Coming in Hot

A Jupiter Point Novel

by Jennifer Bernard

Publication Date: November 28, 2017

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

Tobias has always been the strongest of Jupiter Point’s sexy Knight brothers, stubborn, intense…protective to the core. Which is why he rides to the rescue when he thinks an older woman has ensnared his starry-eyed baby brother. But one look at Carolyn Moore, and Tobias understands why a man might fall instantly under her spell. The art history teacher is every inch the “golden goddess” Aiden keeps raving about. Which makes Tobias’s own attraction to Caro incredibly inconvenient. Carolyn knows she looks the part of the calm, yoga-loving teacher. Beneath the Zen exterior, however, beats the heart of a warrior, trained during a past she’s worked hard to forget. The uber-alpha Tobias may have had it wrong about his little brother, but it’s all Carolyn can do to resist the sexy temptation of the hyper-protective pilot and ex-soldier. She can’t risk a real relationship…especially now that the icy danger of her past is coming back to haunt her. Carolyn’s had plenty of time to learn how to handle her problems solo, but she’s never wrangled with a Knight brother determined to protect her like his own. This time, when trouble finds her, Tobias has her back—and he’s COMING IN HOT.

EXCERPT

A suede boot the color of red wine stepped into his field of vision. Then another one. He looked up, an act that seemed to take longer than it should, because his gaze had so far to travel. Hot sexy boots, skirt molded around long thighs, slim hips, trim waist, cashmere sweater with buttons running between perfectly curved breasts, the soft shadow at the base of her throat, the long line of her neck, the tilt of her face looking down, the quirk of her lips, the shine of her eyes.

Jesus. She was a goddess.

"Need a little help there, man in black?"

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, it was a Johnny Cash reference. I tend to assign students little monikers because I'm bad at remembering names. When you visited my class, you became the Man in Black, at least in my head."

"Big Johnny Cash fan here too," he said stupidly.

"Well, that settles it. Us Johnny Cash fans have to stick together. Let me help."

She crouched next to him, and suddenly they were face to face, and he was having a little trouble with his heart rate.

"Let me guess. Snack attack?" She smiled at him as she scooped up a handful of puffs and dumped them into the bag he still held.

"Something like that."

With all the cheese puffs back in the bag, he rose to his feet. She followed suit and they stood facing one another. He still felt tongue-tied, almost as if he were a student in the presence of a much smarter authority figure.

"So what do you think of Evergreen so far?" she asked patiently, almost as if she were talking to a student.

"Pretty campus. Good reputation. Still a few questions I need to resolve, but I'm impressed so far." Was he referring to Evergreen or to her? He wasn't completely sure.

"Well, if there's anything I can answer, go ahead. I'm not the best source, since I'm only a guest lecturer here. But I'll share what I know, and I can point you to the people with the real answers."

He tried to get his head back in the game. Drag out the conversation. Seach for confirmation. "Where do you normally teach?"

"Jupiter Point. It's a little town on the coast with a very high-quality community college."

Should he mention that he was born and raised there? No. He didn't want to tip her off to his hidden agenda.

"So do you have a kid considering Evergreen?" She gave him a swift up-and- down assessment with those soft blue eyes. It damn near gave him the chills. "You don't look

old enough to have a college-age child."

"You're right, it's not for any kid of mine. No kids. Not married. Or ever likely to be." Why'd he go mentioning that? "I'm here for someone I care about," he added.

She nodded, her eyebrows arching. He must sound like a moron. He had to get it together before she decided he had a screw loose and refused to talk to him. When she surreptitiously checked her watch, he knew his time was running out. "I do have a few questions, as a matter of fact. Any chance you have some time later?"

"I have office hours this evening from five to seven. You're welcome to stop by."

She gestured toward a building adjacent to the quadrangle. "First floor, last office on the right. But I suggest you talk to the Admissions people first. They're much more informed than I am."

"I'll do that. Thank you." She nodded politely and turned to go. He added, "See you at seven."

"Office hours are over at seven."

"Exactly. You'll probably be hungry by then."

She opened her mouth to object.

But didn't.

Instead she gave him a confused smile and hurried away.

About Jennifer Bernard

Jennifer Bernard is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “an irresistible reading experience” full of “quick wit and sizzling love scenes.” A graduate of Harvard and former news promo producer, she left big city life in Los Angeles for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She still hasn’t adjusted to the cold, so most often she can be found huddling with her laptop and a cup of tea. No stranger to book success, she also writes erotic romance under the name Juniper Bell.