Showing results by author "Lili Valente" in All Categories

So let me get this straight... For the next few days I’ve got myself a grumpy fake husband who’s also kind of my...bodyguard? I guess that’s a better way to spend the weekend than binge-watching reality television, especially since it’s kind of my fault we’re on the run from the mob and I need a protector.

Last night I made out with a gorgeous, funny, quirky older woman. Today I learned she’s the new executive chef at my restaurant. AKA my new boss. Yep, that’s the hot mess I’m in at the moment. But the chemistry between Natalie and me is even hotter. The problem? She’s a single mom focused on helping her little girl adjust to life in the big city. Dating right now—especially a co-worker—is asking for trouble. So, what’s my next move? Seduce the hell out of the woman, of course.

The things I want to do to my sweet, kindergarten-teaching, mitten-crocheting best friend Libby Collins are 10 different kinds of wrong. Maybe 20. But I'm a firm believer in teaching by example, and by the end of our first sex lesson, we've graduated to a hands-on approach to her education: my hands all over her, her hands all over me, and her hot mouth melting beneath mine as I prove to her there isn't a damned thing wrong with the way she kisses.

My fiancée is a dreary little mouse, and I have no doubt we’ll make each other miserable if we go through with our arranged marriage. But I can’t dishonor my grandfather’s dying wish. Which leaves me one choice — make my sweet fiancée so miserable during our engagement festivities that she calls it quits. Operation Prince Charmless will get her out of my hair. And then I'm back to Sexy Single Ruler business as usual. Or that’s the plan…. But my fiancée is feistier than I remembered. Sexier, too. Looks like the Royal Package and I are in for more than we bargained for….

Robert Lawson - Bubba to his friends - is six feet, four inches of tall, dark, and handsome cowboy, with a panty-melting voice and a face made to launch a country music career. But when his family's ranch hands go down with the flu, Robert cancels his high-profile auditions in Austin, and returns home to Lonesome Point to help out. Fortune and fame are all well and good, but family and friends come first.

Looking up into Alexi Petrov’s dark eyes as I break the news, I’m scared out of my mind. This man is the most terrifying defender in the NHL, and if it weren't for my sporty new baby bump, I probably wouldn't believe we hooked up that night. (Yes, I’ve sworn off margaritas for life.) But the Alexi who goes to my doctor appointments, moves me into his guesthouse, and cooks me so many gourmet meals I look like I'm carrying twins? He isn’t scary at all.

When I see the ad in the Portland Alternative's "Love Wanted" section, I can't resist the urge to respond. Yes, it's dangerous - as a star forward for the Badgers, I have a reputation to protect - but I miss the thrill of calling the shots in the bedroom, and reading that ad is the first time I've laughed in months. So I reach out to Curious Cat about the "educational" opportunity....

In the market for a hot tip? Here’s one: Don’t bang your best friend’s little sister. Especially when she’s an investigative journalist and your investment company is the target of her latest scoop. Unfortunately, I have a thing for high-risk bets, and Ellie's suggestion that we mix business with pleasure is too sweet a deal to pass up. Friends with benefits is the kind of low-stress romantic situation a busy New Yorker actually has time for.

When the family dog trots in with my diaphragm in its mouth - in front of my date, his parents, and his adorable little girl - you would think I'd hit rock bottom. Wrong. Let's back this up a sec. Brendan Daniels is the sexiest man alive. The captain of the Badger's NHL team is also clever, kind, funny, and was my good friend...until we cruised out of the friend zone one weekend with a red-hot fling.

I need a guy who understands that this is all pretend, and who better than a man who can't stand me—and vice versa? Besides, Derrick is the kind of cocky, confident, successful dude-bro my gram will adore. We'll convince my ailing grandmother I’m not going to die alone, Derrick will honor that favor he owes me, and we'll part ways as enemies with no benefits. It’s a rock-solid plan...until it isn’t.

She claims to hate me more than karaoke and liverwurst combined, and that's before she finds out I'm her new boss...Yes, Princess Alexandra and I have both been keeping big secrets. The spoiled royal bit is just our cover, a smokescreen we hide behind to keep our counterintelligence work from the people we love. Being spies, we can't let anyone too close. But close is exactly what we'll be pretending to be on our first mission posing as lovers. I honestly can't decide which will be harder - taking down a notorious drug lord or keeping my growing attraction to Alexandra under wraps.

I hate my new roommate. And I want to do dirty, delicious things to her in that swing she installed that we both know has nothing to do with aerial yoga. Neither of which is good, considering Diana Daniels is my NHL team captain's little sister, and he will break my face if I'm not a perfect gentleman. I try to be. Really, I do. But Diana has all sorts of Jedi mind tricks to make a man obsessed with getting her into bed, and I'm not gonna lie - I fall for every single one of them.

To protect my baby, I'll totally make out with the enemy.... Yeah, he's that guy - my first love, Nash Geary, the heartbreaker I've spent a decade trying to forget. But now I'm back in Bliss River, facing an ugly custody battle with Mr. Bad Idea number two, and I'll do anything to keep my baby girl safe.

This is all his fault. Him, Nick Geary, the bad boy who kissed me senseless against his car a month ago, awakening the sleeping sex beast inside me, only to treat me like a little sister ever since. Before Nick and I locked lips, I had no idea I could feel hungry for someone’s kisses. I would give up cupcakes for life for a chance to have Nick be my first, but he’s got one rule - No V-Cards. But he has to feel the same pull I feel, he just has to - the kiss we shared was hot enough to set fire to a glass of sweet tea. All I have to do is figure out a way to change his mind.

Loving Gabe made me stronger than I was before. Better. He taught me that love is both beautiful and vicious, terrifying and intoxicating. I'm not afraid anymore. I know now that it's possible for two imperfect people to have a bond worth risking everything for.

Bear Hansen is a burly sweetheart with loads of sexy tattoos and big hands that did wickedly wonderful things to me the last time we met. Things that made me want way more than a one-night stand…which is why I ran, blocked his calls, and stopped commenting on his cat videos. I only have a few years to launch my career. I'm determined not to end up filled with regret like my mother, so I have to focus on making my professional dreams come true.

Would I like to know what all the sexy times fuss is about? Heck yes. Do I want to lose my virginity to a prince out to ruin my plans? Or risk breaking the heart of a man I'll have to leave behind? Hell. No. I'm already living on borrowed time. If the firstborn curse on my family is real, I only have six months to ensure my twin sister lives happily ever after. But Jeffrey wants to slam the brakes on my sister's romance with his brother and force me to stay in bed until I recover from a touch of pneumonia.

Getting snowed in at my abandoned hotel on Christmas Eve is a stroke of good luck. What I do with that luck is sweet, sinful holiday magic.... We haven't even gotten started, sweetheart. Tonight, I'm going to make you forget who you are, what you are, that you were ever anything but mine.

CAITLIN: I'm the only person who cared enough to stick around and raise my little brothers and niece, the only one fighting to keep us together. Never once did I imagine anyone coming to our rescue, let alone a guy like Gabe. He's dangerous. Not just with this risky Robin Hood mission of his, but with the way he somehow gets past all my defenses....

Caitlin is everything I never knew I needed, the only good thing left in my world. But what we've done is more than simply reckless, more than stealing from the rich to help the poor. It's become darker and more dangerous than even I was prepared for. If I really love her, I'll walk away and stay the hell out of her life.