Raine Miller

"I came to Vegas to play a final season of NHL hockey and for one last chance at The Cup."-Tripp Blackburn, VEGAS CRUSHI've known Lila Marchmont-Terry since she was born-when I was thirteen years old.Despite decades of our two families being in each other's lives, I don't have many memories of Lila until she was older, probably because I was at the very beginning of what would become a long and successful hockey career at the same time she was learning to walk and talk.We last met four years ago when she was heading off for her second year of college and I was heading into my twelfth season in the NHL.I came to Vegas for one last chance at getting my name engraved on The Cup with a championship team because, after this season, I'll be hanging up my skates for good.Lila's in Vegas for a gap year interning at her grandfather's NHL team because, after this season, she'll be heading off to grad school for Sports Management.Then one night in Toronto, we got stranded together in a hotel room with only one bed...and we did something we should've never done even though the itch was there for both of us.The same itch we scratched repeatedly after our clothes sort of shrugs]...fell off.Also how I knocked up Max Terry's granddaughter who usually despises me when our clothes are on.It's a whole cluster now-one urgent CLUSTERPUCK of a situation.But I'm sure I've got this one figured out.First, I'll convince Lila that she doesn't despise me nearly as much as she once thought, and then I'll make her understand that there's nobody I'll ever share my pucks with...but her.

"When people say I have a superhero complex I take it as a compliment."-Mikhail Zelenka, VEGAS CRUSHI met her on my way home from the gym one day.It was really more like she accused me of stalking her and other things that made no sense to me at the time.Reagan Marlowe was under the impression I was working for a Vegas crime boss about to give her the shakedown.I was under the impression she was straight-up crazy.Gorgeous AF, but crazy all the same.So later, when I came upon her with said shakedown in progress, I knew she wasn't crazy at all, just terrified and in trouble.I didn't hesitate to step in and rescue her from the real criminals in this story.She told me I was her own personal superhero and I probably saved her life.I told her I was just a hockey player who happened to be in the right place at the right time and we should probably be friends.So, we did that...we became friends.Our friendship even grew to include the occasional naked sleepover.But it was when she gave me the cool superhero name that I knew I wanted to be a lot more than just a friend who makes her see stars on one of our naked sleepovers.Yes, she's got ninety-nine problems and a Vegas crime boss on her tail, but I can make it all go away.If she would just let me help.Did I mention she's also stubborn AF as well as gorgeous?Mr. Hockey (that's what she named me) has one more challenge before my mission is complete.Convincing Reagan Marlowe I'll be her superhero forever.

"Lucky Las Vegas. It's true I've had some major puck luck in this city. In ways I could never imagine."-Grant Gerard, VEGAS CRUSHGeneral Manager of the sharpest skates on NHL ice-the Vegas Crush.Dream job of a lifetime.On the day I accepted their offer, I met Devon in the bar at my hotel where she was attending a conference.We made a pact not to mention jobs or exes, so we talked about other things instead.In fact, we did lots of talking that night.Talking before and after the sexy naked things we also did in her hotel room that night.Devon and I had a magical kind of "puck" luck going on between us.All. Night. Long.But our scorching night eventually turned to morning, and we said our goodbyes, returning to busy lives in different cities far away from each other.I put our one-night-puck firmly in the past as an unforgettable encounter with a gorgeous woman I never dreamed I'd ever be lucky enough to see again.But it turns out I am that lucky.Because I did see her again.Right here in Vegas, working for the Vegas Crush Organization, the nutritionist for the team.The same gorgeous Devon I can't stop thinking about is working in an office just a few floors below me.I am the new GM, so...we'll need to get around the corporate non-fraternization policy we've both now signed.A policy I wish would puck right off into the flames of a Vegas desert sunset.Because Devon Pearson is here...and I sure as hell can't stay away from her.She's my lucky puck.

"Sometimes I feel like a square puck trying to roll down ice."-Calum Lefleur, VEGAS CRUSHLiving in Montreal and playing the best hockey of my career after leading my team to a Cup-winning season last year?Check.Traded overnight to the Vegas Crush and blindsided with no warning whatsoever?Also, check.So now I'm in Vegas. Feeling all the uncomfortableness of a new environment where nothing is familiar. Where every person I see is someone I don't know. Where "fitting in" will be nearly impossible without an established routine.To help settle me in, Vegas Crush Media Relations arranged for a volunteer gig teaching guitar lessons to disadvantaged kids at a local youth center. They feel that connecting with the community will help boost my image with the Vegas fans.I don't mind volunteering at all. I prefer to keep busy, and I think it could be a fun way to pass my downtime.But there is a hitch. Of course, there is.That stunning drummer from Love Scrum I saw play my first night out in Vegas?The one with the ends of her dark, silky hair dyed electric purple?The one with the mile-long legs who danced with me (and kissed me) when I stupidly crashed that after-party?The one-in-the-same gorgeous drummer I blew off at the end of the night because I'm awkward AF in new situations with new people...as previously noted?That one Well, today I found out her name is Billie Hirsch. And she is everything I said she was...plus a whole lot more.More...like she's the program director for those guitar lessons I'll be teaching over at the Crush Foundation Music Workshop.More...like Ms. Hirsch and I will be forced to work closely together throughout the entire season.More...like Billie Hirsch kinda hates me and this is going to be a huge pucking problem.

