Tess Stafford had one big secret. No one must know that she'd taken the job as cook at a private girls school to be close to the daughter taken from her at birth. The sexy new history teacher was one distraction Tess couldn't afford, but everywhere she turned, Flynn Benning was there — charming her, asking intimate questions.

The hard-nosed former marine would rather chew nails than go undercover as a high school teacher. But a killer might be loose in the school, and Flynn had to keep the girls safe. Investigating the secretive Tess was his job — but falling for her was one variable the major hadn't anticipated….