I was a basic bitch. My job was fast-paced, stressful, and a time suck, but I loved it. What I didn’t love was there was little time for the best kind of stress relief. I was looking for a little D in my life. Okay, I was looking for a big D, but only for a limited time. Because I needed three things. I needed someone who didn’t know me professionally. I needed nothing but casual, and, most importantly, I needed to come.

After my husband and I split, he ignored our divorce decree and hasn’t paid me a single dime owed to me. But when my former brother-in-law tells me he needs a fake wife to get his inheritance and save the family business from my ex’s hands, I can’t volunteer fast enough.

Nothing prepares you for finding your sister’s lifeless body covered in blood. But when the police arrest her ex, a man I know is innocent, I can’t sit by and do nothing. Not when I’ve been secretly in love with him for years. Heath may not want my help, but I won’t take no for an answer. To catch a killer, I’m forced to take a job at Saint View Prison. Maximum security. The place they send the worst of the worst. But it’s not just Heath who doesn’t want me there. With every lie we uncover, every secret we expose, the danger mounts.

I kept smiling when I caught my fiancé coming down my sister’s chimney on Christmas Eve. I gave polite congratulations when they got engaged. And I even offered to help decorate for their Christmas wedding despite the fact that was supposed to be my dream wedding. But when my sister cuts up my great-grandmother’s one-hundred-year-old wedding dress and turns it into a skank show, even though that was the dress I was going to wear on my wedding day? Well, this elf is torching down the North Pole.

I used to believe love was easy to find. My whirlwind romance would begin once I was ready to take the plunge. Spoiler alert—every failed first date on record suggests otherwise. Just when I’m beginning to fault my lofty standards, Garrett Foster saunters onto the scene. The football star turned bar owner is quick to volunteer his services. He vows to deliver the best version of Mr. Right—just to prove first impressions deserve a second glance.

Declan Hardy, All-American heartthrob and retired NFL billionaire, is my complete opposite. He's commanding where I'm cooperative. Spontaneous while I am deliberate. Loud when I stay quiet. The only thing we have in common is that both our names are on my father's will.

I’m a full time single dad. A former NFL player turned coach, tasked with turning around a college team full of kids who either don’t take it seriously or are determined to get injured. I will absolutely not be falling for my new neighbor.

Working as Ruslan Oryolov’s personal assistant is the job from hell. After a long day spent tending to the billionaire’s every whim, I need some stress relief. So when I get home that night, that’s exactly what I do. Problem is, my thoughts are still stuck on the bosshole, who’s ruining my life. That’s fine—because of all Ruslan’s many sins, being gorgeous might be the most dangerous.

"You may now kiss your bride". They were the last words my mother heard before she collapsed on the church steps, poison ending her pitifully short life. When her new husband dies minutes later, all eyes turn to me. There are whispers. Accusations. The verdict is split. I murdered them both. Or I'm the next to die.

The first time I see my high school crush since graduation, I’m a 30-year-old woman laying on the table for a pap smear. He’s the hot, newly single doctor who just moved back to his hometown, hoping to find some stability for his daughter. Meanwhile, I’m a hot mess, just fired from my job and ousted from company housing. I’m living in my old bedroom and trying to get my appointments in before my insurance runs out along with what little is left of my money.

I was trying to be a good friend. My bestie was dumped unceremoniously, and when I spotted his car, I felt the need to write him a quick note on the hood. You know, just a word or two about what I thought of his actions. No big deal. Only, it wasn't her ex's car. And it was a big deal. A really big deal. Because the car I'd inadvertently vandalized was none other than Tanner Wright's. Tanner Wright, the media mogul. Tanner Wright, the internet voted "hottest man on earth." Tanner Wright, the biggest talk radio host the country has ever known. Tanner Wright . . . my new boss.

I’ve spent the better part of the last few years successfully avoiding my brother’s best friend, Weston Aldrich. As CEO of Andes Inc, the infuriatingly handsome and incessantly grumpy Weston also happens to be my new boss. It shouldn’t have been hard to continue avoiding him. After all, he’s on the executive floor, and I’m one of many copywriters. Weston has his own ideas about how things should go between us. He’s in my emails, leaving notes on my desk, and as if that’s not enough, he arranges for me to accompany him on a business trip.

