Long Beach Series by Dani Matthews, S.R. James, Jennifer K.

***This can be read as a stand-alone novel*** Ace I’m the type of guy parents warn their daughters to stay away from. Hell, I’m worse. Much worse. I have a thing for restraints, and my bedroom has a figurative revolving door. I take pleasure the only way I’ll accept it, and I have an endless supply of women willing to experience my kind of kink. The second I lay eyes on innocent, little Faith Preston, my world is turned upside down... more***This can be read as a stand-alone novel*** Ace I’m the type of guy parents warn their daughters to stay away from. Hell, I’m worse. Much worse. I have a thing for restraints, and my bedroom has a figurative revolving door. I take pleasure the only way I’ll accept it, and I have an endless supply of women willing to experience my kind of kink. The second I lay eyes on innocent, little Faith Preston, my world is turned upside down. Not only does the little blonde hijack my mind and body, but she also has me thinking of things I didn’t think I’d ever have in my life. Things like normalcy. Companionship. She even has me thinking of the possibility of a relationship—something that I’ve always been adamant on never having. One little slip of a woman has me rethinking everything I’ve forced myself to become in hopes of avoiding my past. There’s one slight problem. Scratch that—it’s a big ass problem, and he goes by the name of Caleb. He’s my best friend, and he just happens to be Faith’s cousin. He’s also threatened my favorite body part if I should ever touch her. I take his warnings seriously, because Faith has a past that still haunts her in everything she does. Never before have I wanted to ease someone else’s pain more than I want to forget my own. I don’t ever want to be the one to cause her further harm, but how do I stay away from the one person that feels so right in my life? Faith Everyone has a past regret, whether it be a brief moment of bad decision making, or a past relationship that caused more harm than good. I have four years of regret. Four years of bad decision making. Four years of losing myself to what my ex wanted. I don’t know who I am anymore. Then I meet Ace. He wakes up a part of me that has never stirred until now. He makes me realize that I’m not truly living unless I’m living for myself and no one else. Ace encourages me to break the rules I’ve lived by for so many years, and he opens my eyes to all the things I’ve been missing out on. I never thought I’d trust a man again, but Ace seems to understand me like no one else does. I feel alive with him. But when our mutual attraction becomes too strong to ignore…it changes everything. How do we hold on to what we have without the rest of the world destroying it? Better yet, how do we overcome our pasts to build the kind of relationship that we both so clearly want and need? More importantly, do I even have a future to fight for? Because my past won’t let me go, my past has followed me, and it wants to destroy everything I’ve built and everything I am. My past won’t leave me alone until it’s sure I’m no longer breathing… This book is recommended for ages 18+. less

***This book can be read as a stand-alone novel*** Kori It's said that bad luck comes in threes. In my case—it just keeps coming. First, I come home to find my boyfriend cheating on me with someone I thought was my friend. Second, I learn that he's stolen all the cash I've been saving for the past year. Third, I find myself suddenly homeless. Thank God for good friends, because Zoey finds me a place to stay—except there's one problem... more***This book can be read as a stand-alone novel*** Kori It's said that bad luck comes in threes. In my case—it just keeps coming. First, I come home to find my boyfriend cheating on me with someone I thought was my friend. Second, I learn that he's stolen all the cash I've been saving for the past year. Third, I find myself suddenly homeless. Thank God for good friends, because Zoey finds me a place to stay—except there's one problem. My new roommate happens to be an extremely hot and sexy guy. I've never roomed with a guy I'm not dating, and it's a struggle not to act upon the attraction that sizzles between us when we're in the same room together. When I end up getting a job at the club he works at, it's just that much harder to ignore what we both crave. If Jeremy isn't enough trouble to contend with, I also have my little brother's drug dealer to deal with. I haven't seen Travis in months, and now he's missing and owing more money than I can pay off. With these people breathing down my neck and threatening my very freedom, I have no choice but to try to earn every penny that Travis owes—even if it kills me. I will not allow them to drag me down into their dark world of desperation and corruption. If I don't figure something out fast, they'll own me for life, and that's a fate I can't accept. Jeremy The last thing I want is to share my place with some girl, but when a friend shows up on my doorstep with the homeless Kori Jaymes, I can't turn her away. I know immediately that she's going to turn my world upside down, because Kori is provocative without even trying. She's exactly the type of girl I like to date, but I've done the 'friends with benefits' thing before, and all it got me was a broken heart. Unable to turn Kori away, I agree to let her room with me with every intention of keeping my distance. Avoiding my new roommate turns out to be easier than I expected—that is until she gets a job as a cage dancer at the nightclub I work at. It's bad enough living with her, but it's an entirely different story when I have to watch her dance around in skimpy outfits and try to ignore the intense attraction I feel. You can't blame me when I cave and taste the goods. But when I start noticing that Kori is running herself into the ground and not taking care of herself like she should, I can't help but sense that something is very wrong. I'm a fool for getting involved more than I should, but instinct tells me she's in some sort of trouble, and I refuse to sit back and watch her destroy herself. Recommended for ages 18+. less

***This book can be read as a stand-alone novel*** Emery My temporary move to Long Beach was supposed to be uncomplicated. I would get a job, get to know my biological father without him realizing who I am, and then either tell him the truth or move on. My plan was working just fine until Logan Buchanan threw a wrench into things. He’d destroyed my life when I was only sixteen, and I’ve been struggling with the repercussions ever since... more***This book can be read as a stand-alone novel*** Emery My temporary move to Long Beach was supposed to be uncomplicated. I would get a job, get to know my biological father without him realizing who I am, and then either tell him the truth or move on. My plan was working just fine until Logan Buchanan threw a wrench into things. He’d destroyed my life when I was only sixteen, and I’ve been struggling with the repercussions ever since. Unfortunately, I can’t avoid him since he’s one of the tattooists at Red’s. What’s worse, he’s sexier now than he was back in high school, and everything about him screams dirty sex. It’s all I can do to keep him at arm’s length, because I’ve been with him once, and once was my undoing. Logan The day Emery Hawkins walked into Red’s is the day I knew my life was going to change. I always regretted the way I’d treated her back in high school, and more than anything, I want to make that up to her. There’s just one problem. She wants absolutely nothing to do with me. I’m used to getting what I want, and I’ve never had to put much effort into drawing a woman’s attention. So being rejected is new to me, but the more she tries to keep me at a distance, the more I want to close that gap. For the first time in my life, I want to get to know a woman besides just have sex with her. If I can just break down Emery’s defenses and find out what she’s hiding, maybe I’ll get the second chance that I’ve always craved and wanted. Recommended for ages 18+. less