Cold Hearted Lyon - Tabetha Waite (Dragonblade - Dec 2025)

Series: Lyon's Den (Book 100)
 
Love doesn't mean anything when no one wants it—until they realize they do.
 
Lady Catherine Cecil wants to strike out at her parents for an arranged marriage, but her target turns to the lady responsible for her recent union instead: Mrs. Dove-Lyon, the proprietress of the Lyon's Den. When she contrives an opportunity to tarnish the Black Widow's reputation for matchmaking, Lady Catherine is set on the course.
 
But that is before she meets her intended bridegroom.
 
Baron Benjamin Fontaine is a man Lady Catherine does not trust, nor does she consider him a friend, but a foe. However, when she learns that he also wishes to settle a debt with the Black Widow, she decides it's time for the villains to work together. Already expecting a child Lady Catherine conceived with a former lover, the couple conspires to tackle one of London's most notorious ladies.
 
Together, they have found a common ground, but who will be crowned victorious at the end of the day? Will Mrs. Dove-Lyon's reputation be in tatters at long last? Or will love intercede and prove that it will not be denied, after all?
 
Mrs. Dove-Lyon strikes again, pairing two unlikely people in a match that seems destined to fail but results in a deep love. Catherine's parents are high-ranking nobles with low morals and no interest in their daughter. Believing that what is good for them also applies to her, Catherine embarks on an affair with one of the stable hands and winds up pregnant. Intent on preserving the family name, her parents enlist the Black Widow to find Catherine a husband immediately.
 
Benjamin is the son of a lecher and was on that road himself when tragedy struck. He lost his mother, wife, and unborn son in rapid succession. Haunted by the loss and the poor choices he made, he spent his time drinking and gambling. When Mrs. Dove-Lyon offers him a way out, he reluctantly accepts it.
 
Married the next day, Catherine and Benjamin find common ground in their desire to get back at Mrs. Dove-Lyon. As they settle into married life, they discover that they actually like each other. I enjoyed seeing Benjamin encourage Catherine to make his estate her own and support her as she did so. Meanwhile, Catherine helps him overcome his guilt and set out on the road to making amends. Neither expected the depth of attraction that grew between them, nor the love each was reluctant to admit. I liked seeing them finally show enough trust to share the truth.
 
I smiled when Benjamin hired a detective to investigate Mrs. Dove-Lyon's matches to prove that she was a fraud. The result was no surprise to the reader, though it was something of a shock to him and Catherine. The epilogue was good.