Peregrine Ashby, Earl of Rutland A gentleman. A reluctant aristocrat. Desperate to avoid marriage. Peregrine Ashby, the newly and unexpectedly titled Earl of Rutland, is muddling through the affairs of becoming a suddenly wealthy and titled man of means. The last thing he wants to worry about is finding a wife. After the disaster of his parents’ loveless marriage, he’s sworn off wife-hunting. But when he stumbles quite literally into a mysterious beauty wearing a mask at a ball who begs for his help he can’t deny her. Her request? Make love to her beneath the stars and save her from a terrible marriage herself. After the magic of the night is over and the mysterious beauty has vanished, he remains haunted by her and what might have been... Sabrina Talleyrand flees her home when she learns her brother has sold her in marriage to a foul man. Knowing the one thing that will stop the marriage is no longer being a virgin, she seduces the first man at a masked ball that attracts her attention. But making love to the handsome dark-haired stranger with amber-colored eyes has left her changed in more ways than one...