"Do you want some Goldfish crackers, Bliss?" Those were the last words my brother said to me before he was shot execution style. A childhood code only he and I knew, and one that had a single, clear meaning behind it.

When I discover my boyfriend is cheating on me, I move out right away taking what I love most – my dog. As I fly out the door, I make sure to swipe the thing my ex loves best–the VIP tickets he won to a hockey game, complete with the chance to spend an evening with the city’s two biggest NHL stars. I can’t wait to snap selfies with my ex’s idols and rub it in his face.

The headline says it all, and my bosses are over the moon when the opportunity of a lifetime lands in my lap. Of course, they aren’t aware that I’ve already met Vince Cool at an all-star gala—and that we were at each other’s throats the entire time.

I was a basic bitch. My job was fast-paced, stressful, and a time suck, but I loved it. What I didn’t love was there was little time for the best kind of stress relief. I was looking for a little D in my life. Okay, I was looking for a big D, but only for a limited time. Because I needed three things. I needed someone who didn’t know me professionally. I needed nothing but casual, and, most importantly, I needed to come.

King is a determined billionaire… posing as a professional cuddler to get close to me. He's the type of man who always gets what he wants, and right now, he wants me—the socially awkward, plus-size model with intimacy issues. I've never had anyone hold me, hug me–or even love me–and my therapist thinks a professional cuddler will help break down the walls I've built to protect my heart. I'm skeptical at best… But King is so good at holding me together that the line between professional and personal quickly blurs, igniting a passion I'm not prepared for.

Aurelia Whitlock is an ex-stepsister I forgot long ago. Until she shows up as a design intern at my fashion company. And that's the easy part. The part where she heats my blood, drawing me away from my grumpy, miserable side is another. She has no business being here. The more I learn about how she got this job, the more perilous things become for me and my company. I can't trust her. I can't fire her. And I can't claim her full lips with mine.

Amazon Top 25 and International Bestselling Author Kathy Lockheart delivers an unputdownable romance series where desire and danger collide. Two standalones, interconnected by a deliciously dark thread of romance, action, mystery, and shocking twists… Included in the collection: Deadly Illusion (Book One) and Fatal Cure (Book Two)

What’s better than a revenge date? A revenge husband. Pro quarterback Ryan Ralston has always known two things. First, he’s desperately in love with his best friend Emme Ahlborg. Second–and most importantly–he still has no idea how to tell her. The marriage pact they made in their senior yearbook was the closest he ever came. Years passed and Emme forgot about their promise. Ryan never did, especially not on his thirtieth birthday. Emme can’t catch a break. Always unlucky in love, her cheating ex is a groomsman in her best friend’s wedding—and there’s no way she’s showing up alone.

As a bodyguard, I have one rule: don't get attached. Yet Daisy's got me hooked. When I'm asked to protect her, I can't resist. She's warmth and kindness wrapped up in a curvy package, and I'm willing to cross any line to keep her safe. Almost. No matter how torn I am between duty and desire, there’s only one chance I can’t take. For her, I’ll risk anything—except for my heart.

"Do you want some Goldfish crackers, Bliss?" Those were the last words my brother said to me before he was shot execution style. A childhood code only he and I knew, and one that had a single, clear meaning behind it.

Protecting him is my duty, but falling for him could be my undoing. I’ve spent five years burying my past, leaving behind the violence and bloodshed of my former life as a Bratva enforcer. Now, I’m just Luca—the quiet guy who keeps his head down, working security for a professional hockey team. I don’t get close to anyone, and I definitely don’t let anyone get close to me. But then I’m assigned to protect Max Ryan, the team’s star defenseman, and everything changes. He's my obsession. My crush.

Rule number one for becoming an NHL team’s social media manager: Don’t hook up with the star center in an elevator a week before starting your new job.

For years, the monsters who killed my family have held me in a cage. Brutalized and half-starved. Only kept alive so they can steal my blood. Until one evening when three eerily gorgeous men rescue me. They offer a safe haven under their protection with everything I need to heal. I'm not used to this kindness—or the desires their smoldering eyes and strong hands stir in my body and my heart. But these fearsome men aren't really men. Like my former captors, they're fae who can shift into wolves. A curse gripping the faerie realm turns them wild under the full moon.