Christy Carlyle

In the first novel in Christy Carlyle’s sizzling Duke’s Den series, three men, intent on making a fortune, discover irresistible opportunities . . . Nicholas Lyon gambled his way into a fortune and ownership of the most opulent, notorious gentlemen’s club in England. But when Nick’s cruel brother dies, he inherits a title he never wanted. The sooner Nick is rid of the estate that has always haunted him, the sooner he can return to the life he’s built in London. But there’s one obstacle—the exquisite Thomasina Thorne. When the new heir to the Tremayne dukedom suddenly appears in Mina Thorne’s life, she’s flustered. Not only is he breathtakingly handsome, but he’s also determined to take away her home and position as steward of the Enderley estate. If Mina learns what makes the enigmatic duke tick, perhaps she can change his mind—as long as she doesn’t get too close to him. With each day Nick spends with Mina, his resolve weakens as their colliding wills lead to explosive desire. Could she be the one woman who can help him finally bury the ghosts of his past?

USA Today bestselling author Christy Carlyle sweeps readers away on an all-new romantic holiday to the wilds of Scotland where a young woman discovers her vacation home is unexpectedly owned by a strange, devastatingly handsome earl. After a lifetime of living for her friends, family, even strangers, Lady Lucy Westmont knows something must change or she’ll lose herself forever. An invitation to visit her free-spirited and scandalous aunt in the wild Scottish countryside is the perfect opportunity to discover how to live the life she  wants. James Pembroke just learned that not only is he the new Earl of Rossbury, he’s also inherited his late uncle’s debts and a manor house deep in Scotland. Already owing money to an unsavory man because of a business deal that went awry, he has no choice but to travel to Scotland to sell the manor. On his way, he finds himself sharing a train car with a rather pretty but wild young woman. When Lucy manages to make it to her aunt’s home, she discovers her aunt is missing and the incredibly rude man who shared her train car is claiming that he owns the house instead. Nevertheless, Lucy is determined to have a true holiday, even if she is accompanied by the man who has upended her plans—and her heart.

Will Hart, the Duke of Ashmore, is everything his father was not: scrupulously honest, forbidding, and apparently joyless. As a duke, he’s a catch, but as a grumpy stick-in-the mud, no lady knows quite how to catch his eye. When his sisters concoct a plan for him to visit a run-down family property in Cornwall, he reluctantly agrees, hoping it will be a chance for him to rediscover the carefree man he once was. Madeline Ravenwood believes she can do anything she puts her mind to, including running the gardening business she inherited from her father and being a founding member of the Royal Visit Committee. Hard at work preparing for Princess Beatrice’s visit to judge their annual flower show, the appearance of a stern, handsome duke is a distraction Maddie doesn’t need. Tasked by the committee to convince the duke to repair his ramshackle manor house in time for the royal visit, he agrees, if she will join him as he explores Cornwall. Spending their days, and nights, together, Will’s love for Maddie becomes too strong to ignore. But Maddie knows how different their worlds are and when the burdens of his title reappear, can Will convince her that she’s the woman he’s been waiting for?

USA Today bestselling author Christy Carlyle sweeps readers away on an all-new romantic holiday to the wilds of Scotland where a young woman discovers her vacation home is unexpectedly owned by a strange, devastatingly handsome earl. After a lifetime of living for her friends, family, even strangers, Lady Lucy Westmont knows something must change or she’ll lose herself forever. An invitation to visit her free-spirited and scandalous aunt in the wild Scottish countryside is the perfect opportunity to discover how to live the life she wants. James Pembroke just learned that not only is he the new Earl of Rossbury, he’s also inherited his late uncle’s debts and a manor house deep in Scotland. Already owing money to an unsavory man because of a business deal that went awry, he has no choice but to travel to Scotland to sell the manor. On his way, he finds himself sharing a train car with a rather pretty but wild young woman. When Lucy manages to make it to her aunt’s home, she discovers her aunt is missing and the incredibly rude man who shared her train car is claiming that he owns the house instead. Nevertheless, Lucy is determined to have a true holiday, even if she is accompanied by the man who has upended her plans—and her heart.

