Ripley Winter’s demons have haunted her for years, begging her to embrace the darkness that’s always dwelled within her. After spending far too long beneath her abusive boyfriend’s thumb, she’s finally indulged in the unthinkable.

Now she’s hoping to start over with a new identity, but when a brutal storm pushes her all the way to Blackthorne Ranch she finds herself face to face with a man, one who can start her on the road to a new life.

That is, if he doesn’t kill her first.

Cruel, cold, and calculating, Preacher Blackthorne’s mission has always been to rid the world of evil. His clientele are willing to pay a hefty price for a taste of the sinners he ensnares, but even monsters get lonely.

When Ripley’s battered body lands on his doorstep, he soon becomes obsessed with the idea of molding her into the perfect hunter.

But will he be able to teach her everything she needs before the ghosts of the past return to haunt them both?

Content Warnings:

This book contains the following content/triggers: Dismemberment, cannibalism, sexual assault (depicted on page as well as discussed), skinning, blood play, gun play, knife play, branding, blood drinking, anal sex, spit kink, primal play, stabbing, beheading, menstrual blood play, tooth removal, biting off fingers, CNC, choking, consensual somnophilia, bullet wounds, crucifixion, religious desecration, descriptions of wounds and blood, orgasm denial, drugging, anal penetration with a gun, rough anal sex, blood as lube, evisceration, and desecration of a corpse. 

There are also contains graphic references to childhood sexual assault and both characters experience severe PTSD as a result of their past. Discussions about trauma are woven into both characters’ ruminations on why they became serial killers. While my area of expertise in criminology was not in serial offending, there are multiple academic sources that support the idea that trauma can play a contributing factor. This book is not a textbook on serial killers, and some things have been glossed over or fudged for the sake of fiction.

PLEASE NOTE: The sexual assaults are committed by a side character and the antagonist, not the MMC.