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 ...

     Miss Gail Alton is not having a good day. Or a good year. First, her new stepmother strong-arms her into attending the Season as a foil to her beautiful sister Evangeline. Then, while riding her mare in the park, she gets toppled by a stuffy, self-important, too-handsome-by-half "gentleman" who has the audacity to blame her for their fall into the chilly lake! Little does she know that the very same man will soon be found in a compromising position with Gail's sister. Forced into asking for Evangeline's hand in marriage, Maximillian, Viscount Fontaine, can't take his mind off the irksome girl who threw him from his horse and who can match wits with him at every turn. He's determined to follow through with his best intentions, yet he can't deny that every encounter with Gail makes him want to cast propriety aside-and whisk away the sister of his soon-to-be bride.

    He had been horrible enough to Christiana during their short marriage, and she was not going to allow the traditional period of mourning to ruin her sisters' debuts as well. So she decides to put him on ice and go on as if nothing's happened ...Until the real earl appears. Richard Fairgrave had every intention of confronting his villainous twin who had robbed him of his name and title ... only to discover that he had died. Quietly assuming his identity, Richard must now deal with a maddening desire for his ravishing inherited wife --- certainly a gold digger and possibly a murderess. And Christiana must deal with an unwanted new husband ... and they both must figure out what to do before the ice melts.

    Most are upstanding members of Society. And then there’s the trio known as Their Dis-Graces.Hugh Philemon Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, will never win prizes for virtue. But even he draws the line at running off with his best friend’s bride. All he’s trying to do is recapture the slightly inebriated Lady Olympia Hightower and return her to her intended bridegroom.For reasons that elude her, bookish, bespectacled Olympia is supposed to marry a gorgeous rake of a duke. The ton is flabbergasted. Her family’s ecstatic. And Olympia? She’s climbing out of a window, bent on a getaway. But tall, dark, and exasperating Ripley is hot on her trail, determined to bring her back to his friend. For once, the world-famous hellion is trying to do the honorable thing.So why does Olympia have to make it so deliciously difficult for him . . . ?

    But by night, she writes very different kinds of stories—the Penny Dreadfuls that are all the rage among the working-class men. Under the pseudonym Mr. King, Elizabeth has written about dashing heroes fighting supernatural threats and dangerous outlaws romancing helpless women. They contain all the adventure and mystery that her real life lacks.   Fletcher Walker began life as a street urchin, but is now the most successful author in the Penny Dreadful market, that is until Mr. King started taking all of his readers--and his profits. No one knows who King is, including Fletcher’s fellow members of the Dread Penny Society, a fraternity of authors dedicated to secretly fighting for the rights of the less-fortunate.   Determined to find the elusive Mr. King, Fletcher approaches Miss Black. As a fellow-author, she is well-known among the high-class writers; perhaps she could be persuaded to make some inquiries as to Mr. King’s whereabouts? Elizabeth agrees to help Fletcher, if only to insure her secret identity is never discovered.    For the first time, Elizabeth experiences the thrill of a cat-and-mouse adventure reminiscent of one of her own novels as she tries to throw Fletcher off her scent. But the more time they spend together, the more she loses her heart. Its upper-class against working-class, author against author where readers, reputations, and romance are all on the line.

    Felix himself almost believes this golden image. But underneath is a damaged soul soothed only by public adulation.Louisa Cantwell needs to marry well to support her sisters. She does not, however, want Lord Wrenworth—though he seems inexplicably interested in her. She mistrusts his outward perfection and the praise he garners everywhere he goes. But when he is the only man to propose at the end of the London season, she reluctantly accepts.Louisa does not understand her husband's mysterious purposes, but she cannot deny the pleasure her body takes in his touch. Nor can she deny the pull this magnetic man exerts upon her. But does she dare to fall in love with a man so full of dark secrets, anyone of which could devastate her, if she were to get any closer?

