A true romantic, Miss Clara Witherspoon has always known her prince charming would come to rescue her from her dastardly stepmother and two wicked stepsisters. She just never imagined he would show up while she was cleaning chamber pots and accuse her of trespassing. After his wife and young son were taken from him in a tragic accident, the notoriously cold-hearted Duke of Thorncroft swore he would never fall in love again. It is a promise he is able to keep for seven long years…until he happens upon an impudent young beauty who claims they are destined to be together. Thorncroft may not be the prince charming Clara has always envisioned, but she knows that despite his gruffness and cynical nature he is a man capable of great love. Now the only thing she has to do is defy her evil stepmother, sneak into the most prestigious ball of the season, and convince Thorncroft to believe in love again…before he marries someone else.

    Hoping to counter his decision, she rushes to London.Adam Harleston, the ninth Earl of Drakesley, is a man possessed. His young cousin has been seduced by an older gentleman, and he's determined to save her honor before it's too late.But wedding bells are about to ring for Lilah's father and Drake's cousin. Joining forces, Lilah and Drake vow to stop their loved ones from making a drastic mistake—only to discover that falling in love is never a mistake...

    But Lady Emma Tarrant felt she had no choice. She had watched her husband gamble his life away, and when she saw another young man losing heavily, she was determined to save him from a similar fate. So she challenged the scoundrel who held his debts to the one thing she knew he could never refuse: another game.After eight years of war, Lord Colin Wareham had returned home a changed man ... still handsome, still wealthy, but weary, impatient, restless. Then a furious beauty with pale gilt hair dared to accost him, and Wareham found himself suddenly intrigued --- and aroused. So he named his stakes: a loss and he'd surrender the debts. A win, and the lady must surrender herself ...

    They rely on hard-living--and short-lived--couriers to get business done...couriers like Sydney Kildare.Sydney has survived to the ripe old age of twenty-six by being careful. She's careful when navigating her tempestuous clients, outrunning hijackers and avoiding anyone who might distract her from her plan of retiring young to a tropical, vampire-free island.Her attitude--and immunity to vampires' allure--have made her the target of a faction of vampires trying to reclaim their territory. Her only ally is Malcolm Kelly, a secretive charmer with the uncanny habit of showing up whenever she's in trouble. Caught in the middle of a vampire turf war, Sydney has to count on Malcolm to help her survive, or the only place she'll retire is her grave...32,000 words

    That's why she invited Matthias Marshall, infamous Earl of Colchester, to her home in Upper Strickland. Who better than the legendary explorer to help her lay the perfect trap? Her scheme is simple, really: She plans to let it be known that when she inherited her uncle's collection of antiquities, she also inherited a map to a fabulous ancient treasure. She's sure that her enemy would risk financial ruin in pursuit of the mythical artifact. And to make doubly sure the scoundrel took the bait, she wants Colchester to pretend that he's out to seduce Imogene so that he, too, could get his hands on her map.Yet in all of her plotting, Imogene never anticipates Colchester's violent reaction to her request or her own electrifying reaction to him. Neither does she expect that a malevolent threat would emerge from the labyrinth of London--sinister enough to endanger her and Colchester's lives.

    His brother’s murder has forced Steven into a new and completely unwanted role, and worse, he has no idea how to salvage his family’s depleted estate. A rumor that his brother had a son by a woman who may be a) the murderer, and b) his brother’s secret wife, sets Steven on a mission to find her, the boy, and—Steven ardently hopes—the proof of a marriage that will set him free. Confirmed spinster Annabelle Harris is a country heiress with a penchant for taking in orphans and helping the downtrodden. Her philanthropy hides her desperate search for her disgraced sister, the mistress to the Earl of Hackwell. When the Earl is murdered, her sister thrusts her child into Annabelle’s care and disappears. Now, with suspicion pointing at the sister, Annabelle has begun a new quest, to find the woman, and clear her name. When their paths converge, the reluctant Earl and the independent spinster find themselves rethinking their goals, and battling the real murderer together.

