He has a heart of ice...but for her, he'd burn the world.

Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a

past he can’t escape.

Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless

pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.

But when he’s forced to look after his best friend’s sister, he starts to feel

something in his chest:

A crack.

A melt.

A fire that could end his world as he knew it.

***

Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can’t

remember.

But despite her broken past, she’s never stopped seeing the beauty in the

world…including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn’t

want.

Her brother’s best friend.

Her neighbor.

Her savior and her downfall.

Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen—but when it does, it

unleashes secrets that could destroy them both…and everything they hold

dear.

THERE WERE WORSE THINGS THAN BEING STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF

nowhere during a rainstorm.

For example, I could be running from a rabid bear intent on mauling me

into the next century. Or I could be tied to a chair in a dark basement and

forced to listen to Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” on repeat until I’d rather gnaw off my

arm than hear the song’s eponymous phrase again.

But just because things could be worse didn’t mean they didn’t suck.

Stop. Think positive thoughts.

“An Uber will show up…now.” I stared at my phone, biting back my

frustration when the app reassured me it was “finding my ride”, the way it

had been for the past half hour.

Normally, I’d be less stressed about the situation because hey, at least I

had a working phone and a bus shelter to keep me mostly dry from the

pounding rain. But Josh’s farewell party was starting in an hour, I had yet to

pick up his surprise cake from the bakery, and it would be dark soon. I may

be a glass half full kinda gal, but I wasn’t an idiot. No one—especially not a

college girl with zero fighting skills to speak of—wants to find herself alone

in the middle of nowhere after dark.

I should’ve taken those self-defense classes with Jules like she wanted.

I mentally scrolled through my limited options. The bus that stopped at

this location didn’t run on the weekends, and most of my friends didn’t own a

car. Bridget had car service, but she was at an embassy event until seven.

Uber wasn’t working, and I hadn’t seen a single car pass by since the rain

started. Not that I would hitchhike, anyway—I’ve watched horror movies,

thank you very .

To be continued.....

Bye........

I only had one option left—one I really didn’t want to take—but beggars

couldn’t be choosers.

I pulled up the contact in my phone, said a silent prayer, and pressed the

call button.

One ring. Two rings. Three.

Come on, pick up. Or not. I wasn’t sure which would be worse—getting

murdered or dealing with my brother. Of course, there was always the chance

said brother would murder me himself for putting myself in such a situation,

but I’d deal with that later.

“What’s wrong?”

I scrunched my nose at his greeting. “Hello to you too, brother dearest.

What makes you think something is wrong?”

Josh snorted. “Uh, you called me. You never call unless you’re in

trouble.”

True. We preferred texting, and we lived next door to each other—not my

idea, by the way—so we rarely had to message at all.

“I wouldn’t say I’m in trouble,” I hedged. “More like…stranded. I’m not

near public transport, and I can’t find an Uber.”

“Christ, Ava. Where are you?”

I told him.

“What the hell are you doing there? That’s an hour from campus!”

“Don’t be dramatic. I had an engagement shoot, and it’s a thirty-minute

drive. Forty-five if there’s traffic.” Thunder boomed, shaking the branches of

nearby trees. I winced and shrank farther back into the shelter, not that it did

me much good. The rain slanted sideways, splattering me with water droplets

so heavy and hard they stung when they hit my skin.

A rustling noise came from Josh’s end, followed by a soft moan.

I paused, sure I’d heard wrong, but nope, there it was again. Another

moan.

My eyes widened in horror. “Are you having sex right now?” I whisper-

shouted, even though no one else was around.

The sandwich I’d scarfed down before I left for my shoot threatened to

make a reappearance. There was nothing—I repeat nothing—grosser than

listening to a relative while they’re mid-coitus. Just the thought made me gag.

“Technically, no.” Josh sounded unrepentant.

The word “technically” did a lot of heavy lifting there.

It didn’t take a genius to decipher Josh’s vague reply. He may not be having intercourse, but something was going on, and I had zero desire to find

out what that “something” was.

“Josh Chen.”

“Hey, you’re the one who called me.” He must’ve covered his phone with

his hand, because his next words came through muffled. I heard a soft,

feminine laugh followed by a squeal, and I wanted to bleach my ears, my

eyes, my mind. “One of the guys took my car to buy more ice,” Josh said, his

voice clear again. “But don’t worry, I got you. Drop a pin on your exact

location and keep your phone close. Do you still have the pepper spray I

bought for your birthday last year?”

“Yes. Thanks for that, by the way.” I’d wanted a new camera bag, but

Josh had bought me an eight-pack of pepper spray instead. I’d never used any

of it, which meant all eight bottles—minus the one tucked in my purse—were

sitting snug in the back of my closet

...To be continued........

“Yes. Thanks for that, by the way.” I’d wanted a new camera bag, but

Josh had bought me an eight-pack of pepper spray instead. I’d never used any

of it, which meant all eight bottles—minus the one tucked in my purse—were

sitting snug in the back of my closet.

My sarcasm went over my brother’s head. For a straight-A pre-med

student, he could be quite dense. “You’re welcome. Stay put, and he’ll be

there soon. We’ll talk about your complete lack of self-preservation later.”

“I’m self-preserved,” I protested. Was that the right word? “It’s not my

fault there are no Ub—wait, what do you mean ‘he’? Josh!”

Too late. He’d already hung up.

Figured the one time I wanted him to elaborate, he’d ditch me for one of

his bed buddies. I was surprised he hadn’t freaked out more, considering Josh

put the “over” in overprotective. Ever since “The Incident,” he’d taken it

upon himself to look after me like he was my brother and bodyguard rolled

into one. I didn’t blame him—our childhood had been a hundred shades of

messed up, or so I’d been told—and I loved him to pieces, but his constant

worrying could be a bit much.

I sat sideways on the bench and hugged my bag to my side, letting the

cracked leather warm my skin while I waited for the mysterious “he” to show

up. It could be anyone. Josh had no shortage of friends. He’d always been

Mr. Popular—basketball player, student body president, and homecoming

king in high school; Sigma fraternity brother and Big Man on Campus in

college.

I was his opposite. Not unpopular per se, but I shied away from the

limelight and would rather have a small group of close friends than a large

group of friendly acquaintances. Where Josh was the life of the party, I sat in

the corner and daydreamed about all the places I would love to visit but would probably never get to. Not if my phobia had anything to do with it.

My damn phobia. I knew it was all mental, but it felt physical. The

nausea, the racing heart, the paralyzing fear that turned my limbs into useless,

frozen things…

On the bright side, at least I wasn’t afraid of rain. Oceans and lakes and

pools, I could avoid, but rain…yeah, that would’ve been bad.

I wasn’t sure how long I huddled in the tiny bus shelter, cursing my lack

of foresight when I turned down the Graysons’ offer to drive me back to town

after our shoot. I hadn’t wanted to inconvenience them and thought I could

call an Uber and be back at Thayer’s campus in half an hour, but the skies

opened up right after the couple left and, well, here I was.

It was getting dark. Muted grays mingled with the cool blues of twilight,

and part of me worried the mysterious “he” wouldn’t show up, but Josh had

never let me down. If one of his friends failed to pick me up like he’d asked,

they wouldn’t have working legs tomorrow. Josh was a med student, but he

had zero compunction about using violence when the situation called for it—

especially when the situation involved me.

...To be continued........