Admittedly, it was a moment of weakness on my part. But even the strong-willed have been known to fall for a hard body underneath a tailored suit and a five o’clock shadow coating a sharp jawline.
It didn’t matter that Jackson St. James was nothing but trouble. Trouble was just my type.
Been there.
Done him.
Not making that mistake again.
We were friends, a low-key affair we designed ourselves—over before we began. After all, together we made no sense.
Jackson is into sports. I prefer the arts.
He gulps beer. I sip champagne.
While I might not be described as humble, his arrogance is through the roof.
But when he asks if we can talk, my traitorous Louboutins come to a full stop. Although I’ve seen enough movies to know how these conversations go, maybe, just maybe, he’ll surprise me.
He has before . . .
We may have started with a kiss, but how will we end?
New York Times and USA Bestselling Author, S. L. Scott, was always interested in the arts. She grew up painting, writing poetry and short stories, and wiling her days away lost in a good book and the movies.
With a degree in Journalism, she continued her love of the written word by reading American authors like Salinger and Fitzgerald.
She was intrigued by their flawed characters living in picture perfect worlds, but could still debate that the worlds those characters lived in were actually the flawed ones.
This dynamic of leaving the reader invested in the words, inspired Scott to start writing with emotion while interjecting an underlying passion into her own stories.
Living in the capital of Texas with her family, Scott loves traveling and avocados, beaches, and cooking with her kids. She's obsessed with epic romances and loves a good plot twist. She dreams of seeing one of her own books made into a movie one day as well as returning to Europe. Her favorite color is blue, but she likens it more toward the sky than the emotion. Her home is filled with the welcoming symbol of the pineapple and finds surfing a challenge though she likes to think she's a pro.
Kiss My Giraffe, a spicy grumpy sunshine romantic comedy, and the final standalone in the Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild series from New York Times bestselling author Erin Nicholas, is available now!
Fiona knew Knox would be mad when she moved in next door.
And not because she brought a collection of wild animals with her.
And she was right.
So she intended to leave him alone. Mostly.
But he’s not ignoring her. He’s actively working to send her and her “ridiculous menagerie” (rude) right back out of town.
Still, as hard as she tries, it’s impossible to stop thinking about the small town grump’s long hair and tattoos and that mouth.
Not the one that’s almost always set in a grim line and says things like, “you got a permit for that?”
Nope, the one that kisses her like she’s everything he’s ever wanted and says very dirty things in her ear. And sweet, protective, supportive things. Sometimes. Accidentally. When she catches him off-guard.
The one that also says he only wants a long-distance fling with her. Nothing serious. And that he never dates women he sees every day. Like his neighbor.
Well, fine. If he doesn’t want her—and her unbelievable past and that-can’t-be-real future—then she doesn’t want him either. He can just kiss her…giraffe. (Yeah, she actually has a couple of those.)
Now she just needs to convince her heart to give him up.
Fabulous! Finally, Knox and Fiona’s story. These two have been tap dancing around each other as they push each other’s buttons to keep each other on edge. Now we get to find out if they will allow themselves to be honest and embrace this incredible attraction to find their happily ever after. Fiona is passionate about animals and being the one to rescue and save those in horrible situations. What I didn’t expect is all the craziness that her family brings to her life. When she moves next door to Knox, well, this isn’t ok with him. He can’t handle having the temptation of her so close. What really amazed me was learning why Knox avoids relationships because he is such an amazing person that works to take care of the people he loves. Fiona is used to be the one in charge and finds that having Knox there to back her up and take care of her is something she had been missing in her life. Well, there are so many more incredible twists and turns but you need to read this book to find out all the wonderful nuances that makes this duo stellar. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.
Read on for a look inside Kiss My Giraffe!
“Remember that thing we talked about at Christmas?"
Knox felt his gut clench. They'd talked about sleeping together. And him becoming the temporary foster dad to three baby otters.
And they'd kissed for the first time. A kiss that had been causing annoying, unwelcome, frustrating dirty dreams for three fucking months.
"About having a salacious affair where we sneak around behind our friends' backs and sleep together whenever I'm in town?" she pressed when he didn't answer.
"Yes. I remember."
Too well. He was incredibly pissed about how often he'd replayed that conversation and how restless he'd been waiting for her to call or come back to Autre.
He didn't pine for women. Ever. He did the opposite of that.
