Royce Varisey, a master spy called Dalziel, returns to Wolverstone Castle after his father’s death to become the tenth Duke of Wolverstone. When his relatives arrive to attend his father’s funeral, Royce learns he must marry to protect his estate from being confiscated by the crown. Stubborn and quick to anger, Royce has no desire to marry any of the females recommended by his relatives.  His desire rests on the family chatelaine, Minerva Chesterton, who has grown into an intelligent and beautiful woman.

Minerva was infatuated with Royce when she was a young girl, and his arrival after a sixteen year absence results in an immediate sexual attraction. But Minerva knows that the Varisey men never marry for love. Although she avoids Royce as much as possible, her knowledge of estate matters requires they be in constant contact.

It’s soon clear to Royce that Minerva is reliable, trustworthy and a fountain of information upon whose opinions he can rely.  He feels that Minerva would make the perfect wife and, when he discovers a sexual mutual attraction, he sets out to seduce her. It’s his intention to entice her into his bed and make her agree to become his wife. But after he succeeds, he makes the mistake of mentioning that she was a virgin.  Minerva immediately refuses to let him do the honorable thing by proposing marriage.

I absolutely loved the exquisite sensual love scenes in Mastered by Love and Ms. Laurens’ expert handling of the emotional conflicts of the main characters was deftly handled. Minerva’s promise to Royce’s mother and father to insure that Royce is "properly established" as a duke and to see him wed means she must eventually leave the only home she knows. Royce suffers conflict over the years of separation from his father but, more importantly, he must find a means to win Minerva’s heart. My only complaint is that the mystery plot is weak. Unfortunately, the villain is revealed early in the book and is far from the strong character I expected, but that fact didn’t detract from the love story itself.  While Mastered by Love is the first book I’ve read by Stephanie Laurens, her sensual style of writing insures it will not be my last.