At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...After Margherita's father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman.

    Temporary feelings. Until a late-night encounter creates a permanent longing for bliss of another kind… Makenna Lewis cringes at any mention of the word commitment. Her past experience with the L-word did little more than teach her that anything involving feelings is a dangerous path indeed. She no longer wants or needs a relationship, but she still enjoys men. Even if her attachment to them is only temporary.That is, until a late night encounter with the delicious Daniel Winters turns her preconceived notion of commitment completely on its head. He makes her feel things she vowed to never feel again, and when Daniel pushes for more than she’s willing to give, she falters.What do you do when something that you’ve known to be so wrong in the past feels so damn right in the present?If you’re Mac, you run and hide.Lucky for Mac, Daniel isn’t the type of man who takes no for an answer.

    Elizabeth Goodall is kidnapped and held captive in the African jungle, her only hope for rescue is counterterrorist operative Sam Pelton. But to escape from a brutal warlord, they must confront a powerful attraction that could prove more treacherous than the wilds of the jungle…“Atlanta Heat” by LORA LEIGHEm Delaney has wanted bad-boy Macey March for as long as she can remember. But as a Navy SEAL under the command of her overprotective godfather, Macey is off-limits to Em…until a kidnapping attempt forces them to share tantalizingly close quarters—and a forbidden desire.“Desert Heat” by CINDY GERARDAssistant D.A. Elena Martinez never wanted to fall for police detective Seth King. When they are teamed up on a charity hike in the Grand Canyon, however, their chemistry sizzles under the desert sun. But a vengeful drug lord is determined not to let them survive the canyon with their lives—and love—intact…

    She's stuck in a small town in deepest Georgia with parents who won't let her out of their sight, a bunch of small-minded, gossiping neighbours and an evil ex who's spreading nasty rumours about what she may or may not have done in the back of his car. She's tired of it all, so when, on her sixteenth birthday, her parents tell her that she is cursed and will go to sleep for a hundred years when the clock strikes midnight, she's actually kind of glad to leave it all behind. She says her goodbyes, lies down, and closes her eyes . . . And then she wakes up. Cold, alone and in the middle of the darkest, most twisted fairy tale she could ever have dreamed of. Now Briar must fight her way out of the story that has been created for her, but she can't do it alone. She never believed in handsome princes, but now she's met one her only chance is to put her life in his hands, or there will be no happy ever after and no waking up.

    Enter the seductive world of award-winning author Sharon Page, whose new novel will take your breath away with a tantalizing blend of Regency romance and erotic thrills.It is London’s most secretive gentlemen’s club—a place where no well-bred lady would dare to be seen. But Lady Jane Beaumont has no choice. Her friend Del has vanished, and Jane must enter into a dangerous charade to find her. Now, within the gilded walls of this erotic lair, Jane awaits the lover she has procured for the evening. But the man who enters her bedchamber is no stranger. He is Del’s brother and London’s most notorious rake—a man on a rescue mission of his own. Christian is intrigued by the innocent beauty who clearly does not belong in the notorious brothel. And as the two seek out the damning secrets of the club . . . as Christian initiates Jane into the ways of true sensual pleasure, she knows she has entered the most dangerous place of all—where the price of temptation could be her heart. . . .

    But no longer.You hold in your hands a volume of wonders -- magical tales of trolls and ogres, of bewitched princesses and kingdoms accursed, penned by some of the most acclaimed fantasists of our day. But these are not bedtime stories designed to usher an innocent child gently into a realm of dreams. These are stories that bite -- lush and erotic, often dark and disturbing mystical journeys through a phantasmagoric landscape of distinctly adult sensibilities... where there is no such thing as "happily ever after." The "Snow White, Blood Red" Collection #1. Snow White, Blood Red #2. Black Thorn, White Rose #3. Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears #4. Black Swan, White Raven #5. Silver Birch, Blood Moon #6. Black Heart, Ivory Bones

    St John Fox, celebrated novelist, hasn’t seen her in six years. He’s unprepared for her afternoon visit, not least because she doesn’t exist. He’s infatuated with her. But he also made her up.“You’re a villain,” she tells him. ‘A serial killer . . . can you grasp that?”Will Mr Fox meet his muse’s challenge, to stop murdering his heroines and explore something of love? What will his wife Daphne think of this sudden change in her husband? Can there be a happy ending – this time?

