His Wicked Christmas Wager

The last person Lord Crispin Sinclair expects to see in a disreputable inn is the woman he's there to forget: Lady Caroline Fallowfield.

Flanked by a bruising former prizefighter, Caroline has braved Southwark's foulest riverside dive on an urgent family mission. She refused to let a monstrous marriage crush her courage—yet facing Crispin's mocking gaze tests all her hard-won composure.

He hasn't forgiven her for marrying another man—or forgotten their mutual passion. Crispin has no intention of playing the dutiful brother—nor any wish to let the haughty beauty escape unscathed. To settle old scores, he proposes an outrageous wager over a cut of the cards.

When she implores him to come home for his brother's Christmas nuptials, he agrees—if the now-widowed Caroline is willing to share his bed and take another gamble on love…

• Christmas Romance: While the festive household departs for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, a secret assignation by the bedchamber hearth puts Caroline’s resolve to the ultimate test.
• Second Chance: Six years after an elopement to Gretna Green was thwarted by family ruin, confronting the woman who broke his heart forces Crispin to face his own lingering devotion.
• Forced Proximity: Reunited under the roof of Hatton Hall, the estranged lovers must string mistletoe boughs together while desperately concealing their scorching private bargain.
• Morally Grey Hero: Hardened by Southwark’s low taverns and reckless gaming dens, Crispin Sinclair will use every ruthless advantage to prove the haughty lady still desires him.
• Also by This Author: Lord Havelock's List, The Major Meets His Match and Never Trust a Rake.