firstperson

The Penalty Box

by Rebecca Zorg

Tropes: slowburn, forcedproximity, firstperson

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He doesn't remember ruining her life. She's going to make sure he does. IVY Seven years ago, Gabriel Castellano took the best night of my life and turned it into a punchline. It cost me my spot on the national team and the only future I'd ever planned. Now he's here. Traded to Whistler, parked in my booth with his new teammates, telling me to surprise him like he's never seen my face before. As far as he knows, he hasn't. So I did what any professional would do. I "accidentally" poured a pint of our worst IPA straight down his six-hundred-dollar shirt. Surprise. Here's the problem: his team just partnered with The Penalty Box, keeping my late father's bar alive, and the town wants repairs that cost more than we clear in a season. Which makes the man I've spent seven years hating the closest thing I have to leverage. And every night he comes back, hating him gets more expensive. GABRIEL People have told me who to be since I was fifteen, and I've never once disappointed them. Golden boy. Franchise face. So I can't explain the bartender. She hates me. Openly. Specifically. Like she's had it ready for years. The worst part isn't that I don't know why. It's that I'm starting to think I should. A slow-burn, high-angst hockey romance with: - Enemies to lovers—he doesn't remember her. She remembers everything. - Forced proximity, one blizzard, one bar - A second chance carrying a seven-year grudge - A grovel that draws blood - Found family, a bar worth fighting for, and one mechanical wolf - Dual POV · Slow burn · Open door · Guaranteed HEA For readers who loved the grovel in Elle Kennedy's The Mistake and the BC-set slow burn of Stephanie Archer's Behind the Net. The First Line, Book One. [Read More]

Love Next Door: A '90s Anthem Duet

by Eve Kasey & Melanie A. Smith

Tropes: slowburn, firstperson, dualpov

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One volume, two steamy interconnected romances set in 1995 Seattle Come to My Window: Hazel Bell has lost everything. Now her whole world is a thrift-store wardrobe and a stranger in the opposite window who knows exactly what to say. They exchange notes instead of names. Confessions instead of introductions. But Gideon Sarkis knows exactly who she is — and how badly he once hurt her. Some windows are meant to be opened. But some secrets can shatter everything. Knockin' on Heaven's Door: A misdelivered package introduces ghostwriter Ben Pedersen to the mystery of unit 203 — and its elusive occupant, Heaven Lee. She's building one of the first online bookstores and barely has time for sleep, let alone nosy neighbors. But one coffee not-date changes everything. When curiosity crosses a line, both must decide what matters more: their secrets or what they've found. Love Next Door is two warm, witty nostalgic love stories about the secrets we keep, the walls we build, and the people worth tearing them down for. [Read More]

Neighborly Chemistry

by Mary DCosta

Tropes: slowburn, firstperson, characterdriven

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She’s an overworked scientist. He’s a celebrity wellness guru. They share a wall—and an enemy. Victoria Darling has no patience for her infuriatingly serene neighbor. Determined to escape her parents' Beverly Hills dental empire, she's grinding through an MD-PhD program, working eighty-hour weeks in the lab of a Nobel Laureate. The last thing she needs is Stephen Souza. Stephen is Hollywood's favorite wellness guru, selling adaptogens, mindfulness, and immaculate vibes to A-listers who swear by him. Victoria sees him as everything wrong with modern health culture—until academic betrayal destroys the career she's spent her life building. Suddenly, the man she dismissed as a celebrity quack is the only person who can help—and the one person she never expected to fall for. Because Stephen Souza isn't who she thinks he is. And the man who ruined Victoria's future has a history with Stephen—one that could help her reclaim credit for a groundbreaking discovery and protect its future. A STEM romance for readers who want the STEM to actually matter. Expect real scientific detail, highly competent characters, enemies-to-lovers chemistry, humor, and a plot that depends on the science. [Read More]

BOUND TO THE ALPHA'S HEIR

by B. B. TYLOR

Tropes: firstperson, paranormal, dualpov

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The bond between us could burn down two kingdoms. I am the Alpha's heir, left to drown as a pup, raised by a foreign king whose throne was never mine. I returned to bury my past, not to claim a mate. But Portia stood in that garden like something holy wrapped in sin, and my wolf knew before I did. Mine. The hybrid dragon princess with fire in her veins. I had to bind her to me before she could flee. Then her Kingdom, Dragonia, ripped her away. I marched my army across the border and made them kneel. She carried my future, with a dragon egg, and our unborn child vanished like a promise dipped in poison. Now her belly swells again. Dragonia sharpens its knives. Old enemies circle closer. I have won a throne and lost a child. But losing Portia would destroy me in ways no war ever could. [Read More]