    Four lovely ladies will arrive… but only one can become a duchess.James, the scandalously uncivilized Duke of Harland, requires a bride with a spotless reputation for a strictly business arrangement. Lust is prohibited and love is out of the question.Four ladies. Three days. What could go wrong?She is not like the others…Charlene Beckett, the unacknowledged daughter of an earl and a courtesan, has just been offered a life-altering fortune to pose as her half-sister, Lady Dorothea, and win the duke’s proposal. All she must do is:* Be the perfect English rose [Ha!]* Breathe, smile, and curtsy in impossibly tight gowns [blast Lady Dorothea’s sylph-like figure]* Charm and seduce a wild duke [without appearing to try]* Keep said duke far, far from her heart [no matter how tempting]When secrets are revealed and passion overwhelms, James must decide if the last lady he should want is really everything he needs. And Charlene must decide if the promise of a new life is worth risking everything . . . including her heart.

    Upon the earl's death she and her sisters stand to lose the luxury of their grand home - and their place on the pedestal of society - to their stepbrother and his social-climbing fiancée. Forced to act quickly, Honor makes a devil's bargain with the only rogue in London who can seduce her stepbrother's fiancée out of the Cabots' lives for good.An illegitimate son of a duke, George Easton was born of scandal and grows his fortune through dangerous risks. But now he and Honor are dabbling in a perilous dance of seduction that puts her reputation and his jaded heart on the line. And as unexpected desire threatens to change the rules of their secret game, the stakes may become too high even for a notorious gambler and a determined, free-spirited debutante to handle.

    Returning four years later, he meets the lovely Abigail Monroe. Max has something of Miss Monroe's, and to get her property back, Abigail must pose as Max's bride-to-be. But pretending to be in love soon becomes more than just a game....

    Entrusted with delivering a small black box to its rightful owner, she calls upon Graham Wessit, the notorious Earl of Netham, whose life has been forever marred by rumor and scandal.But Graham wants nothing to do with a bequest from the man he holds responsible for his ruin—or with the bewitching emissary who brings it. In the face of breathtaking erotic mystery—in the throes of an inflamed passion unbeckoned but impossible to deny—a rogue's hardened heart may be undone by love...and a staid beauty in straits may learn the exquisite, sensuous freedom of surrender.

    Until he meets Constance. Her strong spirit, quick tongue, and virtuous smile has him question honoring his oath of protecting her or fulfilling his own growing desire …Fearing that her stepfather will find her, Constance decides to trust Stephen and accepts his offer of protection. He is brave, handsome, and his kiss has caused a passion to emerge she did not know existed.Yet, doubts soon arise in her heart, and Constance's faith in Stephen is tested by his lingering touch, for her mother had always warned that Rogues Always Wear Black.The Princess Bride meets Robin Hood in this Steamy Regency Romance adventure.

    Lord Philip Butler’s father wants him to settle down before he can become a landowner. With no intention of following through, Kitty and Philip enter into a temporary engagement as a means to an end. Unfortunately, someone knows the truth and is determined to expose them. Will the ruse turn into a romance before it’s too late?

    Every nerve in Kate's body sings as she watches from the shadows, but is her response a result of the potion...or the man? Luckily, Marcus is far too busy to notice Kate's spying-or so she thinks... As the Earl of Stamford, Marcus has his choice of willing ladies to share his bed. Yet nothing has ever aroused him as much as the image of Kate watching him. Marcus tries to have a little fun with Kate by drinking the elixir-and then appearing to lose all control every time she's near. But the prank goes awry when Marcus finds himself wildly and truly attracted to the innocent Kate. As he teaches her the passionate art of seduction, will he lose his heart for the very first time?

    From a New York Times bestselling favorite comes two beloved novels and one extraordinary novella, brought together for the first time in this special trade edition...

     Includes four Balogh holiday classics, The Star of Bethlehem, The Best Gift, Playing House, and No Room At the Inn, as well as A Family Christmas, which is only available in this anthology.