My father was ruthless. Cold. Calculated. Formidable. Every decision. Every step. Every thought. Every breath he controlled. I never thought anyone could despise him as much as I did. I was wrong. So wrong. There was one person. He wanted revenge. I was the willing pawn. He was dangerous, beautiful, broken, and most of all a way to get back at my father. But there’s one thing I didn’t count on...falling in love.

I never thought I’d say yes to a fake date. Let alone with Julian Wright. But I’m stuck attending my perfect brother’s doctoral graduation, and I can’t suffer through another round of parental disappointment. Julian has to go to a charity function he planned with his ex-girlfriend. We both need a date. Yes, we shared one kiss in a darkened office to make his ex jealous. But it wasn’t real. Was it? 

He has everything a man could want. A lucrative hockey contract. Adoring fans. A family who loves him. But he’s about to throw it all away. Logan Tate’s name is dominating the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Instead of goals and assists, the talented young defenseman has been racking up fights and suspensions. I work with athletes who are struggling, but Logan’s different.

The most important thing I’d ever read was scribbled on the door of a portable restroom, engraved into plastic at a carnival on the outskirts of Boston. Lust lingers, love stays. Lust is impatient, love waits. Lust burns, love warms. Lust destroys, but love? Love kills. Maybe it was always my destiny to fall in love with a monster. When other kids stayed awake at night fearing the pointy-toothed beast hiding in their closet, I longed to see mine.

Rose Cassidy doesn’t truly live; she just exists. Numbing herself to fear and pain is the only way she can survive in this cruel world. So when she’s taken as collateral by the notorious Danny Black in a deadly game of power, she’s thrown by the deep fear she feels rising within her. And, worse than fear, a profound desire. She’s heard tales of The Brit. He’s callous. Coldblooded. But no one ever said he was wickedly beautiful and darkly captivating.

Our first meeting was at a wedding, where he followed me outside and kissed me. Our second meeting ended in a huge fight with me kicking him out. Our third meeting, I went on a double blind date. You can imagine my surprise when I saw familiar blue eyes across the table opposite my friend. Then, he sent me an email listing 30 reasons why I should go on a date with him. His list was some of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever read. And the funniest. We laughed hard and loved harder. Wild, handsome players don’t fall for innocent girls like me. Or do they?

Finding a good roommate through a classified ad isn’t as easy as it sounds. I was starting to lose hope. Until a knock at my door came, and God answered my prayers. Except...uh...wrong prayer, God. I’d definitely requested the big guy find me a drop-dead gorgeous man on more than one occasion...just not as my roommate. Declan Tate talked me into interviewing him anyway. While he was amusing and charismatic, I wouldn’t have been comfortable living with a man, so I regretfully declined. Then, cupcakes showed up at my door.

I’m the station’s youngest fire chief, a grown man, and fully in my right mind - which means I’m not going to fall for the one who got away. That’s not the kind of person I am. Second chances are like skipping leg day - I don’t do that. Ever. But I wasn’t counting on Naomi buying me at the firefighter charity auction. Now I’m forced into a month of dates with the one woman who cuts through my defenses like no one else, and I’m starting to think maybe she’s right...maybe we are different people than the teenagers who failed at love. 

The first time I meet Rickie, I don’t know what to make of him. The second time we meet, he doesn’t remember the six hours we spent together. Or standing me up afterward. I’m not the same, either. I’ve got secrets. I’ve told lies. Bad boys aren’t my type, anyway. Even the ones with troubled gray eyes. But now we’re roommates. Cue the awkward moments in the hallway when he’s wearing only a towel and a smile. He’s determined to win me over, and his talented hands weaken my resolve.

On the run from ruthless killers, I’m down to 10 bucks in my wallet and a half-tank of gas in my ancient car when I spot the ad for a live-in tutor. The job sounds like the answer to my prayers, but there’s a catch. The child’s father is the most beautiful, most dangerous man I’ve ever met. Darkly seductive and filthy rich, Nikolai Molotov is a tantalizing mystery, a lethally alluring contradiction. Bruised knuckles and tailored suits, tender endearments and dirty promises - my new employer draws me in like a magnet, even as my instincts scream for me to run. 

The first time I met Hudson Rothschild was at a wedding. I’d received an unexpected invitation to one of the swankiest venues in the city. Hudson was a groomsman and quite possibly the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on. He asked me to dance, and our chemistry was off the charts. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with him, considering the wedding I was at. But our connection was intense, and I was having a great time. Though the fun came to a screeching halt when Hudson figured out I wasn’t who I’d said I was.

Back in the devil’s lair, I’m at the mercy of a man who fascinates and terrifies me, a tender killer whose obsession with me is growing by the day. Nikolai Molotov is as much my captor as he is my protector, his compound both my safe haven and my gilded cage. If only I could resist his lethally seductive touch...or fight his growing hold on my heart and mind. Because no matter how far I delve into the enigma of his past, I still don’t know the answer to the most crucial question: Just how dangerous is his love for me?

I just moved in with my billionaire best friend (and secret crush), Oliver Humphries. He’s the all-star. The jock. The golden boy. And I’m no match. I’m the nerdy, frizzy-haired, not-so-skinny friend. The moment I met him at 14, I was in L-O-V-E. I’m under no illusion I stand a chance. Living with him? Not a problem. 

The woman I want is as off-limits as they come. I had an excuse two years ago when I met her on campus. She interviewed me for a story on major league baseball's rising stars, and we shared a hot, passionate night that ended far too soon, and without a mention of who her father was. Now I know the innocent but sexy woman I can’t stop thinking about is the coach's daughter. All the more reason to resist Reese. That ought to be easy enough, until she confesses she's still carrying her V card, and she’s been wanting me to cash it in since the day we met.

It’s not the first time I’ve been called a stalker. I can’t blame Andrew Christiansen for thinking I am, since we keep crossing paths, especially when I pop up in the most unexpected of places - his office. Somehow, we become friends - the teasing, flirting, and kissing kind. But this thing blooming between us threatens to turn this relationship from friends-to-lovers into a full-blown office romance. That’s the least of my worries because one or two little - okay, big - secrets I’ve been keeping may turn him from the one I want into the one I can’t have.