Self-made man Aidan Iverson has seen more closed doors in his thirty years than he’s ever cared to count. As a member of the elite Duke’s Den, he has all the money he could possibly need, but the one thing he can’t purchase is true power. If roguish Aidan can’t buy his way into society’s hallowed halls, he’ll resort to a more extreme measure: marriage. Brought up to be a proper lady, the only thing Diana Ashby desires is to be left alone to the creation of her own devices. But when her dreams are crushed, she must find another way to secure the future of her invention. Knowing his desire to enter her world, Diana strikes a deal to arrange Aidan’s marriage to the perfect lady—as long as that lady isn’t her. She doesn’t need any distractions from her work, particularly of the sinfully handsome variety. As Diana and Aidan set out to find him an aristocratic match, neither are prepared for the passion that ignites between them or the love they can’t ignore. In the Duke’s Den, can happiness ever be a winning prospect?

A tangled deception, an undeniable desire—how long before the truth breaks them apart?Scarred by war, in both body and mind, Cassian Rourke lives in seclusion in the Scottish countryside. Only a desperate letter from his twin brother, Julian, Earl of Windham, can lure him back to England. But the favor Julian asks is the last thing Cassian Julian, injured after a reckless horse race, begs Cassian to impersonate him in London and continue courting the diamond of the Season—the woman Julian intends to marry. Daphne Bridewell once foolishly gave her heart to a rogue who broke it. Now, as the sister-in-law of a duke, she's been granted a lavish first Season of her own. Yet, with her heart still tender, she resists the charms of London's gentlemen, content to fade into the background and support her friend Lady Selena Montgomery, who is the Season’s reigning diamond. When one of Selena’s suitors—a charming earl she finds suspicious—asks Daphne to help him win Selena's heart, she hesitates. But as she gets to know him, her wariness softens. He sees past her false smiles and polite conversation to the wound she hides, and she glimpses the man beneath his charm—a man of depth and unexpected sincerity. Cassian has no interest in the beauty he's meant to woo on his brother's behalf. Instead, it's her best friend—with sad eyes and an indomitable spirit—who captivates him like no woman ever has. But what will she think when she discovers his deception?

A determined lady journalist. A powerful duke. A passion neither of them expected.As the sister-in-law of a duke, Ivy Bridewell is expected to follow in her older sisters' footsteps and make a fortuitous match. But Ivy doubts she’ll ever find a man who can tolerate her quirks and relentless curiosity. Tenacious to the point of obsession, she’s set on becoming a lady journalist, driven to uncover dastardly crimes and expose the social issues that weigh on her heart. Ross Emerson, Duke of Blackbourne, is a forward-thinking duke focused on diversifying his investments to avoid the financial pitfalls of his peers. His latest a London newspaper. When his friend, Griffin, Duke of Edgerton, asks him to offer his sister-in-law an internship at the paper, Ross reluctantly agrees. Ivy eagerly seizes the opportunity to prove herself, but she soon clashes with the formidable Duke of Blackbourne. Convinced the dangerously handsome industrialist might be corrupt, she launches an investigation of her own. Yet as her search for the truth takes an unexpected turn, she finds herself allied with her enigmatic boss—and discovers the greatest threat he poses is to her heart.

A roguish duke seeks to escape the demons of his past via a marriage of convenience with his friend’s bluestocking sister and gets far more than he bargained for. Miss Lily Bridewell—stubborn, intelligent, and fiercely protective of those she loves—is determined to keep the misfortunes that have befallen her family from affecting her sisters’ futures. When the heir to their father’s title and estate ousts them from their family home, Lily's desperation drives her into the arms of the one man she fears she cannot trust—especially with her heart. Griffin Knightley, Duke of Edgerton, vowed to mend his rakehell ways when he inherited a dukedom. But he falls back into old habits one fateful night that leads to tragedy—the death of his best friend. Guilt haunts him even as he tries to become a respectable nobleman, and when his late friend’s sisters lose their home, he sees it as his duty to assist them. A marriage of convenience with the eldest would solve two dilemmas—his need for a duchess and the Bridewell sisters’ need for a home. A simple agreement. A practical transaction. But attraction to his strong-willed bluestocking bride makes it impossible for Griffin to be the cool, levelheaded duke he’s determined to be, and Lily won't settle for anything less than his heart.

