But here I was, on the last day of the year, staring into the eyes of a man who held all my nerves hostage.This was wrong.But I wasn’t looking to be right. Especially not to a husband who doesn’t deserve my loyalty.Still, I should be miles away from here on a yacht circling the Potomac river. My body should’ve been pressed into my husband’s hard chest while his arms held me close as we counted down the last ten seconds of the year. It should’ve been him staring at me like a snack, his eyes slowly undressing me. But it wasn’t my husband, Keith, staring at me.It was this stranger.How could I be so reckless?If anyone saw me walking hand in hand with a man who was not my husband, I could lose more than just a husband. I could lose my opportunity to enact change to New York City’s criminal justice system as a district attorney. Yet, I swatted the red flags away and continued following this stranger into the penthouse suite.Why was I willing to risk it all for a man I didn’t even know?>b>Nicolai:I had one rule. One rule only. Never bring a woman near my home. Yet, here I was, breaking another rule tonight all in the name of the beautiful woman sitting all alone in the grand room of Camilla’s Cuisine.Sixty million dollars was riding on this meeting; yet, my eyes kept roaming over to her. I was supposed to be studying the man sitting across from me—calculating his every move, screening for any deception. Yet, my eyes remained on her, following every graceful move she made.She hadn’t noticed me at first. Hell, I hadn’t realized how long I’d been staring at her until her dark brown eyes rose from her plate to stare into mine. Unlike most women I encountered, she wasn’t intimidated by me openly staring at her. She stared back; yet offered no flirty smile or invitation for me to come over to her. The more I stared at her, the more intrigued I became.Why was she staring back at me?As the acting boss of the Balducci crime family, I’ve spent the past two years restoring order from the chaos left behind when the former Don walked away from the life and family we’d been born and bred into.La Cosa Nostra, this thing of ours, was a matrimony that could never be intercepted or broken. Everything was second to the La Cosa Nostra. It was an oath that my father prepared me to take. It was an oath that authored all decisions that I made.Organizing crime to become a multi-billion-dollar corporate industry, I played every move with careful configurations. Nothing stood in the way. Not a pretty face, friend, foe, or family. Yet, tonight, I ended my meeting before it even started, just so that I could stop her from leaving Camilla’s Cuisine.What was it about her?AUTHOR’S NOTE: This novel is part of the Balducci Family Saga. There are events and characters mentioned in this novel that appeared in previous installments.Please follow the sequence of the Balducci Family Saga listed below:BOOK ONE - Dipping Into SinBOOK TWO- Dipping Deeper Into SinBOOK THREE- Loving Her In The Shadows - Sovereignty

    She has her studies and her duties, what need does she have of a husband? With five sisters married she knows the reality does not live up to the promise, and does not need to personally experiment with the state to know she would be ill-suited to it. However, she finds herself envious of at least one aspect of marriage. But to experience the physical side of marriage, one doesn't need a husband, all one needs is the right man...Nathaniel Jenkins knows his duty. Marry a young girl from a respectable family and father an heir, no matter how cold the endless parade of suitable girls leaves him. But a shocking proposal from a scholarly spinster leaves him wondering if unsuitable is just what he's looking for. Can he convince his spinster that marriage is the greatest experiment of all?

    Allegra has longed for the return of her soldier husband. But when the war ends, he is more distant than ever. After months of trying to reach him, she leaves to chaperone her husband-hunting younger sister at a duchess’s house party. Only then does Nicholas know that to win her, he must leave the war behind and truly come home to her for good.Note: First appeared in the Zebra Regency anthology Lessons in Love in 1994 under the title "Allegra"

    Why, just about anyone would make a more suitable match...even her own paid companion, Emily Townsend! But if her dear, practical-minded Robert were to back out of the betrothal, the tongues of the ton would never stop wagging...At the very least, the dowager decides, she will extract a promise from her grandson to find Emily a husband. But when the handsome, rakish earl comes to know the charms of Emily Townsend, he suddenly regrets his hasty engagement-and is sorely tempted to win her hand for himself.

    No Lions team had ever defeated the All Blacks in a Test series. Since 1904, six Lions sides had travelled to New Zealand and all had returned home with their tails between their legs. But in 1971 a tour party led by John Dawes set out to carve their names into the annals of the sport with their assault on the great bastion of world rugby. Lying in wait were team after team of hardened rugby warriors and an All Blacks side filled with legends of the game. But as the Lions began to sweep their way across the length and breadth of the country, displaying ferocity and magic in equal measure, it became clear that a Test series of epic proportions was set to unfold. When Lions Roared delves into the very heart of that famous summer as Lions, All Blacks and provincial players recount their memories to bring to life one of the most celebrated tours in rugby history - one that changed the game forever and continues to resonate powerfully to this day.

