steamy high fantasy books Audiobooks

Best friends to lovers...or will they always be branded by their pasts? Tattoo artist India Ellison is well-acquainted with preconceived notions. As a walking advertisement for the tattoo shop she’s set up in a small Wyoming town, India is used to comments about her colorful tats and hair. Still, life is good. She’s clean and sober, adored by her family, and best of all, spends most of her free time with her best friend, Colt. Reformed bad boy Colt McKay never expected three years of sobriety to lead to three years of abstinence. Curbing his craving for booze is nothing compared to the ever-increasing yearning for his hot-tempered, hot-bodied best friend, India. Too bad she hasn’t a clue that Colt’s been in love with her since day one. After an unexpected, steamy encounter, all India can think about is riding the sexy cowboy as hard and fast as her motorcycle. But Colt is determined to show her a slower ride is worth the wait. The friendship that helped them conquer their pasts is about to be tested by their new addiction. Each other.

Two twentysomethings struggle to let go of their idea of a perfect world on and off the ice in this emotional third book in the Nashville Sound series. Ambitious, smart, and straightlaced, Nashville Sound forward Jarrett MacPherson is determined to walk in the footsteps of his All-American hockey-playing grandfather. He prides himself on doing the right thing above all, with ethics so sharp they could cut the heart out of a saint. Hard-working Merry Sweet toils by day in a paper shop and coffee bar in Sound Town and at night at the arena, cleaning, selling concessions, and taking tickets. Jarrett notices and admires Merry’s determination and believes her when she says she needs money for law school, even offering to help solve her financial problems. When she refuses him, his esteem for her only grows. But when the public catches wind of their budding relationship, a surprising secret from Merry’s past comes to light. Now, Jarrett must decide if he’ll let his image take precedence over his heart and cost him the chance at something perfectly real. Sensuality Level: Sensual

I’m not the kind of man an innocent girl should fall for. But Marley River says she knows what she wants. And she wants me. She says she can handle a mountain man, after all, this freckled face slice of sunshine grew up in Alaska. But I’m more than a feral mountain man. I’m an ex-drug lord, reformed con-man, an exonerated criminal. Her brothers are the River Boys and they want me off Whiskey Mountain. I want to turn a new leaf, but not if it means giving up what I want. I love Marley more than life itself. But is that enough when the world is dead set against it? It’s high time we find out. Because I’m not going down without a fight. I’ll be here, on Whiskey Mountain, defending what — and who— is mine. With guns blazing.

Howard Andrew Jones' powerful world-building brings this epic fantasy to life in For The Killing of Kings , the first book of his new adventure-filled trilogy. Their peace was a fragile thing, but it had endured for seven years, mostly because the people of Darassus and the king of the Naor hordes believed his doom was foretold upon the edge of the great sword hung in the hall of champions. Unruly Naor clans might raid across the border, but the king himself would never lead his people to war so long as the blade remained in the hands of his enemies. But when squire Elenai’s aging mentor uncovers evidence that the sword in their hall is a forgery she’s forced to flee Darassus for her life, her only ally the reckless, disillusioned Kyrkenall the archer. Framed for murder and treason, pursued by the greatest heroes of the realm, they race to recover the real sword, only to stumble into a conspiracy that leads all the way back to the Darassan queen and her secretive advisors. They must find a way to clear their names and set things right, all while dodging friends determined to kill them – and the Naor hordes, invading at last with a new and deadly weapon.

Forced into marriage by their king in order to stop years of inter-clan feuding, Sorcha Campbell and Malcolm MacGregor are each determined to drive the other away. Malcolm knows he can never trust his new shrewish wife, despite the fact that everything he observes seems to prove that she's not only trustworthy, but utterly perfect for him. Sorcha knows she can never let her guard down around the man she believes betrayed her father, yet the longer she's with him, the more she discovers he is nothing like she was led to believe. They'll have to fight their way through past prejudices and their own determination to destroy their union in order to gain their perfect HEA in this Taming of the Shrew meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days tale.

“Small town Colorado police detective Gemma Monroe is a human and fallible heroine I can't wait to meet again, and Littlejohn's prose is lyrical and gripping.”―Deborah Crombie In Emily Littlejohn's follow-up to her acclaimed debut Inherit the Bones , a twisted killer stalks his prey in the dead of winter. On a cold dark night in February, as a blizzard shrieks through Cedar Valley, police officer and new mother Gemma Monroe responds to an anonymous report of a prowler at the local private high school, The Valley Academy. In her idyllic Colorado small town, Gemma expects the call was just a prank by a bored teenager. But there in the snow lies the savaged body of a man whose presence in town was meant to be a secret. And a disturbing message left by his killer promises more death to come. This is only the beginning . . . Nothing is as it seems in Cedar Valley and stories, both fact and fiction, ensnare Gemma as her investigation moves from the halls of an elite academy to the forests that surround Cedar Valley. Against a backdrop of bleak winter weather, stymied by those who would lie to protect what is dearest to them, Gemma hunts a ruthless killer before he strikes again in A Season to Lie .

