title: The Return of the Marquess
author: Reed, Elizabeth
description: This is a steamy historical romance short story (word count 5,616).
  Rebecca is stunned into silence when she spots Gregory her old friend and former lover at the grand masquerade ball. As they acknowledge each other’s presence she flees the party trying to avoid any confrontation from occurring between them.
  But Gregory has no intention of making it easy for Rebecca! He has returned from his travels, having successfully sought out his fortune and made himself into a very wealthy Marquess.
  Yet, he is still not content. He is looking for answers, with Rebecca being the only one who can confirm the truth that he seeks: Rebecca, who has vowed to forget all that had happened between them in the past and only to look to the future.
  She tries to hold on to her resolve against Gregory’s demands and questioning.
  But alas, Gregory knows Rebecca all too well, even after their long separation! And he knows just what he needs to do to break Rebecca’s defences and unleash the passion that he knows burns strongly from within her!