He is also a widower content with single state. When asked by Queen Matilda to make a political alliance through marriage to Gwyneth of Northumbria, he is both dumbfounded and aggrieved. But then he lays eyes on the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Gwyneth of Northumbria is a new captive in the court. She is truly appalled when she meets the brute she is to wed, a man with no manners and no tact. But she quickly discovers that what her husband lacks in charm, he makes up for in brute masculinity. The political forces that brought Gwyneth to the court are still blowing through the kingdom. King Stephen clings to his throne, but a young, upstart Henry is gathering forces and followers. Simon will forever be Stephen’s man but he cannot be sure of where Gwyneth’s loyalties lie. When he suspects her of being a spy in Stephen’s court, the fragile bond they have been able to form is threatened. But Gwyneth knows who the real spy is, and this villain is set on destroying both her and Simon. Can she expose this spy’s treachery in time?

    There’s no issue he cannot fix…except for one: the beautiful and reckless daughter of an important client who doesn’t seem to understand the word danger.She’s not looking for a hero…Excitement lay just below Forty-Second Street and Mamie Greene is determined to explore all of it—while playing a modern-day Robin Hood along the way. What she doesn’t need is her father’s lawyer dogging her every step and threatening her efforts to help struggling families in the tenements.However, she doesn’t count on Frank’s persistence…or the sparks that fly between them. When fate upends all her plans, Mamie must decide if she’s willing to risk it all on a rogue…

    Blackmailed by the Mad Duke of Thornwood into accepting one wild dare after another...all because of a pocket watch. Desperate to recover her beloved father's pawned timepiece, Lily did something reckless and dangerous and delicious—something that led to a night she'd never forget.He has a Reputation for ScandalWhen Devon Grey, Duke of Thornwood, runs into a mesmerizing, intoxicating, thieving woman who literally stole from his bedchamber—with his new pocket watch—Devon plots his revenge. If the daring wench likes to play games, he's happy to oblige. After all, what's the use of being the Mad Duke if you can't have some fun? But the last laugh might just be on him...

    . . with help from Meg CabotHe's a tall, handsome knight with a secret. She's an adventurous beauty with more than a few secrets of her own. Finnula needs money for her sister's dowry, and fast. Hugo Fitzstephen, returning home to England from the Crusades with saddlebags of jewels, has money, and lots of it. What could be simpler than to kidnap him and hold him for ransom?Well, for starters, Finnula could make the terrible mistake of falling in love with her hostage.Princess Mia Thermopolis, Meg Cabot's most beloved character, has always been an outspoken animal-rights activist and committed environmentalist. In keeping with Mia's true spirit, Meg will be donating her advance to Greenpeace.

    She’s content with her small home and a friendly village—until a cloaked and crippled Beast rides into her orchard. Badly scarred in heart and soul, Viscount Graham Trevelyan has no use for love. He has a need for revenge and a child to protect. The compassionate innocent who doesn’t flee his fierce visage is the perfect mother his silent daughter needs. Penelope understands the wisdom of a marriage of convenience to save her home. But how can she protect her heart from the gruff man who shows her kindness, only to keep her at a distance? And how long can Graham stay away from a courageous woman who dares tell him when he’s wrong—and threatens to desert him should he continue down his dangerous path?

    A compelling, sweet romance... A story of passion and love in Medieval England. Gruff, brooding Lord Bernard of Derkland needs to find a wife, if for no other reason than to satisfy his father and his incessant badgering. He has no interest in marrying, but when he meets the beautiful and gentle Joanna of Swerthmore, he immediately knows she is the one. The only problem is: she's already wed...to a monster. Readers who like Roberta Gellis, Catherine Coulter, Tina St. John, and Paula Quinn will enjoy this book of romance about ladies, lords, knights and castles.

