Loretta Chase
"Lord of Scoundrels"
Avon, 1994

Tough minded Jessica Trent's sole intention is to free her nitwit brother from the destructive influence of Sebastian ballister, the notorious Marquess of Diain. She never expects to desire the arrogant, amoral cad. And When Daines reciprical passion places them in a scandously compromising, and public, position, Jessica is left with no choice but to seek satisfaction... Dawn the minx for tempting him, kissing him...and then for forcing him to salvage reputation! Lord Dain can't wait to put the infuriating bluestocking in her place — and in some amorous position. And if this means marriage, so be it — though sebastian is less than certain he can continue to remian aloof...and stell his heart to the sensuous, head strong lady's considerable charms.

Patricia Gaffney
"Lily"
Leisure 1991
Edito in Italia da Sonzogno.

THE MAID: She arrived at Darkstone Manor without friends or fortune, welcomined only by the hiss of the sea in the midnight hush. Lily Trehearned had been born a lady, but now she resigned herself to a life of backbreaking drudgery, inescapable poverty . . . and unquestioning obedience to the lord of the manor.
THE MASTER: Tormented and brooding, Devon Darkwell threatened Lily's safety almost as much as he thrilled her senses. From the moment he caught her swimming nude in the moonlight, his compelling masculinity held her spellbound. But each step he took toward claiming her body brought him closer to learning the terrible secrets of her soul. In his arms she would know tempestuous passion, bitter despair, and a soaring joy that would humble them both before the power of love.

Judith Ivory
"Black Silk"
Jove, 1991/ Avon 2002

As befitting her name, lovely Submit Channing-Downes was the proper, obedient wife of an aging marquess -- until her husband's death left her penniless and alone...with one last marital obligation to fulfill.
Entrusted with delivering a small black box to its rightful owner, she calls upon Graham Wessit, the notorious Earl of Netham, 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 thebewitching 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 staidbeauty in straits may learn the exquisite, sensuous freedom of surrender.

Judith Ivory
"Untie My Heart"
Avon, 2002

Stuart Aysgarth, the new Viscount Mount Villiars, doesn't know he's playing with fire when he inadvertently runs afoul of Emma Hotchkiss. True, the exquisite Yorkshire lady is a mere sheep farmer, but she also guards a most colorful past that makes her only more appealing to the handsome, haunted lord. Emma has come to him seeking justice -- and Stuart is determined that she will not leave until she has shared her secrets ... and his bed. Her clever revenge scheme must fail in the face of his soft words and tender caress -- and then he turns the tables on his bewitching adversary, seducing her into a daring deception of his own ...

Judith Ivory (Judy Cuevas)
"Bliss"
Jove, 1995

Though only a servant, Hannah Van Evan hopes to leave Miami and travel to Europe. Her dreams come true when she accepts a position with auctioneer and art expert Amelia Besom to act as her secretary/companion on a trip to France.
Spirited, enthusiastic and naive, Hannah plans to take full advantage of her new job to learn all she can. Nothing quite prepares her for world-weary sculptor Bernard "Nardi" de Saint Viller.
Once the rising young star of the Paris art world, Nardi has become a dissipated ether addict whose exploits are the bane of his noble family's existence.
With their funds running low Nardi's brother arranges an advantageous marriage for Nardi hoping to reclaim and restore the family chateau.
With no other choice, Nardi accepts his brother's plan, until he meets the enchanting, innocently sensual Miss Van Evan. She is the light in his otherwise bleak existence, rekindling his hope and belief in himself. But once Nardi allows himself the joy of finding love he also opens himself and Hannah to heartbreak.

Laura Kinsale
"The Shadow and the Star"
Avon, 1991

He is a man of dark secrets -- wealthy, strong, majestically handsome -- the master of the ancient arts of a distant land. Scarred by a cruel childhood, he has sworn only to love chastely ... yet he burns with the heat of unfulfilled desire.
She is innocent and nearly destitute, yet she possesses a beauty as incandescent as a heavenly orb.
And she is drawn to this powerful stranger by a need she cannot deny.
Never has such passion so consumed a man and a woman. But by giving his heart freely, the Shadow risks everything he believes in. And to follow her enigmatic warrior means the Star must enter his world of intrigue, vengeance, and desire -- and surrender to the most dangerous love there ever could be.