    He won’t stop rampaging until the villagers sacrifice an innocent. Lucky me! I’m the chosen one. I’ve been tied to a tree in a wedding dress and left as an offering to the cruel ruler of the hills. But once the beast approaches, I glimpse the lonely human beneath the wild hair and mountainous body. Yes, he’s very much a man…a man who will stop at nothing to claim me as his mate.

    It doesn't take long before she realizes the business involved is only a smokescreen and she is the ultimate commodity.Excerpt:Jenna sat in first class and fiddled with the platinum band on her left ring finger. She watched David sitting next to her from the corner of her eye. His hand still held hers loosely even in sleep, his fingers laced between hers in a hold of ownership, a hold of possession that he had rarely allowed her away from the entire day.They were approaching the Greater Cincinnati airport and her mind raced over the day that had just passed. It was almost midnight, and everything had been accomplished in less than twenty-four hours. When they left his house that morning, the first thing they did was meet with his lawyer, and she had signed a pre-nuptial agreement. Then they had left to board a flight to Vegas, and the minute they had gotten there, he hustled her into a twenty-four hour wedding chapel. They were married quickly without benefit of rings, but he found a jewelry store when they left the chapel and had one on her finger with what to her now seemed to be an obscene lack of consideration and time. Leaving the jewelers, they went into a hotel restaurant and had a quick meal, and her mind shied away from what had happened next. They hadn't packed for an overnight stay, and she hadn't understood why he checked into the hotel after they ate. Her stomach had been tied in knots through the meal anyway, and apprehension and nerves screamed in her bloodstream as he pulled her by the hand up the elevators to a room.The minute the door had clicked shut, he turned to her and began unbuttoning her blouse. Panic attacked her and she put her fingers over his to stop him. "What are y-you doing?"He brushed her hands aside and continued to strip her. "Consummating the marriage." His voice was harsh."Why? Can't w-we wait?""No. I want it consummated now."Disturbed by what they were doing and his reasons for it, she tried to slow him down and lighten the atmosphere. "Why?" Her voice was soft, trying to soothe him. "I'm not going anywhere."His eyes lifted from her buttons and tangled with hers. "No. You can bet your ass you're not going anywhere." His voice dripped ruthless possession.Her pulse went spinning as he unhooked her bra and pushed it out of his way. He pulled her over to the king sized bed, and unhooked her skirt. "Step out of it."Her mind in a daze at the speed of his movements, she stepped from her clothes and moved onto the bed. He quickly stripped and pushed her legs apart and climbed on top of her. Her heartbeat going wild, she spoke in a whisper of defiance. "Just for two years."It was a mistake.His nostrils flared at her words and he grabbed her wrists and lifted them over her head. Holding her captive, he began to push into her. He stretched her completely, transferred her wrists to one strong hand, and lifted her face to his with the other. "When I'm good and goddamn ready. And not a day before."

    Now, like us, these three lost girls have grown up and are ready to guide us again, this time through the realms of our sexual awakening and fulfillment. Through their familiar fairy tales they share with us their most intimate revelations of desire in its many forms... revelations that shine out radiantly through the dark clouds of war gathering around a luxury Austrian hotel.Drawing on the rich heritage of erotica, Lost Girls is the rediscovery of the power of ecstatic writing and art in a sublime union that only the medium of comics can achieve. Exquisite, thoughtful, and human, Lost Girls is a work of breathtaking scope that challenges the very notion of art fettered by convention. This is erotic fiction at its finest.Similar to DC's Absolute editions of Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Lost Girls will be published as three, 112-page, super-deluxe, ovesized hardcover volumes, all sealed in a gorgeous slipcase. It will truly be an edition for the ages.

    The latest bet is the boldest of all: each must sleep with whomever the others have chosen and return with every juicy detail. For divorcee Abby it's a pair of sexy veterinarians who are fulfilling their own desire. For heartbreaker Blaire it's the one man she never had the courage to bed. For sensible Callie it's an irresistible stranger. For readers, it's an erotic fantasy come true.