But now she was here. And Knox wasn't sure what he was feeling. Her showing up unannounced wasn't unusual. Fiona Grady rolled into Autre without warning more often than not in her grape-soda-purple truck that sent his heart hammering and cock hardening.
But it had been three months since he'd seen her. Since they'd talked. Since he'd had any clue what she was doing, where she was, how she was.
Suddenly, she was on his doorstep asking about their plan to bang whenever she was in town for a couple of days?
"Okay, well, there's something I need to tell you that will make you not want to do that anymore," she said. "So I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get naked together once before I told you and ruined everything?"
He opened his mouth to reply. Then shut it without a word. What the hell?
He glanced over his shoulder. Three minutes ago, he'd been sitting at his kitchen table doing paperwork with a cup of coffee and listening to a podcast about new creative urban development ideas.
Now the woman he was low-level obsessed with was on his porch asking if he wanted to have sex before she told him something that would make him not want to have sex with her anymore.
He ran a hand through his hair. This was why Fiona Grady was no good for him. She came into his carefully controlled and organized life and made things chaotic and messy.
"Are you sick?" he asked.
"Sick? No."
"Dying?"
"No."
"Is anyone dying?"
"No."
"Are you married?" He braced himself. He knew very little about this woman, actually, and if she belonged to someone else, he'd… leave her alone. And hate that man. And never forgive her for stirring him up like this.
"Absolutely not."
"Engaged?"
"No."
Okay, that was all…way too much of a relief. He should not be this happy to hear that.
"Did you kill someone?" he asked.
She tipped her head, her mouth curling. "Is that a definite deal-breaker?"
No, probably not. Knox narrowed his eyes.
"No, I haven't killed anyone."
"Are the Feds looking for you? Or will I be implicated in some kind of crime if I let you in?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"That's not a no."
"I'm just being honest."
Fair enough. Fiona was a wild animal advocate. The type of person to show up at roadside petting zoos and 'circuses' to monitor how the animals were treated and hand out literature to people attending the events, raising awareness about the poor conditions and treatment of those animals. She showed up to help rescue and care for animals, wild and domestic, after natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires. She regularly lobbied local, state, and even the national government for animal protections.
The chance that she could have done something in the "gray area" for one of her causes was pretty good.
The problem with that was he knew that wouldn't keep him from wanting her.
She was precisely the kind of woman he should be avoiding.
He studied her face for another long moment, then gave in to the inevitable. He pushed his door open.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Yeah."
She wasn't dying, wasn't married, and hadn't killed anyone. And he wanted her more than he'd ever wanted another woman in his life. So how was he possibly going to shut the door on her? After three months of missing her? He wasn't that strong. Or stupid.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Erin Nicholas has been writing romances almost as long as she’s been reading them. To date, she’s written over thirty sexy, contemporary novels that have been described as “toe-curling,” “enchanting,” “steamy,” and “fun.” She adores reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines, and happily ever afters.
Erin lives in the Midwest, where she enjoys spending time with her husband (who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books), her kids (who will never read the sex scenes in her books), and her family and friends (who claim to be “shocked” by the sex scenes in her books).
But there is something about this feisty tattoo artist. She makes my blood boil. But with that pure, unadulterated rage comes an ache deep inside I simply can't ignore.
I despise her.
I shouldn't want her.
The problem is--every part of me does.
And it's a complication I can no longer ignore.
With threats against the club from our persistent rivals, it's becoming clear we can't be sure who to trust.
As the saying goes... keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
But without knowing, I've invited mine right in, and I'm falling for her hard.
And when we hit the ground, I know it's gonna hurt!
From USA Today Bestselling Author K E Osborn comes the eagerly awaited first book in the NOLA Defiance MC Series.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!
Hurricane is a grumpy and jaded MC President. Needing a tattoo, he meets Kaia, a sassy, speak her mind, sexy woman. Kaia is passionate about her art as she works to support her little sister, Lani. From the moment she met Hurricane, she saw him as arrogant and obnoxious but she can’t get him off her mind. I love Kaia’s strength and fearlessness which is perfect to stand up to Hurricane’s surly attitude. But can they find love when the world around them is full of chaos and threats designed to keep them apart? This story delivers all the drama, suspense, sexiness and unexpected twists that kept captivated to the very end. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.
Meet K E Osborn
With a flair for all things creative, USA Today Bestselling Author K E Osborn, is drawn to the written word. Exciting worlds and characters flow through her veins, coming to life on the page as she laughs, cries, and becomes enveloped in the storyline right along with you. She's entirely at home when writing sassy heroines and alpha males that rise from the ashes of their pasts.
