I thought my invitation was a birthday present from my best friend. The dress, the limousine, the red carpet...I thought they were meant for me. That was mistake number one. Then my date arrives, all gleaming cufflinks and tousled hair, steely blue eyes, and a body honed to masculine precision. Arrogant. Charming. Panty-melting. And melt, they do. Hanky-panky with a rich hottie in the back room of the event I'm crashing? Don't mind if I do.

There's nothing wrong with playing the game--except when you know you're about to lose. As a little girl, I dreamed of becoming many things. A twenty-five-year-old photographer struggling to make ends meet with a mountain of legal fees wasn't one of them. Making questionable decisions wasn't either. After hanging up my camera, I start a job I loathe that has me questioning my morals on a daily basis. Until I run into Chicago's newest bad-boy goalie whose reputation is a trainwreck--Emory Olson.

Nina Popoca needs help. So, so much of it. The only place she can find that help is on a sprawling ranch in Colorado. A place hiding more than a community filled with magical creatures trying to live their lives in safety and in peace. A village that might hold the answers to questions she’s had her entire life.

Forgive me, Father, for I am undeserving when blood soaks these hands that hold Your gift to me. I am broken and find solace in the darkness. She is pure and basks in the light. Did You send her to be my shelter? I made a vow of celibacy. She remained untouched. Did You create her for me? I am a sin eater, a purger of evil. She is an angel, a guardian of good. Did You know she would be my savior? Thank You, Father, for she is the one sin I will willfully commit. Broken is a forbidden, dark romance and a complete standalone, performed in duet narration.

Owen Sharpe is like a Bingo card of "Men I Should Stay Away From." Gorgeous? Of course. Cocky? Like a literal rooster. Pro hockey player with a fat wallet and a bad attitude? You already know it. But when I get locked out on my apartment balcony—while missing a crucial piece of my clothing (hint: the lower half)—Owen is the only person willing and able to help me. That's how I ended up in his apartment for the night. And when the Houston Scythes superstar needed a fake girlfriend to rehab his terrible PR image, I was willing to return the favor. Besides, we both swore this was fake.