Beneath the cover of darkness, passion plays by its own rules. Lovely, poised Anne Beddington is in a desperate situation: on the run for a crime she didn't commit. Anne understands the wicked games she must play to survive - she has perfected her silky voice, practiced her feathery caress - but has she sufficiently mastered the art of seduction to become the mistress of the notorious Duke of March, Devon Audley? War has left him a recluse, but Anne is penniless, alone, and needs a powerful gentleman's protection. Anne has learned how to pleasure a man, yet when this sinfully handsome duke insists that intimate delights must be a two-way street, Anne cannot deny his sensual promise.Anne's delicate hands hold a healing touch, but it's her gentle kindness that opens the duke's eyes to the beauty around him and to a family who need him. Still, Anne is a mystery, and Devon intends to spend endless hours uncovering her secrets. When he finds out the terrible truth about the devious plot to brand her a villainess and endanger her life, saving Anne becomes his salvation. She has shown Devon how to live and love again. Now he will prove the power of his passion.