Once upon a time, there was a little boy. His belly full of laughter, his life full of joy. Until one day, something changed; stripped his innocence away. The hole inside making space for the devil to come and play.

Dark raven hair and piercing green eyes, sweet and naive Eleanor Romero would make a beautiful bride. Ten million dollars and a forced signature later and she was mine. Like a thief I came in the dead of night and stole her away from her protected castle and placed her in a gilded cage made of gold. The deal had been made. She would become my wife. She would bear my children. She would bend to my will. But most importantly, she would help me destroy the man she loved most, the man who took everything from me: her father.

Deranged and violent. Gorgeous but frightening. I’m a businessman, so when one of my debtors offers me his fiancé in exchange for a debt settled, I figure why not? The woman will be a quick sell. Repayment comes in the form of a beautiful but haunted young woman. The light in her tempts the darkness inside of me. Teases it, tortures it. I want to hurt her. I want to break her. I want to keep her. Luckily for Celia, she fails to see that there is no goodness in me.

Tall, rugged, and focused on destroying my family, Brody O'Connor's the one person I need to avoid. He seduced me on purpose, and now I’m paying the consequences.

I thought it was just a hookup on an airplane. Let’s be cute and call it a “one-flight-stand.” Or we could be more accurate and call it what it really was: the day that ruined my life.

Our first meeting was at a nightclub, and it was something straight out of my most romantic fantasies. My ovaries exploded at the sight of the Russian God. And by God, I mean he was ripped, tall, dark, and deadly attractive. There were enough sparks between us to light up a city. Then an explosion blasted through the nightclub, and we got trapped together for three hours, sharing our most personal details...everything but our names. Two years later, our second meeting is the complete opposite of the first. It's clear Misha Petrov, a Russian enforcer for the bratva, despises me.

It's the first look on my wedding day. I turn...but my husband isn't there. Instead, I see the stranger who ruined my life.

I caught the attention of a monster. I didn’t ask for it. Didn’t even see it coming. But the moment I do, it’s too late. Killian Carson is a predator wrapped in sophisticated charm. He’s cold-blooded, manipulative, and savage. The worst part is that no one sees his devil side. I do. And that will cost me everything. I run, but the thing about monsters? They always chase.

Welcome to Corium University, where the most dangerous criminals in the world send their offspring.

Money. It’s the root of all evil and I need it bad. You could call it the wrong place, wrong time. To me the day I met Enzo was the day the old me died. When he kidnaps me thinking I’m the daughter of his enemy, the only thing I can do is pretend to be something I’m not. But the more I pretend, the deeper I fall. Enzo is dark, cruel, and menacing, but he’s protective, fierce, and determined. Soon he wants to forge a contract between our families, making me his bride, but he has no idea I’m not whom he thinks I am and when he finds out … well, I know I’m as good as dead.

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. When a man walks through my open patio door, stepping boldly into my home and my life, I should be scared, frightened, terrified. 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.

I thought I’d hit rock bottom when I turned 16. The day I broke my first love's heart, ending things before I could ruin his career as a rock star. But damn, was I wrong. Things got progressively worse from that moment on, until now. Eight years later, when I find myself homeless, jobless, covered in blood, and running from a ghost of my past.

Rise. Shine. Sleep. Repeat. To the world. Break. Darken. Cry. Lost. Behind closed doors. Nothing is as it seems in the Asheville home or this hellhole town. Then he shows up. Pushing my buttons and demanding I take more from life, be more, be…me. But I have no idea who that is. How do I fight for my freedom when I’m their bargaining tool? What he doesn’t realize is how screwed up Knight’s Creek really is. For all I care, the whole town can burn to ash.

The Legacy boys are Windsor Preparatory Academy’s most privileged. No one crosses the devil spawn of this town’s upper echelon, but I managed. I call one of them out my first day, and no one hears it louder than their blond prince.

Do you believe in love at first sight? In a love so strong and bright, it ignites you even in your darkest hours? Do you believe that somewhere in this world there's someone who's destined to be your other half? Your soulmate? I didn't. Until I met her. Greta Falcone. Protected mafia princess from the madmen of Las Vegas, she's forbidden to me.

My name is Sebastian Lindstrom, and I'm the villain of this story. I've decided to lay myself bare. To tell the truth for once in my hollow life, no matter how dark it gets. And I can assure you, it will get so dark that you'll find yourself feeling around the blackened corners of my mind, seeking a door handle that isn't there. Don't mistake this for a confession. I neither seek forgiveness nor would I accept it. My sins are my own. They keep me company. Instead, this is the true tale of how I found her, how I stole her, and how I lost her.

I'm a rescuer. It's in my DNA. Stray dogs. Stray women... But this one doesn't need rescuing. She needs something real, but I never keep the ones I rescue. I could let her go...but I can't watch her walk away. I'm an ex-Navy SEAL, and I never give up on a mission.

