Unrepentant rake Rule Dewar is living the good life when a most surprising event occurs—he falls in love with his wife. After their strategic "marriage of commerce" three years ago, Rule quite forgot about Violet Griffin, the teenage heiress to a Boston manufacturing fortune. He simply spoke his vows, took over her father's business and returned to England to resume his usual pursuits: high-priced wine, high-stakes gambling and highborn women. Yet when Violet, now a sophisticated woman, unexpectedly appears at Rule's London town house, husbandly duties no longer seem so odious—he can't wait to take his stunning bride to their marriage bed. Violet, however, is not so easily led: she has her own ideas and is seeking an annulment to marry another. But as Rule attempts to win her over, someone else is determined to frame him for murder and keep him out of the way for good…. Kat Martin is the New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty historical and contemporary romance novels. To date she has over 13 million copies of her books in print in seventeen countries, including Sweden, France, Russia, Spain, Japan, Argentina, Poland, and Greece. Kat and her husband, author Larry Jay Martin, live on their ranch outside Missoula, Montana, and spend winters at their beach house in California. Kat invites you to visit her website at www.KatMartin.com. "Rule, how good of you to come!" His hostess for the evening, Lady Annabelle Greer, floated toward him across the elaborately decorated ballroom in the London mansion she shared with her husband, Travis. "And I see you have brought Lucas with you." Her gaze shifted across the room to where his best friend, Lucas Barclay, made conversation with a delectable young widow he had only just recently met. Rule and Luke had attended Oxford together. Beyond that, they were shirtsleeve relatives of a sort. Rule's oldest brother, Royal, the Duke of Bransford, was married to a cousin of Luke's brother's wife. Rule returned his attention to his hostess. "It's good to see you, my lady." With her light brown hair and clear blue eyes, Annabelle Townsend Greer was nearing thirty and the mother of three children, yet she was still a beautiful woman. "I'm surprised you came. You are usually too busy working." She tapped her painted fan against his shoulder. "Don't you know it is highly improper for a member of the aristocracy to labor for money like a commoner?" She grinned. "But then, none of you Dewars have ever given a fig for propriety." Rule grinned back. "I might say the same for you, my lady." He could still recall rumors he had heard of the torrid affair that had resulted in Annabelle's marriage to Travis Greer, a former lieutenant in the British cavalry, confirmed bachelor and his brother Reese's best friend. Anna just laughed. "I admit to being a bit outrageous at times. Not recently, though." Rule smiled. "No, not since your husband had the courage to take you in hand." Anna grinned at the ridiculous remark. If anything, it was the other way round. Travis walked up just then, a well-built man with sandy-brown hair and small, gold-rimmed spectacles who was clearly in love with his wife. A respected journalist with the London Times, he wrote articles about whatever war the country might be fighting at the moment. The empty sleeve of his coat bore testimony to the price he had paid when he was in the cavalry with Reese. "Good to see you, Rule." Travis glanced around the ballroom, the mirrored walls reflecting images of dozens of elegantly dressed men and women. "So which of these lovely ladies has managed to capture your attention? I heard you ended your…association with the beautiful and intriguing Lady St. Ives." Rule took a sip of his champagne. "News travels fast." "I assume you're on the prowl again." He was indeed on the lookout for a new, more interesting mistress. He had grown tired of Evelyn Dreyer, Viscountess St. Ives, and several weeks back had ended the affair. It wasn't Evie's fault, he knew. For some time now, he had been feeling restless and bored, in search of something but not quite certain what it was. Travis's gaze shifted away from him and moved around the ballroom. "Or could it be that you are finally on the hunt for a wife?" The sip of champagne Rule had taken nearly spewed from his mouth. He shook his head. "I'm definitely not looking for a wife. At least not at the moment." No one in London knew he was married. Not even his family. He would have to tell them, of course, and soon. Should have done it long ago. But telling them would make it real. It would force him to admit it was past time he did his duty, went to Boston and retrieved his wife. The thought had him excusing himself and heading for the liquor table for something stronger than champagne. Luke caught up with him there. "The crowd is beginning to thin. How about we head over to the club? Or we could go to Crockfords, do a little gambling." Luke was nearly as tall