The Traitor’s Game

by Vanessa Jayde

Tropes: slowburn, firstperson, darkromance

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Camila The night I bonded with my Alpha should have been the happiest night of my life. Instead, it was the night I was accused of betraying the pack. I didn’t run because I wanted to. I ran because staying meant death. For a year, I’ve lived in the shadows, hiding from the man the blood bond ties me to. Every step away from him feels like a lie the bond refuses to believe. But I know he’s coming. And when he finds me, he won’t be looking for forgiveness. Thaddeus My Omega ran. For a year the blood bond has burned beneath my skin, demanding I find her. Demanding I drag the truth from her lips. She thinks she escaped me. She’s wrong. The pack answers to me now. The world bends to my will. And when I finally find the woman who betrayed me, I’ll take back everything she stole. Her secrets, her lies… and the heart that still belongs to me. [Read More]

The Control Room - Part 1 - Speculative romantic thriller

by Miriam Khan

Tropes: firstperson, dualpov, trauma

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A little Romeo and Juliet a little Total Recall/Matrix, completely hooked. Aria and Caine come from feuding failes that are fighting for control could they really love each other with so much between them? Part one ends on a clif hanger guess I'll have to read part 2 to find out. April - Amazon reviewer. FIVE STARS. He had planned the perfect revenge—until she came and changed the rules. An encounter with an intriguing stranger on the train leaves nurse Aria Travinni with blood on her hands and in a world she never knew existed. Her wealthy Italian family has always kept dark secrets, but could murder be one of them? As unsettling events begin to unfold, she is forced to question everything she's ever known. Caine Savino has been tracking the Travinni family for years, driven by a single purpose: to avenge the brutal deaths of his parents. Careful, patient, and relentless, he has studied their every move. Their daughter Aria navigates the world without security or suspicion. She should be the perfect target. Boarding the night train, he takes his chance. Only she isn't what he expected. The tables turn, and the hunter becomes the hunted. Because someone—or something—has been watching all along, and has sinister plans for the both of them. The Control Room is a speculative romantic thriller that will pull readers into a world where revenge turns to obsession and destiny refuses to be ignored. [Read More]

Love Twists and Knots

by Jo-Anne Carriere

Tropes: firstperson, characterdriven, adventure

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An accidental proposal, a charming sailor, a Mediterranean Romance that changes everything… Genny needs a new beginning. She takes a break from the corporate world, and spontaneously decides to go to the South of France for a carefree holiday. Enjoying her wine at a harbor café in Antibes, she cannot believe that the man sitting across from her is… HIM—the one she’s always pictured herself with. After their eyes meet, and a light chitchat, and more wine, she accidentally proposes to the charming Nick. Nick laughs it off, but he doesn’t run. Intrigued, he invites her for a sail on the Mediterranean aboard his 83-foot classic sail yacht. What begins as a magical starlit night on his yacht soon becomes far more daring when Genny loses her job due to downsizing—she risks everything, and leaves Vancouver behind to follow the man who has captured her heart. Trouble rises when Heidi, an envious work colleague appears on the quay hoping to be part of Genny’s adventure. Genny shooed her away, but Heidi finds a way… Their romance gets twisted in a knot when Nick’s past resurfaces. Desperate to settle his divorce, Nick sells his beloved yacht to a shadowy buyer, an acquaintance of his ex. The buyer has two conditions—he pays for the yacht only after it is delivered to Puerto Rico—and he insists that Heidi stay onboard for the journey, causing spiraling tension. Fate did not work in Genny’s favor—unable to cross the Atlantic, she leaves Nick and the crew in Gibraltar and reunites with Nick in Barbados. The romantic trip Genny had in mind soon turns into a web of perilous secrets and lies when they discover the buyer had a different plan. Genny must decide what she truly believes. Is Nick her anchor, or is she caught in his wake? To keep her chance at love, will she take risks to choose the wild and beautiful life her heart whispers for? [Read More]

