Men like us don't trust easy.

According to village gossip, I am ugly, oversized, and better with plants than with people. Around here, Griffin Everett means outcast, plain and simple.

Then I meet Keynes, a stranger from the city who's everything I'm not: smart, stunning, and secretive. For a few precious seconds in a dark alleyway, he's also mine—until he crushes me like dirt beneath his designer boot.

He wants me.

He hurts me.

And the very next day, he... shows up at my job?

When my newfound nemesis takes over my beloved farm, I'm not sure if I want to strangle him—or drag him into bed. Because whether he's smiling or snarling, something about this ice king sets me on fire.

I'll do whatever it takes to sneak past his walls and see the real man again.

The last thing I expect is for that man to ruin me.