Ruthie Knox tells a heartwarming contemporary story of first loves given the gift of a second chance; Molly O’Keefe releases the ghosts of Christmas past with a prequel to her novel Crazy Thing Called Love; and Stefanie Sloane weaves an irresistible Regency tale of fiery passion that burns deep on a cold winter’s night. ROOM AT THE INN by Ruthie Knox Carson Vance couldn’t wait to get out of Potter Falls, but now that he’s back to spend Christmas with his ailing father, he must face all the people he left behind . . . like Julie Long, whose heart he broke once upon a time. Now the proprietor of the local inn, Julie is a successful, seductive, independent woman—everything that Carson’s looking for. But despite several steamy encounters under the mistletoe, Julie refuses to believe in happily ever after. Now Carson must prove to Julie that he’s back for good—and that he wants her in his life for all the holidays to come. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU by Molly O’Keefe Maddy Baumgarten and Billy Wilkins are spontaneous, in love, and prepared to elope the day after Christmas—that is, if Maddy’s family doesn’t throw a wrench in their plans. After all, Maddy’s barely out of high school and Billy’s a notorious bad boy. Maddy doesn’t care about Billy’s rough past—all she cares about is living in the here and now. But after Maddy’s mother stops speaking to her in protest, and a Christmas Eve heart-to-heart with her father leaves her with butterflies, Maddy starts to get cold feet. She loves Billy, but is she taking this big step too soon? ONE PERFECT CHRISTMAS by Stephanie Sloane After being jilted by her fiancé, Jane Merriweather turns to her dear childhood friend, the Honorable Lucas Cavanaugh, for support—and unlocks the smoldering desire simmering in the man’s troubled heart. Frightened by his newfound feelings, Lucas flees to Scotland. But when the Christmas season brings them together again, one glance is all that’s needed to reignite his yearning. If Lucas can convince Jane that his intentions are as pure as the falling snow, they’ll turn a dreary December into a joyous Yuletide affair.

    On her way to her cousin’s wedding in the Scottish highlands, she and her entourage are held up by a gang of ruffians. Frightened, her servants flee, and Tatiana soon finds herself alone in an inn with no servants, no funds, and no proof of her identity. Destitute, she accepts the offer from a sympathetic (but unbelieving) innkeeper to work for her room and board while she waits for an answer to the missive she’s sent to her cousin Prince Nikolai. With no other recourse, Tatiana scrubs floors and dirty linens, waiting for her prince to come…A proud lord once lost and now found…After a brutal, bloody battle with the French Navy left Lord Buchan limping and surly, abandoned by his betrothed because of his twisted leg, his lordship hides away at his manor house in the countryside. He leaves only once a week to eat at the local inn, drawn by the expert cooking of the innkeeper’s wife. One day, Buchan arrives to find that the innkeeper has a new servant, a beautiful scullery maid with a queenly air, and flashing green eyes that leave him breathless and increasingly aware of his lonely existence…Love may find them yet…The challenge of winning his way into Tatiana’s heavily protected heart stirs Buchan back to life…but can he and his twisted leg—and broken heart—win a proud princess whose only goal is to leave Scotland and return to the court where she’s the crowning jewel?

    While studying the indigenous people of Alaska for her anthropology dissertation, Peggy Brannigan is hunted down and kidnapped in the arctic by a mysterious Nordic male determined to keep her as a breeding mate.Publisher's Note: Originally appeared in the anthology The Hunted.

    With only one kiss left, victory seems easy...until he encounters Miss Sarah Tatton, who has fled on horseback to escape her vile fiancé.Distraught and desperate, the last thing Sarah needs is to run straight into the arms of a highwayman. But his heart-stopping kiss gives Sarah an idea--to lose her virginity in order to break her engagement. And the surprisingly gentlemanlike thief is just the man to teach her the art of love...at least enough to pretend that she has lost her virtue. But as Jonathan and Sarah's passion grows, all pretense must come to an end...

    Kenner continues her beloved Stark series with an emotionally charged Stark Ever After novella for Nikki and Damien Stark as they embark on married life. For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey, the Crossfire and Most Wanted series.Happy Ever After is just the beginning...Find out how it all began for Damien and Nikki in J. Kenner's hot and addictive bestselling Stark series: Release Me, Claim Me, Complete Me, Take Me and Have Me.

    The day he was sentenced, he’d looked at her and said, No regrets, Lizzie. But he lied, because he did have one. Although he’s been out of jail for three years now, he was a year too late. Lizzie never knew how he felt and just months before he was released, she found somebody else and it’s too late. Or maybe not. It seems that Lizzie’s boyfriend wants an open relationship and two can play at that game. Now all Decker has to do is convince Lizzie that he’s the better man…and has been all along.Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance.

