Ava Sinclair lives a seemingly charmed life on her father's plantation-style mansion in Georgia. Her life is just beginning with college looming on the horizon, but when her father stiffs the notorious kingpin of New York, she's kidnapped. But her kidnapper is nothing like she expects. Darkly handsome, Gage Morelli evokes a series of complicated emotions in innocent young Ava. Will she survive his capture with her heart and innocence intact? Better yet, does she even want to?

There’s only one bright light in my world, and it’s Olivia Carson. When she goes against her father’s wishes and comes skipping up to the fence to talk to me—a felon who’s not good enough to shine her shoes—every chance she gets, she makes me believe there just might be a little bit of goodness left in this world. I’m a nobody, the lowest of the low, and she’s all sugar and spice and everything nice with her honey-colored hair and big blue eyes. I know she feels the connection that pulls us together like two polar ends of a magnet.

I hate Dante Moretti. He is cold, calculating, and vicious. It’s no secret that he wiped out his former fiancée and her entire family on the eve of their wedding. He’s the kind of evil that makes even devils cry. But that’s not why I hate him.

Emmett Lasker is impossible to work for. He might be model handsome and stupidly wealthy, but he also has it out for me. He’s given me more last-minute and weekend requests than anyone else, ruining any plans I make. I should quit. And I will. Just as soon as I hit my two-year anniversary and earn out my signing bonus. But after a particularly awful day at work, a breakup (via text!), and my computer crashing, I’ve had enough! So at 11:59 Friday night, I barge into Emmett’s office to tell him what I really think of him. Only, that’s not what happens. AT ALL.

I went to a sex club to lose my virginity, but all I got was the attention of a man I should’ve stayed far away from. Nicholas is dark, dangerous, and charming. When he fails to sweep me off my feet, he finds another way to claim me. Now, locked away in his secluded mansion, I either give him what he wants or risk facing his wrath. This is a dark game, and if I’m not careful I could end up dead—if I don’t lose my soul to him first.

Deranged and violent. Gorgeous but frightening. I’m a businessman, so when one of my debtors offers me his fiancé in exchange for a debt settled, I figure why not? The woman will be a quick sell. Repayment comes in the form of a beautiful but haunted young woman. The light in her tempts the darkness inside of me. Teases it, tortures it. I want to hurt her. I want to break her. I want to keep her. Luckily for Celia, she fails to see that there is no goodness in me.

She was a shy little virgin, looking to rebel. I was a bad accident waiting to happen. I’m the bad boy your parents warn you about. I’ve been to prison, killed for someone I love, and now I’m suffering through college. Then I see her…sweet, so naïve it hurts, and of course beautiful. She’s scared of me the moment we lock eyes, but beneath that fear is curiosity. From that moment on I’m consumed with a need to make her mine, to claim her...but when my past collides with my future, will I risk the chance of going back to prison to protect yet another person I love?

Everyone in the city knows who I am: Vincent Citrione, top capo of the most powerful crime family in the city. If you’ve got two brain cells to rub together, you’re scared sh*tless of me. As for women, I give them the hardest, dirtiest f*ck of their lives before showing them the door. They know better than to expect more. Commitments? F*ck ‘em. At least, that was my motto until I caught her snooping in the wrong place at the wrong time. Aubriella. I wanted her to be like all the rest of the girls. I wanted to forget her. But I can’t forget her lush curves...

Holt Sebastian is royalty in our world. As CEO of the Sebastian News Corp, he’s the man with all the power. The man who decides if I’ll always just be a local television anchor or if I’ll be the rising star of my own show.

It was an innocent mistake; she knocked on the wrong door. It was mine. If I were a better man, I would've just let her go. But I'm not. I'm a cruel bastard. I ruthlessly claimed her virtue for my own. It should've been enough but it wasn't. I needed more...I craved it. She became my obsession. Her sweetness and purity taunted my dark soul. The need to possess her nearly drove me mad. A Russian arms dealer had no business pursuing a naive librarian student. She didn't belong in my world. I would bring her only pain. But it was too late...she was mine and I was keeping her.