Valley's Salvation, Book 2 of Valley's Rise

by Gina V. Badd

Tropes: forcedproximity, firstperson, characterdriven

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Valley Bates and her fiance, Bryan LaCoste, are left reeling after multiple shocking events. can they push past the trauma and fear to reach their own black rainbow? Book 2 in the duet, Valley's Rise. [Read More]

Never Your Valentine

by Jordan Bloom

Tropes: firstperson, dualpov, foundfamily

Never Your Valentine is an opposites attract, grumpy-sunshine romcom packed with sizzling banter, small-town charm, and enough slow-burn heat to melt a Michigan winter. [Read More]

The Sniper and the Swan

by Halle Macpherson

Tropes: slowburn, firstperson, characterdriven

Five years ago, the mysterious masked musician known as Il Cigno vanished. Her disappearance has haunted him ever since. Matteo Rossi has two equally challenging roles: mercenary assassin and guardian to his boisterous thirteen-year-old niece, Alessandra. He knows how to track a target, take down a threat, and disappear without a trace. What he doesn't know how to handle is a teenager who has started breaking the rules—or the feisty music teacher who is encouraging her to do so. When Mia Mills built her new life as a music teacher in the Italian lakeside town of Lacustria, she had one rule: keep her head down and stay out of trouble. But Mia has never been the type to walk away from someone who needs her help. When her talented student Alessandra secretly applies for a prestigious music summer camp, Mia is determined to help her chase her dreams—even if it means going head-to-head with her overprotective guardian. Mia knows getting close to people only puts them in danger. But as she is drawn deeper into the Rossi household, she finds herself wrapped in the warmth of a family she never expected to become part of. With each day she spends there, she indulges in the most dangerous ideal of all: hope for the future. As Matteo and Mia try to resist the magnetic pull between them, the truths they are both hiding threaten to destroy everything they've built. Because some truths can set you free. And some can get you killed. [Read More]

The Rival Hearts

by Anne Nikolaiken

Tropes: forcedproximity, firstperson, dualpov

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A steamy Married in Vegas Formula One romance featuring Rivals to Lovers. The race weekend plan didn’t include waking up married to the rival rookie driver. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, right? Ethan Ethan St-Pierre is used to living in his brother’s shadow, but now he has no other option but to shine on the racetrack...and keep the St-Pierre legacy alive. Sharing his rookie season with his biggest rival shouldn’t be that difficult. They only have to interact on racetracks–and that’s plenty, thank you very much–but now sponsors are suggesting joint photoshoots with Maggie. Their rivalry is fuelling sales, sparks are flying, and Ethan wonders if there’s something more behind their shared, sizzling glances captured in photographs. Maggie Maggie Hoffsommer is the first female race car driver with a chance to win the Drivers’ Championship and prove her critics wrong. Her surprise debut at Kestrel Racing caused a media frenzy; her repeated pole positions and podium finishes created turmoil in the paddock, but the greatest shock is the one Maggie experiences when she wakes up married to Ethan St-Pierre in Vegas… and he suggests they give it a go? He’s the steamy distraction on track, putting everything she’s worked for in jeopardy. How can she consider staying married to him? This season, they have nothing left to lose but their hearts. Will Maggie and Ethan’s competitiveness put what they desire most at risk? This is a high-octane contemporary sports romance filled with open-door spice, swoon-worthy moments, and a guaranteed happily ever after. The Rival Hearts is book #2 in The Racing Line series. Each book can be read as a stand-alone, and do not need to be read in order to be enjoyed. [Read More]

Carve Me Golden

by Mara J. Ova

Tropes: forcedproximity, firstperson, characterdriven

Trapped alone with your ultimate daydream crush while a storm rages around you… do you dare take the chance? Forced proximity · She’s also an athlete · Celebrity athlete and his fan · European alpine settings · High‑stakes sport · Overcoming traumatic past · Exotic settings and fresh sports After seven years with a toxic ex, Czech language teacher Zlata knows a new relationship is the last thing she needs. She’s finally thrown herself into ski racing, the real kind, with after-hours training and no rewards but the rush. But a girl is allowed to dream… and sometimes, dreams come true. A broken gondola. A violent storm. And Fabio Baier, her untouchable, world-famous ski racing crush, close enough to feel, to touch, to make her feel alive, if only for an hour. This was never supposed to be real. But when fantasy collides with reality, it doesn’t come softly. It burns. Because Fabio isn’t just every woman’s dream. He has demons of his own to outrun. And until they both face their pasts, all they have is craving. Carve Me Golden is a standalone in the Carve series, a high-heat sports romance filled with forced proximity, emotional scars, explosive chemistry, and a compelling couple who know that love must be earned. If you crave intense attraction, high-stakes passion, and a fantasy that refuses to stay just a fantasy, this book is for you. [Read More]

