Someone needed to protect her... With her partner dead and his dangerous associates after her, fear made Marie run-and drove her right into the arms of Jake Colder, the sheriff of the small town where she sought refuge. The sexual attraction between them is instant and intense, but even the taste of heated nights spent with Jake's gorgeous hard body wrapped around her isn't enough to let Marie relax her guard. If Jake knew what she'd done, he'd arrest her, exposing her to the deadly greed of the men who pursued. Still, as hard as she tries to stay away from the hunky sheriff, some inexplicable force keeps pulling them back together. And that someone was Jake. Jake knew Marie needed his protection. He'd been warned by the ghost of his great-great-grandfather, the family guardian for over a century. Whatever the trouble was, there was one thing he was sure of-he wanted Marie in his life, in his bed, forever, and no one was going to hurt her on his watch.