


























Clint Marino wasn’t the definition of a perfect catch. He was damaged, cruel…and carried the reputation of being many people’s worst nightmare. So how had he come into my life?
Simple.
I was a job he needed to complete.
But somewhere along the way, things became disjointed, confused. I found myself holding onto him instead of running away.
Did that make me naïve? More than likely. But after learning his weakness, I wanted to fix it. Seeing the blatant pain he tried to hide, I had an overwhelming desire to help.
I soon became enthralled, addicted to his broken pieces, blind to the storm headed our way.
When it hit, its impact was devastating, leaving me gasping for air…

I stepped off the elevator and walked up to her door, raising my hand to knock, but paused, slowly turning the knob instead. When it turned, I gradually pushed the door open, giving the immediate area a thorough search before stepping inside. She sat on the couch, feet tucked underneath her. The dress she wore to the club no longer hugged her petite body. Instead, she wore thin leggings and an oversized sweatshirt that fell off one of her shoulders.
Did she think changing her clothes made her less attractive? Did she assume it would prevent me from craving her? Erase the need to rip her clothes off and give her everything I had to offer? My dick throbbed.
I shook my head, trying to collect my thoughts. This meeting was strictly professional. A job. It didn’t matter how tempting she was, the innocent vibes she put off. How the thin fabric of the dress she wore at the club allowed me to visualize every curve and dip of her body.
She was reckless tonight. The Valerie I had studied a year before would have never acted so carelessly. She was always hesitant to show her beauty, except when she danced. Those moments were the ones that caused a beast like me to bow before her.
Her actions tonight had proven only one thing. She was hurting, confused.
Something had changed in her.
Watching her on the couch, she had the same look as in the photograph I had of her. Lonely. Distant. Defeated.
She looked up, her eyes meeting mine. No blink. No gasp. No typical reaction people gave me when they knew my presence wasn’t necessarily welcome. She knew I had a purpose.
“What do you want?”
She sounded tired, voicing the same question she had twice before. I paused. What did I want?
I stepped farther into the living room and rested my arm on the mantel of the fireplace that warmed the small apartment I knew easily cost three grand a month. Her daddy’s money reeked in every inch of the space. The term privileged fit her perfectly. Was she aware of how her father earned the money that kept his family so comfortable? I was pretty sure it was the reason Valerie’s file had been thrown my way. Threatening what a person adored most was an old tactic to get somebody to do what you wanted. It never failed.
“Do you know who I am, Valerie?”
I focused on the flames and retrieved her phone from my back pocket, carefully placing it on the mantel, waiting. I could hear her swallow and shift on the couch, but I didn’t look up.
“You saved me,” she whispered. “If you wouldn’t have been out there, he would’ve…”
Her words seemed to catch in her throat, proving she knew what was bound to happen, making peace with it. What had made her give up?
“No one cared. Nobody tried to stop him.”
My eyes shifted to hers, catching the question in them. She was doubtful of my intentions, which gave me relief. It let me know she saw my truth.
“Not every savior has good intentions, Ms. Reid. Not every person who comes to your rescue wants to help.”
Seemingly of my own accord, my feet carried me over to the couch. I stopped, towering above her, breathing like a starved man waiting to feast.
“Maybe they are saving you for themselves. To punish. To break.”
She sucked in a breath. But my proximity seemed to ignite arousal, not fear. She scooted closer. Her body was in the perfect position for me to claim. I wanted to mark her with my scent. Had the sickening desire to keep her locked away for myself.
“Are you going to hurt me?” Her voice was low, husky, as I crouched down in front of her, our faces barely an inch apart. I was hard. She was willing. The only sound in the room that of the crackling fire and our own breathing. In that instant, when my calloused hands lightly caressed her thighs as I looked into her pale gray eyes, I made my decision.
“Get some sleep. Ms. Reid.”
I stood swiftly, making my way to the door, the anger and need building inside me threatening to burst through.
Without turning, I continued. “And a word of advice… Always lock your door. You never know who might barge in.”


Brittani Marí is a writer and reader. Her friends call her crazy, her family accepts her with all her flaws, and she makes sure to focus all her energy into creating the most suspenseful, sexy novels she can. When she isn’t working on her latest book or reading something new, you can find her sipping martinis with her besties, spending time with her family, or traveling to a new destination. The Illicit Affairs is the first story she’s decided to share with the world…and it’s only the beginning.
Cover Design: Melissa Gill Designs
Pre-order Links
Only available at the following retailers
for a VERY limited time!
B&N / KOBO / APPLE BOOKS


