Pure Desperation

An adventure in the American wilderness? What more could a free-spirited noblewoman want?

Captain Will Creighton is a wanted man. After a brush with death aboard the Enchanted Lady and defying his commanding officer, Colonel Sandstone's, orders to return his captive the Duchess of Winchester to Fort McHenry, Will and his partner, Dayne Neverwood, come up with an alternate plan: transport her sister, Lady Josephine, in her stead.

It should be simple, aye?

Unfortunately, the task isn't as easy as it seems. The free-spirited young woman won't leave Will be. While sailing across the Atlantic, the girl had irritated him to no end. She was as noisy as a magpie and her indigo eyes followed him everywhere. But now? She's a menace! Worse, Will must cater to her Highness' every whim while transporting her up the Mississippi to Fort Bellefontaine--if he can get her there alive. Unfortunately, her curvy figure and soft, lilting laugh haunt his dreams. Nay... he can't give in to temptation. He must hand Lady Josephine to Sandstone. His sister's life depends on it.

After surviving a squall aboard the Enchanted Lady and landing in New Orleans, the last thing Josie Powell wants is to return to stuffy England and live a mundane life as a baron's wife. Ever since she was a child, she's craved adventure. Volunteering to take her sister's place as Will Creighton's prisoner will be her greatest enterprise yet. Or so she thinks. Alligator attacks, snake bites, logjams, native villages... anything can happen on a trip up the Mississippi River with a bunch of fur traders and a sullen American officer. But losing her heart to her handsome guardian will be the thing that breaks her.

Or will it?