Showing results by narrator "Lu Banks" in All Categories

Two things I'm gonna do at college: land an internship, and lose my virginity. I just didn't expect it to be with my brother's best friend. But the way he swings his hockey stick around as the captain of the team has me seeing stars. He may be a bad-tempered hockey player with everyone else, but he's always had a soft spot for me. He and my brother have been inseparable since they were kids, so we've basically grown up together. He's been to all my birthday parties, and I've never missed a single one of his games.

The only mistake I made was walking away instead of facing the man whose heart I broke. I ran away from the life I wasn't ready for, and in the process, lost everything I wanted. I tried to move on and failed epically. There's no moving on from Jake Findlay. Even if he thinks I have. Now that I'm home, I've got to fight my own battles and prove that I'm all grown up. Even if it means letting him in to break me all over again.

My cocky next-door neighbor is the most infuriating person in the world—so why did I just hook up with him? Although we pretty much grew up together, we've never managed to get along. I guess he's good-looking, with his baby-blue eyes, amazing hockey-player physique, and boyish smile . . . if you're into that. Which I'm totally not.

There's only one woman I truly care about: my daughter. Until Maisy Stratford flounces into the front office of the Tennessee Thunderbolts with a heartfelt smile and a tray of baked goods. As the Bolts' newest hire, Maisy is optimistic, enthusiastic, and a goddess at manifestation. Everything I'm not. Known as Brawler, I'm a gruff, quiet, rough-around-the-edges, NHL defenseman. I haven't dated in decades. I've never been married and my daughter's a twenty-one-year-old mischief maker. I don't know how to talk about feelings or place my trust in the hands of a woman.

Lillian came into my life swinging. Mistaking me for my abusive twin brother, she greets me with a swift kick to the balls and a busted lip. Then she really shakes up my world. She needs her job, but she needs a break just as much. And nothing silences my demons as efficiently as playing the hero. To protect her from my jerk twin—her boss—I take her on a business trip and quickly learn that she's different. Blunt. Honest. Intriguingly strange. I'm transfixed, so when she unknowingly sinks a multimillion-dollar deal, I don't speak up. Something my family won't forgive.

Rose Wu’s ordinary life as a concierge clerk was only meant to be a means to a financial end. Yet there is one resident in her high-rise luxury building who makes coming to work worth it. Cindy Ling, the enigmatic businesswoman who always has a lady on her arm, also has a wink to spare the mild-mannered clerk looking her way. When chance brings Rose up to Cindy’s penthouse suite, her life isn’t simply changed forever. It’s transformed.

A teenage girl with my eyes and a familiar glare, strolls into my life and she's calling me Dad. Vanessa was my high school girlfriend and the smartest person I knew. She had a plan, a future, and she swore nothing would get in the way. Until she became pregnant. I thought we agreed on our plan. I sent her the money. Then she disappeared. Her parents told me she was in South America for a year. They told me she needed space. I never heard from her again.

The Crest Stone Hotel is the perfect place for a man like Thomas Drexel to hide. Wanted for crimes he didn't commit, Thomas hopes he can blend in as a handyman at the newly opened hotel. But his past threatens his future when one of the hotel restaurant's waitresses discovers his identity. Caroline Beauchamp ran from Boston to escape an arranged marriage to a despicable man. She's safe in the hotel, hidden from those who want her to return home. Yet she finds herself drawn to Thomas and compelled to help him prove his innocence, even if she risks her position as a Gilbert Girl to do so.

Elizabeth Hartley Campbell arrives at the Crest Stone Hotel, widowed and searching for the brother she hasn't seen in seven years. Distraught to learn he's left, she takes a job as a Gilbert Girl at the hotel's restaurant. She quickly befriends the other girls and finds comfort in helping the hotel prepare for Christmas—until a wayward cowboy wanders in from the snow and sits at her lunch counter.

Long black hair and even longer legs, Tess Donahue had lost the braces and gained the confidence she never had as a teenager. She's hilarious, pretty—and when I see her in those cowboy boots? Whoa. Stolen glances. Flirty banter. One drunk filled night. Suddenly, my uncomplicated weekend of "living a little" in my hometown becomes a lifetime being tied to the one girl that was off limits.

Penny May would do anything to forget her past, even traveling all the way to the Colorado Territory to become a Gilbert Girl. Learning to be a good waitress wasn't easy, but Penny is happy with her new life and friends at the Crest Stone Hotel. At least until the handsome and infuriating county sheriff arrives in search of his kidnapped sister.

I wasn't prepared for Delilah Taylor. Settling down was never on my radar. Almost getting caught with my mouth and hands on her body were definitely not in my plans. Now that I've had a taste of her, I'm rethinking every single f*cking thing.

Conventional wisdom about running is passed down like folklore (and sometimes contradicts itself). In Running Smart, Mariska van Sprundel, a science journalist and recreational runner who has had her fair share of injuries, sets out to explore the science behind such claims.

Dora Reynolds is just another Gilbert Girl at the Crest Stone Hotel, and she needs it to remain that way. If anyone found out who she truly is, she'd lose her friends and her position. But when money begins to disappear from the hotel's safe and a handsome new desk clerk arrives, she finds her security-and her heart-under threat.

Edie Dutton left Kansas with nothing but a few pieces of clothing, a handful of stolen bills, and a forged letter of reference. Since then, she's found a home as a Gilbert Girl at the Crest Stone Hotel. Even despite her transgression at the hotel last fall, she has a second chance to live the life she wants. But Edie Dutton is not her real name, and arriving along with all the newcomers to town comes word that her past may be on its way to put her future in jeopardy.

The woman I crave more than anything wants nothing to do with me. I'm going to do whatever it takes to change her mind. One night with Juniper and I hardly remember any of it. No wonder she's pissed as hell, won't talk to me, or barely look at me. I do what any Johnson worth his salt would. I take her away to my cabin until she's ready to talk. One thing is for certain we won't be leaving until I own Juni like she already owns me.

I learned one lesson early in life: Trust no one. This isn't the first time I've woken up with a stranger looming over my bed. But unlike last time, this dangerous man swears he means me no harm. For some reason, I believe him. But I never expected to fall for him. He's more deadly than the men who kidnapped me, yet I've never felt safer. But is it all an illusion, or is this dark prince truly my white knight?

Lioness. That's the first word that comes to mind when I see the brilliant redhead selling cupcakes at the hockey arena. With the soul of an artist and the spirit of a nomad, Bea Turner is gorgeous, quirky, and refreshing. She's also my teammate's little sister. As the Tennessee Thunderbolts' Rookie, I should steer clear. I'm here to play hockey and provide much-needed financial security for my family. To do that, I need to avoid distractions.

No females of my kind remain. Humans have the closest physiology to my species, but our reproductive urges are very different. For their safety, direct contact with human women has always been strictly forbidden. When my time ends, so will countless generations of Gallo lineage. The chains in my dungeon will never have to contain another mating-frenzied beast. I will have done my part to bring a peaceful end to my species while protecting the nearby human population.

When Layla walked into Giovanni’s shop two years ago, all he could think about was having her tied to a St. Andrews cross. After a couple of conversations, he learned that she was all he ever wanted, but his life wasn’t ready for her yet. One year ago, he was ready to claim her as his own, but then she walked in with the ugliest ring in history, declaring her off the market. Tonight, she walked in with no ring and no reason for him to stop. He can finally show her that he is more than a master in chocolate - he is a master in the bedroom, as well.