You'll recognize Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other enduring characters, but they'll exist in realms beyond your imagination, where the familiar is transformed into the extraordinary and otherworldly.Contents:Taken in Death / J.D. Robb --If Wishes Were Horses / Mary Blayney --Beauty, Sleeping / Elaine Fox --The Christmas Comet / Mary Kay McComas --Stroke of Midnight / R.C. Ryan.

    Julia London's Snowy Night with a Highlander sends a debutante into the wintry Scottish wilds....Searching for her rakehell brother, an earl lying low in the wake of a scandalous affair, Fiona Haines is led by a rugged Highlander who obscures his scarred face. As they journey on, Fiona draws closer to her brave, enigmatic protector -- but will fury or passion ignite when he reveals his identity?

    But when he meets Mary, he has only three days to save her life . . . or lose her forever.This short story is an extended digital re-release that was originally published in the Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance.

    Then a carriage ride on a foggy night swept her back to Regency London and the picture-perfect nobleman she'd always yearned for.Preoccupied with marrying off his rebellious sister, Adam Coleridge had no leisure to find a wife of his own. Yet when fate dropped Maggie at his feet, the hand some earl was powerless to resist the desire she roused in him. But with time fighting against them, Adam feared that not even a masterpiece of love could keep Maggie from becoming nothing more than a passionate memory.

    The Conall clan and all their people were murdered in a surprise attack, their beloved castle and all evidence of who destroyed them burned to the ground with their bodies. In the centuries following, archaeologists searched through the ruins looking for any evidence of what or who had caused the untimely demise of such a powerful Scottish clan. All efforts were fruitless, until a spell put in place by an ancient Conall ancestor finally began to work its magic...Texas kindergarten teacher, Brielle Montgomery, finds comfort in the mundane routines of her life, but when her archaeologist mother asks her to accompany her on a dig in Scotland, she decides to step out of her comfort zone. Once in Scotland, they discover a secret spell room below the castle ruins, and Bri finds herself transported back in time and suddenly married to the castle's ill-fated Laird. Now, she must work to change the fate of his people, all while trying to find a way to return to her home and century. But with each passing day, Bri finds herself falling more deeply in love with her new husband. If she can find a spell to bring her home, will she use it? And if she stays, will it ultimately mean her own death as well?

    But an untamed, irresistible beast of another sort forces her to explore her own wild side.In an exclusive gentleman's club in Victorian London......adventurous ladies are available to the highest bidder. Yet how far will a modest widow go to fulfill her fantasy of being auctioned off as a rake's midnight plaything?From the depth of the dark unknown......a child of midnight has arrived in a spiritual Tibetan refuge to rid herself of wicked desires. Here this ageless beauty meets the one man who can save her--or damn her soul forever.In a private, all-male school for seduction......she might just graduate with honors. If she can only maintain her disquise long enough to teach the man of her dreams a few lessons.stories include:The Widow's Auction by Sabrina JeffriesLuisa's Desire by Emma HollyMr. Speedy by Elda MingerThe Awakening by Christine Feehan

    With varying expectations, each girl accepts her turn with the good luck charm—and a chance at happily ever after—secretly fearing the gypsy’s tale may be nothing more than a plot to sell a worthless piece of jewelry.

    She gets more excitement than she bargains for when she crash lands straight out of a witch hunt into the 20th century and the arms of Tristan Lennox, a reclusive billionaire. Arian blows through Tristan's climate-controlled existence like a breath of magic, only to discover that the spell he weaves around her heart is more compelling than any enchantment.

    Filled with despair at the death of her dreams, she is about to lose all hope when something magical happens. He's Bobby O'Connor, her teen-age sweetheart...and he died twenty years ago. Now he's back , to help Maureen remember the girl she once was - and rediscover the woman she was meant to be!

