The moment I see Alyssa enter my club, I knew I wanted her. Even as she sat across the bar with another man—I knew I’d make her mine. The moment our skin connected every cell in my body exploded like fireworks. That moment sealed her fate. I was keeping her. When someone threatens to take her away from me. I’m ready for war. I don’t have to go to hell and back to save the woman I love. I’m already there, my soul stained with the blood of those who thought they could cross me. I promised her we would always have a tomorrow together, I don’t break my promises.

I should have known I was in trouble when I backed my old, beat-up truck into the shiny Range Rover. The driver looked like a gorgeous fallen angel–one who’d been booted right out of paradise for being a giant prick. Good thing I’ll never have to see him again.

My whole life was mapped out, designed for me, before I was even a twinkle in my old man’s eye. I am the heir to the Valentino throne. A kingdom built with blood and dirty money. But one I’ll rule all the same. My father was the youngest Don to ever be crowned king. However, with any luck, the controlling bastard will drop soon, allowing me to beat his record by a few years.

It was supposed to be the best day of my life. But the second I got up, things started to fall apart. The kitchen just caught on fire. Flowers were from a funeral. My bride-to-be just had an allergic reaction, leaving by ambulance. Oh, and my ex-girlfriend just walked into the church. They say you have to see the signs when they are right in front of you. Maybe she was just mine to have.

I thought I knew who I was, where I came from, but my life is turned upside down when a stranger knocks on my door with promises that seem too good to be true. I should have run like hell and never looked back, but it’s too late now. I’m enrolled at Cadieux College, where secrets and deception line the walls, and the founding families rule without question. They all think I’ll be easy to use, to control, but I’m nobody’s puppet.

I hate Dante Moretti. He is cold, calculating, and vicious. It’s no secret that he wiped out his former fiancée and her entire family on the eve of their wedding. He’s the kind of evil that makes even devils cry. But that’s not why I hate him.

Lila James is my best friend’s little sister, and I’ve always looked out for her. She's five years younger than me, and when she left for college, she was just a kid. But now she’s home for the summer—and she’s definitely not a kid anymore.

Someone is stalking Audrey Young. And she has no idea why. Complicating matters is her landlord and new neighbor, Josiah Haven. She doesn’t usually go for the big, surly lumberjack type. But there’s something about that broody man. He intimidates her a little, but she kind of likes it. She could totally handle the mess that is her life, except the strange feeling of being watched is just the beginning. Next thing Audrey knows, she’s a target, and she doesn’t know who’s behind it or why. For Josiah Haven, none of that makes her his problem.

Konstantin wasn’t the type to be ignored. He commanded his criminal empire with an iron fist but he had secrets of his own. But I was Tatiana Nikolaev. I’d never bend to a man’s will or be used as a pawn. Not again. The moment I tempted the fates and played with fire, life spiraled out of control. My only way of survival was to trust again. But could I?

I’m a full time single dad. A former NFL player turned coach, tasked with turning around a college team full of kids who either don’t take it seriously or are determined to get injured. I will absolutely not be falling for my new neighbor.

They thought she was unsuitable as a bride because she was mute. I thought that made her perfect. Silent. Invisible. I could pretend she didn’t even exist.

"You may now kiss your bride". They were the last words my mother heard before she collapsed on the church steps, poison ending her pitifully short life. When her new husband dies minutes later, all eyes turn to me. There are whispers. Accusations. The verdict is split. I murdered them both. Or I'm the next to die.

One wardrobe malfunction. Two people who don’t belong together. Three awful words: “Be my wife."

Aurelia Whitlock is an ex-stepsister I forgot long ago. Until she shows up as a design intern at my fashion company. And that's the easy part. The part where she heats my blood, drawing me away from my grumpy, miserable side is another. She has no business being here. The more I learn about how she got this job, the more perilous things become for me and my company. I can't trust her. I can't fire her. And I can't claim her full lips with mine.

Sold to the mob. Four words I never thought I'd utter. Worse, it was my father who did the unthinkable. When the creditors come to collect, I'm handed over to the most ruthless man in New York City—Luca Valentino. The head of the notorious Kings is as gorgeous as he is lethal. Dark, possessive, and violent. Nothing like the boy I grew up with, my dead brother's best friend.

The moment I see Alyssa enter my club, I knew I wanted her. Even as she sat across the bar with another man—I knew I’d make her mine. The moment our skin connected every cell in my body exploded like fireworks. That moment sealed her fate. I was keeping her. When someone threatens to take her away from me. I’m ready for war. I don’t have to go to hell and back to save the woman I love. I’m already there, my soul stained with the blood of those who thought they could cross me. I promised her we would always have a tomorrow together, I don’t break my promises.

My whole life was mapped out, designed for me, before I was even a twinkle in my old man’s eye. I am the heir to the Valentino throne. A kingdom built with blood and dirty money. But one I’ll rule all the same. My father was the youngest Don to ever be crowned king. However, with any luck, the controlling bastard will drop soon, allowing me to beat his record by a few years.

Work, sleep, and sometimes eat. Rinse and repeat. That’s been my life for the past two years. One struggle after another. Fighting to keep my sister alive. Fighting to maintain the strength to not give up. I had everything under control. I had a routine. Order. Until a certain Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome turned my world on its axis. He’s relentless. No matter how much I shut him down, he keeps showing up.

Hockey has always been my sole focus, getting to the playoffs, winning the Stanley Cup—that’s my number one goal. I won’t let the fact that I’ve just been traded to a new team derail my future. Nor will the daughter of the so-called King of Canada, aka my new boss. Aliyah, the gorgeous, feisty brunette who’s just been assigned as my official “babysitter.” Although, when you're trapped in a room with a temptation like her, there’s only so much restraint one man can have.

Being the eldest son has always been a blessing and a curse. I was raised to be one thing and one thing only. A monster. My father did everything in his power to make sure that’s exactly what I became too. He wasn’t expecting that the monster he created would be the one to take him out though. Now I’m in charge. Of the family, the empire. Everything. I’m learning real fast that being the boss isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The first order of business was finding a new place to live.