Guerran is no place for pretty human women, but tough-as-nails Kenzie will walk through hell to find her abducted sister.
When her search puts her in Mad’s path she isn’t sure whether she should kiss him or stab him. He’s as handsome as the devil, and practically a giant with a huge… axe. The aliens on Guerran are criminals and she can’t trust him. But she needs a guide and Mad is her only hope. She certainly can’t fall for him. No matter how much he makes her yearn.
Guerran is the dumping ground for Kru’dari criminals and Mad has been ekeing out a life there for six years. But when Kenzie appears, suddenly he’s thinking about the future and one word keeps ringing in his head.
Mate.
He will protect her from the worst Guerran has to offer as she throws herself into its darkest corners in her desperate search for her sister. And he’ll fight an Exile King to keep her safe, but can he convince the human woman to take a chance on him once the battle is through?
But she already did. She’d followed him back to his apartment. She’d eaten the food he’d given her, and she was waiting while he wiped off the blood he’d spilled protecting her.
Meal finished, Kenzie grabbed her clothes off the bed and quickly changed into them. She was thankful to have her shoes back and wasn’t at all disappointed that she was no longer wearing a tunic that smelled like Mad.
Who was she trying to kid?
Mad came out of the shower wearing nothing, and Kenzie had to bite her tongue to keep from making a noise. Did they not have towels on Guerran?
She couldn’t help staring at his tight ass while he picked clothes out of his wardrobe and pulled them on. She forced herself to look away before he turned around and caught her. But from the way he grinned, he knew what he did to her.
“Satisfied?” he asked.
“What?” Her cheeks heated and she hoped she wasn’t blushing. Maybe he wouldn’t notice.
His grin widened. “Your food. Would you like more?”
Kate Rudolph is an ex-derby girl who lives in Indiana. She loves writing about kick butt heroines and the steamy heroes who love them. She’s been devouring romance novels since she was too young to be reading them and had to hide her books so no one would take them away. She couldn’t imagine a better job in this world than writing romances and sharing them with her fellow readers.
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Heartless. Soulless. Relentless. Lucian Morelli is the heir to a powerful and corrupt business empire.
There’s only one problem: his reputation.
His father convinces the board of Morelli Holdings that he needs a wife.
Elaine Constantine is the party girl. The wild child. The eldest daughter in the Constantine family.
And the sworn enemy of the Morellis.
Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Bishop’s Landing, where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
THE MONSTER AND THE DOLL is a collection of three full-length novels by bestselling author Jade West, including Heartless, Soulless, and Relentless.
CONTENT WARNING: This book is intended for readers ages eighteen years old and over. It contains material that some readers might find disturbing. Enter at your own risk…
Constantines swarmed the place, billowing through the masses with their beautiful, blonde bullshit. Vivian, Keaton, and Tinsley herself were prancing around as though they were on a film set, but not nearly so much as Caroline. The matriarch was dressed up like an ice queen in a diamanté mask, smiling at everyone she passed.
It wasn’t Caroline who caught my attention.
No. It was the much younger woman in gold. She was beautiful, but there were plenty of beautiful women. There was something else about her. She was twice as alive as anyone else. Vibrant. Animated. Full of feeling, which is something I severely lacked.
She owned the room without even trying.
Elaine Constantine.
She wore a Venetian mask that covered so much of her face I could barely make out her features, but that didn’t matter. I didn’t need to see her face.
The visible parts of her were enough to drive me wild. Hair like silk and gold. I wanted my fingers in it—why? No explanation came to mind. I wanted to run my thumb over the soft pout of her lips while she watched me with eyes so big and blue they reminded me of a song.
Me.
A song. It was ludicrous, but that didn’t make it any less true.
I watched her from guest to guest, swigging back the fizz and laughing at each one like they were the most hilarious person she’d ever met. Her laugh was sexy and flirty, with enough husky lower notes to make me hard beneath my tux.
I wasn’t in the business of deep emotions. Didn’t allow them. Abhorred them. But the woman made me feel something. A pressure in my chest. A sharp curiosity. I wanted more than the usual pain and tears. I wanted more.
I couldn’t stop looking at her.
The gold silk of her ballgown was a perfect fit on a perfect body.
Sloping curves in a delicious hourglass—a gorgeous pedestal of glamor to highlight the elegance of her slender neck. Oh, how I’d love to feel her pulse there as I fucked her how she liked it. As I showed her how she liked it.
Rough.
Because, of course, in my head, Elaine Constantine was not well-mannered or well-bred. If she was to be my wife, she would learn to love kink. I’d make sure of that.
