Marlee Stafford isn't a fool. She knows the handsome, arrogant Richard Arden has married her for her money, just as she's wedded him for his aristocratic name. And Marlee won't sign over her inheritance until she's enticed her broad-shouldered husband into desiring only her. But when his hungry kisses begin to ignite her most intimate fantasies, Marlee knows she's made a weighty error, for this mysterious man harbors a dark secret-and now he's holding her helpless under his spell! Before meeting Marlee, Lark Arden's only aspiration was to track down the pirate who had kidnapped his fiancee, Bettina. But when he takes on the identity of his recently deceased cousin, Richard, he never expects that his blue-eyed proxy bride will tempt him beyond sanity.