Eden Murphy came into my club looking to make some extra cash. A girl like her didn't belong in a place like this. She'd get ripped to shreds. Most likely by me. There's nothing but sweetness dripping from her sexy little body, and I'm the monster who's salivating to get a taste.

Massimo D’Agostino is the heir to his father’s empire. Don’t be fooled by his handsome face or that piercing blue gaze. He’s no prince charming. He’s dangerous and feared, possessive and fierce. Our first meeting began with a contract that forced me to marry him and sign my life away. I was a debt repayment and a pawn in his game to exact revenge against my father. The only way out is death. I belong to him now. Me, the Balesteri Mafia princess. Pure and untouched. Owned by the devil who placed me in a gilded cage.

The Manipulator. I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me. I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh. But my words don't affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave. He's always there, watching and waiting. And I can never look away. Not when I want him to come closer. The Shadow. I didn't mean to fall in love. But now that I have, I can't stay away. I'm mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves. I'll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine. And once she is, I'll never let her go.

The first time Cassio meets his fiancée, she calls him “sir.” After losing his wife, Cassio is left to take care of two small children while trying to establish his rule over Philadelphia. Now he needs a mother for his children and someone who can warm his bed at night. But in a world as traditional as his, choosing your wife is duty not pleasure. Rules have to be followed, traditions heeded. That’s how he ends up with a woman - a girl - barely of age. She may not be what he and his children need, but she’s lovely and a sweet temptation he can’t resist.

I knew I was going to be sold by my father. A bride offered to forge an alliance or seal a deal. Even so, I still held onto the hope of living free of the families. But when I’m given to Antonio Tuscani, I realize my thin dreams of escaping this life were just that - dreams. Giving up, I accept my fate...until a fierce-eyed boss, Nick DaVinci, shows up on my wedding day to exact lethal vengeance.

I trust no one. I thrive with control and I've learned to be ruthless and coldhearted. A love life? I'm not interested. But I still have desires. That's where Dahlia came in; my treasure. She had never been a submissive before and I was eager to train her. When I saw her on stage at the auction, dressed in gold, I knew I had to have her. She's mine for an entire month. I own her. But one lie changed everything.

All Noelle Cunningham has ever wanted is a life beyond - beyond the walls of Eden, where only the righteous are allowed to remain, and beyond her stiflingly restrictive existence as a councilman's daughter. But only ruins lie outside the City, remnants of a society destroyed by solar storms decades earlier. The sectors surrounding Eden house the corrupt, the criminal-men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter.

Being in lust with my dead brother's wife pretty much guarantees that one day I'll be the devil's bitch. But Eden Gordon works with me, so it's getting harder and harder to stay away. I promised my family - and him - I would, though. My days as an MMA champion are behind me. But whenever I see her, with those wicked curves and soft mouth created for dirty deeds, it's a knock-down fight to just maintain my distance. "Hard Knox" becomes more than just the name of my tattoo shop. However, surrendering to the forbidden might be worth losing everything...

Jasmine is sick in bed when a sexy stranger breaks in and reveals she's suffering an irreversible case of vampirism. And because her turning wasn't approved by the Council, he must kill her once the transition is complete. In the meantime, the executioner offers to ease her torment with chocolate, hot peppers or sexual release. Fortunately for them both, Jasmine's kitchen is bare..

Engineering genius, billionaire icon, and consultant to kings, the gorgeous Cassian Court is a legend before he even steps foot on the remote island of Arcadia. But when Mishella Santelle locks eyes with him, she doesn’t see that power - she sees the man behind it and the bruised soul hers has been destined for. But destiny isn’t a luxury for a woman of the Arcadian court.

