by Tessa Dare
First published 2017
Emma Gladstone appears in the Duke of Ashbury's library wearing a wedding gown. The war-scarred duke has spent his time brooding and menacing London's criminals by night, but now he needs an heir. He decides Emma will become his wife on the spot. His conditions are stark: they will be married only at night, with no lights or kissing, no questions about his battle wounds, and once she bears his heir, they will never share a bed again. Emma accepts but counters with her own demands. She insists they eat dinner together each evening with conversation and unlimited teasing. Most crucially, once she glimpses the man hiding beneath his scars, she refuses to let anything prevent her from loving him. Their arrangement becomes a battle of wills between a duke determined to keep his distance and a vicar's daughter who sees through his defenses.
Genres: romance, adult-fiction, historical-romance, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity
Period: 19th-century
306 pages · ebook · Avon