Lauren Smith

Alternate Cover Edition can be found here Four new stand-alone-novellas by four top-selling authors of historical romance. English lords are notoriously egotistical, self-absorbed, and independent creatures. So when one of them admits that a woman has made him a better man, that admission goes against everything he’s convinced himself is possible. In this collection you will meet four such fellows! Four scoundrels of differing shades of arrogance and pride who are about to lose their hearts in the most enticing, unexpected, blindingly stubborn ways. HIS WICKED EMBRACE by USAToday Bestselling Author Lauren Smith A kidnapped Persian princess was the last thing he expected to find when Lawrence Russell went under cover for the Bow Street Runners. But with one look at her terrified eyes, he knew he had to save her. And in doing so, he knew she’d made of him a better man. Still in danger of being discovered by her obsessed captor, the half-English princess Lady Zehra is left with only one request of her handsome savior. “Take me to bed. I wish to see the stars again.” THE SECRET SCOUNDREL by Kristin Gabriel, two-time Rita winner and author of the Harlequin book made into the television movie Recipe for Revenge One stolen vase, two captured hearts. Miss Diana Harwood was too tall to gain a fellow’s interest, and Colin Sinclair, Marquess of Thorne and Viscount Thorne, was too much of a rogue to tempt any clear-thinking maiden. But when neither can manage to win the upper hand, their only recourse is to collaborate in finding the priceless Chinese vase Thorne was hired to recover…and leave their hearts perilously unguarded. ONE DUKE OR ANOTHER Book Three of The Trevors by USAToday Bestselling author Ella Quinn She was perfect for him. Now all Guy Paulet, heir to the Bolton dukedom, had to do was convince Lady Aglaia to jilt his uncle, defy her father, and marry him in less than a month. After all, she absolutely could not be allowed to marry a man who had murdered his four previous wives. A SCOUNDREL AT HEART Book Five of Ransomed Jewels by Amazon bestselling author Laura Landon He was blind to love. The fire that had left Lord Thomas Renfrew terribly disfigured had seen to that. Even when faced with the heart-shattering love offered by the beautiful Lady Cleora, he couldn’t see a way to unleash the passion that filled him in her presence. Until she was freed from her own prison, and took him into her heart—scars and all.

He’s one of the last of a powerful but vanishing bloodline …Grigori Barinov is the eldest in an ancient line of dragon shifters and the guardian of his family’s lands and fortune. Sworn to protect their history and magic, he won’t rest until he neutralizes any threat to their existence. When he discovers an ancient manuscript that exposes his family and their dragon lineage has fallen into a mortal woman’s hands, he knows he must get the book back by any means necessary. If that means seducing a nosy American woman with an intoxicating scent, he is more than willing to carry her off to his palatial home deep in the heart of Russia.She’s the one woman who could expose him to the world…Madelyn Haynes has never fit in. As an adopted child she grew up in a loving home but never felt as though she belonged. Plagued by mysterious dreams she’s had of a silver scaled beast ever since she was a little girl, she is convinced dragons are real. While in Russia working on her PhD in mythology in order to escape the ridicule from fellow professors, she unexpectedly crosses paths with the sexy and dominating Grigori, and after just one night with the man whose eyes seem to burn, she starts to change inside. Isolated in the Russian wilderness Grigori calls home, Madelyn can’t help but fall under his sensual spell, yet something deep inside her calls out that she can’t trust him. She has to show the world dragons are real to salvage academic reputation, even if it means costing her the heart of the dragon she’s falling in love with.