    Aaron is thrust into the shocking world of vampiric slavery when Michelle shares her blood to save his life.Michelle's existence as a solitary vampire is also altered when she accepts this naive young man into her life. Bound by her blood, Aaron is subject to her authority. He walks a tightrope of strictly controlled feeding regiments and intense sexual adventures while catering to the neurotic control-freak tendencies of his new master. She vows to eliminate him if he proves too difficult to control.This story is bold and evocative, infusing blood, sex, love and turmoil in an urban drama about two vampires battling evil outside and within themselves.

    She was Bess Walsh, a fresh-scrubbed, middle-class student ready to conquer the design world. And she was taken. Absolutely and completely. But not by Andy, her well-groomed, intellectual boyfriend who hinted more than once about a ring. No. During that hot summer as a waitress and living on the beach, she met Nick, a dark haired, local bad boy. He was, to put it mildly, not someone she could take home to Daddy. Instead, Nick became her dirty little secret - a fervent sexual accomplice who knew how to ignite an all-consuming obsession she had no idea she carried deep within her. Bess had always wondered what happened to Nick after that summer, after their promise to meet again. And now, back at the beach house and taking a break from responsibility, from marriage, from life, she discovers his heartbreaking fate--and why he never came back for her. Suddenly Nick's name is on her lips...his hands on her thighs...dark hair and eyes called back from the swirling gray of purgatory's depths. Dead, alive, or something in-between, they can't stop their hunger. She wouldn't dare.

    Now Haydyn, her best friend and the one person she does trust, is dying and only Rogan can save her.Setting off on a journey to retrieve the plant that will cure Haydyn and subsequently the ills that will befall them all if she dies, Rogan is stuck in close quarters with a protector she distrusts above all others.Wolfe Stovia.The son of the man who destroyed Rogan’s family.At a constant battle of wills with the handsome Captain of the Guard, Rogan just knows this adventure together will be fraught with tension. She never imagined, however, that the quest would be so dangerous… not least of all when she finds herself falling for a man she could have sworn was her no.1 enemy…

    Twenty curses, old and new. ALL THE BETTER TO READ YOU WITH. It's a prick of blood, the bite of an apple, the evil eye, a wedding ring or a pair of red shoes. Curses come in all shapes and sizes, and they can happen to anyone, not just those of us with unpopular stepparents... Here you'll find unique twists on curses, from fairy tale classics to brand-new hexes of the modern world...expect new monsters and mythologies as well as twists on well-loved fables. Stories to shock and stories of warning, stories of monsters and stories of magic. Some might shock you, some might make you laugh, but they will all impress you with their originality. TWENTY TIMELESS FOLKTALES, NEW AND OLD.Contents: *Introduction (Cursed) • essay by Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan *Castle Cursed (2020) / short fiction by Jane Yolen *As Red As Blood, As White As Snow (2020) / short fiction by Christina Henry *Troll Bridge (1993) / short story by Neil Gaiman (variant of Troll-Bridge) *At That Age / short fiction by Catriona Ward *Listen / short fiction by Jen Williams *Henry and the Snakewood Box / short fiction by M. R. Carey *Skin / short fiction by James Brogden *Faith & Fred / short fiction by Maura Mchugh *The Black Fairy's Curse (1997) / short story by Karen Joy Fowler *Wendy, Darling (2014) / short fiction by Christopher Golden * Fairy Werewolf vs. Vampire Zombie (2011) / short story by Charlie Jane Anders *Look Inside Me (2013) / short fiction by Michael Marshall Smith *Little Red (2009) / short story by Adam Stemple and Jane Yolen *New Wine / short fiction by Angela Slatter *Haza and Ghani / short fiction by Lilith Saintcrow *Hated / short fiction by Christopher Fowler *Merrie Dancers / short fiction by Allison Littlewood *Again / short fiction by Tim Lebbon *The Girl from the Hell / short fiction by Margo Lanagan *Castle Waking / short fiction by Jane Yolen *About the Authors *About the Editors *Acknowledgements.