samantha downing

Samantha White, a young woman who grew up in foster care, has always struggled to survive on her own. At 22, after losing her job at a dog daycare, she takes an unexpected opportunity to work as a caretaker for billionaire Blake Hawthorne. Despite hearing rumors about the high turnover rate for caretakers in his estate, Samantha accepts the job and is welcomed by the housekeeper. Things take a dramatic turn when Blake, intrigued by Samantha's presence, decides to keep her on-abruptly shutting down the hiring process for other candidates. Soon, she finds herself caught between Blake and his dangerously alluring twin brother, Alan Hawthorne, who is also drawn to her. As tension between the brothers rises, Samantha must navigate their world of power, wealth, and hidden desires-ultimately forced to choose between them, unsure which one will truly save her.

I could hear everything, even with my poor vision. I could hear their horrified gasps and the curses they rained on me. ‘She’s a murderer!’ ‘A pack slut and now a murderer! She needs to leave! We can’t live in fear in our own pack!’ Their curses overshadowed my pleas. This isn’t me—I don’t kill. I would never kill one of my own. I staggered toward where Killain stood—he was shocked. He agreed with them. “Please help me, Killain,” I begged, but he only stared. “You have brought shame to this pack, Samantha,” Killain began. “Tonight was an amazing day—a celebration for the Blood Rose Pack. You give me no choice…” “No, no, please don’t do this to me again. I’m hurt, I’m hurt…please help—” “I, Killain Black, Alpha of the Blood Rose Pack, banish you, Samantha Forbes, from the Blood Rose Pack. You have done nothing but bring shame and disgrace to this pack, and from now on, you will not be associated with Blood Rose.” The pain wasn’t torture—my mate rejecting and banishing me on the same night was torture. I fell to the ground and clutched his robe. “Please, don’t chase me away.” The guards dragged me out of the crowd and deeper into the woods. “This is where you belong! Disgrace!” They dropped me roughly and left. I staggered and tried to get up with the little strength I had left. My eyes landed on the red stain flooding the front of my dress. No, please. My stomach twisted, and I screamed in pain. My babies—not my babies, please. I can’t lose them—they’re the only thing I have left. I need to live. I can’t die—after everything.

Pretty girls wear dresses. I wear hoodies and secrets. Like the fact that I sleep with my best friend’s brother—for money. No one can know. Not Macey, my best friend. Not Audrey, his girlfriend. I’m Samantha, and I’m not the kind of girl you bring home. But I’m the one he keeps coming back to.

She was running from her past. He was still mourning his. What happens when both come back from the dead? After Samantha's world is shattered by a viral betrayal she never saw coming, the last thing she expects is a lifeline from the coldest man she’s ever met—David Smith. Ruthless, rich, and emotionally locked behind iron gates, David offers her a deal: marry him to fix his image, and in return, she gets her life back. No strings, no emotions, no expectations. But Samantha isn’t the naive girl she once was. She knows better than to fall for a man who still wears the ghost of his ex like a second skin—especially when that ex is the same woman who once destroyed her in college. Still, something unspoken brews between them. Something dangerously tender. Just when the ice begins to melt and Samantha thinks she might have found a home in his arms, the unthinkable happens: Kimberly—David’s dead ex, Samantha’s worst nightmare—walks back into their lives… very much alive. And Samantha? She’s pregnant. Now trapped between a man she can’t trust, a woman who haunts her every breath, and a secret growing inside her… Samantha must ask herself: Was she ever more than a placeholder for the woman he couldn’t bury? Or worse—did he already know Kimberly was alive all along?