    If Lady Seraphina Camden doesn't find a suitable husband soon, her family risks that very fate. Until the day she meets the new stable hand.With someone out for his blood, Lysander Keswick, the Duke of Emberborough, is running for his life. Unable to recall who he is after suffering a nasty hit to the head, he finds work as a stable boy. A position that leaves him at the mercy of Lady Seraphina, the one lady he can never have.Torn between returning memories of hatred and the duty to their hearts, Seraphina's sudden disappearance comes as a woeful reminder: someone still wants Lysander in the grave. And the only clue to their salvation lies in a name that they both know but haven't heard of before...

    It is a vast cosmic sea. Where each life exists as rippling circles on its surface, past and future being eternally present. And occasionally, one expanding ring intertwines with that of another, weaving the lives of two people together . . . Intertwine In 2012, Emme Wilde can’t find the right guy. Instead, she obsesses over the portrait of an unknown man in an old locket. Granted, a seriously dreamy guy with delicious, wind-swept hair she just itches to run her fingers through. Emme travels to England, determined to uncover his history and conquer the strong connection she feels. In 1812, James Knight has given up finding the right woman. But then he finds a beautiful mystery woman, dripping wet and half-dead, beneath a tree on his estate. Now if he can uncover her history, perhaps adventure—and romance—will find him at last Divine Georgiana Knight--born in the nineteenth century, but now living in 2013--discovers a centuries-old love letter written in her own handwriting. Should she risk giving up hot showers and return to the past to discover the mysterious stranger who inspired (will inspire?) her passionate letter?In 1813, Sebastian Carew is madly in love with his childhood friend, Georgiana. He is determined to find Georgiana and win her affections. However, she has utterly vanished. Can he divine the truth of her disappearance and convince her to marry him before time runs out? Clandestine In 2014, Marc Wilde--martial artist and actor--finds his life a mess. Someone knows about the time portal in the cellar of Duir Cottage and is threatening to tell the world unless Marc pays up. So yeah . . . life not going so well. In 1814, Kit Ashton has problems of her own. Her brother has disappeared (again), leaving Kit penniless and forcing her to take up employment as a lady's companion (sigh). Add in the sudden appearance of a wind-swept, silver-tongued rogue who makes Kit want to flirt, flirt, flirt . . . it all leaves her one misstep from disaster. Kit is determined to find her brother and return home, all while guarding her heart and (most importantly) keeping her secrets . . . well . . . secret. Refine In 1815, Timothy, Viscount Linwood—handsome, arrogant, privileged—never veers from the refined rules of his world. But then Fate intervenes and draws him to a vivid woman who makes him want things he can never have. Can a pompous lord change enough to find redemption? In 2015, Jasmine Fleury just wants her happily-ever-after. If only she could stop losing people instead. Worse, she finds herself babysitting a haughty nineteenth century lord who can't even shave himself. She has no interest in playing damsel-in-shining-armor to his knight-in-distress. But Fate has other plans . . . Explore four stories of love which transcend Time itself.

    That's what the locals are saying about Llandegwen, deep in the Welsh valleys. The village choir, once a source of pride for the small mining community, has been forced to disband; the elderly choirmaster heartbroken by the empty seats belonging to those who'll never return from the battlefields. The arrival of a young war widow from the East End with her little boy sets tongues wagging, not least when rumours abound that she's looking to revive the choir. Can the community set aside their grief and lift their voices, and the village's hopes, once more?

    Its coaching inn, The Bell, is its lifeblood--along with the coach lines that stop there daily, bringing news, mail, travelers, and much-needed trade.Jane Bell lives on the edge of the inn property. She had been a genteel lady until she married the charming innkeeper who promised she would never have to work in his family's inn. But when he dies under mysterious circumstances, Jane finds herself The Bell's owner, and worse, she has three months to pay a large loan or lose the place.Feeling reluctant and ill-equipped, Jane is tempted to abandon her husband's legacy and return to her former life of ease. However, she soon realizes there is more at stake than her comfort. But who can she trust to help her? Her resentful mother-in-law? Her husband's brother, who wanted the inn for himself? Or the handsome newcomer with secret plans of his own . . . ?With pressure mounting from the bank, Jane struggles to win over naysayers and turn the place around. Can Jane bring new life to the inn, and to her heart as well?

