NO ENEMIES, NO RIVALS,NO MESSY BREAK-UPS…SO WHO’S TRYING TO KILL HER?Julia’s made a great life for herself— she’s now the chef-owner of Madeline’s, the restaurant she’s always dreamed of, and it’s one of the best in Seattle. But suddenly she finds her great life falling apart—on every front.Madeline’s is losing $10,000 a month, and as if that’s not bad enough, someone sabotaged her stove during the evening rush. Now someone’s broken into her home. And tried to push her under a bus. And installed spyware on her laptop.At the insistence of her best friend, she’s finally recognized the need for help. She thought they’d just investigate, but Blackhawk Security’s recommending a bodyguard—someone who’ll be with her night and day, bossing her around in the name of “security.” Of course she rebels!But former Delta Force officer Nico Elliott wins her over right away, going undercover as a busser at Madeline’s and on the very first night uncovers:A possible scheme to steal from the restaurantMissing lighting between Madeline’s and her carA second break-in, and hidden microphones in her houseAnd she discovers he’s a great busser, in addition to his other talents. If she has to have a bodyguard, this is a real pro-- and so easygoing. Not to mention easy on the eyes. The kind of guy she could really go for if things were different.As for Nico, he’s in deep. The attraction he feels is all but disastrous in his job—there’s no way he can let it get in the way of the op. Still— this thing between them sizzles and simmers like dinner at Madeline’s. And the truth is so dangerous, buried so far in the past that they both need to be on high alert.ONCE BURNED is smart, fast-paced romantic suspense, sure to please fans of Toni Anderson, Cynthia Eden, Lori Foster, Rachel Grant, and Barbara Freethy.

A fabulous lost Amazon city once inhabited by women warriors and containing a rare red diamond: it sounded like myth, but archaeologist Jillian Sherwood believed it was real, and she was willing to put up with anything to find it—even Ben Lewis.Ruffian, knock-about, and number one river guide in Brazil, Ben was all man—over six feet of rock-hard muscles that rippled under his khakis, with lazy blue eyes that taunted her from his tanned face. Jillian watched him come to a fast boil when she refused to reveal their exact destination upriver in the uncharted rain forests—and resolved to stand her ground. Neither of them could foresee what the days ahead promised: An odyssey into the fiery heart of passion and betrayal, and a danger that would force them to cast their fates together, immersed in the eternal, unsolved mysteries of love...