THEY'RE BETTEROpen the pages of this superb book and enter the world of the bad boys of romance. Make a date with a bevy of colorful rakes and devilish rogues in five exquisitely sexy stories by some of the most beloved, highly acclaimed authors of romantic fiction. Here are men who are "mad, bad, and dangerous to know"--sly Romeos, devious dandies, sexy scoundrels, and darkly forbidding heroes--all outlaws of the heart who are used to getting their way ... until true love steps in. Let these five extraordinary talents introduce you to some of the most exciting and infuriating, passionate and unpredictable men ever to take your breath away. Includes:"The Wrong Door" by Mary Balogh"Hide-and-Seek" by Melinda McRae"Highway Robbery" by Anita Mills"Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know" by Mary Jo Putney"Cats-Paw" by Maura Seger

     Mindy Sue Tanner had no choice but to advertise for a mail order husband. Her pa passed on a year before and the ranch was in disrepair with her ranch hands refusing to take orders from her. She needed a husband at her side who could make the ranch prosper once again and a man to love her and build a life with. When Brett Connors showed up to marry her, she wondered if he was only marrying her for her ranch or if he truly wanted a life with her. Brett Connors was tired of his life working for his father. He needed wide open spaces and a woman to love and care for. He wanted a home and family and not living his life stuck under his father's thumb. When he saw Mindy's advertisement for a mail order husband, he felt she was the right woman for him and she owned a ranch.

    When Matthew Ritchie appears unexpectedly into Emily's organised life she feels things she has never experienced before not to mention the sex! The timing couldn't be worse however as she has just agreed to become a surrogate for her sister and husband to give them the one thing they cannot have. Things do not go to plan when her brother in law calls a halt to the procedure to allow Emily to continue her affair with Matt. Emily refuses to accept this and breaks things off with Matt regardless as she concentrates on this one last thing that she needs to do for her sister before embarking on her own life aspirations. However, It appears fate has its own idea for Emily’s future.

    But her joy suddenly turns to heartache as Matthew decides to put an end to the relationship before it begins and before she has a chance to inform him of her pregnancy.When the Montana widower learns that the woman who has been as much a friend and a temptation to him is carrying his child, his lust and desire to slake his needs inside her ripe little body escalates, but can he overcome the guilt he deals with at his wife’s death and show Zara that his heart is truly hers for the taking?

    When his grandfather dies, and the terms of his inheritance include he and his three brothers marrying within six months, and at least one of them having a baby on the way within the year, things get trickier. Contacting Dr. Lachele Simpson, a professional matchmaker, seemed the only way to go! Hope, the oldest of the Quinlan Quadruplets needs nothing more than to get out from under her parents’ roof, and take her sisters with her. She feels stifled, and she wants more than anything to marry. After a long weekend of testing, the four sisters embark on a road trip that would change their lives. Hope quickly agrees to marry Karlan, one of the four brothers waiting for her and her sisters in Wyoming. Will they be able to make their marriage work? Or should they have waited to get to know one another a little better like all their siblings had?

     She was too young, too pure, too beautiful and I didn’t even mention the part about being her ex-step-father. It was taboo, uncalled for, and so very wrong… But I couldn’t stop myself when she came running to me from her piece of crap ex-boyfriend. She needed a place to live, protection and I needed, no wanted a woman to call my own. I could see the curiosity in her gaze as we passed in the hall and I knew she was just as tempted as I was to find out what I was packing… What she didn’t know was that I had everything she needed and more… ...and after pushing me to the limits one too many times she was going to find out just how good I could make this for her. I was going to have her, keep her forever, and there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could do about it. **Things get a little crazy in this book so push your rational thinking to the side and dive right in. This is one taboo treat you don't want to miss out on. Grab a drink and get ready to quiver with need. Panties not required. HEA certified.**

    And she’s all I want this Christmas and beyond. It’s time to convince her to take a seat on Santa’s lap and find out if she’s been naughty or nice.If she doesn’t see the gift that she is, I’ll show her just how I intend to unwrap her...*This is a short story that's part of the Santa's Coming... series. Join sixteen of your favorite romance authors as they make all of your Christmas wishes come true! Put out the milk, he’ll take care of your cookie — it’s time to take a seat on Santa’s lap.*

    So I seduced him. Yep, sitting right across from him on the other side of the catwalk. His eyes followed my every move, especially when I uncrossed and crossed my legs, giving him just enough to make him hard underneath his seven-thousand dollar suit.I was the real show. Not the skinny models up on the runway.And now I’m pregnant.So I have a lot of growing up to do, especially given that he wants nothing to do with me…Or our baby. KELLANI know I was reckless.I should never have taken her in that bathroom after the show. But she’s got longer, sexier legs than any model I’ve ever fucked. And If I had have known who Amelia really was, I would have kept my pants zipped up.Now my dick's gotten me into trouble.But it’s her own fault. She should have known the kind of man she was seducing.She knows I’m flawed.So she can have my money.But she’ll never have me. Tia Siren. Spoil the bad girl in you.

    Worse, he's sold her--sight unseen--to a complete stranger. As she travels to Nebraska, she doesn't know whether to be angry with her brother or scared about the uncertain future looming before her. Pete Kelly never thought he'd marry. Then one day his brother brings him a woman to marry, and the loneliness that plagued him for years in his quiet world is finally at an end. But the gift he was given might be quickly taken away if he doesn't act in time to keep it. * * * * *Janet Syas Nitsick's story She Came by Train: She Came by Train to a desolate land in the spring of 1876. With mixed feelings, Opal Preston steps onto the platform to meet her employer, Alexander Boyer. She accepts his hand and climbs into his wagon to begin her role as the governess of his two children. As she executes her duties, she wonders how she'll cope without the finery she left behind. Soon two men are vying for her affections. Alex cannot imagine his life without her and looks for a way to convince her to stay in Nebraska. But a preacher from Virginia also is smitten with her and offers to take her back to Virginia. She Came by Train, but only her heart can determine if she'll return that way.