    If she can remain unwed until her next birthday, she will receive an inheritance, and with it, sweet independence. But she never planned on actually working as a servant. And certainly not in the home of Nathaniel and Lewis Upchurch--both former suitors. As she fumbles through the first real work of her life, Margaret struggles to keep her identity secret when suspicions arise and prying eyes visit Fairbourne Hall. Can she avoid a trap meant to force her from hiding?Brimming with romance and danger, The Maid of Fairbourne Hall takes readers inside the fascinating belowstairs world of a 19th-century English manor, where appearances can be deceiving.

    No one looks twice when she lures a gentleman into the dark gardens beyond a Mayfair ballroom…and no one realizes those trysts are not what they seem.No one, that is, but Caleb Calhoun, who has spent years trying not to notice his best friend’s beautiful, brash, brilliant sister. If you ask him, he’s been a saint about it, considering the way she looks at him…and the way she talks to him…and the way she’d felt in his arms during their one ill-advised kiss.Except someone has to keep Sesily from tumbling into trouble during her dangerous late-night escapades, and maybe close proximity is exactly what Caleb needs to get this infuriating, outrageous woman out of his system. But now Caleb is the one in trouble, because he’s fast realizing that Sesily isn’t for forgetting…she’s forever. And forever isn’t something he can risk.

     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?

    A handsome and reclusive horse breeder, Spencer Dumarque, the fourth Duke of Morland, is a member of the exclusive Stud Club, an organization so select it has only ten members--yet membership is attainable to anyone with luck. And Spencer has plenty of it, along with an obsession with a prize horse, a dark secret, and, now, a reputation as the dashing "Duke of Midnight." Each evening he selects one lady for a breathtaking midnight waltz. But none of the women catch his interest, and nobody ever bests the duke--until Lady Amelia d'Orsay tries her luck. In a moment of desperation, the unconventional beauty claims the duke's dance and unwittingly steals his heart. When Amelia demands that Spencer forgive her scapegrace brother's debts, she never imagines that her game of wits and words will lead to breathless passion and a steamy proposal. Still, Spencer is a man of mystery, perhaps connected to the shocking murder of the Stud Club's founder. Will Amelia lose her heart in this reckless wager or win everlasting love?

    When her father gambles away his fortune, the duke's only chance for recouping his losses lies in marrying off Lady Helen to any man wealthy enough to take a bride with nothing to recommend her but a lovely face and an eight-hundred-year-old pedigree. Enter Mr. Ethan Brundy, once an illegitimate workhouse orphan, now owner of a Lancashire textile mill and one of England's richest men. When he glimpses Lady Helen at Covent Garden Theatre, he is instantly smitten and vows to marry her. But this commonest of commoners will have his work cut out for him if he hopes to win the heart of his aristocratic bride.

    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…

    Determined to do right, he reclaims his illegitimate daughter Penelope and heads to London in search of a very rich wife. Abigail Merriweather's farm has been quiet since she lost custody of her four young half-siblings-until a roguish gentleman named Fitz stops for a rest, his rebellious daughter in tow. His etiquette is questionable, his parenting deplorable-so why does Abby delight in his flirtations? And when she seeks a suitor to help her regain the children, why does Fitz keep popping up?

    Quite by happenstance, she's introduced to the Hawthorne family and their close family friend, Anthony, the reformed marquis of Raeburn. They welcome her into their world, but just as she's beginning to gain some confidence and even suspect she may have caught Anthony's eye, she's blindsided by an unexpected twist in her situation accompanied by nasty rumors. Will she lose her reputation when the world that has only just accepted her turns its back on her, or will she rest in the support of the friends who've become like family and the man who's shared his faith and captured her heart?A Lady of Esteem is an e-only novella that gives an exciting introduction to Kristi Ann Hunter's new Regency romance series about the aristocratic Hawthorne family! Includes an extended excerpt of Kristi's debut full-length novel, A Noble Masquerade.