title: Fire & Silk
author: O'Quinn, Erin
description: Flann O'Conall, the gruff, redheaded son of a king in ancient Ireland, has for the past twenty years preferred the wilderness to the company of a woman. Then, one rainy night, he reluctantly opens his rainproof blanket to the innocent yet disdainful and taunting Mariana de la Castra del Oro. What happens under his blanket? The encounter of his fire with her silk creates a maelstrom of conflict and raw passion that changes both their lives. First, he teaches her some survival skills, while she tries to teach him the meaning of love. Finally, when Flann flees back to the security of his waterfall in the mountains, he is caught in a perilous trap and only Mariana can track him and save his life. Flann is torn at last between the lonely but secure life on his chosen mountain--his symbolic mistress--and the torment of letting go of the willful, passionate Mariana.