On the cobblestone streets of Bruges, Valentine's Chocolate Festival fills the air with cocoa and heat. Pastry chef Lila Moreau is there to prove herself, sleeves rolled, apron dusted with sugar, focused on earning her place among the best. Then Etienne Laurent is assigned to her demo table.
He isn't a stranger.
He's Blake Donovan the Delta Force operator who swept her into a brief, intense affair in Marseille five years ago, then vanished. Different name. Same voice. Same way of watching a room. Lila feels the past snap awake as soon as he smiles.
They're forced side by side, tempering chocolate and trading glances that linger too long. Hands brush over warm steel bowls. Old feelings surface, sharp and distracting. Blake wants distance. Lila wants answers. Neither gets what they want.
Because Blake is hiding more than a false identity. He's undercover, using the festival crowds to infiltrate a black-market arms ring. Every move counts. Every lie stacks higher. Lila senses the cracks beneath his charm, even as the pull between them tightens.
With danger closing in and truth waiting to spill, desire becomes another risk to manage.
Can love survive when every secret has a price?
***
Part of the interconnected standalone Delta Valentine Force series each book delivers a complete, sizzling happily-ever-after with no cliffhangers.
Delta Valentine Force throws elite Delta Force operators into their most personal assignment yet. Love.
Across five standalone stories, battle-tested warriors collide with women who don't flinch. Valentine's Day turns volatile cartel compounds, glittering galas, crowded festivals slick with melted chocolate, auction rooms humming with money and risk. The air smells like cordite and roses. Control gets harder to keep.
Each mission brings bullets and secrets, tight escapes and closer quarters. One woman cuts through each operator's discipline, testing decisions made under pressure. Protecting her becomes personal. So does wanting her. Promises are murmured between radio checks. Gifts turn tactical. Desire complicates every call.
Survival has always been the goal. This time, surrender might be the cost.
When the mission ends, what's worth holding onto?