A thrilling gothic romance from Entangled’s Otherworld imprint… To defeat a dark evil, they must face his family’s past… Bastian Carlisle, the Earl of Weymouth, doesn’t believe in ghosts. Even though tragedy and mysterious hauntings have driven his family away from his ancestral home, Stormclyffe Hall, he is determined to restore the castle to its former glory. His plans are disrupted when a stubborn American shows up on his doorstep hoping to pry into his family’s tragic history. Jane Seyton, an American graduate student, is convinced there’s more to the tragedy of Stormclyffe Hall than history claims. Ever the scholar, she is determined to discover the truth, even if it means putting up with the arrogant, yet sexy, Bastian. Although Bastian wants nothing to do with the pushy American, it soon becomes clear that something evil is in the house—and that something is targeting both Jane and Bastian. The two must join forces to purge the ghosts of Stormclyffe Hall once and for all—even as they try to fight a physical attraction between them that grows more and more impossible to deny.

Every passion has its price . . . Journalist Sophie Ryder has been following Emery Lockwood’s story since she was a little girl. There has always been something in his haunted eyes that she couldn’t resist and now, when she’s certain he holds the key to solving a string of kidnappings, she’ll do anything to speak to him. Even if it means venturing deep into the seductive world of the Gilded Cuff, a luxurious BDSM club on Long Island’s Gold Coast and Emery’s personal playground. From the moment Sophie enters his shadowy, sensual domain, Emery Lockwood knows this tantalizing new little sub was meant to belong to him. However, Sophie wants more from Emery than just pleasure . . . she wants his past. And that is something he isn’t willing to give—no matter who is asking. But every moment he spends with Sophie, Emery feels his control slipping and he knows it’s only a matter of time before he surrenders to her heart, body, and soul.

THE RIGHT DRESS CAN CATCH THE EYE OF PRINCE CHARMING… Felicity Hart has one goal: Completing her masters in art. Falling in love isn’t part of the plan. She reluctantly agrees to attend a Halloween party with her best friend. After sneaking away from the party and falling asleep in an unoccupied room, she wakes to the sexiest pair of eyes she’s ever seen. Eyes that belong to the one man who could turn her well organized world upside down. When he flashes that wicked, panty-melting smile at her the vow to not fall in love seems impossible… EVERY PRINCE IS LOOKING FOR HIS SLEEPING BEAUTY TO KISS… Jared Redmond used to be the ultimate bad boy. But now his legal career is taking off and the partners of his firm are trusting him with high-dollar real estate transactions. Jared’s king-size bed is empty. But when he arrives home on Halloween to find a princess sleeping in his bed – his all work and no play attitude goes out the window. There’s nothing he wants more than to explore the hidden desires of this mysterious beauty and show her just how much of a bad boy he really is by fulfilling her every fantasy. WHEN MIDNIGHT STRIKES AND COACHES TURN TO PUMPKINS… Underneath the glitter of this fairy tale romance, Felicity and Jared might have found true love. But the mounting pressure of their real lives takes hold again and Jared and Felicity are pulled further and further apart. Can they find their fairy tale ending or will they be left with the dying embers of what could have been?

Kat has always been a good girl. She studies hard and never stays out too late. But when sitting in a pub on her birthday, she realizes she's a nineteen-year-old virgin who's never really lived. And she wants tonight to be the night that changes. Then she sees him walk in. He's tall, dark, handsome, and straight out of her deepest fantasies. His voice makes her knees feel weak, and when he smiles, she imagines him doing wicked things to her in bed. From the look in his eyes, she knows he's imagining it too. So when he asks if he can walk her home, she hears herself whisper yes . . .

Beware...this book is haunted...Bastian Carlisle, the Earl of Weymouth, doesn’t believe in ghosts. Even though tragedy and mysterious hauntings have driven his family away from his ancestral home, Stormclyffe Hall, he is determined to restore the castle to its former glory. His plans are disrupted when a stubborn American shows up on his doorstep hoping to pry into his family’s tragic history.Jane Seyton, an American graduate student, is convinced there’s more to the tragedy of Stormclyffe Hall than history claims. Ever the scholar, she is determined to discover the truth, even if it means putting up with the arrogant, yet sexy, Bastian.Although Bastian wants nothing to do with the pushy American, it soon becomes clear that something evil is in the house—and that something is targeting both Jane and Bastian. The two must join forces to purge the ghosts of Stormclyffe Hall once and for all—even as they try to fight a physical attraction between them that grows more and more impossible to deny.

