When desperation drives Miss Agatha Woodville to the infamous pleasure palace Aphrodite, she never imagined her life would come to this. With her family on the brink of ruin, she makes the unthinkable decision to auction off her virginity—the only valuable asset she has left. But navigating the treacherous world of high-stakes auctions requires skills she never learned, forcing her to craft an image of both innocence and allure that can captivate England's most powerful gentlemen.
Enter Thomas, the rakish Earl of Radbourne, whose reputation as the ultimate seducer precedes him. His guidance becomes Agatha's only hope of success, but spending time with the man who has vowed never to marriage proves more dangerous than she anticipated. Under his tutelage, she discovers a world of passion and intrigue that challenges everything she thought she knew about desire, power, and vulnerability.
As the auction night approaches, Agatha's carefully constructed facade begins to crumble. What started as a business arrangement—her virtue for her family's salvation—unexpectedly blossoms into something far more dangerous. The earl, who promised to teach her the ways of seduction, finds himself unexpectedly drawn to the woman determined to resist his charms. In a world where everything has a price, both Agatha and Thomas must confront whether some things—love, honor, and the heart itself—can truly be bought or sold.
Perfect for fans of historical romance with steamy encounters and complex characters, In a Rake's Embrace delivers a captivating tale of sacrifice, desire, and unexpected love in the glittering ballrooms of Regency England.
