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<div><h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>In this engrossing adult fantasy tale, the fascinating Phèdre nó Delaunay fights to save her queen and country in a battle whose greatest weapon proves to be Phèdre herself. This sequel to Carey's accomplished debut novel, <em>Kushiel's Dart</em>, finds Phèdre, now Comtesse de Montrève, once again plying her skills as an <em>anguissette</em>--a courtesan for whom pain becomes pleasure--and her talents as a spy. She uncovers a conspiracy of treason and murder and begins an adventure that takes her once more to distant lands in the company of an intriguing cast of characters--and a new confrontation with her old enemy, Melisande Shahrizai.</p><p>There's some evidence of haste in this novel: the writing is not always as tight and controlled as it was in <em>Kushiel's Dart</em>. Nevertheless, Carey's fans will certainly enjoy this return to Terre d'Ange, and those new to her work will find a satisfying combination of fantasy, sex, and adventure, as well as a smart and engaging heroine. <em>--Roz Genessee</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>After Carey's boldly imaginative fantasy debut, Kushiel's Dart (2001), in which the dauntless Phèdre nó Delaunay used intelligence and sexual skill to triumph in politics and war in a Renaissance-like world, Phèdre, elevated to the peerage and resuming her anguisette duties, returns for further fabulous, if at times redundant, adventures, determined to rest on something other than her laurels. While the first novel told a coming-of-age story, the sequel covers only a relatively brief period, though it has enough plot lines and melodrama for six heroines. The action first focuses on the recapture of Phèdre's evil nemesis, the dominating Melisande Shahrizai, who has escaped from prison and death. Alas, the initially fascinating Melisande turns into a tiresome harridan. Later plot twists include everything from a journey to the Venetian La Serenissima to imprisonment at Melisande's hands in a mountainous jail on a lonely island. For opulence, a costume ball rivals that of Broadway's Phantom of the Opera. Carey is adept at bringing both her exotic settings and vast cast of characters fully to life. The dream of every man and not a few women, Phèdre is too much to handle for all but her faithful Joscelin, the Cassiline monk who defied his vows to remain her loving companion. Phèdre's first outing deservedly won her a host of followers, but wordiness and needless complexity combine to make this hefty novel less of a stellar achievement than its predecessor. (Apr. 16)Forecast: A push that includes national print advertising, regional author appearances and targeting to romance readers will bring back the faithful, but if too many of them are disappointed, Carey might do well to give her heroine a rest and apply her considerable talents to fresh challenges.<br>Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. </p></div>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>HThis brilliant and daring debut, set in a skewed Renaissance world (people worship Jesus-like "Blessed Elua" but also demigods), catapults Carey immediately into the top rank of fantasy novelists. In the character of PhŠdre n¢ Delaunay, "a whore's unwanted get" sold into indentured servitude in opulent Night Court, the author has created a particularly strong and memorable female lead, and has surrounded her with a large and varied cast, from nobles and priests to soldiers and peasants. An engrossing plot focuses first on court intrigue and treachery, then, in a surprising shift, on high adventure, travel in barbarian lands including Alba (England) and war. Two demigods rule PhŠdre: Naamah, for sensual love; and Kushiel, for sado-masochistic pain, his "dart" being a blood spot in PhŠdre's eye. Not everyone will go for PhŠdre's graphic if elegantly described sexual encounters, which usually involve the infliction of pain, whether from lashing, branding or even cutting. PhŠdre, however, is no clich‚d sexpot but a complex character motivated by religious zeal. In one amusing scene, a group of sailors on the march chants: "Whip us till we're on the floor, we'll turn around and ask for more, we're PhŠdre's Boys!" At the end, the heroine reminds one of an equally strong-minded sister whose home was Tara. No mere feminist novel, this is an assured and magnificent book that will appeal to both male and female readers. (June 4)Forecast: With blurbs from Delia Sherman and Storm Constantine, plus major print advertising both genre and mainstream, this first novel could rack up impressive sales.</p><p>Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.</p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>Trained from childhood to a life of servitude and espionage, Ph?dre n? Delaunay serves her master, Anafiel, as a courtesan and spy, ferreting out the dangerous secrets of the noble houses of Terre d'Ange. When she uncovers a treasonous conspiracy, however, her life takes on a new and deadly purpose. Set in a world reminiscent of late medieval and early Renaissance Europe, Carey's first novel portrays a society based upon political and sexual intrigue. The author's sensual prose, suitable for adult readers, should appeal to fans of Tanith Lee, Storm Constantine, and Terry Goodkind. Recommended for adult fantasy collections. <br>Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p></div>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Bestseller Carey's fifth book in her Kushiel's Legacy series, volume two of her Imriel fantasy trilogy (after 2006's <em>Kushiel's Scion</em>), is a moody tale of violence and divided loyalties. Phèdre nó Delaunay, the sexually adventurous heroine of the first trilogy, has become a placid foster mother to Prince Imriel, son of the unseen traitor Melisande Shahrizai. Carey's infamous explicit sex scenes now portray Imriel's illicit and often violent affair with Sidonie, daughter of Queen Ysandre. Their romance is frustrated by Imriel's obligation to marry Dorelei, an Alban princess, and beget future rulers of Alba. When Dorelei and her unborn son are betrayed and Imriel is badly wounded, he finds himself torn between his vow to avenge his wife and child and his desire to seek solace in Sidonie's arms. His inner conflicts are ameliorated by religious faith, a change from previous books that may please some readers and dismay others. Imriel serves well as protagonist, however, and events are clearly building to what promises to be a spectacular climax in the sixth volume. <em>Author tour. (June)</em> <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From Booklist</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> Prince Imriel de la Courcel's parents were infamous traitors, and he was stolen and tortured as a child. Rescued and raised by Terre d'Ange's champions, Phedre and Joscelin, he's now third in line for the throne. He and the dauphine, Sidonie, have always been mutually cool, and then, when Sidonie is 16 and Imriel a little older, they suddenly see one another with new eyes. Both know that neither queen nor realm would approve their marriage, so Imriel agrees to wed Dorelei, the daughter of the Cruarch, to reinforce Terre d'Ange's alliance with Alba. But Alba's elders have foreseen what Imriel portends. Using his passion for Sidonie to bind him magically, they try to force him out. His sense of duty is strong, however, and surprisingly, he falls in love with Alba and with Dorelei. Treason and magic make murderous bedfellows, and when a shape-changing magician-bear savages nearly nine-months-pregnant Dorelei, Imriel swears vengeance—a vow that could kill him as well as his quarry. Carey brings Alba vividly alive again in another stunner in the Kushiel series. A multilayered plot and Imriel's complex inner life as he struggles with pain and loss in the present while trying to make peace with the past hook the reader but good. Luedtke, Paula <br><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p></div>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p><em>Starred Review.</em> The magnificent fourth book in Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series marks the start of a new trilogy set in Terre d'Ange, the author's reimagined Renaissance world. The story picks up where volume three, <em>Kushiel's Avator</em> (2003), left off, though Imriel nó Montrève de la Courcel, a prince of the blood, now narrates in place of the unforgettable heroine of the previous books, Phèdre nó Delauney. As a boy, Imriel is abandoned by his treasonous parents and subjected to terrible indignities by pirates. Later rescued and adopted by Phèdre, he grows into a position of authority and learns many skills, including sexual prowess. He has a torrid affair with a married woman, and finally survives a terrible siege at a walled city he courageously defends. The specter of Imriel's sinister, absent mother, Melisande Shahrizai, looms over the action. Credible and gripping, this is heroic fantasy at its finest. <em>(June)</em> <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From Booklist</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> Traitorous parents, the curse of Kushiel's blood in his veins, and the unspeakable crimes he endured while a child slave severely damaged Imriel. Feeling tainted and incapable of goodness, he fears he will misuse Kushiel's gift. Yet he is compelled to overcome the dark forces that shaped him. The love of Phedre and Joscelin, his beloved adoptive parents and Terre d'Ange's greatest champions, has helped him heal. He does an excellent job of comporting himself as a prince of the blood, third in line from the throne, until he turns 18. Then the conflicts raging within threaten to overwhelm him. Pushed beyond his limits by his first visit to Valerian House with his Shahrizai cousins and angry with the powerful, twisted desire that is Kushiel's legacy, in an impulsive moment he flashes up at Phedre--and changes his world irrevocably. He is now on his path to adulthood, first stop Tiberium. Traveling and living simply, he hopes to find himself. Evoking the same stunned awe that the tryptych of <em>Kushiel's Dart </em>(2001), <em>Kushiel's Cho</em>sen (2002), and <em>Kushiel's Avatar</em> (2003) did, the Imriel trilogy is off to a smashing start. Uncommonly self-aware, young Imriel, in his maturing thoughts and emotions, is a tremendously believable, sympathetic character. Meanwhile, Carey continues thoughtfully and respectfully re-envisioning S&amp;M in images of beauty, power, and eroticism firmly rooted in the sacred. Intelligent, sexy, heartbreakingly human, Carey at her intoxicating best. <em>Paula Luedtke</em><br><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p></div>


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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; ">short, very sexy contemporary - free from www.jcwilder.com</span>


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<div><h3>Review</h3><p>4 Stars! Wilder has a unique writing style all her own with an imagination that knows no bounds! -- <em>Romantic Times Magazine</em>  </p><p>5 Stars! Anyone who loves a fabulous supernatural romance will...place it on the keeper shelf...a special work... -- <em>Harriet Klausner, Affaire de Coeur Magazine</em>  </p><p>I never want to see this series end! -- <em>Detre Fitch, Huntress Book Reviews</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>An exciting double volume containing Books III and IV of the Shadow Dweller series by J. C. Wilder! </p><p>Book III - SHAMELESS A woman whose chances for love were destroyed...a man who could be her savior if it weren't for the child he'd sacrifice everything to protect. </p><p>In the heart of Colorado begins a love story that could heal the wounds of years. As Erihn finds the one man who could finally break through the barriers she's erected, Fayne is torn between his desire and his loyalties. As he watches the woman he loves break free from years of self-imposed loneliness, he finds he is the one who is now trapped by his desire, his dark self. </p><p>Fate steps in and his secret threatens everyone around them, secrets that lead a bitter enemy to love's door. </p><p>Book IV - REDEMPTION </p><p>With her twin sister dead, Maeve seeks justice for her murder. She's discovered the key that will guarantee her success - a magical spell to control a vampire. Now she needs to locate a witch of pure intent to teach the spell to her. </p><p>Quinn Montgomery wants nothing to do with his mother, Mortianna. Denounced at birth, Quinn was only summoned to her side upon the death of his half-sister, Bliss, the acknowledged heir. When he discovers the beautiful Maeve a prisoner in his mother's house, he refuses to allow his mother's plans to continue and he rescues the prickly immortal from imminent death. </p><p>Together, Maeve and Quinn reluctantly band together to battle the forces of darkness as they fight their growing attraction for each other. Will Quinn teach Maeve the spell she desperately needs, or will she fall under his spell instead? </p></div>


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<p>The Barnes &amp; Noble ReviewGet ready to meet three brave, sexy men -- and three women bold enough to take them on -- in this exciting theme anthology. A raging storm unleashes stormy passions in Jill Shalvis's fast moving story, "Stranded!" Emergency room physician Matt Walker can handle almost any crisis -- except the emptiness in his own heart. Dedicated scientist Molly Stanton has to admit that, in her quest for success, she's somehow forgotten to get a life. When Matt rescues Molly from the perils of a flood and they're stranded alone together, the rest is history. Next, the earth moves in Donna Kauffman's "Buried!" As far as Haley Brubaker is concerned, a woman's best friend is her dog -- after all, four-footed companions never break you heart or steal your money. Though she's miles from home when the earthquake strikes, nothing and no one is going to keep her from getting to her dog, Digger. She expects Brett Gannon and his rescue dog, Recon, to be the biggest obstacle she'll face on the way until her loyalty proves to Brett that Haley is a woman after his own heart. In "Trapped!" by Lori Foster, love burns hotter than fire. Rosie has always loved her childhood friend, Ethan Winters. She loved him enough to back off when Ethan became engaged to another woman, loved him enough to be his friend when he was jilted, and loved him enough to try some shock therapy to show him the searingly passionate new possibility she'd been burning to offer. She figured if the handsome firefighter woke up half naked in bed with her, they'd both find out once and for whether passion can burn between them. Sue Stone</p>


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<div><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><font size="3"><em>Is it love, or just a little harmless sex?</em></font></span></p><font size="3"><em><p></p></em></font><p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><font size="3">Book one in the Harmless series</font></span></p><font size="3"><p></p></font><p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 14.4pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'"><font size="3">Max has always been Anna’s knight in shining armor. But Max has always seen her as a charming, and <i>very</i> sexy, little sister.</font></span></p><font size="3"><p></p></font><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 14.4pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'"><font size="3">Until Max’s cold fiancé dumps him, Anna unloads another of her many conquests and she invites him over for margaritas and Mexican food. Too much tequila, too much flirting, and too many years of fighting the attraction—Max loses control and has mind-blowing sex with Anna on her couch. And in her shower. And in her bed.</font></span></p><font size="3"><p></p></font><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 14.4pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'"><font size="3">When the sun rises the next morning, both of them must face that their night together is just the first of many. For Max, he knows he wants Anna forever, but convincing a commitment-phobe like Anna is no easy task. For Anna, she can’t believe she has finally slipped beneath Max’s steely self-control. He is every woman’s dark, wet fantasy come true. But what happens when the Max pushes Anna for more than just <i>A Little Harmless Sex? </i></font></span></p><font size="3"><p></p></font><p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 14.4pt"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'"><font size="3">This book was previously published, but has been substantially revised and expanded for Samhain Publishing.</font></span></i></p><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><font size="3"><p></p></font></i><p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0pt"><span style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><font size="3">Warning, this title contains the following, explicit sex, graphic terms for body parts, torture via silk stockings, a little spanking, and shower and office sex.</font></span></p><font size="3"><p></p></font><p></p></div>


