RIGGS Three years after the unexpected death of my husband, I’m finally coming out the other side of my grief. I have a successful tattoo shop that’s on the brink of expansion, I have my best friend, and that’s plenty. I’ve become good at finding entertainment and pleasure when I need it, but it’s the last thing I’m thinking about when a distressed client passes out in my arms after his first tattoo. The only thing I expect even less than that is running into him at Club Rapture with his hand down his pants and an expression I am desperate to see more of. Smith Covington is too naïve, too young, and too irresistible. SMITH It’s exhausting to live in the shadow of the three men I admire most, so deciding to rebel against their idea of me isn’t something I put too much thought into. Walking into Ink and Ember and getting half of my arm tattooed turned out to be more than I bargained for, and developing a massive crush on Riggs Ember doesn’t make things easier for me either. My brothers are not pleased when I show up to our weekly dinner with fresh ink and a hickey, and they’d be even less thrilled if they knew what kinds of things I did with Riggs after hours. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m chasing the things I want, not the things my brothers want for me. Riggs is so focused on the exploration of my pleasure, it’s hard to think about anything else—not the differences in our wants, not the looming presence of his dead husband, and certainly not the appearance of someone from his past who threatens the stability of everything we’ve built. Riggs and I are broken in different ways, but is our love strong enough to support the weight of a future we never thought possible? CW: death of a spouse (off page, before the events of the book)