Cold and lethal, soldier, Xander Bristack knows love is beyond his reach. He's bad news for any woman. But when he's kidnapped by terrorists and thrown into a dungeon to rot, he's haunted by passionate thoughts of one beautiful blonde. All Xander wants is one night with Emma Harrison, and he'll fight his way out of the terrorists' grasp to get it.

A former kidnapping victim herself, Emma knows firsthand the trauma Xander must have endured, and she refuses to leave his side when he returns to the Program battered and broken. Emma's convinced her love will help heal Xander, and she won't settle for just one night together to prove it. As he pushes her away, refusing to open his heart to her, Emma's determined to show Xander that she wants him forever, for better or worse, because she knows that under his deadly exterior is the heart of a hero.