On the run and posing under a secret identity, the heroine suddenly finds herself propositioned by the uncle of one of her students to become his wife. It's to be a marriage in name only and after the 2 years are up, they will get an annulment and go their separate ways. Though the hero tells her the reason for this shame marriage is to finds suitable companion for his niece, it's very clear that he has ulterior motives. From the description of the mermaid curse that is said to claim the life of one of the family every generation, I thought that it may be he was marrying her in order to sacrifice her to the curse to save himself and his family. It makes sense. But despite how heavy the folklore and mythology of the curse is throughout the story, it actually has absolutely nothing to do with the real reason for the marriage or how the story ended. Which was a bit of a disappointment. There is however a paranormal element in the form of the presence of a ghost and the dreams of the hero and heroine. And the truth of why the hero so desperately needed to take a wife was 100% more exciting and the more pressing of urgency that the curse ever could have been. Turns out the niece is pregnant. She was raped by the vicar of the boarding school she attended and where the heroine taught and in a bid to save the girls reputation, the hero takes a wife in order to pass the child off as his own. This is a great plan but he stupidly keeps the heroine in the dark, which results in a big argument later in the book when the truth comes out and puts a sever strain on their relationship. Perhaps one would think the heroine overreacted a bit to the news but I think she just couldn't take the fact that another loved one had lied to her. She'd already dealt with the lying scumbag who frame her in the past and she's been fighting her feeling towards her husband for the entire book only to finally allow herself to love again and have it all crash down around her. This was such an amazing book because, a; the secrets and mystery were juicy but also b; because the heroine was such a marvelous character. She's strong, independent and intelligent but she's also horrible scarred by her past and so terrified of being hurt again. To be far the hero was a bit of a dick with his games and teasing but it's clear that somewhere along the line, he grew to love his wife. It's evident in the jealousy he feels towards the other men who ogle her beauty, despite the fact the he told her she could take a lover. And he really was just trying to save his family by lying and is obviously such a caring man. I did feel cheated by the lack of magic the book had by the end when it's so built up around the curse and such and the ending was a little awkward and totally came out of left field but I loved the story and the interaction between the characters. The subtle yet exhilarating cat and mouse game played by the two characters was full of tension and intrigue. ( )