But on Day 22, she would have given anything for the sweet slumber of death. Because on Day 22, she realizes that her only way out means certain death for one of the two men she loves.A haunting tale of passion, loss, and redemption, The Paper Swan is a darkly intense yet heartwarming love story, textured with grit, intrigue, and suspense. Please note: This is NOT a love triangle.A full-length, standalone novel, intended for mature audiences due to violence, sex and language. Subject matter may be disturbing for some readers.

    "YOU'RE PERFECT ..."Beautiful young Rosalie Belleau was swept up into an aristocratic world of luxury, license and intricate intrigue when the most notorious and handsome rake in London, Lord Randall Berkeley, abducted her in the belief that she was any man's for the taking. Before he realized his mistake, he had branded her with his desire --- and lost his heart to this girl so unlike any he had ever known. Both Rosalie, waking to womanhood, and Sir Randall, learning the power of love, were in the dark about each other --- until the flames of passion lit their way through a labyrinth of danger ... to the dazzling heights of ecstasy ...

    Before long I'll be dancing on the coals." The highwaymen were the frying pan; the handsome young Apache who saved her from them was the fire; and the coals? Gaetan.Rage against the enemies of his people has consumed Gaetan from boyhood. The only use he ever found for any white was to test the sharpness of his knife. Forced by his brother to endure Katherine's company, Gaetan tries to deny what he sees—the white woman has a man's temper and a lion's courage. She has an Apache heart.In spite of hate, distrust and fear, surviving in the rugged country of southern Arizona and northern Mexico forges a strange bond between Katherine and Gaetan. When the bond turns to love, can they admit it? Can they bear the consequences?

    . . .PRINCE OLAF OF NORWAY—Lord of the Wolves, the golden Viking warrior who came in his dragon ship to forge a great kingdom in the Emerald Isle.PRINCESS ERIN—Daughter of the Irish High King, the ebony-haired beauty who swore bitter vengeance on the legendary Norseman who had brought death and destruction to her beloved homeland.Yet, in the great Norse and Irish alliance against the invading Danes, it was her own father who gave her in marriage to her most hated enemy. Bewitched by Olaf's massive strength, seduced by his power, still Erin vowed that neither the wrath of his sword nor the fire of his kiss would sway the allegiance of her proud and passionate heart.

    Wanted for piracy, she fears neither God nor death nor man. Except Priest Farrell. The unfaithful, stormy-eyed libertine hunts her with terrifying possessiveness. Nothing will stop him from coming for her. Not his unforgivable betrayal. Not when she's captured by the ice-cold pirate hunter, Lord Ashley Cutler. She must escape Ashley's prison and Priest's deceit. But can she walk away from their twisted desires? Two gorgeous captains stand on opposite sides of the law. When they collide in a battle to protect her, the lines blur between enemies and lovers. Passion heats, secrets unravel, and hearts entangle until they break. Can love prevail in the sea of ruin?

    I thought I understood the consequences of trying to flee to the West. Death. Imprisonment without trial. Instead I’m being hunted by the most dangerous man in the city, secret police officer Reinhardt Volker.Now I’m his prize, no longer a traitorous factory girl but his elegant and pampered secretary. He wants to possess me, body, soul – and heart. I’ll do anything to get away from him, but first that means getting closer.I want to feel only hatred for my captor but beneath his uniform I discover a man with a past as scarred as Berlin’s.And if I don’t escape him soon it will be too late.**A full-length dark romance by Brianna Hale

    No one has a good time on a pirate ship. No one, that is, but the pirates. Yet there she was, Merry Wilding - kidnapped in error, taken from a ship bound from New York to England, spirited away in a barrel and swept aboard the infamous Black Joke....There she was, trembling with pleasure in the arms of her achingly handsome, sensationally sensual, golden-haired captor - Devon. From the storm-tossed Atlantic to the languid waters of the Gulf Stream, from a smuggler's den to a gilded mansion, Merry struggled to escape...to escape the prison of her own reckless passions, the bondage of sweet, bold desire...

    Even though he had once saved her from a fate worse than death, she could not forget he'd raised the grim battlements of Braxton, keep on her dead father's lands or that his men had dishonored her sister. If she wed him to bring peace to her people, he would have to lay siege to her bed.But their destiny was more powerful than the clash of swords.The darkly handsome warlord's blood coursed with desire for Caryn's burnished crimson lips, and his passion would not be denied. But in the wild ecstasy they shared. Ral feared more than his heart was in danger. Could his rebellious bride be a traitor deadlier than the wolves and brigands prowling deep in English forests?A magnificent tale of intrigue, vengeance and soul-searing love, Kat Martin's newest romance is her most irresistible to date!

