Alyssa Miles is a socialite, a celebrity whose every move is detailed in the tabloids - along with her unfortunate taste in men (who kiss and tell) and a spell in rehab three years ago. When she meets a security man at a party and he doesn't know who she is, she seizes the opportunity to spend time with a man who sees her for herself. A one-night stand is all it is, she thinks, until she returns home to find a murder scene and is put under guard - by the same man.

Derek Taggart, one of three brothers who run the Gemini security organization, thinks Alyssa Miles is just a privileged trust-fund kid. But something about her gets under his skin and when she's in trouble, even if it seems that the trouble is self-caused, he can't help coming to her rescue. Can cold, emotionless Derek find emotion? Is there more to flighty Alyssa than parties and celebrity? And is there more to her family's diamond business than meets the eye - could there be darker forces at work behind the business and behind the murder of her father?

I enjoyed this story once it hit its stride, finding the initial few scenes a little lightweight. The undergirding story - that of conflict diamonds from the Democratic Republic of Congo - is an interesting angle, and the unfolding of Alyssa and Derek's characters to each other worked well. There's plenty of sex, and Derek's business ethics are suspect (sleeping with a woman he's supposed to be guarding wouldn't look very good on his CV), but this story of the society belle and the former Army Ranger is a good read.