Gayle Callen
 His Bride
 England 1591

Gwyneth Hall has heard the dark rumors about Sir Edmund Blackwell, the man she is betrothed to but has never seen. To save her penniless family from ruin, however, she would wed the devil himself. And this gorgeous, moody "devil" sends a tremor of excitement racing through her when first they meet - sparking the young bride's determination to turn a marriage of mere convenience into much more.

Edmund dares never love again. Already wicked tongues falsely blame him for a crime he didn't commit. And while his exquisite new bride fills him with intense desire, their union is simply a means for him to retain his hard-won lands. Gwyneth is, after all, related to his despised enemy and therefore not to be trusted. But how long can Edmund resist the temptation of her luscious lips... or her warm, sensuous touch? 

 

(...) Edmund reached out a large hand toward her. - Come here, Mistress Hall. - Gwyneth hesitated only a moment, went up a step, then gave him her hand, dwarfed by the size and heat of his. She knew that her face flamed red as she suddenly imagined that hand touching her in ways her mother had described. He drew her the rest of the way up the stairs until she stood at the top, staring into his massive chest. His fingers firmly took her chin and lifted her face until she had no choice but to stare into his pale eyes. There were flecks of darker blue there, and she studied them in wonder.
- You have but a moment, mistress, - he said - Decide now if you will marry me. - (...)