"Shit shit shit." She repeats the curse word from her mouth. I look back at her and our eyes meet. She stares at me for a second, almost as if she is questioning something. "Damn it. Damn it" She sighs. "Just know I still hate you after this." I open my mouth to ask her what the hell she is talking about but before I am able to her hands slide up my chest and wrap around the back of my neck, and with all her might she pulls down, making our mouths crash together. • • • Tayla Madden, a full time anesthesiologist nurse who has always done everything she can to withhold the Madden name. Noah Hayes, a professional basketball player who made a name for himself. This good girl and f-boy would never be friends, until they bump into each other one night and it all changes. Now they find themselves creating a pack that benefits both of them: fake dating. Noah will make Tayla's ex boyfriend jealous, and Tayla will clean Noah's image. The plan is simple. Right? • • • Regular Updates Nov 10. 2021 -

I walk into the ballroom to see him staring at me with a smirk on his face. I want to wipe it right off his annoying face. His deadly green eyes locked with my pale blue eyes. I turn my body to the door and run. The cold air hits my face as I run through the doors, my eyes couldn't help but water from the wind. I turn back to see my feet leaving footprints in the thin layer of snow, and to see HIM chasing me around the castle. He was getting closer and closer till I felt a hand grab my arm, spinning my body back to face him. My body hits his muscular body. "Now would be a good time to kill me huh?" I grab my dagger from the outside of my thigh with my free hand, bringing the dagger up to his neck. "I'm not afraid of you Kai." I said with a confident voice. I watch as the blood trickles down his neck. He quickly takes control, pushing my body against the cold castle wall, caging me in with his arms. "Oh I know amore, that's what I love about you." "Wha-" Before I could finish my sentence he had my dagger up to my neck. He grabbed the bottom of my chin with his free hand, lifting my face up to meet his green eyes. I watched as his lips got closer to mine, until I felt his lips moving against mine. We both fought for dominance until I gave up and let him devour my mouth. "Kai we need you back insi-" Kai turns his head back and nods. I couldn't see who it was that interrupted us with kai's body in front of mine. Kai placed my dagger back in my holster, smirking. "Goodbye amore." I was left breathing heavily with my back against the wall, my red lipstick messed up and the taste of his minty breath on my lips.

**FAIR WARNING: YOU WILL HAVE TO BE PATIENT WITH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, BUT IT IS THERE, AND WORTH THE READ. IF YOU ARE OVERLY SENSITIVE, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK* Logan Pierce and Noah Locke are sworn enemies. Both at the top of their class, holding themselves to the highest standards; both captains of their volleyball teams, Logan as the girls captain, Noah as the boys; and both constantly playing seemingly harmless pranks to get back at one another. Or, at least, they're usually harmless... If one thing is true, Noah Locke and Logan Pierce are not friends. But does that mean they could never be friends? Or transcend their title as enemies? Logan might take things too far sometimes, but there's a reason behind the angry front she puts on, and in order to get behind it, someone needs to show her that there's more to life than being the best at everything. Cue Noah Locke. When the two volleyball teams are sent away to a team bonding camp for a week over Fall break, Logan and Noah must learn to get along for the sake of their teams. Partnered up and made to do activities together and bond, the goal is for Noah and Logan to stop this ongoing feud. And when something happens at the bonding camp that brings Logan's vulnerable side up to bat, Noah is the one who has to bring her back. While Logan and Noah explore something other than hatred for one another, there are secrets and people who could be working in toll to bring them apart. But will they be able to transcend those factors and stop fighting for once? Or were they destined to be enemies forever? "Better Than You" challenges the idea that enemies have to stay enemies forever, and proves that if you don't run away from love, you may just find where you were meant to be.