To Capture a Duke's Heart

Book excerpt: Their attraction was immediate and undeniable, but not everyone was pleased with their burgeoning romance. And with one treacherous act… Gabriel Ashcroft, the sixth Duke of Ainsworth and the eldest of the three brothers infamously dubbed "The Ashcroft Angels" by their throng of female admirers, had long been considered one of London’s most eligible bachelors, much to his never-ending consternation. As such, he’d spent years eschewing the pursuits of the ton’s marriage-minded debutantes and eluding their countless attempts to lure him to the altar. Thus, no one was more surprised than him when he found himself utterly entranced by an innocent young beauty on the verge of her debut, one who affected him as no other woman had before. But when the Earl of Beckford’s eighteen-year-old daughter mysteriously turned up in his bed one morning, he realized that the young lady who'd garnered his interest wasn’t nearly as innocent as she appeared. When Lady Penelope Houghton awoke in the Duke of Ainsworth’s bed, she hadn’t the slightest notion as to how she'd gotten there. Unfortunately, however, the man lying next to her, the sinfully handsome lord who’d captivated her with his beguiling charm and mesmerizing smile, was now convinced that she was nothing more than a duplicitous schemer who’d set out to trap him into marriage. Honor-bound to marry the conniving vixen, Gabriel vowed to keep his new bride at arm’s length; but much to his annoyance he soon discovered that some things are easier said than done. Determined to earn her husband’s trust and break through the invisible barrier that he’d erected between them, Penny would risk her heart time and again to prove her innocence as well as her love to the man she adored. But would it be enough…