He's a surly duke. She's a sensitive artist. The two should never mix except he's also...her brother’s best friend. Which is the ONLY reason the Duke of Upton agrees to take Anna Smith away from London to protect the fragile beauty. If she had any idea the darkness he holds in his cold black heart, she’d surely run screaming from his country estate. And that can’t happen because he’s not the biggest bad in the North of England. When the very villain who forced her to flee London finds her, Rath, beast of a man that he is, is the only one who can protect her. To truly keep her safe, he has to keep her close. And soon it's not fear that has her trembling in his arms, and his need to protect her has nothing to do with duty. But his past is as much a danger as hers and soon he realizes that she isn’t just his greatest temptation and his most important job. She’s also…. His one weakness.