Beautiful Lady Rose, the fiercely independent mistress of Somerford, reluctantly agrees to hire a bold Viking warrior, Gunnar Olafson, and his mercenaries to protect her undefended lands. But although Gunnar takes her breath away - with his steel-hard muscles and eyes afire with undisguised yearning - she dares not trust him. But Gunnar is not what he seems... (from back cover)
'Following The Lily and The Sword and The Rose and The Shield, Once He Loves features the disgraced knight, Ivo de Vessey, friend to Radulf and Gunnar. Briar, the daughter of a wealthy lord-turned-traitor, blames Lord Radulf for her family's misfortunes and is determined to avenge her father's death. She is willing to sacrifice herself by luring the mighty lord into her bed. Her game of seduction works too well, however, as Briar learns too late that she has seduced the wrong man!' Source: publisher's website (http://www.harpercollins.com.au/index.aspx).