Book excerpt: As the Black Raven, she's cold, distant and alone…untouched by the gossip and scorn of her aristocratic peers. Until he enters her house — and her life — then suddenly her icy shell is no match for the heat of attraction... Notorious Widow Lisbeth Carslake, Countess of Blackhurst was acquitted of her husband's murder, but no one believes in her innocence. Known as the Black Raven, bringer of bad luck and death, she is eviscerated by the gossips and mocked in the clubs. She's also the subject of London's most scandalous wager. Oliver Whitely, Earl of Bellamy, needs money, but it takes more than a few drinks to take on The Black Raven Wager. He finds himself drunk, at her house, and—more surprisingly—agreeing to a business proposal at the end of a fire poker. She will let him win the wager, and he will help find her husband's killer before the killer finds her. But business agreements don't mean trust, and Lisbeth certainly doesn't trust Oliver, her body's reaction to him, or her heart. Love may be the biggest gamble of their lives, but is it a wager their hearts can afford to lose?