However, when his marriage proposal to Miss Cora Reeve is dismissed as a jape, Bran has to find another way to persuade Cora of his utmost sincerity, even if it means using his tongue for something other than pretty words.Cora believes Bran is simply set upon helping her win a wager , even though she longs for his love. In order to convince him that she really does want him, Cora will have to bare not just her heart and emotions, but all she has. Including things a lady should never give without a promise of forever…

    This spinster daughter of his reclusive estate tenant had secrets tucked in her satchel and a fierce independence which could ensnare even a dashing rake. Regency Romance by Anne Barbour; originally published by Signet

    If this means accompanying an older gentleman on his travels, then she will. There’s only one problem: Louise is about to discover that her travelling companion is not the elderly man she expected, but rather seduction itself...Alistair Langley has no desire to share his carriage with his niece’s newly hired employee. But the matron he expected to find at his door is instead a beautiful young woman, one he knows he can’t travel alone with. After all, he’s going to visit his brother who is pressuring him to marry and produce a Langley heir—or be cut off from inheritance. When he confides in Louise, together they form a plan. But the closer they become, the more temptation beckons...Until finally a choice must be made: Love or money? Or is it possible to have both?

    The Braedon Family Series, Book One. Morgan Braedon is not the slightest bit interested in marriage though his family thinks it’s essential to his future. Morgan needs one more year at the gaming tables to reach his financial goals and then he will walk away from gambling forever. Christiana Lambert is not the slightest bit interested in marriage to anyone but her childhood sweetheart who is fighting abroad. While he is away she is going to London to party and avoid men with marriage on their mind. Morgan and Christiana meet and plan a sham courtship to fool his family and guarantee her an escort. But love takes them by surprise and the game changes more than one life.

    She longed to be free. Pressured by forces beyond their control, will they give in to forbidden desire?England, 1823. After establishing a successful practice in America, Dr. Harry Radcliffe swore he wouldn’t set foot on British soil again. But when he’s named the Duke of Ashton after his callous brother’s sudden death, he begrudgingly returns to the pretentious world he detests. And his pledge to his dying mother to find a wife is thrown into chaos when he meets his stunning sister-in-law.Margaret Radcliffe finally escaped her abusive marriage. Yet her late husband’s final cruel act left her penniless, with her only option to remarry... the one thing she vowed she’d never do again. But the new duke’s startlingly familiar features awaken yearnings she thought long-forgotten, dangling the heartbreaking whisper of a passion impossible to fulfill.Although convinced the accusations that she murdered her husband are only salacious gossip, Harry's real torment comes when he wishes for a union that would make them outcasts. But even when they finally submit to their simmering attraction, Margaret’s dream of happily-ever-after may be derailed by society’s schemes.Can a scandalous affair turn into a lifetime of love?The Reluctant Duke's Dilemma is the suspenseful first book in The Hope Clinic Regency romance series. If you like swoon-worthy heroes, uplifting humor, and heroines beating the odds, then you’ll adore Trisha Messmer’s tale of tortured hearts.

    or worse, pity him. He's become accustomed to the dark, and to the aching loneliness that is his only and constant companion. But while traversing the city in the dark of night, he encounters a beautiful woman who is running for her life. Lady Thessaly Shade has discovered that the prettiest of faces can hide the ugliest of hearts. While Lord Norcross keeps his face carefully concealed from her, he cannot hide the fact that he is a man of honor, a man for whom the word gentleman is a way of life and not merely an honorary title. With no way to repay him for his kindness, for his courage in aiding her at great risk to himself, Thessaly bargains with the only thing she possesses of value... herself. Can she convince him to trust her, to believe that she can see beyond the scars he bears to the man he is? Or will he push her away out of fear and retreat into the loneliness that he knows so well? The Beast of Bath is a 30,000 word novella previously published in the Wicked Fairytales Anthology.

    All he wants is one night to feel like a man again. But when he’s paired with Miss Topaz Gold, he’s stunned by how deeply she makes him feel.Former mail-order bride Millie Townsend came to the Jeweled Ladies and gave up her name because she thought it was the key to her salvation after her husband died. It doesn’t take long to realize she isn’t Topaz Gold. She only wants to be a wife and mother, not a whore. But when Matthew offers to take her away from the Jeweled Ladies, will Millie be allowed to leave?

    After meeting Marcus Worthing, Earl of Somerville and her older sister's childhood best friend, she knows she's found the perfect fiancé . . . for her reclusive sister.Unfortunately, she's spending far too much time thinking about the man.Bonus: Includes the first chapter of How to Capture a Duke which starts at the 80% point.

    Her brother, George, has run off to sea and left the family in her care. Nothing would make her happier than to be settled within the palings of their home, but brooding Captain Carter rides into their lives with news that ruins everything: George has been lost at sea.Learning the park is entailed to their ambitious cousin, Josette must decide between marrying her fickle childhood sweetheart or helping her infatuated sister trap him in her stead. Only Captain Carter and his delightfully spinsterish relatives can stop the Price girls from making what could be another tragic mistake.

