But the discovery of a beautiful virgin lying abandoned and unconscious on his London doorstep leaves the hardy seafarer weak with passionate longings unlike any he has ever known. When the feisty honey-haired enchantress awakens with no memory save fear, Sean names her Shalyn, after the beguiling wind fairies of his Irish homeland. But his innocent angel turns out to be a devil in disguise -- an infuriating, high-spirited hellion whose breathtaking sensuality inflames Sean's desires to tame her...and to love her with all his soul.

    All she has is the sapphire pendant around her neck and a vague feeling that she has seen this place before. She never imagined that she would be transported to a seventeenth-century pirate ship, complete with a dangerous crew of scallywags and a handsome captain who is none too pleased to have her aboard.Rourke Douglas knows the appearance of this beautiful stranger is linked to the prophecy that has haunted his family for years. When the fiery-haired siren materializes on his ship, courtesy of the mythical sapphire and a bit of meddling magic, Rourke wants nothing more than to send her back to wherever she came from. But something about Brenna stirs his wounded soul, and Rourke knows he cannot outrun his destiny any longer.

    With the "first Drudgery" of settling the American colonies now well and truly past, Franklin announced in 1743, it was high time that the colonists set about improving the lot of humankind through collaborative inquiry. From Franklin's idea emerged the American Philosophical Society, an association hosted in Philadelphia and dedicated to the harnessing of man's intellectual and creative powers for the common good. The animus behind the Society was and is a disarmingly simple one-that the value of knowledge is directly proportional to its utility. This straightforward idea has left a profound mark on American society and culture and on the very idea of America itself-and through America, on the world as a whole.From celebrated historian of knowledge Jonathan Lyons comes The Society for Useful Knowledge, telling the story of America's coming-of-age through its historic love affair with practical invention, applied science, and self-reliance. Offering fresh, original portraits of figures like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Rush, and the inimitable, endlessly inventive Franklin, Lyons gives us vital new perspective on the American founding. He illustrates how the movement for useful knowledge is key to understanding the flow of American society and culture from colonial times to our digital present.

    So she embarks on a desperate mission -- traveling in disguise to a neighboring land to forge an alliance with the dashing Cairn MacTavish, the fabled "Pirate Lord." But instead of a marriage, a rude welcome awaits the brave, beautiful royal when she is accused of being a common thief -- and is taken captive by the rogue she had meant to wed!Not since his adventurous days on the high seas has MacTavish felt the sort of excitement this gorgeous hellion inspires. He knows she is hiding something -- and each claim of innocence that comes from her lush, inviting lips only inflames his desire for a kiss...and for the passionate night that will inevitably follow. Yet a past betrayal is still fresh in MacTavish's memory, and he dares not trust his heart. Now he vows to learn this mystery woman's secrets...even if he has to seduce her to do it.

    Devon Blackmon, a prisoner in Newgate Prison.In retaliation, Claire is banished to the wild outpost of Jamaica, where on impulse she buys a slave of her own, only to discover that she has inadvertently bought her own husband—a move that does anything but endear him to his new “wife.”Forced together in order to fight the deadly plague ravaging the island, Claire and Blackmon slowly develop a forbidden friendship that neither expected. Wildly untrusting on both sides, they struggle to navigate their newfound positions—until Blackmon seizes a chance to escape, soon rising to fame as the Black Devil Pirate, commanding his Caribbean kingdom and striking fear in the crowned heads of Europe.But the outlaw is not finished with Claire yet, as their paths eventually cross once again and Blackmon takes her captive.Caught in a war between France, England, and their own hearts, will Claire and Blackmon survive?

    But there is something unusual about this stranger. . .and something peculiar about what's happened to Mairie. For when she crazily agreed to go skydiving with her brother, she expected to land somewhere outside of as Vegas, but Jack Delaney, as this stronger introduces himself, tells her she has landed in a different place--and time. . .Jack Delaney has returned to his adoptive home among the Paiute Indians, hoping to regain the soul he'd lost fighting in the Civil war. He seeks solace and a new life in the vast expanse of the Nevada wilderness. Then one day something falls from the skies. It's woman--captivatingly beautiful--who says she's from another time. Soon, he can't imagine losing her, which makes each moment she spends with him all the more precious. . .

