No one can compete for Lady Mélisande's coveted affections like the
Italian rogue she met five years prior during a visit to Versailles. Her
encounter with Lord Alessandro Orsini awakened a passion so fierce that
the mere memory of it still ignites her senses. So when the celebrated
rake resurfaces in London, Mélisande succumbs to temptation and
shamelessly proposes an affair for the Season.
Alessandro has never forgotten the girl he met in Versailles―his perfect
match. Though the fiercely independent lady has sworn off marriage, it
doesn't stop him from vowing to make her his wife. While seducing her
body, he wages tender warfare on her heart's defenses. But a bitter
rival also burns to possess Mélisande, and luck has provided the means
to bend her to his will: a scandalous secret that could ruin her. The
price of his silence is nothing less than her hand in marriage, forcing
Mélisande to choose between the desires of her heart and everything else
she holds dear.