With eyes as dark as night and a gaze that laid all secrets bare, Nick Valkov was the kind of man any smart woman would avoid. But dire circumstances forced levelheaded Caroline Fortune to proposition this compelling stranger...with marriage. Her family's fate rested in Nick's capable hands—and brilliant mind. Yet her proper upbringing hadn't prepared this reluctant bride for her husband's soul-stirring embrace. And neither expected that their practical union would lead them to dark hours of danger...and the ultimate surrender.