Book picks similar to
Lily by Patricia Gaffney


historical-romance
romance
historical
bodice-ripper

Highlander Untamed


Monica McCarty - 2007
    He vows revenge against the rival MacDonald clan, though duty demands a handfast marriage to Isabel MacDonald–a bride he does not want and has no intention of keeping. But Rory couldn’t have anticipated the captivating woman who challenges his steely control, and unleashes the untamed passion simmering beneath his fierce exterior.Blessed with incomparable beauty, Isabel MacDonald is prepared to use every means possible–including seduction–to uncover her husband’s most guarded secrets. Instead Rory awakens Isabel’s deepest desires and her sweetest fantasies. Now Isabel has found the happiness she’s always dreamed of with the very man she must betray, and discovers that passion can be far more dangerous than revenge.

The Warlord


Elizabeth Elliott - 1995
    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...

Sins of a Wicked Duke


Sophie Jordan - 2009
    Yet Fallon—who's endured nothing but lecherous advances since her father's tragic death—is perfectly safe there...disguised as a footman! Beneath the notice of the dark-haired devil with his smoldering blue eyes and sinful smile, Fallon never imagines her secret will be discovered. But how long can her deception last when she begins to wish she is one of the many women traipsing in and out of the sinful rogue's bedchamber? He lives to sin...Most men envy the duke, never suspecting his pleasure-loving ways are a desperate attempt to escape, however briefly, the pain of a past that's left him with a heart of stone. Only one woman can break down his defenses. Only one woman can win his love...if she reveals her secret and succumbs to the sins of the wicked duke.

Never Seduce a Scoundrel


Sabrina Jeffries - 2004
    Charlotte Harris, headmistressLady Amelia Plume has many admirers -- it's too bad they're all fortune hunters and fops who can't provide the exotic adventures she seeks.But the ballrooms of Mayfair have become much more appealing since the arrival of Major Lucas Winter, an American with a dark past and a dangerous air. Lucas is brash, arrogant -- and scandalously tempting.Every thrilling kiss sparks hotter desire, yet Amelia suspects that Lucas has a hidden motive in wooing her. And she intends to discover it, by any means necessary

The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne


Elisa Braden - 2015
    And it is—perfectly boring. Agree to marry a lord who has yet to inspire a single, solitary tingle? Why, of course. Smile as though this is not the thousandth time he’s mentioned hounds and hunting? It’s all in a day’s work for the oh-so-proper sister of the Duke of Blackmore. Surely no one would suspect her secret longing for heart-racing, head-spinning passion. Except, perhaps, a dark stranger… on a terrace… at a ball where she should definitely not be kissing a man she has only just met.The obsession that leads to ruin…Hatred, not love, drives Lucien Wyatt, Viscount Atherbourne, to tempt the “Flower of Blackmore” into sin. Her brother has done unthinkable damage to Lucien’s family, and he intends to exact revenge in the only way left to him: Ruining his enemy’s sister, then stealing her from Blackmore by making her his own.The woman who will set fire to her husband’s heart…As Lucien carries out his ruthless plan, tutoring his new bride in the finer points of pleasure, her surrender leaves him breathless… and soon a new obsession awakens—a scandalous fascination with his irresistible wife.

The Courtesan Duchess


Joanna Shupe - 2015
    1. Learn the most intimate secrets of London’s leading courtesan.2. Pretend to be a courtesan yourself, using the name Juliet Leighton.3. Travel to Venice and locate said husband.4. Seduce husband, conceive an heir, and voilà, your future is secure!For Julia, the Duchess of Colton, such a ruse promises to be foolproof. After all, her husband has not bothered to lay eyes on her in eight years, since their hasty wedding day when she was only sixteen. But what begins as a tempestuous flirtation escalates into full-blown passion—and the feeling is mutual. Could the man the Courtesan Duchess married actually turn out to be the love of her life?

The Lion's Daughter


Loretta Chase - 1992
    She's determined to avenge the murder of her beloved father, an enigmatic English aristocrat who lived in self-imposed exile. Honor demands that Esme let nothing and nobody stand in her way. That includes the handsome wastrel who's become entangled in her life, whose charm does not make up for his lazy and irresponsible character.Having gambled away his entire family fortune, Varian St. George, Lord Edenmont, now lives by his wits and winning ways. A man who has always taken the path of least resistance — preferably in soft beds with willing women — he does not want to become embroiled in a mad quest with a hot-tempered and heavily armed redhead.But forced to travel together through an exotic land, the mismatched pair soon discovers that friction can produce some very dangerous sparks ...

The Lover


Robin Schone - 2000
    But her plain looks mask a passionate woman who yearns to know a man's intimate caresses. Michel des Anges- Michael of the Angels- is renowned for his ability to bring women pleasure. All it will cost her is ten thousand pounds...Driven by vengeance, ravaged by tragedy, Michael seeks to lose himself in a woman who will demand only physical pleasure. A woman who won't suspect his own aching needs- or his true motive for accepting her terms. Unable to resist the lure of her guileless desire, he plunges her into a deadly web of deception and revenge where the price of carnal ecstacy is life itself...

