My buddy is out of town so I do him a solid and swing by his place on my patrol. I expect the house to be dark and quiet. What I don’t expect is a B&E. Or the beautiful young woman I find in the dark. My gun doesn’t fire but the weapon in my pants damn near does when I see her. Then I recognize her. She's my best friend’s daughter, who I haven’t seen since she was just a kid. And she’s most certainly not a kid anymore. I’ve never felt like this before. Never. The nature of my job requires me to protect, but something about Camila has cranked it up another notch, to a level of possessiveness and protectiveness even I didn’t think I possessed. I can’t get this girl out of my head, nor would I want to. I’m no longer here on a friendly mission. I’m here to let her know what’s mine. And that’s exactly what she is now,…mine forever, even if I have to risk the one thing that’s always mattered most…being her dad’s policeman best friend.

\\\\\Get a free book for Christmas just by signing up for my mailing list at the link below.\\\\\ www.subscribepage.com/lenalittle This is home now, and my dad’s making sure that despite being six time zones away from our old home I’m still protected. But there is one man he will let speak to me, who he trusts around me, and that’s our host, Matteo, his best friend. But he barely looks at me, barely notices me. Even though I’d never met him, before we came to Italy there was always something about Matteo. The constant scowl that adorns his face scares off nearly everyone he passes. I’ve witnessed it first hand, seeing people practically rushing to get off the sidewalk to give him space. He scares people, plain and simple. But something about that fear he creates, he conjures up in others so quickly, makes me feel safe. Without even needing words he builds me up, gives me confidence, and makes me feel beautiful. I want to give him the one gift that I can only give once in my life. To him. Only him. But will he find me before it’s too late? And what will my dad say when he finds out I’ve fallen for his Italian mafia friend?

\\\\\Get a free book for Christmas just by signing up for my mailing list at the link below.\\\\\ www.subscribepage.com/lenalittle He has my attention. All. Of. It. He has since I turned about sixteen, but he never even seemed to notice me until these last few visits, which interestingly coincide with the time I turned eighteen. I’m trying to reason with myself that my dad’s blacksmith best friend wants me. He doesn’t. I’m just an inexperienced girl who’s projecting things that aren’t really there. He’s just protective of me. A big difference between looking out for your best friend’s daughter and actually being interested in her. So then why does he look at me like he wants to claim me? Make me his. A man who forges his name in iron next to mine? Yes, please. Tomorrow is promised to no one. I’ll show my dad I’m not his little girl anymore, and in the process show Braxton that I was meant to be his. Forever. No going back now.

I’ve been infatuated with him ever since I heard his name as a child, and as I got older, and sorted through pictures of him and my dad I started to feel…other things. Things I shouldn’t but do. But all those desires I tried to keep to myself? I don’t need to anymore. Because one look in his hungry eyes and I know he feels the same. Tate is clearly trouble, and not just with the law. I thought that a hardened man like Tate would only ever see me as a girl, an off-limits kid due to my age, lacking experience, and of course there is my dad. But when my dad’s best friend stops by for Thanksgiving dinner he doesn’t just come for a meal. He comes for his prize. Me. I’m thankful for a lot of things this Thanksgiving day, but none more than my dad’s best friend…my man…my everything.

To say I’m addicted to becoming a doctor is an understatement. But the real reason why I was called to this profession and not any other is because of the only doctor I knew growing up. My dad’s best friend. Doctor Daniel Hart. But once I get a chance to prove to him I’m an adult, I’m going to make the most of it. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the ER, or in his bedroom. Because I want to be with him in both places. By his side. On my knees. It doesn’t matter, just as long as we’re together…like we always are in my fantasies. Fantasies aside I will give it to him, my innocence…my everything. Because just like the people he saves and their families, he’s my hero. My one and only. Always has been and always will be. But he’s my dad’s best friend, so I need to tread lightly. If I can, which is going to be a lot easier said than done.

