Lara Conway is an actress. Her father and sister are political figures, but she chose another route. Now she has been kidnapped as a bargaining tool. She needs rescuing and fast. Sure her sister will come for her she instead gets Vartan. Sure, he was sent by her sister. Her sister is going to be Queen of Bandaria and can’t go off on missions anymore. But couldn’t she have sent someone a little nicer? He’s hot and all, but the man gives grouchy a new meaning.

Vartan is off to save the future queen’s sister. Certain Lara is cut from the same cloth as her sister, imagine his surprise when he’s confronted with a woman who acts for a living. How worthless is that? She’s beautiful and all, and turns him on like nobody’s business. He alternates between insulting her and undressing her with his eyes. Talk about mixed signals.

To make their escape they have to work together. This forces them to really examine each other and to their shock they like what they see. As they quickly progress to sex which neither can resist, they uncover feelings for one another. But the deal was just sex. When they escape, they go their separate ways. Or will they?

These two got along like a cat and a mouse in a bag. Sniping and insulting was foreplay, although they weren’t aware of it. Vartan is resistant to falling under the spell of a woman, but he really doesn’t have a choice. Lara is changed by the situation she finds herself in and re-examines her life and finds it lacking. While both Lara and Vartan do some growing up, they also fall in love. While not the solid happy ending I was anticipating (Vartan was a little wishy washy), it was a satisfying read.

Kidnapped, stripped and tied up, Lara Conway needs a hero—fast. Enter Vartan, who might look like a sex god, but is a grumpy monolith of Bandarian testosterone. Still, something about him makes her want to throw caution to the wind and indulge in scorching, no-holds-barred sex amidst the danger surrounding them.