. .October 8, 1871 -- One small spark ignites the entire city of Chicago, sending its residents into panic. But amid the chaos, a chance encounter leads to an unexpected new love.Unaware of the fire sweeping toward them, Deborah Sinclair confronts her wealthy, powerful father, determined to refuse the society marriage he has arranged for her. Suddenly, out of the smoke and flames, a stranger appears -- gun in hand, intent on avenging an unforgivable crime. As fire consumes the elegant mansion, the ruthless man takes the fragile, sheltered heiress hostage.Swept off to mist-shrouded Isle Royale, Deborah finds herself the pawn in Tom Silver's dangerous game of revenge. Despite her horror at being kidnapped, she finds herself drawn to the people of the close-knit community and to the startling beauty of the island. As she engages in a battle of wits with her brooding captor, she begins to understand the injustice that fuels his anger, an injustice wrought by her own family. And as winter imprisons the isolated land, she realizes she's a hostage of her own heart. . .

    When next they meet, she has escaped the dust of the coal mines and is now a lady’s maid at a fine estate, determined to escape her hardscrabble life. She instantly recognizes him, but has no inkling that their lives are about to come together in the most intimate way—until her mistress begs her to take her place in a marriage of convenience. Haunted by the memory of his lost love, Ian Tremayne is honor-bound by the promise he made to an old friend. His marriage to Katherine Mary Ahearn will be a union in name only. Yet something about the proud, green-eyed Englishwoman seems familiar . . . and intrigues him. He takes her home to America, where the willful beauty slowly begins to thaw his guarded heart. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Heather Graham, including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

    . . Lady Isabelle Montgomery wants to be left alone to play her flute and talk to Giselle, the guardian angel only she can see. Because Isabelle manages her brother’s estate finances, her greedy stepmother and selfish stepsisters continually harass her for fancy clothes and a season in London. For reasons she refuses to share, Isabelle has no desire to go to London. Unexpectedly, the Duke of Avon announces that he is her temporary guardian while her brother, the Earl of Stratford, has gone abroad. This complication annoys Isabelle who thinks the duke is thoroughly irritating. So why can’t she stop thinking about him? And why does Giselle keep telling her about a dark prince? He doesn’t want a ward . . . John Saint-Germain, the Duke of Avon, wants nothing to do with wards or stepfamilies. The duke suffered a moment’s weakness and promised the earl that he would watch over his sister, including sponsoring Isabelle and her stepsisters into society. And then John meets his stubborn, outspoken, thoroughly irritating ward. Her fiery beauty and independent spirit attract him. Is he falling in love? If only she’d stop talking to that imaginary friend. Their enemies want to destroy them . . . Both John and Isabelle have enemies who join forces to plot against them. John will brave any danger to protect Isabelle and his family. Even if it means seeing with his heart and believing in the impossible.

    But even as Sean vowed to have his revenge on Catherine, with each encounter he became more attracted to her. Her fiery innocence was a seduction that lured the passions of long smoldering hostility into a blazing inferno of desire.Locked in a love-hate duel, he did not suspect that the captivating beauty who fought him with such tenacity was struggling desperately against her own awakened desires, and that his touch had become the burning reminder that the fierce hatred she felt for him had become an all-consuming love.

    But their perilous passion had just begun . . . Hauntingly beautiful Perry McLain was desperate to escape the powerful Union Army captain who pursued her, seeking vengeance for her rebellion. Yet, her vow to save the handsome Hunter Kirkland plunged her deep into enemy territory . . . and into the tortuous flames of desire. To Hunter, weak with fever, she was nothing but an alluring dream visiting him in the darkness . . . a sultry vision he could embrace only in the heat of his own imagination. Yet the memory of her warm caresses, the urgent ecstasy of her closeness refused to fade in the morning light. He did not realize that underneath the dirt-caked, boyish clothes of his daytime companion was the body of the woman whose nighttime passion he craved . . . .

    Caught in a web of twisted destinies, she journeys from the luxury of a French chateau to the horrors of a West Indies slave ship...from the exotic existence as pirate Jean Lafitte's mistress to unspeakable degradation at the hands of brutal men.Woven throughout the sultry landscape of her saga is Garth McClelland...mysterious, secretive Garth, a man whose worldly power is surpassed only by his insatiable lust for the ravishing Elise. Their romance soars to the peak of unquenchable passion, plumbs the depths as they fight treachery, intrigue...and their need for each other, until finally they unite in an inferno of rapturous love!

    But since a woman scholar meets nothing but ridicule from men, she has given up and chosen a future husband. Randolph seems adequate for the task: to provide intelligent conversation and not annoy her too much. Of course, before they can be engaged, she'll have to do something about the murder charge hanging over his head. If only London's top barrister wasn't Jack Harding, object of all her unattainable girlhood fantasies.And seducing scandal...Jack Harding remembers Evelyn well—but the idea that the gorgeous woman standing before him is little Evie, the professor's daughter, is incredible. He knows better than to enter a business relationship when he wants to pursue pleasure. Yet however desirable she is now, Evie is still Evie—stubborn, smart, and never willing to take no for an answer. Even though proving her fiancé's innocence might just cost her her own.