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<p>Hardworking Ruth only wants to be able to sleep the night through without being awakened by her rowdy neighbors who like to party into the wee hours of the morning. When they don't acknowledge her polite requests to turn down the noise, she calls the police, figuing quite correctly that the authorities be very interested in what looked like a large bloodstain in the snow in their back yard. Derek, Bill, and, especially Allister, are annoyed by their straightlaced neighbor's complaints. What they do in their house is none of her business so they decide to stop her complaints once and for all. Scaring her into silence shouldn't be a problem, especially since one of them is a werewolf and the other two are vampires. A quick break-in, a little mind control, and she won't bother them any more. But, Ruth is not the quiet, prim and proper woman they expected. Instead, she meets them downstairs wearing a skimpy, red satin teddy and weilding a fireplace poker. Derek is knocked unconscious, and Bill ends up with a lump the size of a Christmas tree ball on his head. Only Allister is able to escape injury and capture their angy neighbor in his arms. This Christmas Eve is one Ruth will never forget.</p>


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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Lois Barker reluctantly trades her life as a big-city journalist for ownership of the Green News-Item, a tiny, twice-weekly paper in rural Louisiana. As the not-so-proud new owner, Lois must keep the paper for at least a year. When she pulls into Green on New Year's Day, her expectations of a charming little town and friendly people are shattered. Instead, she finds herself battling prejudice and financial corruption, while encountering a host of fascinating characters who will change her life.</p>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Jude Patterson is a sexy but shy romance novelist who discovers the flowery language he's always used in historical love scenes doesn't translate well to contemporary romances. Alyssa Stone is a beautiful fan who offers to help him learn to write better love scenes. <br></p><p>Jude is fascinated by Alyssa, whose confident and sensual demeanor conceals a very vulnerable interior. Before long, he's the one showing her how to write love scenes... and maybe even how to write happy endings. </p></div>


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<p>“Christmas or Bust!”What do a Blue Angels pilot, a bounty hunter and an ex-NFL football player have in common? The three bad-boy bachelors of Snowdon, Maine have to make a friend’s Christmas Eve wedding on time or die trying! They’re willing to risk anything to make that happen—even dashing through the snow in the goofiest bus on Earth, bright red and filled with a bunch of merry, meddling senior citizens known as the Santa Brigade. All too soon, these men will have met their matches in three special women: a woman from their past, a forest ranger so hot she ought to be declared a fire hazard, and a woman on the run. Ho, ho, OH!While serving up holiday cheer with the Santa Brigade, the guys will discover ‘tis the season for good will and folly. Wise men or not, they are well and truly caught, which means these roguish St. Nicks are willing to jingle a few bells along the way if that’s what it takes to find what they truly want for Christmas nestled in their beds after the stockings are stuffed and the gifts placed under the tree.</p>


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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Cake decorator and amateur sleuth Daphne Reynolds must clear her name after a routine cake delivery ends with one of her clients dead.</p>


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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>In 1960, Memphis debutante Margaret McLain defies conservative Southern society by entering veterinary school. Soon young Dr. Maggie McLain finds herself battling for respect among the farmers, pet owners, and livestock breeders of western Tennessee, while also juggling marriage, kids, and a bevy of loving but rambunctious friends -- both two-footed and four-footed. As the decades pass, Maggie's courage and dedication become legendary. Yet when tragedy strikes her family, Maggie has to make a poignant decision about her future in the profession she adores.</p>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p><em>It’s time for an indulgence, or two…or three. </em></p><p><em>Bandicoot Cove, Book 1</em></p><p>There’s something magical about Bandicoot Cove. It’s where Kylie Sullivan’s dream of managing a luxury, five-star resort is about to come true. And it’s where people tend to fall in love. Kylie should know. She’s fallen hard—for three very different men. </p><p>There’s Brad, who knows just how to relieve her stress and send her body on a crash course through pleasure. Hemi, her untamed Maori, who awakens her primitive side. And Finn, the sexy bartender whose specialty is Screaming Orgasms. </p><p>The three men fulfill all her sexual fantasies, but Kylie knows reality will eventually set in and she’ll have to choose. But how? For now she decides not to decide—at least until she makes sure the resort’s soft opening comes off without a hitch. </p><p>As far as Brad, Hemi and Finn are concerned, Kylie’s life is too much work and not enough play. The only choice they plan to give her is to say <em>yes</em> to their wildly passionate proposal…</p><p>Warning: Three sexy men pleasing one uninhibited woman—how much more warning do you need? This short story is long on heat, with a drool-worthy setting and sexual interludes in the office, at the beach and the bar. You want a day job like this. </p></div>


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<font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">On her final flight of the day, a stewardess is confronted by the man of her dreams. Before long the two of them are in the back of the plane and enthralled with passion under the noses of the other passengers.</span></font>


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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>It was supposed to be a fun day, shopping at the mall with her best friend. Then the panic attack started and Kaylee Cavanaugh finds herself screaming, unable to stop. Her secret fears are exposed and it's the worst day of her life.Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.She tries to convince everyone she's fine--despite the shadows she sees forming around another patient and the urge to scream which comes burbling up again and again. Everyone thinks she's crazy. Everyone except Lydia, that is. Another patient with some special abilities...."An eBook exclusive prequel to Rachel Vincent's SOUL SCREAMERS series."</p>


