Enchanted

Simon the Loyal has vowed never to love again. However, in order to bring peace to the Disputed Lands, he agrees to marry Ariane, an unwilling Norman heiress who has known only coldness from men, and has been betrayed by a man who almost broke her soul. And so she marries Simon with resistance...and fear. When Simon first sets his eyes on his bewtiching but reluctant bride, he knows that marriage in name alone would never be enough for him. He must teach Ariane passion, and she in turn must teach him trust, and together they must learn how to love, or else they will surely perish. Simon the loyal has vowed never to love, for love makes a warrior weak. His arranged marriage to a beautiful Norman heiress would be duty and no more. But more than duty stirs his blood when he first sees Ariane. She has known only coldness from men and a betrayal so deep it all but killed her soul. Wanting no man, trusting no man, speaking only through the sad songs she draws from her harp, Ariane comes to Simon an unwilling bride. They wed to bring peace to the disputed lands, but marriage alone is not enough. Simon must teach Ariane passion, she must teach him trust. And both must surrender to the sweet violence of love's enchantment. . .or die. Simon the Loyal must woo and wed Ariane the Betrayed so peace can finally fall upon the Disputed Lands. Unfortunately for Simon, a violent rape and the betrayal of her people have left Ariane completely closed off from love and turned off from intimacy. In order for this marriage to work, Simon must unfreeze Ariane's heart and teach her passion, while Ariane must believe in and trust Simon "Which will it be," Ariane whispered to herself, "a wedding or a wake?"