When Lucia is caught trespassing in Jackson McNabe’s home, she fears he’ll turn her over to the constable. With the holidays approaching and the nights growing colder, she had only wished to warm herself by his fire and pretend for a few minutes that she was the lady of the grand house, rather than a homeless girl stranded in a peculiar village. Though she hadn’t meant to break the law, she now finds herself at the mercy of a handsome stranger whose deep, commanding voice makes her heart flutter and her pulse quicken.

Jackson is taken in by Lucia’s wide, pretty blue eyes, and he sees the young lady’s sudden appearance in his home as an opportunity. He needs a wife, and Lucia clearly needs a husband. To his delight, she agrees to his terms, even when he tells her he expects obedience and won’t hesitate to spank her bare bottom when she misbehaves. The thought of owning her by law makes his blood heat, but a sinister plot threatens the legitimacy of their union, on their wedding day no less. Will Jackson and Lucia find their way back into one another’s arms in time for the holidays?

Publisher’s Note: This book was originally published in the naughty holiday anthology, Unwrapped.