Of Consuming Fire (Operation: Middle of the Garden #3)

After millennia of faithfully guarding his post in the Garden of Eden, the cherubim Jayden flees. He leaves everything—including his sword—behind, disobeying orders for the first time in his existence, and all because he can sense her: his Temptation. She’s close, and Jayden can’t allow himself to be weak: to fall the way his brothers have for centuries whenever they encounter their very human, very beautiful Temptations. But he has a job to finish. He must regain the integrity the Trees have lost through being tested by vile humans, and it will require blood. And if seeking out the humans he must kill brings Jayden into contact with the one woman who could destroy everything he is, he may never be able to resist her.

A victim of rape, Grace Tucker, Ph.D. knows she can and must keep all men at a distance at any cost. She’s spent years perfecting her arsenal of man-deflecting weapons; her weight and acerbic wit are just two of her most effective munitions. Grace pours herself into her work, constantly seeking to fill the void of self-worth left empty by her attackers’ horrifying actions. And her latest job—translating a dead language engraved into an ancient sword—could be just the thing to finally launch her career and make Grace feel alive for the first time in years.

Neither Jayden nor Grace is prepared for what happens when they meet. A terrible accident places Grace at death’s door, and Jayden allows the unthinkable to take place out of guilt: he lets his intended victims heal her with the fruit from the Tree of Eternal Life. Grace immediately Impulse-pairs with him, an outcome he should have expected as she is the one woman on the earth who can bring him down.