Thoughtless (thoughtless, #1)

The novel follows Kiera Allen, a college student who moves from Athens, Ohio, to Seattle with her boyfriend, Denny Harris, an Australian she met when he was a teaching assistant at Ohio University. Kiera transfers to the University of Washington on a scholarship to stay near Denny, who has landed a prestigious advertising internship. They move into the home of Kellan Kyle, a strikingly attractive lead singer of a local band called the D-Bags. Denny and Kellan became close during Denny's exchange-student year with Kellan's family, a bond forged when Denny intervened to stop Kellan's father from physically abusing him.

They arrive at Pete's Bar on a Friday night, where Kellan's band is performing, and Kiera is immediately struck by his looks and magnetic stage presence. The three settle into a comfortable routine: Kellan brews coffee each morning and chats with Kiera before Denny leaves for work. Kiera takes a waitressing job at Pete's, befriending Jenny, a perceptive fellow waitress. The D-Bags, including bassist Griffin and drummer Evan, are regulars at the bar. Griffin relentlessly teases Kiera with crude humor while Kellan oscillates between warmth and provocative flirtation.

The harmony fractures when Denny accepts an extended work assignment in Tucson, Arizona, leaving Kiera alone for what may be two months. Devastated, she leans on Kellan, who becomes her constant companion. He takes her to the Bumbershoot music festival, guides her through university registration, and walks her to class each day. Their closeness deepens through cuddling and hand-holding that Kiera recognizes are beyond friendship.

A crisis arrives when Denny calls to say he has accepted a permanent position in Tucson without consulting her. Feeling abandoned, Kiera breaks up with him. That night, drinking heavily with Kellan, she initiates a kiss and they sleep together. She wakes horrified. That same evening, Denny surprises her by returning to Seattle, having quit the job to be with her. Kiera is overjoyed and guilt-stricken. Kellan promises not to tell Denny.

With Denny back, Kellan turns cold, avoids them, and dismisses their night together as meaningless. During a bar outing, he announces he is leaving Seattle because he cannot watch Kiera with Denny. In the parking lot, Kiera begs him to stay and kisses him. Despite his resistance, they have sex inside an unlocked espresso stand. Shattered, Kellan asks why she could not let him go. The next morning he agrees to her proposal for friendly flirting with strict rules. The flirting quickly escalates until Kellan pins her against his bedroom door and kisses her. She pushes him away, and they recognize the arrangement has failed.

Denny confronts Kiera about her emotional distance. Realizing her preoccupation with Kellan has eroded her relationship, she tells Kellan the flirtation must end. Kiera's sister Anna then visits Seattle and flirts with Kellan. At a dance club, Kellan and Kiera share a passionate kiss on the dance floor before he pushes her away upon spotting Denny. Anna spends that night with Griffin, not Kellan, but Kellan lets Kiera believe he slept with Anna. This lie fuels a vicious rainy-night confrontation that ends with Kellan screaming obscenities before breaking down in sobs. The next morning, they call a truce. He gives her one last tender kiss, tells her to stay with Denny, and promises it will be "like it should be."

Kellan begins bringing different women home nightly. Kiera's fury builds until, after a crude remark at Pete's, she slaps him across the face. Jenny and Evan usher them into the back room, where Jenny reveals Kellan never slept with Anna. He admits he let Kiera believe the lie to hurt her. Left alone, their anger dissolves. Kellan confesses he has been in love with her since nearly the moment they met. Kiera tells him she is his, but they agree their first time as a real couple should not be on the back room floor. Evan warns them Denny has arrived. Kiera tells Denny she slapped Kellan because he slept with Anna, a lie that will later unravel.

Kellan takes Kiera to the Space Needle, Seattle's iconic observation tower, which he has arranged to visit privately after hours. He reveals his traumatic childhood: His mother had an affair and became pregnant but told her husband she had been assaulted. Kellan's father raised him as the unwanted product of that assault, and both parents despised him. He connects his compulsive sexual behavior to a desperate need to feel wanted. He tells Kiera she is the only person he has ever truly loved and asks her to leave Denny. She says she needs time.

They sleep together again, and Kellan tells her he cannot share her. Meanwhile, Denny has learned from Griffin that Kiera's story about Kellan and Anna was a lie. He sets a trap, pretending to leave a bar and returning to find them kissing. Denny attacks Kellan in a violent rage, breaking his arm and ribs. Kellan refuses to fight back. When Kellan declares his love for Kiera, Denny aims a kick at his head. Kiera throws herself over Kellan, and Denny's boot strikes her temple, knocking her unconscious.

Kiera wakes in the hospital days later. Kellan, battered and in a cast, has been checking on her through nurses but cannot enter her room. He told paramedics they were mugged, protecting Denny from assault charges. Denny tells Kiera he has accepted a job in Australia and is leaving alone, explaining that she held onto their relationship out of comfort rather than passion. Kellan visits briefly but says he cannot be with her either, feeling he is only her "consolation prize." He asks her to move out.

Anna stays in Seattle and finds them an apartment. Kellan sends his only good piece of furniture to their new place. Kiera quits Pete's and takes a job at a diner, throwing herself into schoolwork. From friends, she learns Kellan has not been with anyone else. She finds a diamond guitar necklace from Kellan mixed in with Anna's belongings and wears it constantly. When Denny leaves permanently for Australia, Kellan appears at the airport to say goodbye. After Denny boards, Kiera collapses, and Kellan catches her, holding her before gently pushing her away.

Three months later, Anna drags Kiera to Pete's. Kellan is performing a devastating song about losing her. When he opens his eyes mid-song, Kiera is standing in front of him and he freezes. In the hallway, they speak honestly: Kellan admits he is terrified of being hurt again, and Kiera confesses she pushed him away out of fear their passion would burn out and she would lose the safety Denny represented. Kellan reveals a tattoo of her name over his heart, proof he carried her with him during their months apart.

Someone pushes Kellan into Kiera, and their lips meet. She proposes they date properly, taking things slow. Their first date ends with a kiss on the cheek; he does not kiss her on the lips until their third date, when Kiera deepens it. She returns to Pete's, where Kellan kisses her openly after every show. They work through their painful history, committing to honesty over silence. Denny and Kellan rebuild a cautious friendship. Three months after reuniting, on the one-year anniversary of Kiera's first night at Pete's, they make love for the first time as an official couple. Kellan whispers that he does not want to be alone anymore, and Kiera assures him he never will be again.