An arranged marriage to a wealthy and titled landowner should have been a dream for Lucy Kirkby but ends in a nightmare that could leave her falsely accused of murder. She flees to the safety of a family friend and like a phoenix rising from ashes, sheds her innocence. Emerging as savvy and sophisticated Catherine Sheffield, she is a woman who keeps her liaisons purely physical and her heart closely guarded. Lord Miles Hawkins once knew love...and it nearly killed him. Yet he's enthralled with the beautiful stranger he encounters at a ball, and a tour of the balcony turns into a heated promise to meet again. Passion ignites an affair with the sultry Catherine, one he's confident will serve his physical needs while keeping his emotions at bay. When an urgent summons threatens her identity, Catherine must choose between saving a life and sharing her secret with Miles, possibly losing him forever. It shouldn't matter...except desire rising has resulted in matters of the heart.