From the moment I saw her through the window of her flower shop, something other than darkness took root inside me. Charlie shone like a beacon in a world that had long since lost any light. But she was never meant for me, a man that killed without remorse and collected bounties drenched in blood. I thought staying away would keep her safe, would shield her from me. I was wrong. Danger followed in my wake like death at a slaughter house. I protected her from the threats that circled like black buzzards, kept her safe with kill after kill.

In a world where women are seen as a commodity to barter, Alaska promised a sanctuary. But to stay, I have to enter the wife lottery. Six men, one wife. And I have no say in who those men will be. It's more than a game of chance - it's my life falling into the hands of strangers. But the men who win my hand are ruggedly handsome and promise to protect me until death do us part.

In Legal Wolf's Mate, taking on a pro bono murder case isn't a problem for a lawyer who enjoys a challenge. Discovering that his new client is his mate? A tad more complicated. Gavin has no intention of settling down, especially not with a woman accused of murder, but once he sets eyes on Megan, his fate is sealed. In The Alpha's Woman, Kira Radney has no desire to be a subservient mate. When a member of her father's pack attempts to make her his mate by force, Kira has no choice but to flee.

Determined to overcome a difficult past, Erica Hathaway learns early on how to make it on her own. Days after her college graduation, she finds herself face to face with a panel of investors who will make or break her fledgling startup. The only thing she didn't prepare for was going weak in the knees over an arrogant and gorgeous investor who's seemingly determined to derail her presentation.

Bestowed with eternal life by the Ancient Vasilios, Alasdair Kyriakous is one of the most feared and ruthless vampires in existence. His name carries weight across all of the seven continents. But he is a mystery to his kind, an anomaly among the self-indulgent. While he enjoys the pleasures of the flesh, he is exceptionally particular in his choice of partners and prides himself on his ironclad self-control.

I fought. It was a losing battle. I ran. His relentlessness ensnared me. I'm a token. A trinket. A toy for Victor's amusement. He's seductive. A dangerous deviant. Although I can't stop the madness, staying is lethal.

Family is everything to gambling den darling, Teresa Valentini. So when her brother lands himself in hot water, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to save him. And showing up topless in her unwitting savior’s motel room is turning out to be the furthest thing from a hardship. Will Caruso is the bad boy of New York’s financial scene…and he just found out the very thing that drives his success is a damn lie. Now he’s exchanged his high-stress life for the open road. When a beauty arrives, her secrecy prods his suspicions, even while she tempts his lust to the breaking point.

As a sniper in the military, I shot on sight. But now, the only thing I have eyes for is Brooklyn, the new bartender at PJ's. Her curvy hips, those pouty lips; I want to touch every inch of her skin. I'll bend her over my bike and show her how a Bad Disciple really rides. But Brooklyn is hiding something - a secret that could rip us and the club apart. I killed her brother overseas. And now it haunts me in our streets. I’ll convince Brooklyn to stay with me. I never miss a target, and this time the bullseye is her heart.

Mia Snow is an alien huntress for the New Chicago Police Department. Heading up her team of Alien Investigation and Removal agents, Mia's unmatched at battling the enemy among us. Now, a series of killings have Mia and her partner Dallas tracking alien suspects - but a sudden blast of violence leaves Dallas fighting for his life. The chance to save Dallas appears in the form of a tall, erotic stranger. An alien. A murder suspect. Kyrin en Arr holds the power to heal the injured agent but not without a price. That price is surrendering to Kyrin's forbidden seduction....

They call me Girth for a reason. I’m a damn giant. The muscle in the MC. It’s why I get sent out on loan when some of our brothers down South need some help. And by help, I mean crush some guys' skulls. That’s what the Marked Skulls are good at. Name fits, right? But when I get there, I’m tasked with protecting the President’s daughter, Lila. She’s petite and gorgeous, and all I can do is look. The Pres made it clear; I can’t touch. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right? Until he finds out.

After losing her mother to cancer a few months prior to graduating, Bree Forbes was finally able to take some time away and enjoy her college days. That all changed in the blink of an eye the moment Bree came home for break. She didn't expect to find her dad strapped to a chair, a gun pointed at his head.

