To cope with his heartache, Crispin turns to drinking and gambling, leading him down a path of self-destruction. One fateful night, in a drunken haze, he places a dangerous bet that changes everything. He must marry Gemma, the widow of the Earl of Laurelcross, a woman he barely knows and who has been hiding her true passionate nature since the death of her older husband. Gemma, once a passionate and fiery individual, has been living a life of mourning and restraint since her husband's passing. She never expected to find herself married to such a notorious rake as Crispin Flynn, and she struggles to reconcile her feelings for him with the secrets and mistrust that have built up between them.

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