Showing results by author "Lili Valente" in All Categories

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.

It was only supposed to be one time. But that red-hot one-night stand from the party? The sexy man in the suit who gave me more Os in a few hours than I've had in a year? Turns out my charming British stranger is keeping a little secret. He's as much of a whiz in the kitchen as he is in the bedroom, and soon, we'll be going head-to-head in NYC's biggest bake off. My one-time lover is now my enemy. I vow to loathe him for all eternity, though that would be easier if I wasn't dying to get naked with him again.

Advice from my future self: Don’t ask your best guy friend to give you nookie lessons. Oops. Too late. I already begged my rock star BFF to give me lessons in seduction. And sweet, strong, always-has-my-back Shep already let me down easy, proving I have zero game, even with people who profess to care about me. Now, I’ll never live down my embarrassment or figure out why I’m a failure with the opposite sex. Or so I assume…until Shep changes his mind, agreeing to three weeks of red-hot study buddy time before he goes on tour and we part ways as friends.

Three steam-up-your-holiday listens featuring a single mom Cinderella, two sworn enemies catching a streaking Santa (and the love bug), and a Scrooge-like cowgirl who gets a second chance with the one who got away.

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.

Show of hands, ladies - who has time for the one who got away? Not me. I’m a busy woman. It’s wedding season in Bliss River and my catering business is slammed. The last thing I need is a blast from the past, sweeping into my perfectly ordered life, talking sweet and acting even sweeter, making me think about kissing so often I start to wonder if there’s something wrong with me. Spoiler alert: There is.

Thou shalt not bang your best friend. That commandment would be a lot easier if Maddie wasn’t the sexiest siren ever to wade into a tide pool. Or if I was good at resisting temptation. I’m the troublemaker, the firefighter who enjoys getting a little too close to the flames. And the trouble is double, since Maddie’s sister is about to marry my brother.

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 MESS They say Jake “The Dragon” Falcone earned his nickname by setting fire to the ice his first season in the NHL. But just between us ladies, I’m pretty sure he earned it for the dragon in his pants. From my first hug as his fake girlfriend, it’s clear he’s packing. After a few fake dates I realize he’s packing…everywhere. Heart, brains, a killer sense of humor—Jake is everything I’ve ever wanted in a man. He’s also my client and OFF LIMITS. Oh, and he has a dangerously unhinged ex who's out for my blood.

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'm not supposed to want my ex-boyfriend's dad. But after one scorching night last summer with a sexy, older man who instinctively knew how much I wanted to be called his “good girl," I can't stop thinking about him. Of course, back then, I had no idea who Gideon was. Still, we both agreed that one night was our only night. Our lives were too complicated for anything more, no matter how much I craved it. Then our paths collide again at my ex’s fundraiser. That’s where I learn the truth about who Gideon really is.

I figured moonlighting as a Santa stripper was the most exciting thing on my docket this holiday season. But that was before Macy Clayton careened back into my life, before we were snowed in at a secluded ranger station with nothing but each other to keep warm. And yes, what the survivalists say is true - you really do stay warmer, and happier, when you're naked.

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.

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.

They say you don't know what you've got until it's gone, but I knew long before the day I said goodbye to Ivy Prescott that I was never going to find another woman like her. Now, we're both six years older, and my sweet, innocent Ivy has become a sexy, irresistible woman. She wasn't ready for me then, but she's ready for me now. Ready to learn all the wicked, wonderful things I have to teach her.

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.

Bree Marks is my best friend and my secret crush. And cursed with a deadly allergy to erecto-plasm. As in, she’ll seriously swell up and die if seminal fluid even touches her. Which means finding the perfect guy to punch her V card is literally a matter of life and death. She wants a no-strings summer fling, but she needs someone she can trust. A puck buddy who isn’t going to get overly emotional. That’s where I come in. It’s a simple request, really - and one I would be happy to honor. If it weren’t for the whole life-and-death thing.

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.

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....