The Beast . . . Rumor said the powerful Nicolai DeMarco could command the heavens, that the beasts below did his bidding . . . and that he was doomed to destroy the woman he took as wife. It was whispered he was not wholly human-as untamed as his tawny mane and slashing amber eyes. The Beauty . . . Impoverished aristocrat Isabella Vernaducci would defy death itself to rescue her imprisoned brother. She'd even brave the haunted, accursed lair of the lion-the menacing palace of legendary, lethal Don Nicolai DeMarco. The Bargain . . . Then Isabella met a man whose growl was velvet, purring heat, whose eyes held dark, all-consuming desire. And when the don commanded her to become his bride, she went willingly into his muscled arms, praying she'd save his tortured soul . . . not sacrifice her life.