Lisa Kleypas
"Suddenly you"
Avon, 2001

She was unmarried, untouched and almost thirty, but novelist Amanda Briars wasn't about to greet her next birthday without making love to a man. When he appeared at her door, she believed he was her gift to herself, hired for one night of passion. Unforgettably handsome, irresistibly virile, he tempted her in ways she never thought possible...but something stopped him from completely fulfilling her dream.
Jack Delvin's determination to possess Amanda became greater when she discovered his true identity. But gently-bred Amanda craved respectability more than she admitted, while Jack, the cast-off son of a nobleman and London's most notorious businessman, refused to live by society's rules. Yet when fate conspired for them to marry, their worlds collided with a passionate force neither had expected...but both soon craved.

Julie Anne Long
"The Runaway Duke"
Warner, 2004

No one could ever accuse Rebecca Tremaine of being a proper young lady. She’s wretched at embroidery, pitiful at the pianoforte, and entirely too informed about the human body, courtesy of her father’s Scientific Journals. And now she’s been compromised by a dandy she despises! When her parents arrange a hasty marriage to save her honor, there is only one man she can turn to for help.
Nobody has any idea that Irish groom Connor Riordan is actually the fifth Duke of Dunbrooke, "killed" in action at Waterloo, and he wants it to stay that way.
But a true gentleman can never turn away from a damsel in distress. Soon Connor and Rebecca dash away and into a world of adventure, where they are pursued by bumbling highwaymen, a scheming duchess, and Rebecca’s fiancé.
Being by the side of the beautiful and desirable Rebecca jeopardizes Connor’s secret every day—and tests his willpower every night. For if ever there was a reason to bring the Duke of Dunbrooke back from the dead, it would be to make Ms. Tremaine his Duchess!

Mary Jo Putney
"The Rake"
Topaz, 1998

It was predicted that Reginald Davenport, disinherited and disgraced, would come to a violent end. But fate has given him one final chance to redeem himself, by taking his place as the rightful master of Strickland, his lost ancestral estate. Davenport knows his way around women--yet nothing prepares him for his shocking encounter with Lady Alys Weston.
Masquerading as a man in order to obtain a position as estate manager of Strickland, Alys fled a world filled with mistrust and betrayal. She was finished with men--yet how could she have predicted that Strickland's restored owner would awaken a passion more powerful than anything she had ever known? A passion that will doom or save them both...if only they can overcome their pasts and dare to believe in the wondrous power of love....

Penelope Williamson
"A Wild Yearning"
Avon/Dell, 1990
Edito in Italia da Euroclub.

Desperate to escape her abusive father and Boston's brutal waterfront for a respectable life, Delia McQuaid answered an advertisement to become a stranger's wife. But when she applied in person to Dr. Ty Savitch, the ruggedly handsome physician admitted he had merely placed the ad for a neighbor, a widower with two children. One look and Delia knew she would follow the devastating doctor anywhere - even into the Maine wilderness as a mail-order bride for another man...
Raised by Indians, educated abroad, Dr. Ty Savitch was an outsider in both worlds, eager to escape to the only home he knew - the small Maine community where he was bringing the ravishing Miss McQuaid. The woman was a revelation of character, courage, and brains, a conquest no man could resist- a challenge to his divided soul. Recklessly, he followed his passions, trying to deny his heart- until he delivered her to her promised groom, and then tried to reclaim the beauty who compelled him to embrace his true identity... and taught him the healing power of love...

Connie Brockway
"My Pleasure"
Pocket Books, 2004

By day, celebrated beauty Helena Nash works as a proper companion to one of London's most disagreeable ladies. By night she acts as an illicit messenger between two separated lovers. Masked and disguised, she falls into the path of a shadowy stalker. Fearing for her safety but unwilling to halt her nocturnal forays, Helena seeks out Ramsey Munro -- one of three men who pledged years earlier to serve her family in times of need. Handsome and elusive, the notorious Scotsman is London's most accomplished swordsman and represents everything Helena wants but can't have -- freedom, adventure, and passion. Now she demands that he teach her his formidable skills, a commission that may prove cool, collected Helena's undoing. For Ramsey has seen through her disguise...and soon vows to teach her both the way of the sword and the deliciously wicked pleasures of the flesh.

Diane Farr
"Under a Lucky Star"
Signet, 2004

Cynthia, daughter of the Earl of Ballymere, is as cold as she is lovely. But Derrick Whittaker is different from the suitors she has turned away-he has already held her in his arms and felt the passion between them. He knows that true wealth lies in love-and he was rich beyond his wildest dreams for that one fleeting moment...
But sometimes the heavens grant lost love a second chance...and even the coldest hearts can thaw beneath the warm light of a lucky star.

