Rake Forge University

The game has rules for a reason . . . Rumors swirled around the Rake Forge University campus about a scandalous game played by none other than the Devil's baseball team. Honestly, I didn't care. Not my business, but when my editor takes away my chance to be featured in the senior showcase, and my little sister gets a mysterious playing card; a devious idea emerged. I decided I'd sneak into the party, and scoop the story. I would not get caught, definitely not seduced, and absolutely wouldn't die. That is until I was stopped and rendered totally speechless by a pair of mossy eyes, and a jawline so divine that I nearly melted into goo right in some stranger's room. He lured me in, close enough to feel the press of his mouth against my skin and the heat of his hands on my body. Undoubtedly, I was a sheep headed straight for the slaughter, which only proved true when he called my bluff. With him holding all the cards for my future success, and to salvage what remained of my dream, I did the only thing I could. I made a deal with a devil. Contains mature themes.

Failing out of college wasn't on my dream board. Neither was getting knocked up. Just the same, here I am, ready to start another year at Rake Forge University, pregnant and currently homeless. And it looks like I'm not the only one who's returned. Juan Hernandez, my sister's best friend, saunters through campus with that granite jaw and those raven strands of hair kissing his brow, his whiskey eyes searing everyone to ash. I've avoided him for months, but the second he sees me, the jig is up. The first thing he does is steal my lips in a ravishing kiss. A punishment. The second thing he does is rescue me from sleeping in my car. A lesson. Living with him will never work, not with how brash his words are, how hot his constant stare, or how he touches me. His fingers brand my skin as if he owns me, and on some level, I know he wants to. What he doesn't know is that I belong to another man . . . and come my twenty-first birthday, I'll return to him whether I want to or not. Contains mature themes.

Kyle James cashed in my V card and then disappeared like I was the finishing act in a magic show. I vowed to hate my best friend, turn the longing and secret obsession with him into toxic hate and maybe a poorly chosen tattoo. But as the years passed, I let go of any notions I'd ever see him again . . . until he sauntered on campus my senior year as a new transfer student. All of Rake Forge was obsessed with his inked skin and that darkness that seemed to seep out of every methodical step he took. I wasn't. I knew the boy underneath, and while I wanted to know where he'd been . . . I would never ask. Until my dad needed a favor. His team required a way in with my ex-best friend, and his contacts. I knew Kyle would see through it . . . but I went anyway. Suddenly, my world, made of black and white was bleeding color . . . and he was at the center, daring me to trust him. My heart, blind and foolish chose to not only trust but to love him too. I really should have known better. I was merely a way in for my father, and for the man, I loved . . . I was just a way out. Contains mature themes.