Simple Man Series by Lani Lynn Vale

She’s in a white dress that dances around her ankles, and her hair tumbles in a long sheet of curls down her back. A veil covers her beautiful eyes, and she smiles directly at him. Janie is everything Rafe’s ever imagined she would be on her wedding day. Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Perfect. The moment he sees her walking down the aisle towards him, he knows that she’s the one. Then she passes him, making her way to the man she’s to marry. A man that wasn’t him... moreShe’s in a white dress that dances around her ankles, and her hair tumbles in a long sheet of curls down her back. A veil covers her beautiful eyes, and she smiles directly at him. Janie is everything Rafe’s ever imagined she would be on her wedding day. Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Perfect. The moment he sees her walking down the aisle towards him, he knows that she’s the one. Then she passes him, making her way to the man she’s to marry. A man that wasn’t him. A man that he knows with one hundred percent certainty isn’t good enough for her. It seems that her father isn’t the only one who’s having a hard time giving her away. Rafe only wishes he knew why. Everything about Janie sparks protective instincts he doesn’t feel for anyone, not even his own fiancé. What he feels for the bride, however, isn’t merely a simple attraction. He knows that something is there just beneath the surface…if only he could reach it. It has to be something huge, too, otherwise he wouldn’t be drinking whiskey straight from the flask in a church pew and wondering how many years he would do in prison if he shot the groom in front of about a hundred witnesses—half of those being cops. He was good…but not that good. A near-death experience cost Rafe almost six months of his memory, but right now he can’t help but feel like a huge mistake is being made on both of their parts. One that’s going to cost him everything. Then she says I do. less

Peter Parker Penn. Unlike the superhero his mother named him after, Parker is no good guy. In fact, if there’s a picture in the dictionary under anti-hero, it’s his. Parker’s spent his life trying to get back on the right side of the tracks, but each step he takes forward, he takes two more steps back. To save one, he hurts others. To make this good, he turns that bad. For appearances’ sake, he plays the part. He does what people expect him to do—mostly... morePeter Parker Penn. Unlike the superhero his mother named him after, Parker is no good guy. In fact, if there’s a picture in the dictionary under anti-hero, it’s his. Parker’s spent his life trying to get back on the right side of the tracks, but each step he takes forward, he takes two more steps back. To save one, he hurts others. To make this good, he turns that bad. For appearances’ sake, he plays the part. He does what people expect him to do—mostly. And at the end of each day, he goes back to his lonely apartment and wishes he was a different person. One who could fix the things he’s broken. Then Kayla Nash forces her way into his life, and the world as he knows it is irrevocably changed. Everything he thinks he has right is wrong. And everything he thinks is wrong is oh, so right. One thing leads to another, and suddenly he’s growing a conscience, and trying to prove to her that he’s as bad as everybody says he is. Yet she won’t listen. She’s convinced that she can save him. Little does she know, Parker isn’t worth saving, and never will be. less

-You want some?- She snarls those words at him with barely concealed hostility the moment he arrives at her window to ask for her license and registration. After a few choice words, he lets her go with not one ticket, but three. Next time she should check the attitude at the door and realize that he’s a cop, and just doing his job. -Come get some... more-You want some?- She snarls those words at him with barely concealed hostility the moment he arrives at her window to ask for her license and registration. After a few choice words, he lets her go with not one ticket, but three. Next time she should check the attitude at the door and realize that he’s a cop, and just doing his job. -Come get some.- Fast forward a week, and he’s still unable to think about anything else but her and her bad attitude—oh, and those sexy lips, angry eyes, and her promise to make his life hell. Knowing he should stay away, he takes a step back and tries not to think about anything that has to do with those long legs, and that mouth that could be used for much better things than spewing venom. At an interview, she rattles off a random number to use as a reference for a job that she desperately needs, and that number just happens to be Johnny’s. She’ll regret being so rude, and one day she’ll think twice when she decides to throw attitude toward a man like him. Vowing to make her life hell, he decides to have a little fun. -Never get enough.- What he doesn’t expect is to fall for her. The more Johnny learns about June, the deeper he digs his hole. Soon, he doesn’t know which way is up, and he’s just fine with that. Then he learns that not everyone bothers to dig past her prickly demeanor and get to the woman that lives deeper. When one too many citizens of Hostel, Texas tries to back her against the wall, he’s had enough. After all, you don’t mess with what’s his. less

Coke Solomon has lived a full life. He’s a retired army drill sergeant, so he is more than used to getting his way. And if he can’t have it his way? Well, let’s just say that’s never happened before… At least not until Cora Maldonado walks into his life, demanding he fall in line, or she’ll find a way to make his life hell... moreCoke Solomon has lived a full life. He’s a retired army drill sergeant, so he is more than used to getting his way. And if he can’t have it his way? Well, let’s just say that’s never happened before… At least not until Cora Maldonado walks into his life, demanding he fall in line, or she’ll find a way to make his life hell. He finds out fast that Cora marches to the beat of her own drum, and a lot of times that drum takes her farther away rather than closer to where he feels she needs to be. He can’t stand it. He wants her, and he has to have her. It doesn’t matter that she’s twenty years younger than him, and has a father that would rather see him dead than have his baby girl anywhere near him. Nor does it matter that his ex-wife is highly offended that she’s been replaced with a much younger woman. Despite the odds stacking against them, he’ll fight for what he wants. His ex-wife, her father, and their age difference be damned. less

Tyler Cree has never been good at the whole look and don’t touch thing. From the moment he was old enough to walk on his own two feet, he’s been looking for trouble. Trouble comes in many forms…quite a few of those forms being the female persuasion. Tyler knows what girls want—a bad boy. And he has the bad boy image down pat. Ex-military—check. Hot cop—double check. A bike between his legs and a devil may care attitude—oh, yeah... moreTyler Cree has never been good at the whole look and don’t touch thing. From the moment he was old enough to walk on his own two feet, he’s been looking for trouble. Trouble comes in many forms…quite a few of those forms being the female persuasion. Tyler knows what girls want—a bad boy. And he has the bad boy image down pat. Ex-military—check. Hot cop—double check. A bike between his legs and a devil may care attitude—oh, yeah. All the girls want him, yet none of them will have him—at least not all of him, anyway. A certain appendage they can have all they want. His heart, however, is not up for grabs. The useless organ inside his chest was broken and battered, mutilated by the one woman he thought would keep it safe. Spoiler alert: she ripped it to shreds and set fire to the pieces. To protect himself, Tyler keeps everyone at arm’s length, and never lets anyone get too close. Then Reagan Rose Alvarez barrels into his life, and trespasses on not only his property, but straight into his abused heart. One glance is all it takes, and he’s suddenly thinking about things he hasn’t thought for quite some time—thoughts that a man like him should never have about a woman like her. One moment of weakness is all it takes, and suddenly he has no other choice but to go on the offensive. Keeping her is the only other option now. Turns out, his heart isn’t as broken as he thought it was. The only problem is, now the little she-devil holds it in the palm of her hands, and she has no clue just how much power she holds. less