Christmas Dukes

From USA Today bestselling author Scarlett Scott comes a new holiday romance about a brooding, scarred duke hiding from the pain of the past and the unexpected woman who heals his heart... Quint, the Duke of Sedgewick, is a recluse by choice. Ever since the fire that claimed his wife's life and left much of his body brutally scarred, he has retreated from polite society. He's content to keep to his country estate with no one for company, save a handful of servants, everyone else be damned. But when a new housekeeper arrives at Blackwell Abbey before Christmas, his self-imposed solitude is disrupted by a raven-haired menace who turns his world upside down with holly boughs, fir trees, and sinful temptation. Joceline Yorke has spent the last few years of her life in service, sending her earnings home to her mother and siblings. When she accepts an unusually high-paying position as a housekeeper, she finds herself journeying north to a duke who dismisses her upon sight. But Sedgewick is no match for her sunny determination to earn the veritable fortune she stands to collect if she can convince him to keep her on as his housekeeper. She begins a campaign to melt his ice with Yuletide decorations, bright smiles, and Christmas cheer. To his dismay, Quint finds himself increasingly drawn to the spirited Joceline, despite the guilt and bitterness that are never far. And the more time she spends in the surly duke's maddening presence, the more Joceline realizes there's tenderness hiding beneath his stern facade. But a duke doesn't marry his housekeeper, and when Sedgewick's mother arrives with a prospective bride in tow, the impossibility of their situation has never been clearer... unless they follow their hearts on Christmas Eve. Heat level: Scorching hot! Don't say you weren't warned.

If there's one thing American heiress Adelia Fox knows, it's that the haughty and arrogant Duke of Marchingham is a heartless monster. Why else would he refuse to allow his sisters to pay her a visit in New York City during the Christmas season for the third year in a row? Fortunately, Addy's arrived at a clever solution. If her friends can't come to her, she will simply go to them. Lionel Hawthorne, the Duke of Marchingham, is doing everything in his power to keep his failing estates running and to see his wayward sisters settled down with proper husbands. The last thing he needs is for Letty and Lila to go gallivanting to New York City. There's no telling what manner of mischief a notorious hoyden like the dreadful Miss Fox would land them in. His refusal of their request is as necessary as it is practical. Instead, he sends them off to his aunt and uncle whilst he remains in Yorkshire. Addy arrives in the midst of a snowstorm to find that her dearest friends are not at Marchingham Hall as she had supposed. Instead, only their tyrant of a brother is in residence. The rapidly accumulating snow means she's trapped with the icy and disapproving duke in a threadbare manor house that is bereft of even the tiniest hint of Yuletide. To make matters worse, the duke is maddeningly handsome…when he's not glowering at her, that is. Lion can't believe his misfortune. Bad enough that he's had to endure Miss Fox's dubious influence upon his sisters from afar. Now, he's snowed in with the hellion. The wretched chit is every bit as outrageous and improper as he imagined. So why can't he stop thinking about what it would be like to take her in his arms and tame that willful mouth with a kiss?