And I'm more tired and hungry than I have ever been in my life. Please let me come home.Compromised and wedded on the same day, Lady Miranda was fast finding married life not to her taste. A decaying manor and a secretive husband were hardly the stuff of girlish dreams. Yet every time she looked at dark, brooding Marcus Radwell, Duke of Haughleigh, she felt inexplicably compelled—and determined—to make their marriage real!

    For years, she’s been able to live as she wished, freely roaming the wild moors. Now there’s a new earl, as arrogant as he is handsome, and he wants her out. But if he thinks she’ll go quietly, he’s in for a surprise. Theo Townsend returned from war a changed man. After unexpectedly inheriting an earldom and a secluded castle in the Scottish Highlands to go with it, he thinks he’s found the perfect place to hide from the world—until he arrives to find a spirited, beautiful woman already in residence. He can’t just throw her out, but surely there's a way to get her to leave on her own. The sooner she's gone, the better, especially when he realizes there’s more than just mutual dislike between them.

    Now her husband's dying command is that she must provide him with an heir. To do so, she will have to spend one sinful night...with Warrick!The powerful warrior was wounded by Rosamund's abandonment years ago, and Warrick refuses to let her touch his heart again. But this illicit night is impossible to resist, and soon he is determined--he will not only possess her, but reclaim her for his own!

     A dour duke… Jules, the Sixth Duke of Dandridge disdains Society and all its trappings, preferring the country’s solitude and peace. Already jaded and cynical since the woman he loved died years ago, he’s become even more so since unexpectedly inheriting a dukedom’s responsibilities and finding himself the target of every husband-hunting vixen in London. A wistful wallflower… Forever in her stunning sister’s shadow, Jemmah Dament has adored Jules from afar for years—since as children they were the best of friends. She daren’t dream she can win a duke’s heart any more than she hopes to escape the life of servitude imposed on her by an uncaring mother. Jemmah knows full well, Jules is too far above her station. Besides, his family has already selected his perfect duchess: a poised, polished, exquisite blueblood. But one enchanted night… A chance encounter reunites Jules and Jemmah, resulting in a passionate interlude neither can forget. Jules realizes he wants more—much more—than Jemmah’s sweet kisses or her warming his bed. He must somehow convince her to gamble on a dour duke. But can Jemmah trust a rogue promised to another? One who’s sworn never to love again?

    Now, in one incomparable volume, four of Avon Romance's bestselling authors present stirring tales of hearts won and weddings to be, featuring a quartet of unforgettable heroines about to discover the rapture of love in a world as untamed as the men they will one day marry.from back coverDisplaying the bold and breathtaking sensuality that is her hallmark, bestselling author CHRISTINA DODD enthralls us with the tale of a willful Scottish beauty--kidnapped by an arrogant yet irresistible Englishman--who fights to keep from succumbing to her brazen captor's passionate, and persuasive, proposal.Experience the fiercely emotional power of STEPHANIE LAURENS who is at her passionate best with this story of a wealthy gentleman who finds his childhood nemesis has blossomed into a most desirable lass--and he's determined to do everything in his power to claim her as his own, before she is quite unsuitably wed.The delightful wit and warm humor of JULIA QUINN shine brightly in this winning romantic romp, in which a lovely English miss--feigning marriage to a dashing, beguiling Scotsman--discovers she has a very real desire for her make-believe groom.Another strikingly dramatic and deeply compelling tale by KAREN RANNEY. A legend decrees that the sexy Laird of Sinclair must marry a woman he has never met. But only sweet, passion-filled love will him to his true--and forbidden--bride.stories are:Under the Kilt (Fairchild Family #2.5) by Christina DoddRose in Bloom by Stephanie LaurensGretna Greene by Julia QuinnThe Glenlyon Bride by Karen Ranney

    But Greyfriar's Abbey isn't the sort of refuge she imagined. And ex-army captain Justin Thornhill--though he may be tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome--is anything but a romantic hero. He Needed Redemption... Justin has spent the last two decades making his fortune, settling scores, and suffering a prolonged period of torture in an Indian prison. Now, he needs someone to smooth the way for him with the villagers. Someone to manage his household--and warm his bed on occasion. What he needs, in short, is a wife and a matrimonial advertisement seems the perfect way to acquire one.Their marriage was meant to be a business arrangement and nothing more. A dispassionate union free from the entanglements of love and affection. But when Helena's past threatens, will Justin's burgeoning feelings for his new bride compel him to come to her rescue? Or will dark secrets of his own force him to let her go?

    Once in town, she could hardly have stood quietly by while a mob of angry seamen prepared to lynch the handsome young Englishman. It was only natural to intervene, claiming the stranger as an expected guest of her father.Perhaps all still would have been well if, on its return home, the Bradley sloop had not been captured by a British frigate. It was small consolation then for Page to learn that the man she had rescued was not only a nobleman, Lord Hazard, but a possible English spy.In the following months Page more than satisfied her taste for adventure. When she finally found herself trapped aboard a warlike vessel, bound for a distant foreign shore, and in love with one of the enemy, she had ample reason to regret her recklessness. . .

