Lady Defiant

the long version

SEDUCED Oriel Richmond knew that her many lovelorn suitors were more taken with her fortune than with her beauty. Yet when she overheard the dark and roguish Blade Fitzstephen--the only man who had ever stirred her interest--describe her in highly unflattering terms, she was more than hurt, she was furious. Never again would she be taken in by seductive words or searing glances, never again would she harbor dreams of love ... until the day Blade returned to Richmond Hall to press his suit, and Oriel found herself responding against all reason.... BETRAYED As the queen's most cunning spy, Blade knew where his duty lay. Sent to romance Oriel into revealing a dangerous secret the lovely innocent did not even know she possessed, he was prepared to go to any lengths to captivate her. But when tragedy struck, Blade found himself drawn to Oriel in ways he had never before experienced. And now, as he and Oriel plunge headlong into a heartstopping race to keep a deadly enemy from the throne of England, Blade tastes the heady sweetness of desire ... and the danger of love.