Frost and Flame by Luci Briar

Part of an interconnected series and can be read as a standalone.

Sera is a walking disaster. Kieran has no desire to entangle himself with disasters, walking or otherwise.
Obligation forces them together.
But genuine connection binds them irrevocably.
Sera Blair’s life is…a mess. She’s spent her formative years wandering from one bad decision to another, a path that eventually leads her to the bedchamber of a powerful Winter Fae to steal a Charm for her boss—who will happily kill her if she fails. But Kieran North catches her all too easily and instead of letting her rot in a cell, he offers her protection. There has to be a catch. Kindness isn’t free. Everyone expects payment from her eventually, but North never asks anything of her despite offering his home and assistance in ending the threat to her life. But even as desire blazes between them he’s infuriatingly resistant to her advances. It’s not possible that North is actually a decent person…is it?

Kieran North has one purpose in life. Serve others. To do this, he must sever all potential relationships and never grow to care about anyone. He’s accepted his fate. It is a constant drain on his soul, but that cannot be helped. It is this very drive to serve others that backfires spectacularly when he’s compelled to aid Miss Sera Blair, inviting her into his home to protect her from the monster he takes responsibility for unleashing. But she’s turning his world upside-down. Pushing every boundary. Consuming his every thought. Driving him to the brink of insanity. If he allows himself to care, then her life will be at risk. Resisting her tests his well-practiced control like nothing before. But not falling in love might be insurmountable.

FROST AND FLAME is a steamy romance set in a Regency inspired fantasy world with delicious pining, touch-starved hero meets sexually experienced heroine, and two souls finding healing in each other.

CW: heavy implications/mentions of past SA, abuse, mild violence, explicit open-door content, mentions of past child death, and profanity.