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<div><p><i>Once upon a time...the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs...and time is running out....</i></p><p>Nicolai the vampire was renowned for his virility, but in a twist of fate, "the Dark Seducer" had become a sex slave in the kingdom of Delfina—stripped of his precious timepiece and his memory. All that remained was a primal need for freedom, revenge...and Jane Parker, the only woman who could help him rediscover his destiny.</p><p><b>Contains Bonus Short Stories: <i>The Darkest Angel, The Amazon's Curse</i>, and <i>The Darkest Prison</i>.</b></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>They dared to open Pandora's Box, and now must carry an eternal curse. "New York Times" bestselling author Gena Showalter's incredible new paranormal series begins in a remote fortress in Budapest, where six immortal warriors, each more dangerously seductive than the last, are bound by an ancient curse none has been able to break. Journey through this dark and sensual world, where the line between good and evil blurs and true love is put to the ultimate test. Bundle includes: "The Darkest Fire, The Darkest Night, The Darkest Kiss" and "The Darkest Pleasure."</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><div><h3>Review</h3><p>"One of the premier authors of paranormal romance."</p><p>-New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole<br></p><p>"Showalter gives her fans another treat, sure to satisfy!"</p><p>-RT Book Reviews on The Darkest Passion<br></p><p>"The Showalter name on a book means guaranteed entertainment."</p><p>-RT Book Reviews on Twice as Hot<br></p><p>"If you like your paranormal dark and passionately</p><p>flavored, this is the series for you."</p><p>-RT Book Reviews on The Darkest Whisper </p><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>"I WANT HIM."</p><p>"Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah. The day of the <em>Unfortunate Incident,</em> something you made me swear never to discuss, even upon threat of death. And I won't discuss it now, so don't get your panties in a twist. I just thought you were more careful with your affections nowadays."</p><p>Kaia Skyhawk peered over at her twin—Bianka the Heavenly Hills Ho, as Kaia had recently dubbed her. A name her precious sis deserved. Girl had nailed an angel. A freaking angel. 'Course, in return Bianka had dubbed her Kaia: Bed-warmer of the Underworld for getting down and dirty with Paris, the biggest man-whore in existence.</p><p>The title didn't sting nearly as much as her last one. Fine, her current one. Harpies had long memories, and shouts of "Look, everyone, it's the Disappointment" still happened anytime she ran into another of her race.</p><p><em>Anyway.</em> Bianka was as ravishingly gorgeous as ever, a dark fall of hair cascading down her back, her amber eyes bright. And just then she was flipping through a rack of designer dresses, a mix of determination and concern radiating from her.</p><p>"That happened, like, a million years ago," Kaia said, "and Strider is the first man Fve…damn it, he's just the first man I've wanted, <em>truly</em> wanted," she added before her sister could comment on her "boyfriends" throughout the centuries, "since. Or ever."</p><p>"Actually, <em>that,</em> as you called it, happened a mere fifteen hundred years ago, but <em>we aren't discussing it.</em> So what about Kane, keeper of Disaster, huh? I thought you once had a moment with him? A shock to your senses or something like that."</p><p>"Nothing but static."</p><p>A snort full of amusement. "Try again."</p><p>"I don't know. Maybe his demon sensed a kindred spirit in me and reached out, hoping to fan the flames of a romance. That doesn't mean Kane and I are destined to be together. I'm not attracted to him."</p><p>"Better, and okay, Kane's out. Maybe you need to look elsewhere for a boyfriend. Like, say, the heavens. I can set you up with an angel." Bianka held up a flowing swath of blue material with sequined flower appliques sewn into the top and layer after layer of lacy ruffles at the bottom. "What do you think of this one?"</p><p>Ignoring the dress as she'd been ignored, Kaia pressed on. "No set ups. I want Strider."</p><p>"He's no good for you."</p><p><em>He's perfect for me.</em> "One, he doesn't belong to another Harpy. Two, he isn't psychotic. Well," she added with a few seconds of afterthought, "he isn't psychotic all of the time. And three, he's…he's my consort, I know it." There. She'd said the words out loud to someone other than herself and the brain-damaged man in question.</p><p><em>My consort.</em></p><p>Consorts, as Kaia now knew, were extremely hard to find and utterly cherished because of that. Actually, they were necessary. Harpies were volatile by nature, dangerous and, when annoyed, lethal to the entire world. Consorts calmed them. Consorts appeased them.</p><p>If only you could select your consort from a catalogue and be done with it. Instead, instinct picked for you, and your body followed suit. Wouldn't have been so bad, except each Harpy was granted one consort during her seemingly endless life. Only one. You lost him, and you suffered eternally. If you didn't kill yourself outright.</p><p>That Kaia had once tried to steal Juliette's, that Juliette had been without her male all this time, not knowing whether he lived or had died, hating him for what he'd done but needing him anyway, that Juliette still loathed Kaia and had promised retribution—retribution the bitch still clearly planned to achieve—shamed her. But then, what could she say to defend herself? Nothing!</p><p><em>She</em> had disobeyed. <em>She</em> set the man free. <em>She</em> had unleashed his fury upon an unsuspecting community.</p><p>Every year Kaia mailed Juliette a fruit basket with a "sorry about you consort" card, and every year the basket was returned with rotten apple cores, black banana peels, and a picture of Juliette flipping her off with "Die, Whore, Die" written in blood somewhere.</p><p>Only reason Juliette hadn't yet attacked was out of respect for Tabitha, who was still a force to be reckoned with among allies and enemies alike.</p><p><em>Don't think about the past. You'll start spiraling.</em></p><p>She'd think about <em>her</em> consort. Strider. Barbaric, slutty, idiotic Strider. He was an immortal warrior who'd long ago stolen and opened Pandora's box to "teach those asshole gods a lesson" for daring to pick a "mere woman" to guard such a "dumb relic," and because of his rampant senselessness, he and the friends who'd helped him—the infamous and deliciously frightening for everyone but a Harpy Lords of the Underworld—had been cursed, forever forced to carry the demons they'd set free inside themselves.</p><p>Strider, the beautiful moron, was possessed by the demon of Defeat. He couldn't lose a single challenge without suffering debilitating pain. Of course, that made him determined to win <em>everything,</em> even something as silly as Rock Band. Which she refused to ever again play with him because she'd totally nailed the bass, then the drums, then the mic, and he'd spazzed out and yelled at her before passing out and twitching with pain. <em>So</em> melodramatic.</p><p>Anyway, his determination made him stupid, egotistical, stupid, an all around asshat and stupid! But…there was no man more handsome, no man more fierce.</p><p>No man who wanted less to do with her.</p><p>Had she mentioned he was stupid?</p><p>"Well?" Bianka shook the dress in Kaia's face, forcefully claiming her attention. "Opinion, please. And sometime today."</p><p><em>Focus.</em> "Don't kill the messenger, but that thing will make you look like a cracked out prom queen who has no plans to sleep with her boyfriend when the big dance ends—because she doesn't have a boyfriend. She's too weird. Sorry."</p><p>Bianka merely shrugged, unperturbed. "Hey, cracked out prom queens might be weird, but they're hot."</p><p>"If <em>hot</em> is a synonym for <em>destined to die alone,</em> you're right. So go ahead. Buy the dress, and I'll buy you a hundred cats to keep you company while you spend the rest of eternity trying to figure where your relationship with the angel went wrong, never really understanding that the problems started <em>this very night"</em></p><p>"Do you know <em>anything</em> about me? Hello, I like dogs. But fine, whatever." Red lips pursing, her twin snapped the hanger back onto the rack and continued her search for "the perfect gown" to wear when she broke a bit of bad news to <em>her</em> consort, Lysander.</p><p>Poor Bianka. She hadn't just nailed an angel, she'd bound herself to one. Forever. Lysander lived and worked in the heavens and was so boring Kaia would rather shove bamboo splints under other people's fingernails than spend time with him. Okay, bad example. She actually enjoyed shoving bamboo splints under other people's nails.</p><p>There was something so <em>best-musical-ever</em> when people screamed and begged for mercy, and she could listen to a good musical all day.</p><p>"Kaia?" Bianka said. "What the hell are you sighing about?"</p><p>"Musicals."</p><p>"Musicals? Seriously? When I'm dying for help? Will you just listen to me for once?"</p><p>"In a minute. Geez. I really like this thought train." Or rather, she'd liked the station stop before the musicals. A male this boring needed an equally tedious nickname…like…Pope Lysander the First. That's right. He was an elite warrior with wings of gold and yeah, he was a demon slayer extraordinaire, and okay, that was sexy as hell, but he was also morally upstanding. Like over the edge OCD about it. Kaia shuddered with distaste. He was slowly but surely sucking the fun right out of her once delightful sister.</p><p>In fact, Lysander's aversion to blatant shoplifting was the reason they had abandoned Budapest—too many prying eyes—returned to Alaska and broken into Anchorage's Fifth Avenue Mall at night rather than taking what they desired in broad daylight. As usual. Again, too many prying eyes.</p><p>To be honest, Kaia was kind of embarrassed about the concession. She would have told <em>her</em> man to take his request to "please don't steal in front of humans, it gives them ideas" and stuff it up his ass. Also, she despised the lack of thrill, <em>needed</em> it to soothe her darker side, but whatever. She loved her sister. More than that, she owed Bianka a debt she could never hope to repay.</p><p>They might not ever discuss the <em>Unfortunate Incident,</em> but Kaia had never forgotten it. (See? A Harpy with a long memory.) Every day she remembered how Bianka had writhed in a pool of her own blood, her eyes glassy with pain. How moans of pain had parted mutilated lips.</p><p>Bianka sighed. "Okay, let's get your problems out of the way so we can concentrate on me. Tell me why you picked Strider as your heartmate. I know you're dying to extol his virtues."</p><p>For a moment, Kaia could only blink at her sister, certain she'd misheard. "Are you freaking kidding me? Heart-mate? Did you just say <em>heartmate?"</em></p><p>Bianka snickered. "I did, and I almost gagged. Ly-sander's influence, you know. Anyway, Strider's such a tool. And a challenge." Another snicker echoed. "Get it? A challenge…he can't lose one…but he sure as hell acts like one."</p><p>Kaia rolled her eyes. "I think you've been hanging with the angels too much. Your IQ has dropped."</p><p>"What? That was funny." Square-tipped nails painted bright blue drummed against the metal rack between them. "And by the way, the angels aren't that bad."</p><p>"Whatever you need to tell yourself, my love."</p><p>... </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  10/4/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 6712 (99%)
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<div><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p><em>One sexy silent night…5:00 a.m.</em></p><p>Cilla Michaels was not going to leave the hotel room without her panties. She'd been a cop for three years, a private security agent for two, and now she headed up G.W. Securities' new office in San Francisco. She was a pro at tracking things down.</p><p>On her hands and knees, she inched her way quietly down the length of her side of the bed, using her hand to sweep the space beneath it as she went.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>She was not the kind of woman who would abandon anything that had a La Perla label on it. She'd parted with a small fortune for the red lace bikini, and it was part of a set. The matching camisole had already been located near the nightstand. She had a vague recollection of stripping it off and tossing it there herself. While in the throes of uncontrollable passion. Because that's exactly what Jonah Stone had sparked in her.</p><p>Ducking her head down, she lifted the dust ruffle and peered beneath. The dim light slipping through the narrow slits in the drapes didn't provide much in the way of illumination.</p><p>The rest of her clothes she'd found quite easily near the door of the hotel suite where Jonah Stone had efficiently stripped her out of them. The man had fast moves, and just thinking about what had happened the instant the door had closed behind them brought back the sensation of those hard hands on her skin, the impatience, the demand. And the pleasure.</p><p>Heat shimmered through her, pooling in her center and then radiating outward. He'd taken her the first time right there. No small talk. No talk at all. But the foreplay had been top-notch. His hands had pushed into her hair, and she'd felt each of those hard, slender fingers while he'd assaulted her mouth with lips, teeth and tongue. Each sensation had been so sharp. If she lived to be a hundred, she would never forget his mouth, his taste.</p><p>Then he'd moved those hands over her shoulders, shoving her jacket off and molding her body with such purpose and skill.</p><p>He'd smelled so good and felt better—hard and tough and male. Hadn't she been imagining him just like this ever since the instant she'd first seen him at that party yesterday?</p><p>When those smoky-gray eyes had collided with hers, something had clicked inside of her like a switch turning brains cells off and lust on—full throttle. That was the only explanation she could come up with for agreeing to his one-night stand proposition.</p><p>His argument had been logical enough—just the kind you'd expect from an astute businessman. After all, they were unattached adults, intensely attracted to each other, and fate in the form of an airport-closing blizzard had thrown them together. Why not pleasure each other for one long, sexy night and then go their separate ways?</p><p>She might have come up with at least two good reasons why not. In fact she'd been thinking about them when he'd suddenly appeared at her table in the lounge of the hotel. But looking into his eyes had triggered that little click again, and sent logic flying.</p><p>That was how she'd ended up against the door of his hotel room, his mouth branding hers. She had only a blurry recollection of how her sweater and slacks had hit the floor. Her focus had been on those hard hands moving up her legs and heating her blood to the boiling point. She'd never before experienced such intense sensations. Never wanted anyone so desperately. He'd opened up a new and wonderful world for her. Sensations flooded through her again as she recalled how he'd slipped fingers beneath the thin lace that still covered her, pushed into her and sent her flying.</p><p><em>Again.</em></p><p>He'd whispered the word so quietly against her mouth. His hands had already slid between them. She caught the rasp of a zipper, the tear of foil. The sounds might have been the most erotic she'd ever heard. Even as he sheathed himself, the need inside her had spiked into craving. She had to have him inside her. She couldn't survive another ten seconds if he wasn't.</p><p><em>Now. Right now.</em></p><p>He'd dug fingers into her hips, lifting her as she'd wrapped arms and legs around him. Then he'd driven into her, and she hadn't cared if she survived at all. His thrusts had battered her against the door again and again. Fast. As if he'd needed this to survive just as much as she had. That was the last rational thought she'd registered before his release triggered an orgasm that had simply shattered her.</p><p>Drawing in a deep breath, Cilla pressed a hand against her hammering heart. A little side-trip down memory lane was not going to help her find her panties. All it made her want to do was crawl back into bed with Jonah.</p><p><em>Don't think about that. No more fantasies, either.</em> That's what had landed her in this situation—a one-night stand in a hotel near the Denver airport with Jonah Stone—a man she'd met for the first time only yesterday.</p><p>Her new job at G.W. Securities had brought her to a small family gathering at the Fortune Mansion in Denver. The moment she'd arrived at the party, she'd been aware of him. He was a man that any female would look at more than once—tall, dark and ruggedly handsome. He was dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans, which enhanced the broad shoulders, muscled chest and long, lanky legs. His chin was strong, his mouth firm and his cheekbones made her think of a warrior's. Of course, she'd looked at him more than once or twice. Any woman needed a little eye candy in her life, right? It was when her eyes had finally collided with his that the trouble had started.</p><p>She'd heard that click, and she'd totally lost track of where she was, who she was. For seconds, minutes maybe, she hadn't been aware of anyone or anything but him. A stranger she'd seen across a crowded room.</p><p>It was the kind of thing she'd only read about in books or heard in song lyrics or seen in a movie. Everything had frozen, including time.</p><p>Before yesterday afternoon, Cilla would have sworn that nothing like that could happen in real life. But it had. More astonishing than that, it had happened to her. And of course, she'd been curious. Who was he?</p><p>And how could he have this amazing effect on her?</p><p>As a top-notch security agent and investigator, she'd tracked down the answer to her first question within five minutes. His name was Jonah Stone, and he was the best friend of her new boss, Gabe Wilder. That alone would pretty much have classified Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome as forbidden fruit. The new G.W. Securities office in San Francisco was only six months old, and Gabe had hired her to run it. She <em>had</em> to concentrate on her job, on proving herself to Gabe. The last thing she needed was to get involved with his best friend.</p><p>But there was another reason to put Jonah Stone on the Forbidden Fruit list. From what Gabe had told her, his friend was a busy and successful entrepreneur, the owner of three successful supper clubs and totally focused on his businesses. That reminded her a bit too much of her father.</p><p>But even with the warning flags flying, she'd still tried to satisfy her curiosity about the second question. How could he have that time-stopping, nothing-else-matters effect on her mind and senses? So when he'd approached her, she'd gripped his outstretched hand, felt the hard palm, the firm strength of his fingers, and the oddest feeling of connection. Then she'd met his eyes and her mind had just emptied. And she'd been struck by a vivid image of the two of them, naked and rolling across a wide bed in a dark room.</p><p>Both the feeling and the image had faded, and she'd been just fine. But she'd also made her excuses and left the party early. And everything would have been fine if it hadn't been for the damn blizzard.</p><p>If the Denver airport hadn't had to close down last night, she and Jonah would have both been back in San Francisco in their separate apartments, and her expensive red panties would have been in her laundry hamper.</p><p>But it <em>had</em> shut down and she'd decided to switch to an early-morning flight and stay at the airport hotel. She'd been in the bar having a glass of wine and thinking about him when he'd shown up. During the time it had taken him to cross to her table and join her, she'd experienced for the third time in her life what she'd decided to call the nobody-else-but-Jonah effect.</p><p>For a moment, neither one of them had spoken. And then he'd made his proposition. And she'd agreed to it. The rest of the night was now history—and the sexiest one she'd ever experienced.</p><p><em>Panties,</em> she reminded herself as she inched her way around the corner of the bed. <em>Find them. Get dressed. Leave.</em> The sooner she got back to San Francisco, the better.</p><p>They weren't anywhere along the foot of the bed. They weren't anywhere in the trail of clothes that led to the bed. Chances were good that they were still <em>in</em> the bed. But if she got back into that bed, it wouldn't be just for her expensive underwear.</p><p>She spotted the red lace the moment she crawled around the end of the bed to Jonah's side. In the light from the digital clock radio on the nightstand, she also saw Jonah. More of him than she wanted to. He was sprawled on his stomach, one arm dangling over the side of the mattress. The sheet covered him only to the waist.</p><p>And that strongly muscled back was not what she should be looking at. She dragged her gaze away and glanced down his arm to where his fingers nearly brushed the floor. Threaded through them was her quarry. All she had to do was get those panties and leave.</p><p>Very quietly, she crawled forward, scarcely daring to breathe. Gripping just the edge of the lace, she tugged.</p><p>Jonah's fingers reflexively clenched the red undies.</p><p>Cilla waited, listening hard. His breathing was steady. Only his fingers had moved, so in another moment, they'd relax again. This time she'd just pull harder.</p><p>That was one strategy—the smart one. Grab and go.&lt;</p><p><br></p><p></p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations"><span style="font-weight: bold; ">11/24/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2624 (99%) </span></div></div>


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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Undercover DEA agent Caleb Black is home for the holidays—possibly to bust his own father. But maybe Caleb's con-man dad isn't the one running drugs through the small town of Black Oak. Maybe it's the green-eyed goddess who runs the New Age shop and has Caleb under her sultry spell.</p><p>Pandora Easton saved the family store with two words: sex sells. And her delectable aphrodisiacs really work, as she's proven with notorious bad boy Caleb again and again and again.</p><p>Little does she guess that, in the end, her most potent potion will be the truth…. </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  11/16/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2880 (99%)
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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>What would you do if you hit the jackpot? Thanks to a spectacularly bad ex-boyfriend, Liza Skinner is in one heck of a mess. She's lost not only her amazing job at Atlanta's hottest TV talk show, but also her best friends and her share of millions of lottery bucks! Frankly, a blackmailing ex is the cherry on Liza's misery sundae! But then an unexpected date with Dr. Hunky-Hunk, Evan Gann, turns Liza's life around again, especially when she suspects the good doctor is quite a bit naughtier than she first thought. So that whipped cream from her sundae might come in handy for those sinfully delicious nights...Nights that will end for certain if Evan discovers what she's been hiding! </p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>When bookstore owner Caron Avery dresses up as Marilyn Monroe for a charity ball, she decides that for once in her life she'll let her inhibitions go. Before she knows it Caron is living a night of fantasy with sexy millionaire Baxter Remington in hot pursuit.  </p><p>And what a night it is. Sizzling, red-hot and sensual, Baxter can't believe he's fallen under the adorable blonde's...er...brunette's spell. But with the scandal going on in his life, he knows he should let her go before she gets caught up in it, too. Then again--maybe one more night (or eight!) of mind-blowing passion will help them both forget!  </p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Audrey Jones can’t believe her best friend gave her a gift card to a male escort service for Christmas. A successful finance executive, Audrey doesn’t feel like there’s anything missing in her life. But when she finds herself alone for the holidays, she decides to take a chance, embarking on a personal journey that is both unexpected and highly erotic.   </p><p>Rance Durand has no trouble getting women. So why can’t he seem to get the time of day from the woman whose apartment unit is right next to his? When he overhears her calling the escort service, Rance decides to take the escort’s place. He has three days to seduce her.   </p><p>Will Audrey finally let down her guard and succumb to Rance’s talents in the bedroom? Will Rance be able to win her over before the three days are up? Either way, this Christmas novel will give you a holiday you’ll never forget!   </p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong>Marlie Waters's Christmas List:</strong>  </p><ol><li><p>Get a roommate so she can afford her mortgage after broken engagement.  </p> </li> <li><p>Check! Her old family friend Tyler Burton needs a room. So what if he's been her longtime crush?  </p> </li> <li><p>Ramp up her home-business success.  </p> </li> <li><p>Oops. She works so much that Ty presents her with a 12 Days of Christmas charity auction dating package—just to get her out of his hair!  </p> </li> <li><p>Okay, get a move on with twelve surprisingly fun dates.  </p> </li> <li><p>Hmm. Start to see Ty as pretty hunky…and living under the same roof.  </p> </li> <li><p>Wow. Kiss Ty. Get hot 'n' heavy under the tree one night!  </p> </li> <li><p>Start to believe in holiday magic…  </p> </li> <li><p>…until Ty breaks her heart again.  </p> </li> <li><p>Make a new Christmas list. Well, maybe after unwrapping Ty just one more time….  </p> </li></ol></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Christmas is approaching, and Lena Markham finds herself penniless, friendless, and nearly hopeless. She is trying to restart her life after false accusations landed her in prison, but job opportunities are practically nonexistent. When a secondhand red coat unexpectedly lands her a job as Mrs. Santa at a department store, Lena finally thinks her luck is changing. But can she keep her past a secret? <br></p><p>This tender story about fresh starts will charm readers as all of Melody Carlson's Christmas offerings do. Full of redemption and true holiday spirit, Christmas at Harrington's will be readers' newest Christmas tradition. </p><h3>From the Inside Flap</h3><p>"Please, have a seat." Ms. Harrington gestured to a pair of black leather chairs across from her desk. "I'll cut to the chase because I'm sure your time is as valuable as mine."<br>Lena wasn't so sure, but she nodded then sat down, folding her hands in her lap.<br>"Cassidy seems to think that you've been sent here by angels or God or maybe even Santa Claus."<br>Lena blinked. "What?"<br>"She thinks you'd be perfect to play Mrs. Santa."<br>"Mrs. Santa?"<br>"I suppose it's that coat." Ms. Harrington frowned. "And the curly hair. And I guess you have the right sort of face too." Now she laughed. "But I'm also guessing that is not the sort of work you're looking for."<br>Lena was too dumbfounded to respond. </p></div>


