Kathleen Loucks

I never wanted to disappear more than while around my family. Briar Lane, the girl only useful for one thing: my surname. A business handshake and pawn to be traded. My father's chess piece shuffled between empires. That was my life back in L.A., but all it took was finding the dirty secret stuffed in a jacket pocket, and my entire world unraveled.

When life gets too much, and you need a release, the poison that might kill you becomes oh-so-tempting. I craved his body, his smirk, his laughter as he pushed me to my limits. I needed him. Just once. Just one night. That's what I told myself. No strings, no illusions, no promises. Nothing but the lasting thrill of his flesh on mine. But when poison runs through your veins the way he runs through mine, it's toxic and eats you alive. And this much passion always comes at a price...

Eight months ago, I was a naive, small-town farm girl nursing a shattered heart. Then hotel billionaire Henry Wolf picked me up off the ground (literally), and my entire life changed. Now, I live in a luxurious Manhattan penthouse, and I'm starting my first company while planning a beautiful wedding to the man of my dreams. I knew these first months would bring plenty of drama. I expected the savage media attention surrounding our engagement, and I braced myself for Mama's theatrics about the wedding.

I read her words. I felt her soul. I knew she was destined to be mine. She's the light in the darkness, the epiphany of my redemption. I'll do whatever it takes to get my hands on her—though I'd rather her believe it was her own idea. So, I set the bait, luring her into making a deal with the devil. But surprisingly, she doesn't take it. And now, I'm left to force her hand. Because without her, I'm afraid I'll be devoured by the monster inside me.

Layla Robinson is not crazy. She is suffering from unrequited love. But it's time to move on. No more stalking, no more obsessive calling. What she needs is a distraction. The blue-eyed guy she keeps seeing around campus could be a great one - only he is the new poetry professor - the married poetry professor.

A series of weather and road mishaps leave me trapped in the middle of a blizzard with a complete stranger. In the back of a pickup truck. For 48 freakin' hours. A stranger with long hair, tattoos, and rippling with muscle. A stranger with an insanely sexy voice and a wicked smile that turns my insides to jelly. A stranger who holds me in his arms, calms me, and then sets a fire in me that I can't put out.

When I was five years old, I told Toren Grace we were going to get married someday. He’d been my closest friend, my protector, and my rock since the day I was born. But during my senior year, our relationship slowly changed. Silly conversations morphed into serious heart-to-hearts. Innocent friendship turned to stolen glances. Then one day, an unexpected kiss changed everything.

The moment I saw her, I wanted her. I just didn't expect to want to keep her. But then she walked away. She should've known better. I'm not the kind of man you turn your back on. I'm ruthless, powerful and unforgiving. Something she'll soon find out. I will own her. Body and soul. Consume her while she begs for it. What started as one night will become forever. And I'll destroy anyone that gets in my way. Drew Matthews is mine.

Bruised and abused, and victim to a loveless household, I shimmered with new life the moment he found me drowning my sorrows in a lake beneath the stars. A chance encounter. An unspoken connection. I was smitten. He was curious. But, as everyone knew, fate could be decidedly cruel. He called me Halley, like the comet. I called him Reed. And my best friend? Well… she called him Dad.