The Arrangement — Rebecca King

Kerrigan needs a woman and quickly, but without any romantic entanglements. He is too busy with his duties with the Star Elite to bother with affairs of the heart. The only woman he knows but isn't attracted to is his best friend's sister, Briony. He hasn't seen her for several years but remembers a wild and reckless young creature who hates him. But, that doesn't matter. He only needs to borrow her for a couple of days. What he doesn't take into account are the changes three years can make on any woman, and the effect it has on him.

Briony owes her brother a favour. When he calls her on it and asks her to pose as the wife of one of his friends, she objects. The last thing she wants is to be saddled with a drunken rabble-rouser who grabs more than he should and expects her to be desperate enough to accept his tawdry offers of a good time. However, intrigued by the possibility of just a little adventure to break the humdrum routine of her normal life, she agrees to go along with the charade. After all, it is only for a short while, what could possibly go wrong?

The truth is - everything. Briony is quickly drawn into a battle of wits, disguises, and mystery, which throw her into the dangers of London's underworld. Kerrigan is the only person she can rely on, and that is annoying because she really doesn't like him, or does she?

He thinks she is a pain in the proverbial. Her questions drive him nuts. She is far too inquisitive for her own good, and he is far too attracted to her for his peace of mind. He has to be saddled with the most annoying woman he has ever met and resolves to hand her back to her brother the first chance he gets.

Actually handing her over proves difficult, though, when Sayers' and his gang decide they want her too. When her life is put in danger, it is up to Kerrigan to save her. He quickly realises that leaving her far behind is the very last thing he wants.

Can he persuade her to take a chance on him? Or will their battle with Sayers' scare her away and stop her accepting his life with the Star Elite? Either way, with his world changing around him all the time, Kerrigan is forced to question everything he thought he wanted, especially when the Star Elite's traitor double-crosses them in the worst way possible.