After he suddenly returns, determined to prove to her he's a changed man, she's not about to forgive him, trust him, or succumb to his scorching kisses.A future duke trapped by obligationWill has devoted his life to enraging his loathsome father by creating one scandal after the next. Duty forces him back to the wife he resents, but he isn't prepared for the raw desire she makes him feel. Seducing her will hardly be a tedious task. Guarding his heart, however, is another matter entirely.A marriage of convenience no moreWhat begins in deception and necessity turns into an attraction neither can deny. Can their newfound passion keep them together forever, or will the truth tear them apart? Wicked Husbands Book OneIf you enjoy steamy Regency and Victorian romance and second chance love stories,don't miss the Wicked Husbands series. Fiercely independent, dazzlingly beautiful, and married to handsome scoundrels, these American heiresses are ready to turn the tables on the insufferable English lords they've wed. What happens when their wicked husbands start falling for the wives they never thought they wanted?Corsets come off, bed chambers ignite, the passion sizzles,and more than one stubborn English rake gets reformed by love.

    He's dismayed to discover that she's none other than Lady Charis Weston, England's wealthiest heiress—and that the only way to save her from the violent stepbrothers determined to steal her fortune is to wed her himself! Now Gideon must hide the dark secrets of his life from the bride he desires more with every heartbeat. She promised to show him how to love—and desire—again.Charis has heard all about Gideon, the dangerously handsome hero with the mysterious past. She's grateful for his help but utterly unwilling to endure a marriage of convenience—especially to a man whose touch leaves her breathless. Desperate to drive him mad with passion, she would do anything to make Gideon lose control—and fall captive to irresistible, undeniable sin.

    

    Having seen her siblings sublime happiness with their own partners, she is prepared to wait until she finds her soul mate. Still, she believes the Earl of Allingham has potential, right up until she meets Kirkwood, the earl's illegitimate older brother. He is nothing like his goodnatured brother. Indeed, he is not like any man Audrey has ever met and, while there is no doubt he is extremely attractive, she decides that she dislikes him immensely. And she continues to dislike him, even after he kisses her senseless... It should have been the most disastrous night of her life. It certainly turned her life upside down. Because no matter how one looks at it, a nice girl never falls in love with a bastard... Dear reader - I was not going to do an Audrey book. Indeed, I wasn't going to do a Marcus one either, but a lot of people were curious about to know what happened to him after he returned to England. Actually, Millie was the only other Hathaway I had planned to follow up with (and yes, her story is in the making) but I felt I couldn't let poor Audrey miss out completely so I decided on a novella that ended up rather longer than intended. In fact, this is either a long novella or a short book. Stayed tuned for That Hathaway Girl, Millie's story...

    From hunting in the woods to killing enemies, she was the pride of her father, but the pain of her mother. When she is sent to France to find a suitable match, Madeleine attracts the eye of the most desirable bachelor. James II of Crussol is the ideal man for every woman, but he is not the one that wakes up her passion... Fyn Stewart never imagined that in a court filled with French roses he would find a Scottish thistle. From the first moment, Madeleine steals his heart, haunts his dreams and fuels his desires. But the road to everlasting love is long and there are many secrets that the dashing Fyn must find the courage to reveal. Like his true name...

    But she demanded to be married on her own terms, not as punishment for a romantic indiscretion, and especially not to a common merchant. Yet she was in for a shock when she met David de Abyndon, a tradesman of extraordinary poise—and baffling indifference to her social status. For Christiana has no idea that she is but a prize in a royal deal between the king and a passionate man who now realizes that by winning her body, he may have lost his heart…. By Posession For years she thought he was dead. Then Addis de Valence strode into Moira Falkner’s cottage. Returned from the Crusades, the young squire who was once her hero was now her lord, a hardened man determined to reclaim the lands usurped by his stepbrother. Addis cannot afford to be distracted by a woman—even one as tempting as Moira. Yet his desire for her may be more dangerous than his deadliest battles. For by law, Moira belonged to him—but possessing her heart is another affair.…

    But things go too far when Keefe engages Laura in an artful game of seduction-a game that can have only one winner...Stephanie Laurens, "Melting Ice"Once, Dyan St. Laurent Dare, Duke of Darke, dreamed of making Lady Fiona his bride. Now they're together again-at a scandalous dinner party where debauchery is the menu's main course. But will wedding bells ring after the guests get their just desserts?Celeste Bradley, "Wedding Knight"Alfred Knight will do anything to avoid a scandal-even marry a woman he barely knows. But his bride has a most titillating secret...one she'll share as soon as she conquers her temptation for the man she was never supposed to marry!Leslie LaFoy, "The Proposition"Rennick St. James, the Earl of Parnell, has four days to seduce London's most popular widow into becoming his wife-or else she'll marry another man. It won't be easy...but Rennick has been lusting after the beguiling Julia Hamilton far too long to let her go now...

