Book excerpt: The kiss was as nothing she’d ever known…the warmth and sweetness of his mouth was so new to her… Beautiful young Mary Monk was trembling when she surrendered her innocence to dashing Cavalier nobleman Gideon Hawkes to save herself from the destitution the Great Fire of London had assured. Gideon took her on a whim, to satisfy a fleeting desire. Yet what began as a coupling of a jaded man’s lust and a desperate girl’s need soon turned into something far stronger and deeper. Gideon had the power and the purpose to make Mary blossom as a woman, with a woman’s passions and a woman’s fulfillment. And in Mary, Gideon discovered something he had never known, even with the most dazzling ladies and captivating courtesan who frequented the lavish and licentious courts of Europe. For what he had set aflame in Mary and what she returned to him a hundredfold—was love…