A wicked pirate, a lady-turned cabin boy and a love reaching the distant horizon. Your next Pirate Adventure awaits You! A lady’s guide to surviving aboard a pirate ship: 1) Dress as a cabin boy. 2) Avoid drinking too much rum when the handsome captain is around. 3) Do not let the captain kiss you…again. The last thing Roberta Harcourt needs is to be trapped on a ship with pirates. After she is separated from her father when their ship is attacked, Roberta finds herself the unwilling guest of sinfully handsome Captain Dominic Grey. He gives her two choices: to share his bed and maintain her life as a lady, or she can sleep on the floor of his cabin and live the life of a cabin boy until he decides to set her free. Refusing to be seduced by a pirate, she dresses in breeches and assumes duties on board his ship among the men, but each night, sharing a cabin with the brooding, seductively intense captain, she begins to wonder if letting him kiss her again might be a rule worth breaking… Dominic lost his innocence long ago when he was kidnapped and sold into indentured servitude in the West Indies. Determined to leave the painful memories of his past behind, he looks only to the future and the next prize he and his crew can capture on the high seas…until he discovers and captures the feisty daughter of a naval admiral. Protecting her from other pirates and preventing her marriage to an English officer is all in a day’s work for a pirate. But Dominic is determined to play the gentleman he once was born to be. He tries to resist the siren’s call of her sweet lips, especially when she’s arguing with him. But damned if the woman wasn’t meant to be a pirate because she’s stealing his heart…

She never thought she’d choose a bear over a man in the woods…Hadlee Wilson thinks she knows her boyfriend, Chad, but when he takes her on a hike in Colorado, she expects him to propose, not to attack her. Turns out, the happy ending she’s been hoping for is, in reality, more of a dark fairy tale.Bruised and battered, she flees into the woods, and Chad follows her, hunting her like prey. When she trips and falls into a stream right in front of a grizzly bear, she thinks at least the bear won’t draw her death out. But to Hadlee’s shock, the bear lunges past her and kills Chad.As Hadlee starts to lose consciousness, she glimpses the figure of a bear returning to her, to finish her off no doubt … only as her vision tunnels to black, the last thing she sees is the bear turning into a man … a gorgeous, scarred, grim-faced man.When Hadlee wakes, she learns the truth. She wasn’t just saved by a bear, but a bear shifter named Indiana. And now that he’s caught her scent and knows what it’s like to hold her in his arms, he doesn’t want to let her go. Will she learn to trust this lonely bear, or will she leave the woods—and him—forever?

A Regency Short Story Rebecca Livingston has a problem: Her mother is desperate to marry her prettier, more talented, younger sister Lydia, off to the handsome Duke of Wiltshire but when Rebecca and her family arrive at the grand ducal estate it’s Rebecca who falls right into the handsome arms the duke himself. Rebecca tries to avoid the seductive duke but neither she nor he can keep their hands off each other. Her mother is furious, her sister is thrilled for her – but can it be possible that the duke wants Rebecca as much as she discovers she wants him? Miles Beresford has a wicked reputation, but will do anything for his twin brother Justin, the Duke of Wiltshire. Even if that means assuming his identity for a week to suss out the intentions of some young marriageable chits fresh from the London season. But when Rebecca Livingston stumbles out of a coach and into his arms, he realizes that he might be in serious trouble – and that playing an imaginary duke to win her over may be slightly over his head. Does Rebecca love him or the dukedom, and can he bear to lose her if he admits he’s just the Duke’s Twin?

