Defy the Sun — Mallory Dorn Hart

THEY SHAPED THE DESTINY OF AN EMPIRE WITH THE URGENT DESIRES OF THEIR HEARTS

A pounding at the inn's door; a quickening of the pulse, and the brash, young cavalier, burst, upon the lady in her chamber. With a sudden stolen kiss the moment was over-- yet a tremor of passion lingered on each one's lips...

Beautiful widow Julie de Lisle Croixverte was returning to France, to the dazzling palace of Versailles. There, where the Sun King Louis XIV ruled like a radiant god, she would purchase a place at court and try to forget the cruel marriage that had left her heart ravaged and tormented...

Roguish captain of the royal guard, Nicholas de Caurcillon was a noble adventurer, loyal only to the King. With his fiery beard and teasing eyes, he possessed many hearts, but never lost his own...

Now in the ballrooms and boulevards of majestic Paris, the two would meet once more, the memory of their fleeting embrace still burning within them. And now fate would weave its sinuous thread through their lives.. . a dangerous, daring web of treachery and intrigue that would steal the promise of their love-- or sweep them worlds apart!