"I'm to remain here, in the hell I tried so hard to leave, and holding the keys to my cage is the devil himself."

JOSHUA DARKLY
Emilia ran away from me five years ago. That was her first mistake.

Her second was thinking she was done with me when she came back.

Emilia thinks she can waltz back in here after all of this time and take over the billion-dollar company I helped her father build, but I know something she doesn't and I have other plans for her.

Then she goes and makes one final mistake when she tries to escape me once more. This time, I'm ready for her, and I can't wait for her to test my limits—because I no longer have any.

EMILIA CONNOR
My ex stepbrother inserted himself between my father and I any chance he could, even after our parents divorced. That was Joshua's first mistake.

His second is thinking I'm going to let him take over my dead father's company.

When my father's will is read, things don't settle as I expect them to.

Now I need to face my demons. Well—one in particular—Joshua Darkly (the reason I left in the first place), and he better be ready for me.

His last mistake is trying to control me because I'm not the girl he remembers, and I'm not going down without a fight.

* Step Darkly is an angsty enemies to lovers, forced proximity, bully romance and is the first book in he RAVENOUS series, each book can be read on its own, but characters from the other books may be introduced in this book.
** Bronze Medal Winner: 2021 Independent Publisher Awards (IPPY Awards)

FROM THE BACK COVER
THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO THIS STORY.
WHAT IF THEY ARE BOTH WRONG?

JOSHUA DARKLY
Emilia is a spoiled brat who's had life handed to her on a silver platter and she takes everything I worked hard to earn for granted. Living off of daddy's dime, her free ride is about to come to a screeching halt . She's heading back here, to the place she should have never run away from, to settle her father's estate.
She's confident she is the sole heir to all of her father's possessions, including the company I worked my ass off to help build over the last seven years, but I have a surprise for her . Not only am I the new owner of Connor Realty, but I'm also her mentor and guardian for the period of one year.
I never asked to own her but now that I do, I'm not sure I can ever let her go.She's feisty, she has a lot of anger in her and I'm patiently waiting for her to test her boundaries with me.
She'll try her luck one too many times and I can't wait to show her how dark my beast has become .

EMILIA CONNOR
Our past always has a way of catching up to us. I left home five years ago and never looked back. I always thought I had more time to make amends with my father and come home but my time ran out when he died of a sudden heart attack.
Now I'm back to settle his estate and face my demons. Well, one demon in particular; Joshua Darkly, the reason I left in the first place.
Because of a stipulation in my father's will, it looks like I'm here to stay for awhile. I've been declared Joshua's ward for a period of one year and if I don't complete my time, I'll lose everything .
I'll swallow my pride and serve my sentence but I'm not going down without a fight. I'll challenge his patience every chance I get without getting too close to him.
Even now, after everything, I still feel drawn to him and it's something I need to face head on and cut out of my life before it consumes me whole.