He burned her. But another placed a gun in her hands and taught her how to aim. ------------------------ Evelyn Hartwell creates beautiful dresses for a living, but she somehow always finds herself in the ugliest corners of Brickhaven. Smoke-filled speakeasies. Alleyways with blood on the walls. All because she can't stop sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. She's soft-hearted, naive, and impulsive. And in a city ruled by two rival crime families, these can get a girl killed. Her Aunt Clara tries to keep her safe, hidden, quiet. But Evelyn has never been good at keeping her head down. One reckless act of kindness goes terribly wrong and shatters everything she thought she knew. A gun is raised. A name from a past she never knew is spoken. And the life she knew goes up in smoke. Her aunt is lying. Her past is wrong. And two powerful families suddenly want her under their protection...or control. Evelyn finds herself pulled into the gilded, dangerous world of the Crowe family. They say she's safest with them, but Evelyn is done being caged. And the Crowes make it impossible to breathe. Dominic - warm smile, passionate devotion, a seductive kind of danger that feels like falling. Sebastian - cold eyes, steady hands, a quiet command that crawls beneath her skin. Both hiding things. Both watching her. Both wanting to keep her in their grasp for reasons she can't decipher. Caught between warring families, two men who could ruin her, and a past she never knew she inherited, Evelyn must decide what she's willing to give up: freedom, heart, or life.

❝Like a work of art he had been dying to put on display.❞ Verani Adams finds herself unhappy with the way she's led her life. Between dealing with the consequences of her career choices, the burden to find romance in an era of one night stands, and most of all, figuring out how to fulfill her endless desire for a thrill in everything she does, she decides to apply for an internship in her final year of college, at one of the most profound museums in the city of Paris: Musée de l'Érotisme. Described otherwise as, a museum dedicated to sex. Face to face with the taboo nature that surrounds her job, she meets Damien Dupont, the head director of the renowned museum. Vera learns early on that his expertise goes beyond the creative field, following him into his personal life, and she can't help but feel curious about the various tastes he indulges in. As for him, he gets what he wants, and his eyes are set on the girl in red. *Unedited, this completed version is the first draft. Currently in revision.* 18+ MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY.