Under Dark Duress

When fate mucks about in a man's life, he has a choice. To run, to hide, or to stand and deliver…

Percival Latham, the new Duke of Dorchester, was never supposed to hold the title, but when his older brother died under suspicious circumstances, his destiny changed. As he sorts through a trunk full of personal affects, he finds letters written between his brother and a woman within the beau monde. Everything changes, for he believes she had a hand in his early demise. He'll be damned if she doesn't pay. He already possesses a morally gray character, what is one more crime?

Miss Cassandra Fallowfield, only daughter to a baron with pockets to let, feels trapped. Engaged to marry a man not of her choosing but her only choice to move forward, she's going through the motions of living. On a dark winter's night, two weeks before her wedding, she is stolen from her bed and taken to an unfamiliar country manor, yet her kidnapper seems familiar. Though she can't place him, an immediate attraction springs between them that proves disconcerting, especially when she discovers who he really is.

What follows are two weeks of emotional turmoil and forced proximity where Percy drags Cassandra through the dark shadows of where he dwells as payback for his brother's death. Carnal teasing and delicious torture bring out secrets and fears from the pair, but along the way, they draw closer to each other even though a future between them is forbidden. He has his duty, she has hers. Does that matter when something almost like love comes to call, or will familial obligations win? Only they can decide to challenge fate.

…because deep down, he's only ever wanted one thing—to be chosen… for himself.