John Yancey, Pinkerton agent. Right now John has been hired by Noah Harper to locate a thieving half-sister. According to Noah, Cecelia Powell made off with part of his inheritance after their father died unexpectedly in a carriage accident, and Noah wants it back. John’s acceptance of the case takes him from her connection with an exclusive boarding school in Switzerland to a Boston madam’s bawdy house to the 1860 gold fields of California. San Francisco, to be exact. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, pretty Miss Powell doesn’t fit anyone’s image of a criminal. For another, she is apparently living far too respectable a life, as owner and headmistress of an Academy for Girls. Just how much of what Noah has claimed is actually true? Still, delving into the young woman’s background reveals that she was, indeed, born in a bordello; and she has become the owner, whether legally or not, of controlling interest in a gold mining conglomerate. Further investigation finds that she is sharing residence with an older man, Gabriel Finnegan, while at the same time becoming betrothed to one of the city’s pillars of society, insipid and ineffectual Josiah Kingsley. Josiah is neither too insipid nor ineffectual, however, to demand complete financial and emotional control over his vacillating bride-to-be upon their marriage. The lady herself is proving to be an enigma. Finished with what he can, John sends his report, per arrangement, to Noah Harper via Pony Express. San Francisco’s attractions beckon, and he is able to explore the area, getting acquainted with townspeople and businesses. Nice enough, he decides. Maybe he’ll relocate here, settle down, start his own agency. Meanwhile, he has dealt with any complications arising from the Powell case and considers it closed. Until Noah Harper unexpectedly shows up, armed with all of John’s information and spoiling for a fight. That’s when the complications really begin. ***** Taking the High Road is a series of 10 books detailing the adventures and exploits of the Yancey Brothers.

    Through thick and thin, good and bad, fire and rain, their friendship has only gotten stronger—so strong that nothing could possibly break their bond, a bond that, for Ray, has suddenly changed from simply friends to something stronger and deeper… Something that makes her dream of days and nights beside the man she loves, something that makes her wish she were more than just the shepherd’s daughter. Then Billy’s mail order bride arrives. Rebecca DuCastille is everything Ray is not: refined, well-mannered, and pretty as a porcelain tea cup. How can Ray possibly compete for Billy’s heart when his new bride is everything he could want in a proper wife? Can the shepherd’s daughter convince her childhood friend that their love for one another goes beyond friendship, or will Billy marry the pretty interloper and leave Ray out to pasture?

    MY CHAMPION: Book 1 Sir Duncan de Ware is a sworn champion of the common man and a master of disguise.  So when he finds plucky maiden-in-distress Linet de Montfort facing off against a notorious pirate, noble Duncan goes undercover to come to her rescue, despite her insistence that she can take care of herself.  When the pirate abducts her, Duncan and Linet are caught up in a breathless adventure of danger and romance on the high seas.  And soon Linet realizes her only hope is to trust her mysterious hero—with her life and her heart. Book Details A full-length novel originally published by Penguin-Putnam Revised by the author in 2012 R-rated for sensual passages

    Ives into the arms of a rake, an affair that cost her everything she held dear. Though that was five years ago, this golden English beauty still vows that no man will ever again ignite the sensual passion hidden deep in her soul--not even her new husband, Tynan Spenser, Earl of Glencove, a darkly handsome and rich Irish rogue.Known as "The Black Angel" for his wild and lascivious ways, Tynan is as determined to melt his icy bride as she is to resist his seductive charms. Vowing that she will be his in just one hundred kisses, Tynan sets out to win her with a kiss each day--a challenge Riana is sure she can withstand. But the willful beauty has no idea of the power of a single kiss...

    Clues to her past are few, but questions are many as she struggles to remember her past and trust God to reveal her true identity. A task made more difficult by her growing attraction to the man who rescued her. Jared Murphy is a man who lost his heart to the wrong woman and vowed it would never happen again. Until the moment he and his aunt rescued an injured young woman from a nearby creek bank. Half-drowned, she has no memory of her name or her past--or the reason why someone tried to kill her. In his quest to help her, can Jared set aside his wounded pride and learn to love again?

