She was precious fire, a woman whose courage and daring equalled his own, and he drew her irrevocably into an emotional maelstrom.

    Martha Ann was the perfect partner for a sizzling night in a cave or a wicked romp at a high-stakes casino table, but she refused to be the playmate for another two-timing rogue. Could Rick persuade her she was the music that stirred his soul?

    When she sees him—none other than NFL football player Rusty Rivers—she does the absolutely logical thing: she kidnaps him. Or rescues him… it depends on whom you’re asking.Rusty Rivers is no god.He’s the kind of guy who’s squandered every opportunity from the Redskins to the Cardinals, while Kevyn’s had to fight for every chance to prove herself as a cover artist for fantasy novels. His struggles have been broadcast across the sports pages, while she keeps hers buried deep. They’re as different as meteor and moonbeam, with nothing apparent in common.In this doomed, yet enchanted, football season, dare they hope something magical can happen that will last forever?

    When her rental car breaks down in the backwoods, the last person she expected to come to her rescue was rugged country boy Buck LaSalle – the ringleader of the union workers determined to keep the mill open and the town alive and prosperous.Sparks fly between Anne and Buck – but is the issue of the mill closing going to stand between them? Anne’s desire for a home spurs an understanding and empathy for Buck and the people of Webster, but questions whether it’s enough to give up her big city career ambitions. Can a big city girl find love, security, and new aspirations for her life with a small town guy?From New York Times bestselling author Mary Kay McComas, LOVIN’ A GOOD OL’ BOY was originally published as part of Bantam Dell's Loveswept line.

    When Anne Foxworth Jennings, out of cash and nearly out of hope, stepped into his pawn parlour to trade her diamond watch, she came face-to-face with a seductive pirate whose sudden kisses left her spellbound.

    Tander told Amnity he'd decided to try needlepoint as therapy while his knee healed from surgery, but she couldn't know he suspected her of being involved in the smuggling of stolen diamonds — and he never imagined he'd succumb to the most alluring eyes he'd ever seen! Amnity felt mesmerized and wanted to lose herself in Tander's strong arms, but caring for such a tantalizing man was dangerous business. Desperately hurt by those she loved best, Amnity had built walls to protect her heart, but nothing could keep the man for whom she'd waited a lifetime from fighting his way inside. Tander dared her to believe in tomorrow, to vanquish the ghosts that divided them, but could he show her that rainbows would follow the storm they'd been through?

    Paul-Anthony Payton vowed to find the lady whose yearning spirit had filled him with hope and made him believe in happiness, but once he traced her, he never expected she'd deny what they'd shared... or that she'd hide a truth that could bind them for always. Alida felt bewitched by the spell of Paul-Anthony's passion, but she feared that loving meant losing — and she was terrified to risk the sorrow that ecstasy seemed to promise. Paul-Anthony had shared her secrets and understood her pain, but could Alida escape the ghosts of memory and trust in his forever love?

    Even more confusing is why was Dan, a workaholic CEO, so drawn to this tall free-spirit with the warm, bubbling laughter?

    — With his dark gaze and daredevil looks, private eye Jack Sloan was tough to get along with, tough to get to know, but he was the best at doing a dirty job. When his partner asked him to train his niece, Jack took one look at Ashley Rogers and saw trouble in her teal-blue eyes! How was he going to get any surveillance done when he couldn't take his eyes off her? Ashley was determined to make Jack teach her what he knew, but from the very first stakeout they shared, she felt the heat of Jack's need... and the sizzling power of his lips on hers. Jack had never known such a delicious distraction, but the lovely single mom with two sons was risky business for a man who told himself he didn't want the responsibility. She'd made him fall in love just when he thought he could make it alone, but could she persuade him to trust her with the sorrows that haunted his heart?

    Maggie O'Leary's new neighbor! But when the gorgeous hunk climbed through her window to invite her to a party, Maggie was convinced that the man was a flake... a free spirit, elusive as the wind and just as irresistible. When he looked at her, she melted like ice cream in the sun, but James-Steven was too devil-may-care -- too much like her father — to be the love of her life... wasn't he? James-Steven warned the pretty lady next door that all was fair in love and war, that he'd fight to woo and win her, but it was a real battle to get her to smell the flowers or build sand castles on the beach without worrying the tide would wash them away. Maggie adored the sizzling pleasure of his kisses and longed to join her heart to his. Could they find a middle road to travel, cherish now and still dream of forever?

    — Handsome pediatrician Preston Harper wanted a baby, but not a wife -- until delicious, distracting Dinah Bradshaw appeared in his office carrying Jenny, the child who'd made her an instant mom! He'd carefully mapped out his busy life, and thought with a nanny's help he could care for a baby. There just wasn't enough of him to go around, he believed -- to make time for a wife would take away from his little patients. But beautiful, intriguing Dinah made him want to play house and be a family, to share ecstatic nights as lovers and raise the lovely little girl who called him Dada. Dinah found comfort in Preston's advice and refuge in his strong arms, reveling in the sweet magic of his bone-melting kisses, but she'd figured her law career meant putting marriage off for years... and she wasn't sure Preston wanted her that way. Could he make her understand that her daughter was infinitely precious, but he'd love his wife and best friend forever?

    nor by a man who set off alarms all over her body! Joe didn't know what scam the distracting redhead was pulling, but he wanted her anyway -- wanted to kiss her mouth, run his fingers through her beautiful hair, and possess the temptress who was everything he couldn't have. He let her go, never expecting to see her again, but when Susannah was hired to go over the Indian council's books, she saw her destiny in his deep blue eyes. Joe wanted her pale fire, her warmth -- and he wanted not to want her at all. Both knew about not fitting in -- she the army brat who'd never had a true home, he the man of honor torn between two cultures. Once Joe had called her his ninimoshe, his sweetheart. Could Susannah persuade him that their hearts and souls were joined, that their love could bridge two worlds?

