Ravenhurst's Return — Sandra Sookoo

What doesn't kill you might make you stronger unless it forces you to become what you hate… Alexander Sutcliffe—the 8th Duke of Ravenhurst—has finally returned to England after a twenty-year absence, and he wants the man who destroyed his life punished. At the age of twenty, after being forced to witness his parents' brutal murder, he was kidnapped from his bed in London and shanghaied onto a ship to toil in the English navy. Finally able to escape that life and the complications therein, he's back and he has revenge on his mind. Miss Madeline Hardesty—sister to the Marquess of Inglehart—at one time had a secret tendre for Ravenhurst, but when he disappeared from London and society, her brother spun her horrific tales about him, and she promptly forgot him out of necessity. Now that her less-than-savory brother wishes to marry her off to a wealthy duke to cover his massive gambling debts and other assorted sins, she wonders if everything she's ever been told has been a lie. A month before Madeline is due to marry, Ravenhurst kidnaps her and takes her to his abandoned country estate. He intends to ruin the hell out of her, ransom her off to the highest bidder so he can restore his neglected estates, but he didn't count on Maddie being a spirited fighter and an accidental support. Attraction clashes with resistance until one stormy night when secrets are discovered, and they finally give into desire. As the weeks go by, feelings and outlooks change, but neither are free to have a life together… unless they make peace with their pasts and start living for a future they were denied years ago. …yet there are many paths to redemption, but only if you take the first step.