    But when her father catches her kissing the handsome Sir Roland (how else is she to determine if he is the one who will make her feel thunder and lightning, hear bells and music?), he declares that her days of headstrong independence are over. She will, he commands, announce her engagement to Sir Roland—immediately. But in an age where marriages are about alliances rather than affection, practicality not passion, Myriah wants more—she wants to fall in love. And she does not love Sir Roland. So she runs away to her grandfather with her faithful manservant, Tabson, at her side.A wrong turn in the fog, however, leads to the discovery of an injured young man, and before she knows it Myriah is caught up in world of intrigue and secrets. And when she meets the young man’s older brother, the mysterious Lord Kit Wimborne, the sparks fly. Their first encounter—in his bed, both of them naked, no less!—is an explosion of wills, and it is what finally set Myriah on fire.She has, it seems, finally found her thunder and lightning…**note: this is an updated version of an earlier novel written as Claudette Williams. The updated versions of Claudy's Claudette Williams titles are more sexually explicit than the original versions.

    Now marriage to a stranger is her only hope of finding a home where she and her two younger brothers can escape the brutality of the Chicago orphanage where they live. With any luck, she can even start a family of her own, once the three of them are settled at Jacob Creed’s Texas ranch. But Miranda has one gigantic concern: Her husband-to-be knows nothing about the brothers she’s bringing along. What if he calls off the deal when he discovers the trick she’s played on him?Jake Creed is hanging on to his Texas ranch by his fingernails. His nemesis, Alexander Blackthorne, is determined to ruin him. Jake will never give up, but he’s in desperate trouble. His wife died six months ago in childbirth, along with their stillborn son, and his two-year-old daughter needs a mother. The advertisement Jake wrote never mentioned his daughter—or the fact that he has no intention of consummating his marriage. He’s determined never to subject another wife to the burden of pregnancy. But Jake doesn't count on finding his bride so desirable. He doesn't count on aching with need when she joins him in bed. And he never suspected his bride would have plans of her own to seduce him.

    Bridget O'Keefe leaves Chicago to teach Indian orphans and quickly experiences the hostility the Comanche face from locals like Seth Krueger who blame them for the death of his parents. Mary "Polly" Jessup holds onto a promise of marriage made five years ago, but when Joey Carpenter returns from law school with a new outlook and new girlfriend, her future hopes are dashed. Charlsey Ames can rope, ride, and work the ranch with the men and never thought she'd be attracted to accountant Harold Miller III, a citified tenderfoot. Travis McCoy is a nomadic photographer with no time to put down roots, find a wife, and raise a family. But then he meets the unconventional Vivian Sager.Lacey Mather’s delicious cooking is warming many hearts and stomachs—especially those of a closed-mouth blacksmith. But she has no plans to stay in Texas. An expert tracker, the plain Bessie Mae is content unmarried, until Texas Ranger Josef Mueller rides into town, trailing a wanted man.

    Either stay on the land they thought they’d bought or heed the lure of free land in the faraway wilderness of a new Republic. Rife with peril and hardship, three families knit together by blood and friendship head out with a widowed man, daughter, and his slave, gambling everything they own on the prospect of land ownership and working it together. Does friendship pave a way to marriage? Can puppy-love survive through a harrowing journey to blossom into a forever love? With duress at every turn, can the clan stay together all the way to Texas and accomplish their goals?