In the swoon-worthy opener of her Princes of London series, Christy Carlyle takes readers on a breathless chase through Victorian London as a wild bluestocking from a family of treasure hunters and a handsome, serious gentleman from the Scotland Yard butt heads while attempting to thwart a plot to steal the Crown Jewels, inspired by National Treasure. Alexandra Prince is clever, outspoken, and, yes, perhaps a bit impulsive. Yet she’s always been overshadowed by her siblings. While they are off on adventurous expeditions, she’s the one left to keep the family’s antique shop going while she works on a book about lady pirates—and longs for an adventure of her own. When she overhears a group of suspicious customers whispering about a plan to steal the Crown Jewels, she knows it’s her opportunity to shine. But she needs a little help. Detective Inspector Benedict Drake takes his duties at Scotland Yard seriously. In fact, he takes almost everything seriously. Except for the breathless beauty who crashes into his office to tell him about a ludicrous scheme to steal the Crown Jewels. Despite his turning her away, she keeps popping up wherever he goes, and he’s not sure whether she’s determined to cause a scandal or is trying to drive him to distraction. Just when he thinks he’s rid of her, an event compels him to believe her account, and he begrudgingly enlists her aid to thwart the theft of the century. But while thieves seek the Crown Jewels, the troublesome bluestocking he can’t seem to keep away from might just steal his heart…  

After losing her husband, Lady Portia Hastings has found her calling as a portrait artist, and she's achieved enormous success among the noblemen and ladies of high society. As part of a widows club, she's befriended other widows who are living boldly and seem to attract lovers with ease. Not so for Portia. Her natural shyness has always hampered her. Thus, her attraction to Phineas, Lord Pemberton, has gone unspoken, even when she's summoned to his London townhouse month after month to paint the portraits of his mother and sisters.Phineas Cross, Viscount Pemberton, has a list of worries that includes getting his four sisters married, keeping his mother from meddling in every aspect of his life, and winning the attention of the mistress he's desired for months. When that potential mistress sets him the challenge of gifting her with a nude portrait, there's only one person he can think to ask. Lady Portia Hastings is lovely and proper, and he feels like a cad asking her to do anything even slightly scandalous, but when she makes a scandalous request in return—that he give her lessons in seduction—he finds the prim widow impossible to resist.

In Her Sort of Scoundrel , Lady Fiona Prescott gets her club for London widows off to a lively start, but there’s one big complication—the gorgeous scoundrel who lives next door. Bold, vivacious young widow, Lady Fiona Prescott, is a planner by nature. She loves helping others, solving problems, and tackling projects. Her newest project is a ladies’ club designed to help young widows like herself manage issues of finances and their newfound autonomy, and, of course, share tips on how to manage discreet affairs. The inaugural meeting of her club is an enormous success, or at least it was until he crashed back into her life. Infamous scoundrel Dashiel “Dash” Granford, Viscount Lynley, has never allowed himself to be tied down. Not unless he and his lover agreed to such a thing, of course. Though he studied law, he never entered practice as a barrister. And though he inherited a viscountcy, he has yet to settle down with a wife. In truth, the only woman he’s ever truly adored married another man. And now, even as a widow, she cannot bear his scandalous company. But when his cousin dies, the man's only daughter becomes Dash's ward. And the young lady, on the cusp of her first Season out, is eager for help from the one woman who fires his blood and drives him to the edge of madness whenever he’s near her. He knows asking Lady Fiona Prescott for help is the right thing to do for his ward's sake, but he also knows that time spent with her might be the biggest temptation, and the greatest torment, he’s ever known.

Becoming engaged? Simple. Resisting temptation? Impossible. Sebastian Fennick, the newest Duke of Wrexford, prefers the straightforwardness of mathematics to romantic nonsense. When he meets Lady Katherine Adderly at the first ball of the season, he finds her as alluring as she is disagreeable. His title may now require him to marry, but Sebastian can't think of anyone less fit to be his wife, even if he can't get her out of his mind. After five seasons of snubbing suitors and making small talk, Lady Kitty has seen all the ton has to offer...and she's not impressed. But when Kitty's overbearing father demands she must marry before her beloved younger sister can, she proposes a plan to the handsome duke. Kitty's schemes always seem to backfire, but she knows this one can't go wrong. After all, she's not the least bit tempted by Sebastian, is she?

