Some bruises fade. Others become cravings. And the sweetest things can leave the deepest marks.Lena Marlowe signs the lease for her dream bakery with shaking hands and a secret she can't afford to share. Honey Bruise is supposed to be a fresh start-warm bread, golden sugar, a life built on something softer than survival. But the building comes with a back hallway, a locked steel door, and the relentless thud of someone hitting a bag like he's trying to beat the past into silence.Behind that door is Cole Hart-an underground fighter with scarred knuckles, hard rules, and a body that makes Lena forget how to breathe. He doesn't want neighbors. He doesn't want distraction. He definitely doesn't want a woman who smells like vanilla and courage looking at him like she can see every ugly thing he's done-and still stay.Lena has her own bruises, the kind no one asks about without consequences. When debts and threats from her old life start bleeding into her new one, Cole offers a deal: he'll keep her safe, and she'll stop asking questions. It should be simple. It isn't.Because every late-night training session blurs into stolen touches, every argument sparks into heat, and every promise feels like it might finally be real. But Cole's world doesn't forgive weakness-and Lena's dream can't survive another secret. When the danger closes in, they'll have to decide what love costs and whether they're brave enough to pay in full.A steamy, emotionally intense romance with a protective, morally gray hero. Found family, healing from trauma, and a heroine rebuilding her life from scratch. Underground fighting, forced proximity, and chemistry that turns to wildfire. High-stakes suspense with tender intimacy and hard-won trust. A satisfying, heart-squeezing HEA.