I was not a gambler. No way. I've built an existence free of risk and adventure. From my career to a small life with my closest family. I was not going to do anything to jeopardize my heart. But when my neighbor and number one menace to my safe plans showed up in Vegas, I did what every adventurous (not!) woman would do. I got drunk and married the man.

I was supposed to be in charge. That was always my intention. Until that slick corporate raider, Ethan Bradford, clicked his fancy pen and poof! Just like that, I was under him, instead of on top. Rich and powerful men - especially arrogant, handsome ones - are all the same. I know exactly how to handle him, but when my father pulls rank and orders me to play nice, my plans of putting him in his place vanish. I know his type. I've been around men like him my entire life, but one chance meeting with him and his son, makes me question everything I thought I knew.

There are many rules to follow as your mom’s guest at the company holiday party.

I wasn't ready for Jacob Clark. He was sin and dark edges, wrapped in regret. He was my Kryptonite. His words oozed over me like warm honey. His dark eyes pricked my soul, and his touch.... Those fingers set my skin on fire. Of course, he was too good to be true. And before I could wipe the icing off my greedy lips, I was walking away. So, why was he invading my dreams?

The men of Rescue Four are known for two things: for being the best the Williamsport Fire Department has to offer and for their rugged sex appeal. Rescue Four's reputation is carried like a badge of honor among all the men, including Eric "Harvard" Kim. Eric is the unofficial leader of the Rescue Four squad, and with his quiet yet appealing demeanor, he definitely lives up to his squad's playboy ways with the women. That is, until a certain bar owner catches his eye. Eric is hit with a desire so intense and overwhelming he can do little about it except submit.

At twenty-one, Ason ‘Ace’ Williams Jr. knows all about inevitable endings. He’s formerly famous, a popular rapper’s muse, the son of a three-time NBA champ, and a little… complicated. After a disturbing scandal and loss rocks his world, he’s left to deal with both in a city that doesn’t quite feel like home. It’s a place filled with old family friends he’s never met, reminders of all the endings he’s had to endure, and even worse—he’s stuck there after his dad takes a job no one ever imagined him taking.

All Zarinah wanted was to fall in love. Growing up, she had kissed her fair share of frogs. When an unconventional situation leads her to Lawson, her wishes might become reality. Lawson is the new CEO of his family's hotel casino chain. He's tired of aimless dating and women just wanting his money. When he meets Zarinah, he instantly feels like she's the one.

Two books together in one bundle: Real Good Man and Real Good Love. Banner Regent is smart, funny, and she’s so far out of my league, she might as well be royalty. I’m a mechanic from Kentucky. She’s a New York City party girl. We were never supposed to meet, but one text started something neither of us saw coming.

Carter Beckett is the NHL’s resident bad boy, top player both on the ice and in the bedroom, and quite possibly the sexiest man to ever grace my field of vision. But worst of all? He knows it. He’s arrogant, self-centered, and the man doesn’t seem to know what a filter is, let alone how to use one. He’s had everything served to him on a silver platter, including endless strings of women, and apparently, I’m up next. I have the solution to all my sexual frustrations in a drawer at home, and it’s far less complicated than Carter Beckett.

He would do anything to protect her. For Hunter, guarding celebrities and moguls has always been easy, but watching over Zola could be the one job that ruins him. She's a different type of danger - the sort that could break his heart. Although they grew up together, in their adult years, they lost contact. Now, Zola is an up-and-coming runway model, and has a psychotic stalker who's been ransacking her apartment and sending threatening letters.

Dima rules the North of Paradise—a city for the darkest alphas. The only gangster heaven on Earth. Due to his unique talent for capturing brutal enemies, he also heads the Diamond Syndicate with other Paradise Mafia Kings. However, a serial killer has come to Paradise. And this sicko is targeting top Syndicate members. And Dima is having a challenging time finding the killer due to a sexy reporter constantly getting in his damn way.

For Maleek Jones, hockey is his wife. Everything and everyone else is his mistress, an aside. When unexpected responsibilities land in his lap, the balance of his world is disrupted, changing the way he sees everything.

When you know, you know. Or so say the men in my family. While I was never one to run from love, marriage, or commitment, I knew it’d take a strong woman to handle everything that came with being with me. Not only was my family well connected and wealthy, but as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, I had made a success of my life on my own. In my world, women came a dime a dozen...or so I thought.

Yonas “Nas” Kadir is a man of few words. He has learned the art of never showing his hand, which is a valued asset for a man who balances his life between dark and light. There’s not much he desires that isn’t as good as promised to him, which is why Dae Richardson can fight the attraction but will ultimately fall for his good looks and undeniable charm, or so he hopes.

My next door neighbor Parker Jax is not my type. He's covered in tats, rides a motorcycle, and his parties keep me up all night. The fact he's sexy as sin doesn't change the fact we are oil and water.

