He has no idea how sexy he is.
Even as a successful construction business owner, Tony Walters' ex-wife's mental illness almost drove him over the edge. Living too many years loveless and abused has left him afraid to try to meet another woman, much less form a relationship.
She's just too shy to even meet his eyes.
In one instant left a childless widow, Nikki Wilkes couldn't imagine romance would ever be in her life again, much less passion and deep, never-ending love.
Two mature adults sidestep each other for five years until fate brings them together in a sweet, passionate, erotic adventure of sexual exploration and self-discovery. A perfect mixture of Southern charm and hospitality and European sophistication, the tall Italian-American sweeps the funny, smart, kinky Kentucky girl off her feet and into his bed, and together the sparks they throw off ignite their world.
The new home they build together draws them closer to his family and each other and into a new life filled with laughter and love, not to mention a big kitchen full of friends and fun as Nikki becomes the glue that holds the family together with her cooking, hugs, and mothering.
But just as everything looks rosy, a secret-fueled mystery unfolds when an unknown threat attempts to ruin Tony's business and maybe even hurt him. As the criminal activity becomes more and more focused on destroying their happiness, it's obvious it's personal. And someone's going to get hurt - or worse. It's just a matter of time.
Sex, humor, and secrets collide in this blistering start to the series to prove that they're not getting older - they're just getting started!
Combo volume contains The Groundbreaking, a prequel that offers readers background on the nine main characters in the series.
BONUS: Each book in the Love Under Construction series features the recipe of a dish mentioned in the books. It's like dessert meets drama!
WARNING: Strong, graphic, kinky sexual scenes and graphic criminal violence. Not intended for readers under the age of 18. Views: 187
No collection of Japanese literature is complete without Natsume Soseki's Kokoro, his most famous novel and the last he completed before his death. Published here in the first new translation in more than fifty years, Kokoro—meaning "heart"—is the story of a subtle and poignant friendship between two unnamed characters, a young man and an enigmatic elder whom he calls "Sensei". Haunted by tragic secrets that have cast a long shadow over his life, Sensei slowly opens up to his young disciple, confessing indiscretions from his own student days that have left him reeling with guilt, and revealing, in the seemingly unbridgeable chasm between his moral anguish and his student's struggle to understand it, the profound cultural shift from one generation to the next that characterized Japan in the early twentieth century. Views: 187
The nearest Wodehouse ever came to a serious story, The Coming of Bill is a fascinating blend of social comment and light comedy. It concerns the offspring of Ruth, a spoilt heiress, and Kirk, an impecunious artist of perfect physique, brought together by Ruths aunt, a believer in eugenics. The young couple are eventually successful in retrieving their child and their marriage from the influence of overbearing Mrs Poter, but only after a series of comic mishaps in a book which features a galaxy of vintage Wodehouse characters, including the bossy aunt, a tetchy millionaire, a good-natured ex-boxer and an orotund English butler. Views: 187
“A stranger could drive through Miguel Street and just say ‘Slum!’ because he could see no more.” But to its residents this derelict corner of Trinidad’s capital is a complete world, where everybody is quite different from everybody else. There’s Popo the carpenter, who neglects his livelihood to build “the thing without a name.” There’s Man-man, who goes from running for public office to staging his own crucifixion, and the dreaded Big Foot, the bully with glass tear ducts. There’s the lovely Mrs. Hereira, in thrall to her monstrous husband. In this tender, funny early novel, V. S. Naipaul renders their lives (and the legends their neighbors construct around them) with Dickensian verve and Chekhovian compassion.
Set during World War II and narrated by an unnamed–but precociously observant–neighborhood boy, Miguel Street is a work of mercurial mood shifts, by turns sweetly melancholy and anarchically funny. It overflows with life on every page.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 187
Twenty-one-year-old Rune is an aspiring filmmaker, but so far her only break has been scoring a job as an underpaid production assistant in Manhattan. Still, she's always on the lookout for the perfect topic for her own film--and she thinks she's found it when she witnesses the bombing of a triple-X movie theater in Times Square. Rune's got a great hook for her documentary: She plans to film it through the eyes of Shelly Lowe, the porn star whose movie was playing at the theater when it exploded. But just hours after Rune films a poignant Shelly reflecting on her dreams of becoming a serious actress, a second bomb silences the beautiful film star forever. Was Shelly in the wrong place at the wrong time--or was she the bomber's target all along? Rune vows to find out the truth behind the death of this blue movie star. But as she struggles to finish shooting her film, Rune's labor of love may be her final masterpiece--as a shooting of a more lethal kind threatens to write an ending to this story that no one wants to see....
