"You never have to be without me, Laney, never." He lied...my everything I ever knew, trusted, wanted...I am, in fact, without him. On my own and out of my shell, I learn new things about life, friendship and...myself. Like what you've always known may not be what you've always wanted. Dane Kendrick awakened things within me that I never knew existed, unraveling and uncovering the real Laney Jo Walker. I'm a new adult...so is my story.

You're not supposed to want the one who torments you. When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn't prepared for how much of a jerk he'd be. I hated that he took it out on me because he didn't want to be here. I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room. But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him.

Liam wasn't supposed to be my happily ever after. He wasn't even on my radar. He was my husband's best friend - forbidden. But my husband is dead, and I'm alone. I ache for him, and I reach for Liam. One night with Liam changed everything. Now I have to decide if I truly love him or if he's just the consolation prize.

I'm the girl who doesn't let anyone in. My world was shattered and turned upside down in one night. Since then I've been trying to live, if that's what you call it, but fighting the anxiety of what happened and trusting others is hard. Each day is a struggle to reach for the unknown. I watched my father give my mother the world and the stars. She took everything from him, then left him as a broken man with nothing to live for. I told myself I'd never fall in love. I'm guarding my heart and emotions, only looking out for number one.

Brooklyn wanted two things: her own bakery and Nate Riley. Opening her own business was the easy part. Trying to forget about Nate when he disappeared was the hard part. Now, years later, she's running her bakery while engaged to the ideal man. Then the unimaginable happens. She is left shattered once more and vows to never love again. An unexpected meeting with Nate has him back in her life, wanting a second chance. He'll do anything to win her back. But Nate must confront his demons before he sends Brooklyn's life into another tailspin.

Carter Hastings was only supposed to be a fling. A summer of fun, excitement, pleasure. And it was...everything. It's hard to walk away. To leave the one man who resuscitates me. But I did. He didn't reciprocate my feelings. He didn't love me. Not now. Not ever.

Looking back, I should have seen the signs. Perhaps I did, but I subconsciously chose to ignore them. From the time I was 10, when I first met Dylan, I knew he was my forever guy. Dylan was more than just my best friend, my childhood sweetheart, my lover. He was my soul mate. We were carved from the same whole—destined to be together forever. Until he changed. And I believed I was no longer good enough. Until he shattered me so completely, it felt like I ceased to exist. I’d never experienced such heart-crushing pain. Until he leveled me a second time, and I truly wanted to die.

You’ll never hear anyone wax poetic over an organ quite like they do the heart. When you’re lost in the world? Follow your heart. When your love for someone is unwavering, unparalleled and unprecedented? You give them your heart. As a lead pediatric cardiac surgeon, I knew better than anyone that the heart is equally as powerful as it is delicate. The heart giveth just as easily as it taketh away. And until the day Kelly Potter darkened my doorway that was all just part of the job.

I fell in love with my brother's best friend the first time I laid eyes on him. He walked through the door, flashing me a crooked smile with his blue eyes shining bright. I knew in that instant he was the man of my dreams. As the years went on, my feelings grew stronger, waiting for the day he'd see me as more.

Wyatt Armstrong never imagined that instead of celebrating his college graduation, he and his twin sister would be dealing with the death of their parents. Then again, Wyatt had never been one to think past tomorrow. He heads to their summer home in Harborside, Massachusetts, with his best friend, Cassidy Lowell, in tow to deal with his parents' death and to try to figure out his next step. It's impossible to ignore the sizzling heat between them as Wyatt and Cassidy get even closer, but Cassidy knows Wyatt's past, and she has a real job to begin in the fall.

After enduring years of manipulation and an immeasurable amount of loss, Charlotte Kelly makes one last-ditch effort to change her life and try to find happiness again. She knows she'll see him when she moves back to Wisconsin. She's planning on it; the connection she still feels to him after all these years is undeniable. But one lie tore them apart years ago, and she's afraid some mistakes can't be forgiven.

Travis King is the worst kind of a**hole. He taunts me for being a good girl and mocks my high standards. He's cruel, crass, and has enough confidence to last two lifetimes. And I hate him. He's always loved getting under my skin, and one night against my better judgment, I let him in my bed. I've succumbed to his manw**re ways, but that doesn't change a thing. Because the King is about to get played at his own game - and lose.

Second grade teacher Mia Delaney isn't looking for love. In fact, she isn't looking for anything at all because life hasn't been fair. Everything - the idea of love, her hopes and dreams - was ripped away in a single night. Arrogant yet sexy Adam Lawson makes the move to a small town in an attempt to escape life in the city. Here he hopes to provide a fresh start for those he loves and protects with a vow to never let anyone get close enough to hurt them again.

I was done with love. When I opened my heart, it was for the men I couldn't have. The unattainable ones. The ones who would hurt me. A vicious cycle I couldn’t seem to stop. But I had a new resolve. Focus on my career. Stay single. And then I met him. Jace Montgomery. A wounded widower with two young kids. He was exactly everything I was avoiding. So I did my best to stay away. But then he kissed me. And I fell. Hard. Hard for a man who would never be mine....

