Not a Wicked Stepmother

Lady Margot Ashbourne has given up on passion. After two disappointing marriages and years spent rebuilding her crumbling estate through sheer determination, she's convinced herself that romance is for other women—she's too practical, too damaged, too fundamentally flawed to inspire desire. Percival, Earl of Raventhorn, disagrees. What began as professional collaboration on estate renovations has evolved into something deeper, though Margot remains oblivious to his growing feelings. Percy has fallen for her sharp wit, her impossible standards, and the way she fights for things worth saving against all odds. When scandal threatens to destroy Margot's reputation, Percy proposes a marriage of convenience to protect her. Margot agrees, viewing it as a practical arrangement between friends—separate bedrooms, mutual respect, companionship without messy emotional complications. But Percy has no intention of settling for a bloodless arrangement. He's been burning for her for months, and he's determined to prove that what exists between them is powerful enough to remake them both. Not duty, but desire; not convenience, but consuming need. In a passionate confrontation that leaves them both shaken, Percy challenges Margot to figure out what she actually wants—not what's practical or safe—and find the courage to choose it. Because some risks are worth taking, and some fires are meant to burn.