He’s the CEO, and she’s off limits… Spencer Howe can’t let anyone know what’s going on in his head, especially when he daydreams about bending his junior ad account manager over her desk and showing her what her sass does to him. Cate Cross isn’t just sassy though, she’s beautiful, brilliant and perfect for the senior account manager position at his advertising firm. He knows he gets under her skin when he calls her his assistant. He does it to get a rise out of her, and she throws it right back at him. There is so much chemistry between them, but he knows it won’t work. She can’t stand him most of the time. If he doesn’t get her to accept his company’s promotion soon, he’s afraid another company will take her away from him when she finishes her MBA. He’ll do anything to show her that she’s his, in the office and out, even if that means breaking a desk or two to prove his point. Note: This is a short story with a happy ever after intended to be enjoyed over a lunch break *wink

There were three things Henley Cunningham knew about Russell Rawlings: 1. He was gorgeous. He was the kind of hot and sweet sort of golden boy that made a girl simultaneously want to dance and sing like she was in an old-time musical number and drop her panties. 2. She hadn’t seen him since she was fifteen. 3. He was her stepbrother. But looking at him now and remembering all of the things she’d wanted him to do to her... her infatuation had been the worst idea in the history of ideas. He’s home for the summer after her first year of college and the last thing she needs to do is let her childhood crush cause trouble...but that’s just what Russell Rawlings is...TROUBLE.

James, the Earl of Pembroke, falls for a mysterious lady and rescues her from a hell fire club... Gillian, the illegitimate daughter of an earl, is hiding her true identity as a servant from James... When thrown together at a house party, their passion can't be denied, but will the truth of Gillian's past destroy their happiness?

A LORD WITH LEGENDARY CONTROL… Merciless and powerful, Ashton Lennox is a wealthy man because he puts business before everything else, especially love. As a member of the infamous League of Rogues, he’s no stranger to scandal. His bedroom conquests are as legendary as his fortune. As he searches for a way to bring down an old enemy bent on destroying the lives of his friends, the last thing he needs is a Scottish widow getting in his way. A FIERY WOMAN WHO WON’T BACK DOWN… The daughter of a Scottish lord with a dark and treacherous past, Rosalind Melbourne has spent years distancing from her past. After escaping her tyrannical father and marrying an aging English lord, she has become a powerful widow with a business empire at her command. Her business dealings are everything to her, leaving her no time for love. Especially not with her business rival Ashton, a man with a scandalous reputation as striking as his blue eyes. A GAME OF WITS TURNS TO A GAME OF SEDUCTION… Ashton is fascinated by the strong-willed, intelligent and sensual lady who, up until now, had outsmarted him at every turn. Rosalind wishes she could deny she is falling for the brooding, handsome baron. How can she possibly trust him when doing so could cost her what she values most—her freedom? When Ashton discovers Rosalind might hold the key to saving the League of Rogues, he knows he will do anything to woo his wicked lass. As their pasts return to haunt them and dark forces rise to keep them from exposing a deadly spymaster, their game of love turns to a game of survival… Warning: This book includes a brooding baron who’s wild in bed, a crafty Scottish lass who never knows when to quit, a wicked game of strip chess, and a merry band of rogues whose first instinct is to run they hear wedding bells ring.

When a lady decides to become a spy, she must resist all temptation…especially love. Audrey Sheridan is London’s sweetheart, a position that allows her access to the ton and all its secrets. As the enigmatic writer, Lady Society, she is wild, reckless, and speaks her mind. She matchmakes wicked rogues with their perfect wives. But there’s one thing she’s failed to find since her debut. A husband for herself. And there’s only one man she’s ever wanted. There’s just one problem…he doesn’t want her. What’s a lady to do to mend her broken heart? Run off to become a spy… Jonathan St. Laurent is anything but a saint and certainly not husband material. He spent nearly his entire life as a servant to his half-brother the Duke of Essex. He’s trying to play the gentleman now, but it’s damned hard when he’s tempted by the ton’s darling spitfire Audrey. There’s something about her that makes him want to abandon the rules of polite society and show her just how wicked he can be…which is why it’s better to avoid the minx altogether. When Audrey’s plan to be a spy is discovered, Jonathan knows he must move heaven and earth to protect her while guarding his own secret…