    Though custom dictates she wed her father’s apprentice, her heart rebels against the match. In mere days Amy will be condemned to a stifling, loveless marriage, and she sees no way out—until the devastating fire of 1666 sweeps through London, and tragedy lands her in the arms of a dashing nobleman who knows a diamond in the rough when he sees it…Colin Chase, the Earl of Greystone, has his future all figured out. He’s restoring his crumbling castle and estate to its former glory, and the key to its completion is his rich bride-to-be. But the Great Fire lays waste to his plans, saddling him with trouble—in the form of a lowly shopkeeper’s daughter with whom he’s most inconveniently falling in love...

    on their wedding day, twelve years ago.For years, naive, convent-bred Juliana dreaded being summoned to the side of the man she wed as a child so long ago. Now her husband, Sebastian, Earl of Langlinais, has become ensnared in his villainous brother's wicked plots—and has no choice but to turn to his virgin bride for help.Juliana now finds herself face-to-face with a man so virile and so powerful that she's fascinated by him—just as he asks her to go against everything she holds true. Sebastian never counted on being enchanted by the beauty of this innocent angel he intended to keep as wife in name only—and he dares not reveal to her the secret reason why their love can never be . . .

    Fortunately, Fiona's identical twin sister Aliss also cannot imagine a worse fate than a forced marriage and the two boldly concoct an outlandish scheme –– to become indistinguishable to the groom –– and it works.Tarr, frustrated that he cannot tell the difference between Fiona and Aliss, nevertheless finds himself drawn to a particular twin. Unfortunately, as soon it becomes clear to him that Fiona is the one who has captured his heart, Tarr must battle with an unexpected enemy to keep his newfound love.

    His ran dirt poor and red. That didn't matter to them. But it did to those whose devious trap destroyed their young love.From Innocence to EcstasyAs the Civil War raged, a different kind of war exploded in Mary Ellen Preble's mansion on the Mississippi. Captain Clay Knight had returned, seizing her home as Union headquarters, captivating her body with a fire unquenched by time. How long could she fight the ecstasy of loving this cold-hearted, hot-blooded man who wanted her back in his bed...but never back in his heart?

    . . The bastard son of a Norman nobleman, Robert Beaumont has blossomed into one of England's fiercest killers--and has found himself well paid for his talents. But now the time has come for him to set aside his sword. The king has agreed to reward him for his last service with an estate. . .on one condition: Robert must marry the sitting tenant--the infamous Lady Deformed. For years, Imogen Colebrook has lived in the ramshackle Saxon keep, the virtual prisoner of her cruel, sadistic brother, the man responsible for her deformity--and for wedding her to a dangerous man. Yet, on Robert's arrival, Imogen nearly brings the hardened warrior to his knees. For she is a vision of unparalleled beauty--living in a world without sight. Drawn to her courageous spirit, Robert gently draws Imogen out of her tortured past. But with her brother always lurking in the shadows, Imogen's newfound sanctuary in Robert's arms is in danger of being destroyed--unless her salvaged heart can find a way out of the darkness. . .

    When his betrothed, Miss Mary Chartley, flees, taking the money and all the evidence with her, he's outraged. He plans to bring the woman he once loved to account--and he’ll shed no tears when he does.But when he finds Mary, she's not living a life of luxury. Instead, she's serving as a companion in exchange for a pittance. The more he attempts to untangle the truth, the more he remembers why he first loved Mary...and how much he wishes he could do so again.What Happened at Midnight was previously published in the anthology Midnight Scandals.

    Desperate for peace, Radford is ambushed by his unexpected and forbidden love for Evelyn—his brother's fiancée.

    Now he is bound by duty to get an heir. Unfortunately, to get the heir, he must find a wife. As luck would have it, he gets caught in a scandalous situation not of his doing, and the next thing he knows, he's married...and to a lady whose family is reported to desire money above all else.Miss Claire Lowell wanted to get married. But she never intended to marry a gentleman who felt trapped into it, and she certainly never thought her family would have a hand in the scandal that forced Lord Roderick's hand in marriage. Can love find a way to thrive under such conditions or will her father's eagerness to see her married off to an earl condemn her to a loveless marriage?

    Attacked and disabled by a broken leg, he rents a room in the humble home of Joanna Chapman, a silk merchant’s widow. Joanna, having learned not to trust handsome, charming devils like Graeham, lets him think her husband is still alive in order to keep him at a distance. Mindful of his mission—and the promised reward—Graeham tries to resist his feelings for Joanna, but the white-hot desire simmering between them cannot be denied.Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window