I’ve known him all my life. Christian Caruso. The man who went out of his way to get me a Christmas tree when my parent said I was too old for one. What he didn’t know was that it wasn’t a tree that I wanted for Christmas. I only wanted him. My dad’s best friend. He’s all I’ve ever wished for since I first started developing a crush in junior high. The only man I’ve ever daydreamed about, doodling his name after mine in my notebook. The alpha energy that he exudes, holding me down, taking me, making me his once and for all. That’s what I really want for Christmas, have for years and that wasn’t about to change anytime soon…or ever. But something has changed. I can see it in his eyes. And I’m going to do whatever it takes to make my wish come true. This Christmas Eve the only gift I want Christian, my dad’s best friend, to unwrap…is me. But what if that leads to another gift, the best kind, that we were never expecting?

This is my best friend’s child. His little girl. But she’s nineteen, a legal adult, and technically can make any decision she wants. Such as choosing to be with me, which is the only right choice in my mind. But how can a man who’s been out of society, the labor force…one who has no meaningful skills, a convict, provide for her, make her his, and hold her back from the life she deserves, and surely wants? I can’t, but I also can’t let her go. I’m not a man who waivers, who spends time ruminating when I know what I want. And I can’t wait, not when it comes to her. She’s too special, too perfect, and meant to be mine. From the moment I laid eyes on her all other men ceased to exist for her. Because there’s no way in hell I’m letting another man lay a finger on her, claim her as his. I will be the one and only man to ever touch her, make her smile every day for the rest of her life, to claim her in the bedroom and every other room in the house that we will share. It’s only a matter of time. There is no other option, but me and her. Together forever.

Before I was offered shelter, everything was how it should be. I was emotionless, a rock. In the rare instance I did feel something I could turn those feelings off like a faucet. Yet any ‘feelings’ I had before were never directed at a woman. Never. Not until her . She is the ultimate forbidden fruit, the daughter of the man who’s offered me his own home. And that doesn’t even take into account she’s more than two decades younger than me. In Russia, it wouldn’t be a big deal at all. But this isn’t Russia. Not even close. But once I see something I want, and do I ever want her more than anything in the world, it’s only a matter of time before it, before she, is mine. And she will be. Before I was her dad’s Russian friend, now I will be her man.

As a very recently retired Navy SEAL I’m no stranger to trouble. I used to go looking for it, Uncle Sam sending me to the most dangerous places in the world. But today? Today it’s found me…because I’ve found her. She’s too young. Way too young. But there’s just something about this woman, something unlike I’ve ever experienced before, that makes me certain she belongs to me. The woman of my dreams…the one I want to fill with my seed, make that belly round with my child and bond her to me forever. And I will. She will be mine. This feels a helluva lot like a mission, but the stakes are higher. This is personal. This is about my woman, my family, my everything. And of course my friendship with the man whose family took me in all these years ago, my very best friend.

I’m expecting a large man in a ski mask when I get the call for a burglary, but instead, I'm greeted by the most stunning woman I've ever seen. She looks strangely familiar, but I can't place her at first. Her beauty disarms me. There's just something about her that makes me feel like I'm seeing the world in a whole new way. My work is my mistress but now I know what I’ve been missing and it’s her. "Are you really going to arrest me...Frank?" she asks coyly and takes off. My little thief in the night thinks she can slip away from me but she’s got another thing coming. My job is to protect and serve, and I want to do just that. Protect and serve her. This little thief has gone and stolen my heart and now I’m going to steal hers. It just so happens that she’s my friend’s daughter and she might be in more trouble than she can handle.

