He was a guy who rarely cycled or had an adventure, a guy who was scared of the fairground rides as a child. But one day he changed; he became a guy with a quest. Armed with a bicycle, a toy bear and some optimism he flew to the north of Alaska and for the next two years rode it to the southern tip of South America in Argentina. This is his tale.

    or stuffed. This steamy collection of holiday short stories featuring the Stronghold Doms includes: All I Want for Christmas - Master Will and Gina have been scening together for months, but a relationship is on Gina's wishlist this year. Will Santa deliver?Holiday Tease - Master Rick and Marie have been through a lot, but they're finally ready to return to the club and Rick has a special surprise in store guaranteed to drive Marie wild.(Originally published in the Candy Canes and Kisses Anthology)Little Leigh - For being such a good girl this year, Master Jared is treating Leigh to a night at Stronghold's sister club, Marquis, where they'll explore a whole new side of their relationship.(Originally published in the Dirty Daddies Anthology)Doctor's Orders - Before the year ends and the New Submissives Class at Marquis graduates, Master Mitch wants one last scene with his favorite pupil, Domi.(Originally published in the Love & Vice Anthology)Mistletoe Meltdown - A single moment under the mistletoe is all it takes for Zach to finally understand why Master Kincaid has always made him question everything he thought he knew about himself.

    But their greatest wish is to bring holiday happiness to those around them. To you, our dear readers, we offer these gifts of joy at Christmas time. New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors have mingled Christmas dreams and composed beautiful love stories that range from sweet to spicy, with romance and suspense, to keep you entertained and dreaming in Unforgettable Christmas Dreams. Firelight Confession: .Rebecca York, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author: Mail order bride hiding a secret that can destroy her marriage before it has a chance to succeed. Christmas Delivery: .Patricia Rosemoor, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author: He “returned from the dead” seeking revenge...only to reconnect with the girl he loved, and the daughter they conceived thirteen years ago. A Rancher in her Stocking: .Leanne Banks, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author: When a holiday-happy school teacher gets stuck staying with a sexy, grumpy rancher at Christmas time, can she persuade him to embrace the season – and her? Please Keep Me: .Mimi Barbour, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author: A homeless pup adores the child & his new master falls for her Mom. Christmas Miracle: .Patrice Wilton, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author: Can these two wounded people, an ex-marine sniper and a broken heart nurse, open their hearts to the miracle of Christmas? Secret Santa By The Sea: .Traci Hall, USA Today bestselling author: Now back in her small town, Serenity faces the man who’d broken her heart. She finds out the truth behind why he’d once set her free. Christmas in the Sand: .Jen Talty, USA Today bestselling author: Not only could her dreams go up in smoke, but if she’s not careful, she’ll end up giving her heart away. Lost and Found Family: .Dani Haviland, USA Today bestselling author: Sometimes it takes decades to find your true family …but only a moment to lose them. A Complete Family: .Mona Risk, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author: Her hands full with a little daughter, a ferocious German Shepherd, a meddling sick neighbor, and a charming but nosey boss, Nurse Melody dreams of a happy family. Three French Hens: .Nancy Radke, USA Today bestselling author: When you find something precious —like love— you give everything you own to keep it. Sparkles of the Season: .Susan Jean Ricci, USA Today bestselling author: Two unlikely couples rediscover love and commitment, after a magical meeting with Saint Nick.

     Detective Harry Bosch has retired from the LAPD, but his half-brother, defense attorney Mickey Haller, needs his help. The murder rap against his client seems ironclad, but Mickey is sure it's a setup. Though it goes against all his instincts, Bosch takes the case. With the secret help of his former LAPD partner Lucia Soto, he turns the investigation inside the police department. But as Bosch gets closer to discovering the truth, he makes himself a target.