*From the Paperback edition.* Views: 187
Set in England's civil war,this period of England's history is seen through the eyes of Sir Thomas Fairfax and his wife Anne. For three years she trailed in the wake of her husband as his exploits on the battlefield become legendary, and she coped with the less than comfortable and exhausting lifestyle so that she could be with her husband when he needed her. The vivid writing of the author conveys the essence of this blood thirsty period in England's history. Views: 187
From the New York Times bestselling author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena—dazzling, poignant, and lyrical interwoven stories about family, sacrifice, the legacy of war, and the redemptive power of art.
This stunning, exquisitely written collection introduces a cast of remarkable characters whose lives intersect in ways both life-affirming and heartbreaking. A 1930s Soviet censor painstakingly corrects offending photographs, deep underneath Leningrad, bewitched by the image of a disgraced prima ballerina. A chorus of women recount their stories and those of their grandmothers, former gulag prisoners who settled their Siberian mining town. Two pairs of brothers share a fierce, protective love. Young men across the former USSR face violence at home and in the military. And great sacrifices are made in the name of an oil landscape unremarkable except for the almost incomprehensibly peaceful past it depicts. In stunning prose, with rich character portraits and a sense of history reverberating into the present, The Tsar of Love and Techno is a captivating work from one of our greatest new talents. Views: 187
Paige King, a Ph.D. in forensic psychology and a new arrival at the FBI's elite BAU unit, has an uncanny ability to enter serial killers' minds. But when a new serial killer strikes, leaving a cryptic signature of a fleur de lis at each crime scene, Paige wonders: will this diabolical killer outsmart them all?A complex psychological crime thriller full of twists and turns and packed with heart-pounding suspense, The Girl He Wished will make you fall in love with a brilliant new female protagonist and keep you turning pages late into the night. It is a perfect addition for fans of Rachel Caine, Teresa Driscoll and Robert Dugoni. Views: 187
Mercedes of Castile; or, The Voyage to Cathay is a 1840 historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper. The novel is set in 15th century Europe, and follows the preparations and expedition of Christopher Columbus westward to the new world. Views: 187
Opposites attract in this sexy, slow-burn romance, the next installment in A.M. Arthur's fan-favorite Clean Slate Ranch series.Levi Peletier is settled—for now. With his life on the rodeo circuit reined in, he's content doing trick riding demos for tourists at Clean Slate Ranch and spending his off-hours with three finicky felines. It's a life he's grateful for, one that keeps his heart safe.George Thompson couldn't be less like the ruggedly sexy Levi. A onetime figure skating star, he's hung up his skates to live in introverted anonymity in San Francisco. An effort to shake up his regular routine finds him at Thanksgiving dinner, dude ranch style, and he immediately falls in love with the gorgeous view—the wide-open spaces and big blue sky aren't bad, either.The country cowboy and the stay-put city boy strike up an unlikely friendship that blossoms into something more. But getting attached is a bad idea. Because the open road is calling to... Views: 187
When an accident leaves the Clean Slate Ranch shorthanded, Shawn is enlisted to help cook and finds himself bunked next to the sexiest cowboy he’s ever laid eyes on.
The first time Robin Butler spots the new chef, he thinks he’s seeing an actual ghost. Shawn is the spitting image of his late husband, and it spooks the hell out of him. The former rodeo-star-turned-ranch-hand does his best to avoid the soft-spoken cook—except it’s kind of tough when the man makes the best damn grub this side of the Mississippi and has a boy-next-door charm that’s impossible to resist.
Even though the tension between them practically sizzles, Shawn doesn’t do hookups and Robin isn’t ready for a new relationship. Besides, Robin can tell Shawn’s been hurt and deserves a partner who isn’t saddled with a tragic past. But chemistry doesn’t lie. Maybe finding each other—and a second chance at love—is the lucky break they both need.
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
This book is approximately 99,000 words Views: 186