The politics of love are brutal.Yes. They. Are.But it doesn't really matter either way because this plan was set in stone a long time ago by the ones who hold all the power.Reese Pinkarver and Grayson T. Lash III will marry and merge the political dynasties of the honorable presidential legacies they were born into.A destiny so much bigger than the both of us.With all the rewards that come with it...to the tune of a billion-dollar trust fund.And I am here for all of it.All in.I know who I want to spend my life with.Who I want to have babies with.Who I want beside me as I make my way carrying on the legacy of our names.My Lovely Pink.All I have to do is convince her it's what she wants too.

Priceless paintings...Done in a master's hand...Revealed two centuries after they were created...A collection of paintings are complicating Ivan Everley's life in ways he never could've imagined.Specifically, the gorgeous art specialist from the University of London is responsible for the "it's complicated" on his socials. But that's fine with him.Because before Gabrielle appeared at his doorstep one dark and stormy summer night? He. Never. Felt. This. Good.The fiery art historian has turned his world completely upside down, and she's done it while capturing his wounded heart.But Gabrielle is sporting a wounded heart of her own and she's terrified of risking it again.Will he hurt her as others have done? Or is Ivan Everley a lot more than the aristocratic playboy he appears in the tabloids?Gabrielle will need to discover exactly who Ivan, the man, is for herself.But their future isn't set, and there's some serious trouble afoot...because Lord Rothvale's art collection presents more mysteries with every painting Gabrielle discovers tucked away inside his private sanctuary along the North Irish coast.While Gabrielle delves deeper into her work, Ivan is hoping the mystery behind his paintings takes a very long time to solve so he can keep her tucked away inside his private sanctuary...with him, forever.Lord Rothvale has finally met his destiny.And her name is Gabrielle Hargreave.A love beyond any price...Lives intertwined over the ages...Destinies of the heart and of treasures hidden away...

Be "just friends" with a smokeshow like her? That's pretty much a p#cking impossible ask.-Tyler Lockhardt, VEGAS CRUSHI'm just over here minding my business playing hockey for the Crush when the SMOKESHOW of my dreams turns up and seriously rocks my world.For real.Beautiful, smart, and so incredibly sweet I cannot help myself from wanting to get to know her a whole lot better.But it's not happening.C*ck-blocked by her paranoid older brother (also my teammate) and her Feminazi sister, I've lost my game long before I ever had any.It gets worse.Zoya Kolochev has zero interest in dating hockey players and she is completely firm on that.She would like to be my friend though. *facepalm*I know I'm definitely not boyfriend material, but I don't think I'm very good friend material either.But it's what she wants...so I guess I'll have a new "friend" now.A smokin' hot, legs-for-days, sexy, gorgeous SMOKESHOW for my new friend.FML

"They call me the 'Ice Dragon' but it's really just all for show."-Boris Drăghici, VEGAS CRUSHThe Ice Dragon was traded to Las Vegas for one reason and one reason only.To bring the Crush another Cup Championship.But off the ice, there's something not right with my money.My financial managers in Russia are probably stealing from me.So I really need the expert eye of a pro to investigate what's going on.My money being stolen is problem number one.Having the hots for the genius finance-goddess I just hired to help me out of problem number one?That's my problem number two.It's very pucking hard to keep things professional when the girl of my dreams-the girl who may be the ONE-is saying "no" to crossing the blue line with me.I guess this means the Ice Dragon will just have to keep fighting until Talia Wentworth understands that I want her for so much more than simply managing my puck money.

"They call me 'The Mad Russian' for a reason."-Viktor Demoskev, VEGAS CRUSHMy reputation as an Enforcer was earned one game at a time. Fighting on the ice for my team is something I take very seriously because I came to the USA to play hockey, not be a celebrity.Unfortunately, this logic has my public image taking a beating-not that I care very much how others think of me.Except for her.Scarlett.A woman as gorgeous, and fiery, and sexy, as that long red hair of hers. Which would look even more stunning spread out on my sheets with my hands tangled in it all night long w̶h̶i̶l̶e̶ ̶n̶a̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶r̶s̶e̶.It is unfortunate that she also works for the team. In Public Relations...So yeah, the no-fraternization policy is an issue, but hardly my main concern. The biggest hurdle is Scarlett thinking I am part of a gambling ring for the Russian Mafia.Crazy, right?I can deal with setting her straight about her ridiculous suspicions, but cracking through that hard shell she has built around her broken heart? This is my real challenge.But oh how I love a good fight.Winning is everything to me.Especially when the prize is the Las Vegas beauty I named the Red Rocket...

