"Why don't you give up? Go back where you came from and leave Adam alone. Can't you see he desperately wants his freedom?"Kim stared at Ursula in stunned silence, then felt anger rising. Ursula wanted her to go, for that would leave the field clear for her.Well, Kim decided, if Adam wants his freedom, he can say so. She wasn't going to run off like a scared rabbit!

    At last, unable to bear seeing the two of them together, Tessa had gone away.Now, two years later, she was home again, expecting to hear that they were married -- only to learn that they had never in fact married, that after a terrible accident in which Paul had been blinded, Lucinda had walked out on him and he was now living the life of a recluse in Cyprus. So Tessa took her courage in both hands, went out to Cyprus pretending to be Lucinda, begged Paul's forgiveness -- and married him.Would her love be strong enough to stand the strain of living such a lie? And what if Paul ever found out?

    She dared not dismount from the tiger she rode -- but what if she was thrown?Vincente drew out a case of cheroots and extracted one calmly.His tawny eyes surveyed her almost indifferently, as if assessing her qualifications. "I want you to break your engagement to Harding and marry me!""Marry you!" Dominique couldn't believe her cars. "You can't be serious!"His expression was withdrawn but intense. "Oh, but I am," he said calmly.Dominique pressed the palms of her hands against her burning cheeks. "This is ridiculous! You don't want to marry me! You don't love me!"His lack of emotion was uncharacteristic, his indifferent way of stating such assertions was unnerving.What manner of man was he. What were his motives? What extra motivations had inspired such a command?

    "You've wanted me ever since we began working together four years ago. Admit it, Deborah."She turned away abruptly. It was true. She loved Alex St. James, a music-industry executive who had exercised his sensual powers over every beautiful recording star in the country.But Deborah wasn't going to become another victim of his practiced charm. She was engaged to a man who offered her affection and security. It would be foolish to throw all that away - even if she wanted to!

    Then why was he so angry when she did, accusing her of a lack of self-respect?

    But did he know about love?All her life, Gemma's parents had stressed the "right sort" of people. Only once, at fifteen, had Gemma slipped past their biased protection and chosen a secret friend for herself--itinerant laborer Luke O'Rourke.Now, ten years later, Luke was back--a wealthy, cultured, new business associate of her father's with a surprising job offer for Gemma. One she might have refused, feeling sure Luke would have fulfilled his youthful promise of sexual expertise.But her parents' objections sealed it--Gemma was off to the Caribbean as personal assistant to a well-known womanizer!

    Not only would he take away her home, he would strip away every shred of her female dignity."My instinct tells me, Julia," Alex had drawled, "that to war with you might be far more interesting than to make peace."And when she saw to what lengths he would go, Julia's life became a nightmare....

    He'd even nicknamed her "Cinders."Well, handsome prince or no, she hadn't invited him to interfere. And although silently grateful for the added household discipline, Beatrice drew the line where Elliott seemed most intent on crossing--her personal life!

    But it was clear that all he felt for her was the friendly affection which she had enjoyed as a child all those years ago. His love was reserved for another woman and it would be foolish of Amy to try to come between them. And yet he exhibited something remarkably like jealousy when he met the men in Amys life. Perhaps there was hope for her after all?

    She wasn't about to let her publisher, Leo Sterne, open old wounds -- especially the memory of her disastrous first infatuation.It was bad enough that Leo thought she'd ruined his sister's marriage...Now he wanted much more than an admission of her guilt. He needed her to help his deaf young son. And against his will, he wanted her.All Gina wanted was to forget--forget the past, her loneliness and her need for love. But Leo and the boy made that impossible.

    And Devon's horror deepened when she realized payment in cash wasn't what he had in mind.

    She wanted nothing more than to leave the bitterness of the past behind her, but evidently Blair Davenport wasn't going to let her. Blair blamed her for his friend's death and thought of her as a rich man's spoiled daughter. He was wrong--but even if she could get him to listen to her explanations, he wouldn't believe her. It was an impossible situation, made worse by Sian's determination not to succumb to the sparks of attraction between them ..

    But Mr. Allen, it seemed, preferred his housekeepers to be staid and middle-aged, so Anthea assumed a disguise.But no disguise could hide her growing awareness of her acid-tongued employer or help to conceal her dislike of the lovely Claudine who seemed determined to marry him...

    Did I ever ask for it?"Paul's voice rang out. His face was a taut sculpture, chiseled out of stone-as she felt certain his heart was. "No," Domini threw at him, "but you're not quite so inhuman as to enjoy for very long the companionship of a wife who hates you!"She couldn't weep. Tears had set like ice in her and the sweetness of today had turned to bitterness. The rings on her hands felt heavy-like manacles, she told herself. Shackles that bound her to a man who had forced her into a loveless disaster of a marriage.

    Irene may be innocent, but she knows the trail of destruction playboys like Sharif leave behind, and will resist his skilled seduction…. Sharif excels at everything he does—especially in the bedroom! His engagement hasn't yet been announced and he'll enjoy his freedom until then. Starting with the beguiling Irene—she's the ideal final challenge before he embarks on a life of duty. But sometimes even the plans of a sheikh go awry!