K E Osborn comforts herself with tea and Netflix, after all, who doesn't love a good binge?
Football is one hundred percent the focus of my life—until a squawking toddler, with a temper to rival my own, lands in my lap and flips my life upside down.
I’ll never be Dad of the Year. Anyone will tell you that. Except maybe Sienna, my sister’s former roommate, who somehow manages to make my broody ass laugh and sees something in me no one else does.
When Sienna offers to let me and my little princess move in with her, I’m not sure if it’s to help or because she wants revenge on my teammate and long-time rival, who broke her heart.
Either way, I’m game. Because I need to get my ex off my back, and Sienna doesn’t mind pretending to be my girlfriend.
Only neither of us is ready for the sparks that fly between us or the consequences when they do.
Lex Martin is the USA Today bestselling author of the Texas Nights series (Reckless/Shameless) and the Dearest series. She writes contemporary romances, the sexy kind with lotsa angst, a whole lotta kissing, and the hot happily ever afters. A former high school English teacher and freelance journalist, she’s lived all over the country but currently resides in her hometown of San Antonio with her husband and twin daughters.
In those early morning hours when I’m alone, my imaginations run wild and I pen down the life of people living in my head. All my life, I have lived in small towns in different parts of the world. The friendships, the camaraderie that people share around me inspired me to create Cherrywood and St. Peppers, the two towns where all my stories take place.
I write about beautiful coincidences, finding love in unexpected places and times, and fighting hard to get that happily ever after.
I reject to read, see, write anything that does not promise a HEA.
My characters are sexy yet shy, strong yet reserved…
I am married to a man whom I fell in love at an age of 15, proposed him at an age of 23 and married at an age of 30. He has no clue what I write or do when he is snoring quietly in the next room.
The Daxon Brothers all have day jobs. At night, they’re escorts. But a different kind of escort. They work with a local domestic abuse center. Like a thief in the night. They steal battered women from their abusers. It’s not an easy job. And sometimes not legal. Still, they made an oath. Never leave a woman behind.
Cassie and Brett meet at Cassie’s lowest point as he becomes the safety, she needs to change the situation. She’s never supposed to see him again but life has other plans for them. A year later, her latest work project has her sitting at a table with her white knight, a man she’s never forgotten. Brett is shocked when Cassie walks into the room for the newest construction project that he’s trying to win. He’s never let someone he’s rescued linger in his mind until he met Cassie. Brett is so reluctant to allow love into his life based on his challenging childhood and how he believes he may act. But Cassie is stubborn and fights for what she wants so she’s not going to give up easily on Brett. Will she be able to help Brett accept love? I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.
About Kelly Gendron
USA Today Bestselling Author Kelly Gendron writes Steamy, Contemporary, HEA Romances. In her books, you’ll find a variety of alphas, love stories with fast-moving plots, and a slow burn that will keep you turning the pages. Besides being a writer, she’s also a nurse. So she’s a firm believer in clean hands and dirty books!
No Time to Lie, an all new thrilling and spicy, second chance romance in the Masters and Mercenaries: Reloaded Series from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake is coming September 13th, and we have the delicious cover!
A grandmaster of lies and deception
Drake Radcliffe has spent half his life in the shadows. Recruited by the CIA when he was barely out of high school, Drake doesn’t know how to have a normal life. While most people his age were playing sports or video games, he was playing spy games with the world’s most dangerous adversaries. It has been a life filled with thrills and adrenaline, but it’s also been lonely. All that might change when a mistake from Drake’s past rears its ugly head and he’s forced to face the only woman he ever loved—the one he’d vowed to stay away from.
A beacon of love and compassion
Taylor Cline committed the cardinal sin in her world—she fell for another operative. Drake was everything she wanted in a man, until he broke her heart. She had one unforgettable night with him and then he never looked back. Her future threatened and family in ruins, she shut down and moved on, hoping to never see him again. Just as she is beginning to put it all behind her, a critical assignment puts her under his authority and right back in his arms.
A deadly mission that brings them together
From the wilds of Wyoming to the glittering cities of Europe, Drake and Taylor must race against time to uncover the truth and expose an evil organization. The stakes couldn’t be higher. If they fail, the world could crumble. If they succeed, they could finally have everything their hearts desire.
New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband and three kids. Since starting her publishing journey in 2010, she’s sold over three million copies of her books. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance novels that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings.