Halloween. The one night each year when a man like me can put on a mask and roam the streets without fear of violating his parole and being thrown right back into the same prison I walked out of this morning. Not even a full day removed from incarceration, and here I am standing outside of the house of the man who got me locked up in the first place? My ex-best friend. Now’s my time. This is my chance. I’m done waiting, for more things than one. Trick or treat, huh? Well, I’m about to deliver both…on a different kind of silver platter than the opulence he’s used to. Oh, someone’s going to be eating well tonight, all right. But it won’t be the Brooksby family. It will be me, when I devour their daughter within the confines of their own home, right under their noses. As far as I’m concerned she’s owed to me after what her family did to me. I’ve been waiting for this moment for too long. Way too long. Don’t you worry, little girl. You can run but you can’t hide. Not after all this time I’ve spent waiting, plotting, planning for this one opportunity to get revenge on my ex-best friend and get my treat.

Why oh why did it have to be him ? When my dad’s police officer partner catches me trying to act older than my eighteen years, he promises not to haul me down to the station, or tell my dad…but one promise I can’t make in return is not getting turned on beyond belief when he teaches me a little over-the-knee discipline. He’s says it’s for my own good, my own safety…but why does his heavy handed punishment feel so dangerously exciting against my skin? He’s giving me a lesson in adult responsibility, and all I can think about is giving him something I’ve been saving just for him, unknowing that it’s going to lead to us both getting a surprise that neither one of us was expecting. I’ve been hiding my secret fantasies for my dad’s best friend my entire life, but one secret I can’t hide is his baby.

His presence alone turns me into a nervous wreck. One because of all the mayhem, chaos, and violence it represents. And two, because somehow I’m strangely…interested in learning more about him. And that shocks me and scares me at the same time. He’s a mafioso and a savage. But family comes first for him, meaning his son. And now he wants me to be his babysitter. Can I look after his son when I want so much more? Can I really be ok with a man like him? Dangerous and a criminal. Despite what I try and tell myself my actions speak for themselves, telling the truth about what I really desire…him. And what about the FBI agent on his tail? One thing I do know for sure is when he kisses me, I like it. I like it a lot and I want more. I don't know what's going to happen next. I don't know if this is right and I don't know if this is wrong. All I know is that my life just changed in an instant. And an instant later, it changes yet again. Life is just one big series of decisions and it’s crazy how just a single one of them can make or break your future. Hopefully, mine will open a door to a future I never even dreamed of.

My name is Kent Kendrickson. Just weeks after moving back to town and taking over as Chief of the police department, my old friend Tom calls me out of the blue. His college-age daughter has a stalker. Since he’s friends with the Chief of Police, he shouldn’t have to follow proper procedure, right? I don’t want to touch this, but I feel a sense of loyalty to my old buddy, so I meet up with him and his daughter, figuring I’ll just pass the case off to a rookie in the morning. Whatever rational thoughts I have fly out the window the moment I see her. Just looking at her feels like a hard punch to the gut. Kendal’s so young, so innocent, and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Naked hunger flares within me, and I know that I have to have her. No matter what it takes. There’s just one thing standing between me and the girl that I long for. A man that’s just as obsessed over her as I am and more dangerous than any of us realize. She awakens my protective instincts, and this case quickly becomes personal. His biggest mistake? He underestimates a man hell-bent on protecting what’s his. It’s my job to protect her. So that’s what I’ll do. I will keep my girl safe. Now and forever.

My best friend and partner in my law firm has a client out to get him. The main problem? His daughter, Raina, is in the line of fire. Someone needs to protect her. Who is better than me for the job? I show up for Raina whenever she needs me and even when she believes she doesn’t. I may take my protective nature over her a bit far, but sometimes a guy has to climb through her window to make sure she’s safe. The tension between us is undeniable. It’s so palpable that her father enlists me to protect her while he dodges a maniac of a client who put him in the hospital. I won’t let that happen to her. I’ll stand in front of a bullet for Raina because that’s the kind of man I am for her. That’s the kind of man she needs in her life. A man to take care of her. A man she actually wants to call Daddy. It takes some convincing for her to let me keep her safe, but once she’s onboard, I need her to know she’s mine. Nothing or no one is going to get in the way of me protecting her. She belongs to me … now and forever.