Bad boy Birch Baker doesn’t run until he meets a woman worth running for.

Tattoo artist Birch Baker has one goal : support his younger brothers so they can escape their hometown and build successful lives without the burden of the notorious Baker reputation. An ex-con from the wrong side of the water tower, he works hard and keeps his head down, looking up just long enough to see his high school crush, Jocelyn Carter, walk through the door of Serpent’s Tongue Ink.

Forensic accountant and former golden girl track star Jocelyn is back in Epson to hunt down the cooked books of shell companies feeding an elusive corporation with potentially criminal connections. A chance run-in with one of Epson’s infamous Baker boys is an alluring distraction—until she discovers one of the businesses she’s investigating belongs to Birch Baker, the man currently warming her bed and stealing her heart.

She won’t risk losing her integrity or career.

He won’t risk losing his family.

But both are losing themselves in each other and sooner or later, something has to break.