First Sergeant Chase McCormick, a seasoned solider on his 4th deployment, knows in his heart and mind that women do NOT belong in combat zones. After witnessing two soldiers get shot in an Iraqi ambush because the male left his post trying to protect the female, his belief is further validated. And Chase knows he would never lose control over a woman. However, this affirmation and the standards he hold all his soldiers to is about to go down the drain. Why? He meets Elena de la Vega.

Elena's sisters accuse her of settling for a boring man, so when Elena discovers her boyfriend behind closed doors with his secretary, Elena realizes she is the one who is in a rut and volunteers to go to Iraq for six months for The Defense Procurement Agency out of D.C. However, when Elena gets to Kuwait, she discovers her orders have been changed. She is going to an outpost in Afghanistan. Needing a drink, she is told about a secret going-away party she can crash.

Once there, Elena gets a little tipsy. Then she meets Chase McCormick. He can't resist her and gives in to her one- night-stand offer. She just wants one no-strings-attached fling before she goes off to nowhere land for six months. The next day, both Elena and Chase are surprised to see each other on the base. The fun begins and before he knows it, Chase McCormick is eating his words.

Karen Foley effectively captures the life of the military deployed in the Middle East. HOT-BLOODED is indeed that. Chase and Elena set each other on fire and the no-sex rule in the military makes their chance encounters all the more spicy. This story put a smile on my face. I just loved the dialogue between these two characters, um, and the other parts, too.

Book Summary

First Sergeant Chase McCormick isn't a chauvinist. But he does believe that women have no place in combat zones. Why? Because his men forget their training! They fall all over themselves trying to protect the women around them. As far as Chase is concerned, females belong in the bedroom, the home, the office. But not anywhere near Chase McCormick when he's on duty.

Too bad nobody mentioned that to gorgeous Elena de la Vega. She's been sent to Chase's remote outpost in northern Afghanistan.

After they'd shared a sizzling one-night stand!

Elena can handle herself. It's Chase who needs a directive on how to deal with his own wildly undisciplined sexual attraction to the woman! Because her presence is making short work of his hardened soldier training…and putting more than their hearts at risk.