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<p>Slow Cooking Cookbook is brimming with all the latest &amp; greatest tips and tricks for making the tastiest meals with your slow cooker. You'll find mouthwatering recipes like easy cheesy potatoes, Grandma's chili and smothered steak...delicious!</p>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Blush: This is a suggestive romance (love scenes are not graphic) This is the first book in the Garland of Druids series.Morgan McAfee is a Druid and proud of her gifts, using them only for good causes. In 1898 few people acknowledge Druids and their power. When the head of London's Criminal Investigative Department is forced to work with her, he scoffs at her claimed abilities. Chief Inspector Lord Lance Dellafield has no belief in visions and auras. Trying to recover a kidnapped child, his disdain is unconcealed. Handsome, aristocratic and condescending, he wants no help from a Druid. Even though their sexual attraction grows steamier with every encounter.Even when a serial murderer terrifies London, Lance hesitates to admit Morgan's power. Yet he can't dismiss the beautiful Druid's emerald eyes from his mind. If he hopes to solve the murders he finds he needs her help.When the murderer stalks Morgan, can Lance save her? Will he acknowledge a Druid has captured his heart? Will being a Druid help her in this most important pursuit, gaining Lance's love? </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Jean feels she's very much a Californian although she was born in Ohio. California has been home for a good many years. Life changed drastically for her when she was six and her father died incredibly from an errant golf ball. A dishonest insurance agent forced her sheltered mother to seek work, and she became a teacher. Her hours required Jean to be alone in the house in the afternoon, and since she was forbidden to leave till her mother got home, she became an avid reader. The local library supplied most of the books and she early focused on her two main interests, Jane Austen and King Arthur. </p><p>Reading is still one of Jean's favorite activities, although she sometimes has to push it aside to make room for her enduring love of writing. Her journalism degree was used infrequently until recently. Marriage and raising two children pleasantly got in the way. After twenty years of being a real estate broker and with the kids raised, she finally could devote her time to writing, her first love. </p><p>Few things in her life have been so satisfying, especially when all her books have a happy ending. Wonderful to make happen. It only gets more interesting when a secondary character demands his very own book. Who would want to deny him? Not Jean! </p></div>


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<div><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>A runaway horse and an approaching blizzard made for a bad combo, especially the afternoon before Christmas. Tucker Rankin's eyes watered as he gunned the snowmobile in an effort to catch Houdini, a black-and-white stallion with a taste for freedom. The roar of the snowmobile and the white rooster tail it created shattered the peace and quiet of a Wyoming landscape blanketed by last week's storm.</p><p>About two hours of daylight remained, and the blizzard could hit anytime. The black-and-white paint might survive out here alone tonight, but then again, he might not. Meanwhile everyone at the Last Chance Ranch was gearing up for a festive holiday. Tucker knew all about ruined Christmas celebrations and was determined to save both the stallion and the day.</p><p>As a recent hire who didn't much care about Christmas, Tucker had volunteered to get all the Last Chance horses, including Houdini, into their stalls around noon in anticipation of the blizzard. He'd gone back to check on them at about 3:00 p.m. and had come nose-to-nose with Houdini, who'd let himself out of his stall.</p><p>Tucker had grabbed for the horse's halter and missed as Houdini bolted through the open barn door. After making a quick call on his cell to the main house, Tucker had stuffed a sack of oats and a lead rope in the saddlebag of one of the ranch snowmobiles and headed off in pursuit of the stallion.</p><p>He cussed out the horse, but mostly he blamed himself. He should have anticipated the jail break, considering the stallion had done it before. Thank God he hadn't unlatched any of the other stalls, which was another one of his tricks.</p><p>Houdini could potentially earn thousands in stud fees for the Last Chance provided he didn't freeze his ass out here tonight. Jack Chance, who—along with his two brothers, Nick and Gabe, and his widowed mother, Sarah—owned the Jackson Hole area ranch, had bought the two-year-old for a song because Houdini was untrained and rambunctious. The horse's previous owner had meant to school him, but those plans had been sidetracked by various personal issues.</p><p>In the few weeks Houdini had spent at the Last Chance, he'd learned to tolerate a halter and a lead rope, but he had a long way to go before he could be used as a stud, let alone for cutting-horse competitions. His natural curiosity and inventiveness made him a royal pain to deal with.</p><p>Tucker felt a certain kinship with the rowdy horse. He hadn't exactly been a model of responsible behavior, either. He'd partied all through high school and had seen no reason to stop doing that after graduation ten years ago. He'd worked just enough to stay solvent.</p><p>It was a deadend street, and when Jack Chance had hired him back in September, they'd discussed Tucker's lack of focus. Tucker had promised he was ready to buckle down and make something of himself. Accidentally allowing Houdini to escape might be a forgivable offense, but Tucker didn't feel that he had room to make mistakes. Retrieving the horse was his job.</p><p>Because he'd grown up in the area, he knew that the Last Chance prided itself on offering people and animals a fresh start. He and Houdini had come to the right place. Tucker appreciated that fact, but obviously the horse, after being allowed to do as he pleased for two years, did not.</p><p>At least his trail was easy to follow in the fallen snow. That wouldn't be true in a blizzard, however, and flakes had begun swirling through the frigid air. Tucker's sheepskin coat wasn't enough protection from this kind of weather, even with the collar turned up.</p><p>He crammed his Stetson on tight and reached up to anchor it with a gloved hand whenever it threatened to blow off. He wished he'd picked up some goggles, but he'd been too intent on rescuing the horse to think of his own comfort. The moisture from his eyes turned his lashes to icicles, but that couldn't be helped.</p><p>Thank God the horse had stayed out in the open instead of running into the trees. Tucker needed to catch him before he changed his mind about that, because the snowmobile would be no use in the forested part of Chance land.</p><p>Pointing the snowmobile toward a small rise, Tucker hoped to get a glimpse of the horse. Sure enough, the paint galloped merrily through the meadow about two hundred yards ahead of him. The snow was deep enough to spray in all directions, but not deep enough to be dangerous and cause injuries. Houdini seemed to be having the time of his life.</p><p>Tucker stopped the snowmobile and gave a sharp whistle, knowing that was probably a waste of breath.</p><p>True to form, Houdini didn't break stride. Fogging the air with some choice words, Tucker took off after him.</p><p>If the stakes hadn't been so high, Tucker would have enjoyed this chase. Houdini was the picture of carefree pleasure, his tail a white flag signaling his delight at escaping the barn. Tucker understood the urge to throw off the traces. He'd done it often enough.</p><p>But reckless behavior had consequences. After one too many drinks last summer, he'd ended up wrecking his truck. Only dumb luck had kept him from injuring or killing someone, and that wreck and subsequent DUI had been a wake-up call.</p><p>He'd always admired the Chance brothers—going to work for them represented progress in his mind. He wanted their respect, and letting a valuable stallion escape was a step in the wrong direction. Recapturing Houdini was critical for the horse, but also for Tucker's self-confidence.</p><p>Now that he had the stallion in his sights, he felt better about the likelihood of catching him. Getting back might be a little tricky, though. Snow fell more rapidly with every second. It blocked most of the light and at times obscured his view of the racing horse.</p><p>Once he had the horse, he'd call the ranch and let them know his status. Ahead of them, a barbed-wire fence came into view, which meant they'd traveled farther than he'd thought and were at the boundary of Chance land. He'd never ridden in this direction before.</p><p>That fence could be a huge problem. Houdini could jump it if he took a notion, and the snowmobile…couldn't. "Don't jump the damn fence," Tucker muttered under his breath. "Please."</p><p>Houdini galloped toward it as if he had every intention of doing that. Beyond the fence stood a small log cabin with lights on and a ribbon of smoke rising from the chimney. If they had a snowmobile parked in the outbuilding, he'd ask to borrow it if he had to.</p><p>But he'd rather capture the horse on this side of the fence and be done with it. He pushed the snowmobile faster, determined to reach Houdini before the horse made it to the fence. He concentrated so hard on that goal that he didn't notice a large rock jutting out of the snow until the snowmobile's runner found it.</p><p>Next thing he knew, he lay flat on his back in the snow, the wind knocked clean out of him. The blood roared in his ears as he struggled to breathe. What a fine mess. Houdini was probably over the fence and half a mile away by now. The snowmobile was silent, probably wrecked.</p><p>Then a black-and-white muzzle appeared above him. A blast of steamy air hit his face as Houdini snorted.</p><p>Relief flooded through Tucker as he grabbed the horse's halter. "Gotcha."</p><p>Lacey Evans had heard the approaching snowmobile and hoped it wouldn't be anyone coming to check on her. She was doing fine out here by herself, thank you very much. The cabin was filled with the aroma of stew simmering, bread baking and a fire crackling.</p><p>The cabin's owner had seemed nervous about renting to her after she'd explained that her male companion wouldn't be joining her as planned. She'd finally convinced the owner that her Forest Service job made her more qualified than most men to spend a few days alone in an isolated cabin. And that definitely included her piece-of-crap ex-boyfriend Lenny.</p><p>Going to the window, she peered through the falling snow and figured out that a cowboy on a snowmobile was chasing a horse on the far side of the barbed-wire fence. One of the Chance boys' paints had apparently escaped. She watched the chase with interest.</p><p>But when the snowmobile flipped, she shoved her feet into her boots, pulled a stocking cap over her head and snatched up her coat. That cowboy could be in trouble.</p><p>Thank goodness he didn't seem to be badly hurt. By the time she reached the fence, he was on his feet and had somehow captured the horse. The snowmobile didn't look particularly good, though. It had landed upside down, and one runner was bent all to hell.</p><p>She took the time to put on her insulated gloves. "Are you okay?" she called out.</p><p>"I'm fine." His voice was tight with strain. "I…whoa, boy. Whoa!" The horse whinnied and tried to rear, but the cowboy hung on with both gloved hands and brought the horse's head back down.</p><p>She admired his determination to keep a grip on the horse, which looked like the devil's own mount as it blew steam from its nostrils and pawed at the ground. "Should I call somebody?"</p><p>"That's okay. I have my cell." He looked from the horse to the snowmobile and back at her. "But he's a handful. It'd be a help if you could fetch the lead rope out of the snowmobile's saddlebag. He usually settles down once he's on the lead."</p><p>"I can do that." She'd also pick up his hat, which was lying in the snow. She knew how cowboys felt about their hats.</p><p>Parting the barbed wire carefully, she leaned down and stepped between the strands. "Will he try to kick me?"</p><p>"No." The cowboy gulped in air. "He's not mean.</p><p>Just likes to be in control. I'll feel better once I have a lead rope on him."</p><p>Lacey retrieved the fallen hat before crouching down and pulling the rope out of the saddlebag. "And then what?"</p><p>"I…don't know." The snow fell faster and he muttered under his breath.</p><p>She could guess the nature of those mutterings as she handed him the rope a... </p><p><br></p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations"><span style="font-weight: bold; ">11/28/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2498 (99%) </span></div></div>


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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Muri Pond moves back to the small town where her father had lived and died, and it is here that she rediscovers the faith her alcoholic dad never abandoned.</p>


