Check and Mate

When Mallory Greenleaf defeats the world's top-ranked chess player in a casual tournament match, she expects him to be furious. What she doesn't expect is for Nolan Sawyer — brooding, brilliant, and insufferably attractive — to look at her like she's the most interesting puzzle he's ever encountered.

Mallory walked away from competitive chess years ago, trading tournaments for survival — keeping her struggling family afloat while her dreams collected dust. She wants nothing to do with the high-stakes, money-soaked world of professional chess or the infuriatingly magnetic grandmaster who keeps pulling her back in. She's certain Nolan despises her. His cold stares and cutting silences make that perfectly clear. Or so she thinks.

As Mallory gets drawn deeper into the competitive circuit, the tension between her and Nolan crackles across every board they share. Their rivalry is electric, their banter sharper than any opening gambit, and the line between hatred and something far more dangerous begins to blur in ways neither of them saw coming. But when a misunderstanding threatens to unravel everything, Mallory does what she does best — she retreats,