When I walked up to the closest guy on the quad and mauled him with my mouth to escape my overzealous ex-boyfriend, I had no idea he was the stupidly hot star of the Pierson University basketball team.

Leo F*cking Hernandez. North Boston University’s star running back, notorious bachelor, and number one on my people I would murder if I could get away with it list. And now? He’s my new roommate.

The most humiliating moment of my life begins with an early morning message from my ex’s notoriously heartless best friend. I waste no time removing my accidental tag before the sharp-tongued novelist in me fires off a response to the man who harbored extreme and inexplicable hatred of me during the three years I dated his best friend in college. But I didn’t expect him to respond. And nothing could have prepared me for what he would say…or for all the ways this gorgeous villain with cruel icy blues would become the biggest plot twist my life had ever known.

Troy Alexander is sex on a stick and every girl’s dream at John Rushmore University. He’s also the bane of my existence. Our meet-cute wasn’t exactly cute. He called me a nerd, and I accused him of slacking off on the field. Now, we have to live together. I’m supposed to try to play nice to keep a roof over my head. Not in my nature. Our arrangement could be a living hell, but slowly, I realize the worst thing he ever did wasn’t calling me names.

To me, it was a no-brainer. What better way to pass the time during the world’s most boring sport? If my best friend is going to guilt me into attending a Coyotes game with him, I’m definitely bringing a book. But who could have predicted star pitcher Carter Barlowe would spot me in the stands and give two flying fastballs that I was more interested in my novel than in his return to the mound? I had never heard of him before that day. Now, he’s made sure I know exactly who he is and what he wants. Me.

Notorious heartbreaker and handsome-as-sin hockey captain, Wolfe Judd is the golden boy on campus. He could have any girl he wants...and he wants me. He sees beyond my surface. The way his stormy blue eyes watch me...I feel beautiful for the first time since my accident. Little by little, he tears down my walls, exposing a passion that leaves me breathless and a vulnerability that could leave me shattered. But all my scars aren’t on the outside, and the ones inside whisper that a guy like him will never fall for a damaged girl like me.

What's that saying? When life hands you lemons... What if I don't want to make lemonade? What if I want to pummel them into non-existence? Anything is better than admitting how desperately I want a taste of that sweet lemonade. That's exactly how I felt when my college assignment threw me in the direction of Miller Cain. My body screams for him while my brain warns me to run for the hills. He's the captain of the ice hockey team with a cocky reputation. He's a sweet talker and the bad boy promising me the ride of my life.

Hockey with benefits. That was what Mara proposed, and I was down. She said no feelings, and she meant it. Just benefits. No strings attached. Nothing else. Not even friendship. College was her escape, including us. I didn't have time for a girlfriend. I had classes, the team, my family, and the game. It was all working too.... Until somewhere down the line, things got messy. Until somehow we were dealing with threats, secrets, rivals, and so much more. Until I began to want her in ways that weren't part of the deal. Our agreement didn't just get checked into the wall, it got obliterated.

I’m sure if I hadn’t spilled beer all over him and gave a subtle suggestion of where he could shove his best friend’s dick, perhaps we would have started out on a better note. How was I supposed to know that the dude was the captain of Bradford Private’s precious football team? I had just witnessed my boyfriend three inches deep inside some random girl. Surely you can't blame a girl for word vomit after such a traumatic experience.

I’m all set for my first semester at college: dream field of study, five-year plan, brand new notebooks. But one thing can’t come to campus—my V-card. Being a virgin isn’t the biggest part of my problem. What I need to prepare for the full college experience is someone to teach me what to do in bed. Though I hate to admit defeat, this is one accolade I can’t earn on my own. I have the perfect tutor in mind: my brother’s best friend. Cooper Vale: hometown heartthrob, sultry bad boy, and my neighbor since we were kids.

My reputation at Fairview University preceded me. I was the projected number-one pick in the NHL draft and the fan favorite at the rink. People wanted to be me or be with me. Except for Lyla James Marichal.

I walked into the physio's office, hobbling like a fool, and the last thing I expected to see was her. She was going to be mine come hell or high water. The only problem is she's got the weight of the world resting on her feisty shoulders, and she's not the kind of woman to fall for my usual tricks. Elle is gonna make me work for it, and I've never been so ready.

I've spent my entire eighteen years fighting to survive. My junky mom disappeared years ago, leaving me to fend for myself against my evil drug-dealing step-brother. I never met my father. I don't even know his name. All I wanted to do was survive and graduate high school to get as far away from the Villas and this run-down trailer park as possible. I was doing that until he forced himself into my life and literally flipped my world upside down. He's from the Valley where the richest of the rich live—a bully in every sense of the word.

My brother’s best friend thinks he owns me. Mr. All-Star Quarterback won’t let me heal in peace. His perfectly chiseled features are always there, suffocating me, refusing to let me wallow in my own misery. Reid is the epitome of “hard-headed jock”…and he has his sights set on me. If he wasn’t so stubborn…. If he wasn’t so captivatingly handsome…. Maybe then I’d be able to keep my defenses up. Will these new feelings taint my brother’s memory? Will we cross a line that will ruin everything?

When we were ten we made a pact. When we were twelve she moved away. Now she’s sixteen and returned home.