Marielle DeVane had her life planned out. Her fiancé, Evan, was everything she wanted in a man, and their marriage would be the culmination of years of fantasizing about their perfect life together. But the rich and powerful Connor Wetherby, Duke of Whitford, had other plans for her, plans that Mari found herself unexpectedly subject to when her brother's debts forced her to wed the overbearing stranger rather than her beloved.

Annie's sweet on her neighbor, Matthew Caine, but the stern rancher treats her like a bratty child instead of a woman. Each encounter always ends with a trip over his knee. Matthew's fed up with Annie's childish behavior. Her latest prank ruined a brand new pair of boots! While he sets her britches on fire, he refers to her as a nuisance and warns her to leave him alone. For once in her life, Annie obeys.

Widowed rancher Heath Wolfe worries he's making a big mistake by bringing Willow McAllister home to his ranch. A known troublemaker around town, she can't seem to keep a job or avoid skirmishes with the law, so the town marshal implores Heath to help. While Heath agrees to employ Willow, he certainly won't allow misbehavior, and he's even prepared to take the willful young lady over his knee for a sound spanking if warranted.

Being attracted to her isn't wrong…but acting on it would be. As the patriarch of the powerful and wealthy Cavalieri family, my choices come with consequences for everyone around me. The roots of my ancestral, billionaire-dollar winery stretch deep into the rich Italian soil, as does our legacy of ruthlessness and scandal. It isn't the fact she is half my age that makes her off-limits. Nothing is off-limits for me. A wounded bird caught in a trap not of her own making, she poses no risk to me. My obsessive desire to possess her is the real problem—for both of us.

After staking their claim on the untamed frontier, brothers Heath, Luke, and Aaron Jackson build a thriving cattle ranch through strength, hard work, and sheer determination. As the ranch rapidly grows, the nearby town experiences a boom of its own, assisted by the railroad’s westward expansion.