A closed room in her newest fixer-upper leads Indiana house-flipper Jazzi Zanders to reopen a chilling cold case involving a high school girl . . . Jazzi, her cousin Jerod, and her husband Ansel are preparing to renovate a charming house that reminds her of an English manor. Before purchasing it, they had inspected the house for structural issues, but now when they do a more thorough walk-through, they discover a teenage girl's bedroom that clearly hasn't been touched in years. Dust covers the pink canopy bed, clothes still hang in the closet, and a hope chest remains full of journals and memorabilia. They've stumbled on a shrine to a dead girl. They learn Jessica was killed in the middle of her high school graduation party. The murderer was never identified, but the brother-in-law of Jazzi’s friend, who went to school with Jessica, was suspected and never lived it down. He implores Jazzi to review the cold case and finally prove him innocent. Now it’s up to the house-flipper to nail a killer who will do anything to close the door on the past . . .

Can a marriage of convenience heal a wounded hero and a beautiful soul with scars of her own? Confirmed bachelor Cameron McKay has found his purpose in Wyoming. His deputy sheriff job—and the injury that ended his military career—keep him right where he wants to be: off the McKay ranch and away from his meddling family. He holds his emotions on lockdown, along with his darkest memories of the war that left him feeling less than whole. Until he meets her. Orphaned at a young age, Domini Katzinski has been fending for herself since immigrating to the U.S. So when it comes to intimate relationships, she prefers a take-charge man to whom she can relinquish total control. Brooding Cam fits the bill: powerful, dominant, and beautifully scarred, with a gentle side he hides from everyone but her. Once Cam gets over his shock that the sweet and shy Domini wants to surrender to his every fantasy, he lets go of his shame and inhibitions. Their passion burns as hot as a rocket-propelled grenade, and soon Cam wants more than a fun, no-strings attached fling. So when tragedy strikes, leaving Domini responsible for the care of a young boy she desperately wants to adopt, Cam seizes a chance at forever by proposing a marriage of convenience. Will sharing their traumas and secrets bring them together? Or are their damages too deep for even love to heal?

Juliette gave up on her dream of ever gaining Michael's notice the day the senator's daughter, Aria, came into the picture. She'd do anything for the ruthless and sometimes cruel Michael. Even three years later, when he hires her to plan his wedding to Aria. Aria has always been jealous of and hated Juliette. When things start going wrong with the wedding plans, it's Juliette who gets blamed for Aria's tampering. Juliette foolishly allowed Michael to create the contract for the event. When Aria skips out on the wedding. Juliette is forced to be the bride because of a clause in the contract. A five-year contract marriage to the man of her dreams becomes a nightmare when he promises to make her pay for destroying his wedding and reputation. Never mind that Aria ran away on her own or canceled all of Juliette's arrangements. It's Juliette who loses her business and becomes trapped in a loveless marriage. On her third wedding anniversary, the only present Michael ever gave her was divorce papers. Now what will she do when she finds Aria has taken her place? Michael learned early in life, women want money and not the men behind the money. He’s always got an alternate plan, and a five year plan for his future. Blind by anger and the need to lash out, he uses Juliette as a backup bride to pin her down and unleash his revenge upon. It’s only for five years after all. It’s a trial run marriage. Who the bride is doesn’t matter. Will Michael finally learn from his mistakes? Is it too late? What about Leon, Michael's best friend, and who stole Aria from Michael? Can they sort this out before it's too late? Cover by Graziana (@gm_bookcover_design)

Come back to the mountain with Frankie Love! Coming Home to the Mountain is a new filthy-sweet, high heat series by Frankie Love featuring rugged mountain men who fall hard, fast and forever. And with the women they love at their side, they choose to put family first. Discover: -protective hero -high heat, all the feels -characters with strong moral compass -super steamy in all the right ways -small town romance Rough Patch Reuben gets his second chance at love, with his daughter Plum at his side. Rough Enough A baby and a woman -- scared for their lives. A mountain man who will stop at nothing to protect them. Rough Justice When I leave for a hunting trip to the family cabin, I don’t expect to find the woman of my goddamn dreams squatting there. Rough Around the Edges Fig Finds Love! Coming back after my fashion internship was supposed to be a short-term stop … but my heart is telling me I belong right here at Home, WA.