    This latest salvo in his ongoing practical joke battle with his best friend, Rob Matheson, has gone too far, and Ethan plans to send his “bride” right back home, then get busy plotting his revenge. One look at Autumn Leeds changes his mind, however. Perhaps he needs a bride, after all. A breathtakingly beautiful city bride. Autumn Leeds needs a story – fast – or she’s going to lose her lucrative contract with CityPretty Magazine, so when she sees the crazy video plea for a modern mail-order bride for a cowboy, it sounds like the story of the century. Making a video of her own, she casts herself as the perfect mail-order bride for a rancher, but when she finally reaches Montana, she’s surprised to find Ethan’s the perfect cowboy husband-to-be. Against her better judgment, her plan to keep her handsome groom at arm’s length disintegrates into a night of passion spent in his arms.Ethan knows he can’t keep playing this game – he has to come clean with Autumn and tell her the truth; about the practical joke and about the state of his ranch. He’s about to lose it all because of the debts his mother racked up before his parents’ deaths. Now his sister, Claire, wants to sell the ranch and collect what little money they can. He’ll be out of a home and a job, and in no shape to support the bride he desperately wants to marry, after all. Autumn’s in bigger trouble than ever. Not only has she fallen in love with the subject of her expose – she might be carrying his child. If she doesn’t write this article and secure her contract for another year, she’ll lose everything – her career, her apartment, and more importantly, her family’s approval. The only alternative is to stay and marry Ethan. But how can she trust a man she’s just met when she knows too well that men always let you down? Can a love based on lies last?

    But after suffering at the hands of her greedy Uncle, she is forced to take the only way out she can ... marry a stranger out west. Daniel Sullivan is in need of a wife if he wants the bank to lend him money for his new business. Too bad the only girl he's interested in - one he met during a train robbery - is already taken. Katie is determined to honour her promise to marry her fiancé despite losing her heart to Daniel.

    Feeling deceived and betrayed into a loveless marriage, Lord Reese Harrington wants nothing to do with his new wife. Trapped in a marriage with no escape, the beautiful young bride must battle the demons of her husband's past and hope that she can weather the storm his brutish behavior unleashes.This is a medieval romance novella.Adult-content rating:This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages.First published as part of the anthology Blushing Brides in 1998

    The victim of a violent rape at the hands of a rich politician’s son, she must “disappear” to escape his constant attempts to recapture her. Moving from cattle drive to cattle drive as a cook, she avoids her tormentor for nearly twenty years. When she discovers that the brother she gave up for adoption after their mother died in childbirth was orphaned at an early age, she is frantic to verify that he’s safe. She tracks him to a cattle ranch in Montana.Widower Adam Morgan owns the Twin Springs ranch, but finds himself falling into a life of loneliness. Although he enjoys spending time with his grown daughter and the two men he rescued when they were living on the streets, he longs to meet a woman he can love. Living in the Montana territory where men greatly outnumber women makes finding a new wife difficult. Weary of working cattle, he is ready to make some changes in his life.Grace falls ill on her journey, but she manages to make it to the Twin Springs ranch where her brother is supposed to be living. Adam takes her in, concerned for her health and the reason she’s searching for one of his adopted sons. Their chemistry is immediate and intense, but can Grace heal from her past of pain and fear? When her secrets are finally revealed, can Adam forgive her deceptions and learn to love again?

    Only now the county is demanding back taxes and the women have only three months to pay.Though facing eviction, Rosa falls in love with the countryside and the wonderful extended family who want only her best. They welcome her vivacious spirit and try to help her navigate puzzling American customs. She can't help but stand out, though, and her beauty captures attention. Where some offer help with dangerous strings attached, only one man seems honorable. But when Weston Garner, still grieving his own lost love, is unprepared to give his heart, Rosa must decide to what lengths she will go to save her future.

    Spend the night with him! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lady Kitty Varney runs a discreet business to support herself and pay off her late husband's gambling debts. When Viscount Justin Belmont appears in her parlor, Kitty's latest client is the very man she was forbidden to marry years ago. Kitty questions if she can find Justin a woman worthy of him…and if she can bear to help him wed any other woman. Then Justin lists his criteria for a wife and Kitty is shocked to learn she is among the few candidates suitable. He demands each candidate spend one night with him. Can Kitty deny herself the chance to enjoy the charms of the man she's never forgotten? Lady Varney's risqué business might be her saving grace—but it may well become her undoing.