I was not a gambler. No way. I've built an existence free of risk and adventure. From my career to a small life with my closest family. I was not going to do anything to jeopardize my heart. But when my neighbor and number one menace to my safe plans showed up in Vegas, I did what every adventurous (not!) woman would do. I got drunk and married the man.

No matter how hard she tries, Elleanor Fisher never thinks she's good enough, from her job to her weight to her love life. After enduring years of abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, Elli has been drifting through life in a daze. Until, that is, she meets Shea Adler on a promotional shoot for the NHL's Nashville Assassins. Before Elli knows what's happening, the gorgeous Shea breaks the ice and shatters her world. A brilliant athlete inside the rink, Shea Adler is tired of the life he's living outside of it: the women, the money, the drinking. But everything changes when he meets Elli.

The start of Lee Burrows and I was a college girl’s biggest fantasy. Campus’ most popular guy, the starting quarterback, the same guy I’ve crushed on forever, notices me—the quiet introvert. Although, he never would’ve noticed me if he didn’t need my help passing our biology class. I didn’t think I had a chance with him until he started flirting with me and asking me questions like, “Who was the guy you were talking to?” and “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Quincy has baggage, and lots of it. After a tragic accident spins her world on its axis, she finds herself as a single mother, raising a newborn nephew she never knew she had. Between parenthood, her full-time job, and dealing with the suffocating grief of losing her sister, every day is a struggle. When they begin to cross paths unexpectedly and often, an unlikely friendship starts to evolve. Feelings change. Lines get crossed. What happens next surprises them both....

Aja James hasn't had it easy. She has kept a close watch over her siblings ever since tragedy robbed them of their parents. Tired of carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, Aja is ready for a change. Her best friend, Roxie, knows just what to do - she sets Aja up on a date with one of the most sought-after bachelors in town, handsome sportscaster Charles Clayton. Charles is everything Aja has ever dreamed of - sensitive, sexy, and charming. But "happily ever after" isn't that simple.

My name is Jason Hart. As the best defensive lineman in the country, I eat, sleep, and breathe football. That is, until I have a random meeting with a little boy that just lost his father. We have more in common than you might think and it creates an unlikely bond. As our friendship grows, so do my feelings for his mother. I know Addison, as a recent widow, isn't ready to date again. But I want to get to know her better in spite of all her rejections. Is it possible that I, a self-proclaimed bachelor, could be having a Change of Hart?

Blake Brennan's past is cloudy at best, but when she decides to uncover what happened when she was a child, she finds herself getting pulled deeper into a web of lies. When her loved ones are threatened, she must decide if finding the truth about her family is worth losing the ones who have always been there for her.

It would take a miracle for Storm Decker to return to Red Hook - or a tragedy. The neighborhood holds too many painful memories of his troubled childhood, along with the mistake that sent him running from the kindness of the ex-cop he'd come to consider his father. But when Pete suddenly falls ill, Storm is called home to face the past he tried to leave behind long ago. Breanna Collins never expected to see Storm again after he left town without a word, breaking her heart.

I saw her first. Blonde. Gorgeous. Feisty. I was smitten. But it didn’t matter because she chose him, and he was my best friend and roommate. I’d never be able to compete with that, so I pushed her away instead. It was easy when she lived hours away, and I didn’t have to see her every day, but then she moved in with us. Now, I’m screwed. From her singing in the shower every morning, dancing in the kitchen while she makes coffee, and doing yoga in our living room, I can’t stop thinking about her in all the wrong ways.

I’ve recently become the pawn of a meddling mom. Yes...a meddling mom - who's been trying to set me up all summer. Now, I understand it’s not a crime for a mother to want her child to fall in love, but when she makes it her relentless mission, the heinous act should be classified as a misdemeanor at least. Of course, my mom, the evil matriarch in the devil’s leggings, made her final stab at finding a girl for me days before I went back to college.

I've met the best woman at the worst possible time. Miranda is the fire to my ice - a sexy, charmingly candid spark who breaks down my walls and reminds me what it's like to feel again. But I'm being forced to date my team owner's daughter to keep my job, so I can't be caught with Miranda. Still, we're getting closer - until Miranda finds out about my "girlfriend". And that's not the only secret I've been keeping. But Miranda's the one I want...even if she doesn't believe me.

When it comes to life's fun and games, always know: The rules. What's at stake. When to quit. Wise words from...well...my fortune cookie. But wise words, nonetheless.

Momma's Baby Daddy's Maybe is an Essence best seller by popular author Jamise L. Dames. This steamy tale revolves around the lives of the three Jacobs siblings: wild Kennedy, corporate Simone, and handsome Derrick.

