Daniel Ashford has been set up. The house party his commanding officer invited him to is really an audition, the beautiful woman he finds weeping in the garden turns out to be a pawn, and their romantic interlude ends up being nothing but one big test. And all so he can be recruited as a spy alongside the maddening woman who'd duped him. Madeline has been acting as a spy for her adopted father for years. She's used to the games and the lies. What she's not used to is being paired up with a handsome gentleman who is genuine and loyal—and whose touch sets her on fire. Though their lives hang in the balance with this undercover charade, losing their hearts is the far greater risk.

Lydia will do anything to save her brother, even marry his kidnapper. Trained in the art of espionage, she's ready to follow in her family's footsteps, and her first mission starts now. Unfortunately her brother's best friend, Gabriel, has a ridiculous notion that he needs to honor his promise to protect her, a promise he made when she was just a child. It's clear his idea of protection means getting in her way at every turn. She may have been infatuated with him when she was young, but now she's a grown woman and there's no way she's going to let him ruin all of her plans. Not even when he tries to distract her with kisses. Gabriel vowed years ago that he would protect his best friend's little sister at any cost. It wasn't a promise he took lightly when she was a child, and it seems even more imperative that he protect her now that she's a temptingly beautiful woman. These days there's no one she needs protecting from more than herself. His reluctant charge seems intent on putting herself in harm's way. Now, the time has come to make good on that age-old promise to keep her safe...even if that means marrying her himself.