THREE CHRISTMAS NOVELLAS TO WARM YOUR HEART! ON A WINTER'S EVE by Louise Allen Snowbound together, Lady Julia Chalcott and Captain Giles Markham try to fight temptation. But, as Christmas draws closer, their attraction proves too strong to resist! MARRIAGE MADE AT CHRISTMAS by Sophia James Christine Howard's frozen heart melts as she gets to know her new bodyguard. How can a man so scarred and mysterious make her feel so safe…? CINDERELLA'S PERFECT CHRISTMAS by Annie Burrows Shy Alice Waverly's kiss with Captain Jack Grayling makes her wonder if he—and his little children—could be the Christmas miracle she's always dreamed of…

    It was a secret, hidden world. And deep within Edo (now Tokyo) was the Yoshiwara − “The Floating World.” The center of pleasure. And within the Yoshiwara was the Hidden House. The place that only the very wealthiest could afford. The place where the geisha were…special.And in the Hidden House lived Midori No Me. Half Japanese, half foreign Barbarian, born in captivity. She was trained to dedicate her life to serving the wealthiest men in Japan. Defiled at 13 when her virginity was sold to the highest bidder. Possessed by the greatest actor in the Kabuki theatre. Stolen from him by the most powerful Yakuza in Edo.The geisha who escaped from the Floating World.The Geisha with the Green Eyes.

    She was on her way to marry a man she had never set eyes on!It was true. The lovely young widow, Lady Charteris (Delphine to her friends), had agreed to abide by her parents' wishes and marry the Comte Saint Pierre. Delphine's parents had long since died in the French terror, but when she learned of their wishes for her, she believed it her duty to respect their wishes. Delphine would marry, but it would be a marriage in name only.But when Delphine saw Jules Saint Pierre, she got the shock of her life.He was the same man she had seen juggling in the streets at a local fair. What was he doing as the Comte Saint Pierre? Was he posing? Had she made some terrible mistake?

    This exasperatingly headstrong beauty refused to heed the best advice or accept the sternest orders, no matter what the consequences to her social position and physical safety. She was the despair of her distinguished if dull fiance, Lord Babcoke, who was shocked by her flouting of the conventions. She was a worry to her powerful grandfather, who warned her not to meddle in affairs of state and perilous international intrigue. And she was an irresistible challenge to handsome, mysterious Lord Dalven, a nobleman of many moods and masks, who had known only easy conquests on the fields of love-- until he met and tried to master -- Lady Pamela

    With a young heroine, so enchanting, so infectiously spirited that she's almost as irresistbile to the reader as she is to every man in the Lowlands in 1860...escaping recklessly from the prospect of a miserable marriage into a new life and finding a deep draught of freedom, a barrage of suitors and a whisper of madness...a shadowy past and unparalleled adventures, so numerous so dangerously exciting, so romantic...

    Unfortunately, pursuit was futile. Helene's father had decreed that she could not wed before her older sister, Elizabeth, wed. Considering Elizabeth's reputation as The Shrew of London, this was cause for alarm.Then Justin, Viscount St. Ryne, asked for Elizabeth's hand in marriage. If her family wept for joy, Elizabeth shrieked in fury. But in her heart of hearts she acknowledged he resembled the hero of her closely guarded dreams. Poor Elizabeth hadn't the faintest notion that St. Ryne had a curious plan designed to tame her, a plan that would tangle their hearts and would, in the face of unexpected interlopers and domestic scandal, teach both arrogant husband and quick-tempered wife a thing or two about love and marriage!

    Tasked with mending a tear in the timeline, she’s trying desperately to fit into 1873 London. But dang it, mucking out a fireplace while looking like the lunch lady from hell is hard.If she can just keep from setting the floor on fire and somehow resist her growing attraction to the master of the house, she’ll be fine. All she has to do is repeat her mantra: “He’s nothing like Darcy. He’s nothing like Darcy.”William Brown has always taken pride in his mastery of English decorum, but his new maid is a complete disaster, has thrown his household into chaos…and he finds her utterly captivating.Though he’s willing to endure extreme physical discomfort to keep their relationship in proper perspective, her arrival has brought out a side of him he never knew existed. And Eliza has an innocently erotic knack for coaxing that decidedly ungentlemanly facet of himself out to play…Warning: A modern girl who knows bupkis about nursing and maiding in the 19th century, a gentleman poet with a repressed wild side, and inappropriate use of a pair of pantaloons.

