Lila James is my best friend’s little sister, and I’ve always looked out for her. She's five years younger than me, and when she left for college, she was just a kid. But now she’s home for the summer—and she’s definitely not a kid anymore.

I was a small-town girl with big city dreams and more ambition than money to my name. He had everything—money, privilege, and the world at his feet. Opposites in every way, but that didn’t matter. We were lightning in a bottle, and everything felt possible when we were together. Life was perfect.

Aston University might be teeming with prestigious and wealthy students, but the currency on campus isn’t their millions. It’s their secrets. And the three women living at Clarence Manor are filthy rich in lies and deceit.

What do a cocky biker and a businesswoman who has sworn off dating bad boys have in common? According to Chloe Mallery, not much. But Justin Wicked has had his eye on her for a long time, and he is sure the inescapable heat between them runs far deeper than just physical attraction. Could their difficult pasts be drawing them together, or will Justin’s protective nature be too much for Chloe’s independent heart to accept? Buckle up for a spectacular ride, and fall in love with Justin and Chloe in A Little Bit Wicked, a fun, sexy standalone romance.

Winslow Covington believes in life, liberty, and the letter of the law. As Quincy, Montana’s new chief of police, she’s determined to prove herself. According to her pops, all she has to do is earn favor with the Edens. But winning over the town’s founding family might have been easier if not for her one-night stand with their oldest son. Winslow does her best to avoid Griffin, but when a woman is found dead on Eden property, the two of them have no choice but to cross paths.

Someone is stalking Audrey Young. And she has no idea why. Complicating matters is her landlord and new neighbor, Josiah Haven. She doesn’t usually go for the big, surly lumberjack type. But there’s something about that broody man. He intimidates her a little, but she kind of likes it. She could totally handle the mess that is her life, except the strange feeling of being watched is just the beginning. Next thing Audrey knows, she’s a target, and she doesn’t know who’s behind it or why. For Josiah Haven, none of that makes her his problem.

How to behave when the guy who broke your heart 2,000 miles away turns up in your office: One: Don’t drop your lucky coffee cup in shock, even though it’s been 10 years. Two: Don’t get defensive when he asks how you ended up working his family’s ski mountain…and why you kept it a secret. Three: Give him the worst room in the resort. He deserves it for suddenly waltzing back in like he owns the place. (Which he kind of does.)

Thea Landry has always known her place in modern-day society. It's somewhere just above the trash can her mother dumped her in as a newborn, but below the class where much comes easy. With her tattered shoes and bargain-bin clothes, her life has never been full of glamour. So when a rich and charismatic man takes interest, she doesn't fool herself into thinking their encounter is anything more than a one-night stand. Months later, she's kicking herself for not getting his phone number. Or his last name. She's given up hope of seeing him ever again.

Football star. Single dad. And once, a long time ago, mine. I’ve spent the better part of a decade forgetting Ford Ellis. If he had just stayed away from Montana, I might have erased the memory of his striking blue eyes and rugged smile forever. Avoiding him was easy when the only place I saw his face was on ESPN—and a remote control could fix that problem.

I didn’t know bridesmaid was code for babysitter for the bride’s brother, but if that’s what my best friend needs of me for her dream wedding to go off without a hitch, that’s what I’ll do. Even if Theo Monroe has been a pain in my rear since third grade. Even if he should be responsible enough to not wreak havoc at his sister’s destination wedding.

I didn’t know I was pregnant. Ayden walked away from me a decade ago and never looked back. The only thing he left me was our sweet, amazing daughter. And a mile-long list of small town secrets. When his father—the town’s mayor—threatens me, Ayden’s childhood best friend steps in. And I have no choice but to fight the battles he ran away from.

Five hockey players, a cabin in the woods...and little old me, Winnie Berlin. Sounds like the start of a fantasy, right? But it's not. It's my reality. It all started when I got lost in the middle of the Canadian Rockies. A wicked thunderstorm sent my car mud sliding into a ditch, and for a girl whose survival skills involve finding the nearest Starbucks, I was in deep trouble. Forced to abandon my car in search of help, I stumbled upon a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

This wasn't supposed to be my life. One phone call was all it took to bring me back to the small town I had grown up in. Everything had changed, and staying away was no longer an option. Four and a half years later, I was a widowed single father still here, still trying to pick up the pieces. We were doing fine on our own, my little girl and me. At least, we were until Camryn Parker stumbled into our lives. The woman was like a tornado after a hurricane; she was the storm I never saw approaching. Behind her beauty and sarcastic wit, she was just as broken as I pretended not to be.

Ryot Bisley is my husband. Yes, the former third baseman for the Chicago Rebels and absolute heartthrob of the Windy City. That Ryot Bisley. The first time I ran into him, he was grumpy, a horrific host, and left me on his sofa with nothing but a nylon baseball flag to use as a blanket.

New York Times best-selling authors Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward bring you three sexy short stories to heat up your holidays: "Get Sleighed", "Lights Out Love", and "Hot Item".