Duchess in Love


Eloisa James - 2002
    Directly after the ceremony her handsome spouse promptly fled to the continent, leaving the marriage unconsummated and Gina quite indignant.A LADY IN THE MIDDLENow, she is one of the most well-known ladies in London ... living on the edge of scandal --- desired by many men, but resisting giving herself to any one.A DUCHESS IN LOVEFinally, Camden, the Duke of Girton, has returned home, to discover that his naive bride has blossomed into the toast of the ton. Which leaves Cam in the most uncomfortable position of discovering that he has the bad manners to be falling in love --- with his own wife!

Wolfsgate


Cat Porter - 2014
    Years later, his step-cousin Justine finds him alive and drug-addicted, and against his family’s wishes, boldly brings him home to reclaim his inheritance.Dark surprises disturb Brandon at every turn—a ruined property, a traitorous, bitter family, his fiancée married to his rival. And Justine, the shy, quiet girl he grew up with is no longer a little girl, but an alluring and determined young woman. Can he trust her or is she a part of the intricate web of lies and half-truths?As they work together to salvage what’s left of Wolfsgate and their place in society, age-old jealousies and shadowy secrets threaten at every turn, but irresistible passions run wild and prove even more powerful.Justine is his wife, after all.Justine and Brandon have been bound in a marriage forced upon them by their family for their own deceitful purposes. But the deep, loyal bond that grows between husband and wife isn’t part of their enemies’ plan.In fact, it could destroy their plan.No one counted on Brandon and Justine falling in love.Not even Brandon and Justine.>> Please Note: This book has been re-edited & re-formatted in July 2020 since the book's release in 2014 <<"Sexy, dark, and suspenseful...Definitely not your mother's historical romance!" - Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

The Matrimonial Advertisement


Mimi Matthews - 2018
    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?

The Seducer


Madeline Hunter - 2003
    Over the years that have passed since she first laid eyes on Daniel St. John, he had become, quite simply, the most dangerously irresistible man she could ever have imagined. Diane herself has changed from a bewildered schoolgirl, tragically orphaned, into a determined young woman of alluring charm and beauty. Now, leaving the cloistered life of her school, she has been brought to Daniel’s home with dreams of her own amid rumors and hints of scandal. But the legendary seducer seems to have other plans for Diane—and he possesses a secret about her lost past that he will do everything to keep: a secret that will put both their lives in jeopardy, even as the passion they have denied for so long threatens to break out of all control.

The Lord Next Door


Gayle Callen - 2005
    Her options for a bridegroom are limited...until she remembers the shy servant boy next door. Then she discovers that her childhood friend is actually Viscount Thurlow—ruthless businessman, future earl, and a man whose family is shrouded in scandal! After two rejected marriage proposals, David Thurlow needs a wife who will give him an heir, someone who will not only overlook his past but also be above reproach. Victoria is the ideal candidate—quiet, unassuming, and in desperate need of funds. But even as she strives to be the perfect wife, her calm demeanor masks a shocking secret...one that is overshadowed by David's slow, heated lessons in the art of seduction that threaten to transform a "convenient" marriage into a torrid and passionate affair.

Dreaming of You


Jennifer McNare - 2013
    However, the innocent young beauty has no idea what her new husband will demand of her, once they are legally wed. It isn’t long however, before Melody discovers that the widowed earl had a purpose in choosing her for his bride, the daughter of an impoverished country baron. Impotent and childless, Charles is in desperate need of an heir, in addition to someone he can force into going along with the heinous scheme he has concocted.Gavin Montrose, son of the wealthy Duke of Rutherford, is as charming as he is handsome. However, unbeknownst to him, he is also the man Charles Cavendish has selected to father his heir. Abducted from the grounds of his family’s country estate, he awakens to find himself in the midst of a nightmare. Assuming that he has been abducted for ransom, Gavin is stunned to learn of his mysterious abductor’s true purpose. To gain his freedom and protect his family from harm, he must father a child he will never meet, with a woman whose name he will never know and whose face he will never see. Desperate to safeguard the people they love, both Melody and Gavin have no choice but to go along with the insanity that has been forced upon them or suffer the unbearable consequences. Compelled to meet in absolute darkness in the bedchamber of an isolated cottage, their identities a fiercely guarded secret, they will develop a bond neither of them had anticipated and discover a passion more powerful than either of them could have possibly imagined. But dare they call it love?Years later, when fate intervenes and Gavin and Melody’s paths inadvertently cross…

Wed By Proxy


Alice Coldbreath - 2019
    Until one day she decides to become mistress of her own destiny and leave the royal court to find her own path. Married by proxy, Lord Martindale has never even met his bride of three years. Wed as part of a peace treaty, he bitterly resents the mercenary wife who cares only for wealth and prestige. And then he meets her... Wed By Proxy is a stand-alone novel of over 111,000 words and is set in a medieval style landscape in the fictional kingdom of Karadok. Please do not purchase if you are offended by strong language and or sex scenes.