Her blonde curls were held up in twists that glittered with diamonds. Her fingers were perfectly manicured and glittering to match, sparkling under the chandelier lights every time she reached out a hand for some nobody to kiss it.
Lust had my cock throbbing.
Lust—and something else. I wanted to take her body.
Jade has increasingly little to say about herself as time goes on, other than the fact she is an author, but she’s plenty happy with this. Living in imaginary realities and having a legitimate excuse for it is really all she’s ever wanted. Jade is as dirty as you’d expect from her novels, and talking smut makes her smile. She lives in the Herefordshire countryside with a couple of hounds and a guy who’s able to cope with her inherent weirdness. She has a red living room, decorated with far more zebra print than most people could bear, and fights a constant battle with her addiction to Coca-Cola.
My first friend, first love, and first heartbreak. Now he’s just my ex-husband.
It’s been three years. It’s time to let go of the past. When a man covered in tattoos walks into the bar where I work, with a guitar case slung over his back and a determined swagger, I think I’m finally ready to move on…until I see his guitar. I’d recognize it anywhere. It was the last gift Nate ever received from his father.
The man holding the guitar is different than the one I left behind in Nashville, but one thing remains the same, Nate Pearson will always be the love of my life.
The reasons why I asked for a divorce haven’t changed. Only problem is, Nate Pearson says he still loves me, and this time he’s playing for keeps.
Authors Note: Love & Tequila Make Her Crazy is a brother’s best friend, steamy, full-length, stand-alone, contemporary second-chance romance filled with emotion, that features both Nate and Amelia’s past and present.
Trigger warning: Death of a parent, 9/11, and sexual assault.
“Permission to come aboard?” she calls as I hear the familiar sound of her feet jumping onto the boat. When she peeks into the cabin, my heart literally skips a beat at the sight of her. Her blonde hair is pulled back into two braids like she had it at the Linden Place event, and she has a light gloss on her lips. With her signature ripped shorts and a white T-shirt, Amelia is wearing my favorite outfit, and she knows it. She gives me a quiet smile—it’s my favorite kind. The one that tells me that she’s just happy to be with me. Not because I said something funny or teased her about something—she has different smiles for those—but this one, this one is the Nate Pearson smile, and I fucking love it.
“What’s mine is yours, sweetheart. You never have to ask permission.”
She rolls her eyes, but her smile remains. “I brought Chinese,” she replies, ignoring my flirting.
“Dad’s favorite.”
Amelia nods. “But if you lay a finger on my Crab Rangoon, I’ll cut you.” She glares at me, and I laugh. I always pretend to find the entire idea of a pastry stuffed with cream cheese and imitation crab meat as disgusting and then I eat her last one. The truth is I do hate them, but I like riling Amelia up more, so I always swallow the taste just to get a rise out of her.
“As if I would touch them,” I say, playing along with our old game.
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head again. It’s her go-to response with me these days. “Oh, Amelia Pearson,” I sigh out, “have I ever told you, you’re my favorite person?”
Amelia’s hand stops midair as she puts the food down, and she stares at me entranced. As if she’s really hearing me for once. She closes her eyes and just sits in the moment. I take the opportunity to step closer and remove the bag from her hand, placing it on the table.
“You make even the worst days, my best ones. I would live this day a hundred times over if I could end it right here with you.”
Amelia’s head tilts toward me, as if my words are an actual caress against her cheek. I lift my hand to her face and rub my thumb against her velvety soft skin. “I love you more than you know, and like you even more than that.”
She whimpers in protest and opens her eyes, piercing me with her brokenness. “Nate, please, I want to be here for you tonight, but I can’t do this…” She pauses and motions between us. “Let me be your friend.”
The raw pain in her gaze, the hurt I see in her expression, slices me. I pull her against my chest and whisper into her hair, “I can be your friend.” As I go to pull away, she pulls me back and hugs me tightly.
“You’ve always been my favorite person,” she whispers against my chest.
Tears that have threatened to spill all day break free, and a sob escapes as I realize that I’m finally home.
Brittanee is an author and practicing lawyer who lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two children. Her town is a character in itself in all of her books. When she is not writing she enjoys spending time outdoors by the water with her children, reading at the beach or by the pool (or really anywhere), dancing with her friends, singing Karaoke, spinning, bike riding and boating. Some of her favorite authors are Sophia Kinsella, Elin Hilderbrand, Liane Moriarty, Mary Higgins Clark, Meghan Quinn, Daphne Elliott, Amy Alves, Claire Kingsley, Melanie Harlow, Christina Lauren, Sally Thorne and Sarah Adams. Clearly, she has a problem and can’t pick favorites.
