As soon as Jace left, Emily couldn’t get the idea out of her mind to visit the site of the two men’s drowning. She often went out in the field for things related to work. But this time it was personal. She considered asking for a day or two off work, but they were swamped. And seriously so. Now was not a good time. It was never a good time for a death in the family, though they were no longer family. She’d had no contact with them since she broke off the relationships with each of the three men. Although she hurt for the family, those weren’t close deaths as far as the company was concerned. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t well within the scope of her job to take a look at the accident site. She burrowed deeper into the files. The more work she got done the better. She could leave early if she got something more accomplished. By the time she lifted her head, it was late already. She groaned and looked outside. Being summertime, the sun was still above the trees. It’d probably take close to an hour to get to the river location….

Excerpt Candy was starting to figure out Jared was a whole lot of masculine bluster. Beneath the cool stare and the cutting words he sometimes tossed off, he had feelings. Twenty minutes later when she walked into his condo, she realized those feelings included being really doggone romantic. He had recreated her idea of a perfect evening, right down to his own addition of a fire popping warmly in the fireplace. Oh, Lord. If she hadn’t been on the edge before—taking in the table set for two, the chilling wine, and the scented candles burning did her in for sure. It felt almost like she was falling for Jared. Which was insane, since she was supposed to be using him just for the purpose of having some romping good sex. But the stupid man had gone and actually listened to what she had said when she’d been talking. She wasn’t sure any man besides her stepfather had ever actually heard a single word she’d said outside of work related topics. Her ex-husband sure in the heck never had. “Oh, Jared, you didn’t have to go to so much trouble.” But she was sure glad he had. “It wasn’t any trouble.”…

“Now that you know everything there is to know about me,” she said, licking cheesecake off her fork with a little show of tongue simply because she liked Max watching her do it, “let’s talk about you.” His smile wilted a little, much to her disappointment. “My life isn’t nearly as interesting as yours. Definitely nothing worth talking about.” “That’s silly,” she scolded. “I bet you have a lot of fascinating stuff to talk about. I mean, for starters, did you grow up in a cop family here in Dallas?” Max didn’t say anything, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure he’d heard her. Instead, he focused on his slice of cheesecake, like he was more interested in that than her. Finally, he looked up and gave another smile—only this time, it lacked humor. “No, I didn’t grow up in Texas. I was born in Las Vegas and lived there until I was eighteen,” he said quietly. “My family was…well, let’s just say it was about as far as you can get from a cop family. To put things in proper perspective, if one or two events in my life had gone slightly different, you’d be sitting at the table…

Verity Sinclair looked around the opulent drawing room, drinking in every detail of the decor and the fashionable crowd. She had to resist an urge to pinch herself to prove she was actually here, and not dreaming. It had taken her five endless years to convince her parents that she should have a London season. They hadn’t been able to see the point of it, no matter what advantages she brought forward. Papa and Mama were quietly happy living in a cathedral close and being held up as models of decorum for the whole bishopric. Verity, on the other hand, often thought she’d go mad within those staid confines. She sighed. She loved her parents dearly, but for most of her life she’d felt like a grasshopper reared by ants. Indeed, at age eight, she’d shocked her parents by asking if she was adopted. She hadn’t meant to hurt their feelings or to imply any lack of affection. Their differences had just seemed so marked. Mama and Papa relished routine; Verity yearned for adventure. They read scholarly tomes; she pored over Robinson Crusoe and accounts of the voyages of Captain Cook. They preferred solitude or the company of a few…

Exclusive Excerpt: She crossed her legs. “So how else do you intend to take care of me today?” she asked coquettishly. Derek’s hand stilled from squeezing a lemon to look at her. “First, I’ll feed you. Then I’ll ask what you want to do next, and so on.” “So it’s all up to me?” Derek walked to her and placed a kiss on her lips. “That’s how I plan to take care of you today, babe.” Bernadette sighed. She was trying to be sexy, but she was so touched that she had to battle to stop her eyes from misting. “Are you really my boyfriend? My real boyfriend.” “Your one and only,” Derek said with a wink before going back to his task of fixing them lunch. “What if I want to stay inside all weekend?” “No problem. We have enough food to last us for days. I made sure.” “So you were expecting me to want to stay in for the whole weekend.” “A man can hope,” Derek said with a grin. She got off the stool and walked to his side of the island. “You better let me help you, then, so we can start lunch earlier.” Derek…

