What happens is that you get “make out with strangers and pee in a parking lot” drunk. Tie the knot with a guy you just met. Then *allegedly* participate in depraved group activities with him and his friends in the honeymoon suite of a five-star hotel. But that’s not even the worst part.

I’m just so exhausted—always living on the edge of desperation, one paycheck away from ruin. But this new job… It could be the fresh start I need. It could change everything. The contract is only for three months, but if I keep my head down, work hard, and prove myself, maybe I could stay longer. Maybe I could make Black Mountain Lodge my home. As I pull down the gravel drive, surrounded by the forest and mountains and bright blue skies, I feel something I haven’t felt in a while. I feel hope.

He was 18. The heir to a notorious, criminal MC. And my student. There was no way I could get involved. No way I could stay involved. Then, no way I could get out alive.

Let me tell the story of how I fell in love with a woman who had no idea that we were even dating. The ridiculousness started when she stole my beer, and trust me, my grumpy self doesn’t normally share. But somehow, Avery Wilson is the exception to every one of my many rules. Unfortunately, I’m not hers. Not only is she the daughter of the Rev’s coach who hates me, she’s also sworn off dating for the year.

The first time I saw him, I knew I'd never want another man the way I wanted him. The second time, I drank a bottle of his most expensive cognac, which I'd never be able to afford on my own. And the third time… well, he caught me stealing from him. Stealing from the head of the Irish Mafia wasn't smart. But then I never claimed to be. Now I owed him a debt… a big one. And it couldn't be settled with money, or favors.

As a single mom with my hands and heart full, finding love is the last thing on my mind. Then Everett Windward comes along. My new neighbor is charming, handsome, and sexy—and before I know it, I have a new friend…with benefits. Fun and filthy benefits. There’s just one problem—He’s also my son’s teacher. That alone should have me pumping the brakes… except it doesn’t. I’m drawn to him and to the way he makes me feel. Everett has a filthy side that has reignited something inside of me that I haven’t felt in years.

It doesn’t matter that Wes Beckham owns the company I work for or that he’s twenty years older than me or that there’s a strict “no fraternization policy” in place. She is convinced he wants me and that the office holiday party is the perfect place to let him know I’m interested. Because while he’s technically my older, very off-limits boss, he’s also gorgeous and charming and despite his grumpy nature, he seems to have a soft spot for me. So, I go for it. I take a risk for once and choose to be spontaneous and have one wild night with my boss.

When he invited me to join him for a drink, I thought Alessandro was an ordinary guest at my family's hotel. I didn't know I belonged to him until he told me right there in the restaurant. I thought I had a say in the matter. But when I stood up to leave, it just earned me a sore bottom for the plane ride to New York, where our wedding was already planned for the next day. But I was soaking wet for him before he even walked me down the aisle.

I never planned to give my V-card to a gorgeous stranger I met at a bar. But for once I didn't let myself overthink things. In the few hours we spent together, he managed to push me outside my comfort zone. And I loved every second. I never expected to see him again. Let alone sitting at the head of the boardroom table during my architectural firm's pitch to design his new hotel chain.

At eight, he gave me roses. At fifteen, he gave me butterflies, and at seventeen, he gave me sanctuary. I wasn't a damsel in distress. He wasn't Prince Charming waiting to whisk me off my feet. We didn't meet by chance. He's been part of my life for years, and for most of that time, I've been under his spell.

Ford Hall is gorgeous so you can’t blame me when I do something bad and convince him to kiss me on New Year's Eve. Or when I do it again in the daylight. He may be completely off limits but I’m going to make him my lover.

Theo Graham is charming. Sweet. Absolutely gorgeous. But I’m not a little girl anymore. I shouldn’t want him. I can’t have him. I should know better than to want my best friend’s dad. My best friend is Theo’s son, who may or may not have had feelings for me on and off for the past eight years. Wanting my best friend’s dad was the one secret that was never supposed to come out. Except now, he wants me too.

This temptation is my punishment. His redemption is my penance. Jonah Hendrix is the bad boy of the music industry. As lead guitarist of The Hometown Heartless, negative press follows him like a scorned lover. And even his fans fuel the flames of his torched reputation. Despite his permanent residence in the media, he’s never been on my radar. Not until my boss comes to me with a proposition.

It was supposed to be a one-night stand with a sinfully gorgeous stranger. A man I’d never see again. I was stranded, he had a hotel room (which I had broken into), and the rest is history. Until he shows up at my doorstep five years later with a marriage proposal.

You want to know the secret to everlasting happiness? Never fall in love. That was the wisdom my father imparted to us James boys after our mom died, and it’s a piece of advice that’s served me well. Until dear old Dad asks me for a favor over Sunday brunch. No big deal, right? I love making my old man happy. Except this “favor” is a lot more complicated than picking up his dry cleaning. Dad wants me to marry and provide a few heirs for the James empire, and he’s even done me the courtesy of handpicking my bride-to-be. Lucky me.

When you've been told your whole life that something is sinful, you have two options. Avoid it like the plague, like it has the power to destroy all that is good and pure. Or become as fixated upon it as Eve was upon that apple. I'm sick of the push-pull of terror and temptation. It's tearing me apart. I just want a bite of the apple. More than a bite. I want to devour it. Have its juices spill from my lips. And by apple, I, of course, mean sex.

A baby of convenience with my new boss? Not exactly what I had in mind when I decided I wanted to try to get pregnant. But that’s exactly the situation I find myself in with Dr. Bennett Lawson. The ridiculously gorgeous, broody billionaire I kissed years ago is asking to have a baby with me. We both have our reasons for wanting this and with our ugly pasts, it’s an undeniably convenient arrangement. No love. No relationship. Strictly business.

One letter changed my life. One night with him might change my forever. Inheriting a beach house in a small town you've never heard of is less than ideal. Falling for the broody bar owner who hates me because he wants the house? Even worse. I came to Carrington Cove for one reason: to renovate the home I knew nothing about, sell it, and get back to my life in D.C. and my multi-million dollar business. There was nothing on the agenda about falling for Dallas, the sexy former Marine who chastises me about my manners and withholds how to fend off the murderous geese on my property.

I thought I was late for my cousin’s wedding, but the wedding turned out to be for me... If I’d known the sexy arrogant guy in the elevator was my future husband, I probably would have turned and ran. My own father sold me out, promising my hand in marriage to Alexei Koslov, a sexy, arrogant bratva boss. The last thing I want to do is get married, but nobody says no to the Koslov bratva.

Ford: I don't have time for distractions. I have a billion-dollar company to run. A father to grieve. A legacy to fulfill. Harley DeLuca is not my type. She's snarky. She's stubborn. And she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen-even in her ridiculous grungy tennis shoes. I can't get enough of her. Harley: I was a mistake from the moment of conception. The sins of my mother have followed me like a nightmare in a horror flick.