She has been sold to the highest bidder so that she may produce an heir for the devilishly handsome and arrogant Earl and she is outraged. How can she have any respect or feelings for a man whose reputation is that of a complete wastrel and philanderer? She resolves to resist him at all costs yet Sophia is totally unprepared for the exquisite pleasure she experiences from her husband’s wicked hands as he introduces her to a world of sexual delight she had no idea existed. For Ralph, when his cousin had suggested he take a wife to heal the rift in his family, it had seemed the perfect solution to his problems. However, he hadn’t counted on choosing someone as spiritedly passionate as Sophia and something inside of him reacts to her in a way that disconcerts him. What started out as a necessary chore soon becomes an exciting challenge as he determines to do what he does best - seduce his young wife and put an end to the estrangement that exists between them. But why is Sophia’s good opinion becoming increasingly important to him? And why does he feel the compulsive need to convince her that he is not the unsavoury character she believes him to be?

    Her cold exterior masking a world of hurt, she despairs of ever finding true love. But when a mysterious stranger comes to her, hurt and desperate on a snowy Christmas Eve, she never dreams that opening the door to him will change her life forever... and show her the true meaning of Christmas.A holiday novella set in the De Montforte world, written by the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The De Montfortes.

    Isobel Gray is dreaming of a perfect movie-style Christmas for her first Noël away from home, and with a hot man and a bucket list of festive fun ready to be ticked off, she thinks she has it all wrapped up. But when her boss-slash-boyfriend goes AWOL just days before the holiday, she finds herself a little Lost, Actually instead. Will she end up home alone, or is there a Christmas miracle waiting under the mistletoe?‘The Christmas Bucket List’ is a fun, festive romcom novella (25,000 words approx.) - perfect for curling up with on a chilly winter night!

    The MEN'S bathroom.No stalls were available in mine. I'd be in and out before anyone noticed.Except someone walked in.And, oh, he was so gorgeous.Four months later we moved in together.Two years later I can't imagine living without him.He's the love of my life, to the absolute bottom of my heart.So why are we breaking up?The Christmas Cadeau has NO cheating and a happily ever after!

    When he finally comes home to celebrate the holidays it’s to introduce his fiancée to his family.Will the Christmas season give them a second chance at happiness? Or will honor demand they separate forever?

    Trapped by his brother-in-law’s death into responsibility for his traumatized nephew, grieving sister, and an estate gone to ruin, loneliness overwhelms him. The first-rate husbandry of a neighboring farm and the woman who runs it draw him like a moth to flame. With Christmas coming, can he repair the damaged estate and far more damaged family? Dare he hope for love in the bargain? Catherine Wheatly is content to manage Songbird Cottage and care for her father and brothers. She has long since accepted that marriage and a home of her own are not in her future. She is content—until an interfering earl descends on Songbird determined to unearth their secrets and upend her world.

    It wasn’t until years later when Nick introduced her to fencing that they finally had a proper outlet for their frequent arguments.Having just emerged from mourning following her mother’s death, Eleanor is exactly where she wishes to be at the age of four-and-twenty: an on-the-shelf spinster and unofficial companion to her aunt. Unfortunately, her ambitious uncle has other plans for her future. On the eve of his house party, he lays down his ultimatum: either Eleanor marries the man of his choosing, or he'll force her seventeen-year-old sister to do so instead.When Nick unexpectedly arrives on their doorstep after a two year absence, Eleanor is in no mood for their normal banter. Seeming to know exactly what she needs, Nick challenges her to pick up the foil once more. During their pre-dawn matches, he shows her just how strong she can be . . . and exactly how much he’s changed since leaving. But when her old adversary becomes her only ally, she may very well find herself . . . Ruined by a Rake.

    Jilted by her fiancé, Karla packs away her wedding quilts and her plans for marriage. Widow Jane travels to marry a prosperous man she barely knows in order to give her daughter a better life—then is stranded in a winter storm. Ada, a wealthy ingénue, inadvertently causes grave injury to a poor man she once considered quite a catch. Each must search her heart, change her plans. . .and patch together a tender, unexpected life filled with love.

