The Dark Lords Book 1

In Book One of Christi Caldwell’s steamy, emotionally driven, Licentious Lords series a brooding duke determined to marry without love is reunited with the childhood friend who once meant everything to him—until betrayal tore them apart.

An Unrepentant Duke

Simon Broadbent, Duke of Greystoke, never planned to return to England—let alone to the ghosts of his past. But duty demands he take a wife, and the sooner he secures a proper, passionless match, the sooner he can leave again.

A Rule-Breaking Governess

Persephone Forsyth has always been a force of nature—wild, untamed, and utterly unpredictable. Once, she and Simon had been inseparable friends, until life—and mistakes—tore them apart. Now, cast out from the only home she’s known, she takes refuge in the unlikeliest of places: his London townhouse.

An Explosive Reunion

When fate throws them together once more, old wounds and buried emotions resurface, forcing them into an uneasy arrangement. But as desire sparks and past betrayals linger, neither is prepared for the dangerous pull between them—or the way their carefully laid plans begin to crumble.

Some bonds were meant to be broken. Others refuse to be forgotten. And when the heart is involved, even the safest choices can come at the greatest cost.