Marcus Major, author of the Blackboard best-seller Good Peoples, crafts this fun, stylish and delightfully perceptive tale of four best friends, an oath - and one very special young woman. Colin, Dexter, Ibn, and Michael have been inseparable since college. Besides sharing similar interests, they have someone very important in common - Erika. Erika is the little sister of a friend who died, and they’ve promised to watch out for her.

Max Dutton, a starting NFL linebacker for the Los Angeles Condors, is certain he's going to die young, since his father and grandfather both passed away at an early age. Believing his life will be cut short, Max lives every moment to its fullest. For this reason, Max also shies away from forming close relationships. What would be the point of falling in love and starting a family, only to leave them as his father left him and his sisters? Nutrition expert Kari Murphy used to think Max Dutton was to die for. She's older and wiser now.

My rules in life are simple: Never have a woman in your bed for more than one night. Never mix business with pleasure. Never fall in love. Blood above all else. When life throws a new personal assistant at me, everything changes. I shouldn't want her, but I can't help it. She is breaking my focus, and all my "nevers" are turning into "maybes."

There are a million reasons why I shouldn’t date Fletcher Huxley. He’s a growly-faced, stubborn-streaked, international rugby legend trying to revive his flailing career in the US after being canned by his team overseas. While he might have the good kind of thunder thighs, intriguing tattoos, and a booty of steel, he also holds the top position on my very short nemesis list thanks to what happened the first time we met.

Weston King knows how to play. But wild nights and owning an extensive collection of women's panties don't carry the thrill they once did, so when his business partner, Donovan, suggests an outrageous plan to allow them to take over their competition, Wes takes him up on the offer. The crazy idea? Marry the competitor.

The memory of Josiah DeMille has haunted me for close to a decade. The way he looked. The way he smelled. The way his lips felt pressed against mine, even when they shouldn't have been. The one person I've never been able to get over. The one singular part of my past I've never been able to move on from. In every lyric sung into the microphone, in every chord strummed on the guitar, in the bottom of every single whiskey bottle, he's there. His memory has me in a chokehold. His absence a gaping hole in my chest. I gave up years ago, wondering if I'd ever stop thinking about him.

Rookie quarterback Riley Flynn knows what it takes to make it in the NFL. He's in Charleston to prove himself—to the world and his teammates, but mostly to his older brother, who's never believed he could be a star. The last thing he expects is for his brother's best friend, Landry, to welcome him with open arms and an offer to become roommates. Riley's always believed Landry was straight—but the way Landry keeps checking him out leaves him suddenly unsure. And Landry's hot looks certainly don't help squash the crush he's always had on his brother's best friend.

Julia Hughes has always played it safe until she learned a very painful lesson. Now Julia's starting over with a job in the Louisiana bayou, working for the infamous de Vincent family, the massively wealthy brothers who are haunted by a dark reputation and whispers of misdeeds. Hired to care for their troubled sister, Julia can't afford any distractions, but the menacing presence in the mansion and the ever-present temptation of the handsome Lucian de Vincent isn't something anyone can ignore.

My contract is up with the Carolina Comets this year, and I need to get it together if I want to stay with the team. I need relaxation, not a relationship. But when I’m scrolling on a dating app and stumble across the pretty girl who almost ran me over, I know I can’t let her walk away this time. Harper is funny, smart, and doesn’t care about hockey. I’m not supposed to be focusing on anything other than my career, yet I can’t get Harper off my mind. I know I shouldn’t fall for her…but I think I already have.

My mom instilled all the right values in me. I'm hard-working, loyal, and kind. I'm inexperienced at twenty-three years old… Until I walk into three separate lecture halls, and three different professors catch my eye. Derek teaches modern literature and is under investigation by the board… But all I can think about is his chiseled, clean-shaven jaw and how his inner calmness must make him very passionate behind closed doors. Samuel is the bad boy in my trio, a professor of ethics and morals… He's also the one who noticed me right away, kickstarting his gentle obsession with my well-being.

Maximoff Hale is a force of nature. A ship unwilling to be steered. Headstrong, resilient, and wholly responsible - the 22-year-old alpha billionaire can handle his unconventional life. Born into one of the most famous families in the country, his celebrity status began at birth. He is certified American royalty. When he's assigned a new 24/7 bodyguard, he comes face-to-face with the worst case scenario: being attached to the tattooed, MMA-trained, Yale graduate who's known for "going rogue" in the security team - and who fills 1/3 of Maximoff's sexual fantasies.

Two years after his wife’s death, rock star Garrett Hayes hasn’t moved on. But he has moved out of L.A. Where better to escape his past than a small town in the northern California mountains? If only he could get the townsfolk of Wildwood to leave him the hell alone. Ani Bennet returned to her hometown for some much-needed serenity. The last thing she needs is a grumpy, too hot for his own good, rich and famous rock star living next door—and rent-free in her brain. She set her fangirl tendencies aside when they became neighbors. But when Garrett asks for help, she can’t say no.