Disfigured in battle against Napoleon's forces, Captain Graham Veall has become a recluse, spending months alone on his estate and appearing masked in public. Yet Graham is determined not to forgo life's pleasures forever...especially the delight of a woman's touch. He hardly expects virginal Miss Margaret Leigh to respond to his advertisement for female company, thinking he sought a lady's companion. Still, the impoverished vicar's daughter is a surprising temptation he can't ignore. His proposition? That she live with him for two months as his mistress in exchange for supporting her and her brother for the rest of their lives. But Margaret has a secret. Graham once saved her life as a child and she has dreamed about him ever since. As he awakens her desire, she longs to soothe his inner wounds—though only two months with her damaged hero may not be enough....