Poison Apple: Snow White and the MC Beast

by Katlyn S. Coen

Tropes: slowburn, forcedproximity, firstperson

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White as snow, red as blood, black as ebony. Fairy-tale beauty made flesh had one rule: Nobody gets close to her son. Fate—or the Norse Gods—had other plans: Shove me on a pitch-black parking lot. Drop a six-foot-six Sons of Ragnarök patch-wearer—inked, ruthless, and fourteen years my senior. I’m frozen in terror. My fearless two-year-old with zero sense of danger? Both arms. Open wide. And the Beast takes my boy like he’s always belonged to him. — Annika’s already buried one man she loved. She’s still haunted by the ghosts of her past. Drugs. Whores. Viking brutality. Ronny “Leif” Reinhardt rules the Sons of Ragnarök with absolute power. Innocence has never been his weakness. Until a tiny redhead barrels into his life and the beast finally meets his match. The feeling is foreign, dangerous, and fuckin’ addictive. Suddenly he’s everywhere. Watching. Guarding. Smirking. He calls it coincidence. Her head? Calls it obsession. Screams: run! Her body? Starts sending SOS. But the most terrifying part? He doesn’t rip Annika’s clothes off. He looks her in the eyes and asks, “May I?” There’s no going back. The poison apple is already bitten. ONE BITE, and you’ll be stuck in Germany’s industrial wasteland where the darkness hits harder—not for lack of light, but because hope, love, and beauty only increase the level of destruction. A dark, twisted Snow White retelling × outlaw biker romance. ONE BITE, Snow White… and the Beast never lets you go. Five books. One arc. This is where the saga begins. One warning before you bite: It is not for soft Disney princesses. But it’s not for those expecting blood, grief, and questionable consent on every single page either. The full dark romance × twisted Brothers Grimm fairy tale retelling potential isn’t delivered like instant soup. Think of a five-course menu. It doesn’t start with the heavy tastes. It starts with an amuse-bouche. [Read More]

Gaia's Dawn

by Sapphire Rae

Tropes: firstperson, paranormal, strongfmc

Born of violence and awakened by the cruelty of men, I delivered justice through intimacy. But with every soul judged, the darkness pressed closer. Fearing I would become the monster I sought to destroy, I fled to a secluded island kingdom. There, I fell for a mortal king. But a goddess cannot be sustained by one man alone; I watched him wither beneath the weight of my power. To remain in mortal form and save our love, I must draw strength from a circle of bonds. Now, men travel from distant lands to be judged. Only the worthy will stand at my side as paramours. But a plague has come—a darkness that does not bargain. Saving my people will demand more than love; it will test the trust of my chosen men and the limits of my survival. Gaia’s Dawn is a dark fantasy romance featuring reverse harem devotion, high heat, and themes of justice and sacrifice. 18+ only. Note: This campaign is for the newly expanded/definitive edition. As the book is already live on Amazon, you may post your honest review immediately upon finishing! Join the team and help relaunch the series. [Read More]

The Roman Prince of Chaos: A Spicy Slow-Burn Italian Football Romance

by Mara J. Ova

Tropes: slowburn, firstperson, characterdriven

He’s every woman’s dream. I’m just scared of what happens when I wake up. Alessandro Moretti is the most dangerous striker in Italy, a Golden Ball winner, and the Sexiest Man Alive. Watching him on screen has been my guilty pleasure for more than ten years. Then he became the face of my Baroque restoration campaign, said some stupid things about Baroque that I couldn’t let stand, and I corrected him. In front of a hundred people. It became a meme on Instagram. Now he wants me to teach him history—officially, so he doesn’t make an idiot of himself again. But I know why he suddenly pretends to admire Roman architecture. He wants me. On the pitch, Alessandro is hungry, aggressive, and used to taking what he wants. Off it, he’s a master seducer who knows exactly how to make a woman feel like she’s the only person in the room. But I mean to resist him, no matter how my pulse quickens when I feel his warmth. Because Alessandro Moretti loves the chase, and I refuse to become just another conquest. Except he says this isn’t about conquering me. He says he wants me. All of me. And he wants to make me happy. How am I supposed to believe that a man who has had a roster of supermodels on his arm could truly want a curvy scholar with limited time in Rome? And even if he does, the whole world will be watching, ready to decide whether I’m worthy of him. I’ve spent years building my professional reputation. I will not risk it for one charming, adorable footballer. Even if the most wanted man in Italy seems determined to prove that, for once, he isn’t playing to win. He’s playing for keeps. The Roman Prince of Chaos is a slow-burn, spicy sports romance packed with hilarious banter, irresistible pursuit, and electric chemistry, all against the beauty and chaos of Rome. Because Rome has been messing with young lovers since the beginning of time. Take a look inside and discover what happens when a legendary striker finally meets the one woman he can’t simply win. [Read More]

