Showing results by narrator "Lee Samuels" in All Categories

It wasn’t my expectation to fall into bed with the woman who won me at the bachelor auction. I was only doing my grandma a favor, not looking for more than a shared dinner with the winner. Then again, I wasn’t expecting someone as hot as Isla to be my date. She makes it clear that she’s down for a night in the sheets but bolts, leaving me holding my junk—literally. Which I figure, in the end, is all fine and good because love burned me before, and I have no plans to repeat that soul-crushing heartbreak.

Tobias Hale is surrounded by rumors, most of which are true. Underneath that three-piece suit is a cold, callous man who rules the courtroom with an iron tongue. Judges hate him with the same passion he hates me. He hasn't always been that way, though. We were once star-crossed lovers who sat by the water's edge, me wearing his jacket and him dreaming about a future far away from my family—a place where I wasn't American royalty, only his queen. I never thought I would see him again. Years later, a chance encounter brings us face to face.

Parker Pruitt’s dream is to restore her small town’s long-shuttered theater—one to be named in honor of Noel Carter, the boy who followed his dream from Emerald Grove, Washington, to Hollywood…and broke Parker’s heart. Now he’s back to attend the kickoff ceremony, and for Parker, that means smiling through a swell of mixed emotions at seeing her former best friend for the first time in a decade.

I knew him only as Van Gogh. A tortured artist who owned the night as he moved through the shadows, cloaked in hate and madness. He was a vicious vigilante—a serial arsonist who thrived on the fear he triggered with a single match between his tattooed knuckles. We were told to lock our doors and stay inside. I wanted to. I really did. But then I saw his eyes, burning like embers as he watched me through the smoke. And like the flames at his feet, I delighted in his attention. I became his muse. His passion. His obsession. His perfectly flawed flower. But that was years ago.

Hayes Carver has the bad-boy reputation down to go with his scoring records and good looks. Everything changed after the game that destroyed his image and painted him as a dirty player. From the press and social media to his coach and teammates, the pressure is building, and he can't seem to escape the constant scrutiny. When his limits are tested, Hayes turns to me for a way out. He proposes that I play along as his fake girlfriend in hopes it changes the narrative and takes the pressure off him.

Lily Grantham has always done what she’s been told. The daughter of a senator, she grew up as the good girl of Fawn Hill, and carried that torch right on through to adulthood. Her only wild streak? Bowen Nash. She loved that boy since the day they laid eyes on each other, and it nearly ended them both. A decade later, and Lily still can’t move on, even if Bowen has made it clear he doesn’t love her anymore.

Presley McDaniel lives her life from moment to moment. Making permanent decisions means obligation, and that would force her to stop being the family disappointment. Waitress, fitness instructor, dog walker…you name the hourly job and she’s probably held the position. But when her grandmother can no longer run her book shop in Fawn Hill, a town so small it barely has its own zip code, Presley steps up to help.

Family is everything. Dakota Blake should know, considering she doesn’t have any. That’s why it was so important to find one to call her own. But Dakota never expected the life she was intent on building would lead to such heartache.

Austin joins Dallas and Houston in Akashic's deep dive into the Lone Star State's darkest dimensions. Featuring brand-new stories by: Gabino Iglesias, Ace Atkins, Amanda Moore, Jeff Abbott, Scott Montgomery, Richard Z. Santos, Alexandra Burt, Lee Thomas, Miriam Kuznets, Jacob Grovey, Chaitali Sen, Molly Odintz, Amy Gentry, and Andrew Hilbert.

When a tragic accident caused Ford Grimes to trade the fast pace of the city for the refuge that came with being a small-town firefighter, the last thing he wanted was romance. Then he met the seductive manager of the local pizzeria and found himself questioning all the rules he’d put into place for his new life.

The boy next door isn't next door anymore. He's in Vegas, preparing for the upcoming NFL season, and I'm still stuck in the small Midwestern town where we grew up. We should be together, but people wanted us apart. They won. Secrets are uncovered, and lives are forever torn apart.

Every time we get close, something threatens to break us. Half-sisters, town gossips, and jealous exes throw punch after punch, but we hold on tight to each other as we attempt to navigate the chaos. With his life in the spotlight as a professional football player, I'm starting to feel like it might always be like this. All I can do is pray there's no mistake so big we can't overcome it together.

Maria: Criminals. Mafia. That’s what everyone said we were. I never believed the rumors, though. I’d know if anything shady was happening in my family. Except…I didn’t. When my best friend disappears from the Belvedere, I knew I could find her. Because while I might be clueless about my family, I know everything that happens in my hotel. That’s when I found him. I thought he was the bad guy. My enemy. He wasn’t. But just because I misjudged him doesn’t mean he can’t destroy me….and my heart…

My life should be fantastic—but my dream job comes with a nightmare boss, my awesome apartment has a creepy landlord, and my friends are all too busy for us to do much of anything. So when my car breaks down on a lonely back road just as a freak snowstorm hits the Philly area, it's the icing on the cake. And who should show up but my college grump of an ex-boyfriend: Jacob Matthews, star tight-end for the Wilmington Beavers.

Between my badge, my daughter, and my hometown, I’ve got a busy life. It’s a mostly happy one, but late at night, when the house is quiet, I still see her face. McKenna may have left me and this town behind a decade ago, but a century wouldn’t be long enough to get over her. There’s only one thing worse than never seeing her again. If she came back, the secret I’ve been keeping would destroy lives—mine included. As long as she stays gone, everyone is safe.

Ryan Shea has sworn off men. After her last relationship imploded in front of her eyes, she decided to take a break from swimming in the dating pool…possibly forever. The brilliant computer whiz loses her brain when it comes to love, and jumping feet first burns her every time. Without a home or much of a clue where life is headed, taking a trip back to the small town of Fawn Hill to stay with her best friend seems like the only option. Except it puts Ryan directly in the path of the one man she can’t fall for.

Now, Willa is a single mother and a successful business owner, and the heartbreak of losing Max was a very long time ago. She’s moved on. But when he walks into her shop and back into her life, suddenly, it feels like no time has passed at all. He’s as handsome as ever and more charming than she remembered. Once he makes friends with her son and turns his attention on her, how long will she be able to resist him? And does she really want to? Sometimes, you do get a second chance at first love.

Officer Levi Crawford, Seattle PD. For almost 20 years, Levi has been consumed by the law. He eats, sleeps, and breathes work. Not just because he’s a workaholic, but because he loves it. Sure, he doesn’t have time for a woman and barely sees the rest of his family, but it’s a trade he’s always been happy to make. Until Starla. Two lonely hearts could learn to beat again, if they’re willing to dance together.

Best friends from college. Plus-ones since med school. A chance for something new... Jace Crawford heals hearts for a living. More than that, medicine is his life. To become the leading cardiothoracic surgeon on the West Coast, he’s made sacrifices. No social life. He barely has time to sleep. Love? Forget about it. But when everything goes horribly wrong on his table, and he unexpectedly loses a patient, Jace is suspended from work. When a man has nothing but his job, what does he do when that’s gone?

Christian Wolfe is Hollywood’s It actor. If the magazines are to be believed, he’s the sexiest man on earth. He’s preparing for the biggest movie role of his life, and his agent has booked him in a hot new ski lodge in Montana, tucked away from crazy fans. He can’t wait for the break. But what Christian isn’t prepared for is Jenna. With a face that could easily co-star with him in a movie and her ambition to put her stamp on Cunningham Falls, he can’t stay away. But even more intriguing than her beauty is the fact that she’s not at all impressed with his celebrity status.