     Ashamed of his behaviour he hides away in his country seat, determined to become a sensible gentleman, no longer caught up by whichever eligible young lady catches his eye. The only problem? A beautiful tenant named Julia who is living in his gatehouse. William knows that he should have very little to do with his tenants but he simply cannot get her out of his mind. The more time he spends, the more he wants to know her despite their difference in status. A sudden accident leads to a whole new life for Julia, who is loathe to tell him much about herself, despite their intimate connection. When the truth finally comes out and Julia confesses all, William must decide what to do with the lady who has stolen his heart. Authors Note: This is a clean, stand-alone romance with an HEA. If you love clean Regency-era romances you will love The Viscount in Hiding!

    Until Isobel MacLeod - caught in his steely embrace one fateful night - shatters his world with her Scottish temper, her pride, and her courage.Isobel, by her own admission a woman of too much brain and too little beauty, is a spinster devoted to keeping her wayward family out of trouble. To Nathan, however, she is beauty, hope, and salvation in one tempestuous package, and he is not above blackmail to coerce her into his world.Shaken by Nathan's raw passion and fierce determination, Isobel's own defenses and stubborn pride begin to crumble. But can she trust this enigmatic man enough to give him what he wants most dearly of all . . . her love?

    2) Despite the lingering scandal, she’s not prepared to marry for anything less than love.After an exhausting Season, Bath’s first annual music festival offers Charity the perfect escape. Between her newly formed trio and her music-loving grandmother, Charity is free to play the pianoforte to her heart’s content. That is, until their insufferably rude, though undeniably handsome, neighbor tells her to keep the “infernal racket” to a minimum.Hugh Danby, Baron Cadgwith, may think he’s put an end to the noise, but he has no idea what he’s begun. Though the waters of Bath provide relief from the suffering of his war injuries, he finds his new neighbor bothersome, vexing, and… inexplicably enchanting. Before long, Hugh suspects that even if his body heals, it’s his heart that might end up broken.

      A quirk of fate has made Sylvester Gilbraith the heir of his sworn enemy, the earl of Stoneridge. But there’s a catch: To claim his inheritance, he has to marry one of the earl’s four granddaughters. The magnetically handsome nobleman has no choice but to comply with the terms of the will, yet when he descends on Stoneridge Manor prepared to charm his way into a fortune, he finds that the lady who intrigues him most has no intention of becoming his bride. Maddeningly beautiful and utterly impossible, Theodora Belmont refuses to admit to the chemistry between them, even when she’s passionately locked in his embrace. But soon the day will come when the raven-haired vixen will give anything to be Sylvester’s bride—and risk everything to defend his honor . . . and his life.

    Abandoned by the fiancée he adored, the man who once walked like a prince among London's elite secludes himself in his family's mansion, cursing his way through dark days and darker nights. Prim nurse Samantha Wickersham arrives at Fairchild Park to find her new charge behaving more like a beast than a man. Determined to do her duty, she engages the arrogant earl in a battle of both wit and wills. Although he claims she doesn't possess an ounce of womanly softness, she can feel his heart racing at her slightest touch. As Samantha begins to let the light back into Gabriel's life and his heart, they both discover that some secrets -- and some pleasures -- are best explored in the dark ...

    For three years after the ravishing heiress was acquitted, he used the power of his newspaper to pursue the truth--hoping to find the still-undiscovered body of the murder victim and at last prove Sara's guilt. But not only had the body disappeared without a trace, so had Sara Carstairs....When Max finally catches up with Sara by sheer chance, he doesn't even know it's her...at first. By the time he does, it's too late--they've already spent a night together that both of them know they will never forget and can never repeat. Has he fallen in love with the woman of his dreams or with a cold-blooded murderess? And has she put herself in the hands of a knight in shining armor--or a ruthless scoundrel bent on destroying her?

    or worse, pity him. He's become accustomed to the dark, and to the aching loneliness that is his only and constant companion. But while traversing the city in the dark of night, he encounters a beautiful woman who is running for her life. Lady Thessaly Shade has discovered that the prettiest of faces can hide the ugliest of hearts. While Lord Norcross keeps his face carefully concealed from her, he cannot hide the fact that he is a man of honor, a man for whom the word gentleman is a way of life and not merely an honorary title. With no way to repay him for his kindness, for his courage in aiding her at great risk to himself, Thessaly bargains with the only thing she possesses of value... herself. Can she convince him to trust her, to believe that she can see beyond the scars he bears to the man he is? Or will he push her away out of fear and retreat into the loneliness that he knows so well? The Beast of Bath is a 30,000 word novella previously published in the Wicked Fairytales Anthology.

    But when the future Earl, Charles Worthington, goes to Texas to oversee land the family has purchased – and stays there – Cecily decides the only thing to do is to track him down. Arriving in Texas with her lady’s maid and all the determination she can muster, Cecily sets out to conquer both the new world and her reluctant fiancé. She captivates her new neighbors and shows Charles that the one thing that’s been missing from his adventurous life is her. Originally published in 2000 under the title Nobility Ranch, To Love a Lady is the first volume in the Titled Texans series about a family of English nobility who set out to tame the American west. With humor, romance and authentic historical detail, To Love a Lady takes readers on a romantic journey to 1880s Texas.