He's the last Rogue standing, and the wickedest… Charles Humphrey, the Earl of Lonsdale is infamous for his seductions. With laughing gray eyes and a halo of blond hair, he's every woman's wicked dream. Beneath that devil-may-care grin, he has a painful past that has made him sure love was not for him, even as the rest of his friends, the members of the League of Rogues, settle down in wedded bliss. When he accidentally rescues a mysterious beauty, with eyes as haunted as his own, and shares one life-changing kiss with her, she vanishes in the night. Charles vows to find this angel, who might yet save his soul, but he knows anyone he cares about is in grave danger, when an old enemy resurfaces a final time for revenge… She's the only woman who can save him… Lily has secrets, too many secrets. When she's abducted and taken into the London underworld by a gang of nefarious brutes, she's rescued by Charles, the one man who can never know her past. She can't let him discover her feelings or her secrets, but she can't resist sharing one kiss with him before escaping his passionate embrace. That taste of the last bachelor of the League of Rogues leaves her desiring a future she cannot have—especially when her master demands she prove her loyalty in a most deadly way... Warning: This book contains a scandalous rogue with a heart of gold, a lady who risks it all to save him, and a league of rogues who value friendship and love above all else.

HE’S A WILD ROGUE WITH A GUARDED HEART. Notorious rogue, Lawrence Russell has no desire to marry—or heaven forbid, fall in love. Although he enjoys his fair share of pleasure, Lawrence prefers to protect his heart. Yet, when he comes to the rescue of a brave and passionate Persian princess, he discovers his heart may be at risk from the very thing he’s always feared… SHE’S A PRINCESS WITH A DANGEROUS SECRET. Zehra Darzi’s life has been turned on its head. When she flees her home after her parents’ brutal murder, she is kidnapped and transported to England. There, she awaits her doom—being auctioned off for a brothel. But fate intervenes in the form of a heroic man, who purchases her freedom. As Zehra adjusts to life in England, she can’t help but fall for her rescuer, Lawrence. But when an enemy from her past resurfaces in London, she knows it’s only a matter of time before her darkest secret is brought to light. And this secret just might cost Lawrence his life…

Her Wicked Longing contains two new short teaser stories starring Audrey Sheridan and her maid Gillian Beaumont! What trouble can a young lady with a talent for mischief and her maid get into in just one day?His Wicked Maid-Always prim and proper, lady’s maid Gillian Beaumont has never acted with wild abandon the way her young headstrong mistress does. But deep down she dreams of a life filled with love and a husband who will give her his whole heart even though she knows it’s impossible. With a list of chores from her mistress, Gillian is given the chance to live the life of a gentle lady, and she clings to it, knowing that soon it will be over. While wearing a dress meant for her lady, she catches the eye of a handsome earl and is swept away from her duties by his rakish good looks and charm. Heated looks in public and passionate kisses in a dark corner of a bookshop create a perfect day for Gillian to cling to when she returns to her real life…Her Wicked Lessons-Determined to learn the art of the spy trade, Miss Audrey Sheridan, finds a way to escape a dull afternoon tea by running off to the residence of an infamous French Courtesan. Hoping to improve her French for a future mission to the continent, she never expects to be caught by the one man who haunts her Jonathan St. Laurent, the former servant-turned-brother of a duke. With one penetrating look from those bewitching green eyes of his, Audrey knows she’s in trouble. Unable and unwilling to confess her real reason for visiting a French courtesan, Audrey decides to convince Jonathan she’s there to learn the art of seduction. But she never expects the devilish rogue to take her lessons seriously…* These are short stories of under 10,000 words that will prepare readers for Gillian’s happily ever after in The Earl of Pembroke and Audrey’s happily ever after in His Wicked Secret.