    When their secret is suddenly discovered, their world is shattered. McKenna is forced to leave forever, unaware that the only reason Aline has given him up is to save him.Now McKenna has returned, a powerful man determined to take revenge against the woman who broke his heart. But the magic between them burns as fiercely as ever . . . and as McKenna uncovers Aline's deepest secret, together they discover a love that will defy Fate itself.

    She was only matched by the man they called the black Mephisto, notorious spy, master of disguise and black-masked bandit of the seas. They lived a dangerous masquerade -- and loved with a passion no mask could hide.THEY CALLED HER THE CRIMSON WITCHBorn Genevieve Saint-Georges, she had reigned as the belle of Paris until the French Revolution sent her fleeing for her life. Now, masked in scarlet, the salt breeze whipping through her hair, she is the beautiful, brazen sea capitaine who leads her pirate crew in the name of freedom -- and revenge.THEY CALLED HIM THE BLACK MEPHISTONotorious spy and mysterious master of disguise, the black-masked bandit of the seas, only he can match Genevieve exploit for exploit, sword thrust for sword thrust, as he dares to rescue the innocent from the guillotine. Only he can awaken her sleeping senses with the softest, most seductive caresses till she is burning with liquid fire, beyond passion, and the sweet prisoner of... DESIRE IN DISGUISE.

    At sixteen, Phoebe Layton had imagined that Gabriel Banner was a brave and valiant knight, a noble-hearted hero born to rescue ladies in distress. Which is why, eight years later, when she desperately needed help to carry out a vital quest, she could think of no one more suited than Gabriel. But when she lures her shining knight to a lonely midnight rendezvous, Phoebe finds herself sparring with a dangerously desirable man who is nothing like the hero of her dreams. And when he sweeps her into a torrid and blatantly unchivalrous embrace, she can't help but fear that she's made a dreadful mistake. It's a kiss that will seal Phoebe's fate. For now the exacting Earl of Wylde has a quest of his own--to possess the most intriguing, impulsive, outrageous female he has ever met...even if he has to slay a dragon to do it.

    For what foolish Saxon lord had any hope of triumphing against an army of seasoned Norman knights?But the great warrior was in for a shock...surprised first by the ferocious battle the wily old lord waged--and then by what he discovers when he meets his adversary face-to-face: no crusty, aging nobleman this, but an exquisite princess with a face as fragile as a flower--and a will as steely as the sword she wields.Suddenly Luc finds he's waging a dangerous new war...aimed at the defenses of a fierce Saxon beauty who threatens to conquer his warrior's heart.

    She was also the same Gabrielle who as a child had inadvertently taken from Cam Colburne, Duke of Dyson, the two people he loved best in the world. The handsome nobleman had vowed to make her pay for his suffering, and now the perfect opportunity presented itself. He would abduct this eighteen-year-old hoyden with the looks of an angel and the manners of a ragamuffin--and hold her prisoner in his Cornwall castle in order to manipulate her traitorous grandfather. For years he had dreamed of having her at his mercy, and now nothing less than her complete surrender would satisfy him...A HOSTAGE TO HER HEARTGabrielle could fence like a seasoned duellist, ride like the wind, and shoot like a musketeer. But nothing in her unconventional education had prepared her for dealing with the enigmatic Dyson--a man who infuriated her with his arrogant commands yet aroused her to hitherto unknown heights of passion with his demanding kisses and intimate caresses. As his captive, Gabrielle was not in a position to deny him. But she loathed herself for wanting his possession, and knew she must escape before her heart was forever lost...

    Against her better judgment, however, she is powerfully drawn to the elusive and dangerous Lucien, whose hard-hearted façade hides a tragedy that is slowly devouring him from within.As Lucien and Madeline circle each other in a magnetic play of desire and denial, their passion will rise to a crescendo of longing and sacrifice that will change their fates forever.

    But when she finds a captivating stranger lurking there in the middle of the night, she discovers the one man who is unaware.It's a deadly pursuit that brings Piers Mallory to the Fallstowe lands. But now that fate has attached the alluring, and curiously insistent, Alys to his side, it may work to his advantage to play by her rules, at least for a time. Yet the danger Piers courts is no game—and the passion he and Alys share is all too real.

    So young and seemingly so naive, no one could guess that the child-bride possessed an astonishing sexual appetite.Isabel the Temptress—Her husband King Philippe-Auguste scorned her...until she set his bedchamber afire with her wild sexual exploration. If the young king was a slave to desire, Isabel would offer him an orgiastic feast, plotting that ultimate she would rule him.Isabel the Queen—Clever, cunning, willful, she seduced ad charmed the royalty of Europe, then dressed in rags and took to the streets to win the favor of the peasants. Many called her mad, but they all came to adore the flaxen-haired Queen of the Franks.Isabel the Legend—Though Isabel's cold body lay entombed in the cathedral of Notre Dame, Philippe was haunted by the memory of her captivating beauty, her exquisite grace. He could not forget her dying words: "You are mine until the grave makes ghosts of both of us."