    His hard, chiseled muscles and playful invitations are irresistible.Bared before their windows, framed and displayed above the streets of Paris, they embark upon a provocative affair. Their daring game of exhibitionism lures her back for more and more, and she quickly realizes he is the man she has dreamed about.Yet she's never heard his voice. Never felt his touch. Never thought she'd experience something this exquisite.Or this bold...Paris SecretsDo you dare?

    . . and pure passion. Neither wealth nor beauty will help Lady Francesca Gordon win custody of her young niece Georgina, saving the girl from a cruel stepmother; she needs London’s top solicitor for that. But when Edward de Lacey, son of the powerful Duke of Durham, hires away the one man who can do the job, Francesca decides Edward himself must champion her case . . . if only she can melt the dashing lord’s stony heart. Edward has reason to be guarded, though. London’s tabloids have just exposed a secret that could ruin his entire family. When Francesca offers a unique chance to undo the damage, Edward is forced to agree to a partnership . . . and now, each moment together feeds the flames of his scandalous longing for the passionate widow. But when Georgina disappears, fate will test them both . . . and leave their love hanging in the balance.

    But the woman who holds the key to the girl’s disappearance is the one woman Lyan vowed he would never see again. After all, when a young man proposes marriage and gives his virginity to his beloved, he’s going to be furious when she steals his money and runs away.Some men are impossible to resist…Haunted by dark secrets, Estelle Desjardins was forced to desert Lyan ten years before, take half his money, and disappear. She has built an independent life as a dressmaker and secretly helps young ladies escape loveless arranged marriages. When Lyan comes back into her life, she must lie to him all over again. But he suspects the truth and wages a campaign of seduction and pleasure that melts all her defenses… -------------------NOTE: A shorter version of this story was published as “Gretna Green” in the Mammoth Book of Regency Romance, 2010. This novella is greatly expanded and hotter.

    She saves her deepest desires for the novel she dares to pen, wherein a handsome lord with dark powers seduces her. But then her courtship with an appropriate suitor is threatened by the sudden attentions of the reclusive Earl of Black, whose pale blue eyes and brooding sensuality are exactly as she described in her book.Isabella tries to resist the mysterious Earl of Black.Yet as he pursues her, with inexplicable knowledge of her past and kisses that consume her, Isabella fears she will succumb.If only the earl could tell Isabella the truth. With very real, and treacherous, thieves endangering her life, Black will need to protect Isabella from the very people she trusts the most.

    He’s kind, titled, and miraculously single. She plans a full-scale seduction that will bring him to his knees, begging for her hand in marriage. But when she mistakenly climbs into another man’s bed, sparks ignite, threatening to send all her plans up in smoke.Ashton Fitzgerald, Earl of Claymore, is surprised by the powerful desire that surges through him when he sees Daphne for the first time. So when he unveils her as his mysterious midnight visitor, he is determined to make her his…forever.

    After her brother was killed while seeking the identity of a notorious French smuggler, Laura suspects the smuggler’s true identity is none other than the wealthy and commanding Keefe Leighton, Earl of Hamilton. How to capture such a rogue? By arriving at his estate and claiming to be his bride, of course. But her plans go awry when Hamilton arrives and discovers her ruse … and does everything in his considerable power to make her his bride in truth! THE SMUGGLER’S CAPTURED BRIDE (formerly THE LADY AND THE TIGER) Fans of Stephanie Laurens and Julia Quinn will enjoy this story.

    Fortunately, Quinn Raines, her secret beau, shows up to foil the attack. Unfortunately, as the two of them are struggling with her abductor, Meriel accidentally stabs Quinn with a knife. Unbeknownst to Meriel, Quinn set up the fake abduction so he could play the hero and win her hand in marriage. But now that his plan has gone disastrously awry, can he convince her that he’s still the man for her? Sabrina Jeffries brings her famous “quick pacing, witty dialogue, and charmingly original characters” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) to this enchanting romance.

    That is until he stepped into his carriage one evening and found it already occupied… Chelsea tempted him with a sinful offer. Sinjin adamantly, albeit politely refused. She was a young unmarried maiden, too dangerous for a man who'd vowed never to wed. No matter how luscious the prize, he wasn't reckless enough to be entrapped by the tantalizing minx. Can the spirited young beauty change his mind?

    The duke agrees to teach her everything she needs to know, but in return expects to receive her unwitting cooperation to uncover an assassination plot against the monarchy. But Elizabeth is hard to deceive, and the duke finds himself needing more than her innocent skills in his bed. Together they must use their remarkable abilities, to thwart a villain, save the Prince Regent and accidentally and inevitably fall in love.