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<div><h3>About the Author</h3><p>USA Today Bestselling Author, Kathie DeNosky, writes highly emotional stories laced with a good dose of humor.  Kathie lives in her native southern Illinois and loves writing at night while listening to country music on her favorite radio station.  </p><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>Brad Price stared at the object in his hand, then at the tiny baby girl grinning up at him as she grabbed her foot and tried to stuff her tiny toes into her mouth. When had Sunnie lost her little pink sock?</p><p>Scratching his head, he scanned the floor. She had it on when they arrived at the Texas Cattleman's Club not two minutes ago. How could a baby barely six months old be so quick?</p><p>He once again glanced at the disposable diaper he held. What in the name of all that was holy had he gotten himself into, taking on the responsibility of raising his late brother's child? He knew about as much when it came to taking care of a baby as he did about piloting a spacecraft to the moon.</p><p>When he had made the decision to adopt Sunnie, he had even gone so far as to give serious consideration to dropping out of the race for the TCC presidency. But only briefly. He had made a commitment to seek the office, and he never went back on his word. Besides, he believed in the club and everything it stood for, and he intended to raise Sunnie to believe in those values, too.</p><p>The organization needed someone with a level head and a solid plan, and he was the man with both. He had several ideas on ways to bridge the ever-widening gap between the old guard and the younger members in order to unite the club and renew the solidarity that had always been an integral part of the TCC. It was something that had to be done to ensure its future and to continue the valuable services it had always provided for the residents of Royal, Texas.</p><p>But if he didn't figure out how to change Sunnie's diaper, and damned quick, it would all be a moot point. He would miss outlining his vision for the TCC at the annual general meeting, and for the first time in the club's history, a woman—the only woman ever to be allowed to join the organization—would be voted into office by default. He'd be damned if he'd let that happen.</p><p>Closing his eyes, Brad counted to ten. He could do this. He had a master's degree in financial planning, had graduated from the University of Texas summa cum laude and in the years since had built a thriving career as a certified financial planner, amassing a sizable fortune of his own. Surely he could figure out something as simple as changing a baby's disposable diaper.</p><p>But where did he start? And once he figured out how to get the one she was wearing off and the new one in position, how the hell was he supposed to fasten it around her waist?</p><p>As he studied the sides of the diaper Sunnie was wearing, he tried to remember what his housekeeper, Juanita, had told him when she gave him a detailed lecture on diaper changing before she left him high and dry to rush off to Dallas for the birth of her third grandchild. Unfortunately, he had been preoccupied with putting the final touches on the campaign wrap-up speech he was supposed to give at today's meeting and barely heard the woman. In hindsight, he should have taken extensive notes or at the very least given the matter his undivided attention.</p><p>Just when he decided he was going to have to find one of the club's female employees and ask her to do the honors of changing his niece, he heard the door of the coat room open. "Thank God," he muttered, hoping it was someone who knew more about the intricacies of a disposable diaper than he did. "Would you mind giving me a hand here?"</p><p>"Having a bit of a problem, Mr. Price?" a familiar female voice asked. Relieved that help had arrived, Brad couldn't work up the slightest bit of irritation at the obvious humor in Abigail Langley's tone.</p><p>Turning to find his lifelong nemesis standing just inside the door, a knowing smile curving her full coral lips, Brad released a frustrated breath. They had been rivals for as long as he could remember and for the past several months bitter opponents for the coveted office of president of the TCC. At any other time her perceptive expression would have no doubt had him grinding his teeth. At the moment, he couldn't feel anything but gratitude.</p><p>"How are you at putting these things on a baby?" he asked, holding up the offending object.</p><p>Laughing, Abby hung up her coat. "Don't tell me the mighty Bradford Price has run into a problem he can't solve with his superior logic."</p><p>Not at all surprised that she took the opportunity to make fun of him, he gave her a sarcastic smile. "Cute, Langley. Now will you get over here and help me out?"</p><p>She walked over to stand beside the plush sofa, where his niece lay nibbling on her toes as she stared happily up at them. "You don't have the slightest clue what you're doing, do you, Bradford?"</p><p>Her use of his given name never failed to cause a slow burn deep in his gut. He knew she was using it to taunt him, much as she had done when they were in school. But he couldn't afford to retaliate. If he did she might not help him, and there was no point in denying the obvious anyway. They both knew he was in way over his head. Besides, arguing with her wouldn't get him any closer to getting the damned diaper changed.</p><p>"Isn't it apparent?" The familiar irritation he always felt when they were together had replaced his earlier relief at seeing her. "Now, are you going to help me or am I going to have to go in search of someone who will?"</p><p>"Of course I'll change Sunnie," she said, as she set down her purse and seated herself on the couch beside the baby. "But I'm not doing it to help you." She tickled the baby's rounded little tummy. "I'm doing it for this little angel."</p><p>"Fine. Whatever."</p><p>He didn't care who Abby was doing it for, as long as his niece was changed and dry in time for him to make arrangements for someone to watch her while he gave his closing campaign speech to the TCC general membership. Then, when all of the candidates had finished speaking and were asked to leave the room for final comments from the members, he fully intended to take Sunnie home for a much-needed nap for both of them.</p><p>The day had barely begun and he was already exhausted. Taking care of a baby was proving to be a lot more work than he had anticipated. Aside from the feedings at the most god-awful hours of the day and night, there was so much to take along when they left the house, it was like moving.</p><p>"Why didn't you leave the baby with your housekeeper?" Abby asked as she tucked her long, dark red hair behind her ears and reached for the diaper bag Juanita had packed before leaving on her trip.</p><p>"She got a call early this morning that her youngest daughter has been scheduled to have a Caesarian delivery tomorrow. She's on her way up to Dallas to be there for the birth," he answered, absently. "She won't be back for a couple of weeks."</p><p>Fascinated by Abby's efficiency, he watched her line up baby wipes and powder, then lift Sunnie to place a white pad with pink bunnies on it beneath her. How did women automatically know what to do? Were women born with an extra gene that men didn't have?</p><p>That had to be the reason, he decided. He and Abby were the same age, and up until Sunnie came into his life they had both been childless. Yet taking care of a baby seemed to come as naturally to Abby as drawing her next breath, while he was at a loss as to what he should do about everything.</p><p>In what Brad would judge to be record time, Abby had the old diaper off of Sunnie and the new one in place. "These are what you use to fasten the diaper around her." She pointed to the tabs on the sides he hadn't noticed before. "They are a softer version of Velcro so as not to scratch her tender skin. All you have to do is make sure it's snug, but not too tight, then—"</p><p>Fascinated by the sound of her melodic voice and wondering why he suddenly found it so enchanting, it took a moment for Brad to realize Abby had stopped speaking. "What?"</p><p>"Pay attention, Price. You can't be assured that someone will always be around to come to your rescue whenever Sunnie needs changing."</p><p>"I am paying attention." He had been listening—just not to the crash course on diapering a baby that Abby had been delivering. He wisely kept that bit of information to himself.</p><p>Looking doubtful, she asked, "What did I just tell you?"</p><p>Abby had to have the bluest eyes in Texas, he decided as she stared up at him expectantly. They were the color of the blue bonnets that grew wild in the spring, and Brad couldn't help but wonder why he'd never before noticed how vibrant and expressive they were.</p><p>"Well, Mr. Price?" The diaper successfully changed, she picked up Sunnie and stood to face him. "Your niece and I are waiting."</p><p>He cleared his throat as he tried to remember what she had said. But the sight of her holding Sunnie, tenderly pressing her lips to the baby's soft cheek, was one Brad didn't think he would ever forget, and he couldn't for the life of him think of one single reason why he found it so compelling.</p><p>"Uh…well…let's see."</p><p>What the hell was wrong with him? Why all of a sudden was he having trouble concentrating? And why did his lapse of attention have to happen in front of</p><p><em>her?</em></p><p>He never had problems focusing on a conversation. Why then, couldn't he think of anything but how perfectly shaped Abby's lips were and how soft they would feel on his skin?</p><p>"Get it snug. Fasten with Velcro. Avoid pinching tender skin," he finally managed with no small effort. "Got it." He gave himself a mental pat on the back for at least remembering that much.</p><p>"It took you that long to remember something this simple?" she asked, giving him an accusatory look. "Lucky guess."</p><p>"Yup." He shrugged. "But it doesn't matter. The important thing is that I got it right."</p><p>She shook her head. "You have to do better than that, Bradford. You can't just guess. You have to learn how to do these things for her." Abby sl... </p></div>

<div><h3>About the Author</h3><p>USA Today Bestselling Author, Kathie DeNosky, writes highly emotional stories laced with a good dose of humor.  Kathie lives in her native southern Illinois and loves writing at night while listening to country music on her favorite radio station.  </p><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>Brad Price stared at the object in his hand, then at the tiny baby girl grinning up at him as she grabbed her foot and tried to stuff her tiny toes into her mouth. When had Sunnie lost her little pink sock?</p><p>Scratching his head, he scanned the floor. She had it on when they arrived at the Texas Cattleman's Club not two minutes ago. How could a baby barely six months old be so quick?</p><p>He once again glanced at the disposable diaper he held. What in the name of all that was holy had he gotten himself into, taking on the responsibility of raising his late brother's child? He knew about as much when it came to taking care of a baby as he did about piloting a spacecraft to the moon.</p><p>When he had made the decision to adopt Sunnie, he had even gone so far as to give serious consideration to dropping out of the race for the TCC presidency. But only briefly. He had made a commitment to seek the office, and he never went back on his word. Besides, he believed in the club and everything it stood for, and he intended to raise Sunnie to believe in those values, too.</p><p>The organization needed someone with a level head and a solid plan, and he was the man with both. He had several ideas on ways to bridge the ever-widening gap between the old guard and the younger members in order to unite the club and renew the solidarity that had always been an integral part of the TCC. It was something that had to be done to ensure its future and to continue the valuable services it had always provided for the residents of Royal, Texas.</p><p>But if he didn't figure out how to change Sunnie's diaper, and damned quick, it would all be a moot point. He would miss outlining his vision for the TCC at the annual general meeting, and for the first time in the club's history, a woman—the only woman ever to be allowed to join the organization—would be voted into office by default. He'd be damned if he'd let that happen.</p><p>Closing his eyes, Brad counted to ten. He could do this. He had a master's degree in financial planning, had graduated from the University of Texas summa cum laude and in the years since had built a thriving career as a certified financial planner, amassing a sizable fortune of his own. Surely he could figure out something as simple as changing a baby's disposable diaper.</p><p>But where did he start? And once he figured out how to get the one she was wearing off and the new one in position, how the hell was he supposed to fasten it around her waist?</p><p>As he studied the sides of the diaper Sunnie was wearing, he tried to remember what his housekeeper, Juanita, had told him when she gave him a detailed lecture on diaper changing before she left him high and dry to rush off to Dallas for the birth of her third grandchild. Unfortunately, he had been preoccupied with putting the final touches on the campaign wrap-up speech he was supposed to give at today's meeting and barely heard the woman. In hindsight, he should have taken extensive notes or at the very least given the matter his undivided attention.</p><p>Just when he decided he was going to have to find one of the club's female employees and ask her to do the honors of changing his niece, he heard the door of the coat room open. "Thank God," he muttered, hoping it was someone who knew more about the intricacies of a disposable diaper than he did. "Would you mind giving me a hand here?"</p><p>"Having a bit of a problem, Mr. Price?" a familiar female voice asked. Relieved that help had arrived, Brad couldn't work up the slightest bit of irritation at the obvious humor in Abigail Langley's tone.</p><p>Turning to find his lifelong nemesis standing just inside the door, a knowing smile curving her full coral lips, Brad released a frustrated breath. They had been rivals for as long as he could remember and for the past several months bitter opponents for the coveted office of president of the TCC. At any other time her perceptive expression would have no doubt had him grinding his teeth. At the moment, he couldn't feel anything but gratitude.</p><p>"How are you at putting these things on a baby?" he asked, holding up the offending object.</p><p>Laughing, Abby hung up her coat. "Don't tell me the mighty Bradford Price has run into a problem he can't solve with his superior logic."</p><p>Not at all surprised that she took the opportunity to make fun of him, he gave her a sarcastic smile. "Cute, Langley. Now will you get over here and help me out?"</p><p>She walked over to stand beside the plush sofa, where his niece lay nibbling on her toes as she stared happily up at them. "You don't have the slightest clue what you're doing, do you, Bradford?"</p><p>Her use of his given name never failed to cause a slow burn deep in his gut. He knew she was using it to taunt him, much as she had done when they were in school. But he couldn't afford to retaliate. If he did she might not help him, and there was no point in denying the obvious anyway. They both knew he was in way over his head. Besides, arguing with her wouldn't get him any closer to getting the damned diaper changed.</p><p>"Isn't it apparent?" The familiar irritation he always felt when they were together had replaced his earlier relief at seeing her. "Now, are you going to help me or am I going to have to go in search of someone who will?"</p><p>"Of course I'll change Sunnie," she said, as she set down her purse and seated herself on the couch beside the baby. "But I'm not doing it to help you." She tickled the baby's rounded little tummy. "I'm doing it for this little angel."</p><p>"Fine. Whatever."</p><p>He didn't care who Abby was doing it for, as long as his niece was changed and dry in time for him to make arrangements for someone to watch her while he gave his closing campaign speech to the TCC general membership. Then, when all of the candidates had finished speaking and were asked to leave the room for final comments from the members, he fully intended to take Sunnie home for a much-needed nap for both of them.</p><p>The day had barely begun and he was already exhausted. Taking care of a baby was proving to be a lot more work than he had anticipated. Aside from the feedings at the most god-awful hours of the day and night, there was so much to take along when they left the house, it was like moving.</p><p>"Why didn't you leave the baby with your housekeeper?" Abby asked as she tucked her long, dark red hair behind her ears and reached for the diaper bag Juanita had packed before leaving on her trip.</p><p>"She got a call early this morning that her youngest daughter has been scheduled to have a Caesarian delivery tomorrow. She's on her way up to Dallas to be there for the birth," he answered, absently. "She won't be back for a couple of weeks."</p><p>Fascinated by Abby's efficiency, he watched her line up baby wipes and powder, then lift Sunnie to place a white pad with pink bunnies on it beneath her. How did women automatically know what to do? Were women born with an extra gene that men didn't have?</p><p>That had to be the reason, he decided. He and Abby were the same age, and up until Sunnie came into his life they had both been childless. Yet taking care of a baby seemed to come as naturally to Abby as drawing her next breath, while he was at a loss as to what he should do about everything.</p><p>In what Brad would judge to be record time, Abby had the old diaper off of Sunnie and the new one in place. "These are what you use to fasten the diaper around her." She pointed to the tabs on the sides he hadn't noticed before. "They are a softer version of Velcro so as not to scratch her tender skin. All you have to do is make sure it's snug, but not too tight, then—"</p><p>Fascinated by the sound of her melodic voice and wondering why he suddenly found it so enchanting, it took a moment for Brad to realize Abby had stopped speaking. "What?"</p><p>"Pay attention, Price. You can't be assured that someone will always be around to come to your rescue whenever Sunnie needs changing."</p><p>"I am paying attention." He had been listening—just not to the crash course on diapering a baby that Abby had been delivering. He wisely kept that bit of information to himself.</p><p>Looking doubtful, she asked, "What did I just tell you?"</p><p>Abby had to have the bluest eyes in Texas, he decided as she stared up at him expectantly. They were the color of the blue bonnets that grew wild in the spring, and Brad couldn't help but wonder why he'd never before noticed how vibrant and expressive they were.</p><p>"Well, Mr. Price?" The diaper successfully changed, she picked up Sunnie and stood to face him. "Your niece and I are waiting."</p><p>He cleared his throat as he tried to remember what she had said. But the sight of her holding Sunnie, tenderly pressing her lips to the baby's soft cheek, was one Brad didn't think he would ever forget, and he couldn't for the life of him think of one single reason why he found it so compelling.</p><p>"Uh…well…let's see."</p><p>What the hell was wrong with him? Why all of a sudden was he having trouble concentrating? And why did his lapse of attention have to happen in front of</p><p><em>her?</em></p><p>He never had problems focusing on a conversation. Why then, couldn't he think of anything but how perfectly shaped Abby's lips were and how soft they would feel on his skin?</p><p>"Get it snug. Fasten with Velcro. Avoid pinching tender skin," he finally managed with no small effort. "Got it." He gave himself a mental pat on the back for at least remembering that much.</p><p>"It took you that long to remember something this simple?" she asked, giving him an accusatory look. "Lucky guess."</p><p>"Yup." He shrugged. "But it doesn't matter. The important thing is that I got it right."</p><p>She shook her head. "You have to do better than that, Bradford. You can't just guess. You have to learn how to do these things for her." Abby sl... </p></div>