Ryan Burnham is the privileged son of a US congressman and captain of his university's hockey team. While he is on the verge of fulfilling his dreams to play in the NHL, his parents want him on a different course. One he is expected to accept for the sake of his family's public image. Forced to abandon her music career after the heartbreaking death of her parents, Danny Cross exists on the opposite side of the tracks from Ryan. She is struggling to make her own way, working two jobs, attending college part time, and volunteering in a homeless shelter.

You’ll never hear anyone wax poetic over an organ quite like they do the heart. When you’re lost in the world? Follow your heart. When your love for someone is unwavering, unparalleled and unprecedented? You give them your heart. As a lead pediatric cardiac surgeon, I knew better than anyone that the heart is equally as powerful as it is delicate. The heart giveth just as easily as it taketh away. And until the day Kelly Potter darkened my doorway that was all just part of the job.

Donya Stewart's chest filled with the soft beating wings of butterflies when she first met Emmet Grayne's green eyes at the ripe age of five. Unable to identify the tugging pressure within her when in his presence, Donya moved through the first several years of her life addled by her feelings for the boy who was her best friend's brother and very much like her own sibling. But one cool autumn night in her mystifying teenage years, Emmet erases any ideas Donya has of him being anything like a sibling.

I fell in love with my brother's best friend the first time I laid eyes on him. He walked through the door, flashing me a crooked smile with his blue eyes shining bright. I knew in that instant he was the man of my dreams. As the years went on, my feelings grew stronger, waiting for the day he'd see me as more.

Regret, she's a snarky little bitch. I've tried several times to regret the events that took place on June 5, 2008, but for the life of me, I can't. I'd never regret the pain, the suffering, or the heartache because they ultimately led me to the place I am in now. And I can't regret the place I am in now. What I still can't figure out is this: How is it possible that the single worst day of my life inadvertently became the very best day? Five years ago my life was irrevocably changed. Seventeen minutes was all it took to lose my best friend, to lose the love of my life.

What do ice cream and Sadie Montgomery have in common? They're both ice cold, but one taste is never enough. I wanted to be friends - I would have even settled for her seeing me as anything but a nerd - but there was no getting through. So just like any hard-headed, red-blooded man out there, I made up my mind. I'd make my coworker fall for me.

Can a guilty conscience keep wounds from healing? Fine arts major, Candace Parker, grew up with a mother who thinks image is everything, and her daughter’s perfection will never be good enough. About to graduate college and pursue her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina, Candace decides it’s time to let go and have a little fun. But fun is short-lived when a brutal attack leaves her completely shattered. The memories that consume and torment Candace are starting to destroy her when she meets Ryan Campbell, a successful bar owner.

Diner waitress Allison Abraham has no idea her mundane life is about to change dramatically the day she serves a devastatingly handsome customer. Allison is immediately captivated by the mysterious man who stares through her soul with his electric-blue eyes. After he abruptly leaves the restaurant, she can't get him out of her head. She has no idea that he actually came on a mission to find her. Cedric Callahan wasn't expecting to fall in love at first sight with the pretty waitress he'd set out to find.

One look, one smile, and I didn't stand a chance. The instant my eyes landed on Presley Chambers, I was a goner. She was a force of nature that turned my world upside down. Sweet, sassy, and sexy as hell, she brought me to my knees. But she isn't just any woman, she's a gift, she's a goddess, she's my disease...and I'll fight like hell to erase her fears. Sometimes fate has other plans. Now our future is in her hands.

For the first time in my life, I'm living for myself - not for my parents and their ridiculous expectations. I gave up on my MBA, dropped out of the Ivy League, and moved to Portland to pursue my dream of becoming an artist. And what's the first thing I do? Get knocked up. For a tatted-up sex god, Braxton Henley seems way too eager to "be there for me". Is this guy serious? Maybe. He sure is patient. Because he won't back down until I admit what I know in my heart: that our one-night stand might've led me to the one.

MacKenzie Cahill has dealt with overbearing and overprotective brothers her entire life, making it near impossible to enjoy her teenage years. Having a boyfriend was practically impossible until she met a guy that wasn't afraid to stand up to them - Dominic. He was sweet, thoughtful, and everything MacKenzie ever wanted in a man. But when they go away to college at Old Dominion University, MacKenzie sees a whole new side of Dominic and begins to wonder if he really is different from every other guy.

Life is a series of events, one leading you to another. The hell I lived through with my drug-addicted parents led me to the Marine Corps. Committing my life to my country was easy. My brothers were my family - all I had and all I needed. I wasn’t looking for her, but I should have known life had other plans. It led me to her.

I think for sure it must've been a dream because there's no way a guy could look like that, touch me like that, and be so in tune with me on every known level and disappear, leaving me with nothing but a good story to tell my friends. When he walks into my bar three months later, everything I thought I knew and what we'd had disappears in the blink of an eye and the blinding light of the three-carat diamond on his fiancee's hand.

