Growing up, I was the rough guy from the wrong neighborhood who couldn’t catch a break. Posy was the pampered girl I tried to impress. But I managed to steal only a single kiss before I had to skip town. Now I’m back, and the tables are turned. Posy runs a struggling pie shop. I’m the VP of a secretive billion dollar security company. Not that I can tell her. 

“You’ll always be mine.” The latest taunt from my stalker reminded me I was nothing more than a possession to my father, to the Reapers, to Archer D’Ath. Even to Kody and Steele. Princess Danvers - the prize. His wife. Archer D’Ath’s wife. I hate them. They lied to me. Over and over again. I knew they were lying, and I hate myself for letting it happen. For believing in the fake relationships I want so desperately to be real.

“Liar, liar, pants on fire.” The words scrawled on the back of my newest stalker mail makes my blood run cold. I have no idea if it’s the lie I know or one that I don’t. Since arriving back into Shadow Grove, I’ve been stalked, tormented, chased, and almost killed. I’ve been lied to, repeatedly, by people I was growing to trust.

I don’t want you. You mean nothing to me. I never loved you. I turned my words into swords. And I cut her down. Shoved the blade in and watched her fall. I said I’d never hurt her and I did. Years later I’m faced with all the little lies, the untruths, the false realities, the damage I inflicted when all I wanted was to indulge in my obsession. Lavender Waters is the princess in the tower. Even her name is the thing fairy tales are made of. I used to be the one who saved her. Over and over again.

Dylan is my best friend, and the only person in my life who understands me. He doesn’t mind my social awkwardness or my weird history. The only glitch? He doesn’t know that I’m hopelessly, desperately in love with him. But I know better than to confess. Now that we’re both in college together, I’m seeing a new side of him. College Dylan drinks and has a lot of sex. None of it with me. Until the night I foolishly ask him to tutor me in more than algebra...and he actually says yes. But the cool morning light shows me how badly I’ve endangered our friendship.

Soulmates. I believe in them. I was lucky enough to have two of them at one point. The only problem. My soulmates happened to be twin brothers. Caiden was the light to Jackson's dark. And after all that I had been through, the light was what I thought I needed. When I chose Caiden, I lost Jackson. Feeling like half a person after Jackson left, I barely survived when tragedy struck, and I lost Caiden, too. It took me years to admit to myself that I had chosen wrong from the beginning. I’m ready to admit it to Jackson...only problem, he hates me.

He’s, like, literally the worst. Oakley Davis is the star running back at our university and the reason I’ve broken my vow to avoid the college party scene. Thanks to a mix-up with my advisor, I’m now serving my public relations internship as a glorified babysitter to the party-hard football players.

“Madison Kate Danvers was murdered tonight.” Those words changed my life, and not for the better. They were wrong, of course. I wasn’t dead. But I was set up. After being charged with a string of offences - and made an example of by my political-minded father - I’m eventually released back into Shadow Grove with one thing on my mind. Hate. Someone is going to pay for derailing my carefully laid-out future. How very convenient that someone just moved into the bedroom down the hall from me.

He walked into school on his first day and owned it. I guess that's what happens when you're a prick, rich, and you're best friends with the ruling school's king. Also didn't hurt that he's drop-dead gorgeous. That's all fine. I mean, I have nothing to do with them. I'm a loner, invisible, and that's how I wanted it to be. I was even proud of it, until I wasn't. His name is Blaise Devroe. My name is Aspen Monson. He only knew how to get, command, and demand attention. I knew how to do everything but that. And this is our story. 

I asked for his criteria for bed buddies - that's the PG version. He swore at me and said he didn’t do groupies. And just like that, our friendship was off to a great start. Reese Forster was the starting point guard for the Seattle Thunder. Gorgeous. Cocky. Loved by the nation. He’s also attending preseason basketball training camp where I used to work.   

Badass Athlete: I dare you to... Delaney Shaw: Who is this? The late-night text is random, but "Badass Athlete" sure seems to know who she is...Delaney Shaw. Good girl. Lover of fluffy kitties and Star Wars. Curious. His dare? Spend one night in his bed - a night he promises will be unforgettable - and she can solve the mystery of who he is.   

I’m not boyfriend material. If a trail of broken hearts and a piss-poor record of failed relationships have taught me anything, it’s this. My buddies are happy to give me shit about my latest breakup from here to next Sunday. Thanks, but I’d rather have a root canal. And a vasectomy. At the same time. Relief comes in an unlikely package - the gorgeous and feisty Maren. She just so happens to be my best friend’s sister, so that’s not awkward at all.

“You don’t belong.” No words whispered in anger have ever rung more true. They’re the Kings of Brayshaw with the world at their feet, destined for greatness and in need of control. I’m the girl from the ghetto with nothing to offer and as defiant as they come. They say it doesn’t matter, that I’m one of them now, and nothing could ever change that. Not even me, should I dare try. But they’re wrong. They underestimate how far I’ll go to protect them. Trouble is coming...and they have no idea.

Cruel. Coldblooded. Hades in a Brioni suit. Cillian Fitzpatrick has been dubbed every wicked thing on planet earth. To the media, he is The Villain. To me, he is the man who (reluctantly) saved my life. Now I need him to do me another small solid. Bail me out of the mess my husband got me into. What’s a hundred grand to one of the wealthiest men in America, anyway? Only Cillian doesn’t hand out free favors. The price for the money, it turns out, is my freedom.

Sometimes I need an escape from the demands, the puck bunnies, and the notoriety that come with being an NHL team captain. I just want to be a normal guy for a few weeks. So when I leave Chicago for some peace and quiet, the last thing I expect is for a gorgeous woman to literally fall into my lap on a flight to Alaska. Even better, she has absolutely no idea who I am.