    So he wants her to answer emails with her shirt off. So what? She worked at Hooters for years to get herself through college and it's not that much different. But when his demands get more and more invasive and he begins toying with her in front of his business rival, Jackson Vale, the job that was just supposed to pay for the lawyer in her son's upcoming custody hearing starts becoming more than she ever bargained for. PLEASE ME: The conclusion to Crush Me. Callie's determined that no man will ever have the power to hurt her again. But the path to getting her life back on track is messier than she ever expected. Especially when the man she thought she'd left behind is ready to fight for her every step of the way. But can a woman like her, having gone through the things she's experienced in her life, ever truly expect a happily ever after? WOMAN NAMED RED: (in the Crush Me universe, interacting with the previous characters) Kennedy: Her name was Scarlet and she burst into my life as an explosion of color as bright as her name promised. But don’t get confused. This isn’t a love story. I don't do love. No, this is a story about a woman with a fiery temperament and passion for life to match her name. She and I were combustible together. Which means maybe we were always meant to burn to the f*@king ground. Warning: All three of these novels contain dark themes and potential triggers which may be distressing to some readers.

    My best friend. My future.Just when I think I finally have my life figured out,I get the surprise of a lifetime.It seems my ex not only has the nerve to still exist,but he also has the audacity to become my new neighbor!He’s even sexier than before (which I didn’t think was possible),and close enough to touch (I can’t believe this is happening).I won’t look at him.I refuse to acknowledge him.And I absolutely won’t let him break my heart again.One stupid trip to Vegas laterand I may have just ruined my life forever.But what if our love really does deserve a second chance?

    This is incidental as it is about neither of those industries in particular. It is about the magic and wonderment of those days as seen through the eyes of a child – my eyes! It is about the days when imagination was the biggest plaything that we possessed. The days when a plastic football provided a whole summer's play. It is about the scrapes that I found myself in and the things that I observed around me, and how they made me feel. All the stories are true and I personally experienced every one of them. The names of the characters have been changed. The reason being that I have no idea of the whereabouts of many of the characters contained within my stories, so I have no way of asking them for their permission to include them in this book. Some have possibly passed away, and it would be unfair of me to mention them without their blessing. Anyone who knows me will know who they are though.

    Then, never having owned a tin box on wheels, they accidentally bought a caravan. They named her ‘Kismet’ – which means ‘Fate’. Half way down the second bottle of CCC (Caravan Celebratory Champagne) they made the perfectly rational decision to go straight from being First-Timers to Full-Timers. Within a month, they had sold most of their possessions on eBay and rented out their apartment to tour in Kismet full time. They called it ‘Early Retirement’ and set out to Live the Dream by touring Europe with their surfboards on their roof. ‘Fur Babies in France’ is the story of their first year on wheels with Kismet and ‘Big Blue’ – their trusty tow vehicle (and toy box) - a Hyundai iLoad panel van. It was a steep learning curve; one that involved lots of breakages and started on Day 1 with a near-death experience! However, Jackie and Mark approach all of their mishaps and misadventures with more than a pinch of humour. And avoiding the crowds to tour France by the back roads, they finally found what they were looking for; beauty, peace and tranquillity, with a bit of windsurfing thrown in!

    Some of your favorite inspirational authors have come together in this collection of all-new novellas.From light-hearted romance to laugh-out-loud love, this set will put a smile on your face and keep you reading long into the night.Jane by the Book by award-winning author Pepper BashamShe lives by the plans. He talks to imaginary characters. Can they team up to solve a family mystery?Crossed Out by USA Today bestselling author Christina CoryellRuth Erickson always spends her morning break doing the crossword puzzle. Tate Darrow just messed it up. What’s that old saying about love and war?If She Dares by Mikal DawnHe’s a board game champion, but can he win her heart?Definitely by award-winning author Heather GrayDating isn’t on her to-do list. Dating a pastor? Definitely not.Under the Honey Moon by Jessica R. PatchA honeymoon cottage reunites a pair of childhood friends. Can it offer them a future filled with happily-ever-after?A (wildly) Wonderful Wedding by Krista PhillipsThey may be the worst maid of honor and best man in the history of weddings…Save the Last Word by award-winning author Betsy St. AmantWhen conventional meets creative, who will get the last word?The Long Game by award-winning author Laurie TomlinsonWhoever said all is fair in love and war never dealt with small-town football…