When a young widow and an infamous duke meet at a country house party during the holiday season, the attraction that sparks between them takes them both by surprise.Lady Cecily Wainwright has emerged from mourning eager for experiences she’s been sheltered from for a year and yearning for the passion she never experienced in her marriage. When her friend, Lady Fiona, invites her to a house party over the holiday season, she leaps at the opportunity to escape London and the watchful oversight of her brother-in-law. But on the journey to the countryside, her friend warns her to steer clear of one infamous duke who’s known for messy affairs and breaking ladies’ hearts. Adam North, Duke of Everton, loathes his reputation as the "Heartbreak Duke" and has sworn off sensual entanglements for the time being. When he agrees to attend a holiday house party, his goal is to avoid wanton widows and eligible young ladies altogether. But soon after arriving, he encounters the spirited Lady Cecily Wainwright, who sparks attraction and curiosity. When the young widow asks him to instruct her in the ways of pleasure, Adam knows he should refuse. But Cecily is a temptation he cannot resist.(This is a slightly expanded version of a story that previously appeared in the Duke in a Box anthology)

When a proper young lady needs to get out of an unwanted marriage, she calls on one of London’s most notorious scoundrels–her best friend’s brother–to help her convince everyone she’s as scandalous as he is. As a former soldier, Maxwell Marston, Earl of Devery, understands duty. He did his part for queen and country and has lived up to his notoriety as a rogue by pleasuring more ladies than London gossip rags can count. But now that he’s inherited an earldom, he needs to figure out how to fulfill those duties too. He knows finding a wife is somewhere on the list, but surely that can wait. Miss Emily Cavendish hasn’t fared well on the marriage mart, but that doesn’t mean she wants to be used as a pawn to get her father out of debt. When her parents maneuver her into a match with a wealthy gentleman who’s not just awful but might be dangerous, she decides she needs to cause a scandal to dissuade him. In order to be caught being almost ruined, she enlists the only scoundrel she knows well–her brother’s best friend and freshly minted earl, Max Marston. When Emily comes to Max for ruin, he turns her away. But neither of them can ignore the simmering attraction between them. Though Max can’t give her what she needs, he also can’t imagine her with anyone else. Can Emily trust her heart to the childhood crush who’s become one of London’s most notorious scoundrels?

Wanton Wager is a sensual novella of approximately 30,000 words. Set against the backdrop of Victorian London's dangerous East End, a young woman's disappearance brings together a wounded war veteran and the one woman who can see beyond his scars. As a probationary nurse at Whitechapel’s Samaritan Hospital, Ada Hamilton is required to remain unmarried and devote her energies to helping those in need, but when her sister goes missing, she becomes obsessed with solving the mystery of her disappearance. A menacing aristocrat may hold the answers, but it is his friend, scarred Afghan War veteran William Selsby, a man with questionable intentions and haunting grey eyes, who may hold the key to her heart. William Selsby returned wounded and broken from Afghanistan to find his betrothed married to another man. Eight years later, desperate for a woman’s touch, he accepts a wager from a debauched nobleman, winning the chance to take the man’s mistress off his hands. But the woman he encounters in Whitechapel overturns all his expectations and may be the one person who can see something worth cherishing in the man he has become, wounds and all.

Set against the backdrop of London's dangerous East End in 1888, Victorian propriety and passions collide when a beautiful widow makes a wager with a wounded police detective bent on solving the Ripper mystery. Unlucky in love and estranged from his family, Detective Sergeant Benjamin Quinn is obsessed with solving the Ripper crimes. When he’s suspended from the Metropolitan Police, it’s another failure in a long line of disappointments. But a new mystery arises when a beautiful widow shows up at the most infamous pub in Whitechapel seeking his help. He’s determined to assist Kate Guthrie, and equally determined to quell his growing attraction to her. Kate Guthrie hides painful secrets from her first marriage and has avoided matrimony for nearly ten years. Now she’s finally decided it’s time to remarry and move on with her life, even if it means giving up the charity clinic work in Whitechapel that makes her days worthwhile. But when a battered young woman turns up at the clinic claiming to have been attacked by Jack the Ripper, Kate seeks out Detective Sergeant Benjamin Quinn, a man who sparks feelings in her too potent to deny.

At a Victorian house party in the stormy English countryside, a marquess set to inherit a dukedom must find the perfect bride, but he craves the one woman he can never marry. Grayson Hawkridge, soon to be Duke of Carthwaite, has been summoned to his ancestral family home by his dying father. The ailing duke has one command—find the perfect bride at the house party that has been arranged by two elderly matchmakers for Gray's benefit. Unfortunately, the only woman who truly intrigues him is the vexing redhead he can never have. Evangeline Granger does her best to avoid Gray, Marquess of Rothwell, whenever she encounters him at the society functions her aunt is forever hosting. She has no intention of ever marrying, and the man disturbs her peace of mind. He's far too attractive, too magnetic, and thoroughly out of her reach for anything other than the maddening banter that seems to spark between them whenever they're in each other's proximity. But as the house party goes awry and Evie gets to know Gray beyond his dazzling facade, she finds her heart ignoring all her arguments against falling in love.

