The Duke's Sharpshooter — C.H. Admirand

Marriage is the farthest thing from Flaherty's mind…
On a rain-soaked morning, patrolling from Wyndmere Hall to the Village, a shadow shifts at the base of an oak by the graveyard. Ready to defend, or chase down a vagrant, Flaherty is shocked to discover an exhausted widow shielding her four-year-old daughter from the rain. In that moment his life irrevocably changes.

Exhaustion has Temperance pausing to rest near the church…
The deep rumble and harsh tone of the huge man garbed in black has her springing to her feet, poised to run. His order to stop in the name of the duke, has her glancing over her shoulder into eyes the color of a springtime sky. The irresistible promise of tea and cake for her daughter tempts her to tentatively trust him.

Danger stalks in the night, but it will have to get past The Duke's Sharpshooter before he will let harm come to those he has sworn to protect with his strength, his honor, and his heart.