Deejay Mabel Bowen rocks the morning airwaves, but once she signs off, she’s happy going home alone; a long-ago humiliation taught her that women in the public eye should be cautious about dating. Then she meets the Clark Kent-ish accountant overseeing the sale of her radio station and starts wondering if she should break her own “girl, don’t date him” rules.
Since he was teenager, Jake Carey has worked to lift his family out of poverty, and he’s now on the verge of a promotion that’ll secure their financial future. Why, then, is he so quick to set aside his spreadsheets whenever the gorgeous morning show host is around? After years of using work as an excuse to avoid searching for emotional connections, he’s now jumping at every chance to spend time with Mabel and her maple syrup voice.
Despite their initial reservations, Mabel and Jake move from conversations over coffee to flirty office lunches to a night out that obliterates all their previously drawn lines. Then a professional betrayal sends Mabel fleeing back to the safety of her single-girl rules. But Jake isn’t ready to give up on this once-in-a-lifetime love and sets out to balance their work/life books. Can he convince Mabel to turn up the volume on their future, or will she decide that the numbers don’t add up?
Tempting Talk, a 2019 RWA© Golden Heart© award finalist, is book 3 in Sara Whitney’s funny, feisty contemporary romance series, Tempt Me. Turn on your favorite playlist and get reading!


Two more minutes. Two more minutes and she’d be headed out the door.
Mabel gathered the stack of ad copy she’d marked up and headed toward the main office, hoping to drop off the paperwork while everybody was gone for lunch. Then it was home to shower and hope for a smoother day tomorrow.
When she stepped into the room, however, she was dismayed to discover it wasn’t empty; Jake’s handsome face was furrowed in concentration as he stared at his laptop and rhythmically drummed a pen against the desktop. For one cowardly moment she considered backing out so he wouldn’t spot her, but she must’ve made a noise because his eyes flicked up from the screen and immediately back down. Then his pen-tapping slowed, and he dragged his eyes back up to her face.
“Well, hello.” His voice was warm with amusement, and the corners of his eyes crinkled.
“Hi.” She pushed confidence she didn’t feel into her voice. Despite radio being, well, radio, she normally put effort into her appearance at work. But that morning, she’d woken in a panic to find that her phone was dead and she had twenty minutes before she was due on air. While her ego could normally absorb a day of roaming the WNCB halls greasy and unshowered, that was before the hottest guy she’d ever met had started balancing the books down the hall from her, all tall and good-smelling. She might not allow herself to date him, but that didn’t mean she’d lost her vanity.
When his lips twitched, she groaned. “I know, I know. I’m a walking dumpster fire.”
“Did I say anything?” He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, one corner of his mouth tilting up as he took in her limp ponytail, her makeup-free face, and worst of all, her sleeping ensemble.
“You didn’t have to.” She huffed her way across the room and dropped the stack of papers onto the corner of the desk, cursing herself for not shoving the damn things under the door and running. “I overslept. This is me in my natural state.”
She’d burst into the studio with seconds to spare in the shirt she’d slept in, a tiny pair of lime-green running shorts, and battered floral gardening clogs. At least she’d managed to scrounge a clean-ish sports bra from a gym bag in her car to wiggle into at a stoplight.
“A Minnesotan, huh?”
She plucked at the threadbare Mankato East T-shirt, which featured a cartoonish drawing of her high school’s cougar mascot.
“Oh, you betcha.” She hadn’t felt self-conscious all morning, but Jake’s amused scrutiny made her want to squirm. Then again, was she really going to let a lack of mascara hold her back? She was tougher than that.
“What, does this not do it for you?” She leaped to her feet, putting her hands on her hips and spinning to give him the full 360-degree view of an outfit that she wouldn’t even wear to the gym on a day when the air conditioning was broken and she was guaranteed not to run into anybody she knew. When she rotated back to face him, his face with alive with interest, his expression the warmest she’d seen since she walked in. And that’s when she became aware of just how short these shorts really were, and how clearly she could see the outline of her hot pink sports bra through the worn cotton of her shirt.
His eyes were slow to lift from her legs, and when they did, she held his gaze with a challenging stare, silently begging him to explain why he made her want to break her own “no dating at work” rules.


Sara Whitney writes sassy, sexy contemporary romance novels packed with wit, heat, and heart. A 2019 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award finalist, Sara worked as a newspaper reporter and film critic before she earned her Ph.D. and landed in academia. She’s a good pinball player, a so-so karaoke singer, and an expert TV opinion-haver.
In a funny twist of fate, Sara’s married to a divorce attorney, and she likes to think that her happily-ever-afters help keep their household in balance. She and her husband live in the Midwest surrounded by books, cats, and half-empty coffee cups. Keep up with Sara by subscribing to her mailing list here.



Title: Twice A Wish
Series: Goddess Isles #2
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Pepper Winters
Release Day: March 24, 2020
Cover Designer: Cover It! Designs


“There was a monster once. A monster who bought me, controlled me, and took away my freedom.
There was a man once. A man who dealt in myth and secrets, hiding behind his mask, making me hunger and wish to know the truth.”
Eleanor Grace belongs to the man and the monster, hating them both but unable to deny that something links them. Something she doesn’t want to feel, something that traps her as surely as the sea surrounding the island where she serves.
Sully Sinclair belongs to his past and the black and white script his life has become. He views his goddesses as commodities—possessions to be treated kindly but firmly. The only problem is…Eleanor is different.
She’s jinxed him.
Cursed him.
Awakened him.
She’s a goddess with the power to ruin him.




