Firmly on the shelf with no desire to ever marry, Lady Eleanor Penhurst won’t let her unwed status prevent her from discovering what she has only discussed at the risqué salon she attends – desire and passion. Taking a temporary lover is a daunting prospect, and she has no idea how to attract the lord she has chosen. She never expects, however, for Lord Benedict Stapleton, her oldest and dearest friend, to offer to be her tutor. Suddenly she’s noticing how sinfully handsome he is, how devilish his blue eyes, how decadent his mouth…and how much she doesn’t want the lord she has chosen. But she can’t have Benedict as her lover… can she?

Benedict has never examined too closely his reasons for avoiding a bride. When his brother, the Earl of Colgrove, demands he marry by season’s end, he vaguely considers complying but the moment Eleanor reveals her plan to take a lover, Benedict cannot allow anyone but he to be her tutor. Refusing to examine why the thought of Eleanor with another man infuriates him, he revels in teaching her of seductive glances and clandestine touches, sultry kisses and daring embrace.

It’s the ideal bargain between friends, but neither are prepared for the ferocious need that explodes between them. Lessons turn into a passionate affair, and Lady Eleanor finds her lover in her dearest friend. However, once Benedict has had Eleanor in his bed, he realises there is nothing temporary about how he feels. Haunted by terrors of the past, Eleanor refuses to marry, even when a slip almost leads to scandal. Can Benedict convince Eleanor her heart is safe in his hands and that nothing less than forever will do?

Genre: Early Victorian England
Heat level: Scorching Hot!
Tropes: friends to lovers, he falls first, love lessons, steamy scenes,

Buy from Cassandra
Amazon: AU | US | UK | CA | DE
Apple Books | Kobo & Kobo Plus | B&N | Google Play | Other

Coming soon…

Coming soon…

What’s in a name?

The Story Behind the Story

Bonus Epilogue
Coming soon…