Book picks similar to
Improper Pleasures by Cheryl Howe


historical-romance
romance
historical-fiction
free

Love's Portrait


Monica Burns - 2005
    It’s an attempt to regain her self-worth after years of a loveless, repressive marriage to her late husband. But the private portrait puts her directly in the path of Morgan St. Claire, one of the Marlborough Set’s most notorious seducers. A man who doesn’t take no for an answer.From the first moment Morgan sees Julia’s portrait, he’s determined to have her. But the woman he meets is a far cry from the image on canvas. What starts out as a simple exercise in seduction quickly evolves into a quest to reveal the true Julia. With each sensual encounter, he employs every erotic weapon at his disposal in hopes of making Julia see she really is the woman in Love's Portrait.

At Any Price


Brenna Aubrey - 2013
    But what she will not be making is a love connection. Her rules are set in stone: One night. No further contact. It's a desperate step, but it's the only way she can go to medical school and pay her mother's mounting hospital bills. Difficulty Level: Millionaire CEO Adam Drake, the enigmatic auction winner, is a software prodigy who made his first million at seventeen. Now, in his mid-twenties, he's sexy, driven and--as CEO of his own gaming company--he's used to making the rules. Before Mia knows what's happening, he's found the loophole in the rules of her auction. Every stipulation she's made to protect her heart gets tossed by the wayside. She can't tell if he's playing her...or if he's playing for keeps. "This New Adult contemporary romance is intended for readers over the age of 18 due to adult language, sexual content and adult situations."

Out of Control


Mary Connealy - 2011
    She particularly enjoys studying the fossils and formations in the magnificent cave near her father's house. The cave seems plenty safe--until the day a mysterious intruder steals the rope she uses to climb out.Rafe Kincaid is a man used to being in control--of himself, his brothers, and his family's ranch. The last thing he expects is to find a woman trapped in the cavern on his land--or to be forced to kiss her!Rafe is more intrigued by Julia than any woman he's ever known. But when their developing relationship threatens a reconciliation with his brothers, will Rafe have to choose between his family and this new love that could heal his troubled heart and secure his happiness?

Stardust


Mimi Strong - 2013
    I would have ripped him a new one, but he was hot. Like I-want-to-have-your-sexy-babies-now hot.I feel like I know him, because I stare at his gorgeous face on TV every week. Dalton Deangelo. In the firm, sculpted flesh. Have I mentioned how hot he is? My panties practically flew right off.Now he wants to get to know me. I can't say no to that face ... or those captivating green eyes.I'm just a regular girl, and he's rich and famous with no body fat. So, why is he chasing me? And what is this secret of his the reporters are trying to uncover?I try to keep my eyes wide open. I've made terrible, stupid mistakes in the past. But Dalton Deangelo's touch turns me to Jell-O.

The Pursuit of Pleasure


Elizabeth Essex - 2010
    When her childhood friend Captain James Marlowe proposes a marriage in name only, she accepts, knowing she’ll have the independence she craves once he sets sail. Though James is the only man Lizzie trusts, she doesn’t trust the scintillating desire he evokes in her.James knows he shouldn’t get involved with anyone, especially with his uncertain future. But he just can’t help himself when he overhears Lizzie’s declaration. Though he’s promised her a marriage of convenience, he wastes no time in seducing her and taking her over the precipice of desire. Yet not even his beautiful wife can deter him from his cause.But when Lizzie discovers her husband has deceived her, James must choose between devotion to duty and loyalty to the woman he cannot live without…

The Virgin's Auction


Amelia Hart - 2013
    She is all out of choices. She must auction the one asset she has: her innocent body.It's a terrible fate but she will face it bravely. On the night of the auction, fate will be kind and give her the chance of redemption in the arms of a sensual rogue. But will she honor the contract and forge bright chains of desire that will bind them together?She looked straight at James. He felt that look almost like a touch, a palpable connection. There was pleading there in her gaze, and desperation. Suddenly he was certain this one was indeed a virgin, alone and helpless. Such a creature was a treasure who should be worshiped, initiated gently to the arts of love. He thought there was no one in this room capable of teaching her that better than he.He was tempted, he was sorely tempted by her. He could very well answer that plea he saw in her eyes and bring her a delight the likes of which she had never known.He could rescue her.James took a step forward.A full length, stand alone novel.

