I ran from him, even though my heart knew better. Love was one thing, but survival another. I should have known he'd come for me. Men like him always get what they want. The temptation in his eyes, the heat of his touch...it's all still there, but his gaze is harsher now and his grasp unrelenting. He's not the boy I fell in love with, although pieces of what we once had are still there. I can feel it. I know what he wants from me, and I know it comes with a steep price. I'll pay it though, if for no other reason than to touch him again.

I should have known when I couldn’t keep my eyes off her that this would be a mistake. I was hired to protect her, this woman who’s lost everything, yet there’s an obvious fire that blazes behind her beautiful gaze. She stares back, daring and tempting me. It calls to a side of me that’s darker and longs to tame her. The moment she agrees to my terms, I know I’ve crossed a line. One of many rules I’m willing to break. No one can know, not a soul, but secrets in the life I lead never last for long.

Some love stories are a slow burn. Others are quick to ignite, scorching, and branding your very soul before you’ve taken that first breath. You’re never given a chance to run from it. That’s how I’d describe what happened to us. Everything around me blurred, and all that existed were his lips, his touch. The chase and the heat between us became addictive.

Sometimes you meet someone - maybe meet isn't the right word. You don't even have say hello for this to happen. You simply pass by them, and everything in your world changes forever. Chills flow all the way from the crook in your neck where you imagine he'd kiss you, all the way down, with only a single glance. I know you know what I'm referring to. The moment when something inside of you ignites to life, recognizing their other half that's been gone for far too long. It burns hot, destroying any hope that it's only a coincidence, and that life will go back to what it was.

I'd have chosen her above all else...if only I could go back. Even if it meant I never got to kiss her, to love her, to be consumed by the woman she is and the love she gave me. She deserves more than this... She deserves more than this dangerous life I lead. She was never supposed to be involved. She was mine to lust after, to have in the darkest hours of the night, to love in secret even.

Some love stories are a slow burn. Others are quick to ignite, scorching and branding your very soul before you’ve taken that first breath. You’re never given a chance to run from it. That’s how I’d describe what happened to us. Everything around me blurred and all that existed were his lips, his touch.... The chase and the heat between us became addictive. Our nights together were a distraction, one we craved to the point of letting the world crumble around us.

There's a moment when I forget he's not mine. This small spell of time, when I let my thoughts carry me away. He holds me. He kisses me. He makes all of this better. That moment when I'm his and everything is all right, is gone in an instant. It's quick and fleeting, moving so fast that it slips through my grasp. If I could catch it, I'd hold on to it forever. I always thought this thing between us would only ever be just that. A passing moment, a pleasant dream that helped lull me to sleep at night.

I should’ve known she would ruin me the moment I saw her. Women like her are made to destroy men like me. I couldn’t resist her though. Given to me to start a war; I was too eager to accept. But I didn’t know what she’d do to me. That she would change everything.

I didn’t get to where I am by being nice. I’m the boss, the CEO, the owner of whatever I want. Right now, that includes every person in this building of the company I just bought. I stop at nothing once I’ve decided I’m taking something. And then she showed up...full of spitfire just for me, the man she's decided is her worst enemy. Like I said, I stop at nothing once I’ve decided I’m taking something. This pretty little thing just moved to the top of my "must acquire" list.

When my sister asked me to take a course for her while she went out of town for work, I reluctantly agreed. I wasn't expecting to step into a university auditorium filled with overactive libidos lusting after the professor. And I certainly wasn't expecting to become one of those women myself, but there's something about Lorenzo Costello that makes him irresistible. He's the kind of man mothers warn their daughters about - mysterious, gorgeous, experienced, wild - and for some crazy reason he wants me.

They're both rich and powerful and have a debt to settle in the wealthy circles of NYC. Then there's me... the naive girl trying to make it in this city, pissed off and seemingly a willing pawn. It was supposed to be one night to get over one man by getting under another. Then one thing led to another, and it all spiraled out of control. It was never supposed to go this far.I was never supposed to fall for him. And he was never supposed to risk it all for me.

She’s in the wrong place at the right time...Gunshots echo, reverberating through me, allowing me to feel something...anything other than the pain that consumes me. That should be a warning to stay away, but for some reason, she comes closer. Intruding on my silence. Sharing my darkness. Close enough for me to see the look in her eyes. It’s not fear, but desire that darkens her eyes in the moonlight. She should run. Run far away from me, but she never does. She comes close enough to touch, tempting the devil inside that wants to cause devastation for the loss I’ve suffered.

They say everyone has either an addiction, obsession, or weakness in this world. Something that can penetrate you down to the core and influence you in a way nothing else can. I have all three. One happens to be her. Kit Bishop is in my veins. But unfortunately for me, she's the drug I'll never be able to indulge in and the high I can't chase. Because I'm a liar. A thief. And I've destroyed everything that's ever been mine.

I used to have it all. Football made me popular. Money made me desirable. My name made me a king. Girls tried to tame me, but I valued my freedom too much to be tied down. Until I lost it all.

He wasn’t the one I was supposed to marry. He’s cold. Brutal. Calculating. To his family, I’m a strategic move in their war. To mine, an alliance offers protection against our enemies. Still, there’s something about him that calls to me. A dark edge threatens to revive me. His gaze steals my breath. Even if my heart thinks this could work, my brain knows better.