Lena Hendrix

I never thought I'd find her. After eight years in the Marines, I'm still looking for the mysterious woman I've obsessed over since her first letter. When she shows up in my small town, I'm thrilled. But when she turns out to be my brother's best friend--and the girl he's always loved--I'm caught between the two people who matter to me the most. I'm a Marine, which means honor and duty run deep. Joanna is off-limits. That would be a whole lot easier if she hadn't already agreed to help run my brother's fishing guide business for the summer, forcing me to work side-by-side with the woman I've fantasized about for years. I try to keep her at a distance, push her away, man up. But she draws me in without even trying, and I can't get enough of how she makes me feel. I'm stealing moments with her, and I know it's wrong. She may not be my brother's girlfriend, but I know a landmine when I see one. How can a good man choose his heart over his honor?

A Small-town Brother's Best Friend Romance

Finding You

One Look

Protecting You

I never should have slept with Colin McCoy. When I moved to my sister's small town, I was looking for a fresh start-no more shallow relationships, no snotty fake friends, and definitely no charming, dirty-talking musicians. We had a fun, red-hot night together and we agreed that hooking up was a mistake, a one-time thing. But when my dream bakery location happens to be right next door to his bar, every day I'm forced to see that chiseled jawline and remember the feel of his incredible body on mine. No. I'm starting over. I have rules. No more bad habits, definitely no falling in love. No matter how hard he tries, hooking up with him again would prove I'm the flake everyone expects me to be. But here I am, stuck between wanting to make something of my life and wanting to grab him and make another delicious mistake. Keeping You is book two in the Chikalu Falls series. Each is a steamy, interconnected stand alone. You'll find characters in the town overlap, but each book is a complete story on its own!

A Steamy Small Town Romance

Keeping You

One Touch

The moment I kissed my wife, I knew I was in trouble.A stoic, dangerous man with ties to the Mafia has no business keeping a gorgeous ray of sunshine like her, but she was scared and I was desperate.On the run, we land at a secluded ranch designed to protect federal witnesses. As long as everyone believes we're married, she won't have to testify against me for killing the man who put his hands on her.But the longer we pretend, the lines between fact and fiction begin to blur. My eyes linger a second too long. My hands soften on her skin. My kiss, a little too demanding.Before I can help it, our pretending extends behind closed doors and our relationship begins to feel very, very real.My plan is to hide out until I know she's safe. Set her up for life and disappear, but I'm drawn to the way she breathes life into me without even trying. A better man would walk away.But I never claimed to be a better man.

The Alias

The Badge and the Bad Boy

The Rebel

Fake dating my best friend? Total disaster. With his cocky grin and devilish charm, firefighter Lee Sullivan makes every woman in our small town swoon. Every woman except for me. Which is why I'm shocked when he steps in at the town's Matchmaker's Gala and outbids my crush during the charity auction, committing us to six prearranged dates. Six dates where we, very publicly, pretend to be falling in love. Despite my objections and our efforts to set each other up with other people, Lee is convinced pretending to date each other is the perfect opportunity to get the women in town off his back (and out of his bed), while also helping to nudge my non-committal crush in the jealousy department. Stupidly, I agree. After the disastrous blind dates he set me up on, what's a few months of letting Lee worship the ground I walk on? He owes me. Trouble is--every fake kiss, every lingering touch, every filthy word he whispers when no one is around--is starting to feel very, very real. We know everything about each other--from my orphaned past to his irrational hatred of dolls. The only secret I have ever kept from Lee spans all the way back to his time in the Army and it's the one thing that could ruin our friendship forever. Because where Lee is concerned, I have learned to guard my heart. Suddenly, he's asking for the opportunity to feel something real. He's asking for the one thing he wouldn't want if he ever knew the truth: one chance.

One Chance

The Target

Examples of things I shouldn't be doing: 1. Staring at how nicely Evan Walker fills out his Wranglers. 2. Sneaking around after dark, hoping we don't get caught. 3. Fantasizing about a life with a man who isn't supposed to exist. He's a criminal, a dangerous man with connections to the Chicago mafia. And I'm a cop. Now we're stuck hiding out in this quirky small town, and my eyes have a way of wandering. So do his hands. But the rules are clear--no connections to your former life. Ever. We can't afford to give into temptation. I'm only here on this Montana ranch until I can safely return to my job-and the promotion I've worked so hard for. And he's only here to keep his little sister safe. But as we're forced to work together, I find that Evan is much more than I ever expected. He's strong, hard-working. Did I mention the Wranglers? We're drawn to each other in ways that are completely hopeless. I know I shouldn't give in to his hot, smoldering looks or the way his lingering touch lights me up. It's reckless. Addictive. I can hide it, but the truth always has a way of coming out. In Tipp, Montana, secrets can save your life. The only cost is your heart.

The Badge & the Bad Boy

The moment I kissed my wife, I knew I was in trouble. A stoic, dangerous man with ties to the Mafia has no business keeping a gorgeous ray of sunshine like her, but she was scared and I was desperate. On the run, we land at a secluded ranch designed to protect federal witnesses. As long as everyone believes we're married, she won't have to testify against me for killing the man who put his hands on her. But the longer we pretend, the lines between fact and fiction begin to blur. My eyes linger a second too long. My hands soften on her skin. My kiss, a little too demanding. Before I can help it, our pretending extends behind closed doors and our relationship begins to feel very, very real. My plan is to hide out until I know she's safe. Set her up for life and disappear, but I'm drawn to the way she breathes life into me without even trying. A better man would walk away. But I never claimed to be a better man.