    Big secrets. Welcome to Sweet Ridge.The Cooper brothers receive the shock of their lives when their deceased father, owner of the lucrative Guac Ole company, wills away their inheritances to three random women, leaving them each only a mysterious object and a riddle to solve. You don't want to miss a sexy minute of their search for answers--and love.Sweet Texas Kiss: Gavin Cooper can't wrap his mind around why country music superstar Macy Young would end up inheriting his family home. Seeing his childhood memories handed over to his high school rival--the first woman to break his heart--stings, especially when Gavin is left only a pair of old reading glasses. Luckily, Macy can't sell the house for one year--plenty of time for him to find a way to get it back. Can a country star and a country veterinarian find a way to bury their animosity and rediscover their first love in the process?Sweet Texas Fire: Gage Cooper has always wanted the family cabin. Instead, his business nemesis, environmental analyst Charlotte Wilkinson, inherits this valuable property with its oil-rich land and its secrets, and Gage pockets a useless key. He'll do anything to reverse this fortune, including eloping to Vegas for a sham marriage. But as they discover common ground and a surprising chemistry together, suddenly Gage must decide what's worth more: the land he's always coveted or a future with Charlotte.Sweet Texas Charm: Becca Nash has no idea why kind, old Jack Cooper left her half of his company since she never had more than a few polite conversations with the guy. Neither does Grayson Cooper, Guac Ole's CEO, who is seething over the strawberry-shaped charm his dad willed him. He goes undercover boss to find out how he can steal back those shares, but surprisingly loses his heart to Becca instead. What he does discover is a secret that could blow apart not only Becca's world but his whole family. Now Grayson must determine whether it's better to follow his head or his heart.Sensuality Level: Sensual

    Problems and conflict may just fade away at a Valentine’s Day Ball.Beauty and the Bounder by Jessica CaleHe's a liar and a fortune-hunter... and exactly what she needs.The moment Lady Emilia sets eyes on the Chevalier d'Aubusson, she knows their fates are tied together. For good or ill, she cannot say. A mysterious aristocrat with a tragic past, the chevalier makes waves with his considerable charm.But the chevalier is not as he seems. There are cracks in his story, and Emilia never could resist a mystery. Whether he's a gentleman or a bounder, he might just be the man for her.The Earl Takes a Wife by Sherry EwingIt began with a memory, etched in the heart.Lady Celia Lacey is too young for a husband, especially man-about-town Lord Adrian de Courtenay. But when she meets him at a house party, she falls in love.Adrian finds the appealing innocent impossible to forget, though she is barely out of the schoolroom and a relative by marriage.His sister's deception brings them together but destroys their happiness. Can they reach past the hurt to the love that still burns?The Beast Next Door by Jude KnightIn all the assemblies and parties of Bath, no one Charis met could ever match the beast next door.Charis Fishingham has always felt more at home at Eastwood— Beastwood, as the neighbours called it, after the flawed child who once lived there. In the Eastwood gardens, Charis can escape her mother's expectations, her sisters' chatter, and her own worries about her future. There, she reads and remembers her secret friend, long gone into exile to have his birthmarks removed at his family's command.Now, the Beast has returned. Eric Lord Wayford would rather face the surgeons of Naples and Napoleon's armies than the tongues of the ton. He joyfully greets Charis, and their future looks to be full of hope.But someone does not wish Charis to wed the Beast of Eastwood and will stop at nothing to keep them apart.The Umbrella Chronicles: John and Emma’s Story by Amy QuintonA serious-minded, scientific man of learning seeks a complex and chaotic practitioner of all things superstitious who will upend his well-ordered life.The Umbrella Strikes Again! Another Bachelor Has Fallen!Dr. John Edward Hartwell needs assistance, though not quite the kind of help he might think. True, he is well-organized, tidy, and pathologically set in his ways—a more serious-minded man one might never find. But in his ways, I have determined, lies misery.Enter Miss Emma Merryweather—a woman who is as lovely as she is chaotic. She is the perfect candidate to compliment our man of numbers and logical focus, bringing sunshine and superstition to redirect him away from a future of certain wretchedness.And now that she has been categorically convinced that they are destined to be together—the signs, you see—no one can stand in her way, for she is as tenacious and optimistic as she is beautiful.Candles in the Dark by Caroline WarfieldDoug Marsh and his candles bring light to many, none more than Esther. They may light the Assembly Rooms even as his love lights her life.Doug Marsh knew what the army expected of him. Invalided out, he struggles to run his uncle's candle-works and look after those dependent on it. A contract with the Bath Assembly Rooms would go a long way toward succeeding at both of those things. The plight of a young woman is a distraction he doesn't need.Esther Hopkins, formerly 'the Honorable', has no time to mourn the life denied her by a single mistake. A woman alone with a newborn son to raise needs work, and she is determined to make it on her own. If only she could stop yearning for the sturdy arms and kind blue eyes of the man who rescued her from starvation and enlisted the entire Marsh Candle Works to her support. But Sergeant Marsh shows nothing but benevolent interest in her welfare. Why should he care for a fallen woman?In the normal course of things, Esther is far above Doug's touch. Can he find the courage to court her and still take care of business at the same time?

