Falling

Cat meets Brigan at a Halloween party, a devastatingly handsome stranger whose presence pulls every other guest into helpless devotion. His powers of persuasion have worked for nine centuries without failing once, until she proves immune. Somehow she keeps her own mind against the pull that controls the room, and grows drawn to him anyway.

Falling is a paranormal romance novella, one entry in Christina Lauren's Scared Sexy Collection of standalone Halloween stories that pair holiday chills with romantic heat. Brigan is no ordinary charmer: he is bound by a centuries-old curse, and Cat turns out to be the one person who can see the man underneath it.

The story moves fast, compressing an entire seduction into one night and a slim page count. Christina Lauren keeps the mood dark and charged rather than sweet. She plays the tension between resistance and surrender as Cat weighs how far she will go with a man who was never meant to be resisted.

One night together could break Brigan's spell for good, or bind them both to it permanently. It reads as a short, spicy Halloween romance with an uncanny edge, quick enough to finish in one sitting.