Within Temptation

Heat Factor: 3 out of 5 -- The sexual tension is high, and the burn is slow. Sex is character-driven, rather than plot-driven.

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"Love, betrayal and murder in a small town..."

Twelve years after her mother's murder, Shannon Bradford fears she may have helped convict an innocent man. Even worse, her prominent family may have had something to do with it. Desperate for answers, she seeks help from the one person least likely to give it. Her best friend and childhood crush, Trace Dawson.

The man she sent to prison.

Serving hard time for murder has left Trace angry and bitter. As far as he's concerned, digging into the past won't replace the years he's lost or erase the hell he's lived. Now that he's free, Shannon Bradford tops his list of bad memories. But he never counted on falling in love.

Excerpt ""Memories flooded my mind, of the quiet riot he was, of the secret crush I'd had on him, and the extraordinary friendship we'd shared so many years ago. As fast as those images came, others replaced them. I was thrust back to the crime scene, back to Mother's corpse and the shirtless eighteen-year-old roaring obscenities while Sheriff Gray and a deputy dragged him away in handcuffs."--- Within Temptation"

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Notes: "Within Temptation" is the first in a trilogy of standalone romance novels in the 'Sons of Temptation' series.

WARNING: Contains strong language, sexual situations, violence, drinking, and drug use.