Not everyone wants to fall in love. For Tina Ryan, it is simply a refuge for the weak, lonely and needy. Once she was like that herself - but not now. Following a turbulent, tormented childhood, she has reinvented herself to become Chrissie: strong, self-reliant and in control. She is everything she ever wanted to be and nothing, not even a man, will ever be allowed to threaten that. But she is also human. When love does enter her life, as unexpectedly as a mugging, it threatens this new personality she has worked so hard to create. And nothing can ever be allowed to do that. Control must be maintained and love must be on her terms. No matter how dreadful those terms might be.     Kirkston Abbey is no place for weak or sensitive boys. Jonathan Palmer can’t believe his good fortune when Richard Rokeby seeks out his friendship. Rokeby is everything Jonathan is not: wealthy, strong, handsome, aloof. Even the professors can’t touch him. As the bond between the two boys deepens, Rokeby grows increasingly possessive. Soon, Jonathan comes to realize that there is something not quite right about his new friend. Something a bit off-kilter. Something... dangerous. What started out as an innocent game among schoolboys turns into a nightmare as Jonathan finds himself powerless to stop Richard from unleashing a diabolical force that threatens to consume them all.     Michael Turner is still fighting the demons of his childhood. He grew up alone; an orphan lost in a maze of institutions and foster homes, surviving on dreams of success, and of finding a place where he was wanted and could belong. Now, in his early twenties, he is at last beginning to escape his past. He has a loving fiancee and is taking the first steps in a promising legal career. And when, unexpectedly, a powerful father figure enters his life, it seems that all Michael's childhood dreams are being realised. But dreams come with a price. Michael has allowed a dangerous cuckoo to enter the nest. One who is plagued by his own demons, who can manipulate the needs and vulnerabilities of others to dreadful effect...     Ronnie Sidney is a perfect child. The illegitimate by-product of a wartime romance, he gives his mother unconditional love when all she has known is rejection and contempt. In her eyes he is faultless: a ray of sunshine in the grey of her existence. But as the cracks grow in his facade of youthful charm, a very different character starts to be glimpsed. For Susan Ramsey, life is easy. Cherished by her parents, she knows nothing of hardship or misery. Until a sudden tragedy thrusts her into a dark and deeply disturbing world. When Susan and Ronnie meet, the attraction is instant. Each recognises in the other a long-awaited soulmate. At last Ronnie feels able to remove his mask of perfection – with consequences more dreadful than either could possibly have foreseen ...