He'd accosted her on a dark London street, sure that she was his missing wife. But a few moments in her company assured Marcus Lytton that Miss Catherine Courtnay was nothing like Catalina. cool and remote, with a tongue as tart as a lemon and eyes that could flash with temper, the fiery-haired beauty was everything his scheming adventuress of a wife wasn't - innocent, loyal, honest. And so he uttered the words that would sweep Catherine into his life, and into a desperate plan that could spell disaster for them both. "I want you to play the part of my wife." As the infamous Earl of Wrotham waited impatiently for her answer, Catherine knew she was going to agree to his proposition, but not for the reasons he thought. More than anyone else, Catherine was aware of the dark side of Marcus Lytton, the heartless, unscrupulous rake who saw seduction as a game, and women as playthings to be used and discarded. And only when she found herself ensconced in his home and in his bedchamber did Catherine stop to realize just how dangerous her own position was... as Marcus began to plumb the depths of her secrets - and her secret desires.