An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here. Fans of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series will adore this steamy romance of a womanizing gentleman blinded by a terrible accident who offers a marriage of convenience to a desperate heiress. Cedric, Viscount Sheridan Once a womanizer. Now a recluse. Forever cursed. Cedric used to be the ton’s golden boy, but the loss of his sight has left him a reclusive shell of man. His days of womanizing, horse racing and pistol shooting lost forever. But a shocking proposal from the infamous ice maiden, Anne Chessley changes everything. Still reeling from her father’s death, Anne’s deepest wish is to avoid the hordes of fortune hunters who will soon be beating down her door. Proposing marriage to Cedric is an act of desperation that even has her agreeing to his one wicked demand. His only stipulation: she must respond passionately and wantonly in his bed. Her agreement barely crosses her lips before he begins a sensual assault on the icy walls she's built around her heart. Yet even as they catch a glimpse of true happiness, enemies are closing in and they have to trust each other, and themselves, to ever find a happily ever after. Warning: Contains an outwardly aloof heroine with a secretly tender heart, a once-notorious rake who isn’t quite as rusty at seduction as he feared, and a band of rogues who join together to make sure happily-ever-afters do come true.

Can the League’s most wicked rakehell be tamed? Or has this Rogue fallen too far? Horatia Sheridan has been hopelessly in love with Lucien, her brother’s best friend, ever since he rescued her from the broken remains of her parents’ wrecked carriage. His reputation as London’s most notorious rakehell doesn’t frighten her, for under his veneer of cool authority she has glimpsed a man whose wicked desires inspire her own. Lucien, Marquess of Rochester, has deliberately nurtured a reputation for debauchery that makes every matchmaking mother of the ton quake with fear. His one secret: he is torn between soul-ripping lust for Horatia, and the loyalty he owes her brother. That loyalty is put to the test when an old enemy of the League threatens Horatia’s life. With Christmas drawing near, he sweeps her away to his country estate, where he can’t resist granting her one wish—to share his bed and his heart. But sinister forces are lurking, awaiting the perfect moment to exact their revenge by destroying not only whatever happiness Lucien might find in Horatia’s arms, but the lives of those they love. Warning: This book contains an intelligent lady who is determined to seduce her brother’s friend, a brooding rake whose toy of choice in bed is a little bit of bondage with a piece of red silk, a loyal band of merry rogues and a Christmas love so scorching you’ll need fresh snow to extinguish it. *Includes Exclusive Scene Art and Illustrations! This book was previously published by Samhain Publishing and is now re-released.

She is theirs to claim. They are hers to save. Zoey Blake is about as far down on her luck as she can get. A car crash took her parents, leaving her destitute and on the street. When she’s attacked by another homeless person, her lifeblood drains away as her fading vision is filled with the face of a handsome stranger. Ian Kennedy, a century old Irish vampire, never could resist rescuing a stray. As a few drops of his blood heals Zoey’s wounds, he realizes she’s a sweet, tempting, flesh-and-blood woman. But there’s one problem. Connor, who made Ian promise decades ago: no more mortal lovers. After another vampire murdered his soulmate, Connor O’Shea swore never to let amortal woman pay the price for loving him. Until he feels Zoey’s skin and tastes her lips. She makes him want to break that vow. Zoey finds herself caught in their web of seduction. But as Christmas draws near and her grief deepens, happiness seems far out of reach. And Ian and Connor join forces to prove their love is sacred, special… and forever. Warning: This book contains two scorching-hot Irish vampires, one lady with plenty of pluck but zero luck, naughty lingerie, and enough Christmas cheer to redeem even the darkest creatures.

