Fire was my only companion. A burning light in a world otherwise filled with darkness. A life of pain and abuse I never thought I’d escape. I’m still not convinced I have. When friendly Santa-figure turned trucker, Al, finds me at a rest stop and offers me a job at his idyllic farm in small-town Nebraska, the picturesque family life is more than I could hope for.

When I tried to blackmail Ezekiel St. James, I thought it would be easy. Turns out I had no idea who I was dealing with. Turns out I had no idea who I was dealing with. The moment his steel-grey eyes locked on mine, I knew the game was over. He knew exactly who I was. What I’d done. And he wasn’t going to let me walk away. With his immense wealth and power, he had me kidnapped. He could make me disappear. I’m no easy prey, though, and it’s not just my life on the line. I have to protect my sister.

My bride. The daughter of my enemy. She's nothing more than a part of my revenge. I'm the one who holds her life in my hands. As well as her body. And soon, her very will. Yet, she refuses to break. This woman disarms me, not with weapons but with words. And not with a fist, but with a simple kiss. But a match made in hate can have no other ending except war.

Desperate times lead to desperate measures . . . That's how I ended up in an auction. The money from it would be my way out. My last chance. Then I saw him, and hope flashed through my mind when he placed a bid. It shouldn't have. Because I didn't know about the dark edges that surrounded his soul, the ones that should never see the light of day.

He could have been my hero. He saved my life that night, a beautiful dark angel slicing through my fear and the water, dragging me from its deadly clutches. He should have been my hero. I thought maybe he was.

Tonight, my virginity goes to the highest bidder.... This obviously isn’t the fun, romantic first time I’ve always imagined, but it’s the only way to raise the money to save my sister from her abusive ex. The best I can hope for is that my buyer won’t be a creep. And that he won’t hurt me. But I’ll confess, by the time the auction is over, this lifelong book nerd is shaking in her high heels and itchy lace corset. And then I meet him. Sterling.

Every town has a history. Ours is just a little darker than most. For years, I've celebrated Halloween and Hollow Bridge's history with everyone else who lives here. Parades, festivals, and insane Halloween parties have always been a staple for us. Some bad behavior is expected, given what we're celebrating. But murder has never been on the table before. Someone in Hollow Bridge wants to bring the stories to life, and they're not firing any warning shots. When rumors of someone wearing a Halloween mask surface, it isn't long before the first person is killed.

For years, I existed alone. Fighting the urges, doing my best to stay good. Until Esclave 58 entered my life and I didn’t have to fight so hard. She makes me better, she makes me human, but then he arrives on my doorstep. He says he’s my half-brother.

When he invited me to join him for a drink, I thought Alessandro was an ordinary guest at my family's hotel. I didn't know I belonged to him until he told me right there in the restaurant. I thought I had a say in the matter. But when I stood up to leave, it just earned me a sore bottom for the plane ride to New York, where our wedding was already planned for the next day. But I was soaking wet for him before he even walked me down the aisle.

As a rookie spy, my first mission is to seduce the Irish mafia boss's brother and prove he is behind the threat to the mafioso in The Big Apple. It's a dream job. Except my new boss is sucking all the joy from my life. Don Joshua Accardi seems way too invested in my personal safety, and he's constantly scolding me for taking too many risks.