Lydia's Penance

When her home situation becomes unlivable, Lydia hopes to escape through a marriage and her qualifications for her new husband are not long. Unfortunately she's a too-old bluestocking with nothing to tempt a man into wedding her, and desperate times call for desperate measures.

The Duke of Manchester has been tricked and trapped into marriage with the quietly stunning Miss Lydia Stafford - he just doesn't know why. She's not a fortune hunter, she's not a social-climber, and she's still a virgin.

While she appeals to him on many levels, how can he trust a woman who trapped him into wedlock and won't explain herself? Isaac tells himself he could never love a woman who trapped him, but what if she had good reasons for doing so? What if, despite her secrets, he fell in love with her?

This book is 101k words, contains a trapped alpha male with a heavy hand for discipline, a distressed and desperate young lady, and the creative use of ginger. Heat level - incendiary.