Gaelen Foley
"The Duke"
Ivy 2000

Driven to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his ladylove, the Duke of Hawkscliffe will go to any lengths to unmask a murderer. Even if it means jeopardizing his reputation by engaging in a scandalous affair with London's most provocative courtesan--the desirable but aloof Belinda Hamilton.
Bel has used her intelligence and wit to charm the city's titled gentlemen while struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. She needs a protector, so she accepts Hawk's invitation to become his mistress in name only. He asks nothing of her body, but seeks her help in snaring the same man who shattered her virtue. Together they tempt the unforgiving wrath of Society--until their risky charade turns into a dangerous attraction, and Bel must make a devastating decision that could ruin her last chance at love.

Patricia Gaffney
"To Have and To Hold"
Topaz, 1995
Edito in Italia da Sonzogno.

Suave, cynical, and too handsome for his own good, Sebastian Verlaine never expects to become a magistrate judging the petty crimes of his tenants and neighbors. Nor can the new Viscount D’Aubrey foresee that, when a fallen woman appears before him, he’ll find himself beguiled against all reason to alter her terrible fate….
Rachel Wade has served time in prison for her husband’s violent death, but she soon discovers that freedom has its own price. For no one will offer her a second chance but a jaded viscount who needs a housekeeper. Scorned by the townspeople of Wyckerley as D’Aubrey’s mistress, tempted beyond her will by the devilish lord, Rachel risks all she had to claim a life of her own…and a love that will last for all time

Laura Lee Guhrke
"His Every Kiss"
Avon 2004

Everyone knows about Dylan Moore -- his brilliant talent and his pleasure-seeking ways -- but no one knows the torment that lies beneath his reckless veneer. Only one woman gets a glimpse of the forces that drive Dylan's soul, a woman who haunts his dreams and evokes his passions as no other woman ever has before.
Disgraced and destitute, Grace Cheval wantsnothing to do with the seductive man who desires her. When Dylan offers her a position as governess to his newfound daughter, she knows his true intentions are dishonorable. Yet she finds this charismatic man hard to resist, and she returns his passionate kisses with a fire that matches his own. Can Dylan dare hope that this proud, spirited beauty will melt the ice around his heart?

Emma Holly
"Beyond Innocence"
Jove, 2001

Florence Fairleigh thinks she’s found the perfect man in Freddie Burbrooke. He’s handsome, he’s kind and he desperately wants a wife. His brother Edward, the brooding Earl of Greystowe, is counting on the marriage to quash a family scandal. And it would—if only Florence weren’t the perfect match for him!

Emma Holly
"Beyond Seduction"
Jove, 2002

Merry Vance has made it quite clear she has no interest in marriage, but that hasn't stopped her long-suffering suitor from proposing, or her parents from getting more furious each time she turns him down. Merry has no choice but to concoct a scandalous solution: to pose nude for Nicolas Craven, famous artist and infamous libertine. No man in his right mind would marry a woman who had bared her secrets to him!
But Nicolas has his own plans for the spirited young woman he has convinced to move into his home. In Merry's plain face, he sees uncommon beauty. In her soft eyes, he sees sparks ready to burst into flame.
And, best of all, he's certain the masterpiece she helps him to create will tantalize the ton . . .

Judith Ivory
"The Proposition"
Avon, 1999

No man, gentleman or otherwise, has ever looked at Lady Edwina Bollash the way the brash, handsome man standing before her is doing now. Edwina has accepted the challenge to transform incorrigible Mick Tremore into a gentleman in just six weeks. And although the linguist is sure she can rise to the task, she isn't at all certain she won't swoon under his frankly sensuous gaze before her job is done.
Mick has lived outside of London society long enough to know that appearances can be deceiving. Edwina might look all buttoned up-the perfect English lady-but there is unleashed passion existing just below her placid facade (not to mention a great pair of legs!). And as she prepares him to take his place in society, Mick prepares Edwina to take her place in his heart...and in his bed.

Judith Ivory
"Sleeping Beauty"
Avon, 1998

Once, a long time ago, Coco Wild learned to never allow a man's kiss to move her, for that way led to downfall. A slender beauty with alluring eyes, she built impregnable defenses around her emotions. The men who came to adore her, fought to conquer her and learn her mysteries, made her the toast of London, but none were able to rouse her passions.
But that hard-taught lesson is about to unravel because of Sir James Stoker. Back in England with a treasure of gold from his adventures, newly knighted by Queen Victoria herself, and feted everywhere, the handsome explorer has the world at his feet. He's exactly the man Coco might have dreamed about when she was young: a tall, fair hero with a charming smile.
Now he's turned his energy toward winning her, the most desirable and the least attainable woman he knows; and Coco's aft-aid James may just find his way past the thorns that have so long protected her from the world, and awaken her slumbering heart...with just one kiss.

