Amazon Review
Setting: England, 1835
Sensuality: 8
A wealthy and powerful rake of the English ton, Simon Cynster has known Portia Ashford, equally wealthy and well-educated, since they were children. By sheer chance, he decides it's time to find a wife at the same time that she decides she wants children and must find a husband. Knowing each other so well is both a blessing and a curse, for when it dawns on Simon that he's in love with Portia, he's well aware that she'll feel challenged by his protectiveness and wary of having her independence curtailed. For her part, Portia feels safe exploring her newly awakened sensuality with Simon, but she?s not at all sure that he'll make a suitable husband. While they're feeling their way through a minefield of turbulent emotions, they're distracted by several unexplained "accidents," and when a member of the weekend house party they?re attending dies, Simon is confronted with the urgent need to keep Portia safe from harm.
Readers who have followed Laurens's tales of the Cynster family will be delighted with this latest novel from the author, for it brings together the "last unmarried male Cynster of his generation" and the lady who was his childhood nemesis. New readers, as well as dedicated fans, will be intrigued by the well-crafted plot, impeccable English setting, and the charming cast of characters. --Lois Faye Dyer
Product Description
Simon Frederick Cynster knows that a perfect bride -- and a perfect lover -- are one and the same. So he sets about finding a mate to suit his needs -- someone who will be a perfect lady by day. . .and a wanton lover by night.
But Simon is not about to broadcast his search to the entire ton and run the risk of every dowager foisting her flighty charges upon him. Instead, he carefully begins his search at a house party at Glossup Hall…and is astonished when willfully independent Portia Ashford immediately captures his interest.
He's known her since childhood and certainly never considered her a potential wife…until an unexpectedly heated kiss changes his mind forever. But as he and Portia begin to explore the depths of their passion, a shocking event occurs…one that puts Portia in deadly peril, and that will require Simon to use his considerable strength and influence to protect his once and always perfect lover.