A Grumpy/sunshine, Fake Marriage Romance

The Alias and the Altar

Choosing You

One wrong turn down a dark alley and my career as one of Chicago's most decorated female officers is at risk.Working on a remote Montana ranch designed to protect federal witnesses is easy. Not falling for the criminal who saved my life proves to be nearly impossible.Evan Walker is determined to start over--be a better man. When we're forced to work together, I find that he is so much more than I ever expected.He's strong. Kind-hearted. Irresistible.We're drawn to each other in ways that are completely reckless. I shouldn't let my touch linger or focus on how real it feels with him. It's dangerous.Addictive.I can hide it, but the truth always has a way of coming out. In Tipp, Montana, secrets can save your life--the only cost is your heart.

The Badge

When reporter Casselyn Hill stepped into my small town bakery with her nose held high and a lost look in her eyes, the world fell away. I even knocked over sweet Mrs. Halpert to get to her.

As one of the few residents who hasn’t picked a side in the town’s decades-old feud, I’ve been tasked with accompanying Cass to our annual Fireside Flannel Festival so she can get her story. As the day wears on, the tension grows thick, and it’s more than the war brewing between the town’s two rival families.

She’s distracting. Charming. And here only for the story that will prove she deserves a full-time position at her dream job. As day turns to night, I can’t stop thinking about what’s underneath all those layers. I should have been concentrating on showing her around my coastal town, not thinking about the way her lips formed around my perfectly sweet Italian meringue.

Cass doesn’t have time for distractions like me, but the more time we spend together, the more I know I won’t be satisfied with just one taste.

One Taste

Duke Sullivan is the oldest brother of my family's hated rival. He also happens to be my good morning text and the man I have no right to have a secret crush on. Duke is strictly forbidden. After months of keeping our friendship hidden, the stars align, sparks ignite, and we finally give into temptation. Knowing our relationship could never be more than stolen glances and longing looks, we agree to stay secret friends--until two pink lines change everything. With our small town and both our families in an uproar, Duke does the unthinkable. He packs up my belongings and moves me into his house. Despite agreeing to weather the storm together and to try to figure out how to co-parent, living with Duke proves nearly impossible. Every soft smirk, every brush of his calloused hand against my sensitive skin makes me want to burst into flames. It becomes clear, despite the feud, Duke is relentlessly going after what he wants and I think that might be . . . me. I'm the quiet daughter with the wrong last name, but it's obvious he wants so much more than just one night.

A Sullivan Family Special Edution

One Night

I'm a full time single dad. A former NFL player turned coach, tasked with turning around a college team full of kids who either don't take it seriously or are determined to get injured. I will absolutely not be falling for my new neighbor. Lark Butler is pure chaos wrapped in gorgeous, infuriating sunshine. She showed up out of nowhere--getting paid to cry at a funeral, no less. Who does that? But somewhere between offering her condolences and crawling out of a literal grave site, we've found ourselves tangled in the drama of Outtatowner, Michigan-my coastal hometown with a decades-old feud and two aunties determined to end it. I'm finally putting down roots so my daughter has a normal life and I need to forget about Lark. Forget the way it felt the night we kissed or what it's like to finally take something just for me. But when those sparks ignited, it was more intense than either of us bargained for. Trouble is, I can't trust her, and she never stays. She's burning my carefully laid plans to the ground and all it took was one look.

I never thought I'd find her. After eight years in the Marines, I'm still looking for the mysterious woman I've obsessed over since her first letter. When she shows up in my small town, I'm thrilled. But when she turns out to be my brother's best friend--and the girl he's always loved--I'm caught between the two people who matter to me the most. I'm a Marine, which means honor and duty run deep. Joanna is off-limits. That would be a whole lot easier if she hadn't already agreed to help run my brother's fishing guide business for the summer, forcing me to work side-by-side with the woman I've fantasized about for years. I try to keep her at a distance, push her away, man up. But she draws me in without even trying, and I can't get enough of how she makes me feel. I'm stealing moments with her, and I know it's wrong. She may not be my brother's girlfriend, but I know a landmine when I see one.

One moment of hesitation and I lost Maggie forever.Since then, we've spent the last fifteen years in this small town, circling each other and pretending neither remembers how right it felt when we were best friends.Now she's a single mom and she doesn't need a "broody, grumpy cop" like me complicating her life. No matter how many times her heated gaze scorches my skin, I can never have her in the way I want.Completely.So I push her away-but it's for her own good.Because if she knew the truth of what I did, she wouldn't just have hurt feelings--she would truly hate me.She has a guarded heart, and it's all my fault.But I don't have a heart at all. I gave it to Maggie O'Brien a long time ago.

Mandi Beck

Lisa Suzanne

Have you ever wanted to go right to the steamy bedroom scene when reading a romance? Then this anthology is for you. Wild and Windy Chicago Book Event proudly presents SEXY BEDTIME STORIES. 28 stories written by 28 selected authors attending this signing with all profit being donated to the Chicago Food Bank. Each of the 28 authors featured were inspired by the title and challenged to write five sexy chapters. Each contribution is different. The only theme they share is the challenge to be sexy. All the authors contributing to this anthology are attending the fifth annual Wild and Windy Chicago Book Event May 12-13, 2023. Each author has generously donated their story and 100% of the profit from this anthology will be going to the Chicago Food Bank. This is volume 2, the paperback version of this anthology. It contains the remaining 14 stories that are in in the eBook version of the anthology. The following authors are in volume 2: Lena Hendrix, Lisa Suzanne, Mandi Beck, Michelle Hercules, Michelle Mankin, Penelope Black, Rachel Leigh, Rebecca Sharp, Sapphire Knight, T.K. Leigh, T. Torrest, Teagan Hunter, Willow Aster, Yolanda Olso

Lena Hendrix

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