A DEVASTATING KISS When William Pinfrith, a charming stranger, swept her into his arms at a masquerade ball, he won Alice Cherville's instant sympathy. His half-brother, the arrogant Earl of Bradenstoke, had mistreated him also. For, too, regarded Bradenstoke as the enemy, and had done so ever since her parents passed away and the unfeeling earl had shirked his responsibility as guardian to her and her siblings. In fact, Alice wanted nothing so much as to tell Bradenstoke precisely what she thought of him. But her opportunity came when she arrived for a romantic rendezvous with Mr. Pinfrith—only to be met by the rakishly handsome earl instead. A SHAMELESS DECEPTION When the Earl of Bradenstoke learned that Alice was the same minx who had peppered him with letters taking him to task, he was eager to deliver the set-down she so richly deserved. Yet when Bradenstoke set out to convince Alice that he was his respectable half-brother, he never imagined that he would soon be trapped by his own lies. For while Alice made it insultingly clear that she preferred the admirable Mr. Pinfrith, the earl realized that it wasn't only her heart alone that had been won by his alias...but his own as well.