Lacey C.

There is no room for sweet or innocent in my world. No room for mistakes or weaknesses. My life was full of darkness, greed, and corruption. Blood was spilled as easily as water and life taken without much thought. I made a vow to my sister that the people who harmed her all those years ago would pay, and the only currency I would accept was their lives. Until she arrived.

When I met him, I didn't realize who he was. I still didn't when I let him take me back to his hotel for the night. I never expected to see him again. Until I found him on my father's couch, revealing he and I are connected in more ways than simply a one-night stand. To make it worse, he was a Saint, part of the ruling mafia family that owned the city of Redhill. I should have stayed away at that point. I had a lot at risk and my own mess to deal with, but it wasn't that easy. Not when he kept showing up, and that one night turned to two, and then three.

I offer advice for a living. I encourage my patients to make wise decisions, and I help them help themselves to walk through life stronger, healthier, happier. Isn’t that the goal; to live our best lives? If only I practiced what I preach. I wasn’t always like this. Every move I make lately is the opposite of smart. These questionable life choices are a new development. They started the day a certain Vitale barged into my life. Brand Vitale might look like a hero to the rest of the world, but looks can be deceiving.

Kieran Murphy is an Irish mob boss and one of the most powerful men in Boston. When he walks me home, people step aside out of respect for him. He could have any woman he wants. So why does he have eyes only for me? Is it how he has to lift my chin with his fingers to keep my eyes level with his when he scolds me and how I cover my bottom instinctively when he tells me that I've earned a spanking? Or is it how I quiver at the thought of everything I'm too ashamed to beg him to do to me? Maybe it's all of those, but I'm pretty sure there's something else too.

Five years ago, I bled to death from a knife to the throat. But I didn't stay dead. I woke up changed, and remembered far too much. I have been haunted by the memories of my past lives ever since. For five years, I've had the illogical certainty that I've spent lifetimes connected to the same soul. Lifetimes of love, heartache, and betrayal. Was I destined to find them again? As fate would have it while seeking revenge for my death, my murderer led me straight to her: Sunny.

What do you do when the love of your life forgets? Not the good times. Not the love. Not the passion. But the pain and heartbreak and betrayal. He doesn't remember that he broke my heart. But I do. He doesn't remember the darkest parts of our marriage. He doesn't remember that six months ago, I said goodbye. What do you do when the love of your life remembers your marriage but not your divorce?

After Lor makes the biggest mistake of her life, she finds herself on the run from the Aurora King and decides it's time to end this, once and for all. When a new enemy emerges to claim her freedom, the entire fate of Ouranos comes to rest on her shoulders. As the land continues to rebel, Lor must admit she is the key to saving the continent, whether she likes it or not. To fight for Nadir, she must lie, steal, and do whatever it takes to hunt down the remaining arks. Growing more and more desperate, she worries her actions are turning her into something she doesn't recognize.

We're not free to give into this. She's 19, and I'm 38. And I'm her boyfriend's father. Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.

Three years ago, Jacob Price walked away. After a whirlwind steamy affair, my father's best friend broke my heart. He told me things were too complicated. Messy. Wrong. That we could never be together. I knew he loved me, but the fear of ruining our family was too great. With too much at stake, he sacrificed our hearts and ended it. Now, he's back, and he still wants me. He still loves me. But now, I'm engaged to another man.

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.