But she was stunned by the magnificently handsome man who awaited her amid the silk and splendor. His piercing emerald eyes held her in their power; his muscular embrace made her weak with desire even as she defied him. She was his to do with as he would. Yet this mysterious stranger - whose eastern garb concealed his true identity - touched her only with tenderness, driving her wild with new sensation, his scorching kisses igniting the fires of her very soul... and sweeping her beyond the harem walls into a palace of love's eternal dream.

    Against her better judgment, however, she is powerfully drawn to the elusive and dangerous Lucien, whose hard-hearted façade hides a tragedy that is slowly devouring him from within.As Lucien and Madeline circle each other in a magnetic play of desire and denial, their passion will rise to a crescendo of longing and sacrifice that will change their fates forever.

    . .Handsome as sin and scandalously rakish, Cam Westfall, the Earl of Bedwyr, is every young lady's wickedest dream. Shy wallflower Princess Jacqueline of Sensaire knows this better than anyone, because her dreams are full of the breathtaking earl's kisses. And not only her dreams—her diary, too.But when Cam discovers the maiden's not-so-maidenly diary, will her wildest Christmas wishes be fulfilled in its pages . . . or in his arms?

    But he can't find his way alone.A partner is required.Fantine (Fanny) Delarive is perfect. She knows the slums better than any, has survived its labyrinth alone for years, and knows every criminal lurking in every dark corner.Then, the investigation detours the pair into the bright ballrooms of the ton.And Fantine fits in here, too.Which changes everything.Lord Chadwick knows a woman of Fantine's ilk is entirely unsuitable for him. But she's infinitely more exciting than any well-born lady he's ever met.Now much more than an acquaintance with the independent, self-reliant Fantine is required... and it must end with nothing less than marriage.

    Now that she's suddenly husbandless and penniless, where else would she, her addled father, and spinster aunt reside? Yet who should appear but Nicholas Caulfield, the new Brookshire heir, claiming the estate is rightfully his by law. The brute is as arrogant as he is handsome—besides, he's supposed to be dead. And the only plan resourceful Meredith can devise to save her family from homelessness is a desperate scheme that may lead her to salvation or ruin...and the bed of the man she has vowed to hate.A reluctant aristocrat, Nick does not trust this fiery, infuriating chit whom he suspects of subterfuge—yet who bewitches him with her innocent green eyes. The sooner he can get this tempting beauty married off to some stodgy old blueblood—and off his hands for good—the better. There is one slight problem, however: Nick can't bear the thought of her wedding any man but him.

    . . One passionate woman. Enter the world of Mary Balogh—the glittering ballrooms and vast country estates of Regency-era England, where romance, with all its mystery, magic, and surprises, comes vibrantly alive. It was a perfect morning in May... Neville Wyatt, Earl of Kilbourne, awaited his bride at the altar—when a ragged beggar woman raced down the aisle instead. The cream of the ton saw him stare, shocked, then declare that this was his wife! One night of passion was all he remembered as he beheld Lily, the woman he'd wed, loved, and lost on the battlefield in Portugal. Now he said he'd honor his commitment to her—regardless of the gulf that lay between them. Then Lily spoke her mind... She said she wanted only to start a new life—wanted only a husband who truly loved her. She had to leave him to learn how to meet his world on her terms. So Lily agreed to earn her keep as his aunt's companion and study the genteel arts. Soon she was the toast of the ton, every inch a countess fit for the earl, who vowed to prove to his remarkable wife that what he felt for her was far more than desire, that what he wanted from her was much more than... One Night for Love .

    Though she knows nothing of men, Diana longs to pen a romantic novel. So she resolves to study the darkly handsome, scandalously seductive lord's every move, to experience the pleasures of his soft kisses and sensuous caresses ... all in the name of research.Who is this infuriating female who is everywhere he turns? Edmond is used to fawning admirers, but this attractive chit seems interested in something other than passion. And the more immune she remains to Edmond's charms, the more enchanted he is by hers. Well, this calls for a serious seduction, for he will be bested by no woman, no matter how bright, witty and delightful! But once he sets Diana's desires gloriously free, how will Edmond contain the yearnings of his own traitorous heart?

    And of all London's ladies, he wanted the tender obedience of only one--Caroline Richmond.She was a ravishing beauty from Boston, with a mysterious past and a fiery spirit. Drawn to the powerful duke, undeterred by his presumptuous airs, Caroline was determined to win his lasting love. But Bradford would bend to no woman--until a deadly intrigue drew them enticingly close. Now, united against a common enemy, they would discover the power of the magnificent attraction that brought them together...a desire born in danger, but destined to flame into love!

