Book excerpt: Lady Portia North is in love with her brother's friend. She fell in love with him when she first met him years earlier and hasn't been able to set those feelings aside. He's always been kind to her, but nothing remotely amorous. She's already had three seasons, and turned down several proposals. If she doesn't let go of her dream of the Earl of Lyonsdale, she'll end up a spinster. Harrison Brooks, the Earl of Lyonsdale is tired. He no longer wants to be the rogue the ton expects him to be, and he certainly has no wish to spend his nights with all the different women offering themselves to him. They hold no appeal to him, and haven't for quite some time. There is one lady he desires, but she isn't one that he can have for one night and abandon. If he did her brother would certainly thrash him or more… No, he can't have Portia, though he wants her more than he's ever desired any woman. One night they're stranded together, and the passion they've both held at bay comes crashing over them. It is a night Portia will never forget, but is it enough for her to finally dissolve her love for the earl or will he instead demand that she be his forever.