Seed of the Fire Lily
British botanist treks on to the vast Australian Northern Territory in search for fire lily flowers that grows only in that area. Her jeep gets stuck in the desert & she's rescued by enigmatic rancher Hero. He is suspicious of her presence in his land due to a recent theft of priceless Aboriginal cave painting stolen by a British man posing as a documentary filmmaker so Hero requires that he take heroine to the fire lily location himself. Their physical attraction simmers & they succumb to it only to be halted by heroine. She's ashamed to tell Hero of her sexual hang-ups due to her cruel ex-husband so she lets Hero think that she's still in love with her ex. The appearance of Hero's ex-fiance unfortunately happens the day heroine was to tell Hero she was ready to be intimate with him. The remaining weeks until heroine can harvest the fire lily seeds are fraught with tension as both try to be civil & avoid further intimacy. The day of the harvest shatters their fragile defenses against each other. But can these 2 be honest with each other & have faith in their future together? This Devine book packed an emotional wallop. Hero & heroine's sexual tension, body language, dialogue, unspoken dynamics, & past emotional baggage came alive & made for a fast & meaty read. The misunderstandings & barriers to their r/s was laid out in a progressive manner & fed the tensions b/w Hero & heroine. I don't usually care much for location descriptions but Devine made the Northern Territory appealing. Sex scenes were passionate.
The one big negative was the abrupt ending. Hero was on his way to grovel for his mistreatment of heroine. It was cut short as if Devine had to end it at that page. It needed another page or 2 to make it a more sufficient ending.
Recommended.
