With one condition: Trinity must prove her resilience as a lover for him and his first officer, Sebastian Cole. Trinity not only sees Nathan's bet. She raises it...Now, from galactic dens of depravity to far-reaching planets of dominant females and strapping male slaves, Trinity, Sebastian, and Nathan join forces, risk flesh and blood, and push the boundaries of erotic adventure in order to protect, honor, and service.TrinityThrallClaiming Cassidy

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh returns to her sensual world of the Breeds in an all-new novella that explores just how savage, and how far, a man is willing to go in the name of desire. Plus three other stories of irresistible passions from three masters of hot paranormal romance.

    Three sexy, original stories of men who are totally off-limits.From the author of the sizzling One Dark Night—three highly charged tales of unexpected desire, from the faraway past deep into the distant future...Here are three beautiful, daring women who find themselves succumbing to the forbidden, overpowering passion ignited by their arch enemies.Set in three different worlds-the past, the present, and the future-these stories will take readers way beyond their wildest imagination and into their most sensuous fantasies.Includes "Barbarian," "Nemesis," and "Naughty Nancy."

    From humorous to magical, from Christmas to St. Patrick's Day to the 4th of July, these stories are alight with unbridled lust, sensuous passion, and hot, hot sex, guaranteed to entangle your senses and leave you breathless.

    They are men of mystery and women of seduction, wild creatures with the power to entrance and enchant, tease and tantalize. Enter their secret world, if you dare...The Yearning by Hannah HowellAlpin has lived for centuries with a lust that can never be quenched with mere physical pleasure. And then he meets Sophie whose own search for lasting love binds them together in a cloak of shimmering sensuality...A Hell of a Time by Jackie KesslerJesse's immortal life as a soul-stealing succubus is over. And now that she is human, she longs to tempt her lover with all her persuasive powers of total sexual seduction...City of Demons by Richelle MeadSeth cannot resist the intense sexual allure of his demon lover Georgina. Yet their love reaches beyond the physical, into a place of complete untamed surrender...Bitten by Lynsay SandsKeeran's existence as a vampire has taught him to accept a life without love...until he saves Emily from certain death. And suddenly he discovers the soul-searing passion he thought he'd lost forever... Please note: The Yearning by Hannah Howell and Bitten by Lynsay Sands were previously published in the anthology, His Immortal Embrace.

    But Newberry faces a danger of another kind: to his heart, by the woman forced to marry him. What will it take for this prudish bounder to convince his wife to stay?Vixen by Jill Myles - A shifter novella of 15,000 words: Miko's denied her were-fox nature for far too long and turned her back on her vixen heritage. But when she meets two very sexy cat-shifters, she has to decide if she truly wants to give up on her frisky side, or embrace it. Because the were-fox in her doesn't want to choose between both men...it wants them both. Kitten-tiger & the Monk by Carolyn Crane - A Disillusionists novella of 20,000 words: Sophia Sidway, Midcity's most dangerous memory revisionist, seeks out the mysterious Monk in the wasteland beneath the Tangle turnpike, hoping for redemption...but it turns out that the Monk is not all that pious, and the turnpike is no turnpike at all.

    It's a city pulsing with every sort of forbidden pleasure - anything a three-hundred-year-old vampire desires. Yet each encounter is a pale imitation of the grand passion he craves. And then he meets artist Taylor Lawson. Feeling stuck in her work as a painter, Taylor has come to the French Quarter looking for an escort to show her the seamy side of New Orleans, something to open her to new ideas. But it's the aura of danger surrounding Jules that intrigues her. And as their relationship becomes more intimate and erotic, it's not just Taylor's creativity that finds stimulation.VELVET NIGHT by Rosemary LaureyPolice officer Vickie Anderson has come deep into the mountains of Virginia looking for a little peace and solitude. What she gets instead is sexy Pete Falcon. Every bit of the cop in her says she shouldn't invite the stranger in. But the woman in her can't help responding to his black leather jacket, hard body, and almost feral combination of sex and danger. For Pete, Vickie stirs a hunger that is beyond anything she can possibly understand - one he both desires and fears. Keeping Vickie safe from the threat hiding in the Virginia woods is going to be tough, but protecting her from his own deepening desires may be impossible.MIDNIGHT COURT by Linda Thomas-SundstromA creature of the night, Christopher Dante is as cynical as he is handsome, and as lustful as any man. He's accepted an invitation to Lord Rothchilde's infamous Midnight Court, a secretive gathering of debauchery and greed. There resides temptation. He has no defenses against the enchanting, innocent, unearthly beauty of Lord Rothchilde's future bride, but his jealous former lover, Elizabeth Rothchilde, will do anything to keep Dante safe from a fate he cannot foresee. In this Midnight Court, both Dante and Elizabeth will have to risk their hearts in order to survive...

    How about a mom...times two? Nora has to find a way to juggle babies, her mate, and friendships while catching the occasional nap. Can she get her groove back? This is one of the Slice of Life Short Stories set in the ICE PLANET BARBARIANS series and does not stand alone. It should be read after BARBARIAN'S MATE.

