Lord Thayer's Choice — Alyssa Bailey

Annalise Coton is to be sold to the highest bidder. She is eighteen, has fulfilled her usefulness as a nursemaid to her half-brother, and with no natural parent to protect her from the outcome, she is to go home with the man offering the best price by the close of business today â€" proposal of marriage optional.

But if the choice were hers, the attractive lord who entered the leather shop is one she would consider. He is obviously used to having his desires met, but there is a gentleness about him that belies the hard, angular exterior. She imagines he would be a strict taskmaster, possibly a ruffian in the marriage bed, but a tender caretaker.
She feels the tingles in her lower regions, and her daydreaming begins. If he would only pay her price.

Lord Stephen Thayer needs to find a wife, produce heirs, and meet his first son obligations. However, he has prerequisites that are making a choice difficult, and he will not lower his expectations or standards merely to obtain a bride.
Stephen isn't a snob, he has needs, and he wants a woman who has the same desires as he does â€" but how to find her is the issue. With the London season over, Stephen prepares to return to his estate, stopping to purchase some leather and possibly a new pistol. He finds that a new saddle and pistol is not all that is offered at the shops today.
Could the lovely blonde-haired sprite with the biting tongue, innocent bravado, and enticing pout be the answer to his dilemma? Would she submit to him in every way to include his discipline?
The choice is his to make and hers to take.