A Secret Love (Cynster Novels)
Setting: Regency EnglandSensuality: 8Althea Morwellan needs Gabriel Cynster's help to save her family's fortune from  an unscrupulous con artist, but the beauty is determined to keep her family's  precarious financial state a secret. Althea and Gabriel played together as  children on neighboring estates and she knows him very, very well. Aware that he  can't resist a challenge, she conceals her identity behind a heavy black veil,  pretending to be a mysterious, widowed countess. Intrigued, Gabriel agrees to  help her, both because of her plea for help and because the beautiful mystery  woman represents a personal challenge that he finds irresistible. Althea  extracts a promise from Gabriel that he will not attempt to discover her  identity and will not remove her veil.Althea has loved Gabriel since they were children, but their relationship  deteriorated over time. As adults, the two strike verbal sparks from each other  at every meeting. Because of their barely polite truce, Althea is unprepared for  Gabriel's wild attraction to her countess persona and she falls more deeply in  love with him. Gabriel hasn't a clue that the mysterious veiled countess is  really Althea, for the lady adamantly refuses to remove her veil. He finds  himself charmed and seduced by the countess while frustrated beyond belief that  she won't reveal her identity. For Althea, the pressure of maintaining her  disguise is great and one evening, she makes a fatal slip. The ensuing  confrontation with Gabriel turns both of their worlds topsy-turvy and  complicates solving the mystery of her family fortune.In this latest of the Cynster family novels, Stephanie Laurens combines a  mystery plot with a deeply sensual love story. There is something very  intriguing about a hero and heroine who believe they know each other well, yet  see each other in a very different light when they come together as intimate  strangers. As always, the supporting cast of characters is charming and includes  the growing numbers of the Cynster clan.A Secret Loveis a riveting  novel from first page to last.--Lois Faye Dyer