After years of service and the crushing guilt of losing a man under his command, all Mike wants is a quiet life far from responsibility. Peri is everything he should avoid—ambitious, demanding, impossibly gorgeous—but every clash with her leaves sparks in its wake, heat building until respect becomes attraction… and attraction ignites into something far more dangerous.

The problem? She’s rooted to her town and her career, while he refuses to be tied down again. A long-distance affair isn’t practical. Walking away should be easy.

But when passion blurs into tenderness and desire deepens into something that feels like home, neither can deny the truth simmering between them. To claim a love this powerful, Peri and Mike will have to take the biggest risk of all—surrendering to the fire consuming them both.