How To Ruin A Princess: A Steamy Short Prequel Sports Romance Novella

by Mara J. Ova

Tropes: slowburn, firstperson, forbiddenlove

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She is ice and scandal. He is speed and sin. When they meet, their Olympic night turns heat into a weapon they cannot stop using. Nico Reiner is Austria’s new golden boy, hurtling toward an Olympic silver that could cement his place in ski-racing history. The world sees swagger and shine, but behind the grin and glory, every gate is a dare not to choke, not to prove his doubters right when it matters most. Élise Moreau is the exiled heiress of a disgraced French empire, trained to smile, obey, and weaponize her beauty for her father’s ambitions. Slipping into the Olympic Village under a stolen press badge, she wants one anonymous night where no one knows her name, no one owns her choices, and no one can turn her into a pawn. When Nico recognizes the mystery girl who once scorched him with a single look, their collision in a quiet athletes’ lounge detonates into flirting as combat, touch as challenge, and sex as the only language reckless enough to match them both. Silver Course is a steamy forbidden prequel to Carve Me Free, a high-stakes sports romance where a reckless speed king chases an uptown ice queen across the World Cup circuit. If you like scorching chemistry, messy rich-girl rebellion, and dangerous men who race as they love, you’ll devour this Maraverse novella. [Read More]

The Crash Course: A Short Steamy Sports Romance With A Golden Boy Star Skier (The Carve Series)

by Mara J. Ova

Tropes: firstperson, characterdriven, dualpov

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A Steamy Origin Story Prequel to Carve My Heart (A Short Olympic Sports Romance) One‑night stand that won’t stay one‑night · Very steamy · Celebrity athlete · European alpine settings · High‑stakes sport · Binge in 90 minutes Katharina Berger has spent years fantasizing about Austria’s hottest ski champion from behind a screen. She never planned to crash into Thomas Kern on a glacier—let alone drag the Olympic god back to her hotel room and make every filthy daydream come true. On the Hintertux glacier, one “accidental” collision turns into drinks, teasing, and a night where Thomas worships her body like it’s the only finish line that’s ever mattered. He’s used to fangirls and casual hookups. She’s used to keeping her distance from athletes who eat girls like her for breakfast. But Katharina isn’t interested in being another anonymous conquest. She wants to own every hungry look, every groan, every wicked promise he makes against her skin—and walk away with her heart still intact. Thomas tells himself she’s just another distraction before the season starts. So why can’t he stop replaying the way she tasted on her fingers, the way she dropped to her knees like she’d been imagining it for years, the way one night with her feels more dangerous than any race? When dawn comes, and real life pulls them in opposite directions, neither of them knows they’re about to collide again—this time with careers, reputations, and Olympic dreams on the line. This steamy prequel novella to Carve My Heart is a slow-burn-igniting, no-fade-to-black sports romance packed with filthy fantasies finally fulfilled, an alpha ski god brought to his knees, and the bold heroine who refuses to be just another notch on his race skis. [Read More]