    She needed a hero, and quick. But what she had hoped was that at least one person would have answered her plea for help. As the months wore on she had all but given up on finding the husband she so desperately needed, and resigned herself to a lifetime imprisoned by her cruel stepfather. Rancher Wes Roberts couldn’t get the thought of Mary Beth out of his mind, and the desperate nature of the ad she had placed. He figured it wasn’t unusual that he hadn’t received a reply to his letters, given that she had probably already chosen her husband and moved on with her life, but something nagged at him. He would never forgive himself if he didn’t find out for sure that she was safe, even if it wasn’t with him. When Wes arrives, not only is Mary Beth still there, she is more in need than ever. After he rescues her from the desolate life she has been living he realizes that he needs her just as much as she needs him. Please enjoy this sweet, clean, historical western romance novella of 21,128 words (about 90 pages).

    But at the Seige of Badajos, his friends foretell the ruin of his career. For when Harry meets the defenceless Juana, a fiery passion consumes him. Under the banner of honour and with the selfsame ardour he so frequently displays in battle, he dives headlong into marriage. In his beautiful child-bride he finds a kindred spirit - & a temper to match his own

    Four weddings... Four unforgettable stories...A BROODING BEAUTYOnce darlings of the Ton, Marcus and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Kensington, have been estranged for over three years. Secrets and miscommunication tore them apart. Will their love be strong enough to bring them back together? Find out in A Brooding Beauty, the first novella in the Wedded Women Quartet! A RAVISHING REDHEADThe last time Margaret saw her husband was on the day of their wedding. He arrived drunk and ran off with her dowry, leaving her stuck at his rundown estate without a shilling to her name. Now he has returned, and while their sizzling chemistry is undeniable, will their differences prove to be too difficult to overcome?A LASCIVIOUS LADYJosephine never wanted to be with Traverson. In love with a Duke, she had dreams of grandeur that did not include marrying a lowly Earl. But when fate forces husband and wife together again and Josephine finally realizes her heart belongs to Traverson, will her efforts to win him back be too little, too late? A GENTLE GRACEGrace has been in love with Stephen from the first moment they met. When he disappeared mere weeks before their wedding, she was left heartbroken and alone. Now he has returned, and he wants her back... But can Grace love the man who left her, and can Stephen trust her with his darkest secret? Find out in A Gentle Grace, the anticipated conclusion to the Wedded Women Quartet! [This is the complete series of the Wedded Women Quartet novellas, all previously published and available individually on Amazon. The novellas range from 75 - 110 pages in length.]

    They go their separate ways—she returns to her family’s Caribbean plantation, and he returns to the Royal Navy. Now, twelve years later, Julia is about to receive a substantial inheritance, including her beloved plantation. When unscrupulous relatives try to gain the inheritance by forcing her into a marriage, she turns to the only eligible man to whom her father, Admiral Sir Edward Witherington, will not object—his most trusted captain and the man who broke Julia’s heart, William Ransome. Julia offers William her thirty-thousand-pound dowry to feign marriage for one year, but then something she never imagined happens: She starts to fall in love with him again. Can two people overcome their hurt, reconcile their conflicting desires, and find a way to be happy together? Duty and honor, faith and love are intertwined in this intriguing tale from the Regency era.

    There’s no way she’ll fall for his dazzling smile! Her visit to Chadcombe House was always going to prompt questions over her scandalous family, so she’s touched when Harry defends her reputation. She’s discovering there’s more to Harry than she’d first thought…A man so plagued by the demons of war, he’s sworn he’ll never marry, no matter how tempted…

    Not knowing how to deal with the unfamiliar and intense emotions he ignites within her, she lets herself burn in his fire. Still haunted by his fiancé's unsolved murder, Gerard Watton, the Duke of Hadminster, has thrown himself into his business. However, that changes when his sister's captivating governess brings forth feelings he thought himself unable to experience ever again. But as tension and feelings run wild, someone threatens to snatch his happiness away from him a second time. When someone tries to poison Elizabeth, the crippling fear of the past repeating itself resurfaces, and Gerard is hard-pressed to act fast. For one is an accident, two is a tragedy, but three is murder...