Reagan Dawes had been brought against her will from the backwoods of Kentucky to the wilds of the Missouri Territory, where her step father Luther is determined to find her a husband, in the worst way possible. She intends to rebel at all costs. . . until she lays eyes on the Creole aristocrat whose winning bid seals her fate. What woman wouldn’t desire the darkly handsome rake, Jackson Broussard? He's sexy, and mysterious, and the scar on his face gives him a dangerous air. But there is more to the man than meets the eye. Jackson protects Reagan from the unscrupulous mean at Rendezvous, but who will protect her from Jackson? An unrefined orphan is hardly a suitable bride for someone of Jackson’s station. Yet, the ill-bred beauty stirs Jackson’s desire, and he finds himself scheming to find a way to keep from giving her up. As Reagan is transformed from uncivilized hellion, to irresistible seductress, Jackson is torn between his hunger for her, and his desire to shelter her from the web of intrigue and lies swirling around him.