Showing results by narrator "Ava Lucas" in All Categories

There are a few lessons one has to learn for themselves. Then there are the lessons that most people don’t have to learn because it’s just not done. For instance, most people know instinctively that they shouldn’t crave the mother of their brother’s child. Bourne Pena isn’t most men. Bourne does everything he can to fight the attraction he feels for Delanie, but in the end, his refusal to go there almost ends up costing him his life.

Being traded after fighting with your coach on air isn’t exactly a good look. With one mistake under my belt, I knew I needed to focus on the game and nothing else. But everything changed when I went to pick up my niece and came face-to-face with my very pregnant one-night stand from six months ago.

I thought I was trading one evil for a lesser one. Marry a man I might eventually love, forge an alliance between his gang and my father's, and get out from under Dad's sadistic thumb. Turns out my fiancé has other plans. Like slaughtering me and my entire family the night before the wedding. I make it out alive, left with nothing but a thirst for vengeance. But if I want to crush the prick who betrayed me, I have to turn to the biggest pricks of them all.

I’m late for curfew once and my stepfather decides to spank me. The kicker? I’m 18...way too old for a spanking. Also, he’s hot when he’s angry, and he’s been angry a lot since Mom started screwing around on him. His demand is so irritating I snap at him. “Fine, you old bastard! Have at it!” And I drop my pants and bend over his knees. When the first smack hits hot against my behind, I’m not prepared for my reaction. It hurts. But it also feels good.

He promised me one night and I took it, never expecting anything in return. Then a few months later, I see something I shouldn’t have and fate brings us back together again. I didn’t mean to see it and I wasn’t snooping. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that doesn’t matter to them. I’m a liability. Now Lex is everywhere I am. Following me, watching me, and making sure I don’t tell anyone what I saw that night.

Clara moved to Moss Creek, Montana on her last tank of gas, a whim and a prayer. A contentious divorce left her and her sweet eight-year-old son with nowhere to go. No one to depend on. When she comes across the chance to work as a nanny on Red Cedar Ranch it sounds like a dream come true. A beautiful place to live. Income. Security.

Sam Rider is mouthy, bossy, uppity as shit, and I have no choice but to deal with her smart-mouth since she’s my daughter’s teacher. Sam waltzes into our small town on a temporary contract equipped with brochures and more change than a single dad can handle. I never trusted anybody to tell me what to do and I sure as hell won’t start with Sam, ten years younger, a city girl and only in Starlight Canyon for the short haul. I have to watch those sinful pink lips tell me what’s right for three solid months and she won’t stop until I change my mind.

My life is a tale of betrayal. I killed so many because they betrayed our cause, because they betrayed the Outfit. A hypocrite. A liar. A murderer. That’s what I am. Five times I betrayed the Outfit. With my blood I made a vow to our cause, swore my life to it, promised to put the Outfit first. Above all else. Five times I chose a woman over the good of the Outfit. I betrayed my father. My vow. My men. You reap what you sow. Would my betrayals destroy everything I swore to protect?

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 27 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2017.

Will this growly protector break her book-loving heart...or become her second chance at love? Savanna Vasquez lost her Navy SEAL husband years ago to terrorists, and she doesn’t think she’s capable of falling in love again. Then came Griffin. The inexplicable connection between them has them both wondering if maybe they were brought together for another reason. And as Griffin does everything in his power to save Savanna, he discovers there’s a chance she just might save him, too.

Sydney Archer isn’t the typical daughter of a billionaire. A former army officer, she now works with an elite security team to hunt the worst of the worst...all while raising a teenager. To the outside world, Sydney’s an ice queen who’s lethal with a bow. To her son? She’s a hero with a heart of gold—a heart that’s been broken one too many times. When a ruggedly handsome Southern gentleman hijacks her girls’ getaway in need of help, she discovers he can revive her in ways she never thought possible. And things quickly heat up in paradise.

Being traded to Dallas was a dream come true. I had everything I wanted, my game had never been better, and my wife was due to have our baby any day now. What could go wrong? Everything. I was now raising our baby on my own. After hockey practice and games, I didn't have time to sleep, let alone make sure my social media was up to par. I never thought I'd get a second chance at love.

Everything changed the night Kri almost died. Simply being her coworker or her friend is no longer enough. I need more. I want forever. When she woke up from that coma, her eyes sought mine. My hand was the first one she held. And for eight weeks, I stayed in the hospital with her. No matter how many times she tried to push me away, I never faltered. Two years ago, we shared a passionate moment, but she quickly retreated from our connection.

Right out of the Marines, Slade's first mistake was patching into a club that was headed down a destructive path. His second was rolling into Shadow Valley on a search for answers. He had no plans to patch into another club, even one like the DAMC, and he certainly wasn't looking for an ol' lady. Especially a ball-buster like Diamond, who could singe the hair off a brother's nuts with just a look. DAMC born and bred, Diamond was ready to give up on becoming an ol' lady until the heavily tattooed biker rolled into town on his Harley. Problem is, months later Slade's still a mystery.

Go back to where it all began in the fourth stunning entry to Of Flesh and Bone.

Arpad growlypants Beauchamp a.k.a. Grumpzilla. The first time he met me, he told me that he hated my company. I retaliated by spitting my Chai Tea Latte all over his tailormade slacks. He granted the security agency I run his business, anyway, huh? Clearly, it's because he wants to control me. To make my life miserable. To become a thorn in my side, glowering down at me from his superior height. So when I end up stowing away on his boat, by a quirk of fate, I demand he turn back.

Danica Waterhouse is a fully modern witch - daughter, granddaughter, cousin, and co-owner of the Fix-It Witches, a magical tech repair shop. After a messy breakup that included way too much family feedback, Danica made a pact with her cousin: They'll keep their hearts protected and have fun, without involving any of the overly opinionated Waterhouse matriarchs. Danica is more than a little exhausted navigating a long-standing family feud where Gram thinks the only good mundane is a dead one and Danica's mother weaves floral crowns for anyone who crosses her path.

Shade has a secret. One he’s hidden most of his life. Secrets created in his past. Of a broken family. A little boy lost. Of broken dreams. With only nightmares left in their wake. As a prospect, his MC nicknamed him Shady because he’s quiet and keeps to himself. As a patched member of the Blood Fury, he changed it to Shade, because that’s what he prefers...to stick to the shadows. Then he sees her. A flicker of light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. The only problem is, he may never escape that darkness until he sheds the chains of his past that weigh him down.

Growing up on a ranch with four brothers, Ella Mae Hawkins is no stranger to rugged, tough men. But her heart's always belonged to the one man she couldn’t have. After a secret, romantic weekend with him leaves her broken-hearted, Ella Mae accepts an opportunity to go to Paris to pursue her fashion dreams. It’s her chance to start over. Instead, she’s going there with the same stubborn man who claimed he was too dangerous for her—as his fake wife. Despite falling for her brother’s best friend all over again, this time, the stakes are higher. She’s in danger.

Johnny Decker, #12. Star quarterback for the Boston Tomcats. Two-time Super Bowl MVP...a decade ago. Nickname: "Decker the Panty Wrecker". When we lose our beloved team owner, his estranged daughter inherits the Tomcats. I don’t know which is worse—the fact that she’s a finance nerd from New York who knows less than nothing about football...or that I mistook her for a secretary when we first met. She’s stubborn, uptight, infuriating, looks way too good in a skirt, and she’s wrong about absolutely everything—from pizza to how to run my team.