    Once upon a time, he didn't though — and coming to Snowden is meant to help him find his way again. What he does not mean to find is the beautiful angel who runs Mistletoe, a year-round Christmas store.He certainly does not want to feel what she makes him feel.To rid himself of her, the sickly-sweet store, and hopefully how bad he wants her, he intends to kick her out before the holiday.Only when he goes to tell her it’s time to pack it up, he can’t. Not just because he finds her singing jingle bells and looking like a sinfully sexy angel, but because he can no longer deny the truth. Malcom might hate the holidays — but he does not hate Noel King.No, he loves everything merry and bright about her — it seems her Mistletoe Magic has made him forget what it means to be a grinch.

    With a spirit as wild as the West, Brianna Spencer faces a hard life in the small town of Silver Peak. Her father has not returned from spring hunting, but no way is she listening to anyone who says her father is dead. He's delayed.that's all. When Sloan McAlister finds Brianna walking the docks to pay down a bank note, she grabs his attention. The docks aren't meant for her caliber of woman. Yet the West is ruled by one thing, the need to survive. Sloan soon finds himself right in the middle of a claim-jumping family that considers Brianna easy prey while her father's out of the picture. His better judgment says to walk away. But after one stolen kiss, Sloan refuses to do anything of the sort. If she's going warm any man's bed, Brianna will marry him. However, Brianna wants more than his strong arm to back up her father's property. It's his love or nothing. Warning, this title is a Historical western, but still steamy with a good taste of sultry.

    Upon meeting the marshal, however, she is shocked and dismayed to discover that he is none other than the man who gunned her father down that fateful night.Though Clive Brookstone was an evil man who needed killing, the knowledge that he left a young woman orphaned tore at Nathan Haskin's conscience from the moment he pulled the trigger, and he has secretly provided for Emma's needs since that day. Certain that hearing about her father's legacy of lawless violence would break her heart, he concealed it from her, but now that she has returned to Bannack her persistence eventually prompts him to tell her the full story.To make matters more complicated, Nathan finds his desire to protect Emma quickly growing into a powerful need to tame and possess her, and when her foolish behavior puts her safety at risk he doesn't hesitate to take her in hand and spank her soundly. His stern chastisement leaves her furious yet helplessly aroused, and it isn't long before he claims her hard and thoroughly.In her heart, Emma knows what Nathan tells her is true--that her father's death was just--but writhing in ecstasy as she is utterly dominated by the man who killed him fills her with shame nonetheless, and she does her best to deny her lust for the handsome marshal. Will the day ever come when she can put aside the past and surrender herself fully to the man she once hated?Publisher's Note: Emma's Surrender includes sexual scenes and spankings. If such material offends you, please don't buy this book.

    Now Jordan Cooper demands she move to his Santa Fe ranch—the boy's birthright. But how can Angie live with the man who called her a gold digger…the man whose one kiss she's never forgotten?Racked by guilt since his twin's death, Jordan seeks redemption by raising his nephew. But Angie resurrects a hunger in him that only she can satisfy. Jordan knows he can have her on one condition—that she never learns the truth about him.

    The last thing Talia expects to find on her first day of work is a flirtatious French squatter named Al. Escape with a homeless veteran tonight...? What?! No, no, no! This is NOT a recipe for romance—even if this particular squatter is cut like a Greek god, weirdly sexy, and possibly really good-looking beneath his huge red beard and overly long hair. However, when Talia deduces that he’s a homeless veteran, she agrees to let him remain at the castle in exchange for his help with her cleaning duties. But what starts out as an attempt to assist a troubled soul, eventually turns into something much, much hotter... His secret is about to become her undoing… ...until Talia discovers her homeless veteran is none other than Prince Aldrich Gerulf Pierre de Chanval du Fort, Crown Prince of Les Iles de la Victoire—AKA the Bad Boy Prince of Victore. WTH?! Furious with him for lying to her, Talia immediately breaks off their budding relationship. Only to find out that she’s… Pregnant by the bad boy prince…. So though she’s done with Al, he’s not done with her.  Not even close. Talia’s about to find out, in the most romantic modern fairy tale way possible, that she’s… HIS TO PRINCESS Are you ready to get princed? Then one-click this steamy and delicious BWWM romance--perfect for those who prefer their princes red-headed, ridiculously charming, and devilishly handsome!

     I f*ck who I want. When I want. And I always leave them begging for more. I roll into town, take the best piece of ass I can find, and then move on before the sun rolls into the morning clouds. But not Lucy, the sunshine of a girl who works at the truck stop diner off Exit 276. She’s too sweet and too fragile for a bad boy like me to screw over. My past is mine to bear alone. Except one look at those gorgeous green eyes, and I’m toast. Hell, I’m only a f*cking man. And a man can’t resist what he wants no matter how hard he tries. LUCY I had big dreams for my life, but they flew right out the window when I used all my college savings to bail my brother out of an awful mess. So, now I work in the grimy truck stop diner every night, serving up greasy food to leering men. It’s the only way to get by. There’s one trucker I don’t mind so much though. Mysterious, rugged, dangerous. He’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen, and he looks like he likes to f*ck hard. Turns out he does. Now I’ve had his baby. Too bad he’s disappeared without a trace. Even though I try to hate him, I can’t get him off my mind. I want him to come back and be a father to our child. But that’s not the only thing I want. I want to give him my heart. Enjoy this sexy standalone romance, HEA guaranteed!