Before senior year, I was forced to move away, leaving behind the only man I have ever loved. He promised he'd love me forever. He vowed nothing would tear us apart. He swore he'd wait for me, but Jack lied. Six years later, when our paths cross again, his broad shoulders, rock-hard chest, and rippling muscles almost make me forget his betrayal. His rugged voice, tempting lips, and sinful smile make it harder for me to deny the feelings I still have for him. He wants to make me his again, but our past may be too much for us to overcome.

Three novellas from Alexa Riley: Stay Close: A former Russian mafia soldier is hired to protect a friend’s daughter, but he knows he’ll do more than keep her safe - he’ll make her his. Forever. Hold Tight: A hotshot consultant hired to streamline Osbourne Corp. meets his match in Pandora Justice. Don’t Go: CEO Henry Osbourne has only ever desired one woman - the one who got away. She ran from a boy, but a man of power and persuasion now stands in his place.

Weighted down by the loss of her parents, Blythe McGuire struggles to keep her head above water as she trudges through her last year at Matthews College. Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn't expect - an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she's been in since the night a fire took half her family.

I'm Muse Harper. I'm a twenty-something painter who loves red wine, quirky movies, and men with fatal flaws. But that was before I met Jasper King. He became my fatal flaw. Eight months ago I had a choice to make - abandon everything I've ever known to protect my family or stay and risk someone getting hurt. I chose the former. My plan was working just fine until I found out my father had gone missing. That was when I met Jasper.

What would you give up for everything? Tristan Stone was powerful, commanding, and sex incarnate. And he wore it all so well. From the moment his mesmerizing gaze met mine, I had no choice but surrender to everything he was. His power. His decadence. His passion. He was all I never knew I needed. He wanted to possess me, and I wanted to be his everything. All I had to do was accept what he offered. But everything has a price.

I'm Maxon Reed - real estate mogul, shark, asshole. If a deal isn't high-profile and big-money, I pass. Now that I've found the property of a lifetime, I'm jumping. But one tenacious bastard stands between me and success - my brother. I'll need one hell of a devious ploy to distract cynical Griff. Then fate drops a luscious redhead in my lap who's just his type.

Sela Halstead lost her innocence in a way that no 16-year-old should ever have to endure. She's spent years trying to forget that night, even while wondering about the identities of the monsters who brutalized her - until a telltale tattoo flashes across Sela's TV screen. The incriminating ink belongs to Jonathon Townsend, the millionaire founder of The Sugar Bowl, a website that matches rich older men with impressionable young women. Obsessed with revenge, Sela infiltrates Townsend's world....

Makenna Lewis cringes at any mention of the word commitment. She doesn't want or need a relationship, but she does like sex (who doesn't?). That explains Noah, Sean, and Zander, her three "friends with benefits." They know the score, they know they're not the only one, and each of them provide her with a different physical need that she craves and enjoys. Until a late-night encounter with the delicious Daniel Winters turns her preconceived notion of no-commitment completely on its head.

Repeat after me: Stay away from the hot girl. The beautiful girl. The f--king ray of sunshine in the middle of your delivery route. Layla Barros is everything I never knew I wanted. Everything I'll never have. She's an innocent young student. I'm a convicted felon. She's rich girl from a nice family. I've got nothing but a broken home. But if I'm an addict, she's my drug. I can't stay away, even though I know I'll ruin her in the end.

Waitress Marjorie Ivarsson is the picture of naiveté. Raised by her grandmother, she'd rather go to bingo than go dancing. But when she's asked to be a bridesmaid in her friend Bronte's destination wedding, she finds herself venturing into new and exciting territory. The wedding is set on the billionaire groom's private island, and Marjorie is fascinated by all the new people she meets. Most fascinating of all is the man she saves from almost drowning in the blue waters of the island lagoon.

Bodyguard and former military man Cutter Bryant has always done his duty - no matter the cost. Now he's taking one last high-octane assignment before settling down in a new role that means sacrificing his chance at love. But he never expects to share an irresistible chemistry with his beautiful new client. As the star of a steamy television drama, Shealyn West knows fame well, but it has come at the expense of her heart. With a blackmailer watching her every move and the threat of career-ending exposure looming, Shealyn hires Cutter.

Mia Collins has an amazing life. She was popular in high school, and college is off to a great start. Everything seems perfect until she goes home for the break and everything changes. One night sets everything in motion and Mia's world begins to fall apart. She's stunned that the life she thought she knew was all a lie. After she loses her family, she's forced to start over. This time though, she vows to not let anyone get close to her again - to not get hurt again. But life has a funny way of doing the opposite of what you ask for.

Charlie Davenport is the bad boy of British tennis - and third in line to the throne. He's a beast on the courts and a wild animal in bed (according to all the tabloids). Girls are lining up for chance at his crown jewels, and when I stumble into the wrong Wimbledon dressing room and catch a glimpse of his game, set, and match, I can see why. So what's a little good luck kiss between friends (I mean, strangers)? I know better than to get involved with a bad boy like Charlie. But now he's on a winning streak, he thinks I'm his lucky charm.