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    With one convenient proposal, he could have the Southern beauty in his bed and her birthright in his hands. That's only if Bella says yes… FEELING THE HEAT Their long-ago affair ended too abruptly. And Dr. Micah Westmoreland knows Kalina Daniels hasn't forgiven him. But now that they're working side by side, he can't ignore the heat that still burns between them. This time, there will be no question about his motive—he plans to make her his.

    Fall in love with our Unforgettable Heroes and fantasize about them for months. They don’t come along very often, but when they do, they can turn your world upside down and rip the heart out of every woman who dares to love them. The variety of stories we’ve chosen to add to this collection are meant to entertain you. We present the Unforgettable Heroes... Eight romances by eight award-winning authors with heroes who will live in your heart forever. Donna Fasano guides you on how to 'Take Love in Stride,' Patrice Wilton cooks up a 'Catered Affair,' Mona Risk shares what a wonder it is to get 'Babies in the Bargain,' Mimi Barbour asks you to help her 'Find Me a Home,' Traci Hall gives a lesson on love in 'Dancing By the Sea,' Susan Jean Ricci tempts everyone with 'Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems,' Nikki Lynn Barrett crowns the 'Queen of My Heart,' and Leanne Banks instructs readers how to become ‘The Five-Minute Bride’.

    Dating him was a mistake. Watching him become a drug addict put me through hell. Running was my only option. *** I'm running from my demons and when I find out she's trying to escape her past, I know what I have to do. One broken cop. One woman fighting for her life. A fragile love. Sinister secrets that threaten to tear them apart. They've been to hell. The hard part will be finding their way back together. Pieces Of Heaven Marissa I didn’t want this life. But sometimes you’re forced to make the best of the crappy hand you’ve been dealt. I wanted to teach my daughter that. No matter what happens you face your problems head-on.  Never cower. Never give up.  Then someone took her and I had to put my faith in a system that had failed me, and my hope in a man I didn’t know.  Mick Serve. Honor. Protect, are the only things I’ve ever cared about until her case was dropped on my desk. As we searched for her missing daughter, the last woman I thought I’d fall in love with became my reason for living.  Then the world came crashing down around us. One secret would change everything, but I had one more hand to be dealt. And if I played my cards right, maybe, just maybe we’d get our piece of heaven.