Rook and Ronin

Rook Walsh appeared out of nowhere like a dark angel sent to steal my soul. And I could just tell that she was broken, and beaten, and scared. So I made her an offer of a lifetime. She needed a job and I needed a certain "type" of girl for a modeling contract worth millions of dollars called Tragic. I was warned to keep my hands to myself. I was warned not to get involved. I was warned not to ruin her. (The way I ruined the last one.) But I don’t take orders - I give them.

Rook Walsh appeared out of nowhere like a dark angel sent to steal my soul. And I could just tell that she was broken, and beaten, and scared. So I made her an offer of a lifetime. She needed a job, and I needed a certain "type" of girl for a modeling contract worth millions of dollars called Tragic. I was warned to keep my hands to myself. I was warned not to get involved. I was warned not to ruin her. (The way I ruined the last one.) But I don’t take orders - I give them.

I get it. Stripping naked and letting your boyfriend’s best friend paint your body in order to sell custom motorcycles isn’t the ideal way to start a brand-new relationship. Add in a TV reality show, another best friend who seems determined to make me notice him, and the little fact that in order to get paid I will have to strut my stuff in public wearing nothing but body paint. Yeah. There’s not a chance in hell that Ronin is going to be okay with all this.

I’m chasing a dream here. And I’m so close to having everything I ever wanted. But I can’t start over when I’m still on the run. Before I can become the girl I want to be, I’ll need to deal with the girl I left behind.

Ford Aston is not too picky about what he wants out of Christmas. He's not into this holiday - like at all. He doesn't do presents or family dinners or parties or church. He does pets. And he's got one lined up for Christmas Eve. In fact it's the highlight of his day. And if he can get through drop-in visits, nosy 12-year-olds, an inappropriate conversation with his best friend's girlfriend, dinner with a family that's not his, and a party at his mother's house - well, he might just get home in time to enjoy himself with a stranger and make it all okay.

Spencer Shrike is a man with a plan. Get in. Get out. Move on. He loves Ron the Bomb, and her safety is the only thing on his mind. But life is a tricky bastard. And conning criminals for the better part of 10 years brings its own set of problems. Sure, Rook lied her way out of a sticky situation, covering for Ronin, Ford, and Spencer's crimes in the process. But not everyone is buying her story and Spencer is desperate to figure out who's in town setting them up for a fall.