    But when Rosemary's widowed mother confides that she plans to marry Mr. Nevin at the end of the Season and wants to see her daughter promptly and properly wed, Rosemary realizes she must force the reluctant earl's hand.She convinces her childhood friend, Broderick Loren--a handsome amateur botanist--to agree to a 'temporary engagement.' When the announcement appears in the Gazette, no one is more surprised than the conceited Lord Beverly. Rosemary soon finds herself consumed by conflicting emotions. Will she cry off her engagement to Broderick and throw herself into Lord Beverley's arms, or will she realize she loves Broderick with all her heart?

    When her aunt gives her an ultimatum to leave, Jessamine accepts a position as companion to Lord Kirkendale’s sister—even though she’s been warned her predecessors can’t seem to resist the earl’s exceptional good looks. Can Jessamine manage to hold onto her job without losing her heart?To honor a promise made to his dying father, Lord Kirkendale agrees to an arranged marriage to a woman he cannot love. Although he is resigned to a life without sentiment, the arrival of his sister’s new companion awakens a slumbering passion. Can he find a way to secure his own happiness without sacrificing his family’s honor, or will his broken promise result in the ruination of the person he loves most?

    Discover the legend of the noble Scottish clan called the MacLachlans whose destiny is entwined with the magic that rules these tempestuous Highlands. Savor four stories of breathtaking romance set in a land where love is the most powerful magic of all…Scottish MagicIn Stobie Piel’s Lily, a handsome laird’s passion will be put to the ultimate test in a battle between good and evil that can only be won by true love. Hannah Howell’s Isbel introduces an ethereal beauty whose sensual dream of a tall, black-haired warrior stepping off the battlefield into her life turns delightfully real. Destiny and desire become one in Faerie Princess, Elizabeth Ann Michaels’s tale of the cerulean-eyed Krista and an enigmatic prince who is about to learn that a woman’s capricious charm can hold a magic all its own. In Mandalyn Kaye’s Beneath the Midnight Sky, Stuart MacLachlan awakens from his enchanted one hundred year slumber to end the curse placed on his cherished love. But now he has only five days to solve the legendary faerie riddle… or surrender to the darkness forever.Enter a world that is magnificent and wild, where love rides on winds of fortune… and where passion knows no bounds…note: Hannah Howell's story, Isbel, was also published in the anthology Highland Hero .

    Especially anyone who may recognize him and remember what he did ten years before. So when he comes to the rescue of a strange woman deep in the forest that's been his home for so long, he wants her back where she came from as soon as possible. But there's a hitch.Waking up after a bump on the head is unpleasant, but especially terrifying when you wake up in a strange place with no recollection of how you got there. Thus, Diana Stilwell finds herself at Eastbend Lodge, deep in New Forest with only a foreboding man and his servants for company.Stranded by rains, Diana and Hugh are forced to find a middle ground for their tumultuous natures. But the more Diana sees of this strange and formidable man, the more she sees passed his façade of surliness and into the kind and hurting heart he carries. Can she convince him that forgiveness and love are possible?

    An Indian attack at dawn changes everything.When he pulls his freight wagons into Fort Pitt, Leith McCully never dreams he’ll be conscripted into the militia and ordered to defend the fort. Worried about trader friends on his delivery route, he rides to their settlement and returns with Sarah, the only survivor.Fort Pitt is crowded to twice its capacity with the settlers who have taken refuge there and surrounded by the rising smoke of burned-out settlements. Tempers flare, disease breaks out, and the constant fear of the next attack has everyone on edge.Cully keeps an eye on Sarah because he feels responsible for her. And, though he doesn’t admit as much, she tugs at his heart. Sarah sees Cully as the last link to her past. A friend of her husband’s family. She’s going to need someone she can trust, and she trusts Cully. Her rescuer.Are trust and admiration enough to help them survive the siege and its devastating consequences? Is there any hope for a future beyond?

    Needing a few weeks of peace in order to sort out his financial problems and secure his childhood Highland home, Connor Kenroe, the Duke of Kilgory, returns to his closed London townhouse after a long sojourn in Egypt to find a lovely slip of a woman asleep in his bed. When his shocked mother and ex-fiancée arrive unexpectedly at the bedroom door, he spouts the first lie that comes to mind, trapping himself and his feisty trespasser in a complicated web of lies they now have to unravel.This novella was originally published in the anthology How to Marry a Duke.

    But there’s nothing he won’t do to have me.I was forced to marry a ruthless Viking Warlord.Now, I’m carrying his twins. Grim is big, fierce, and handsome beyond words.But he's a killer, feared by all.I can’t believe my father would force me to marry this barbarian.Could a man like that ever love anyone, let alone me?We’re from two different worlds.Being with him in fantasy is far different than reality.A happy marriage seems impossible.So, I ran. But he found me, put me over his shoulder.And brought me back to be his bride.I hate how his gruffness makes my body yearn.I hate how his touch drives me wild.But what if there's more to him than a broken and vicious warrior? Could I get the happily ever after I've dreamed off?Or will I always be his captive bride?

    So what would society say if they saw her with a copy of Lady Rothburg's Advice—a courtesan's lessons for the boudoir? When his innocent wife suddenly becomes a vixen in the bedroom, the proper Duke is truly astounded by her seductive powers. Following a courtesan's advice might lead to trouble-but will it lead to Brianna's ultimate desire: winning her husband's love?