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<p>Kerri works for a cleaning service and always loves Thursdays. On Thursdays she gets to clean the apartment of a man who leaves very interesting sex toys lying around and sexy movies in the DVD player. The owner of the apartment walks in as she's availing herself of his fun stuff.</p>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>When Newlywed Wynne Marie receives racy texts from her ex, she’s caught in a titillating game that her husband finds sexy as hell.<br></p><p>Newlywed Wynne Marie Jackson has it all—delicious husband, beautiful New England home, high-paying job in her field. So why does her husband Jake discover her in tears? Two letters: AJ. <br></p><p>When Wynne Marie left Atlanta, she also left behind her well-known spa, Silk, and her co-owner AJ Albright. Together, she and AJ had built their spa into a retreat sought by the stars. However, their relationship went deeper than the Tao massage they specialized in, and while she loves her husband Jake, she misses AJ’s passion.<br></p><p>After a fearful confession, Jake is more understanding—and turned on—than Wynne Marie ever imagined. Can adding AJ to their lives be the realization of her dreams or the end of her marriage?<br></p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Laid off from her job as project manager at GKS and on her last dime, Sally Anderson is desperate for a job to avoid eviction. When she spots a vacancy at a downtown strip-club she grabs the opportunity and attends the audition. Her old boss at GKS undressed her with his eyes every day, anyway. How much worse could it be?<br></p><p>Jack Davis cringes when he sees Sally's atrocious audition at his father's strip club. But part of him stands up and takes notice! Sally may not be stage-worthy in his father's opinion, however, her attributes place her centre stage in his fantasies—and he plans to seduce the tantalising blonde into accepting the starring role, making those fantasies reality.<br></p><p>Warning!<br>This erotic short story of over 2,000 words contains explicit, naughty sex. </p></div>


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<div><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Lori Wilde is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 56 books. She is a former registered nurse and lives in Texas with her husband, Bill. </p><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>Semper Paratus (Always Prepared)</p><p><em>—Motto of The United States Coast Guard</em></p><p>Six months chaste.</p><p>Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Scott Everly had gone six long months without sex, although in all honesty it felt more like six years.</p><p>Unintended celibacy weighed heavily on his mind and body as he paddled his kayak through the mangrove channel, using vigorous physical exercise to sublimate his baser needs. He'd tried it all. Jogging, strength training, boxing, but in spite of his daily workouts, insomnia plagued him.</p><p>Digging deep, he pushed himself harder, rowing full-out until his shoulder, back and chest muscles ached with just the right kind of sweetness.</p><p>"Better than sex," he lied to himself. "Who needs sex when you've got all this?"</p><p>The early Monday-morning sun bathed warm rays, the color of Florida grapefruits, across the deep green, tree-shrouded landscape. it was good to be home again, even if it was only for three weeks. He was on leave, although the joke in the ranks was that a Coastie never went on vacation; they were born ready for action.</p><p>While he loved his commission in D.C., he missed Key West and his family something fierce. He was a Conch through and through, but when it came down to it, as long as he was near water, Scott was a happy guy.</p><p>As third generation Coast Guard, sea brine flowed through his veins, and he considered himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth to be doing a job he loved.</p><p>Scott had come home for his younger sister's wedding a week from this coming Saturday. How could it be that Megan was old enough to marry? It seemed like just yesterday that he was pulling her pigtails and putting bullfrogs down the back of her shirt.</p><p>He breathed in the heated scent of summer—ripe mangos, tangy lime, earthy loam and murky tide pools. The air smelled rich, sticky and uniquely Key West. A fish jumped, tail slapping against the water, before sinking back below the wet depths. overhead, blue-white clouds bunched in the waning darkness, voluptuous as a plump woman's bottom. Scott had an urge to reach up and pinch the sky.</p><p><em>Knock it off.</em> He was daydreaming about goosing clouds? How pathetic was that?</p><p>"Snap out of it," he growled under his breath.</p><p><em>It's been too long, old buddy. Way too long.</em></p><p>He was thirty years old, in the best shape of his life and he hadn't had sex in six months, one week, three days and twenty-one hours. Not that he was counting or anything.</p><p>His last relationship ended because his girlfriend had wanted him to leave the Coast Guard. Too dangerous, Amber had said. He'd already been injured twice. Why push his luck?</p><p>He'd flat out told her no. She'd known who and what he was when they'd started dating. If she cared about him, she wouldn't ask him to change.</p><p>She said she couldn't bear it if he ended up like this father, killed in the line of duty, and she refused to be like his mom. Widowed at forty.</p><p>Hell, she might as well have asked him to quit breathing. He'd learned one thing from that relationship. His ideal mate had to accept him just as he was—military career and all. He was done bending himself into a pretzel to please a woman.</p><p>Unless of course it was in bed.</p><p>Grinning, he stuck his oar into the water, pushed aggressively against the current. A gator slipped from the banks into the channel right behind him, but Scott didn't pay much attention. He was bent on getting sexual frustration out of his system before meeting an old friend for breakfast. Alligators were a fact of life in Florida and as long as you didn't do anything stupid, they generally minded their own business.</p><p><em>Six months.</em></p><p>The longest dry spell he'd had since college. He was a charming guy and he knew it. He'd been graced with his father's good looks and his mother's outgoing personality. Usually he had no trouble coaxing a willing lady into his bed, but as much as he wanted sex, short, hot liaisons had oddly lost their appeal.</p><p>What he couldn't figure out was why. Maybe it was because his baby sister was getting married. Megan's wedding made him realize he wasn't getting any younger, but then again neither was he ready for commitment.</p><p><em>So what do you want? Sex or a relationship?</em></p><p>That was the quandary and explained his lengthy dry spell. Scott blew out his breath and rounded the bend. That's when he saw her.</p><p>Where the channel turned into an estuary just before it joined the sea, a lone woman bobbed in a small dinghy.</p><p>A precarious spot. Rocky shoals. Swift current. And there were the gators. Not to mention bull sharks.</p><p>Instantly, his protective instincts engaged. What was she doing out here alone at this hour of the morning when dew still dampened the air and darkness lingered in the shadow of the mangrove trees?</p><p>Was she unaware of the trouble she could get into? Between drug smugglers, human traffickers, deadly wildlife and the tourist trade that attracted scores of inebriated college students, Key West was not a place to be taken casually. As much as he loved the tropical beauty of his hometown, as a Coast Guard officer he knew all the locale's dirty little secrets.</p><p>The woman stood up in the boat, her back to him. The skiff rocked gently.</p><p>What was she up to?</p><p>She held something in her hands, but he couldn't make out what it was. Damn, he wished he had binoculars.</p><p>From what he could see of her she was thin as a sapling. Scott preferred women with a little meat on their bones. He liked rounded bellies, curvaceous butts and lush thighs. This woman could do with a double helping of his homemade chicken and dumplings. A thick slab of his famous Key lime cheesecake wouldn't do her any harm, either.</p><p>Still there was something about her that instantly attracted his attention and it went much deeper than looks. Yes, she was pretty, but in a careless way, as if she couldn't be bothered with anything as shallow as tending to her looks. She possessed both intense concentration and a quiet serenity that called to him.</p><p>She lowered whatever she held in her hands into the water via a black cable.</p><p>Scowling, Scott changed directions and paddled toward her, territorial impulses driving him. Who was she and what was she doing here?</p><p>He drew closer, but she never glanced up from her task. His kayak glided over the water, swiftly, silently. If she were up to something illegal, wouldn't she be more furtive? Or maybe she was just that arrogant.</p><p>She bent at the waist, her white cotton T-shirt riding up to expose her smooth, slender back and showing off her heart-shaped butt. From the waistband of her low-rise blue jean shorts, a red thong bikini peeked out.</p><p>Scott stared as if he'd never seen a woman in a thong, angling his head for a better look and feeling his pulse quicken. What was that all about? Normally, he was a pretty even-tempo guy and this woman was not his usual type.</p><p>And yet…and yet he could not stop staring at her.</p><p>A pair of mile-long legs tapering to skinny, but shapely calves had his breath coming out in hot, tight rasps.</p><p>Exertion. It was nothing more than exertion.</p><p><em>Yeah? You exercise every morning and you've never gotten short of breath like this before.</em></p><p>Curiosity tickled the back of his neck. Interest tingled his hands. Startling desire stirred beneath the zipper of his khaki shorts.</p><p><em>Leave her be. She's not your concern. You need to turn around now if you want to be on time for your breakfast meeting.</em></p><p>But he kept stroking straight toward her, hands curled tightly around the bent shaft of the fiberglass paddle, because she <em>was</em> his concern. If anything happened to her, he'd feel forever guilty for not warning her about the dangers of boating alone in the Key West mangroves. <em>Um, you 're alone.</em></p><p>That was different. He was a guy, for one thing, a native for another and third, he carried a gun.</p><p><em>Is that really why you're going over? To warn her?</em></p><p>Of course it was the reason. He was Coast Guard. Even though he wasn't on duty, he'd been raised to look after people on the coastal waterways. "A Coast Guard," his father had been fond of saying, "is a shepherd of the seas." The Coast Guard motto was <em>Semper Paratus.</em> Always prepared.</p><p>The glare of the rising sun caught him squarely in the face. He squinted, wished he'd worn sunglasses, his gaze fixed on the woman in the dinghy. He turned his kayak away from the sun, hungry for a second look.</p><p>She straightened in silhouette, a lithe figure in the splendid dawn. The denim shorts she wore were cutoffs with unraveling threads. One side was higher than the other as if she'd just grabbed a pair of scissors and whacked away without measuring.</p><p>Scott didn't mind. The shorter side revealed a glimpse of where her firmed thigh rounded into her buttock. He had an overwhelming urge to press his mouth to that sweet spot and nibble.</p><p>A shiver went through him and sweat popped out on his forehead. <em>Look away. Paddle away. Get out of here.</em></p><p>He didn't move.</p><p>She reached for the hem of her T-shirt and in one quick swoop tugged it over her head, revealing a red bikini top that matched her bottoms. Although she was not overly endowed, she curved in all the right places.</p><p><em>More than a mouthful is a waste anyway,</em> his best friend since grade school, entrepreneur Gibb Martin, loved to say about small-breasted women. He'd heard somewhere that the French considered the perfect breast size to be one that could fit into a wineglass. Frankly, Scott was more of a leg man. There was a reason Rod Stewart's "Hot Legs" was on his MP3 player and this woman had hot legs in spades.</p><p>Her hands went to the snap of her denim shorts and in two seconds flat, she was standing in the wavering boat wearing nothing more concealing than a thong bikini, still seemingly unaware of his presence.</p><p>Scott held his breath. He shouldn't have been so impressed. For hell's sake, women strutted the beaches of Key West in thongs every day of the wee... </p></div>