Crosswind

by Gabi Prevot

Tropes: slowburn, forcedproximity, firstperson

Senior flight attendant Sloane Reyes had one rule about hookups on the job. Then she flew to Reykjavík, broke a different rule with an Icelandic textile artist at one in the morning, and boarded the return leg to Boston with the captain's card in her breast pocket and the captain himself in the left seat for another eight hours. Nobody tells you what to do with the return leg. Nobody tells you that Mr. Westbrook from Boston Back Bay — who watched her work the outbound and did not touch the call button once — is going to be a passenger again with a folded piece of paper in his hand and a job pitch that is actually a job pitch. That the woman in row 4A is going to be a retired oncologist who has decided, twenty-two years into hearing other people's real stories, to be told one more. That the weather over Boston is going to close, hard, and put the whole crew down in a Halifax airport hotel for a night that is not on any schedule. And that Captain Marek Reeves is going to knock on her hotel room door at seven-eleven p.m. local, and say the sentence Sloane has been waiting one hundred and fifty flights for someone to finally say to her. The captain was for later. Later is tonight. Crosswind is Book 2 of the Cabin Crew series — the return flight, the weather divert, the hotel-room payoff of the slow burn Book 1 promised. Spicy contemporary romance (18+). Bi FMC; the F/F thread continues on-page. Publishes October 13, 2026. Free ARC in exchange for an honest review on launch day. Read Book 1 first: Cabin Pressure. [Read More]

Just Her Holiday Type

by Brisa Carleton

Tropes: forcedproximity, firstperson, dualpov

“Funny, romantic, and magical. I wanted to curl up inside this story until Christmas.” - Abby Jimenez, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Every December Plum Hayes writes the kind of cozy Christmas romance movies her readers watch and love. Too bad she stopped believing in holiday magic the night her own happily-ever-after fell apart. Two weeks from deadline and out of holiday spirit, she's been packed off to Pine Tree, a snow-globe town with all the charm but surprisingly few of the Christmas traditions for which it used to be known. There she finds the typewriter. And the typewriter magically manifests her leading man, named, dressed, and behaving to her exact specifications. Zach is perfect. The problem is Ethan. Ethan, the no-nonsense, flannel-wearing owner of the antique shop downstairs, who is holding things together with his own two hands, says inconvenient true things, and looks at her in a way no script could ever quite capture. With Christmas Eve closing in and her deadline looming, Plum is going to have to choose between the perfect man and the right one. Just Her Holiday Type is a sweet, swoony, laugh-out-loud Christmas romcom about deadlines, do-overs, and what happens when you stop writing the script and start living it. For anyone who's ever wanted to believe in holiday magic again. [Read More]

His Little Witness

by Kindra Cress

Tropes: slowburn, forcedproximity, firstperson

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He was sent to make me disappear. He wasn't supposed to want me for himself. I recorded a murder. One shake video, one VIP room I should never have served, one man who looked straight into my phone and smiled, and now the most powerful men in the city want me erased before sunrise. Then he found me first. Silas doesn't ask. He doesn't comfort. He shows up like a blade in a tailored shirt and tells me I have ten seconds to choose: walk away and die, or come with him and lose every piece of the life I used to have. Cold-blooded, ruthlessly efficient, and absolutely not allowed to touch me, he's the man Blackwater sends when there's nothing left to save. But he touches me anyway.. Every safehouse gets burned. Every alias gets cracked. Someone inside his own organization is feeding me to the wolves, and Silas just promised he'd torch Blackwater to the ground before he let them take me. God help me, because I want to watch him do it. A dark, possessive, slow-burn romantic suspense for readers who like their heroes lethal, their heroines sharp-tongued, and their tension thick enough to cut. Forced proximity. One bed (eventually). A man who was supposed to be untouchable until he met her. HIS LITTLE WITNESS is Book 1 in the Blackwater series. Reader note:Steamy, explicit, and intense. Contains on-page violence, themes of stalking and surveillance, and a hero whose protective instincts run very, very dark. [Read More]

Between Floors: A Spicy Forced Proximity Romance

by Lana Wexler

Tropes: forcedproximity, firstperson, steamycontemporary

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Harlow Bennett has sat six feet from Desmond Kane for eleven months and never said one word about it. Then their elevator dies between the eighth and ninth floors on a Friday night, the emergency light goes blue, and the two of them are stuck in a four-by-five box with nothing left to do but finally look at each other. What neither of them says out loud, for most of a very long ninety minutes, is that the car did not stop on its own. Harlow reached over and pressed the STOP button somewhere around the fourteenth floor, lost her nerve, and pretended she was reaching for the rail. Dez pressed it himself, five floors later, for the exact same reason. Two people, one crush eleven months deep, two secret hands on the same brass button, and not one confession between them until the dark makes lying impossible. By the time building services pries the doors open, they have admitted to a great deal more than the button. Two coworkers, one dead elevator, and a stop nobody meant to press but both of them did. [Read More]