A Suitable Connection — Cindy Holbrook

HER INNOCENCE INTRIGUED HIM
Ravenstoke wasn't fooled for a moment by the ragged urchin he found perched in the tree near Grantham Hall. Any idiot with eyes could see the frightened creature was a girl...and a dashed pretty one at that. But once he'd heard all about how she'd fled the hideous betrothal her cruel step-father had forced upon her, Ravenstoke understood why she'd struggled to mask her considerable charms. And--to his amazement--the jaded duke felt the urge to protect the chit from her unscrupulous parent's greed...as well as from his own, less-than-gentlemanly desires.

HIS WORLDLINESS SHOCKED HER
Mary Castleton felt like a complete ninnyhammer. Not only had she failed in her desperate masquerade, she'd managed to fall into the hands of one of London's most infamous rakehells! One look at Ravenstoke's indecently handsome face assured her of the danger she was in. He had promised her his protection and she was certainly in no position to refuse it. But she would have to keep a careful rein on her girlish emotions, lest she lose her unschooled heart to a man who could teach her more about passion than any lady ought to know!

Hero: Ravenstoke, Duke of Denfield
Heroine: Mary Castleton