then I'm thrown for a loop when a certain woman asks me to teach her everything about how to win a man. The only problem? She's my best friend's sister, but she's far too tempting to resist--especially when I learn that sweet, sexy Harper, has a dirty mind too and wants to put it to good use. What could possibly go wrong as I give the woman I've secretly wanted some no-strings-attached lessons in seduction? No one will know, even if we send a few dirty sexts. Okay, a few hundred. Or if the zipper on her dress gets stuck. Not on that! Or if she gives me those f*&k-me-eyes on the tr...

Here’s what you need to know about me—I’m well-off, well-hung and quick with a joke. Women like a guy who makes them laugh—and I don’t mean at the size of his d*ck. No, they want their funny with a side of huge… not to mention loyal. I’ve got all that plus a big bank account, thanks to my booming construction business. Yup. I know how to use all of my tools. Enter Natalie. Hot, sexy, smart, and my new assistant. Which makes her totally off-limits... Hey, I’m a good guy. Really. I do my best to stay far away from the kind of temptation she brings to work. Until one night in Vegas… 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 I’m banging her. In my hotel room. In her hotel room. Behind the Titanic slot machine at the Flamingo (don’t ask). And before I can make her say “Oh God right there YES!” one more time, we’re both saying yes—the big yes—at a roadside chapel in front of a guy in press-on si...

I’ve been told I have quite a gift. Hey, I don’t just mean in my pants. I’ve got a big brain too, and a huge heart of gold. And I like to use all my gifts to the fullest, the package included. Life is smooth sailing... Until I find myself stuck between a rock and a sexy roommate, which makes for one very hard… place. Because scoring an apartment in this city is harder than finding true love. So even if I have to shack up with my buddy’s smoking hot and incredibly amazing little sister, a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. I can resist Josie. I’m disciplined, I’m focused, and I keep my hands to myself, even in the mere five-hundred square feet we share. Until the one night, she insists on sliding under the covers with me. It’ll help her sleep after what happened that day, she says. Surprise—neither one of us sleeps. And even though we agree to return to roomies-without-benefits, I quickly realize I want more than someone to split the utilities with. Now all I want is to spend ...

Let’s be honest, ladies. A good man is a lot like the perfect car. You want a hot body, an engine that purrs, and superior performance under the hood...for the best  joy ride  of your life. I’m at your service. Ready to go all night long. But then a wildly sexy brunette appears in my life and throws a wrench in all my plans. She’s fiery, she’s talented, she’s gorgeous, and I’d really like to know what makes her engine hum. Henley also happens to be my biggest rival, and now we’re forced to work together every day on the most important custom car build of my career. The trouble is I can’t quite figure out if she wants to kick me in the lug nuts or beg me to give her a good, hard fuel injection. Until one night that question is answered on the hood of a sports car when she calls out my name three times. And we can’t seem to put on the brakes. If sleeping with the enemy is a bad idea, how much more dangerous would it be to fall in love with her?

From #1 NYT Bestselling author Lauren Blakely comes a hot & hilarious new romantic comedy AND the final novel in her beloved Big Rock series of standalone romances... Women often say a good man is hard to find. And a hard man is even better. That's why I'm quite a catch—good, hard, loaded, and wait for it... I'm ready to settle down too. But the woman I want to pitch my tent with lives clear across the country. Neither of us wants to get lost in those woods. All I have to do is resist her for the week she's in town. I try. I swear I try. But yeah, that doesn't work out. And after one fantastic night with my good friend Mia, I'm ready to give her years of nights under the stars. What're a few thousand miles when love's involved? But there's a hitch in my plans—she just hired my adventure tour company. If there's one thing I'm committed to, it's running a squeaky clean business. Number one on my list of iron-clad rules? Don't scr...

Look, she started it. She issued me a challenge I couldn’t back down from. Make her purr like no man has done before. Fine, she’s my business partner’s daughter. All right, I’m also working in the same damn practice with her. Yes, she happens to be my ex-fling. But that was seven years ago, and it was barely a week-long thing. Except, Sloane is still the one I can’t stop thinking of -- brilliant, sexy, captivating Sloane. Maybe a week of taking her to new heights will get her out of my head. So what if we spend a few nights in the town too? So what if I romance her across Manhattan? It’s all in the name of the scientific pursuit of more magnificent Os. Until the rules change...

I need a fake date. She needs my late-night expertise. Now, if we can just keep our hands off each other... As the premier best-man-for hire in all of Manhattan, I promise discretion, so when I need a plus one for a couple of “I dos,” I turn to my gorgeous, clever, witty best friend’s sister. She's my good friend, too, and I lust after her completely. I mean, I TRUST her completely. After all, just look how she's kept her lips sealed about the hot, multi-O night we spent together. Yes, just look at those sexy lips. In any case, we only fell off the wagon once, and it was months ago. I’m sure we can make it through these weddings without banging each other in the limo. Or can we?