Pepper Winters is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today International Bestseller. With a catalogue of over twenty titles, she’s hit the bestselling lists over thirty times.
She loves romance, star-crossed lovers, and the forbidden taboo. She strives to write a story that makes the reader crave what they shouldn’t, and delivers tales with complex plots and unforgettable characters.
After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She’s an #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. She’s also honoured to wear the IndieReader Badge for being a Top 10 Indie Bestseller.
After releasing two books with Grand Central, Hachette (Ruin & Rule and Sin & Suffer) Pepper is a Hybrid Author of both Traditional and Self-published work.
Represented by Trident Media, her books have garnered foreign interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages, including already released titles in Italian, French, Hebrew, German, and Turkish. Audio Books for her entire back-list will be available soon.



MY FAVOURITE SOUVENIR
Release date: April 27th, 2020
A Standalone Contemporary Romance
New York Times Bestselling Authors Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland
BLURB
My planned trip for two unexpectedly turned into a trip for one. Rather than let
my breakup get me down, I packed my bags and decided a week at a luxury
resort was just what I needed.
But one calamity after the next, and suddenly I was stuck without a hotel room,
along with a few hundred other people.
It looked like my fancy vacation was about to turn into me sleeping on the hotel
lobby floor.
Until I overheard a gorgeous man pretending to be someone he wasn’t in order
to steal a reservation from a guest who hadn’t shown up yet.
When I realized there were two rooms, instead of calling him out, I pretended to
be his sister. That’s how the story of “Milo and Maddie Hooker” began.
We were the Hookers.
My depressing trip quickly made a U-turn into an adventure.
My fake brother spent the next few days showing me around his hometown.
When it was time to leave, neither of us really wanted to go yet.
So, instead of flying back to our respective homes, we ventured on a road trip.
At every stop, we’d pick up souvenirs.
But as hot as our chemistry was, we never crossed the line.
Milo knew I’d just come out of a tough relationship and didn’t want to mess with
a vulnerable woman.
So instead, at the end of our trip, we made a pact to meet again in three
months.
It was always my intention to meet him.
But when I got back home, reality hit in a big way.
And I worried I may have lost my handsome stranger forever.
Was there a place for him in my future?
Or had the memory of him just become my favorite souvenir?
PURCHASE LINKS:
Goodreadsè</span https://fave.co/2T0vXcS
Amazon print è https://fave.co/2SEUVzC
Sign up for Penelope & Vi’s mailing list now and be the first one notified when it goes live! è https://www.subscribepage.com/2FreeBooks
COVER CREDITS::
Cover designer: Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative
Photographer: Davide Martini
Model: Simone Bredariol
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
PENELOPE WARD::
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal
bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as
a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son,
and beautiful daughter with autism.
With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and
the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a
dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/penelopewardauthor
Facebook Private Fan Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PenelopesPeeps/
@penelopewardauthor
http://instagram.com/PenelopeWardAuthor/
https://twitter.com/PenelopeAuthor
VI KEELAND::
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA
Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in
over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-five
languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children
where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Facebook Fan Group
hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/ViKeelandFanGroup/
https://www.facebook.com/vi.keeland
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Vi-Keeland/435952616513958
Website
@vikeeland
Goodreads
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6887119.Vi_Keeland
OTHER BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD AND VI KEELAND::
Park Avenue Player:
Amazon: https://fave.co/2NurkHL
Dirty Letters:
Amazon: https://fave.co/2nW5HoF
OTHER BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD::
The Day He Came Back:
Amazon: https://fave.co/2Nm6Ujn
Amazon print: https://fave.co/2Zlbu86
Apple Books: https://fave.co/30tGO1S
Nook: https://fave.co/2ZszpTf
Kobo: https://fave.co/2ZjmeDM
Google Play: https://fave.co/2Z8eIwj
Audio: https://fave.co/30lvQew
When August Ends:
Amazon: https://fave.co/2WOsEWr
Amazon Print: https://fave.co/2x37hWQ
Apple Books: https://fave.co/2KpxcAO
Nook: https://fave.co/2x0gqiL
Kobo: https://fave.co/2Rq3PyP
Google Play: https://fave.co/2xbd8tn
Audio: https://fave.co/2WO5DTi
OTHER BOOKS BY VI KEELAND::
Inappropriate:
Amazon: https://fave.co/2uW5ZyW
Apple: https://apple.co/32Yd3GJ
Audio: http://hyperurl.co/o2wokp
Kobo: https://fave.co/39JzjJ4
Google Play: https://fave.co/2tuihOm
Paperback: https://fave.co/32ZdzEv
All Grown Up:
Amazon eBook: https://fave.co/2Z3Hsq2
Audio: https://fave.co/2Z5hJgV
iBooks: https://fave.co/2Z7QQZz/span>
Google Play: https://fave.co/30nJQEJ
Kobo: https://fave.co/2Zicgmk
Amazon print: https://fave.co/2NmuDQD
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeganGreen616