Darin Kadir had to protect American Rylie Hunt at all costs. Seeking answers, she'd traveled halfway around the world to find him. Now she is a target of his family's arch nemesis and must trust Darin in order to survive. Caught up in a covert war between two families, Rylie wants only to find her father's killers and bring them to justice. She doesn't want to fall in love. But the desire burning in Darin's eyes is unlike anything she's ever known. Will she surrender her heart—or become a casualty of a war across the ages?

Sheik Shakir Kadir, scarred by warfare and lost love, is ready for the ultimate confrontation. But his deadly mission to bring down his family's archenemy is compromised by the discovery that the princess who destroyed his heart is now a prisoner. Held captive in a war-ravaged country, Nikki Olivier has her own life-or-death task to complete: bring her kidnapped son home alive. Her only hope is Shakir, the man she's never stopped wanting. Royal obligation had forced her to hurt Shakir and keep the volatile secret that her missing child is also his. Once the truth is revealed, will they create their own family legacy—or will it be their destruction?

Jass O'Reilly doesn't trust ex-agent Tarik Kadir. A bedouin from an ancient tribe, the dark and brooding Tarik isn't who the lovely CIA agent wants by her side as she tracks down rogue nuclear weapons. Besides, the mysterious sheik is just too handsome for an agent—the passion burning in his eyes a little too hot. Tarik knows Jass doesn't want him by her side as they delve deeper into the sultry Rio nightlife. Well, tough. But before the Carnivale is over, he will have to question everything he thought he knew about his mission, his job and his family. His own heart, he just might find, is the traitor.