Anna Rossi lives by one simple rule: Don't get attached, don't get hurt. But Alec Flynn doesn’t play by the rules... Anna never takes on a massage client without screening him first, but the paycheck offered by billionaire Maxim Stein is too good to turn down. Stein is the richest man she's ever laid her hands on, and despite the risks, she trusts that she can take care of herself. After all, she's handled difficult clients in the past.

Sela Halstead lost her innocence in a way that no 16-year-old should ever have to endure. She's spent years trying to forget that night, even while wondering about the identities of the monsters who brutalized her - until a telltale tattoo flashes across Sela's TV screen. The incriminating ink belongs to Jonathon Townsend, the millionaire founder of The Sugar Bowl, a website that matches rich older men with impressionable young women. Obsessed with revenge, Sela infiltrates Townsend's world....

To most, Kal Anderson is a villain. Harbinger of death, keeper of souls, frequenter of nightmares. Doctor Death. Hades incarnate. They say he stole me. Usurped my fiancé and filled the cracks in my heart with empty promises. Imprinted his crimson fingerprints on my psyche and tried to set me free. They’re not wrong, per se. Except it was my choice to stay.

Lucas Donahue is not ashamed of his criminal past, but after a brief stint in prison, he's ready to go legit and live a normal life. The problem is, no one leaves the gang without permission - even if he is one of the boss' top men. Plus, someone's placed a hit on him. And then there's that feisty little bartender who's going to cause him even more trouble. Heidi Greene knows to keep her distance from a ladies' man like Lucas - even if she can't keep her eyes off him.

Family is everything to gambling den darling, Teresa Valentini. So when her brother lands himself in hot water, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to save him. And showing up topless in her unwitting savior’s motel room is turning out to be the furthest thing from a hardship. Will Caruso is the bad boy of New York’s financial scene…and he just found out the very thing that drives his success is a damn lie. Now he’s exchanged his high-stress life for the open road. When a beauty arrives, her secrecy prods his suspicions, even while she tempts his lust to the breaking point.

Police academy cadet Charlie Burns can't believe his luck when the gorgeous blonde he meets in a bar murmurs those magic words: "Nothing serious, 'kay?" Mind-blowing, no-strings sex with Ever Carmichael - it's the holy grail of hookups for a guy who's too busy following in his law enforcement family's footsteps to think about getting serious. Charlie's all about casual...that is until Ever calls it quits, and his world tilts on its axis.

Evie and Leo met in foster care as children and formed a bond of friendship. As they grew, their bond turned to love, and they vowed to make a life together when they turned 18 and were no longer a part of the system.

Money is my mistress. Solving problems, my trade. Until the tables turn, and trouble finds me. Now on the run, I need a plan. But not before I’m blindsided by a pain-in-the-ass stranger. Maggie. Curves, startling blue eyes, and she hates me. I don’t trust her, and with good reason. My plan is simple: use her. Then I kiss her. Touch her. Crave her. She was my way out; now she’s my downfall.

Madison is trying her best to escape a life of poverty. Young, innocent, and guarded. She’s finally getting ahead when she witnesses a murder outside the dance studio and finds herself in deep with a dark and dangerous criminal. Archer is smitten by Madison from the moment they meet. The protocol says to leave no witness behind but he can’t imagine hurting her. Against his best judgment he lets her go, but he can’t seem to get her out of his head. Like a stalker he follows her, making certain she doesn’t spill about what she’s seen.

Monroe was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I should’ve killed her when I had the chance. But instead, to make her keep my secrets, I took her freedom and made her my captive. She swore she’d hate me forever, but that was before I stole her innocence, too. Now she knows how good my forbidden touch feels, and it won’t take long before she transforms into the broken toy I’ve always wanted. And after that, there will be no going back…

The second our eyes connected, I felt the shift in the air. The crackle of fire igniting between us. He was dark, dangerous, and secretive. He came into my life like a storm, ripping apart everything I believed in, everything I thought I knew. With his mischievous smirk, stunning looks, and alluring behavior, I should’ve ran as far away from him as I could. But I was stupid. I trapped myself in his web.

The plan was simple: Destroy the girl. Ruin her life. Make her and her mother leave. Only…she’s not as easy a target as I thought she’d be. She’s nothing but a pawn, a tool for my father to use against her mother. But pawns don’t fight back the way she does. They don’t violate my sanity the way she does. She put herself in the mouth of the beast. I wanted her out of the way, but now…I can’t let her go.

Grace was his first love, his forever, and then he lost her. He’d spent years watching from afar, knowing he could never have her again. The violence, the hate, and pain owned him. It took all the good away. It took her away. The mafia was the only thing that could curb his violent tendencies. Choosing to let her go was the hardest thing in his life, but he wanted her to be happy, safe, protected. Then everything changed. The moment someone tried to hurt her he knew he had to step in. Grace might not have been his, but she would always be under his protection.