They call him the Duke of Ruin. To an undaunted wallflower, he's just the beast next door. Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society-and now he wants to get even. Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn't take into her home and her heart. When her imposing-and attractive-new neighbour demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge. She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes. Rising to the challenge, Gabriel, who wouldn't know a loving home from a workhouse, is bewitched by the shyly pretty spinster who defies his every attempt to resist. But now she's set her heart and mind on saving him Not if he ruins her first. About the Author Tessa Dare is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of more than a dozen historical romances. A librarian by training and a book-lover at heart, Tessa makes her home in Southern California, where she shares a cozy, cluttered bungalow with her husband, their two children, and a pair of cosmic kittens.