He loves me, and he doesn't even know my real name. The limelight that follows him could expose everything I'm hiding. But even knowing the risks, I can't force myself to stay away. I'm going to break his heart, but mine will shatter right along with it. Will we lose it all when I reveal what's beneath this mask?

New Orleans belongs to me. You don't know my name, but I control everything you see - and all the things you don't. My reach knows no bounds, and my demands are always met. I didn't need to loan money to a failing family distillery, but it amuses me to have them in my debt. To have her in my debt. She doesn't know she caught my attention. She should've been more careful. I'm going to own her. Consume her. Maybe even keep her. It's time to collect what I'm owed.

I do what I want and who I want. I don't follow anyone's rules-even my own. I knew I shouldn't touch her, but it didn't stop me. Didn't stop me the second time either. Only made me want a third. My lifestyle suits the savage I am, and she doesn't. But Temperance Ransom is my newest addiction, and I'm nowhere near ready to quit her yet. I'll have her my way, even if it means dragging her into the darkness. Hopefully it doesn't kill us both.

He’s a mystery. An enigma. His very identity is a secret buried beneath layers of deception. He’s also an addiction I can’t shake. An attraction I can’t fight. And then I found out exactly who he is - a man more dangerous than the devil himself. Now I need him in order to save everything that matters to me. I have to pull back. Protect myself from the danger that haunts his every step. Which would be easy...if I could stop myself from falling in love with him.

Unthinkable. Unbelievable. Inconceivable. I don’t recognize what my life has become. I can’t tell where the lies end and the truth begins anymore. He came into my world and urged me out of my safe little corner. All my dreams are coming true except the one thing I want most - my own happy ending. But I’ll fight for it. For now. For always.