Juliet Baker is not looking forward to coming home after six months. Yes, the fiery brunette wants to make a go of turning her parents’ farmhouse into a B&B. She’s just not looking forward to seeing the place where they died. To make things worse, she knows she’ll finally have to face her cheating, firefighter ex-boyfriend.

Luckily, her sister has found Jules a boarder. Easy money, right? Not when she realizes the boarder is Captain Shane Gaskill. Not only is Shane a firefighter, he’s the town’s hot new fire captain.

Jules is determined to hate all firefighters. After all, the men of that precious brotherhood protected her cheating ex. Shane, however, proves he’s different from the start. He’s protective and kind, and she can’t stop looking at his smoking, Viking-hot body. She learns, though, that Shane isn’t so willing to love again either. He’s been hurt, too. They both fight the sexual chemistry, and resulting tenderness, between them. But when a stalker begins to target Jules, they realize they can’t fight their desire forever.

As the threats escalate, Shane and Jules are thrown together. The resulting passion overwhelms them. But are they willing to trust each other and surrender to the flames of love?

Excerpt:

He pulled her tighter, pressing his cock into her belly. “Look, all day long, I’ve been telling myself what happened last night really shouldn’t happen again.”

“I know. Neither of us is really in a good place right now.”

“Neither of us should be in a relationship.”

“Of course not.”

“Definitely not.” His gaze dropped to the bare skin of her arms and shoulders, and he traced a path down her arm with his fingers. “But the fact remains … today, all I could think of was you.”

“Me too.” She bit her bottom lip, trying hard to reign in the sense of excitement and agony flooding her soul. He must be able to feel her racing pulse as he stroked her arms.

He frowned even harder. “I’m going to sound like a total Neanderthal for saying this. But if only we could agree to keep things light…”

“Casual,” she interjected, her breath catching. “J-just physical.”

He ground his erection against her and she melted against him. “Yeah, physical. A purely physical relationship. Would that be wrong?”

“People do it all the time. Why can’t we?”

“Can you?” He lowered his mouth to her face and she felt his breath on her cheeks.

“Yes,” her addled heart cried. “Yes.”

*

That one little word was his undoing. Shane picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His mouth met with hers, frantic, needy. He carried her into the living room and plopped her on the couch, tearing at his clothes. She was desperately trying to unzip herself in back but her fingers were fumbling. Seeing her urgency, he grew even hungrier. Within seconds, he was nude and reaching for the condom in his pant pocket. Jules cursed her stuck zipper. “Never mind the dress, Jules. Turn around.”

She looked at him with uncertainty, but allowed him to turn her body so she was leaning over the back of the couch. Shane shoved her dress up to her waist and ripped her panties down off her legs. And then he moved under her so she was straddling his face on the couch. Clutching at her backside, he swirled his tongue around her swollen clit and sucked. She was so wet, so sweet, already. He slid his tongue along each fold, laving her, even dragging his teeth along her sensitive inner lips.

He’d dreamed of taking her like this all day, and she was so fucking hot and tasty. “Oh, Jules,” he murmured, “it makes me so hot when I think of tasting you. I could eat you all night long.”

With a protracted groan, she came. Shane lapped and lapped, as if she were a popsicle melting from his heat. She was that sweet, mouth-watering.