David de Abyndon understood Christiana’s dilemma, for he too harbored a secret pain. Instead, it was Christiana who felt uneasy in the presence of this naturally lordly man behind whose cool blue eyes she sensed the most uncompromising of passions. And even less affected by her well thought out arguments against their upcoming betrothal. He was unaffected by their difference in social status. For she was confronted by no ordinary merchant but a man of extraordinary poise and virility.

Yet she was in for a shock when she met David de Abyndon. But she demanded to be married on her own terms, not as punishment for a romantic indiscretion, and especially not to a common merchant. Lady Christiana Fitzwaryn was not opposed to marriage. But she finds that her resolve quickly softens when tempted by Rhys’s powerful charms and she can only hope to find a way to avoid surrendering to her potent desire… She vows to resist falling under the spell of the handsome, imposing Rhys. When Rhys meets with her employer to buy pottery and buys her instead Joan is furious. She’d had no choice but to become an indentured servant, but she is determined to avenge the crimes that ruined her family and destroyed her world. Rhys could not have known that Joan once enjoyed a more privileged life. To satisfy the fire that sparks between the pair the moment they are alone. After the grueling ordeal, Rhys tenderly cares for Joan’s bruised body and her bruised pride. But the wealthy freemason would never have guessed that just a few days later, a misunderstanding would land Joan in the town stocks and he would become her unlikely savior.

The moment Rhys saw the stunning young woman selling her exquisitely crafted pottery in the marketplace, he was captivated.

The Protector by Madeline Hunter