All I wanted to do was disappear, to get out of a bad situation. I never expected my saving grace to come in the form of three roommates; three male roommates. I found myself inexplicably drawn to Chase...and Patton...and Tyler. It was all just effortless and uncomplicated. The connections formed so quickly that these men made it easy to get back on my feet. Once I realized that I wasn't getting hustled and that these men cared about me in a way I hadn't been before, the connection soon turned into something more.

Previously published as Black Gold 1 & 2, (c) 2012 & (c) 2014 by Christa Wick / CM Wick, author, revised throughout with newly added content and an extended ending as Tempted by Trouble (c) 2019. --------------------------------------------------------------------- His bed. His rules. His intense ability to make her come...completely undone. Law student Gina Banks knows that getting in bed--literally--with billionaire Austin Long is just plain trouble. Sure, she's done some dangerous things in the past to fight the good fight, but taking risks is far different from testing her limits. Being...

Psychology student Ashlyn Drake's neat, orderly life takes a turn for the crazy when she finds the perfect subject for her amnesia thesis - a young man without any memory of his previous life, including the murder he's accused of committing. Against all common sense, Ashlyn's drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Perhaps it's that he's so incredibly male, and even handcuffed to his hospital bed, he could pass for a cologne ad - Scent de Insanity.

My name is Stone Ridge and I'm a f--king go getter...I set my sights on what I want and go after it. Not giving up easily is what I'm known for. Well...that and shaking my dick for money. I take pride in knowing I'm damn good at both. Screaming girls everywhere, willing to drop their panties for me and toss their money my way, yet there's only one girl that I can't get out of my f--king head. Especially since she's my damn roommate.

When renowned novelist Ally Swift goes to help a friend out of a jam, she finds herself thrust into a world she previously thought only existed in the paranormal books she wrote. A world of vampires, magic, and mind-blowing sex that she could never have dreamed was possible. Caught between five powerful vampires, she is trapped between the strength of their hands, the fire in their touch, and the ache in her skin for the thrust of their teeth. She is the key to their survival, and for the four she denies, their lives will be forfeit.

Madison is trying her best to escape a life of poverty. Young, innocent, and guarded. She’s finally getting ahead when she witnesses a murder outside the dance studio and finds herself in deep with a dark and dangerous criminal. Archer is smitten by Madison from the moment they meet. The protocol says to leave no witness behind but he can’t imagine hurting her. Against his best judgment he lets her go, but he can’t seem to get her out of his head. Like a stalker he follows her, making certain she doesn’t spill about what she’s seen.

Brothers Gavin, Slade, and Dex fall hard for Gavin's new secretary, beautiful Hannah Craig. The oil executives know they must give her time to get to know them before she can choose one...who will seduce the virgin and keep her for his own. But when a dangerous predator begins stalking the small-town beauty, they work together to protect her, abducting Hannah and spiriting her to an isolated hideaway. Once alone with her, none of them can contain their burning desire.

She was a shy little virgin, looking to rebel. I was a bad accident waiting to happen. I’m the bad boy your parents warn you about. I’ve been to prison, killed for someone I love, and now I’m suffering through college. Then I see her…sweet, so naïve it hurts, and of course beautiful. She’s scared of me the moment we lock eyes, but beneath that fear is curiosity. From that moment on I’m consumed with a need to make her mine, to claim her...but when my past collides with my future, will I risk the chance of going back to prison to protect yet another person I love?

The second was the night my mother told me she was marrying his father. I didn’t know his name then, but I do now: Hayes Ambrose. Captain of the swim team. Popular, gorgeous, the guy every girl wants, with a smile that’s hiding a million secrets.

Monroe was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I should’ve killed her when I had the chance. But instead, to make her keep my secrets, I took her freedom and made her my captive. She swore she’d hate me forever, but that was before I stole her innocence, too. Now she knows how good my forbidden touch feels, and it won’t take long before she transforms into the broken toy I’ve always wanted. And after that, there will be no going back…