Saving myself for marriage, not hardly. Saving myself for someone who will make my heart race, most definitely. In theory it's a good plan, however even the best-laid plans fall through. Seeing him, being around him, alerts all my senses and I dream about being his, wrapping myself in his arms and never letting go. The only problem - he sees me as his sister. My name's Ava Evans, and I'm in love with my older brother's best friend, Nate Garrison.

I’ve kissed a lot of frogs, just to be covered in warts. I’ve been lied to, cheated on, and used more times than I can count. I don’t have it in me to keep going. I need a break from it all. I need time for the wounds to heal, and the scars to fade. Wouldn’t you know it’s my luck to meet a gorgeous man after declaring my self-imposed break? He’s charming, sexy, and determined to change my mind.

Expect the unexpected. That's what they say, but it's easier said than done. How do you expect a change so huge it rocks you to your core? How do you prepare yourself for an event that will alter your life forever? One breath. One second. One minute. One hour. One day at a time, you learn to live with your unexpected reality.

He's sexy and irresistible. I've done my best to ignore the magnetism that flows between us. I don't need complications in my life. I can't get wrapped up in his world, the last thing I need is to get attached to a professional athlete. I don’t have time for heartbreak.

There comes a point in your life where you have to say enough is enough. I wasted my college years on a guy who played with my head, played with my heart. I was blinded by the fairy tale, the one that didn't exist. The day I gave up on the idea of happily ever after, my focus became me. Moving forward and establishing my career. Until one day.... I didn't expect him. My new boss, a six foot two, inked rock god. I believed I was working for the record label - I was wrong.

It took one night with her to know she was my forever. It took one minute for me to climb out of bed and drive away from her. It’s taken me three years to confess that leaving her behind was the biggest mistake of my life. I won’t stop until she knows what she means to me. I’ll convince her to listen to her heart.

They tell you that a parent's love is all consuming. I never put much thought into it. Not until the minute I heard her take her first breath. That little girl is my world. I'd do anything to protect her. My ex signed over her rights, and her family vowed that my daughter didn't exist. Now that she's gone, they want my little girl. They're trying to say I can't give her what she needs.

Jase Andrews is trouble...but the best kind. Too gorgeous for his own good, the former professional athlete is every woman's dream, including mine. I need to stay away, but he's relentless. Most girls want Jase because of who he is, but that's exactly why I don't want to get involved. A guy like him and a girl like me are bound to fumble.

Cooper Reeves was the boy-next-door. Every milestone, every memory of my youth was entangled with his. We were inseparable...until college. It wasn't his friends, girls, or even sports that came between us - it was me. Tired of being in the friend zone, I finally made a move. Turns out it was the wrong one. Cooper walked away to play his first year of professional football and left me behind with a broken heart.

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.

It’s been years since I’ve been back in this small town of West Virginia for more than a day or two. Spending time here brings back a lot of fond memories. When I stopped by an old friend’s bar, I was expecting to grab a drink and catch up. What I didn’t expect was her. We share an undeniable attraction, but we continue to fight it. Until one night in Vegas changes everything.

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.

"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.

Pine River was supposed to be a new start for me. And it was, especially attending school with my three overprotective cousins, who were the triplets at the top of the social hierarchy. Except they weren’t alone there, and the first day when I came to school, I saw him. Scout Raiden. Tall. Lean. Tattooed. Mesmerizing. He was a golden god with dark and piercing eyes—looking like he wanted to eat me up. The feeling was mutual, and that was a problem.

First rule of being a nanny? Don’t fall for the single dad, even if he is smoking hot. But that’s exactly what happens when grumpy small-town sheriff Asher Whitlock reluctantly hires me to take care of his daughter for the summer. Neither of us is thrilled with the arrangement, but he’s desperate for help, and I need the money for grad school this fall.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In the dark alley of a pub, the words "Please don't" take hold of her heart and break the silence she seeks. Thinking herself beyond redemption, she tentatively grabs on to the slim thread of hope that unfolds inside of her. Holding her secrets close, she can't resist the comforting draw coming from The Skipper. The unconditional friendships it offers, the protective roof it provides, and the spark that its owner ignites in her - melting the frost off her heart, and slowly stripping away her resistance.

Desperate to find a new mechanic, the last thing Reddington expects is a woman to show up, let alone one with a sinful body, sharp tongue, and the inability to just do her job and not give him lip. He can't deny he's hoping to catch a view of her bent over a hood, but there's not a chance in hell that's going to happen. As much as Red wants to take her for a test drive, he knows he needs to keep his priorities straight.

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.

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.

Ashton is getting tired of being good, of impressing her parents and playing ideal girlfriend to Sawyer Vincent. Sawyer is perfect, a regular Prince Charming, but when he leaves town for the summer, it’s his cousin Beau who catches Ashton’s eye. Beau is the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, and even though he’s dangerous, Ashton is drawn to him. Beau loves his cousin like a brother, so the last thing he wants to do is make a move on Sawyer’s girl. Ashton is off-limits, absolutely. That’s why he does his best to keep his distance, even though he’s been in love with her forever.

