Beneath the Truth

I was raised on the streets, so I know things are rarely as simple as they appear - especially this rich girl showing up at my pawnshop demanding a job. She's the most tempting thing I've ever seen, and I'll be damned if I can make her leave. S--t just got complicated...but when it comes to her, I want complicated. We're both fighting our own demons, and our only chance at a future is to let go of the past. But will we be strong enough to break free from beneath these chains?

Look, but don't touch.... She might as well wear a neon sign that says it. It just makes me want her more. She might be above me in every way, but I still want her under me. I've got no business touching her rich-girl skin, but that won't stop me from stealing a taste. Because rules were meant to be broken - especially when the prize is so fine. In a world where nothing is as it seems, what's buried beneath these lies?

The only permanent thing in my life is the ink I put on my clients. I drift from city to city, in and out of beds, from one tattoo shop to the next. Every time I start to put down roots, I rip them up. Until New Orleans. Until her. She's everything I'm not. Full of fire and life. An innocent where I'm a sinner. I want to consume her. Protect her. Keep her. But first I have to escape from beneath these shadows.

Maddie Goldbloom stitched up a plan to ensure everything in her life was perfect - from a career in fashion to a chic NYC apartment to a pediatrician boyfriend. When her ex, Chase Black, storms back into her life with an outrageous request, her immediate reaction is to refuse him. But he only wants to fulfill his father’s last wish. So even though he’s the man who broke her heart, playing his fiancée shouldn’t be hard, especially if it means she gets to watch the arrogant devil squirm a bit.

I'm the guy you love to hate. In every story in my life, I seem to end up playing the villain - and I've got the scars to prove it. That role works fine for me, because I'm sure as hell not anyone's hero. I run my life and my empire with an iron fist - until she knocks my tightly controlled world off its axis. She's nobody's damsel in distress, but I can't help but want to save her anyway. I guess we're about to find out if there's a hero buried...beneath these scars.

I've always known she was too good for me, but that never stopped me from wanting her. And then I finally had her for one night. A night I don't remember. I figured I'd blown my shot. But now she's walked back into my life, and this time I have the upper hand. I want my second chance. Will she be able to see the man beneath this ink?

Ten years ago, Whitney Gable caught me off guard with her long legs and grab-you-by-the-balls blue eyes. I didn't know or care what her name was. Like any Riscoff worth the family name, I went after what I wanted. We burned like a flash fire until she married another man. She hates me, and she should. I objected on her wedding day. Now she's home, with those same long legs and man-eater stare, but there's no ring on her finger. They say a Riscoff and a Gable can never live happily ever after, but I'm not done with Whitney Gable.

He loves me, and he doesn't even know my real name. The limelight that follows him could expose everything I'm hiding. But even knowing the risks, I can't force myself to stay away. I'm going to break his heart, but mine will shatter right along with it. Will we lose it all when I reveal what's beneath this mask?

My love story all started with a letter. Only it wasn’t from the man I’d eventually fall in love with. It was from his daughter. A sweet little girl named Birdie Maxwell who’d written to the magazine that I worked for. You see, once a year my employer fulfilled a few wishes for readers. Only that column didn’t start up again for months. So I fulfilled some of her wishes myself. It was harmless…so I thought. Until one day I took things too far. While anonymously granting yet another of Birdie’s wishes, I got a look at her father.

What's mine, I keep, and that includes Keira Kilgore. It's no longer enough to have her in my debt. No longer enough to own her body. I want something more. She can try to resist, but I'll never give her up. Nothing will keep us apart. Not her. Not my enemies. No one. Her debt will only be paid one way - with her heart.

I do what I want and who I want. I don't follow anyone's rules-even my own. I knew I shouldn't touch her, but it didn't stop me. Didn't stop me the second time either. Only made me want a third. My lifestyle suits the savage I am, and she doesn't. But Temperance Ransom is my newest addiction, and I'm nowhere near ready to quit her yet. I'll have her my way, even if it means dragging her into the darkness. Hopefully it doesn't kill us both.

Every family has a black sheep. In the infamous Casso crime family, that black sheep is me - Cannon Freeman. Except I’m not a free man. I’ve never been free. Not since the day I was born. I owe my loyalty to my father, Dominic Casso, even if he won’t publicly acknowledge me as his blood. I’ve never had a reason to go against his wishes...until I met her. Drew Carson turned my world upside when she walked into my club looking for a job. Now, my honor and my life are on the line.

New Orleans belongs to me. You don't know my name, but I control everything you see - and all the things you don't. My reach knows no bounds, and my demands are always met. I didn't need to loan money to a failing family distillery, but it amuses me to have them in my debt. To have her in my debt. She doesn't know she caught my attention. She should've been more careful. I'm going to own her. Consume her. Maybe even keep her. It's time to collect what I'm owed.

He's arrogant. She's self-righteous. I hate him. I want her. I've been turning him down for two years straight. Every shutdown makes me work harder. I'm not a one-night stand kind of girl. She doesn't realize I won't settle for only one night. He's a distraction I don't need. She'll say yes eventually because I'm not giving up.

I'm his entertainment. His toy. Payment on a debt. I tell myself I hate him, but every time he walks into the room, my body betrays me. How can I want him and fear him in the same moment? They told me he'd mess with my head. Make it go to war with my body. But I didn't realize it would be complete anarchy. I should've known better. When Mount's involved, there are no rules. I will not surrender. I will not show weakness. I'll stand my ground and make it out of this bargain with my heart and soul intact. But he has other plans....