The Secret Life of Lords — Elf Ahearn

If Lady Claire Albright had one wish, it would be to forget brooding, powerful Lord Flavian Monroe. But even after two years of bewildering silence, she yearns to touch his sinuous arms and feel his calloused hands upon her cheeks. Then, on the brink of her come out, they accidently meet. His ward is ill, and he begs her to use her knowledge of healing to help the girl. But this patient is sick in a way that's far different from what Claire expected -- dangerously different. And, as she struggles to find a cure, Flavian resists rekindling their love. Is it the ward's illness that keeps him cold and distant, or a dark and terrible secret?
The thought of Claire in the arms of another man is unbearable, but in his heart Flavian knows he mustn't ask her to share the consequences of his mistake. Nor should he have brought her to his home and exposed her to his ward's sickness. Yet he lacks the strength to send her away. Each time he looks into Claire's eyes, the urge to feel her body pressed against his consumes all reason, and he is left unable to utter the word, ‘Goodbye.'