    Must like children, country life, and classical music. Ability to play one or more instruments an asset. Term of employment three weekends. Apply in person to Ms. Leslie Max McKenzie writes articles about "weird jobs", and occasionally takes one so he'll know more about it. Jeannie Leslie is a career consultant. Intrigued and amused, Max goes to see her only to discover the ad had been pulled some time before, and had been sent out again by error. She doesn't want to discuss it, though when she meets him, she knows he's the man she's been dreaming about--the man she wanted for her widowed sister; hence the ad. Jeannie wants no part of marriage or long-term commitments and is astounded when Max ask her to marry him, not because they're in love or anything, but because his brother claims that whenever he brings a woman home, she forgets him the minute she sees Max. She refuses, of course, but fate conspires to put them together... The two of them are trapped in a long abandoned coal-mine. During their accidental incarceration, while they struggle to rescue themselves, Max and Jeannie fall genuinely in love and she admits that if she were ever to marry anyone, it would be him. It's easy to make that promise because they both expect to die in the cavern, but then they are rescued and Max wants to hold her to that promise... Now what's a dyed-in-the-wool, anti-marriage woman supposed to do?

    — The man who'd slipped through the security gate onto the private island was no run-of-the-mill burglar, but a hunk in tight jeans who left Kelly Garrett breathless! But when she discovered that the man she'd captured with her son's water pistol was the owner of the construction firm she worked for, she blushed like mad and hoped he wouldn't fire her! Macon Bridges was delighted to meet the sexy single mom with knockout legs and hair that smelled of honeysuckle -- she was just what the doctor ordered for a boy-wonder workaholic who didn't know how to relax... until Kelly charmed him away from his briefcase and stirred desire deep inside. Even if Macon was clearly out of her league, Kelly couldn't help melting in his embrace -- but she needed a man who'd put her and her family first, and Macon was so wrapped up in his business, she doubted he'd ever be hers. If he'd try to make time for what mattered, did she love him enough to meet him halfway?

    When Nico DiFrenza asked her to let him stay for a few days, caution demanded she refuse the mysterious visitor's request — but his spellbinding charm made ... more »that impossible! Nico exuded power, danger, and an irresistible heat that struck sparks, willing Caitlin to draw him into her private palace... and into her secret heart. Thrilled by his desire for her, but confused that he would fight it, Caitlin dared to surrender to Nico's passionate violence. But what was the ancient secret that had brought him to SwanSea, that made him lie to the only woman for whom he'd ever lost control? Nico feared his confession would shatter Caitlin's world, but she insisted that living in shadows was worse than any betrayal. Would SwanSea's legacy be forgiveness — and a home for enduring love?

    — When Gator Landry came to warn her grandmother that a hurricane was coming to Lizard Bayou, Michelle Thurston felt breathless, shaken by memories of the wild Cajun boy who'd tempted a young girl to sneak out to meet him... who'd awakened her to frantic need with sizzling kisses that burned deep in the sultry summer night. Gator was more dangerous to her than anything the storm might do -- he could protect her from the hurricane, but who would protect her from him? Trapped together by the raging tempest, stunned by fiery emotions that time apart had only heated, they succumbed to frenzied desire that years of anticipation had made sweeter. No one had ever made her feel safe until Gator wrapped her in his strength and taught her to lose control. No one had made him feel worthy of love until Michelle confessed her pain -- and her passion -- only to him. Could the man who'd never felt he belonged anywhere find a home in her loving arms?

    When he learned that the exquisite Lani was part of the puzzle he'd come all the way from London to solve, Rhys was even more intrigued... and aching with the need to possess her. When she moved before him in the timeless rhythms of the hula, her body promised sensual delights he'd never imagined, but her lips warned that he was forbidden. Swept away by unexpected yearning when Rhys embraced her with devastating hunger, Lani moaned in protest... and pleasure. In his arms she blossomed as a woman, burned by the fires of elemental passion that branded her his forever, but ghosts from the past haunted her nights. Rhys was everything she wanted, a tidal wave who knew no, limits-but would giving her heart mean leaving the world she loved?

    When he eventually caught her, she fought him desperately before succumbing to wild sensation as he wrapped her in his arms and seared her with kisses.

    Vince enjoyed being kidnapped by this lovely and enchanting nut who drove like a madwoman and intrigued him with her story of a crime he just had to investigate... with her as his partner! — Katha was a little disappointed that Vince didn't talk and act like the private eyes on her favorite TV shows, but he was deliciously, dangerously in her life for real, kissing the living daylights out of her -- and tempting her with the potent hunger of his fierce embrace. Vince felt an astonishing tenderness for the lady who'd stolen his unsuspecting heart, but he believed that a man who risked his life for a living had no business falling in love. Katha knew she could cherish Vince forever if he'd let her, but playing lovers' games wasn't enough anymore. Could they learn to fly with the angels and together let their passions soar?

    Sid wasn't happy about the blue-blooded Good Samaritan who'd made his young friend her latest "project," but Alyson stood her ground, determined to change his mind-and stunned by the desire the tough, tender man awakened in her. Together they took Lenny in search of his past and a mysterious statue, into an untamed land where the moonlight uncovered aching needs they'd never confessed to anyone. Sid's fierce ecstasy freed Alyson. The lonely places in her soul were gone, but he feared his truth had destroyed her dreams. Could she make him believe that he was her hero, that real love was better than fantasies?