    Blame it on the moon? Sure. But who's complaining, anyway...Lori Foster "Once in a Blue Moon"It's all because of that stupid blue moon. That's what Stan Tucker thinks as he walks through Delicious, Ohio, suddenly privy to everyone's innermost thoughts, a gift courtesy of a rare blue moon. What most people have on their minds is boring-grocery lists, work woes, appointments. But not Jenna Rowan's super-private thoughts. The pretty, shy bookstore owner is having decidedly hot thoughts about Stan...naked, sweaty, not-for-primetime thoughts. Stan's lusted after Jenna for ages, but he never thought the proper lady was interested. Now that he knows, he intends to do something about it, and this time, he won't be the only one howling at the moon...Lucy Monroe "Moon Magnetism"Ivy Kendall dreads the full moon. For generations, women in her family have been extremely magnetic on that day-which was fine fifty years ago but not in the age of hard drives and cell phones. That's why the hotel manager has resisted the technological improvements her boss wants her to implement. Now, the sexy, dynamic Blake Hawthorne is coming to insist on the upgrades in person. Shoot, he'll probably fire her. Being around Blake makes her body go as haywire as a full moon, maybe even more. And as long as she's going to be out of a job soon, there's no reason not to use a little of that magnetism to her advantage, luring him into an elevator where the only electricity that will work is the kind they generate themselves...Dianne Castell "Moonstruck"For years, Julia Simon has had the worst luck, married to a man who cheated on her left, right, and center. Now, the pretty divorcee is ready for her luck to change, and it is...big time. Ever since she unknowingly performed a Blue Moon ritual, Julia's wishes seem to be coming true. So why not wish for wild, unbridled passionate sex with hunky P.I. Marc Adams? Well, because when it happens, it's so amazingly good, that's why. Now, with the blue moon due to end in three days' time, Julia can only wonder if it's just a spell or the start of a whole new life... Be careful of wishful thinking. It just might get you everything.

    This is writing which is more direct, less euphemistic, and frankly accepting of sexuality.

    HamiltonAnita is attending a friend's wedding when Nathaniel, her pomme de sang, makes known in no uncertain terms that he wants to take the relationship to the next level. Anita's subsequent actions take her to a place she has hitherto carefully avoided.***This short story is a condensed version of Incubus Dreams, book 12 in the Anita Blake series! "Dead Girls Don't Dance," by MaryJanice DavidsonVampire Andrea Mercer is literally dug up by an old crush, Daniel Harris, and during a trip to Minnesota to see the vampire queen, her desire for him reignites."Originally Human" by Eileen WilksSuccubus Molly Brown discovers a gorgeous, naked man in the woods and decides to help him recover his memory."Burning Moon" by Rebecca YorkAll werewolf Grant Marshall wants to do is rip out the throat of the man who killed his wife–then swim out into the Atlantic Ocean and never come back. He tracks his wife’s killer to a small New Jersey seaside town, where he meets Antonia, a blind tarot card reader--the woman with the power to change his fate.

    Butcher and Stephanie Tyler and Larissa Ione, writing as Sydney Croft. Sydney Croft's special forces couple, Annika and Creed, work for the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives (ACRO), all of whose members have special powers, while Shannon K. Butcher's hero is an ex-Navy SEAL. But these fighting men and women have a gentler, protective side; hard-edged weapons when on active duty, they can be caring lovers, of special forces teammates or the civilians they protect.

    She wakes to it every morning, skin-to-skin with the hard male body of the quiet, powerful telepath who is her mate. Lean muscle and rough heat, Walker is the only man she has ever wanted to call her own. But being mated to a man formed in the ice-cold cage of the PsyNet has its challenges.Born into a race where emotion is a crime, Walker’s will is a creation of cold steel. Scarred by the life he has lived, the terrible choices he was forced to make, he never expected to find happiness. Now, his heart belongs to Lara and he will fight to the death to protect the bond between them . . . even knowing he might have been too long in the ice of the PsyNet to give her what she needs.Before Lara and Walker can claim the wild promise of their future, they must first face the painful shadows of the past . . . Timeline: Takes place some time after Kiss of Snow.This story can be found in the short story anthology Wild Invitation.

    Crazy were-cats or not, an evening at Genesis is exactly what she needs. And when she meets the hotter than hot, super-sexy owner, Alex O’Connell, the alpha lion shifter is just the man to fit the bill for a one-night stand.Dumped like a rotting piece of meat by her ex, Maya is on the prowl, fixin' to do whatever it takes to get herself a piece of the gorgeous fur-ball. Besides, what’s the harm in a girl having a little bit of fun?

    Twenty-three years old and gorgeous he had appeared like Romeo from the pool area and thrown supplies up to her balcony. But now Angus is gone – abandoned her, which is probably for the best. She couldn’t stand to watch him die too.Stranded four floors up and fenced in on all sides by the infected, food and water supplies are running as low as Natalie’s spirits. A lingering death from starvation seems inevitable.But then she sees Angus striding for the pool gate with a sawn-off shotgun in his hands. Can he make it past the infected to reach her? And what will it mean if he does?