The Banished Bride — Andrea Pickens

Passion Incognito

Aurora and Alex have been married for thirteen years--although one would hardly know it. They cannot recognize each other's laughter Nor have they ever shared an intimate embrace. Because the last--and first--time Alex saw his wife was at their wedding, and even then, it was through a thick veil and the haze of drink....

Married off at tender ages by their families, Aurora and Alex have since carved out separate lives for themselves--hers, a chaste one at home, and his, that of a worldly soldier. But while on a secret mission to find a woman spy, Alex mistakes Aurora for his enemy. Little does he know that she is his own wife--or that the fiery-tongued vixen will stir embers of passion that will ignite an undying love....

Alternate Blurb:

Sent to capture an infamous lady spy, Alexander mistakenly takes prisoner a woman he met years ago-the day she became his wife.

A drunken laugh, a roll of the dice... and Aurora Sprague finds herself a child bride, married in haste to a young man she's never met to settle her father's gaming debt. Moments after the ceremony, the new groom gallops off to the army and Aurora is banished to a remote estate, married in name only.

Years later, Alex Fenimore, now a top intelligence officer, is on a secret mission when a fiery young lady helps him escape attack.

He has no idea that the woman is his wife or that the sparks of desire between them are about to ignite a dangerous passion.