Completed • First Draft - not edited. || "You gonna sit there all night?" Luka glances at me, smirking. I glare back. "I was enjoying the last few seconds of peace before having to spend an evening pretending to like you." "That's funny," he says, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Why?" I snap. "Because I was thinking the same thing." || The rules? Easy enough. 1. Pretend to be the perfect couple. 2. Keep it professional. 3. And whatever you do, don't. catch. feelings. Simple, right? Sofia Calloway never planned on going viral for throwing a drink in Luka Mikhaylov's face. But one video, one pissed-off hockey star, and one furious university later... she's suddenly stuck in a fake relationship with the guy she can't stand. He needs to clean up his image before the NHL draft. She needs the free tuition that comes with the deal. All they have to do is smile for the cameras, hold hands at the games, and act like they don't want to strangle each other. Then come the late-night arguments that last too long. The stolen glances that feel too dangerous. The moment where "pretend" starts looking way too real. Because when you break the rules, someone's bound to lose. And this time, it might be both of them.

After an unexpected ceiling collapse sends her apartment into chaos, Madelaine Grayson ends up living with her brother - and dangerously close to his tattooed, way-too-charming roommate. He's off-limits... but resisting him might be impossible. *** When Madelaine Grayson's bathroom ceiling caves in, it's not just drywall that crumbles. It's her entire world. Forced to move in with her brother, she finds herself swept up in the chaos of his new protective attitude - especially when it comes to his tattooed roommate, Noah Laurier. Noah is the epitome of perfection: sweet, hot, and embedded into every thought Madelaine has. But he's forbidden, and the closer she gets, the harder he is to resist. Well... what her brother doesn't know can't hurt him, right? *** "Matt's sister, I presume?" He walks towards the couch and my eyes widen. He's tall. I thought I was tall but this man could tower me, and when he reaches a hand towards me, there's an intricate clock tattooed on the back of his hand and his fingers have bones tattooed over them. This man is not human. He's tall and angular and dripping with sex appeal. This man is hot. Capital H, capital O, capital T. I don't think I've ever seen a human being so attractive. All I can think about as I force myself to keep my eyes on the screen is the feel of his jaw beneath my hand, and it takes everything in me not to look back at him.