M

One childhood crush. One unbreakable rule. One mansion where every hallway feels like a trap. For fifteen years, Leighton Hayes has loved Noah Knight from afar, the untouchable older brother of her best friend Chloe. Now twenty-three, broke, and freshly homeless, Leighton has nowhere to go but the sprawling estate of the man who once barely noticed her. Noah remembers her all too well. The billionaire who built an empire from nothing has spent the last six months trying to become a better man, and the shy girl in oversized hoodies who just moved into his guest wing is the most dangerous temptation he’s ever faced. Chloe’s single rule was always clear: her friends are off-limits. Especially to Noah, the reformed Playboy who used to burn through supermodels and headlines. But late nights, shared secrets, and one stolen shirt ignite a fire neither of them can extinguish. What begins as whispered confessions and almost-kisses explodes into a secret affair neither wants to end, even as the lies stack higher. When Chloe discovers the truth, the betrayal threatens to destroy the only family each of them has ever known. Leighton must decide if love is worth losing her best friend. Noah must prove he’s finally ready to risk everything for the one woman he swore he’d never touch. Some rules are made to be broken. Some hearts refuse to stay forbidden.

"I'm an ordinary waiter, but I can see people's fate, including Shifters. Like all children, I was tested for magic when I was only a few days old. Since my specific bloodline is unknown and my magic is unidentifiable, I was marked with a delicate swirling pattern around my upper right arm. I do have magic, just as the tests showed, but it has never lined up with any known Magic species. I can't breathe fire like a dragon Shifter, or hex people who piss me off like Witches. I can't make potions like an Alchemist or seduce people like a Succubus. Now I don't mean to be unappreciative of the power I do have, it's interesting and all, but it just really doesn't pack much of a punch and most of the time it is just pretty much useless. My special magical skill is the ability to see threads of fate. Most of life is annoying enough for me, and what never occurred to me is that my mate is a rude, pompous nuisance. He's an Alpha and my friend's twin brother. --------------------------------------- “What are you doing? This is my home, you can't just let yourself in!” I try and keep my voice firm but when he turns and fixes me with his golden eyes I shrink back. The look he gives me is imperious and I automatically drop my eyes to the floor as is my habit. Then I force myself to look back up again. He doesn't notice me looking up because he's already looked away from me. He's being rude, I refuse to show that he's scaring me, even though he most definitely is. He glances around and after realising that the only place to sit is the little table with its two chairs he points to it. “Sit.” he orders. I glare at him. Who is he to order me around like this? How can someone this obnoxious possibly be my soul mate? Maybe I'm still asleep. I pinch my arm and my eyes water a little from the sting of pain."

"I know you need money urgently. I have a proposal. Be my girlfriend and I'll take care of everything you need." I laugh bitterly. "You really are delusional. You think I would date you? My ex's rival?" "Exactly," he says, lips curving into that infuriating grin. "This makes it even more interesting. Don't you want to get back at your cheating ex? What better way than to be with me, the man he hates the most?" When Bailey Carter caught her boyfriend in bed with someone else, she swore off love and hockey players. Now back in Michigan, working nights just to cover her grandmother's hospital bills, she is focused on putting her life back together one piece at a time. Then he walks in. Orion Hayes, the arrogant and infuriating captain of Michigan's hockey team and her ex's ultimate rival. The same man she once swore she would never speak to. He is cocky, ruthless, and too d*mn gorgeous for his own good. When he finds her again, he offers a deal she cannot refuse: pretend to be his girlfriend to satisfy his overbearing family, and he will make sure her grandmother gets the best care money can buy. But what starts as a fake relationship soon blurs into something dangerously real. Behind the swagger and smirk, Orion is not who she thought he was. The deeper she gets pulled into his world, the harder it becomes to remember why she should stay away. Her heart is already broken by one hockey player. Falling for another, especially her ex's rival, might just be the biggest mistake of her life.