Christina Arblaster

Nikolai Alexei Young was born with a special gift...one he'd do anything to lose. The heart and soul of every person he comes into contact with is an open book to his heightened senses. Colorful emotions, whispers of thoughts, the sour tastes of old memories.... He feels them all. The sci-fi books would call him an empath. For Nikolai, his ability has made him an exile. He roams the US alone, avoiding the glut of life in big cities, and using his innate talents to win money in underground poker games. Just enough to keep going, one town to the next.

It was supposed to be simple - drink tequila, forget about the life I’m running away from, and have one wild night. That’s exactly what my next-door neighbor, Aubrey, told me to do. That’s when I met him - the arrogant Aussie. It’s easy to forget a night with a stranger until that stranger is living next door.

It was one night, a night of pure passion and desire. A night I will never forget. But she walked out, and I never stopped thinking about her. And now, she's back, within reach. And again, she’s off-limits, belongs to someone else, one of my men. Teaming up with her to take down those who threaten our freedoms seems like a perfect way to get close to her. But there’s more at stake than ever before.

The people we love are thieves. They steal our hearts. They steal our breath. They steal our sanity. And we let them. Over and over and over again. They say you never forget your first love. Mine was a homeless musician who wandered straight into my soul. He was my first everything. And fourteen years later, I still can't get him out of my head. He broke all my rules. He also broke my heart. I watched him climb to stardom, cheering him on from afar. But I was never a fan; just a girl in love.

Ryan has money. Not just real-life rich but fairy-tale money that can change my life. He offers me $50,000 to be his companion. I don’t know exactly what’s going to be involved, but I’m a stripper, so I think I have a pretty good idea. When I get to his home, nothing is as I expect. He doesn’t touch me. Not straight away. He treats me like I’m his girlfriend.