    She'd been raised to bake in her parents' bakery, and after their deaths, she had planned to carry on the family tradition. Devastated to find out she was losing her family's business, she needed something to do to support herself. When she received a letter from her twin sister's husband in Arizona Territory, suggesting she come out to be the bride of his best friend who was opening a restaurant, it seemed like the perfect solution to her problems. Tripp had gone to the best culinary school in the country, and he knew exactly how to create the perfect meal. He spent hours and hours coming up with just the right menu for his restaurant, only to be told he couldn't get a loan for it unless he married. When his best friend came up with the solution of sending for his baker sister-in-law, it only made sense. Her ideas of the perfect menu were different than his, though. Would the two be able to stay together long enough to convince the bank he was a good risk? Would Sadie be able to convince Tripp that the two of them belonged together after all?

    Clair has long been a thorn in Daphne Summerville’s side. But when she is forced to act as his nursemaid after a bizarre accident, Daphne discovers that the Notorious Marquess has sensual talents she never knew existed.LADY ASHTON TAKES A LOVERLady Ashton’s friends finally convince her to take a lover for the summer. At a wicked masquerade ball, she meets a mysterious man who fires her passions and turns her world completely upside down, threatening all she holds dear.THE WEDDING PARTYJilted by her intended, Lady Althea Ramsay calls in a favor from her brother’s friend, the Duke of Wakefield. He will pose as her fiancé at a society wedding which the odious man will be attending. But Althea soon discovers that playing a part can set real desires burning in the human heart.Also includes an excerpt from the Regency Historical Romance, SEDUCING THE BRIDE, by Michelle McMasterWith a foreword by USA Today Bestselling Author JULIANNE MACLEAN

    By day, he practices law at the Four Courts and gives reading lessons to the local children. By night he’s the man in the mask, prowling the streets of The Liberties defending the people—his people—from those who would prey upon them. But when his estranged wife appears on his doorstep with a summons from Sir Arthur Wellesley, both of Michael’s worlds are turned upside down. What will happen to The Liberties if he obeys Sir Arthur’s command to meet in Cork? Can he even trust the woman who married then left him five years ago?As a spy for Sir Arthur Wellesley, Joanna Pearson Devlin has executed this same mission flawlessly many times before: locate the subject, transport him safely, and present him to her employer. When Sir Arthur sends her out one more time to bring in her estranged husband, Joanna knows this mission will be anything except flawless. But Napoleon’s agents are everywhere, and Michael is an important part of the team Sir Arthur is assembling to stop them. For the sake of her country, Joanna heads to Dublin even as her discomfort grows. Will she be able to put aside her uncertainties and convince her husband to join the fight? Can they learn to work together again if he agrees?

    Her fondness for her family, along with her ability to find joy in everything, endears her to most who know her. On her annual sojourn with Isobel to Ballydendargan, Scotland, Harriet finds more than the peace and quiet of the countryside. She meets Miss Catherine Dalburn, governess to Lord Glencairn’s two children as well as the children themselves. The two women form a friendship and Harriet grows fond of the children. While Isobel pursues her “secret bluestocking” interests and Lord Francis Wheaton arrives in Ballydendargan to continue his pursuit of Isobel’s heart, Harriet finally meets Lord Glencairn. A dashingly handsome man in his later years with twinkling blue eyes and beautiful white hair, he and Harriet become fast friends, united in their desire to see Isobel and Lord Francis finally admit their feelings for each other and marry. Fate has a surprise in store for Harriet, who has long thought herself “on the shelf.” Are her feelings for Lord Glencairn more than friendship? Can he possibly feel the same for her, especially since he all but disappeared from polite society after his wife’s death ten years before? The Yuletide Countess is a “co-quel” or “side-car” to The Secret Bluestocking/A Lady of Passion, in that the much of it happens in parallel with the other books. However, the point of view is strictly Harriet’s.

    She decides to return it on the sly, but Lord Weylin is suspicious, especially when the necklace is found to be fake. Seldom trusting each other, Zoie and Lord Weylin set out to solve this mystery that involves her uncle, his aunt, and secrets from the past.

    He is weary, cynical, and very bored. Known as the worst rake in England, he finds he has no interest in upholding that distinction, when his friend, the Marquis of Somerset, proposes a bet: "Five thousand guineas says that seducing Miss Elise Edwards will cure your ennui." Because his friend has just lost a packet to him, he agrees that the bet be posted in White's famous Betting Book.The following day, while walking in Green Park, he spies a mysterious young woman, veiled, and obviously grieving. A disembodied voice, sounding strangely like that of his late adjutant, informs him, "The jig is up. That is the girl you are going to marry!" He scoffs, but is nevertheless intrigued by something about the slight figure. He even sketches her and asks if he can be of assistance to her. She declines his offer kindly.At the opera that evening, he is captivated by a beauty across the Opera Hall. He hears the same voice, saying the same thing. The marquis informs him that the woman in question is Miss Elise Edwards. When he meets her, he recognizes her voice as that of the woman in the park. Now she is surrounded by a surfeit of ex-fiance's, one of them dangerously unbalanced. Ruisdell discovers an actual bond between them which renders him honor bound to protect her.Thus begins a train of unstoppable events--dangerous, humorous, devilish, and amorous--that carry his life along at such a pace that the duke soon knows not whether he is on his head or his heels. And then there is that bet . . .