One of a kind.

Kat Martin’s heroes are as rugged and tough as they come, but honor rules no matter how hot the temptation…

Allie Parker knows her best friend’s death was no accident, but her quest to find the truth soon puts her in the wrong place—at the worst possible time…

An unwilling passenger on a boat carrying deadly cargo and dangerous men, her only ally is mysterious Jake Dawson, who warns her that she must play the role of his reluctant bedmate…if she wants to stay alive.

Under any other circumstances, she’d welcome the attentions of a man with Jake’s powerful body and seductive deep blue eyes. But as Allie places her body—and her trust—in the hands of a total stranger, she wonders if this desperate gamble will be her last…

“…adventure buoyed by frequent doses of hot sex.” --Publishers Weekly

“Martin…spins a busy and suspenseful plot in her newest sexy tale.” --Booklist

Chapter One

"Are you sure about this, Chrissy?" Mary Alice Parker glanced worriedly from her friend to the gleaming white yacht bobbing at the end of the wooden dock. "You've always hated boats. For godsake, you get seasick on the way to the mall!"

Chrissy just grinned. "I don't hate boats--especially not boats like that one." Flipping her long dark brown hair back out of her face, she tipped her head toward the sleek, fifty-three-foot Bertram that her latest boyfriend, Donnie Markham, planned to take her out on for the day. Getting seasick is the part I hate and today I'm wearing 'the patch.' If I weren't, I'd be in trouble the minute we got out of the bay."

With her dark eyes and full-busted figure, Christine Chambers was the exact opposite of Allie, who had wavy short blond hair, blue eyes, and a slender, almost boyish physique. But the pair had met at San Diego State, and though Allie had dropped out at the end of her junior year, their friendship had endured, becoming even stronger through the years.

"Look--here comes Donnie." Chrissy waved and called out to the attractive, darkly tanned man in the flowered short-sleeved shirt, white pants, and navy deck shoes stepping out of a long white Cadillac limo. The car wasn't his, Allie knew. Like the yacht, it belonged to Dynasty Corporation, the import-export company Donnie worked for, one of several expensive autos the company kept to wine and dine its wealthy clientele.

Donnie stopped beside them on the dock, gave a cursory nod of greeting to Allie, but his attention was fixed on Chrissy, his eyes drifting over the tank top and shorts she was wearing, leaving no doubt of the way he intended to spend his afternoon aboard the yacht. "You ready to go, babe?"

Chrissy took his arm and gave him a sexy hug. "I'm ready whenever you are." She was used to the way men looked at her, and there were plenty of them. Chrissy used her body the way Allie used her head, both of them in a constant search for what would make them happy. Chrissy jumped from bed to bed, Allie from job to job, but so far neither of them had found the answer.

"Have fun," Allie called after them as the couple walked away. Chrissy turned and waved, then snuggled closer to Donnie and they continued toward the yacht.

Allie watched them climb aboard and disappear into the cabin, thinking of Donnie Markham and wondering why her best friend always picked losers. Markham might have money--an endless supply it seemed, which he tossed around as if he'd won the lottery--but he also had an attitude. He was shorter than average, and though he was extremely well built, he had a little-man complex that sat like a rock on his shoulder.

In the beginning, Chrissy had liked the expensive gifts and the attention Donnie lavished on her, but lately she'd begun to have her doubts. It was only a matter of time, Allie knew, before Chrissy realized Donnie Markham was just another in a very long line of men who weren't the least bit right for her.

Allie reached the iron gate leading up from the dock and shoved it open. Walking toward the parking lot where her brand-new chartreuse Volkswagen bug was parked, she took a last look at the yacht, Dynasty, shading her eyes against the brilliant San Diego sun glinting on the bright blue water. The boat had already left the slip and was heading toward Point Loma, looking smaller and smaller as it grew more distant.

Allie started to turn away, to continue on to her car, when a bright light flashed at the corner of her eye and her gaze swung back to the yacht. A fierce explosion rocked the bay. Allie stood rooted to the earth, her chest knotted so hard she couldn't breathe as the beautiful boat splintered into a million pieces and burst into a glowing ball of flame.