    And suddenly, a dream stands before her: a magnificent Viking warrior sworn to satisfy Roseleen's every desire.Until forever.Accursed for untold centuries, mighty Thorn is now enslaved to a woman. Yet it is Roseleen who is the true prisoner, held willing captive by a handsome barbarian who sweeps her back to the ancient past on a journey of sensual discovery. But only by banishing him from her life forever can Roseleen free Thorn from immortality's chains - forcing her to make a devastating choice that will either imperil their future or preserve a love more powerful than time.

    Nothing lifts our hearts like the joyous peal of wedding bells. Or the sight of a happy couple being showered with confetti and good wishes. Now the most exciting new names in romantic fiction and the bestselling author who started it all -escort you down the aisle to a place of honor at four glorious celebrations of everlasting love: KATHLEEN E. WOODIWISS reintroduces us to the beloved characters from THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER including Jeff Birmingham, who seals an impetuous proposal with one brief, precious and passionate kiss. CATHERINE ANDERSON calls us to meet a tempestuous pair of wild western hearts, in a tale of a frontier revenge that backfires. LORETTA CHASE melts our hearts with a story of an unconventional young woman's offer of marriage to a "mad" and presumed dying earl. LISA KLEYPAS shows us how true love will always win in a romance about one stubborn lady -and the persistent suitor who opens her heart. So come join the celebration and experience THREE WEDDINGS AND A KISS Love for now...and always.

    He wore nothing but a leather tunic, spoke in an ancient tongue, and he was standing in Professor Meredith Foster's living room. The medieval historian told herself he was part of a practical joke, but with his wide gold belt, callused hands, and the rabbit roasting in her fireplace, the brawny stranger seemed so...authentic. Suddenly Meredith was mesmerized by his bronzed, muscular form, and her body surrendered to the fantasy that Geirolf Ericsson really was a Viking from a thousand years ago, sent only to pleasure her. But as she tried to teach him to eat spaghetti and use a computer, she realized he knew an awful lot about the tenth century--and so little about the twentieth. And as he helped her fulfill her grandfather's dream of re-creating a Viking ship, he awakened her to dreams of her own. Until she wondered if the hand of fate had thrust her into the loving arms of...The Last Viking

    Can it be the new mistress of Blackstone, just arrived from over the sea? Duncan has heard that pretty Miss Elizabeth Pudding is no more than a cook --- and she hails from a barbarous land called the Bronx. But she must learn the ways of a lady all the same --- and she must stay at Blackstone for six long months to inherit. 'Tis time enough to teach her --- and time enough to woo her ...AN ENCHANTING LADYBeth has seen the handsome specter from the day she crossed the threshold of Blackstone. Duncan MacDougal is a tall, translucent figure with black hair and piercing blue eyes. Yet a mist separates him from the land of the living ... a mist as strong as cold steel. It is said that only love can dissolve it --- and bring the man of her dreams to warm, breathing life.

     STAG PARTY Dane Hearne -- also known as the Irish fertility god Cernunnos -- must choose a bride quickly. His long-time goddess has run off with a salsa dancer, and Dane must be married by Beltane, just a week away, or become a mortal -- and die. When he meets American travel writer Megan St. Clair, he knows he's found his soul mate. But while Dane is a sexy Irish hunk with his fair share of blarney, can he convince Megan to marry him in just one week? NORSE TRULY Alrik Sigurdsson is cursed to sail his Viking ship along the same stretch of Scandinavian coastline forever. So when lovely American Brynna Lund skids her car off the road into the ocean, he and his men are happy for the diversion of rescuing her. Then Alrik discovers that Brynna is the only woman who can break the curse. Is it any wonder that he's determined to keep her...forever?

    One evening delectable Sebastian Kattalakis appears -- a dragon slayer trapped between two worlds -- claims to hold the key to solving the tapestry’s mysteries. Channon follows him into a fantastic alternate world of magic, danger, and adventure.Also in:* In Other Worlds anthologyCollector's-edition.