Aries Jones...

Why was I still here when my friend, and the woman who had kept me sane, were blown off the face of the earth? I spent six months in a military hospital, with their images going over and over in my mind.

It became too easy to pick up the bottle. I almost drowned in it, and probably would have if an old high school friend of mine hadn't remembered what I did for a living and offered me a job.

That's when I met Brenna. Hearing her husky voice as she spoke, and the feelings she brought out in me–ones I thought were long gone, made me feel alive again.

She was in danger, and I wasn't about to lose another woman. Somehow, I had to convince her to stick around even if it meant losing my soul.

Brenna Douglas...

My mother abandoned my little sister and me. She took off with one of the bikers that were always hanging around. She did me a favor when she left. It meant I no longer had to lock the door to our bedroom, to stop the men from getting to us when she was passed out. But once she was gone, I had to grow up fast.

I had a steady job as a server in a popular neighborhood cafe. I made enough money in tips to keep a roof over our heads and feed us until the threat of the restaurant closing changed things.

Then I met Aries Jones. He was the contractor who was hired to do the renovations. There was something about that man's eyes that touched my heart. He made me feel safe–safer than I'd ever felt before.