The risks have never been more personalor more dangerousin this powerful Regency romance, as a resilient viscountess risks everything for the daughter she loves . . . and the duke she cant forget.

Katherine Wilcox Palmers, the Viscountess of Hampton, has lost custody of the daughter she secretly bore toJahleel Charles, now theDuke of Torrance. The bitter court ruling was engineered by the duke himself, but now he is gravely ill. If he dies, Katherine, branded a scandalous bigamist by her late husbands vengeful family, may never see her child againunless she makes a bold offer . . .

Desperate, Katherine swallows her pride and proposes that she will nurse the Jahleel back to health, serve his every need, and keep up appearances, on one condition: he will secure her a respectable husband to silence societys gossip. In private, she will be his mistress. . . .

But Jahleel has plans of his own. Pressured to produce an heir, he resolves to marry someone else. The hereditary blood sickness that plagues them both means Katherine can never be his bride againno matter how fiercely their old passions reignite.

As dangerous forces gather, composed of those who would erase their child from the peerage for her mixed heritage, Jahleel and Katherine must confront the betrayals and deceptions that tore them apart. To protect their daughter, and fight for the future they were denied, they must jeopardize everything. Especially their hearts.

Vanessa Rileyis an award-winning author of historical romance, mystery, and fiction novels featuring realistic multicultural communities and powerful persons of color. To fuel her interest in the Regency and early-Victorian eras, she made time for attending renaissance fairs and consuming period novels and films while obtaining her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and a masters in industrial engineering and engineering management from Stanford University, as well as a BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Penn State University. A frequent speaker at literary, women’s, and STEM events, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her military husband and teenage kid. Visit her online at VanessaRiley.com.

• Publisher: Zebra
• Publish Date: June 30, 2026
• Pages: 368
• Language: English
• Type: Paperback
• EAN/UPC: 9781420154870
• Dimensions: 8.3 X 5.5 X 0.0 inches | 0.7 pounds
• BISAC Categories: Romance