Pretending to date my handsome new housemate was already a bad idea, but then I discover he’s no ordinary guy—he’s a mobster in hiding. And in this story, he’s not the hero, but the wicked villain. Rowan Miller isn’t used to hearing the word “no.” I guess when you’re 6’5, gorgeously tattooed, and sculpted like a Michelangelo masterpiece, women tend to throw themselves at you. But in a small town like Darkwater Hollow, a reputation as a womanizer will catch up with you—and your business—eventually.

Cian Donnelly is my Da's bitter enemy. He's also the man who won me-and my virginity—in a single hand of cards. Now, he's come to collect. Except I'm tired of being a pawn in a game I have no wish to play. Maybe it's time to make my own rules. The only thing I have to lose is my heart.

They say monsters are made. I was born one. With an angelic face and a cursed talent, I eat magic and ask for seconds. When I pass through the land, flowers wither, earth scorches, and colors bleed out—all at the command of my father, the God of Ruin. I escaped his prison, only to stumble upon a dangerous school ruled by five heirs. Girls fight to fall into their laps, even though they’re all hot mess assholes.

They say you can never go back… ‘Course, I never wanted to return. It took me years to age out. Once I made it, I took off and never turned around. Trust me, there were only three reasons I managed to survive there as long as I did and they abandoned me as soon as they were able. I’d like to say I didn’t blame them, but that would be a lie. I had zero desire to return. Yet here I was, on the road to Northland chasing a story cause my editor told me kids were disappearing… again.

I used to fantasize about meeting a masked madman who would love me endlessly and obsessively. He would look after me in a world where no one else did. He would manipulate all the strings that held up my life until I had exactly the one I wanted. And then one night, I met him. Only he wasn't the hero I always imagined he would be. When we left the forest together that night, I thought I'd escaped the villains relatively unscathed, but my true villain was the man whose arms I felt safest in.