"Sumner adds another fast-paced, sizzling chapter to this series. A must-read."
-- Aubrey Wynne, USA TODAY bestselling author

The scandalous heart of the Duchess Society begins here. A wicked wager, a fake engagement, a duke with nothing to lose, and a woman determined never to belong to any man. Add forbidden passion, razor-sharp banter, and a delicious amount of steam -- and prepare to melt.

Tropes you'll love: Enemies to Lovers, Second Chance, Fake Engagement, Reunion Romance, Ruthless Duke, Strong, Independent Heroine, Scorching Chemistry, He Falls First

Bad boy hero: He's ruthless, powerful, and untouchable. She's the one woman he's never been able to forget.

Helena Astley -- known to the ton as Lady Hell -- has plans. Control her father's shipping empire. Live by her own rules. Never surrender her hard-won independence to any man, least of all a duke who once shattered her composure with a single kiss. She has no intention of revisiting the past... or the dangerous attraction she's never quite escaped.

Roan Darlington, Duke of Leighton, has no interest in society, sentiment, or marriage. Cold, relentless, and self-made, he's spent years mastering every weakness -- except the woman who still ignites his blood. When a scandal threatens Helena's future and Roan's carefully ordered world, he proposes a solution as audacious as it is temporary: a sham engagement, to be ended after Christmas.

It's only a bargain.
Until pretending becomes temptation.

As desire deepens into something neither expected, Helena must decide whether she can risk her heart for the only man powerful enough to claim it. And Roan must choose whether love -- wild, consuming, and utterly inconvenient -- is worth the one thing he's never gambled before.

In this scorching enemies-to-lovers Regency romance by USA TODAY bestselling author Tracy Sumner, a defiant lady and a ruthless duke discover that the most dangerous alliance of all is falling hopelessly, passionately in love.

Heat level: Scorching hot. You've been warned.

The Duchess Society Series

The Brazen Bluestocking
The Scandalous Vixen
The Wicked Wallflower
One Wedding and an Earl
Two Scandals and a Scot
Three Sins and a Scoundrel

Also in this world:
Prequel: The Ice Duchess
Christmas novellas: The Governess Gamble, The Daring Debutante

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• RomanceHistorical RomanceRegency
• RomanceHistorical RomanceGilded Age

• Publication Date: December 29, 2025
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 269 Pages
• File Size: 20 KB