To marry him…would be to destroy him.

Sold into prostitution by her uncle, Cordelia Flowers endured a life of torment before securing employment at the Lyon’s Den as a courtesan. Hiding behind a mask and a pseudonym, she earns enough to amass a fortune, but there’s one thing she can never afford—love. When she falls for the shy lord who paid her to introduce him to pleasure, she knows it’s time to leave, and Mrs. Dove-Lyon offers to find her a husband.

Impoverished viscount James Bedford has no taste for London’s debutantes, with their brittle beauty and avaricious hearts. If only they were like the masked doxy who has given him companionship and, lately, the most exquisite pleasure. But they both know that a viscount could never marry a prostitute.

Mrs. Dove Lyon tempts James into one of her infamous matchmaking schemes, and when he discovers his bride’s true identity, James is both furious and devastated, believing that Cordelia tricked him into marriage for his title.

But Cordelia has more to lose than James’s love. If her past is exposed, it will ruin the Bedford name, and destroy the man she would sacrifice everything to protect.

Tropes you’ll enjoy:

• Class divide
• Opposites attract
• Virgin hero
• Marriage of convenience
• Outcast heroine
• Heroine with a past