The League of Rogues takes what they want—but have they taken on too much? For too long Miss Emily Parr has been subject to the whims of her indebted uncle and the lecherous advances of his repulsive business partner. Her plan to be done with dominating men forever is simple—find herself a kind husband who will leave her to her books. It seems an easy enough plan, until she is unexpectedly abducted by an incorrigible duke who hides a wounded spirit behind flashing green eyes. Godric St. Laurent, Duke of Essex, spends countless nights at the club with his four best friends, and relishes the rakish reputation society has branded him with. He has no plans to marry anytime soon—if ever. But when he kidnaps an embezzler’s niece, the difficult debutante’s blend of sweetness and sharp tongue make him desperate for the one thing he swears he never wanted: love. Yet as they surrender to passion, danger lurks in Godric’s shadowed past, waiting for him to drop his guard—and rob him of the woman he can’t live without. Product Warnings: This novel includes a lady who refuses to stay kidnapped, a devilish duke with a dark past, and an assortment of charming rogues who have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into.

Explore a hidden world of erotic fantasies, where the greatest pleasures are stolen and the fiercest passions are untamed. . . For years, Callie Taylor has been obsessed with two things: a man she can never have and escaping to Paris where she can follow her artistic passions. But everything changes when Callie meets Wes Thorne, a wealthy, mysterious art collector and famous dominant. Despite all the nights she's spent dreaming of another man, it is Wes's predatory gaze that suddenly consumes her every thought and sets her body on fire. One touch from him promises unforgettable passion, but Callie knows that passion often comes with a price... From the moment he sets eyes on Callie, Wes is intrigued by her artistic talent and her delightful innocence of all things erotic. A stolen kiss leaves him aching and desperate to claim her in a way he's never wanted any woman. But first he must convince her to surrender her control. And what better place to seduce an artistic soul like Callie's than Paris?

Passion that takes no prisoners, and love that tests the limits of ecstasy . . .Fenn Lockwood comes alive in the shadows. Though he might have physically survived the kidnapping that stole his childhood, the trauma and pain he lived through have marked him forever. Now the only place where Fenn can be himself is within the walls of his private BDSM world—a place of erotic obsession, where desire isn't just captured . . . it's bound. Hayden Thorne knows that behind Fenn's hardened exterior is a man worth fighting for. Yet to save him from the past that still haunts him, Hayden will have to abandon every inhibition she's ever had and venture into Fenn's intoxicatingly sensual world. Each tantalizing second she spends in Fenn's searing embrace is more delicious than the last and soon Hayden begins to think that she may never want to leave such torturous bliss . . .

Royce Devereaux isn’t your average sexy professor.He has a lot of rules in his professional and personal life. He keeps both worlds separated. He has to. He’s somewhat of a public figure—and yes, he’s made enemies climbing to the top. Being a world-famous paleontology professor doesn’t mix well with his romantic life. He likes his sex rough, and a whole lot of naughty. Which means his students are 100% off limits.There's just one problem. His new graduate student assistant, Kenzie.She looks at him like a kid looks at birthday cake, and he doesn’t like it. Except, he does. He likes it too much. She’s feisty and smart—which only makes him want to tie her up and master her body. And her buttoned-up librarian look—it makes him want to strip her naked…slowly. He has to find a way to ignore her. It’s only one semester. Right? But when an enemy decides to use Kenzie to force his hand, Royce has no choice but to keep her close. Very, very close. His two worlds have just collided. He just hopes he can let her go once the danger is over…

Letty Fordyce knows three things about her future husband: Lord Morrey is a dangerous man. He frightens her. She desires him. Adam Beaumont, the Earl of Morrey, is full of dark secrets. His brooding and mysterious allure draws women to him like moths to a flame. But he fears he can never marry, not when his secret life is full of constant dangers. Letty Fordyce doesn't want to be like other women, she wants a life for herself and a happy marriage to a respectable man, not someone with secrets and a life full of danger like Lord Morrey. Yet from the moment she meets him, she can't think of anyone else. When a night of terror sends her into Adam's arms, she'll be forced to choose between the life she thought she wanted and the man she's falling in love with.