    Julia London's Snowy Night with a Highlander sends a debutante into the wintry Scottish wilds....Searching for her rakehell brother, an earl lying low in the wake of a scandalous affair, Fiona Haines is led by a rugged Highlander who obscures his scarred face. As they journey on, Fiona draws closer to her brave, enigmatic protector -- but will fury or passion ignite when he reveals his identity?

    . .and a partridge in a pear tree . . . In Coventry's Christmas, Rebecca Hagan Lee offers a charming new story. With Christmas approaching, Amabel Thurston is ordered from the family home by her father's widow and must seek the protection of her guardian, Deverel Brookfield, eighth Marquess of Coventry. Unfortunately, the Devil of Coventry has little use for Christmas and even less for proper young ladies. In the never-in-print Star of Wonder, Lynn Kerstan brings her special brand of magic to the page when an exotic and dangerous stranger arrives to disrupt the meager Christmas of Stella Bryar, who has struggled to support the family retainers in the wake of her father's death.Allison Lane's newest Christmas treat is A Christmas Homecoming. When prodigal son Alex Northcote returns from a six year absence to take control of the family estate, he must run a gauntlet of possible brides, who have all been installed for a holiday house party by his determined grandmother. Avoiding the trap would have been so much easier, if the guest list hadn't included a quiet widow, who once jilted him for another. In the classic Home for Christmas, Alicia Rasley gives us a Christmas with a bit of intrigue. When Verity receives an unexpected invitation from her estranged father to spend the holidays at his Cornwall estate, she accepts with delight. But, ever mindful of her father's attention to propriety, she must scramble to find a husband and "father" for her fatherless child. Could a handsome and enigmatic stranger solve all her problems?

     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!

    Beloved only by her youngest sister Persephone, Athena has accepted her destiny as a spinster. But Persephone has a different scheme in mind, and conspires to send Athena out for one night of fun at Lord Finchley’s masquerade Christmas Ball. The masked beauty catches the Lord’s eye but, determined to avoid the wrath of her stepsister, Athena leads Lord Finchley on a wild chase to discover her true identity.**originally published as part of the anthology A Regency Christmas in 1994 under the pseud Leslie Lynn

    When the alluring lady he surprises under the mistletoe is not who he expected—but a long-lost love with a score to settle—it’s clear that this will be a Christmas he won’t soon forget!

    With a reputation that makes nice young ladies swoon, he is just not the marrying kind.A friend to the rescue...Unwitting wallflower Felicity Bunting is only trying to protect a friend when she finds herself in a compromising situation with this lusty lord.An unlikely pairing...She might not have meant to do it, but Bunty just accidentally trapped Lord Courtney into marriage.Neither of them is what the other ever expected to have, but perhaps they might be all they ever wanted. The Winter Bride Widowed farmer Ned Hardy is facing a bleak winter and a lonely Christmas alone, when a beautiful young woman turns up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, frozen and terrified. Stunned by the arrival of a fine lady who looks like a Christmas angel, all of Ned’s protective instincts flare to life.Grace Honeyfield is on the run from her abusive brother and the terrifying man he’s forcing her to marry. Escaping into the darkness on a snowy night, she stumbles onto an isolated farm, and into the arms of a handsome farmer. Although not a gentleman by birth, Grace comes to realise Ned deserves the title more than any well-bred man of her acquaintance.When Ned offers to marry Grace to keep her safe, he dares hope that the future might hold more happiness than the past. To his astonishment Grace agrees to his proposal, and Ned can’t help but wonder if all his Christmases have come at once…

    Too bad for him, clever and impossibly desirable Julia Sudbury shows up in his bedroom.Like a shadow, Julia slips from Mayfair's ballrooms into the nobility's private chambers where nothing is more appealing than a spare piece of jewelry. Earrings, necklaces, and cravat pins, oh my!With Julia's bad behavior tarnishing his reputation in ways he'd never imagined, Jasper goes on the run to escape the brutal gossips shredding his family name.It's enough to make a cocky rake wish he were safely married! Who will tame whom?