Stories by @j_lyn

Dear Rosie

Rosie & Nate

Credence

Tiernan de Haas doesn’t care about anything anymore. The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she’s grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. Shipped off to boarding schools from an early age, it was still impossible to escape the loneliness and carve out a life of her own. The shadow of her parents’ fame followed her everywhere.

Sleet Princess

My trip to Mexico for my cousin’s wedding was only supposed to be a few days of obligation and oceanside. I wasn’t expecting Luke. Wasn’t expecting the hot hockey player, with the smirks and the tattoos, who kept bumping into me. And I certainly wasn’t expecting to spend a night on the beach, under the stars, underneath him. It was magical, but I thought it would end there. Instead, we exchanged numbers and stayed in touch. So when Luke invited me to watch him play in Vegas, I went. And it was great. Until we woke up the next morning and found the wedding certificate in my pocket. Turns out that dance party we snuck into was actually a group wedding ceremony. And now we’re married. Which is bad. Because I think our wedding was actually our first date. And if my dad finds out, he’ll cut me out of the family business. So when footage leaks of Luke and me hot and heavy in an elevator, I have to make up a new plan to save my reputation and career. Now, all I need is for Luke Anders to act like he’s madly in love with me. Should be easy. Right?

Sleet Banshee

Mother-freaking hockey players. My friends found their happily-ever-afters with a couple of sweet, doting, over-the-top, in-love athletes. They got nicknames like Kitten and Sugar. But me? I got stuck with a dickhead who riles me up on purpose and calls me Banshee. Yeah, he might have a voice made explicitly for wet dreams. And he might have a body and face carved by the gods. And he might have a level of Alpha-hole that gets me all hot and bothered... But when he presses my buttons, he presses ALL of my buttons. And I’m not the type of girl who takes things sitting down. I mean, I only got caught on my knees that one time. In the museum. But when my decisions get one of my friends hurt… I can’t stop blaming myself. And him. Except he can’t take a hint. And I can’t keep my panties on.

Sleet Sugar

My friends have convinced me. No more hockey players. With a dad who is the Head Coach for the Minnesota Sleet, it seemed like an easy decision. My friends have also convinced me that the best way to boost my fragile self-esteem is through a one-night stand. A dating app. A hotel bar. A sexy-as-hell man... who’s sweet, and funny, and - did I mention? sexy-as-hell… I fortified my courage and invited myself up to his room. Assumptions. There’s a rule about them. I assumed he was passing through town. I assumed he was a businessman, or maybe an investor, or accountant, or literally anything other than a professional hockey player. I assumed I’d never see him again. I assumed wrong.

Sleet Kitten

There are a few things that life doesn’t prepare you for. Like what to do when a super-hot guy catches you sneaking around in his basement. Or what to do when a mysterious package shows up with tickets to a hockey game because, apparently, he’s a professional athlete. Or how to handle it when you get to the game and realize he’s freaking famous since half of the 20,000 people in the stands are wearing his jersey. I thought I was a well-adjusted adult, reasonably prepared for life. But one date with Jackson Wilder, a viral video, and a “I didn’t know she was your mom” incident, and I’m suddenly questioning everything I thought I knew. But he’s fun. And great. And I think I might be falling for him. But I don’t know if he’s falling for me, too, or if he’s as much of a player off the ice as on.

Hans

CASSIE How to make the handsome, brooding man across the street notice me. Step one: Deliver baked goods to his front porch, even though he never answers his door and always returns the containers when I'm not home. Step two: Slowly lose my mind as a whole year passes without ever running into him, no matter how hard I try. Step three: Have my boudoir photos accidentally delivered to his mailbox instead of mine. Have him open the package. Then have him storm into my home for the most panty-melting scolding of my life. Step four: Still figuring out step four. HANS I'm a dangerous man. A man who has spent the last two decades removing so many souls from this earth that it's a miracle my hands aren't permanently stained red. I'm a man who belongs in the shadows. I certainly don't belong in my pretty little neighbor's bedroom when she's not home, touching her things and inhaling her scent. I shouldn't follow her. Shouldn't watch her. Because no number of cookies on my doorstep will change the fact that love isn't an option for me. The only option left for me is violence.

Dom

VAL When I was nine, I went to my first funeral. Along with accepting my father's death, I had to accept new and awful truths I wasn't prepared for. When I was nineteen, I went to my mother's funeral. We weren't close, but with her gone, I became more alone than ever before. Sure, I have a half-brother who runs The Alliance. And yeah, he's given me his protection — in the form of a bodyguard and chauffeur. But I don't have anyone that really knows me. No one to really love me. Until I meet him. The man in the airport. And when one chance meeting turns into something hotter, something more serious, I let myself believe that maybe he's the one. Maybe this man is the one who will finally save me from my loneliness. The one to give me the family I've always craved. DOM The Mafia is in my blood. It's what I do. So when that blood is spilled and one funeral turns into three, drastic measures need to be taken. And when this battle turns into a war, I'm going to need more men. More power. I'm going to need The Alliance. And I'll become a member. By any means necessary.

King

You thought Nero was a red flag... Okay, so, my bad for assuming the guy I was going on a date with wasn’t married. And my bad for taking him to a friend’s house for dinner, only to find out my friend is also friends with his wife. Because, in fact, he is married. And she happens to be at my friend’s house because her husband was busy working. Confused? So am I. Unsurprisingly, my date’s wife is super angry about finding out that her husband is a cheating asshole. Girl, I get it. Then, to make matters more convoluted, there is the man sitting next to my date’s wife. A man named King, who is apparently her brother, and who lives up to his name. And since my date is a two-timing prick, I’m not going to feel bad about drooling over King, especially since I’ll never see him again. Or at least I don’t plan to. I plan to take an Uber to the cheater’s apartment to get my car keys. I plan for it to be quick. And if I had to list a thousand possible outcomes… witnessing my date’s murder, being kidnapped by his killer, and then being forced to marry the super attractive but clearly deranged crime lord, would not have been on my Bingo card. But alas, here I am.

