Firefighter Patrick Hightower will take any risk in the line of duty. But risking his heart again? That's something he's vowed never to do. He prefers scorching affairsthe briefer, the betterthough he might make a temporary exception for smart, sexy teacher Aisha Miller. Only Aisha isn't interested in exploring their instant, searing connectionno matter how much she feels the heat.

Aisha has had enough of dominant men trying to control her life, and the gorgeous firefighter who visits her kindergarten class is alpha male through and through. Yet the gentler side Patrick shows, especially around her young son, gradually melts her reserve. As shadows from Aisha's past resurface, she'll discover just how far Patrick will go to prove she's found her reallife hero.

Gwyneth Bolton was born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey. She currently lives in Syracuse, New York, with her husband, Cedric. When she was twelve years old, she became an avid reader of romance fiction by sneaking her mother's stash of Harlequin and Silhouette novels. In the 1990s, she was introduced to African American and multicultural romance novels and her life hasn't been the same since. She has a B.A. and an M.A. in English and creative writing and a Ph.D. in English and composition and rhetoric. She teaches classes in writing and women's studies at the college level. She has won several awards for her romance novels, including four Emma awards and the Romance in Color Reviewer's Choice award for new author of the year. When she is not teaching or working on her own African American romance novels, she is curled up with a cup of herbal tea, a warm quilt and a good book.

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