She's got an annuity of a hundred thousand a year, her lecherous-heart breaking husband has had the good graces to pop off, and best of all, she has her freedom-- Something she has every intention of reveling in to the fullest. And who better to revel with than Ryder Blake, the infamous Duke of Darkwell? A Duke's Desire: Ryder Blake, Duke of Darkwell, known as the Duke of Debauchery, is certain he will never love again. His heart lies buried with his wife and he has vowed to never give more than his body to a woman. But when Kathryn shows up on his doorstep, quite literally, demanding he show her the ways of London, he finds that his heart longs to love once again.

    She believes the money will save her failing bookstore and finally free her from her father's debts. But when Jess bursts into an aristocratic party and shocks the entire ton, she never expects to enjoy the outrageous embrace she shares with a grim viscount.Lucius Crawford, Viscount Grimsby, has never met, or kissed, anyone like the beautiful suffragette who unsettles him with a single touch. He has always strived for control and avoided passion at all costs. Lucius is determined to protect his title and restore the estate he's unexpectedly inherited, but Jess' appearance in his life poses a threat to his plans and his heart. After a country house party brings them together once more, neither can resist temptation, and both find that one scandalous kiss just isn't enough.

    Jacqueline “Jack” Walters loves archery and Greek military history. In her third season she has failed to inspire so much as one marriage proposal and is planning to settle into the quiet life of a spinster.Gideon Wolfe, Earl of Harrington, has been avoiding marriage but a case of mistaken identity in the library has left him saddled with an argumentative and unwilling fiancee.

    Her father, a preeminent master spy, has been missing for months, and her brother barely survived his final mission for the Crown. Lily is still determined to help find her father, no matter how hard her brother and his best friend try to keep her in the dark.Busy trying to untangle the web of deceit surrounding the Earl of Windor’s disappearance, Crown spy Gray Masterson also has to ensure Lily Drummond, the gangly, awkward child who was his constant shadow growing up, doesn’t get herself ruined at her London debut. But the girl with scraped knees and elbows has evolved into a lush, sensual beauty surrounded by a bevy of suitors.Realizing Lily is going to investigate on her own if he doesn’t let her join the hunt for her missing father, Gray assumes he can give Lily a few minor tasks to pacify her, but he quickly learns she is a valuable asset. Moreover, she fairly crackles with life and warmth—things he craves after his dark years in service.Warning: This book contains spies, scandals, naughty liaisons in houses of ill repute, men who think they know everything and women who know they do not.

    But he can't find his way alone.A partner is required.Fantine (Fanny) Delarive is perfect. She knows the slums better than any, has survived its labyrinth alone for years, and knows every criminal lurking in every dark corner.Then, the investigation detours the pair into the bright ballrooms of the ton.And Fantine fits in here, too.Which changes everything.Lord Chadwick knows a woman of Fantine's ilk is entirely unsuitable for him. But she's infinitely more exciting than any well-born lady he's ever met.Now much more than an acquaintance with the independent, self-reliant Fantine is required... and it must end with nothing less than marriage.

    Marry the desperate Louisa Evans, saving her and her siblings from ruin, and produce an heir. But when he proposes, Nicholas doesn’t tell her the real reason they must wed so quickly.They are married when Louisa learns the Marquess doesn’t intend to father his future heir himself. Drawn to her new husband in a way she never expected, Louisa has no intention of agreeing to his scandalous proposition. Instead, she shows him that what is developing between them goes far beyond a typical marriage of convenience.Nicholas never imagined he would fall in love with Louisa. Despite the distance he tries to put between them, one thing soon becomes clear—he will never allow another man to touch her. Even if it dooms his family’s future.

    Unable to find new work, she’s demanding compensation from the man who got her sacked: a petty, selfish, swinish duke. But it’s not the duke she fears. It’s his merciless man of business—the man known as the Wolf of Clermont. The formidable former pugilist has a black reputation for handling all the duke’s dirty business, and when the duke turns her case over to him, she doesn’t stand a chance. But she can’t stop trying—not with her entire future at stake.He cannot give in…Hugo Marshall is a man of ruthless ambition—a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner’s son to the right hand man of a duke. When his employer orders him to get rid of the pestering governess by fair means or foul, it’s just another day at the office. Unfortunately, fair means don’t work on Serena, and as he comes to know her, he discovers that he can’t bear to use foul ones. But everything he has worked for depends upon seeing her gone. He’ll have to choose between the life that he needs, and the woman he is coming to love…

    . ."Honoria Duchamp is well aware that men often consider widows easy prey for the role of mistress. What else could explain the attentions of handsome Lord Devin, and his visits to her bookshop? The much younger Viscount has even shown interest in the printing press with which she creates pamphlets on London's basest injustices. Yet his chief interest appears to be in her. . .Coerced to investigate Nora's controversial pamphlets, Devin expected to find a bookish matron. Instead, he is taken with Nora's womanly beauty, sharp intellect, and quick wit. Soon, what begins as an unwelcome task becomes a pleasure, and Devin's job becomes more dangerous-for them both. For Nora has no idea of the vicious element she's crossed. Now Devin will risk his reputation to protect her-and much more to win her love. . .