Nero

Payton Running away from home at 17 wasn’t easy. Let’s face it though, nothing before, or in the ten years since, has ever been easy for me. And I’m doing okay. Sorta. I just need to keep scraping by, living under the radar. Staying out of people’s way, off people’s minds. So when a man walks through my open patio door, stepping boldly into my home, and my life, I should be scared. Frightened. Terrified. But I must be more broken than I realized, because I’m none of those things. I’m intrigued. And I’m wondering if the way to take control of my life is by giving in to him. Nero The first time I took a man’s life, I knew there’d be no going back. No normal existence in the cards for me. So instead of walking away, I climbed a mountain of bodies, and created my own destiny. By forming The Alliance. And I was fine with that. Content enough to carry on. Until I stepped through those open doors, and into her life. I should’ve walked away. Should’ve gone right back out the door I came through. But I didn’t. And now her life is in danger. But that’s the thing about being a bad man. I’ll happily paint the streets red to protect what’s mine. And Payton is mine. Whether she knows it or not.

Keres

Are you ready for the next explosive instalment of the Chicago Ruthless series. The Moretti's might think they have it all, but there's one more Moretti out there who wants to take it from them... She was born in captivity and raised in hell. While her siblings lived in a golden palace and slept on feather pillows, Keres Sideris fought to survive horror and fear and pain. Until a faceless man freed her from the life she was born for. Warriors don’t escape fear, they conquer it … those words were the only thing her rescuer left her with when she was just a little girl, and those words fortified her heart against the world. But she isn’t a little girl anymore. Keres is all grown up and ready to seek vengeance against those who hurt her. Eager to make them pay for every single thing they took from her, and nothing and nobody will stand in her way. Except Keres has no idea of the lion’s den she’s about to walk into. Challenging the Morettis means taking on far more than she bargained for, including getting on the wrong side of the two take-no-prisoners bodyguards assigned to keep an eye on her.

Lorenzo

Grief is the price we pay for love My name is Lorenzo Moretti. Born to be head of the Cosa Nostra, except that I chose love over my birthright. On our wedding day, my father cursed our union, swearing on his own blood that my wife and I would never live out our days in happiness. I guess he was right, because fate stole her from me and I’m left to live an empty life without her, with a shattered heart and only half a soul. On the day my wife died, I swore I’d never love anyone like that again, and it’s a promise I kept for two years. A promise I kept until her… She sauntered into my life wearing a dress the color of sunshine and with nothing else but an old Mustang and a smile. Beaten and bruised and seeking refuge behind my family’s walls. But I’m no white knight looking for redemption, and she’s sure no damsel in distress. She’s annoying as hell. With no filter and an eternally sunny disposition. She says whatever’s on her mind, no matter how poorly judged it might be. She’s everything I don’t want. But she might just be everything I need. And I don’t know how much longer I can resist her sweet smile and her sinful curves… Because there’s only so long you can stand in the sun before giving in to its heat. This book contains: Grumpy/ sunshine Dark mafia Heartbreak and angst Love after loss Grovelling Dom/ sub scenes A HEA

Joey

Notorious Mafia enforcer and right hand of the Cosa Nostra, Maximo DiMarco has always looked out for me. He’s my protector. My brothers’ best friend. My crush—with the body of a god and the mind of a devil. And I am just a spoiled Mafia princess. At least that’s who most people think I am. They don’t look at me long enough to see the real me. But he sees.... He is dark and dangerous and lethal, but he’s the only man who makes me feel like I’m alive. It’s a pity he’s too loyal to my brothers to ever act on the sparks that constantly fly between us.... Or is he? Because when he finally loses control, it’s even more than I ever dreamed it could be. And even though he tells me that the two of us aren’t an option, I see the look in his eyes every time we’re together. He’s only ever a breath away from losing that control again. But Max is a man with a dark past and secrets that he can’t escape. When that past catches up with us, it threatens what might be our only shot at happiness. Because I would give up everything I’ve ever known for a life with him. And when my brothers find out about us, I just might have to. This book is a stand-alone brother's-best-friend romance. It features: A jealous, possessive MC Age gap Praise/punishment Pierced MC Inexperienced FMC "Touch her and die" vibes No cheating An HEA

Dante

I hate Dante Moretti. He is cold, calculating and vicious. It’s no secret that he wiped out his former fiancée and her entire family on the eve of their wedding. He’s the kind of evil that makes even devils cry. But that’s not why I hate him. I hate him because he has taken the only thing I have left in this miserable world – my freedom. He has chained me to him because of a debt that I don’t owe. I just have the misfortune to share the bloodline of the man who does. And now I’m trapped in his gilded cage and the only thing I have left to do is run. And I try. I really do. But he is everywhere. Suffocating. All consuming. Intoxicating. He is a paradox. A man with a heart as cold as ice, whose passion rages like an inferno. Why does he see into my soul in a way that nobody else ever has? Why does the slightest brush of his skin make my pulse race? My mom always warned me never to play with matches. But if Dante Moretti is fire, then I want to burn. Dante is the first book in the Chicago Ruthless series, featuring the Moretti siblings. Each book is a standalone with a HEA. This is a spicy Dark Mafia, enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance, which features scenes of a violent nature as well as those of an explicit nature.