Wayward One

During ten years at a prestigious academy, Sera has clung to propriety to shield herself from rumors that she is nothing but a bastard. Now she wishes she had never allowed friends to talk her into snooping into the mysterious source of her tuition. Her benefactor isn't the unknown father she dreamed of meeting, but Fletcher Thomas—underworld tycoon, gambling den owner, and a man so dangerously mesmerizing that he could spark the scandal she has worked so hard to avoid. Fletcher is only two steps away from leaving the life of crime he inherited from his father. First he plans to join an aboveboard railroad consortium, then claim the one thing his ill-gotten gains have kept safe all these years—Sera. With every wicked caress, Sera fights harder to remember society's rules—and reject the painful memories his touch resurrects. Accepting Fletcher's love means accepting her past—a risk too great for a woman who has always lived in the shadows. No matter how safe she feels in his arms.