Bargain With the Beast — Naima Simone

In a last-ditch attempt to save her beloved community center, Gwendolyn Sinclair corners childhood friend Xavier St. James, brother of her dead fiancé…and the man who secretly owns her heart. Surely his wealth and contacts can save the run-down building from ruin. The arrangement he proposes confirms what she's long suspected. He's become a beast, and he offers a beast's bargain, one that offends her pride even as it stirs her every desire and titillating fantasy -- submit her body to his whim for seven days and the community center remains open.

Losing both his father and brother has left Xavier scarred in more ways than one, but forbidden lust overrules conscience when Gwendolyn appears, asking for help. He's craved her for years. At last he'll discover if the passion in her eyes blazes just as hot between the sheets. Her fiery surrender leaves him hungering for more, but their bargain is only for seven days and, ultimately, she could never truly love a beast.