Judith Ivory
"Beast"
Avon, 1997

An exquisite American heiress, Louise Vandermeer is beautiful, brilliant. . . and bored-which is why she has agreed to a daring adventure: to travel across the ocean to marry an aristocrat abroad. Rumor has it her intended is a hideous cad-a grim prospect that propels her into a passionate, reckless affair with a compelling stranger she never sees in the light of day.
Though scarred by a childhood illness, Charles d'Harcourt has successfully wooed Europe's most sophisticated beauties. For a lark, he contrived to travel incognito on his own fiancee's ship-and seduce the young chit in utter darkness. But the rake's prank backfired. It was he who was smitten-while the hot-tempered Lulu, now his wife, loves only her shipboard lover, unaware it was d'Harcourt all the time! And Charles will never have her heart-unless he can open her eyes to the prince who hides within.

Candice Proctor
"Beyond Sunrise"
Ivy, 2003

Ever since she can remember, India McKnight has craved adventure, dreaming of lands past the horizon. Following her calling, she becomes a travel writer, a vocation that takes her far and wide. All the while, she vows never to risk her freedom by falling in love.
But when she sails to the exotic and unknown regions of the South Pacific, a rugged man brave enough to be her guide just may be the one who can lay claim to her heart.
Having turned his back on the “civilized” world long ago, Jack Ryder has been living in seclusion, hiding from the pain and betrayal buried in his past. When the beautiful, hotheaded Scotswoman arrives at his hut looking for a guide, he agrees to take her to the island of Takaku—despite the challenge—just to prove that her stubborn theories about native life are wrong. But when their journey turns dangerous, their fates become forever entwined. Forced to rely on each other for their very survival, they soon discover that passion and even deeper peril await them . . . just beyond the sunrise.

Mary Jo Putney
"Silk and Shadows"
Signet, 1992

He called himself Peregrine, and like the falcon he was wild and free. He was superbly handsome, fabulously wealthy, overwhelmingly seductive. He cut a dazzling swath through Victorian London-and wove a web of desire around beautiful and proud Lady Sara St. James, pledged to wed another man.
In Peregrine's arms Sara learned the meaning of forbidden passion- and forbidding mystery. Only the burning power of love could pierce Peregrine's chilling silence about his secret past and hidden purpose...as Sara plunged into a whirlpool of yearning and uncertainty with a man who was everything a woman could want or fear.

Karen Ranney
"After the Kiss"
Avon, 2000

After a disastrous fire destroys her bookshop, Margaret Easterly is forced to sell a rare volume of erotic memoirs. She attends a ball where the host has promised to purchase the first in the series. Carried away by the fantasy atmosphere, Margaret finds herself kissing a stranger. When she flees, the Earl of Montraine, Michael Hawthorne, cannot forget the passionate kiss and is determined to find the mystery woman.
Known as the Code Master, his majestys brilliant code breaker, Michael uses his skills to locate Margaret, but its quite a different story convincing her to be his bride. How can either of them know what another will do to keep the memoirs out of Michaels hands?

Robin Schone
"The Lady's Tutor"
Kensington, 1999

Married young to a man hand-picked by her father, Elizabeth Petre is an ideal Victorian lady. She has borne two sons and endured sixteen years of selfless duty in a passionless marriage. Craving a man's loving touch yet loyal to her wedding vows, Elizabeth is determined to seduce her coldly indifferent husband. She knows of only one man who can teach her the erotic secrets of love.
The bastard son of an English countess and an Arab sheik, Ramiel Devington was reared to embrace both Western culture and Eastern pleasure. Scorned by society and challenged by prim Elizabeth's request, he undertook her instruction in the art of sensual delight.
But when the lessons become a temptation neither can resist, Elizabeth is forced to choose between obligation and a bold, forbidden passion.

Anne Stuart
"A Rose at Midnight"
Avon, 1993

Once a daughter of the aristocracy, lovely Ghislaine "Gilly" de Lorgny lives for the destruction of Nicholas Blackthorne--the notorious rake she holds responsible for the cruel loss of her virtue, family and fortune. Now that the rogue has reentered her life, she seizes the opportunity to enact a poisonous revenge--but is abducted by the dashing villain before the deed can be done. Held prisoner in a secluded hunting lodge, she steels herself to resist the sensuous punishment her captor has promised--only to be betrayed by a heart that aches with desire for the handsome, tormented blackguard. For only in her enemy's arms will Gilly know the exquisite passion that can heal all wounds ... and the rapture of a love powerful enough to restore a fallen woman's honor and a scoundrel's nobility.