<b>Mary Blayney, the acclaimed author of <i>Courtesan’s Kiss, </i>returns to the Pennistan family with this new historical romance—the delectable story of a free-spirited beauty with no interest in marriage who gets more than she bargained for when a seductive kiss leads to the possibility of love.</b><br> <br> Dispatched by their ambitious father to snag a titled husband, Beatrice Brent and her twin sister, Cecilia, attend a house party with an array of eligible gentlemen. Defiantly ignoring her father’s wishes, Beatrice flirts shamelessly with Lord Jessup Pennistan, a gamer with scandal in his past—and the one man her father has warned her against. But when flirting goes too far, Beatrice suddenly finds herself engaged and, worse, estranged from her family. Though convinced that her fiancé’s wicked ways will bring nothing but heartache, Beatrice is powerless against Jess’s masterful seduction and the anticipated delights of the marriage bed.<br> <br> A gambling man who has lost more than his family is willing to forgive him for, Jess quickly realizes that compromising Beatrice was the best mistake he ever made. But to keep her he must right the wrongs of the past, reclaim his lost fortunes, and place the boldest wager of his life. For now he has everything to win . . . and everything to lose.<br> <br> <b>“[Blayney is] reminiscent of Regency masters Putney, Balogh and Elizabeth Boyle.”<i>—Romantic Times</i></b>