When it comes to diamonds—like their men—some women prefer them rough

Thanks to her grandfather's complicated will, Miss Adela Ruffington, along with her mother and sisters, is about to lose her home and income to a distant cousin, the closest male heir to the Millingford title. For Adela, nothing could be more insulting—being denied her rightful inheritance for a randy scoundrel like Wilson, the very man who broke her heart following a lusty dalliance years ago.

Still smarting from the betrayal of his latest paramour, Wilson Ruffington never anticipates the intense desire Adela again stirs within him. Despite his wicked tongue and her haughty pride, their long-ago passion instantly reignites at a summer house party, the experience they've gained as adults only adding fuel to the flames.

Wilson and Adela are insatiable, but civility outside of the bedroom proves impossible. Determined to keep Adela in his bed, Wilson devises a ruse—a marriage of convenience that will provide her family with a generous settlement, as well as prevent scandalous whispers. Their plan works perfectly until family rivalries and intrigue threaten to destroy their arrangement…and the unspoken love blooming beneath it.

Award-winning author Portia Da Costa’s first published story appeared in 1991. Since then, she’s gone on to write well over a hundred stories for magazines and anthologies, and has penned almost thirty novels across a variety of genres. She’s best known for her sizzling-hot romances, including short erotic fiction for Harlequin. Portia lives in a typically Yorkshire town with her husband and the three beautiful cats they both adore. Visit her at www.PortiaDaCosta.com.