"There's a lot more to me than what I've let on in the public eye."-Georg Kolochev, VEGAS CRUSHNo, I don't drink vodka straight from the bottle. I don't pour it over my breakfast cereal either.I am not in need of an intervention... unless it involves me and a certain blonde bombshell alone in a room with a locking door.I've done my fair share of partying, I'll admit. And yes, I've built up something of a reputation with the ladies when not on the ice. That's on me for being careless with my posts on social. And I do know what's most important in my life.Two things.Hockey...and Pamela Jenson.My favorite physical therapist needs me so much more than she knows.Because I am the guy delivering her sin shot.Yeah, you heard me.I'm her first.Sinning with Pam has never felt so good.

She left me the week before our wedding.Said I wasn't "husband material."Actually, I'd have to agree with my ex on that matter... because I'm probably better off alone.But everything changed the day I met a mysterious beauty sketching on the beach.Giselle...We had one magical night together... and then she was gone.My French beach fairy danced away with the dawn.I searched until I found her again.And now I can't let her go... because maybe I am husband material after all.

"That 'no-fraternization' policy is about to get broken."-Evan Kazmeirowicz, VEGAS CRUSHDefinitely the goal in mind for the star winger and team captain of the Vegas Crush the day he lays eyes on the new social media manager for the team.But for Holly Laurent, it's something more along the lines of: never-ever-gonna-happen-Mr.-Hottie-McHockeypants.Dating a "player" is a risky business, especially if she wants to keep the job she just landed with the hottest team in the NHL.Holly loves her independence and her career. She's doing just fine on her own, thank you very much. Allowing her head to be turned by a hot hockey player and putting her job at risk?Not. Happening. Ever.Not even if he looks like a god.Not even if he possesses enough charm to tempt the panties from a nun.Not even if she has to cross her fingers behind her back every time she tells him she's not interested.Policies exist for a reason. Rules are not meant to be broken and sexy players are not to be trusted.Right?

Somerset, 1837 'Ti amo, mia cara' Die feine Art der Verf hrung.Darius Rourke und seine brennende Leidenschaft f r eine Frau. Die sanfte Marianne ist so wundersch n wie auch geheimnisvoll. Als ihm die M glichkeit in die H nde gespielt wird, sie zu seiner Frau zu machen, nimmt Darius diese wahr; denn er will, dass Marianne endlich allein ihm geh rt.Wird sie das aber auch?Marianne hat ein Geheimnis. Etwas, das sie unw rdig macht, von einem Mann geliebt zu werden - nicht einmal von dem eleganten Darius. Obwohl nur er es schafft, sie vollkommen in seinen Bann zu ziehen.Ein Blick...Eine Ber hrung...Ein Kuss...Eine bedeutsame Sinnlichkeit. Dies ist eine berauschende und leidenschaftliche Geschichte ber Liebende, die zusammen die S nden und Geheimnisse des jeweils anderen erkunden. Auf ihrem gemeinsamen Pfad werden Darius und Marianne herausfinden, dass es genauso wichtig ist zu kommandieren, wie sich zu unterwerfenEin Mann, der wei , was er will...Eine Frau, die ihn braucht, um ihren Wert zu erkennen... 'Ti amo, mia cara'

Jugendliebe...Eine Liebe, die es so nur selten gibt...Elaina Morrison ist bereits ihr Leben lang in Neil McManus verliebt. Sie erinnert sich nicht an eine Zeit, in der sie ihn nicht geliebt hat. Sogar durch eine herzzerrei ende Trag die und in den Jahren in denen sie voneinander getrennt waren. Ihre Liebe aber blieb bestehen...bis das Schicksal entschied auf ihren Herzen herumzutrampeln.Ihr perfekter Traum wurde zerst rt und sie musste erkennen, wie schwierig es ist loszulassen. Das wirkliche Leben ist eben nicht immer eitler Sonnenschein und bestimmt von romantischen Tr umen - Neil und Elaina haben das wieder und wieder erkennen m ssen.Es nervt gewaltig und hinterl sst Narben, aber Neil gibt nicht auf. Er ist ein Soldat, der Jahre damit zugebracht hat sich nach ihr zu verzehren und dabei viel opfern musste, als er auf sie gewartet hat. Er hat sich schon vorher durch Schlachtfelder gek mpft und dieses bestimmte Schlachtfeld, das wei er, wird er auf keinen Fall als Verlierer verlassen. Neil McManus wird k mpfen, um Elaina zu zeigen, was er schon l ngst wei .Sie wird f r immer sein Cherry Girl sein.