Watercolorist's Seduction

Sophia Kincaid is a destitute widow living on her aunt's charity in the small village of Cransford, Massachusetts, at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Unlike her neighbors, who seem to be as morally rigid as their Puritan ancestors, Sophia is tormented by intense desires she tries to satisfy with vivid sexual fantasies. Her dream lover leaves her frustrated and yearning for a man of solid flesh and muscle.

Captain Stanhope hopes that quiet country living in Cransford will bring him relief from heartbreak. He hires Sophia to use her skill as a watercolorist to paint the fascinating objects in his collection. Though he is overbearing and condescending, he is also irresistibly attractive, and Sophia craves his body. Her lust turns to love when she discovers the depth of his passions. But Captain Stanhope is determined to fight his love for her. To grasp her one chance at happiness, Sophia will have to risk ruin and use her art to seduce him so that both can taste the pleasure they so desperately need.