    Standing in the royal forest, her falcon perched on her arm, she boldly claimed to be a Welsh commoner, not a noble Norman. Lord Adrian beheld in wonder her raven-black hair and defiant blue eyes, heard her lies, and felt a dark, primeval passion rob him of all reason.In one irrevocable move of fate, he ordered this fair beauty locked in his castle’s tower, vowing to entice her into surrendering her kisses with lips as hungry as his own. Never to give in, to die if she must, was Meriel’s vow ... until one rash moment of impetuousness swept them both up in the royal battles of kings ... and into a dangerous intrigue of sweet caresses ... and fiery, all-consuming love.

    Fierce and fearless, Kenric of Montague had never admitted defeat, and now he demanded Tess's loyalty--and her surrender. But how could she give herself to a man who pledged to keep her safe but stirred her most dangerous passions?Beautiful and Innocent...Scarred by war and the dark secret of his birth, Kenric of Montague had no wish for a wife... until he beheld Tess of Remmington, the magnificent woman pledged to be his bride. Yet even as he gave in to his aching hunger to possess her, he vowed that Tess would never tame his savage heart. But when a treacherous plot threatens to part them, Kenric will find himself drawing his sword--and risking his life--to save the only woman who could capture his soul...

    But when the pillars of privilege topple, her fiancé's betrayal leaves Emma no choice. She must turn for help to the one man whom she should not trust, but cannot resist: Julian Sinclair, the dangerous and dazzling heir to the Duke of Auburn. To the marble halls of London... In London, they toast Sinclair with champagne. In India, they call him a traitor. Cynical and impatient with both worlds, Julian has never imagined that the place he might belong is in the embrace of a woman with a reluctant laugh and haunted eyes. But in a time of terrible darkness, he and Emma will discover that love itself can be perilous -- and that a single decision can alter one's life forever. Destiny follows wherever you run. A lifetime of grief later, in a cold London spring, Emma and Julian must finally confront the truth: no matter how hard one tries to deny it, some pasts cannot be disowned...and some passions never die.

    Lily Trehearne had been born a lady, but now she resigned herself to a life of backbreaking drudgery, inescapable poverty . . . and unquestioning obedience to the lord of the manor.The MasterTormented and brooding, Devon Darkwell threatened Lily's safety almost as much as he thrilled her senses. From the moment he caught her swimming nude in the moonlight, his compelling masculinity held her spellbound. But each step he took toward claiming her body brought him closer to learning the terrible secrets of her soul. In his arms she would know tempestuous passion, bitter despair, and a soaring joy that would humble them both before the power of love.

    It was like lightning, the first time they looked into each other's eyes: Gray Eagle, the captured Indian brave, and Alisha, the beautiful young settler. As the proud Oglala warrior was being tortured by his white captors, only Alsiha seemed to notice he was a human being - handsome and strong, and one who took her breath away.But if Alisha could have read Gray Eagle's thoughts she would have been even more disturbed...Because from the moment he saw her, the Indian knew he had to possess the fair-skinned one - and his life would not be complete until he had made her his slave!

    But for the women who love them, a hint of danger only makes the heart beat faster…STEALING BEAUTYDorian Blackwell, the Blackheart of Ben More, is a ruthless villain. Scarred and hard-hearted, Dorian is one of London’s wealthiest, most influential men who will stop at nothing to wreak vengeance on those who’ve wronged him…and will fight to the death to seize what he wants. The lovely, still innocent widow Farah Leigh Mackenzie is no exception—and soon Dorian whisks the beautiful lass away to his sanctuary in the wild Highlands…COURTING DESIREBut Farah is no one’s puppet. She possesses a powerful secret—one that threatens her very life. When being held captive by Dorian proves to be the only way to keep Farah safe from those who would see her dead, Dorian makes Farah a scandalous proposition: marry him for protection in exchange for using her secret to help him exact revenge on his enemies. But what the Blackheart of Ben More never could have imagined is that Farah has terms of her own, igniting a tempestuous desire that consumes them both. Could it be that the woman he captured is the only one who can touch the black heart he’d long thought dead?

    Now meet the most irresistible and independent heroine of them all, a woman called Low Down, who never had anything good happen to her until the day she asked for the one thing that only a man could give her. . . .As scruffy and rootless as the other prospectors searching for gold in the Rockies, Low Down wanted nothing in return for nursing a raggedy bunch through the pox. But when pressed to reveal her heart's wish, she admits, "I want a baby." Not a husband, not a forced marriage to the proud man who drew the scratched marble and became honor bound to marry her. To be sure, Max McCord was easy on the eyes, but he loved another woman and dreamed of a different life. Yet they agreed to a temporary marriage that could end only in disaster. But can this strange twist of fate lead to the silver lining that both have been searching for?