An infamous rogue meets his match in a feisty chaperone who has all but given up on love. Felicity Beckett's uncle has tasked her with one goal for Lord and Lady Forsythe's country house party. Keep her innocent cousin away from the notorious rake, Lord Lindsay. The man's Rogues' Rulebook has earned him the most scandalous of reputations, but no one warned Felicity how irresistible a rogue can be. Alex Evering, Lord Lindsay, agrees to attend his aunt and uncle's party for a bit of enjoyment before embracing the duties of his newly inherited title, but he loathes their scheme to redeem his reputation and marry him off to a proper young lady—until he meets Miss Beckett. NOTE: Never Tempt a Rogue is a novella of approximately 30,000 words and previously appeared in the Passionate Promises boxed set.

An Unconventional Wallflower… Clarissa Ruthven was born to be a proper lady, but she’s never wanted to live up to the expectations her late father set. Determined to use her inheritance to help the less fortunate women of London, she’s devastated to learn that she won’t be inheriting anything until she marries, a fate she has no interest in. Unwilling to let go of her plans, Clary works at Ruthven Publishing for Gabriel Adamson, a man who’s always hated her. She’s always returned the feeling, but as she begins to turn her family’s publishing company upside down, she finds herself unable to forget her handsome boss. Never Follows the Rules… Gabriel Adamson believes in order. He certainly doesn’t believe Clary should be sticking her nose in the publishing company, and she definitely has no business invading his every thought. But Gabe soon finds he can’t resist Clary’s sense of freedom or her passionate kisses and he starts to crave everything she’s willing to give him. Especially When It Comes to Love… When Gabe’s dark past comes back to haunt him, he’ll do anything to make sure that Clary isn’t hurt…even if it means giving up the only woman he’s ever loved.

In the swoon-worthy finale of her Love on Holiday series, Christy Carlyle takes readers to the breathtaking coast of Ireland where a pretty, young countess’s secretary agrees to impersonate her mistress to help a duke appease his fortune-hunting family...until he falls for her instead. Miss Evelyn Graves has never had a holiday. She is much too busy as the personal secretary to the Countess of Waverly. But the Duke of Ballymore Castle in Connemara, Ireland, has invited the countess to visit—and as the countess cannot travel, she has insisted Evelyn go in her stead. Except when Evie arrives, everyone mistakes her for the countess—and it’s clear the family who owns crumbling Ballymore were hoping to match the widowed countess with Alexander Pierpont, Duke of Rennick. Though Alex knows the truth of Evie’s identity, he has an unusual request. He’ll happily show her hospitality if she’ll agree to let others think she’s the countess during her visit. There’s just one problem: as time runs out on their arrangement and Alex increasingly fears he must in fact marry an heiress to save his family’s fortunes, he finds that his heart now belongs to Miss Evie Graves…and he can’t bring himself to let her go.

Kit Ruthven's Rules (for Rogues) #1 Love freely but guard your heart, no matter how tempting the invader. #2 Embrace temptation, indulge your sensual impulses, and never apologize. #3 Scorn rules and do as you please. You are a rogue, after all. Rules never brought anything but misery to Christopher “Kit” Ruthven. After rebelling against his controlling father and leaving the family’s etiquette empire behind, Kit has been breaking every one imaginable for the past four years. He’s enjoyed London’s sensual pleasures, but he’s failed to achieve the success he craves as London’s premier playwright. When his father dies, Kit returns to the countryside and is forced back into the life he never wanted. Worse, he must face Ophelia Marsden, the woman he left behind years before. After losing her father, Ophelia has learned to rely on herself. To maintain the family home and support her younger sister, she tutors young girls in deportment and decorum. But her pupils would be scandalized if they knew she was also the author of a guidebook encouraging ladies to embrace their independence. As Kit rediscovers the life, and the woman, he left behind, Ophelia must choose between the practicalities she never truly believed in, or the love she’s never been able to extinguish.

