Lady Margaret sees only one escape from a cruel contract marriage: she must ruin herself.
At the Duke of Ravenfield’s masquerade, she asks Duke Pierce for the kiss that would destroy her prospects, and he refuses.
Two years after his unstable wife fled while pregnant, and a year after her death, their son has mysteriously been returned, leaving Pierce in need of a mother for the boy.
He stops Margaret’s wedding and takes her from the altar as his bride.
She vows they will never share a bed, but Pierce intends to give her the kiss he once denied and tempt her until she craves his touch.