She was the one who got away… Ten years ago, Brent Nichols let the love of his life slip through his fingers. It’s his greatest regret, especially since she’s all but disappeared. But when the gorgeous and captivating woman walks into his life unexpectedly, he’s determined to win her back. Whatever it takes, he won’t make the same mistake twice. Easier said than done… Shannon Paige has hardened her heart to the man she was once engaged to be married to. After the way he left, and after the hell she’s been through with her checkered family, there’s no way she’s letting him into her life again. The problem is, the second she sees him, he’s more handsome and charming than before. And she’s torn between wanting to fight with him and wanting to sleep with him -- Maybe both. Soon they fall into each other’s arms, consumed with a desire that burns through the years. But if these two fiery lovers are going to have a real second chance at this kind of intense, passionate, bone-deep love, he’ll ...

Control. It’s what Ryan Sloan values most. Control of his business, control of his secrets, control of his days and nights. With the way his life spiraled in the past, he needs to stay in charge of his present. Giving up control. It’s what Sophie Winston craves. After a wildly successful career, she’s stepped away from the business world and is now focused on her work as her city’s most noted philanthropist. When she meets Ryan Sloan, the chemistry is scorching and utterly undeniable. Their desire for each other runs red hot. He wants everything she’s willing to give him in bed, and she wants him to take her to new heights as only he can. Soon, he has to have more. All of her — heart, mind and body. The only trouble is, he hasn’t been honest about how he met her and the dangerous connection he has to her brother. When the truth is revealed, he’ll have to give more of himself than he’s bargained for or risk losing the only woman he’s ever let into his heart.

He's the inked brother. The one you're wondering about. The bad boy of the family. Colin Sloan has a past. He's done things he's not proud of, but he's living differently now. Making changes in his life. Working hard, working out harder, and trying to win over one woman. He's utterly crazy about Elle Mariano, and though the sex is epic, their friends-with-benefits arrangement just isn’t cutting it anymore. He wants all of her and is determined to prove he’s what she needs in her life. Elle is fiery, loyal, and in major lust with Colin Sloan. He’s everything she craves in a man -- smart, sexy, kind -- and a rock star between the sheets. But his past hits too close to home for her, and the people she has to protect. There isn't room in her life for a relationship with Colin. Especially when she’s forced to keep a secret that could tear his family apart… SINFUL LONGING is the third book in the steamy, sexy, suspenseful New York Times Bestselling Sinful Nights s...

Intense. Devoted. Protective. Michael Sloan is all of the above, with a hard tough edge to boot. He's not the guy he used to be. Years ago, before all the s&%t went down, he was laidback, carefree, and even happy-go-lucky. Life changed him. Hardened him. There's one woman though who can break down his walls. Someone who knew him then. Who can reach inside to that heart he protects fiercely...because she's the only one he ever gave it to. When they collide, it's tender and savage, gentle and rough, and makes them both hungry for more of this electric, once-in-a-blue-moon kind of sexual chemistry. But it's a battle of wills between Michael and the woman he loves, with words and emotions held close to the vest. She doesn't believe she can ever move on from her own heartbreak, but when Michael makes her feel for the first time in years, it's both thrilling and scares the hell out of her, setting off all her flight instincts. He's determined not to lo...

Some fantasies are better left unsaid. Besides, I don't need to act on my wildest dreams, not when my fiancé and I have the kind of after-dark adventures others long for -- alluring, daring and oh so frequent. I can't risk losing him by voicing my deepest desire, so I focus on building our life together as a couple, expanding my career as a sports reporter, and prepping for our wedding. But the hotter our role-playing gets at night, the closer I come to tell him what I want most during the day. He and his best friend at the same time. Until the night I do…

I might be a virgin, but I know what I want in bed. It's just that I haven't found him yet. So I'm stunned when charming, laid-back Adam volunteers to work through my wish list. That's when I discover the voracious, commanding man in him, my next-door neighbor. And I’m enthralled -- in and out of the bedroom. Every night we explore my fantasies, and every morning I try harder not to want more from him. Because there's no item on my list about falling for the guy. Besides, we agreed to the last item already -- when we're done we walk away. But every fantasy unlocks another. Each hotter than the last. Until I discover there’s one last thing on my to-do list to check off. One so daring I can’t figure out how to ask him or what it might do to my heart…

A delicious new take on lessons in seduction... The rules of the game were simple. One weekend. We play our roles. Actually, we play lots of roles. I get the info I need for a secret work project. We go back to how we were. That’s what I proposed to handsome, clever, commanding Jake. That’s what he said yes to — this decadent gift of a weekend that would get me out of trouble. But that’s not what happened when our nights together in Vegas ended . . .

I was only trying to help a friend. I swear. I was legit asking for a friend who was finally ready to date again. I knew what she wanted in a man — smart, funny, ambitious, well-read (no, the sports section doesn't count), and plays a wicked game of badminton. So I did what any good friend would do. Posted it for her. It seemed like a good idea at the time — I’d weed through the candidates, and bring her my top picks. But then  he  responded. Is it wrong to date the guy I screened for my bestie? Not asking for a friend.

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 sex 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. Enter Tristan, my best guy friend. The witty, tell-it-like-it-is, bearded hottie volunteers for the experiment. He's also the guy who gave me the most devastating, toe-curling kiss of my life ten years ago. But nothing has happened since then. And nothing will come between my panties and our friendship now since we have a plan to keep it PG. But once the buttons start flying, all bets are off...