    His sizzling kisses leave her longing, but after they share a night of passion, his subsequent disdain makes her blood boil. Nicole vows to take her revenge—by helping her father beat Sutherland in a high-stakes competition: the Great Circle Race from England to Australia.Nicole's scheme is thrown overboard after her father is wrongly imprisoned, yet she remains undaunted—taking to the high seas with her father's ship. But a storm wrecks her plans, and she finds herself a virtual prisoner aboard Sutherland's vessel. And while her mind tells her she should escape, her body urges her to surrender.

    But the sinfully charming Lord Mulholland was renowned for getting whatever, or whomever, he desired ...Paris Mulholland had long guarded his heart with a string of elegant, casual conquests, yet Clara's defiant pride enticed him in a way no coy flirtation ever had, and the prim and proper miss was proving a most engaging opponent in the war between the sexes ...

    Harry, her first mate, is the only member of the crew to have spent a night with her--a mistake she refuses to make twice. Even if he once saved her life. Because pirates can't be trusted. But Harry is determined to make her his... There are no heroes in this dark and wicked romance. Only villains. You have been warned.

    Yet though the swift steel of her sword has spread her reputation to the farthest corners of the map, there is only one treasure she seeks --- the blood of her lifelong nemesis ... Blair Colm.Shipwrecked on a desert isle with the handsome Logan Hagarty, she soon rediscovers her femininity in the irresistible captain's arms. But their paradise skies darken with the appearance of their common enemy. Now the two must summon all their strength and cunning to best the evil Colm, and protect the fierce love that has grown between them.

    Still, Cristabel would soon discover that British sailors were the very least of her worries-for the pirate captain, Bully Booth, owned no loyalty-no sympathy for those he captured. Yet hope was not entirely lost-for where there was found one crew of pirates-there was ever found another. Though Cristabel Albay would never have dreamed that she may find fortune in being captured by one pirate captain only to be taken by another-she did! Bully Booth took no man alive-let no woman live long. But the pirate Navarrone was known for his clemency. Thus, Cristabel's hope in knowing her life's continuance was restored. Nonetheless, as Cristabel's heart began to yearn for the affections of her handsome, beguiling captor-she wondered if Captain Navarrone had only saved her life to execute her poor heart!

    Alone at sea with this dark, intriguing man, moving between seduction and fear, Allegra realizes it will take more than her growing love for this pirate prince to bring peace to her beloved home. For Lazar must face the demons of his shattered past - if he is to forge the destiny that is theirs to claim...

    Power. Influence. Mary O’Malley knows these are the only things that matter in her war-torn country. Determined to win back her ancestral home, she must embark on a journey across the Atlantic disguised as a cabin boy. But her ruse brings her under the control of a dangerous sea captain who demands from her the one thing she will never give—complete and total submission. Captain Richard Grant runs a tight ship, and he didn’t claw his way up through the ranks of the Royal Navy to be undone by a headstrong Irish girl hell-bent on jeopardizing his mission and his crew. If she insists on dressing like a man, then she can take his punishments. He demands obedience, but his insatiable need for her leads to a complex game of sex, desire, and dominance not even he can control. Awakened by the passion Grant stirs in her, Mary finds herself falling for the stern captain. But when her false identity leads to rumors of her spying for the French, she must choose between her love for Ireland and the man who commands her body—and her heart.

    When he moves to take her necklace, she begs him not to, as it is all she has left of her mother. He accepts a kiss in exchange for the necklace. “A fair trade, m’lady,” he tells her afterward, before disappearing.A year later, with a forged letter of marque, Annalisa is intent on hunting down the wretched James Sterling and reclaiming her father’s treasure from him. But now she’s in danger of him stealing something far more vulnerable this time: her heart.

    Born in revolutionary America, she was sold into indentured servitude until she caught the roving eye of Raile Cameron, a renegade gunrunner, who lovingly rescued her. As they sailed the stormy Caribbean seas, Lorraine fought against Raile's wild embraces and thousand teasing kisses until she could no longer deny the power of their desire for each -- and together they surrendered to a fiery passion that blazed on and on and on....