Can Maggie’s touch heal her grouchy, injured guardian… or will it ignite a fire between them that burns hotter than sin.

Maggie has been looking out for herself for as long as she can remember, she doesn’t need a guardian. Especially not a brutish, scarred and overbearing Earl who thinks he can decide her future for her. She is determined to remain unmarried, dedicating herself to the study of medicinal plants and the care of her patients. The man might be fiendishly handsome, but he is not her master. No matter how many scalding hot looks he sends her way.

Simon Howard has returned from exile in India to find he’s inherited an Earldom… and a bluestocking ward that tests his patience in a way no woman has before. Despite her innocent appearance, his new ward is an irascible little minx, a doctor’s daughter with a penchant for talking back to her elders and gadding about the countryside without a chaperone. The lass was clearly in need of a man’s protection, and Simon was far too eager to take her in hand.