Sworn to protect her, he was forbidden to touch her.... Joan Johnston is a masterful creator of unforgettable characters and stories that make you feel as if you're falling in love again. Now she sweeps you back to Regency-era Scotland, where a determined young woman challenges a man's world--even as she embraces the outsider who protects her life and steals her heart.... When the tall, rugged stranger stepped out of the shadows and rescued her from a fate worse than death, Katherine MacKinnon knew she had found her bodyguard. With his steely arms and reckless courage, he would shield her from her clansmen, who refused to accept her as laird, and from the hated Duke of Blackthorne, who controlled her family's lands. As her desire grew for the mysterious man who was constantly by her side, she had no idea that she was falling in love with the enemy himself....