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<div><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>Medical student Adam Burke was deeply engrossed in his anatomy text when a size-twelve foot kicked it out of his hands. It flew up and banged him in the chest.</p><p>"Pull your head out, nerd! We have a bachelor party to go to. Ogling strippers is a much better way to study anatomy."</p><p>Adam hated strip joints—the cheesiness of them and the overpriced drinks, just for starters. He groaned. "Devon, I have a killer exam on Monday. And it's not on the finer points of silicone implants."</p><p>"All work and no play will turn your hair prematurely gray," Devon said, seizing the twenty-pound anatomy book and tossing it onto the king-size bed in their hotel room.</p><p>"No, <em>you</em> will. Where did you come from, anyway?" Adam frowned and then belatedly noticed the open door.</p><p>Devon followed his gaze and laughed. "Good detective work, Holmes. I can't believe you didn't hear me come in—you're scary intense when you study."</p><p>That was true—though there had been a time in high school, when he'd been "in love" with the class bad girl, during which Adam had been just as intense about screwing off to impress her. He'd tried his best to mess up his life.</p><p>"I have to be. You don't get into, or through, med school without the ability to focus." Adam, now twenty-five, ran a hand through his hair and reluctantly got up from the armchair he'd been sitting in. "Bachelor party, huh?" He said it without a trace of enthusiasm.</p><p>"Fire up, buddy. Mark's getting married—going over to the Dark Side. We're the groomsmen. We gotta send him off in style, with lots of drinks and lots of wellendowed women."</p><p>Adam saw the glint in Devon's eye. It told him that protesting would do no good. His only hope was to go to the damned party and wait the requisite hour or so until all the guys were so shit-faced that they wouldn't notice him sneak out. He really didn't have time for this.</p><p>Devon started to describe the various abilities of the "talent" that awaited them. "They've got this one chick who walks around with a selection of cigars tucked in her G-string. You get a lap dance while you choose one. Then another girl will hold your cigar for you between her hooters while girl number three bends over and lights it with a match between her teeth."</p><p>"I can't wait," said Adam without a trace of sincerity.</p><p>"And that's just the beginning. This place we're going gets wild. later, this other chick, the star attraction, will take it <em>all</em> off and do things that you can't even imagine. she's got a prehensile—"</p><p>"enough. I get the picture."</p><p>"No, really, she can pick up a lit cigar from an ashtray with her—"</p><p>"Gross. Dev—"</p><p>"—and bring it up to your mouth again. I once saw a guy—"</p><p>"Devon! <em>Enough.</em> And do you have any idea how unsanitary that is?"</p><p>"Dude. I'm not saying I'd smoke it again myself, just that it was a trip to watch."</p><p>Blek. Adam would rather have a root canal. Not that he didn't like naked women. But he liked them a little more wholesome than that. He wasn't a fan of strippers and blatant womanly wiles. The whole scene was so far removed from his daily life, where most of the females he encountered wore either sweats, jeans or surgical scrubs—not fishnets or pasties.</p><p>Adam also didn't care for most of the men who hung out at these clubs. They were generally either creeps or assholes. After they left the clubs, it wasn't unusual for the former to use their fists to abuse themselves and the latter to use their fists to abuse others. Emergency rooms were full of bruised and bloody idiots who had limped out of bars.</p><p>"C'mon, c'mon," Dev urged him. "You got ten minutes to grab a shower and pull yourself together."</p><p>"I am together," said Adam, looking at Devon's spiky, product-laden hair and the chain around his neck. He looked like some kind of designer dog. "And at least I don't have grease in my mop like some others I could mention. You're the one who needs the shower. Also, if you're going to wear a choke chain, where's your rabies tag?"</p><p>"Grease? This is <em>Pomade a I'Hommes,</em> imported from</p><p>Paris, and it costs a mint, thank you very much. I'm going to ignore your gratuitous comment about my—" <em>"Pomade a l'</em>homosexual, more like," Adam said, grinning.</p><p>"Dude. You know better. I scored with number three hundred and twenty-six last month. That's a lot of women since age fourteen…"</p><p>"Yeah. It makes me wonder when your dick's gonna fall off and what you're trying to prove." Adam disappeared into the bathroom, ignoring the insults Devon hurled at him through the door. Devon didn't have a gay bone in his body, but it was fun to rile him.</p><p>The quick hot shower cleared Adam's brain of fog and snapped him awake, since the anatomy text had had a sedative effect in spite of his legendary focus. He wrapped the hotel towel around his waist and shaved, though he didn't know why he bothered.</p><p>Then he threw on his clothes, cracked his knuckles like a caveman and girded his decidedly <em>not</em> inflamed loins for the evening.</p><p>Nikki Fine stared at the huge, hollow plywood cake on wheels in front of her. It was frosted with spackle and house-paint in unfortunate shades of peach and blue, and it had seen better days. Scuffs and footprints marred the once-festive surface, and a big chunk of icing had chipped off one side.</p><p>She shook her head. "I can't get in there," she said. "I'm claustrophobic and I'm afraid of the dark." Nobody had told her she'd be wheeled into the bachelor party this way. The inside of the cake might as well be a coffin as far as she was concerned. And was that a spiderweb down there? She shivered involuntarily.</p><p>Nikki always kept a tiny light plugged in next to her nightstand. Rationally she knew that there were no monsters under her bed. She was an adult, after all. But somehow she'd never outgrown her fear of total blackness in a room. And lately she'd had recurring nightmares about being buried alive after seeing a news story on the modus operandi of a particularly charming serial killer.</p><p>She was not getting into that small round box. No way.</p><p>Her neighbor Yvonne Morales blinked at her, tossing her glossy dark mane over her shoulder. Then she laughed. "Get over it, chica. You've been <em>hired.</em> Climb into the damn cake."</p><p>"I can't," Nikki said for the third time.</p><p>Not even in the name of paying off her crushing debt could she get in there.</p><p>"You want to lose this job in the first hour you have it? What about all that whinin' you did about being broke and needing to pay the minimum on your credit cards? What's your problem?"</p><p>Nikki gulped. <em>Small, dark places. That's my problem. And total fear that I'm going to make an idiot out of myself in front of a hundred guys. Who was I kidding? I can't moonlight as a stripper.</em> "Look," she said to Yvonne. "I kind of exaggerated my dancing skills. I can't dance at all. I didn't even make pep squad in high school." In fact, she'd been mocked by the mean girls for even attempting it.</p><p><em>Hey, Nikki, you're so fine, you're so fine, hey, Nikki!</em></p><p>She pushed aside the painful memory and the chorus line of the song they'd used to torment her. How she'd hated her name back then.</p><p>Yvonne laughed. "You don't gotta dance. You pop the top off the cake and wiggle around. Then pop your own top. The dumb-asses in the bar are all drunk, anyway. They couldn't tell the difference between you and Britney Spears out there. Just shake it and smile and lick your lips a lot."</p><p>The more she thought about it, the more Nikki realized exactly how bad an idea this was. "What if someone I know recognizes me?"</p><p>"In ten pounds of stage makeup, false eyelashes and pasties? I really don't think so. And believe me, they will not be focused on your face."</p><p>No, they would be focused on her breasts and her booty. No secret there. She flushed with humiliation as she remembered her experience at Yvonne's waxing place.</p><p><em>C 'mon, honey, we got to get you a Brazilian before tomorrow if you 're goin' onstage in a G-string.</em></p><p>Nikki had had to take off all clothing—<em>all</em>—below her waist. Then she'd been ordered onto a platform table and told to spread 'em while a strange woman had smacked noisily on her gum and stared at what Yvonne would call her "box."</p><p>Not only had the strange woman stared at it, she'd snipped at it with small scissors and then spread hot wax in highly embarrassing places with a wooden tongue-depressor. Far worse, she'd pressed muslin strips into the wax and then—</p><p><em>"Oww!"</em> Nikki had shrieked.</p><p>The woman snapped her gum and rolled her eyes as she tossed the strip into the trash. Then she grinned evilly and grasped another.</p><p>Approximately seventeen yelps later, her tormentor had made her roll over and assume an even more horrendous position…. Nikki closed her eyes simply thinking about it. She'd refused to speak to Yvonne once she emerged from the chamber of horrors, while her neighbor just laughed and laughed.</p><p>Nikki had raced home, submerged her lower half in a tub of cold water, clamped her knees and gulped a glass of wine without stopping to breathe. Then she'd poured another and popped four painkillers.</p><p>This morning the angry red bumps had faded to a nice pink blush, a perfect background for the tiny heart that now nestled at the apex of her legs. <em>I am a fallen woman,</em> Nikki thought. <em>Now, do I really need to pop out of a cake and fall again? Right on my butt in front of a bunch of horny, drunken men?</em></p><p><em>No, I do not. Best to walk away from this cake and this terrible job and figure ... </em></p></div>


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<div><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>Ben Callahan paused in the doorway of the Lucky Break, the bar that he'd inherited from his grandfather, trying to figure out what was different. Scanning his surroundings, his senses honed by nearly eleven years as a navy SEAL, his gaze finally landed on the source of his curiosity. <em>Her.</em></p><p>A good deal of smooth, shapely feminine thigh was exposed by the short denim skirt that also showed off a spectacular bottom line. He wasn't the only one who noticed. Men filing in for the lunch hour bestowed appreciative glances on the new waitress as she walked from table to table taking orders.</p><p>Dark-brown hair was caught in a loose ponytail that swished around her shoulder blades as she moved. The movement drew his attention to her strong, slim shoulders, tight waistline and long, graceful neck.</p><p>As she turned, he saw she wasn't big on top, but she sure made the most of what she had. <em>A tall drink of water,</em> was the phrase his mother often used; it came to mind as he watched his new waitress.</p><p>Charlie, his best friend and second in command at the bar, had been in charge of hiring while Ben was out of town talking to the Feds. He didn't want to be away any longer than he needed to, given the circumstances, but now he could stick close to home.</p><p>Fortunately, Charlie had been lucky with finding a new waitress for them. Interviewing new help wasn't a job Ben relished, even as owner of the place, mostly because his mother was too likely to send in the daughters of her friends, who were better candidates for marriage than waitressing. Then there were former girlfriends who came around since he'd been back, some of them still single, others divorced.</p><p>That was the problem with returning to the town where you grew up. He still wasn't completely used to it. It had only been a year, and leaving military life behind hadn't been an easy choice.</p><p>Family, legacy and land often went together in Texas. Those ties meant something—it was a lesson he'd learned in the SEALs, where connections to your team meant everything. They meant your life. Connections to your family worked the same way, that was how Ben saw it, anyhow. He had served his country and now he served his family.</p><p>As well as copious amounts of beer to the locals.</p><p>When his grandfather had died, Ben hadn't been home in over two years. He couldn't change that, but he could do his granddad proud now.</p><p>Ben was slowly getting used to civilian life and he enjoyed it, for the most part. He'd moved into the old house behind the bar, and he had picked back up with rodeo, mostly bullriding and some roping. He was used to regular adrenaline highs, and rodeo satisfied that urge as well as possibly garnering championships for his parents' ranch.</p><p>The last show he had been in had provided a little more excitement than he'd been looking for, though, when he'd seen a murder. One of the judges from the rodeo was shot, execution style. Ben had been in the wrong place at the right time, witnessing the whole thing—though he hadn't been able to stop it.</p><p>It turned out it wasn't a crime of opportunity, but had been connected to organized crime's attempts to control large rodeo purses by drugging animals and by pressuring the judges. The man they'd killed had been one of the judges who had refused to play along. His three kids were now left without a father.</p><p>The killer was now in San Antonio, and Ben's testimony was going to put him away. Or, as the U.S. Attorney's office would have it, Ben's testimony would give them the leverage to make a deal that would lead to the bigger players the killer worked for. The FBI was involved, and the U.S. Marshals, and who knew who else? That split second had turned Ben's life upside down.</p><p>He knew from his military experience that a smaller evil was often the price of stopping a larger one. It was how the world worked, but he didn't have to like it.</p><p>He was also perfectly aware that, because the deal or the conviction rested on his testimony, he was in a certain degree of danger right now.</p><p>So he'd canceled his late-summer rodeo appearances for this year, claiming he needed to be home to run the business. The government had offered him protection, which meant living at a safe house until the trial, but that wouldn't help his family or friends. They'd even offered him Witness Protection, but he wasn't about to leave the life to which he had just returned. Besides, SEALs didn't run.</p><p>The trial was in three weeks, the Justice Department had done a good job of keeping his identity out of circulation; they'd squelched any news stories about the incident, so Ben hoped they would get to the end of this without trouble. So far, so good.</p><p>"Welcome back, boss," Charlie said, closing the space between them as he walked out of the kitchen, spotting Ben standing by the door.</p><p>Ben smiled and clasped his friend's hand tightly.</p><p>"Good to see the place still standing, Charlie."</p><p>"It was a lonely four days. We did okay. Good to have you back, though."</p><p>"Thanks," Ben said, and looked at the new waitress again.</p><p>This time, she noticed him too. Looking at him with big, dark-brown eyes, she smiled slightly and then turned back to her customer. "new girl?"</p><p>"Yeah. She's doing a great job, so far, though it's only day two."</p><p>"Don't recognize her from around here," Ben said neutrally, but his mind was on immediate alert.</p><p>Anyone new was a question mark. Normally Ben wouldn't question a stranger showing up for a job, but right now, things were a little touchier than usual.</p><p>"She broke up with her boyfriend, came down from El Paso looking for a job and a place to stay. Seems capable enough, and she sure is nice to look at," Charlie said with a grin, his eyes noting some of the same attributes that Ben had been admiring. "Um, I rented her the apartment upstairs, too. Figured, what the heck? At least we know she won't be late for work."</p><p>Ben's frown was his response to that news. Of course, Charlie didn't know about Ben's situation. Ben didn't want anyone to worry when there might not be anything to worry about.</p><p>"I had to do it, Ben," Charlie said, reading his expression. "When I came in yesterday, she was sleeping in her car in the parking lot. I couldn't let her stay there until she had enough paychecks to get a place. Besides, she agreed to work extra shifts in exchange for no rent."</p><p>"You check references, get her background?" Ben asked casually, walking toward the kitchen.</p><p>"Do I look like an idiot?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Nope, but I know you and beautiful women, my friend," Ben said with a smile. "She could be the worst waitress on the planet or a convicted felon, but looking like that. "</p><p>"Don't worry, I checked her out. Joanna Wallace. Nothing significant, the usual history of deadend retail and restaurant jobs. No convictions, clean driver's license. Nice enough. Seems to have made a few bad choices about the men she takes up with, though she didn't share too many details."</p><p>Ben nodded, glancing through a stack of mail he picked up from the counter. It was easy enough to create a history, set up references, but he was also being paranoid. He'd put a sign out front and someone had come by to apply for the job. Why not her?</p><p>Besides, if the mob wanted to take him out, Ben doubted they would send someone like that, he mused. Still, he'd check her out through his own sources as soon as he could.</p><p>"Thanks, Charlie. I appreciate you taking that task off my shoulders," Ben said.</p><p>"No problem. Lisa likes her, too, if that helps. I let her interview her as well before we made a final decision."</p><p>Ben nodded. "That was smart."</p><p>Lisa was his one full-time waitress, but her husband had recently left her with their two kids. While she took extra shifts, they needed someone else to cover gaps and help out during the busiest times. Lisa was worth her weight in gold, and it was important that she could work with whomever they hired.</p><p>"I'm missing a leg, not a brain," his friend reprised jokingly, as he often did about the limb he was missing after repeated tours in Iraq. The last tour had seen his leg blown off in a roadside explosion. Yet Charlie never complained, more often using humor to make others comfortable.</p><p>"I didn't balance the books this week. You know I suck at math, so I thought I'd leave that to you," Charlie added.</p><p>"I knew I should have stayed away a few more days," Ben said with a rueful shake of his head, making both of them laugh as Charlie returned to the grill.</p><p>Ben planned to hire a bookkeeper one of these days. For now, he was learning something new every day about running the business, and knowing the finan-cials was as important as anything else. So, he did the books, the ordering, and everything else that came with running a roadhouse, and he was slowly learning the tricks of the trade. He'd hung out here all the time as a kid, helping his grandfather, and then as a teen, meeting here with his friends. The Lucky Break was a large part of his life, though he needed to upgrade some things. He now also appreciated all of the work it took to run a successful establishment.</p><p>It was a challenge he could dig into, focus on, and he owed his grandfather the best job he could do. To Ben's amazement, as the months passed, he enjoyed it more and more. There was always something to keep him busy, and when he wasn't doing something here, he was fixing up the house, working at his parents' ranch down the road, or practicing for the next rodeo.</p><p>While he'd loved being a SEAL, real life definitely had its attractions, he thought as he walked out from the kitchen to the bar. Washing his hands, his gaze landed on the new waitress again.</p><p>Lisa, also working the lunch shift, winked at him and waved. Ben nodded back, slipping behind the bar to pitch in with the increasing lunch cr... </p></div>


