Selling my virginity wasn't how I saw my first week of college going. But after my parents cut me off, an offer from a gorgeous rich stranger doesn't sound so bad. It's only twenty-four hours and I'll never have to see him again. Wrong. Much to my horror, the stranger is Oliver Godfrey, the captain of my fencing team. As if that isn't bad enough, his parents own half the city. There is no escape from him or the way he makes me feel.

Professor Derek Rutledge is hated and feared by all of his students. Strict, reserved, and ruthless, he doesn't tolerate mistakes and has little patience for his students. Shawn Wyatt is a 20-year-old struggling to provide for his younger sisters after the death of their parents. On the verge of losing his scholarship, Shawn becomes desperate enough to go to Professor Rutledge.

After the death of his wife, Tanner Rowe takes a step toward making her dying wish come true and buys the house with the dilapidated barn she'd been drawn to in the Upper Peninsula. But after a year, he still can't get past his grief long enough to make the repairs he'd promised. Recently out of prison, Cole Lachlan has little to his name. Homeless, broke, and without many options as a felon, Cole heads to Red Bluff with hopes of a second chance. There he meets Tanner, whose loneliness mirrors his own, and soon Cole is trading room and board for rebuilding the burned-out barn.

This is Alabaster Penitentiary... Where they send you when the world thinks you're dead. And trust me, you'll wish you were. We're the stain on society. The freaks, the creeps, your favorite Netflix documentaries come to life. They lock us up and throw away the key, because we deserve it. But not me. I'm just a lowly bank robber. I don't belong here, surrounded by psychopaths and killers with no remorse... At least, I don't think I do.

I'm trapped in the middle of nowhere with the sexiest man I've ever seen... what could possibly go wrong? My family sent me here thinking it would help lift my mood. When I think about it now, I realise I didn’t give nearly enough thought to what it would be like, or what I’d be doing on a farm. If anything, I had a vague, nebulous notion that it would be like some sort of retreat. Boy, was I wrong. Far from relaxing, I now find myself tending to actual sheep. If you knew me at all, you’d know how preposterous that is.

I caught the attention of a savage beast. My fault–ish after I crashed into Crestwood hockey team's star defenseman on my way to class. In typical Eli Holmes fashion, instead of walking away after he threw my books across the hall, I stood up to Alexei Petrov. Even sat right next to him in class, letting him know exactly what I thought of his brutish behavior. Someone should’ve reminded me not to go around poking monsters. But I’m not one to cower. Until a heated encounter leads to a steamy kiss.

My moral compass is broken. That’s why I need rules. They keep me from killing people I shouldn’t. They keep me from crossing certain lines. I’m possessive. Obsessive. Deviant. And I like to fight. That’s what I see in Tristan when I spot him working in the swanky nightclub. His cool detachment is a mask. He’s angry, he’s lost, and he’s totally new to what he’s feeling. I want to feel that anger.

Duty, honor, and sacrifice. Dedicating my life to these elements, for family and country, leaves little for myself in return. It's why I indulge in a no-strings hookup with a handsome stranger mere days before heading half-a-world away. Except one night turns into a week-long fling, creating a connection at the most inopportune time. And neither of us want it to end. Staying in touch is easy at first, but dwindles to radio silence and distant memories as time passes.

It was never meant to be more than a dare: A party game. A dare. A single kiss. That’s all it took to flip my world upside down. I’ve always classified myself as straight, and as far as I can tell, so has he. I didn’t think one kiss would change that, but I was so wrong. Now, I can’t stop thinking about him. My best friend. Aspen. His taste is branded in my memory, his touch seared in my skin. And I want more. Which is why I start tossing out new dares. Riskier ones that toe lines we never thought we’d cross. But there’s so much more at stake here. Like my heart.

My loser high school friend never deserved him anyway. If I’d had the chance, I would have locked Remy down years ago. Only, when the party leads to a drunken kiss, going on their honeymoon, and sharing their marital bed, I have to say, I’m not entirely sad that their wedding went up in flames.