The Knight

Final book in the trilogy! Safe in the ivory tower.... Gabriel Miller swears he'll keep me safe. Enemies lurk outside, waiting to strike. An army held back by these walls. Except some animal instinct warns me the danger is much closer. It's already here. Is Gabriel my protector or my enemy? Is this house a castle or a cage? There's nowhere for me to go, no one left for me to trust. No escape from a past determined to capture its prize.

Gabriel Miller swept into my life like a storm. He tore down my father with cold retribution, leaving him penniless in a hospital bed. I quit my private all-girl's college to take care of the only family I have left. There's one way to save our house, one thing I have left of value. My virginity. Gabriel appears at every turn. He seems to take pleasure in watching me fall. Other times he's the only kindness in a brutal underworld. Except he's playing a deeper game than I know. Every move brings us together, every secret rips us apart.

My father gambles every night, falling deeper and deeper into debt. When he hits the bottom, he places a new bet: his daughter. I'm his entry bet to the biggest underground poker game. Every kind of danger circles the velvet-covered table, but only one man makes me tremble. A trailer park princess. The son of a criminal king. We don't belong together, but I'm caught in a twisted game.

I have one chance at a new life, and a future outside of Tanglewood's dark walls. For a breathless moment, it seems like I might actually escape. Then I get a phone call from home. Damon Scott is my own personal dragon, the fight I've always lost and the secret hope of my heart. And he needs my help right now. Only my mind can solve the puzzle. Only my presence can keep him sane as the city fights against him. Only my heart can unlock a man with such a tragic past.

You're not supposed to want the one who torments you. When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn't prepared for how much of a jerk he'd be. I hated that he took it out on me because he didn't want to be here. I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room. But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him.

The first time I met Caine West was in a bar. He noticed me looking his way and mistakenly read my scowling as checking him out. When he attempted to talk to me, I set him straight -- telling him what I thought of his lying, cheating, egomaniacal ass. You see, the gorgeous jerk had wined and dined my best friend-smooth talking her into his bed, all along failing to mention that he was married. He deserved every bit of my tongue-lashing and more for what he'd done.

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....

Once upon a time, I was an 18-year-old psychology student. Now, I'm a man's property. Stolen and sold, I've been decorated in bruises since the day my world changed two years ago. I suffer in silence, I crave freedom, but I never break. I can't. Until he arrives. Elder Prest, the only man to look at me and see me. The only man more ruthless than my owner. He wants me for reasons I don't understand. He claims me for one night then leaves and never looks back. Until he returns. And life becomes much more complicated.

It started out like any other morning on the train - until I became mesmerized by the guy sitting across the aisle. He was barking at someone on his phone like he ruled the world. Who did the stuck-up suit think he was...God? Actually, he looked like a god. That was about it.

I met Bianca in an elevator. She was on her way to interview me when we got stuck. The beautiful raven-haired reporter assumed I was a delivery guy because of the way I was dressed. She had no clue I was really Dex Truitt, the wealthy, successful businessman she'd dubbed "Mister Moneybags" - her afternoon appointment. Bianca told me how much she hated Dex's type - snobby, over-educated, silver-spooned men who didn't appreciate the simple things in life.