Feisty Reagan Dawes had been brought against her will from the backwoods of Kentucky to the wilds of Missouri Territory, where her brutish stepfather planned to sell her into marriage. She intended to rebel at all costs - until she laid eyes on the Creole aristocrat whose winning bid would seal her fate. What woman wouldn't desire the darkly handsome Jackson Broussard? But could he ever love a simple country girl like her?An unrefined orphan was hardly a suitable bride for someone of Jackson's station. And yet, the ill-bred beauty stirred the undeniable embers of passion in a man who prided himself on icy control. Now, as Reagan transforms before his appreciative eyes from uncivilized hellion to polished femme fatale, Jackson is torn between his hunger for her and his desire to shelter her from the web of intrigue swirling around him.
