To Scorch a Quartz Thorn (Vandeleur)

When two strangers are forced to weather a storm… even stone can burn

Lady Evangeline Gramont has spent her whole life wanting two to find true love and to serve her kingdom. In an arranged betrothal to a Duke she’s never met, the last thing she imagined would be running into an extremely large, if—she grudgingly admits—passably attractive male during a seaside tour with the queen, forcing her to choose between duty and destiny.

The very last place Gavin Conway Lockheed wanted to be was landlocked at another port, but the goddess had different plans as a series of events led his ship, The Quartz Thorn, to have an extended stay for repairs in Verdigris Falls after an unusual storm tour through the main mastings. He soon finds himself rescuing the most beautiful female he’s ever set eyes on. The only problem? She’s a lady engaged to a duke, and he would never let his own desires impede another’s happiness.

Can forced proximity kindle a fire to push them both to accept their deepest desires, or will duty and self-sacrifice threaten more than their tender love?

A Bound by Flame novella
A Vandeleur Trilogy novella