    However, once we do, life opens up. In ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL, I wrote a heroine who, in spite of her fears, her doubts, was willing to risk all—and met a man who fell in love with her spirit. Isn’t that what we all want?”—Cathy Maxwell Lady Julia Markham was the toast of London Society—until an ill-advised attempted elopement ended in betrayal and left her good name in tatters. Now ruined, penniless, and desperate, she has agreed to wed the magnetic and possibly dangerous Brader Wolf. A dashing, phenomenally successful self-made businessman, Brader wants this union to help gain him entry into the drawing rooms of the aristocracy, nothing more. Julia, however, is a woman of rare passion and daring, irresistibly drawn to this enigmatic, infuriating man, and no mere marriage of mutual convenience will do. But how far will the spirited beauty have to go to satisfy a heart that will settle for no less than the love of a lifetime?

    But the handsome warrior also exudes an aura of dangerous sensuality... and soon Alanna realizes that for this hunter, she is the irresistible prey. HE WAS DESIRE Then war rages across the land, sweeping Alanna from a sprawling Virginia estate to the rugged Ohio Valley. Here, in the deep forests of frontier America, she will find Hunter again - and discover a love as wild as it is forbidden...Previously Titled: Beloved

    A man of intense passions, he resolved to deny his emotions and desires forever, taking refuge in the wilds of the moorlands and shutting himself off from the world. But on one extraordinary night, on a rare trip to London, the unthinkable occurs. An intoxicatingly beautiful stranger stirs the sensuous hunger he has sworn to resist. Simon Blackwell believed that no woman could tempt him. No woman . . . save Annabel McBride. Annabel knows nothing of Simon's secret pain. But one irresistible kiss plunges her into marriage with a man she scarcely knows, a man who hides a shattered past. She can feel the blistering heat of the fire that smolders within this exquisitely handsome man, making her yearn for much more than the union in name only he has promised her. But Simon dares not love again—for fragile love can be lost in an instant. And now Annabel must find a way to open his heart to the most glorious risk of all . . .

    The headstrong mapmaker has been a source of irritation—and forbidden attraction—for years.A damsel in distress?Lady Hester doesn’t need rescuing. She’s far too busy enjoying her freedom to return to the stuffy confines of London. Besides, handsome scoundrel Harry Tremayne is the last man she wants to see; she’s still plagued by the memory of their one, unforgettable kiss.A deadly curse.When Hester discovers a necklace in the sand—one which may or may not be cursed by an ancient Egyptian goddess—the two are thrust into an adventure that takes them from the desert’s seductive heat to the perils of Napoleonic France. Can they ignore their inconvenient attraction long enough to save the world? The answer may just lie in the promise of a single kiss.

    Now, Madeline is free to enter the home of a notorious gambler, and pretends to be meek, humble, and competent with an iron. She is, of course, none of those things; she simply is resolved to win her family's fortune back. Just when she thinks matters can't get worse, she meets Gabriel Ansell, the earl of Campion, and they do. Horribly worse.Four years ago, Madeline was engaged to Gabriel, and worshipped his arrogant kisses. Now, being forced to marry a man she doesn't know pales in comparison to the ordeal of facing Gabriel again, the man who betrayed her -- Gabriel, the only man she ever loved.

    A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by the removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder. —The Devil's Dictionary, Ambrose BierceA Courageous Outcast...Rosamunde Baird has lost everything and has no choice but to accept an invitation to spend a season with a dowager duchess and her clandestine ladies club. Determined to stay in the shadows and live quietly, she has sworn never again to come face to face with adventure and temptation, two things that brought her ruin years ago. But then the Duke of Helston dangles before her the very things she craves most.Lord Fire & Ice...Mysterious Luc St. Aubyn has a much-deserved reputation for exuding blistering passion at night and frost the morning after. What demons drive this audacious war hero to hide secrets about the dowager's club and his devilish dictionary? When he's blindsided by his reactions to a virtuous siren, he has no choice but to reveal all during a scandal that will doom them...or save them, if only they dare to believe in love.

    But the arrival of darkly handsome Collin Blackburn awakens her curiosity and her desire - and the advantage of being a fallen woman is that she can be ruined only once...After a promise sworn to his father, Collin Blackburn is compelled to seek the aid of the woman who brought about his brother's death in a senseless duel. Yet Lady Alexandra is not the shameless femme fatale he expected. In fact, Collin suspects she is guilty of nothing more than a hunger to experience passion, and the brawny Scot is certainly equipped to oblige. But the quick-witted, keenly sensual Alexandra has a few lessons of her own to impart - on life, love, and the delicious joys of succumbing to temptation...