A RACE FOR SURVIVAL...
Bold, blonde Defense Intelligence officer B. J. Chase isn't exactly thrilled when she's summoned from personal leave to investigate an alarming national security breach -- until the suspicious death of a government official blows her covert mission sky-high.

TURNS INTO A PULSE-POUNDING ADVENTURE...
Gorgeous Black Ops bad boy Raphael Mendoza always feared his family's dark history would haunt him. But he never expected it might hold the key to dismantling a rogue weapons system. Now with cool B. J. Chase posing as his hot babe fiancée, he returns to his uncle in Colombia to convince him he can be trusted with the family's dirtiest business secrets.

...AND IGNITES A PASSIONATE FIRE.
Carrying out a deception among ruthless killers brings Rafe and B.J. too close to ignore the smoldering heat between them. Now, they must work together as the closest of partners as the countdown to international catastrophe closes in....

Title: FEEL THE HEAT
Author: Cindy Gerard
Series: Black Ops Inc, book 4
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Pocket Books
Year of release: 2009, September 23
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Bought via The BookDepository

First line:
B.J Chase had worn her black tank top and khaki shorts for too many hours to count in the Venezuelan climate, where the heat and humidity were often measured in terms of ripe, riper and for God's sake, take a shower."

Memorable Scenes:
Once again review notes with no memorable scenes written down. I’m sure this is because I read this book on vacation in June. I have very little review notes to go on as it is… I suspect I was too immersed in the story while basking in the sunshine to take the time to write extensive notes. And believe me, I am now fiercely regretting that.

B.J. Chase is headstrong, tenacious and a spitfire. She’s also sarcastic, self-reliant and sharp. She’s weary of friendships and trusting others, which made her seem cold-hearted and a tough cookie but deep down there’s vulnerability to her despite her hard-ass attitude. She has this one-of-the-guys vibe about her, which she pulls of splendidly with the BOIs.

Raphael 'Rafe' Mendoza has had a tough childhood but instead of falling into the lure of crime, he’s sided with the good guys. Rafe is smooth and charming but don’t let that fool you because he is also commanding and direct. He is intriguing because there’s so much more to him than meets the eye. And I have a soft spot for Latino heroes (especially when they start spewing the Spanish endearments *melts*) so Rafe had me at ‘hola’!

If there’s a romantic suspense author who never fails to please me with her books (especially the ones in this series) in both romance and suspense, it’s Cindy Gerard. In FEEL THE HEAT the plot takes you from Venezuela to the US, to Colombia and back to the US in the span of almost 400 pages and I loved the trip. The plot is that there’s a suspected traitor at NSA and B.J. is sent in to uncover it. When they discover Rafe's family might be an in, Rafe and B.J. go in undercover posing as an engaged couple.

In FEEL THE HEAT I was treated to not one but two romances and I loved both. The primary romance was hot and sizzling with restraint chemistry. BJ and Rafe start out on a bit of the wrong foot but the attraction between them in undeniable and inevitable. Their romance sizzled and having to play an engaged couple under the scrutinizing eyes of Rafe’s family absolutely contributed to the sensual tension between them.

I’m not going to say too much about the secondary romance because it would be too spoilery but it was sweet and endearing, a tentative testing of the waters before jumping in headfirst. I adore Cindy Gerard for giving me these lovely multiple romances in one book that never get in each other’s way but rather complement one another.

FEEL THE HEAT is another installment in this series that is was awesome to read. It had all the things I like of this series and in my romantic suspense reads: the heat, the action, the great characters, the camaraderie among the BOIs, the glimpses of the former couples, the introduction of new intriguing secondary characters and a suspense plot that was tight.

If you’re looking for something fast-paced, action-packed and sizzling hot, you can’t go wrong with this 4th installment of the BOIs.

Favorite Quotes:
This guy had the look –they all did– the skills, and the “no one can touch me” attitude. And if not CIA, then a close equivalent: badasses with a license to kill, thrill and wreak havoc wherever they decided havoc needed to be wreaked.

Her scent lingered. So did the mental image of her standing where he was now standing, naked under the shower spray with clouds of steam fogging up the small room.
Het got hard just thinking about it. So hard that he ached. Hard. For an ice princess who would rather have busted his balls than, well, than do other, much more pleasurable things involving those same balls.

When he backed her up against the wall and pressed his hips deeper into her she made a sound in her throat that damn near buckled his knees.
It was a sound of total submission, without restrictions. A sound of pleasure and invitation and of a longing so desperate and demanding it stole his breath.

“All right, cara. I’ll respect your boundaries.”
She eyed him warily. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But so you know, when we get out of this, if we get out of this. I’m going to blow so many holes in that wall you’ve built around your heart that you’ll have no choice but to let me in.”

Since these guys never did anything halfway, they’d all shown up dressed to the nines. In camo and face black they were imposing. In jeans and T-shirts they were hot. But in white tie and black tux, the lot of them were beyond description.