    The legend of Lady Winterson’s Christmas ball promises true love and happiness to one lucky couple. Four short tales. 1 1803 - The Seduction of a Duchess by Shana Galen Rowena Harcourt, Duchess of Valère, never forgot the handsome footman who helped her escape the French Revolution. For fourteen years, Gabriel Lamarque has loved Rowena. Now at Lady Winterson’s Christmas ball, has fate finally given him a chance to win her hand?2 1818 - One Kiss for Christmas by Vanessa Kelly Nigel Dash is London’s most reliable gentleman, a reputation he never minded until he fell in love with beautiful Amelia Easton. Amelia sees Nigel as a dependable friend, not a dashing suitor. At Lady Winterson’s Christmas ball, Nigel vows to change Amelia’s mind by sweeping her off her feet.3 1825 - His Christmas Cinderella by Anna Campbell At the season’s most glittering ball, a girl who has never dared to dream of forever after discovers a Christmas miracle.4 1830 - The Last First Kiss by Kate Noble Susannah Westforth always loved Sebastian Beckett, but he only sees her as a friend. When Sebastian takes his Grand Tour, Susannah transforms herself into a woman he must notice. Now Sebastian is back, just in time for Lady Winterson's Christmas ball and to see his little Susie, all grown up.

     Upon arriving at the 500-year-old Royce Castle complete with secret rooms and friendly ghosts, Cassie encounters Lady Royce's son Phillip, the bookish and painfully reserved Earl of Royce. A man of logic and order, Phillip has no patience for Miss Cassandra's frivolous notions of ghosts and hauntings. Fortunately, there're a couple of loving spirits willing to give the couple a helping hand.

    Worse, she is told by his bankers that he gambled away their fortune. Now, the family's hope rests on The Larkspur, an old abandoned coaching inn in the quaint village of Gresham.Driven by dread and her desire to provide for her children, Julia decides to turn the dilapidated inn into a lodging house. But can she--who was accustomed to servants attending to every need--do what needs to be done and cope when boarders begin arriving? And then an eligible new vicar moves into town...

    Now it's made her a killer's target. Emme knows why the Dowager Duchess of Briarleigh invited her to a house party--to investigate whether the duke, Rhys Brammel, murdered his wife years ago. But Emme never imagined she would fall in love with the brooding duke. Branded by society as a possible killer, Rhys is suspicious of Emme and her alleged "gift." Then a late night encounter creates awareness of her other, more attractive, aspects. When Emme's life is threatened, Rhys becomes her protector. Emme and Rhys find passion and peril as they join forces to solve the mysteries at Briarleigh. She made him believe in spirits, but can she make him believe in love?

    However, Beth's hopes of a quiet life are dashed when Richard, dissatisfied with his meagre inheritance and desperate for promotion, decides to force her into a marriage for his military gain. And he will stop at nothing to get his way.Beth is coerced into a reconciliation with her noble cousins in order to marry well and escape her brutal brother. She is then thrown into the glittering social whirl of Georgian high society and struggles to conform. The effeminate but witty socialite Sir Anthony Peters offers to ease her passage into society and she is soon besieged by suitors eager to get their hands on her considerable dowry. Beth, however, wants love and passion for herself, and to break free from the artificial life she is growing to hate. She finds herself plunged into a world where nothing is as it seems and everyone hides behind a mask. Can she trust the people professing to care for her?The first in the series about the fascinating lives of beautiful Beth Cunningham, her family and friends during the tempestuous days leading up to the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, which attempted to overthrow the Hanoverian King George II and restore the Stuarts to the British throne. Join the rebellion of one woman and her fight for survival in... The Jacobite Chronicles.

    As the daughter of a famous archaeologist, she’s been everywhere and seen everything—except London. When the Talbot-Martin team travels there for her father’s investiture, Linley finally gets her wish. But when the time comes to trade her jodhpurs and work boots for silk gowns and kid gloves, she may be in over her head.Even though she can out-ride, out-shoot, and outsmart any girl in London society, Linley is destined to be the failure of the season. No one she meets cares about ancient pottery or lost Buddhist texts, and fundraising efforts for future expeditions keep coming up short. If the Talbot-Martin team doesn’t find money soon, they will be out of a job, and Linley will lose everything she holds dear.Patrick Wolford, Marquess of Kyre (pronounced 'Keer'), is a man who knows his place. Well-connected and respected, he is everything everyone expects him to be, but beneath his façade, he is as neglected and crumbling as the family estate. Now the strain of keeping up appearances is taking its toll. The smart thing would be to marry the heiress nipping at his heels and be done with it, but when he meets Linley Talbot-Martin, who dares to shake up his seemingly proper world, he must choose between the life he’s always known and one he never dared to dream of.

    Kidnapped in the midst of a British officer's ball, Rachel is carried to the Glen Lyon's lair. Determined to defy the Scottish rebel, Rachel is unprepared for what happens when the Glen Lyon is unmasked. Gavin Carstares, Earl of Glenlyon is a strong, but haunted man instead of the villain she believed him to be, he's the hero she's always dreamed of. His mission-- to save the women and children of Scotland from the slaughter waged by Rachel's own fiancé. Gavin never imagined he would lose his heart to the general's daughter, then have to return her to the man he hates most in the world. As the heather hills caught fire with their passion, they forge a love worth defying a king's army.