Wicked Hours Between Heartbeats

In a shop that measures every second, Mara Ellery lives by control-until the lights die at midnight.

The darkness doesn't just steal power. It unlocks the past she's kept bolted behind steel and silence.

Mara runs Ellery Horology the way her father taught her: with steady hands, strict order, and no room for mistakes. She fixes broken timepieces and avoids broken people, especially her mother's careful phone calls and the unanswered questions surrounding her father's death. Each night she checks the safe in the back office like a ritual, convinced that if she keeps everything accounted for, nothing else can be taken.

Then a blackout rolls through the building-and a stranger steps into the dim, ticking quiet as if he belongs there.

He's too calm, too watchful, and far too interested in what Mara keeps locked away. He claims he's chasing a stolen pocket watch with a history worth killing for. Mara knows he's lying about something. Worse, her pulse answers his voice like it's been waiting.

As the city sleeps, Mara and the stranger are forced into uneasy proximity among glass cases and restless clocks. Every clue drags her deeper into her father's hidden ledger of repairs, favors, and dangerous clients. Trust becomes a gamble measured in breaths. Desire becomes a fuse. And with each stolen hour, the line between protection and possession blurs-until Mara must decide what she'll surrender to learn the truth.

When the final piece clicks into place, it won't just change what happened that night. It will change who Mara can survive being.

Emotional, high-heat romance threaded with escalating suspense. A guarded heroine discovering her power-and her appetite. Forced proximity, secrets, and "I shouldn't want you" tension. Family legacy, grief, and the cost of hidden bargains. A twist that redefines every earlier heartbeat.