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.

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.

Four lives. Four stories. Four sets of letters. Four brave souls in need of guidance while facing life's greatest challenges. The anonymously published Dear Life program is designed to help them step outside of their comfort zones, face their obstacles, and relinquish their demons...and prove their existence.

As one of the big names at his family's gym, Legends, MMA star Rory Kavanagh is used to being in the spotlight - until a gruesome leg injury knocks him out of the cage. Rory is left feeling sidelined in more ways than one, battling the inner demons that come with losing the one shot at his dreams. Then Clare walks into his life and gives him a new dream: winning her heart. There aren't many new faces in Woodlawn these days, but this tough, beautiful stranger makes Rory want to get his life back into fighting shape.

Ainsley came into my life in a flurry of vibrant colors, lighting my world up when all seemed lost. It wasn't our quiet nights by the creek or stolen kisses surrounded by a sea of cotton that saved me. It was her. She was my comfort when life threw one ugly tragedy after another at me. Until she dealt me the greatest blow. Now, abandonment, betrayal, and death darken every corner of my life. Anger and hurt burn bright where love and trust once lived. But now she's back.

There comes a point in your life where you have to say enough is enough. I wasted my college years on a guy who played with my head, played with my heart. I was blinded by the fairy tale, the one that didn't exist. The day I gave up on the idea of happily ever after, my focus became me. Moving forward and establishing my career. Until one day.... I didn't expect him. My new boss, a six foot two, inked rock god. I believed I was working for the record label - I was wrong.

Jase Andrews is trouble...but the best kind. Too gorgeous for his own good, the former professional athlete is every woman's dream, including mine. I need to stay away, but he's relentless. Most girls want Jase because of who he is, but that's exactly why I don't want to get involved. A guy like him and a girl like me are bound to fumble.

Saving myself for marriage, not hardly. Saving myself for someone who will make my heart race, most definitely. In theory it's a good plan, however even the best-laid plans fall through. Seeing him, being around him, alerts all my senses and I dream about being his, wrapping myself in his arms and never letting go. The only problem - he sees me as his sister. My name's Ava Evans, and I'm in love with my older brother's best friend, Nate Garrison.

All I need to do is keep my head above water. Push a little harder. Keep that smile plastered on my face for my son as we try to wade through the new life that's threatening to drown us both. But on the first day I can't seem to hold it all together, I meet him. And for some reason, he comes to my aid. Before I know it, Cole steps in and becomes an important part of my life. Our lives. Fills a void left vacant by a man who never wanted to fill it in the first place. Too bad he can never be more than a friend.

My friends used to tell me, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." Clearly, they lied because a few months later, I found out my one-night stand was pregnant. I couldn't handle a baby. I was Griffin Rockwell, the best wide receiver the league had ever seen. But what choice did I have? My baby girl was coming whether I was ready for her or not. Brooke turned out to be an amazing woman and mother. For seven years, we were the MVP's of co-parenting - and even better friends. That all changed when tragedy struck our makeshift family....

Ali Rain: Sometimes I think to myself, "How did I get here?" Then the pain hits and I remember...it's because she's gone. I now live in a new town, go to a new school, and I'm supposed to be moving on with my new life. Only, I no longer know who I am anymore. Dancing is all I have left and every day I feel completely alone. Silence has become the theme song to my life. She said to find some joy and light, but I don't know how. Mostly, I feel surrounded in darkness...that is, until I meet him.

From the first moment I sit next to the sexy suit on the plane, the butterflies in my stomach have nothing to do with turbulence and everything to do with the way he's looking at me. When we land, he gives me his number, and I promise to call. Before I get the chance, we meet again. It turns out he's my new boss and nothing like the gentle stranger from the plane. The longer I'm with Royce, the more I realize he has many layers, and I want to uncover them all one by one. If only he would let me in.

Expect the unexpected. That's what they say, but it's easier said than done. How do you expect a change so huge it rocks you to your core? How do you prepare yourself for an event that will alter your life forever? One breath. One second. One minute. One hour. One day at a time, you learn to live with your unexpected reality.

Gabby Mastreoni has been in love with Christoff Scutari since she was four years old. Their fathers are in the same business, and nearly 20 years later, their families remain close. With four older brothers, Gabby leads a protected and sheltered life - until she and Christoff cross a line, and she discovers that love can hurt people. Brie Masters left everything and everyone behind to begin again. Starting over in California, she's found her new home.

Cooper Reeves was the boy-next-door. Every milestone, every memory of my youth was entangled with his. We were inseparable...until college. It wasn't his friends, girls, or even sports that came between us - it was me. Tired of being in the friend zone, I finally made a move. Turns out it was the wrong one. Cooper walked away to play his first year of professional football and left me behind with a broken heart.