     Russian ogliarch, Alexei Rustanov, wants nothing more than to leave his past behind, including the sexy and sassy Texas beauty, Eva St. James, who so callously broke his heart back when he was a poor grad student. But when he runs into her at a wedding eight years after their tumultuous break-up, passions ignite and Alexei decides he will settle for nothing less than red-hot, dirty, and oh-so-erotic revenge. But can he have his Eva and get his revenge, too -- without losing his heart again? HER RUSSIAN SURRENDER: Escape with a ruthless player tonight… When Sam McKinley meets Nikolai Rustanov, it’s fire at first sight. A fire she runs away from as quickly as her heels can carry her. All Sam has ever wanted was a nice, normal family with a nice, normal man. The arrogant Russian hockey player who claims he doesn’t believe in love right before he offers to “eat her for breakfast,” is about as far from that as a girl can get. But some flames just won’t go out. Sam is dead set on running. But Nikolai is determined to catch her, and when he does, he’ll do just about anything to make her surrender. HER RUSSIAN BEAST: Escape on a psycho sexy Russian tonight... HIM: She showed up in my dark world and pulled me into her light. And then she ran away. For six long years she kept herself hidden from me. She is my wife. My siren. My everlasting obsession. Did she really think I would just let her go? Nyet. She belongs to me, and now that I have found her, I will make her pay for destroying me. HER: He’s the domineering monster I had to escape. The only place him and me work right is in bed. And now that he’s found me, he’s determined to take every scrap of dignity I have left. So why can’t I stop wanting him? Needing him? Aching for him? He’s my husband. My keeper. My Russian Beast. And I don’t have a chance in the world of getting out of our twisted relationship with my heart intact. HER RUSSIAN BRUTE: Escape with a scarred Russian tonight… Sola: Ivan Rustanov is a total jackhole. He has no conscience, and now he's forcing me to stay in his remote mountain home as his prisoner until spring. He's no holds barred, and dangerous--the kind of guy you just know has a body count somewhere in his back story. He wants me in his bed, but that will NEVER happen. I hate him. Or at least I should. Shouldn't I? Ivan: A few years ago, having a curvy prisoner in my home wouldn't have been a problem. A few years ago I wasn't broken and damaged beyond all repair. I thought I was dead inside... until she came along and awakened me in ways I never thought possible. But what happens when her past and mine collide? Can a monster like me ever become the man she deserves?

    Sydney's plan requires money, so she goes to Lord Mainwaring to get a loan. Although the lord is too smart to get caught himself, he decides he must keep Sydney out of mischief, no matter what it may take. Original Regency Romance.

    Thomas Winterbourne's blood like nothing else. Unwed, and desperately lonely, he's rejected the idea of marriage due to his singular desires. A Thief Jenny Marks feels no pity for the wealthy doctor who has more comfort than she has ever found in her nineteen years. She takes a job as his maid, intending on taking anything of value from him and any other upper class people that she can. Caught When Dr. Winterbourne finds her pilfering his mother's jewels, he decides upon punishing her in the most scandalous of manners, unknowingly tying their fate together.

    Especially when the man she's now forced to marry is none other than her beloved's half brother! For blacksmith Hal Danby, marrying Joanna makes his lifelong dream of entering the Smiths' Guild possible, even if the secrets in his past mean he'll forever keep his distance. But everything changes with one stolen night, and in the arms of his new bride, Hal wonders if this loveless arrangement could transform into something real…

    Yet around her new client's guardian, she loses all composure. Atlanta club owner Nash Dupree is an infamous playboy who could compromise Iris's heart as well as her case. For once, she feels like a curvy goddess instead of a straitlaced lawyer—even if the evidence suggests what he's looking for is strictly short-term. No matter what the tabloids claim, Nash has made his teenage niece his first priority, and without Iris's help he'll lose guardianship. What began as seduction, a sweet thrill, has turned into something more—now he wants Iris forever. But proving his intentions means winning her trust before his reputation drives away the only woman who has ever captivated him, body and soul….

    His mission: Rescue a spinster from certain scandal as the object of a tasteless wager. But much to Tristan's surprise, Calista Ashton is more sharp-tongued free spirited than a raw country girl --- and more attractive than he ever imagined. Twenty-four and determinedly unwed, she's nobody's fool, and perfectly capable of taking care of herself, thank you very much. It's soon abundantly clear to Tristan that although rescuing a damsel in distress might actually have been an easier plan to carry out, sharing kisses --- and more --- with a strong, sensual woman is far more satisfying. Now all he has to do is convince Calista that she's fallen as hard as he has ...

    He's narrowed his search to five worthy "Potentials"…until the arrival of his aunt's companion unravels his carefully laid plans. Having fought for everything she has, Amelia Mansfield is incensed by Bennett's wife-selection methods. But as she's forced to spend time in his company, she begins to see another side to Bennett—and that man is infinitely more tantalizing and enticing…

    In this collection:FAE-TED TO LOVE: Vanzir and Aeval take a startling turn in their relationship. SMOKE AND MIRRORS: Smoky has to decide just how he feels about humans...and he tastes his first inkling of love.LUCK BE A LEPRECHAUN: Bruce discovers that sometimes, there's a good reason to stay out of the woods.FAMILY TIES: Morio's caught in a lie that he told for love.These are the stories that can't fit into the actual novels.