Please note: This book is written in dual POV
Every small town has its outcasts. Sarah Gould wore that badge like a wound, branded by whispers and sideways glances since childhood. But she never expected to trade that scarlet letter for a price tag at The Bellissima—an elite playground where fantasies come with a hefty invoice.
The choice wasn't hers. With her mother's life hanging by a thread of debt, Sarah steps into the glittering cage of The Madam's making. Her role? Simple. Be the innocent flower among thorns. Be desirable. Be destructible.
Enter Jake Sinclair—billionaire co-owner of this temple of temptation. He's a man who collects pleasures like others collect art, each conquest carefully curated, none lasting beyond sunrise. Until Sarah.
One look at her, and his carefully constructed world tilts on its axis. One touch, and he's burning up in flames of his own making. Jake Sinclair always gets what he wants—but this time, what he wants might be his undoing.
As shadows from Sarah's past lengthen and secrets threaten to shatter their glittering façade, one question remains: In a game where everyone wears a mask, who's really hunting whom?
Because sometimes the most dangerous player is the one you never see coming...
Will the puppet master become the puppet? Or will both hunter and prey find themselves caught in a web of their own design?
A South African-born animal rights supporter with a poet's heart, Sabel Simmons has established herself as a writer of unapologetic, steamy billionaire romance. She is also known as bestselling fiction author Linzi Basset, under which name she writes suspense-filled dark romance.
Impressively prolific, she has published over a hundred books across her various pen names: Isabel James, Kimila Taylor, Shiloh Dean, Linzi Basset, and Sabel Simmons.
"I write from the inside out," she explains. "My stories are both inside me and a part of me, so it can be either pleasurable to release them or painful to carve them out. I live every moment of every story I write. For readers seeking narratives that blend spice with suspense, I offer precisely that experience—it's the essence of what I create as an author."
Sabel believes authentic storytelling allows her to share her essence, passionate nature, motivations, and wildest fantasies with readers. She experiences every emotion as she writes—each touch, kiss, and harsh word—which fuels her enduring love for writing.
At their core, all Sabel Simmons books explore passion as the fundamental driver of human emotion—whether lust, desire, hate, trust, or love. Her advice resonates with this philosophy: "Believe in the passions driving your desires; live them; enjoy them; and allow them to bring you happiness."