Nikolás Kristoból loved his wilderness almost as much as he could ever love any woman. 'Twas his mistress. Such was a good affair since part of his family's successful business was rounding up stray horses from the mountains around his ranch. There was no better life for him, despite knowing that his widower father wanted him to marry and have children of his own. As first-born female, Artemisia DeMont was heir to one of the most powerful Houses Royale. And she would neither shirk nor question that driving duty. In addition to accepting a betrothal to the widower Wilfred Antonius, she had legally adopted his children. As her father had vowed to protect her, she had vowed to protect her children as well as her people forever. After returning from an unsuccessful journey to into the mountains, all Nikolás wanted was to fill his aching belly and sleep off his saddle-soreness. Instead, he found a savagely wounded and mentally devastated Artemisia recovering in his own bed. Although he knew that he would never fit into her world, he hoped that she would accept his.