Orphaned as a child, Jenna Cresswell was used to living by her wits on the rough streets of London. But a perilous secret forced the redheaded beauty to pose as a deaf girl and earn her keep at a tawdry tavern. There she was in the perfect position to overhear a plot against the American, Clay Drake, the only man who'd shown her any kindness. Intent on warning the ruggedly handsome Texan, Jenna sneaked into his bedroom in the dead of night. But before she could explain, Drake had her pinned to the bed, every sense alive to the magic of his exploring lips and hands. Drake assumed his midnight visitor was a birthday gift from his London friends and enjoyed her surprisingly potent charms to the fullest. But in the morning she was gone, leaving behind a strand of red hair and the disturbing evidence of her innocence. Who had she been, and would she be as beautiful in the day as she had seemed in the shadows of the night? Drake was determined to track down his mystery lover, and turn one night of sweet splendor into a lifetime of passionate loving.