Peace of mind was required to get a good night’s sleep. Feeling rough around the edges, Kai hopped into the shower just so she could wake up enough to start the day. A couple cups of coffee later and she was awake enough to figure out what she had on her calendar. She’d probably spend the morning in the office until meeting Ice for lunch. She glanced around her apartment and considered the emails she’d gotten. Maybe she should stop by the police station first. She didn’t want to be forgotten or her stalker file to get thrown in a corner. Maybe if they saw her face every once in a while, they’d realize how much of a person she was, not just a file or case number. That didn’t mean the cops weren’t doing their job, but she felt so helpless. When she’d had to deal with trouble before, she had a team beside her and orders to follow. And yet, here she was no longer part of the team, asking the police to step up and do the job her own unit would have done at her side. It felt odd and uncomfortable, and she admitted it made…

Excerpt “You okay?” Derek asked. She laughed to cover up her embarrassment. “See? This is exactly why I hate being in these inflatable things.” “At least I’m not jumping all around you like some mean boys did when you were twelve years old,” Derek teased. “I guess. And at least you’re not chanting ‘we saw your pink panties’,” she said dryly. Derek helped her up, not giving an indication if he’d had an eyeful of her… well… pink undies. Frankly, she wouldn’t have minded if he had. In fact, she’d love it if Derek saw her naked—as long as he was naked with her in a room with a bed. Ugh, how bad did she still have it? THE UNREAL BOYFRIEND by Miranda P. Charles Captured by Love How can Derek be with the woman he loves when he has to stay with the one he doesn’t? Derek McCarthy won’t rest until he proves that his cunning uncle was responsible for his father’s death. But due to their frosty relationship, the only way he could get into his uncle’s properties to search for the evidence that could expose his well-respected uncle’s crimes is to keep pretending that he and the…

“Do you miss your music?” I knew I was treading in dangerous territory, but I wanted to know. “I can’t play or sing,” he answered huskily. “I tried. The music isn’t inside me anymore. I told you that I’m empty.” “It’s not gone,” I answered carefully. “It’s just taking a break right now.” There was no way he could lose the talent he’d had. Xander had just lost the desire to play and sing. In a conversation with Julian, he’d told me that there was no physical reason Xander couldn’t perform anymore. He was just . . . blocked when it came to his music. Xander laughed, that humorless sound that I’d come to dislike. “God, you’re forever the optimist. I’ve tried. There’s nothing I can do to bring it back.” “I have a reason to be optimistic,” I replied. “I was a huge fan.” He turned his head to look at me, studying me for a moment before he asked, “Were you, or are you just humoring me?” “Why would I do that? I have no reason to lie to you about loving your music, and I don’t exactly make a habit out of humoring you. I was a…

Finn would have noticed her even if she hadn’t been wearing hot-pink lingerie. And nothing else. He really would have. She was totally his type—brunette and curvy and, apparently, a little crazy. As evidenced by the fact that she was trying to sneak into a burning building. He did seem to be attracted to crazy. No matter how hard he tried not to be. But maybe she wasn’t actually trying to get back into the building. All he knew for sure was that the building was definitely burning and she was definitely acting sneaky. As she pulled away from the crowd, she moved slowly, looking over her shoulder and from side to side, as if checking to see if anyone was watching. She obviously didn’t notice Finn. Because he was absolutely watching as she made her way across the street, now acting as if she were just casually strolling along. Toward a burning building. In nothing but a bra and panties. It made sense that he hadn’t seen her before now. For one, he’d been a little busy evacuating a hundred people, give or take, from the buildings on the block. For another, if she’d been huddled with the crowd,…

A near psychotic laugh bubbles up before I can stop it. Braden immediately begins to launch a series of irritated questions at us. “Why are you laughing? And why in the hell are ‘trending’ and my name being uttered in the same sentence? Someone tell me what the fuck is going on. Now.” I finish my giggle-fest with a satisfied sigh and slump into my seat, turning lazily to point my phone his way. “The picture I posted earlier. Part of your handsome frowning face is in the shot, and chicks are getting lady boners over you.” His face screws up. “That’s a sign of some sort. I’m going home. I have shit to do later, and Charley will pout if I hold up dinner—and I hate it when she pouts.” My grin starts to fade. Not that he owed me a relationship status disclosure, but who is this pouting “she” he’s talking about? What sort of woman does Braden go home to? She pouts? I can’t picture him putting up with much drama of any kind, let alone female drama. What does she look like? Is she pretty? Oh, hell, who am I kidding? Look at him. The dark…