Bücher von Carrie Thomas

Defeat stings, but victory burns.Trevor Steele has had plenty of professional success, both as heavyweight champion of the American Fighting League (AFL) and in owning his own gym. But now that he's officially retired from fighting, he's finding it tough to reconcile the man he is with the fighter he used to be. Enter a feisty distraction named Navie Fuller, who just so happens to be adjusting to a new life herself. Navie is no stranger to the cage nor the athletes who fight inside it. She was raised to be the beautiful but silent face behind the AFL, and her father - the CEO of the league - doesn't support her aspirations of training for her own fight. Navie has spent her life conforming to her father's demands, putting her dreams on hold to please the man who raised her. Not anymore.Determined to know every side of the business before launching a professional women's league, Navie quits her job with the AFL and leaves her privileged life in California behind, ready to combat her way to the top of a sport she's loved from afar, one uppercut at a time. What she doesn't expect to find is a burning passion for the man who commits to helping her get there. As things heat up inside-and outside-of the cage, Navie's new life is threatened when her father blackmails her, reminding everyone who holds the purse strings and the power in the world of cage fighting. Faced with a battle they're sure to lose, Navie and Trevor must decide if they're willing to risk defeat to prove they have a love worth fighting for.

One mistake doesn't usually define a person, unless your name is Conner Payne.Searching for a way to get his life back on track, Conner finds refuge at Steele Cage, a local gym, where he soon uncovers his potential for supremacy inside the brutal world of cage fighting. A natural talent for landing precise punches and powerful knee strikes could be Conner's ticket out of the hellscape of a life he's been living in for the past decade. All he has to do is train hard and avoid distractions. Should be simple enough, but Conner knows better than anyone that even when you're not looking for trouble, trouble can still find you. And this time, the devil is disguised as a feisty reporter, full of temptation and wrapped in sin.After a devastating betrayal, local columnist Willow Stevens devotes herself to her profession, searching for the security and stability she's always craved. Everything is going as planned until she's forced to cover a cage fighting match, where an altercation with a crazed fan brings her face-to-bruised-face with the winner of the cage match and possible destroyer of her heart. With her life finally moving in the right direction, Willow can't afford any wrong turns, but Conner Payne may be a detour too tempting to ignore.As their lives become increasingly intertwined, Willow and Conner's pasts continue to sucker punch them from behind. They soon find out that what doesn't kill you may make you stronger, but you still have to learn to live with the scars.