Description
A summer storm. A ruined reputation. A marriage neither desires.
When a sudden downpour at Lady Watley’s garden party drives Lady Imogen Hartley to seek refuge in a summerhouse, the bookish debutante never imagines she’ll find herself trapped with London’s most notorious bachelor or that within hours, scandal will force them to the altar.
Lord Sebastian Montague, the Duke of Blackwood, has spent years perfecting his reputation as a rake of the truest form, cultivating his freedom through wicked charm and calculated distance. The last thing he wants is a wife, particularly one thrust upon him by circumstance rather than choice. Yet something about Imogen’s stubborn will and challenging spirit intrigues him despite himself, igniting a dangerous spark in his carefully guarded heart. Even as propriety demands her deference, this Earl’s daughter dares to meet his gaze, a testament to the soulmate he never knew he needed.
Retreating to their countryside estate, Sebastian attempts to play the part of the subdued, proper husband, adhering to society’s demands and restraining his natural instincts. But this artificial “gentleman’s approach” to marriage goes against every fiber of his being, a suffocating pretense for a man accustomed to taking what he desires. How long can the infamous Duke of Blackwood pretend to be a reformed rake, following a script written by someone else entirely, before his untamed nature—and his undeniable, burning desire for Imogen—ignites, consuming them both?
Ardent Artist Books