Cider
It's bad when your dog is a nicer human being than you are.

Zaiden Sano was at the wrong place at the wrong time the day he walked into Bumble Books and met me. Big and bad and with the manners of a mongrel, he thought he could bend me to his will. Too bad for him, I wasn't the cowering type anymore. Leaving my abusive husband and creating a better life for my son had given me a backbone, and I wasn't about to bend for anyone, not even the hot hermit who made my heart forget it was too broken for love.

Zaiden
I'd never had very good social skills, and I became even more of a recluse after my wife died. I lived with my dog, books, and demons for six years. I didn't need people, and then I met Cider Rae. She annoyed the hell out of me at first with her tit-for-tat attitude, but that was better than the write-off most people gave me. When I saw the woman behind the bravado, I knew I was the last thing she needed. I was a deeply damaged mess and had no business loving her and her child. The certainty that I would destroy her was still not enough to keep me away.

The thing is, I was so worried about how I would destroy Cider that I never imagined that this sweet temptress could be the death of me.