To settle a debt, he must ruin her future.

Lady Lydia Balcomb is happy to live as an independent bluestocking spinster, devoting herself to expanding her knowledge and liberating herself from societal expectations. The last thing she wants is a man who will think he has a right to dictate her interests and activities. Her mother, however, has declared she must find a husband this season, or else.

To settle a debt, Edmund Holt, the hedonistic Earl of Darlington, agrees to seduce a young lady and take her to the brink of ruin. A simple task for a rake as charming and skilled as himself. He doesn’t expect to find a woman of conviction who’d rather read than dance and declares with unflinching conviction that she has no interest in his offer of mutual pleasure.

When a seductive deception becomes a sensual education, the debauched rogue finds himself at risk of losing his heart and the scholarly wallflower discovers a delicious freedom in indulging her desires. But to claim happiness, she also must confront the forces that would destroy her future and decide if she can trust the man who set out to ruin her.

Tropes You'll Enjoy:

• Bluestocking Spinster
• Hedonistic Rake
• Scholarly FMC
• Educating an Innocent
• Ruination/Seduction Plot
• Betrayal
• Risk of Scandal

Note: This series is part of Dragonblade's Flame line, so this is a scorching-hot read with open-door steam.

The Fairchild Cousins

Intro - In Like a Lyon (For the Lyon’s Den Connected World)

Book 1 - Fairest of Them All

Book 2 - Bluestockings Do It Better

Book 3 - Holding Out for a Hero