Sophia Ruthven is the epitome of proper behavior. On paper at least, as long as that paper isn’t from one of the lady detective stories she secretly pens. She certainly isn’t interested in associating with the dashing Jasper Grey, the wayward heir to the Earl of Stanhope, and one of the stage’s leading men. But when she learns Grey’s younger sister Liddy has gone missing, she can’t deny her desire to solve the mystery…or her attraction to the incorrigible scoundrel. Responsibility isn’t something Grey is very familiar with. On the boards and in the bedroom, he lives exactly how he wants to, shunning all the trappings of respectability and society. Grey knows he should avoid the bewitching Sophia, but he’s never been able to say no to what he wants. And having Sophia in his arms and his bed is quickly becoming the thing he wants the most.  As Sophia and Grey’s search for Liddy continues across the English countryside, can this scoundrel convince a proper lady that he’s actually perfect for her or will their adventure leave them both heartbroken?

Elizabeth Ainsworth has decided she will never marry. Years spent on the shelf have taught her plain looks and a distinct lack of ladylike talents won't win a proposal from any of the eligible young constables or inspectors her Detective Chief Inspector father invites to their home. Most of them are too busy staring at her younger, prettier sister anyway. And Lizzy is content to be a spinster, especially if it means she can continue with her charity work in Whitechapel. But she has one lingering regret. She wants to experience passion at least once in her life and, most of all, she wants to experience it with Ian Reed. Detective Inspector Ian Reed has aspirations to ascend the ranks of the Metropolitan Police, and he hopes proving himself to his superior, Detective Chief Inspector Ainsworth, will help him get there. A series of brutal murders plaguing Whitechapel have him working long hours, so when Ainsworth's daugher shows up on his doorstep and offers herself to him, he fears he might be dreaming. Fascinated with Lizzy from the moment he meets her, Ian is determined to spend more than one night in her arms, despite what it might cost both of them. Scandalous Wager is a sensual novella of approximately 17,000 words.

In a bet between two old flames . . . Rex Leighton dominates the boardroom by day and prowls the ballroom at night. Searching for the perfect bride to usher him into the aristocracy, he abandoned the idea of love the last time he saw the delicious May Sedgwick. But when he’s roped into a bet, where the prize is the means to fund his greatest ambition and the stakes are a marriage he’s already planning for, Rex is willing to go all in. There’s just one problem—he’s competing against the only woman he’s ever loved. Only love can take it all May Sedgwick could be the belle of the season . . . if she cared. She is more interested in the art studio than the marriage market and her craving to pursue her passion far outweighs her wish for a titled husband. Winning this bet will finally allow May to follow her true artistic desires. Rex losing is just a side benefit, as are his breathtaking kisses that she just can’t resist. When May is forced to choose between the dream she never knew she wanted and the man she’s never been able to forget, Rex must convince her desire is worth a bit of danger.

Christy Carlyle concludes her Duke’s Den series with this sparkling romance about two reluctant allies intent on following the rules and breaking every single one. His Only Regret… Rhys Forester, the new Duke of Claremont, lives his life by four words: Enjoy All, Regret Nothing. He’s devoted to the pleasure of his wild soirees, reckless behavior, and shocking the ton with his interests in trade. The debts that come with his title don’t fit the carefree lifestyle he’s created, and when he’s forced to return to his family’s estate, he’s also forced to confront his one and only regret: the beautiful girl he left behind. May Be Falling in Love… Arabella Prescott has been the belle of more balls than she cares to remember. After three seasons and five rejected proposals, she’s done with the marriage mart. Bella’s hopes to live a comfortable life, alone, come crashing down when her parents demand she marry. But her salvation may come in the form of the man she hates the most. Bella has never forgiven Rhys for what he did to her, but desperate times call for fake engagements. With a few dozen rules, their scheme begins, but it’s not long before the former enemies find themselves breaking every single rule, including the most important of them all: don’t fall in love…

When a scheming marquess' daughter offers her one hundred pounds to publicly kiss a nobleman, a desperate Jessamin Wright agrees. She believes the money will save her failing bookstore and finally free her from her father's debts. But when Jess bursts into an aristocratic party and shocks the entire ton, she never expects to enjoy the outrageous embrace she shares with a grim viscount. Lucius Crawford, Viscount Grimsby, has never met, or kissed, anyone like the beautiful suffragette who unsettles him with a single touch. He has always strived for control and avoided passion at all costs. Lucius is determined to protect his title and restore the estate he's unexpectedly inherited, but Jess' appearance in his life poses a threat to his plans and his heart. After a country house party brings them together once more, neither can resist temptation, and both find that one scandalous kiss just isn't enough.