A widowed Earl & a reluctant bride … Lonely and in need of a wife to produce an heir, grieving Lord Mounthurst, the Earl of Caulderbury’s is attracted to beautiful debutant, Lady Annabelle Holly Lushington. Falling in lust from afar, he waits until after the season ends before offering for her hand. Holly, as she is known to family and friends, finds herself in a whirlwind wedding. Whisked off to the earl’s country estate, in the depths of winter where she discovers secrets to be uncovered… Holly struggles to understand her new husband, despite his talent for bringing her to the pinnacle of pleasure, they remain virtual strangers. Sharing their bodies but not their hearts. Holly longs for the tenderness that Gregory has withheld thus far. Can she teach her extremely commanding husband to unbend? She is determined not to give up her vision of marriage without a fight!