Temperatures Rising

Darkly handsome with an arrogant edge, architectural engineer Scout Ritland is the kind of American man who spells trouble. Chantal duPont should know, for she has experienced the best and worst of the country and its people including one who broke her heart. Yet here she is, home on sultry Parrish Island, putting herself in the way of another bold Yankee. This time, however, it’s for a good cause: Scout is the one man who can help her village, and she’s not about to let him get the better of her no matter how much she may want to.
Fresh from completing his work on the island’s new luxury resort, Scout’s ready for a little recreation though being kidnapped and shot isn’t on his agenda. But when he catches sight of an exotic beauty with electric blue eyes, events quickly spin out of control. Scout should be outraged to find himself held captive, but an abductor as alluring as Chantal makes it hard to stay angry.
Soon Scout is swept up by Chantal’s need to help her people and the role he is to play in her ambitious plan. With each passing day, the work and the woman present him with challenges he could never find at home. But as the project progresses, intrigue and adventure burn hotter than the island’s volcano and two people who have met their match in each other face a future that could tear them apart....
"Temperatures Rising Sloe-eyed. Sleek hair. Slender figure. Scout Ritland mentally summed up his first impressions of the woman he spotted across the ballroom. She was a stunner, a definite standout. Between the two of them milled a crowd of blacktie-clad celebrants getting drunk on self- congratulations and a tropical fruit punch that made even the stuffiest imbiber feel loose enough to skip naked through the Pacific surf. Scout wasn't quite that far gone, but he was experiencing a pleasant buzz. It was as loud as the calls of the night birds in the jungle surrounding the landscaped grounds of the Coral Reef, the spectacular resort that was enjoying its official grand opening tonight. The potent punch had a tendency to thaw inhibitions, suppress morals, and vanquish previously held ideals pertaining to sexual equality. Eyes glazed by intemperance and uncharacteristic chauvinism, Scout stared at the woman in the clinging white dress. Without a smidgen of remorse he was assessing her only as a sex object. Parrish Island had that effect on people. The place, no more than a dot in a chain of dots on a map of the South Pacific, was intoxicating. Fragrant flowers, banyan trees, and coconut palms abounded; Yankee pomposity did not. Only a few hours earlier Scout had finally succumbed to the island's allure. For the first time since his arrival months before, he had looked beyond the shell-pink-marble walls of the hotel. Up till now it had consumed so much of his time, energy, and thought, he hadn't had an opportunity to enjoy the unspoiled island and its friendly inhabitants. One inhabitant in particular, the woman in white."