Tough Love

She’s playing hard to get...to win the MMA fighter of her ultimate fantasies in a sultry new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster

Vanity Baker loves a good, clean match, but she’s not above playing a little dirty. She’s wanted Stack “The Wolf” Hannigan from day one. Seems as though the best way to corral the famously commitment-phobic fighter is to insist on keeping it casual. And her plan works—deliciously well—until Stack’s past steps out of the shadows.

Stack learned early to stay free of attachments. But with sexy, forthright Vanity, he’s the one always left wanting more. Then his troublemaking family comes back into the picture, threatening everything Stack cares about—Vanity included. Suddenly he realizes they’re much more than friends with benefits. He’s ready to go to the mat for her...but will it be in time to protect the woman who’s tamed him for good?

Praise for New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster

“Readers will be thrilled with Foster’s new sexy batch of fight club heroes and the women who love them.”

—Kirkus Reviews on No Limits

“Storytelling at its best! Lori Foster should be on everyone’s auto-buy list.”

—#1 New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon on No Limits

“Foster’s writing satisfies all appetites with plenty of searing sexual tension and page-turning action in this steamy, edgy, and surprisingly tender novel.”

—Publishers Weekly on Getting Rowdy

“Foster hits every note (or power chord) of the true alpha male hero.”

—Publishers Weekly on Bare It All

“A sexy, believable roller coaster of action and romance.”

—Kirkus Reviews on Run the Risk

“Bestseller Foster...has an amazing ability to capture a man’s emotions and lust with sizzling sex scenes and meld it with a strong woman’s point of view.”

—Publishers Weekly on A Perfect Storm

“Foster rounds out her searing trilogy with a story that tilts toward the sizzling and sexy side of the genre.”

—RT Book Reviews on Savor the Danger

“The fast-paced thriller keeps these well-developed characters moving... Foster’s series will continue to garner fans with this exciting installment.”

—Publishers Weekly on Trace of Fever

“Steamy, edgy, and taut.”

—Library Journal on When You Dare

Tough Love

Lori Foster

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

My newest Ultimate series, with books that each stand alone but are connected by characters who know each other, involves mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters and falling in love. The sport brings with it some hunky, capable, alpha heroes so that all I need to do is add in the romance. Superfun for me and, given the reaction to the first three stories (Hard Knocks, an e-prequel novella, and the full-length novels No Limits and Holding Strong), readers are enjoying them, too. I’m thrilled with the feedback I’ve gotten so far, and now I’m pleased to introduce readers to Stack and Vanity’s story!

Their romance starts with a sexy proposition from Vanity. Seems simple enough. But every time Stack thinks he has a handle on things, Vanity throws him for a loop—in a good way. Vanity knows she’s playing a tricky game, but she’s playing to win. I loved writing their romance—and I hope you’ll love reading it!

If you’re not familiar with MMA, no worries. You don’t need to follow the sport to understand the books because the core of these stories is romance—sexy, fun, one-on-one romance. They’re about the fighters—not fighting.

With every new Ultimate book released, I receive reader letters and emails asking which of the fighters will be next. Judging by readers’ reactions, I’m guessing you’ll be excited to learn that Armie’s getting a book of his own! I saved him for last because let’s face it, Armie has some things to work out before he plays the role of romantic hero. But if you’ve read the other books, you’ll have a pretty good sense by now of the woman who just might give him everything—even those things he didn’t know were missing.

Just for fun, at the end of this book you’ll find Back to Buckhorn, a novella from my reader-favorite Buckhorn Brothers series, in print for the first time. While Garrett Hudson is a firefighter rather than an MMA fighter, I think you’ll find he has a lot of qualities in common with my Ultimate men.

I hope you enjoy the reads. And of course, you’re always welcome to reach out to me. I’m very active on most social media forums including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads, and my email address is listed on my website at lorifoster.com.

Happy reading to all,

To Whitney Price,

You know I think of you as a daughter, and lil Ruby as a granddaughter. You’re both very special to me.

And because you’re so endlessly sweet (and because of the private joke we started on Facebook) it was extra fun to give your name to the coldhearted fictional character in this book. Yes, you finally get to be really bad!

Love you much,

Lori

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