Seduction is the sweetest secret . . . One kiss, then another, and before she knows it, Lady Julia Leighton succumbs to the breathtaking charms of a stranger . . . at the ball celebrating her betrothal to a man who considers her a sister. The steamy encounter changes her life in more ways than one. When she meets her seducer again, Julia is no longer a lady, but an outcast, a paid companion to a lady who used to be her equal and her desire for him burns as strong as ever.He goes by Thomas Merritt, a name as questionable as his intentions. A thief with a secret past, he was utterly bewitched by the beautiful and innocent Lady Julia. But after their one glorious evening together, the handsome rogue left without a backward glanceknowing that he could never be a part of her world again .Now in a Vienna rife with political intrigue, Thomas harbors a perilous secretand the only person who can aid him is the woman who has captured his heart.