The Legend of the Bloodstone


E.B. Brown - 2013
    Will I still want to touch you when your blood is on my hands? Or will it chase your ghost from my thoughts?" He held his hands out and considered his open palms for a moment, shaking his head. "I think not. I think still you would haunt me." TIME WALKERSMaggie is a modern day woman with all her flaws, thrust back into a time when men were carving out the history of America. She has just enough knowledge of the past to know trouble is coming, yet soon she is kicking herself for not paying better attention in history class. When she is captured by Winn, a warrior who is torn between his duty to kill her and his desire to keep her, she must adapt to a life she had only read about in history books.Winn is a seventeenth century Paspahegh warrior, born in a time before the English settlers arrived on the shores of Tsenacomoco. He has learned the ways of the English and uses his knowledge to ensure the survival of his people, but when he finds a wounded woman in the woods his loyalty is put to the ultimate test.Hunted and feared by both the Powhatan and the English, Maggie struggles to find a way home while Winn plots to keep her there. Maggie fights to survive as she finds herself entangled in the Massacre of 1622, and Winn sees everything he ever believed in shattered by the knowledge she holds. With ties to both the past and future, their lives unfold among the stirrings of a new nation. Maggie and Winn risk everything to survive as the once powerful Powhatan Nation crumbles and the English build a country from the ashes.Praise for the Time Walkers series: The Legend of the Bloodstone - 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, QuarterfinalistA Tale of Oak and Mistletoe - 2013 RWA/NYC We Need a Hero Contest, Finalist"Time travel and romance converge in this tale of star-crossed love" - Publishers Weekly on The Legend of the Bloodstone"This was beautiful! Time Travel at its best!"- Romance Novels in Color"Absolutely consuming" - Amazon reviewer"I love this series. I didn't want it to end!" - Amazon Reviewer"I can easily see where this story could be a fantastic movie." - Amazon Reviewer"My complaint with this book is I couldn't stop reading this one and the next one in the series which resulted in late nights and tired mornings!!" - Amazon Reviewer"An epic historical saga in brilliant cinematic technicolor" - Amazon reviewer

All's Fair in Love & Seduction


Beverley Kendall - 2011
    With scandal nipping at her heels, to avoid total social ruin, Elizabeth must present a fiancé by the end of the Season. But when the viscount proves reluctant, Elizabeth is forced to employ a seduction of a different sort...With his seduction he is determined to ruin herViscount Derek Creswell believes Elizabeth set out to trap him into marriage. After all, her sister attempted the very same thing with his brother six years before. Now the delectable Miss Smith expects a betrothal and a ring, while Derek finds her ruination infinitely more appealing...But as Derek sets out to seduce only her body, Elizabeth is intent on claiming his jaded heart.This is a novella and 29,000 words. Included is a three chapter excerpt of the third full-length book in The Elusive Lords series, AN HEIR OF DECEPTION. The total word count for this book is 43,000 + words. Prior books in The Elusive Lords series are:SINFUL SURRENDER (Book #1)A TASTE OF DESIRE (Book #2)

Anna, Rachel & Charlet


Marti Talbott - 2010
    ANNA -- In love with a woman he had only seen once and could not find, the Highlander, Kevin MacGreagor was growing older and needed a wife to give him sons. No other woman pleased him, not even the daughters of other lairds, so he finally settled for Anna sight unseen. But when his men went to meet her guard, she was all alone and badly beaten. Who could have done such a thing and why? RACHEL -- had a dark secret and even she didn't know what it was. She was seventeen, determined to become as good a warrior as any Highlander, and was firmly against taking a husband. Connor had other ideas. He loved Rachel and when a rival clan took her, he thought he would lose his mind. How would he ever get her back and if he did, would her dark secret separate them forever?CHARLET -- The King of England asked the Highlander, Kevin MacGreagor, to hide a baby girl and save her life. But sixteen years later, someone discovered where she was. To Blair Cameron fell the duty of hiding and protecting Charlet. It was not an easy task. She was furious, head-strong and determined to run from him. Could Blair keep her alive? And if he did, could he keep himself from falling in love with her?

