Explosive. Charlotte Mede

London, 1818. A beautiful, brilliant woman and a cynical, aristocratic spy are forced into a desperate mission to decipher a secret code that could change the face of Europe forever. . . Explosive Gray Dalton, the Marquess of Blackburn, wakes in a dark London cell staring down a gun barrel. Devon Caravelle, alleged mistress of a deadly French aristocrat, has been sent to ensure Blackburn's cooperation in a secret plot to unlock the mysteries buried within Beethoven's Third Symphony, the Eroica. It's terribly convenient and just as Blackburn planned. And taking the lady hostage is–if not terribly gentlemanly–not very difficult. Resisting her dangerous allure, on the other hand, is. Suddenly, the man famed for his cold-blooded control, wants a woman fiercely, wildly, forever. . . Devon Caravelle has loved two things in her life: music and her father. She would do anything to discover his murderer and clear his name, even if it means forcing the contemptuous, debauched Marquess to her aid. But when he turns the tables and takes her prisoner, she is not prepared for his skillful seduction or her white-hot response. . . It was supposed to be a seduction each side intended to win easily. Instead, the first spark unleashes an untamed passion in a game where all rules are forfeit and every move brings them closer to an unspeakable danger. . .