Wrenched from a monastery before taking final vows, Adrian de Lancey's fighting skill wins him an earldom. Fierce discipline masters his darker nature—until he finds a winsome slip of a girl lost in his forest, an illegal falcon on her wrist. Encountering the ice-blond warrior Earl of Shropshire, Meriel de Vere knows his dangerous reputation--and hides her identity to protect her brother's estate from the enemy earl. She does not expect to be arrested. Still less does she expect such a great lord to want her as his mistress. Her passionate need for freedom clashes disastrously with his obsession with his enchanting captive. Given a second chance to properly woo Meriel, can Adrian learn tenderness? Will the two of them claim lasting happiness--or will they lose all to a brutal sworn enemy?