Running away from home at 17 wasn't easy. Let's face it, though, nothing before or in the ten years since has ever been easy for me. And I'm doing okay鈥攕orta. I just need to keep scraping by, living under the radar. Staying out of people's way, off people's minds. When a man walks through my open patio door, stepping boldly into my home and my life, I should be scared, frightened, terrified. I must be more broken than I realized because I'm none of those things. I'm intrigued鈥攁nd I'm wondering if the way to take control of my life is by giving in to him.

Drowning in the murky waters of the mafia, I鈥檓 determined to find a way out. I have my sights set on becoming a film producer and won鈥檛 let anything or anyone stand in my way. Then my mother marries a retired Godfather, and I get the head of the Greek mafia as a stepbrother. Nikolas Stathoulis is set on ruining my well-laid plans. His ruthless reputation has me running for the safety of my apartment. But he鈥檚 always there. On campus. In my apartment. Expecting me to play by his rules.

You know the story where the hero comes in and saves the day, rescuing the heroine right in the nick of time? This isn't that story. Instead of a knight in shining armor, he's a sexy, tatted-up Bratva boss with a reputation for being brutal and fierce. Vasily finds me after I've already been brought to my lowest鈥攂roken by cruel men until I barely recognize myself. He doesn't offer me salvation. He offers me protection and revenge. And I gladly take it. Because I don't need a knight in shining armor. I need a villain who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.

One night. No names. No commitment. That was our agreement. But Spencer Lancaster was addictive. And I was high. High off his taste, starved for his kiss, and desperate for his touch. So when he asked me to stay, to enjoy his company for more nights than I knew I should, I wasn't in the right mind to say no. Everything was perfect. A dream come true. But half a world away, there were secrets. Lies. Insecurities. All of the truths that could tear us apart.

鈥淕ive me a second chance, babe . . . and I鈥檒l blow your mind.鈥� Monroe doesn鈥檛 know why she answers the text that鈥檚 obviously meant for someone else. Or why she keeps answering. Maybe it鈥檚 because she鈥檚 all alone in a big city and in desperate need of a lifeline. Or maybe it鈥檚 because each exchange leaves her intrigued and more than a little turned on. Still, Monroe never would鈥檝e snarked back if she鈥檇 known she was talking to the 鈥淕olden Boy鈥� of the Dallas Knights.

I had a foolproof plan. Finish college playing the best sport on earth. Hockey. Get drafted by an NHL team. Make my senator father at least a little proud of me. I was on track to do just that鈥ntil Violet Reece and I collided. Literally.

We were supposed to run away after high school. When she didn鈥檛 show up at our meeting place, I gathered my courage and went after her. It was a mistake. I left bloodied and bruised. My heart didn鈥檛 fare half as well. I had no choice but to walk away. Years passed. A decade. More. I traveled, settled halfway around the world, and made myself a name and enough money that I didn鈥檛 have to look back. But I never got over her.

Whip King cannot be the man for me. Cocky, pierced firefighters are perfect for late-night rom-coms, but in real life they鈥檙e nothing but trouble. Especially when you find out they work for your dad鈥攁fter you鈥檝e already slept with them. Moving to my parents鈥� small town was supposed to be the fresh start I was looking for. When a disastrous Valentine鈥檚 Day leads to an unexpected encounter with a sexy stranger, and ends with the hottest night of my life, I didn鈥檛 think I would ever see Whip again.

We met at my older brother鈥檚 house and instantly I knew that he was trouble. He kissed me, right there in the bathroom without a care in the world. And from that moment on, I was his. We were young, brave and na茂ve when we met. Sneaking around and falling in love. Giuliano Ferrara was perfection. A beautiful, crazy mistake. With his big brown eyes and his boyish charm.

Author Catherine Cowles brings you an addictive small-town romance series full of protective heroes and suspenseful twists and turns. Wrecked Beginnings contains the first three stand-alone novels in the Wrecked series. Includes Reckless Memories, Perfect Wreckage, and Wrecked Place.

Belles and Mobsters were never meant to be together. And I still fell in love with him, only to be torn apart. Lesson learned.

On my 18th birthday, my father, the senator, gives me the gift he thinks every little girl dreams of. The man of my dreams, and the wedding to match. Stefan Zoric is heir to an elite worldwide modeling agency. Practically a prince. My arrangement is simple, as far as sham marriages go. I give him my virginity, behave as the perfect wife, and he'll pay for the college degree my father found irrelevant. But I don't want to be the perfect wife. I want him to want me the way I want him.

I hate Dante Moretti. He is cold, calculating, and vicious. It鈥檚 no secret that he wiped out his former fianc茅e and her entire family on the eve of their wedding. He鈥檚 the kind of evil that makes even devils cry. But that鈥檚 not why I hate him.

When her sister doesn鈥檛 show up on her wedding day, Raven has no choice but to take her place 鈥� but marriage to Ares Windsor is nothing short of torture. The elusive billionaire media mogul is the man she鈥檚 always loved鈥� yet he鈥檚 only ever had eyes for her sister.

Life coach and best-selling author Victoria Price has it all: a successful career, fabulous friends, a fantastic penthouse in Manhattan. What she doesn鈥檛 have鈥攁nd doesn鈥檛 want鈥攊s a husband. Fifteen years ago her high school flame broke her heart so badly she swore she鈥檇 never love again.