Nicholas


Elizabeth Amber - 2007
    HE HADN'T BARGAINED ON MEETING HIS MATCH ...Nicholas looks very much like what he is - the handsome, successful heir to a vineyard in Tuscany. But Nicholas is much more, for he is one of the last in an ancient line of satyr men. And the dying king of ElseWorld wants him not only to marry, but to wed one of the king's own daughters - a half-human, half-faerie woman unaware of her heritage. Nicholas won't shirk his duty to produce heirs to guard his race's legacies, but he never plans to make his bride his only lover. A satyr's sexual hunger and sensual skills are legendary. One woman will never satisfy him.Or so Nicholas believes until he meets Jane. As spirited as she is fey, as beautiful as she is innocent, she is nevertheless determined to make her new husband hers alone - and she is eager for him to teach her every deliciously carnal secret he knows ...

Finding My Prince Charming


J.S. Cooper - 2014
    Or a Prince. Or the biggest asshole she had ever met.Xavier Van Romerius is the playboy Prince of Europe and he loves his life. He doesn’t do relationships, and never wants to get married. But when he see’s Lola Franklin flirting with his little brother Casper, he realizes that maybe he needs to rethink his ideas about love before the wrong Prince gets the girl.

Thursday Nights


Lisa N. Paul - 2013
    But when fate brings two weak souls together, will the love they find mend the fragments that are barely holding them together, or will the weight of their past finally cause them to crumble?Max DeLucca has spent seven years trying to forget the betrayal of his past. He lives his life from day to day never looking forward and never looking back. The walls around his heart keep anyone from getting too close and prevent him from feeling too much…until he meets her.Her entire life, Janie Silver searched for the kind of love that wouldn’t leave her broken and more importantly, wouldn't leave her behind. She longs for a love that can heal the wounds of her past and give her the future she knows she deserves. She thought she was looking for something that just didn’t exist…until she meets him.Danny’s on Main is where their story begins. A neighborhood bar where strangers become friends, friends become family and some … become lovers… it all started on Thursday Nights

Almost a Bride


Patricia McLinn - 2001
    Right up until he broke her heart six years ago. Now that she's returned to Wyoming for good, what she wants more than anything is to save her family's ranch. Even if that means swallowing her pride and asking Dave to marry her.Matty's up to something - Dave knows that much. Just as he knows that Matty needs help, so of course he'll provide it, just as he has all her life. Doing what's best for Matty is second nature. Even when it comes to marrying her in name only. Although he can't resist one hot-blooded kiss after the I-dos.Maybe - just maybe - his Matty will become more to him than Almost a Bride.

The Rogue and the Hellion


Connie Mason - 2002
    Gabriel decides to part with the memento, but only temporarily. He would track down the thief with the unforgettable green eyes if it was the last thing he did.AND DELIVER ...Everyone knew of the scandalous reputation of the Rogues of London. So when their most infamous member took her in his arms at a society ball, Olivia Fairfax realized his intentions were far from honorable. Gabriel's hot pursuit made her emerald eyes widen and her pulse race, but was he after a lover or the hellion who'd dared to rob him at gunpoint?Either way, Olivia knew it was now her turn to hand over the goods and she was more than willing to give him her body and her heart.

Tempted


Elizabeth Kelly - 2013
    The arrival of her new boss, Jason Young, has her co-workers competing to see who can bed him first. Lucy refuses to admit her own attraction to him, and his rude behavior towards her only strengthens her resolve to ignore her growing attraction. When a power outage traps her in the elevator with her sexy new boss, she soon realizes his coldness hides his own dark desire for her. Jason Young is determined to show her just how good it can feel to lose control, and Lucy is aching to give in to the sweet temptation.Author's Note: Although Tempted was originally a stand-alone story, reader's enthusiasm inspired me to write a second part to Jason and Lucy's story. Twice Tempted gives readers a look into what happens with Jason and Lucy after that crazy first week.