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<div><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>Charlene "Charlie" Martin had known before she walked into this interview that she didn't have a prayer in hell of being hired by Ranger Security. She lacked a key piece of equipment—a prerequisite of sorts—that would have made her an ideal candidate for the job. A penis.</p><p>Nevertheless, she'd had to try.</p><p>Upon seeing her, Jamie Flanagan had widened his eyes in unmitigated shock, Guy McCann had choked on his coffee, but true to his cool, unflappable reputation, Brian Payne hadn't reacted at all. Not a single ripple on the pond of that admittedly attractive face. She studied him thoughtfully and couldn't decide if she more envied or pitied his wife. Breaking that icy exterior undoubtedly was its own reward, but putting up the effort to do it on a regular basis had to be exhausting.</p><p>"You're a third-generation officer, Ms. Martin, and you've been with the Atlanta P.D. for a long time," Payne remarked, studying the resume that had been thrust into his hands moments before. He looked up. "What has prompted the desire to thwart tradition?"</p><p>There were a multitude of reasons—she was sick to death of the boys' club, the constant need to defend the few promotions she'd managed to snag since she'd come aboard six years ago, the most important of which had been her advancement to detective. She'd paid for her so-called police pedigree with snide remarks and pointed, knowing stares every time she received a pat on the back for a job well-done. Though she had a few friends and had earned the respect of the majority of her coworkers, frankly, the constant struggle to prove herself had sucked the joy out of the job for her.</p><p>When she'd decided to leave the police department, she'd made two lists. One featured the things that she liked most about the job—the actual detective work, putting the details together.</p><p>Charlie had a knack for seeing things other people didn't see, for picking up on nuances that remained hidden to other observers. For instance, she'd noticed a tuft of cat hair clinging to Payne's leg, indicating he had at least one pet. Guy McCann had red-rimmed eyes and had missed a tiny row of whiskers on his chin. She'd be willing to bet he had a newborn. And Jamie Flanagan… Well, the pink shimmer of lipstick on his ear meant he'd more than likely gone home for a nooner on his lunch break. A twinge of envy shot through her. She hadn't had a nooner or any variation thereof in more than two years and the prospect of changing the current status quo was dishearteningly bleak. But now wasn't the time to be thinking about her uninspiring, dismal sex life. She saved that for evenings in front of the TV, a carton of ice cream in her hand.</p><p>As for the second list, it had showcased her options, her ideal future employer.</p><p>Considering Ranger Security was synonymous with "the best," it was her first choice.</p><p>A lost cause? Probably. She was neither an army Ranger nor a man, but thanks to a non-gender-specific name and Juan Carlos—their secretary—owing her a favor, she'd walked in directly off the street this morning. She'd had to—the least little bit of digging would have revealed that she was a woman and then she'd never have gotten into the "inner sanctum."</p><p>More man cave than boardroom, the space she found herself in was littered with highend electronics, supple leather furniture, a kitchenette, a pool table and a beautiful view of downtown Atlanta. Though she'd passed each gentleman's office proper on the way to this room, it was clear that this was where most of their "work" was done.</p><p>As for "thwarting tradition"? She smiled. "I prefer to think of it as thwarting <em>expectation,</em> Mr. Payne." She gazed mildly at him, silently communicating that her reasons were her own. Naturally, her family hadn't liked her decision, but… "It's time for a change."</p><p>A flare of admiration sparked in his cool gaze and she lifted her chin a fraction, acknowledging the respect.</p><p>"This is quite a resume," Jamie Flanagan remarked. "You graduated cum laude with a degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Georgia, spent the first three years in a uniform then were rather speedily promoted to detective." He paused, still reviewing the resume. "Several commendations," he reeled off, his tone even, speculative. "You teach self-defense classes at many battered women's shelters and college campuses."</p><p>She knew all of this, as she'd written it. Yet she nodded. "Yes. The women at the shelters are there because, typically, a man put them there." <em>Bastards.</em> She'd had a friend once who was in an abusive relationship and it had taken years to get her away from him. The physical damage was one thing—it was the emotional turmoil that was truly insidious. "They need to know how to defend themselves." Her lips tilted. "The college girls come for the free pizza, but it's a good age to reach them."</p><p>"Why are you here, Ms. Martin?" Guy McCann abruptly wanted to know. "I'm sure Juan Carlos has told you that we only hire former military—Rangers, specifically."</p><p>"You're wasting everyone's time" wasn't said, but hung in the air like an unwanted stench.</p><p><em>All righty then.</em> They'd reached the nut-cutting part of the impromptu interview much more quickly than she would have liked. But she appreciated brevity as well, so be it.</p><p>"I'm here because I want a job, obviously. With Ranger Security." She looked at all of them in turn, gauging their responses. Payne was in lock-down mode, not betraying so much as a twitch. Flanagan's face was set as well, but a tightening around the eyes told her that it was harder for him to remain impassive.</p><p>McCann didn't even try to hide his expression and he might as well have said, "When hell freezes over."</p><p>"I realize that I'm not former military," Charlie said, because in for a penny, in for a pound. She had absolutely nothing to lose at this point. "But I think my resume speaks for itself and I'm more than qualified to handle the sort of work you do here. Surely you could see the benefit of having a female agent on staff…particularly considering how many of your cases have married women associated with them," she added. A gamble? Yes. But she'd never been one to play it safe.</p><p>Jamie Flanagan stood a little straighter and a blush crept across Guy's cheekbones. Payne still didn't move, though the icy gaze he directed at her would have made a lesser person quail.</p><p>"That's not public information," Payne said, studying her with unnerving intensity.</p><p>"Neither are your eBay IDs, your private email addresses or your most recent physical exams, but I've seen them." It hadn't been nearly as difficult as it should have been, considering their line of work. Thanks to a cool little program she'd written herself, it had only taken a few keystrokes. She mentally snorted. Their firewall was a joke.</p><p>No longer trying to imitate a stone statue, Jamie leaned forward, a mask of incredulous shock on his admittedly handsome face. "You <em>hacked</em> us?"</p><p>Charlie merely smiled at him. "I like the pendant you've picked out for your wife for her birthday. It's quite lovely."</p><p>The three shared a significant glance—one that might as well have communicated "doom"—then Payne turned that arctic gaze on her. He did not smile. "Thank you for pointing out the flaw in our computer security, Ms. Martin. Clearly that is something that will need our <em>immediate</em> attention. That said, we aren't hiring at the moment."</p><p>At this precise moment, no, so it wasn't technically a lie. She seriously doubted Payne ever lied if he could avoid it—he wasn't the type. But, due to her computer reconnaissance, she knew they were looking for another agent and fully intended to hire someone within the next couple of weeks. Just not her.</p><p>Her blood boiled, burning away the instant disappointment. For whatever reason, she'd expected them to be <em>smarter.</em> To be <em>better.</em> To see reason. To look beyond her breasts and give her a chance.</p><p>"Right," she said, her eyes widening significantly. She knew exactly why they wouldn't hire her and knew her tone, which carried an edge sharp enough to cut granite, told them so. She stood and extended her hand. "Thank you for your time." Graciousness had been ingrained in her, though she wished she could have suppressed the impulse. The niceties over, she turned and headed for the door. She paused at the threshold and threw them all a look over her shoulder. "Give my congratulations to Major Weatherford, would you?" she said, her lips curving with biting humor. "I'm sure he's going to fit in much better than I would have."</p><p>And with that parting shot—and the narrowing of Payne's pale blue eyes (a reaction at last!)—she turned and made her exit.</p><p>"Well, hell," Jamie said, pushing a hand through his dark hair, his expression wavering comically between alarm and dumbfoundment.</p><p>Guy's lips twisted in irritation. "You've got the <em>hell</em> part of it right." His incredulous gaze shot to Payne. "Do you have any idea what just happened here?"</p><p>That was what Payne was trying to sort out, and a strange tension in his gut, one that was distinctly akin to discomfort, wasn't helping. He knew they were perfectly within their rights to hire whom they pleased, and not bringing on a woman who'd had the nerve to hack into their computer system <em>and then tell them about it</em> was completely justifiable. In truth, he could have threatened to have her arrested but didn't see the point, because if she'd been good enough to get into their system, then she was good enough not to get caught. He frowned thoughtfully.</p><p>Impressive, that.&lt;... </p></div>


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<div><h3>From the Back Cover</h3><p><strong>Baby, it's cold outside...</strong></p><hr><p>Six years ago, Ross Mitchell and Lucy Fleming shared a hot holiday weekend in Manhattan, back when he was just a hard-bodied guy in a tool belt and she was an impulsive photography student.                            </p><p>Fast forward a few Decembers. Ross and Lucy meet again by chance, at his office Christmas party. And when they find themselves alone and snowed-in after hours, it's not long before they're making their own body heat--again. Only this time, the sex is better than ever. But is it just another holiday romp between the sheets? Or will Lucy and Ross finally get to keep what they really want this year--each other!</p><hr><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>When Lucy Fleming had been asked to photograph a corporate Christmas event, she'd envisioned tipsy assistants perched on the knees of grabby executives. Too much eggnog, naked backsides hitting the glass-topped copier, somebody throwing up in a desk drawer, hanky-panky in the janitor's closet—in short, a typical highend work party where people forgot they were professionals and played teenager-at-the-frat-party, building memories and reputations that would take an entire year to live down.</p><p>She'd been wrong. Completely wrong.</p><p>Elite Construction, who'd hired her a few days ago when their previous photographer had bailed on them, had chosen to go a different, and much more wholesome, route. They were hosting an afternoon event, a family party for all of their employees as well as important clients, and whoever they cared to bring along—including small children. Catered food, from caviar to corn dogs, appealed to every palate. There were presents beneath a huge tree, pretty decorations, music filled with jingling bells and lots of smiles. It was almost enough to give a non-Christmas person like herself a little holiday tingle.</p><p>Oh. Except for the fact that she was working with a <em>very</em> cranky Kris Kringle.</p><p>"If they think I'm staying late, they can bite me. I got paid for three hours, not a minute more."</p><p>"We're almost done," she told the costumed man, whose bowlfull-of-jelly middle appeared homemade.</p><p>If only his nature were as true-to-character as his appearance. Though, she had to admit, right at this particular moment, his foul mood was understandable. He'd had to go dry his pants under a hand-dryer in the men's room after one boy had gotten so excited he'd peed himself. And Santa.</p><p>To be fair, Santa wasn't the only fraud around here this afternoon. Her own costume didn't exactly suit her personality, either. She felt like an idiot in the old elf getup, a leftover from her college days. But the kids loved it. And a happy, relaxed kid made for an easy-to-shoot kid…and great pictures.</p><p>All in all, she'd have to say this event had been a great success. Both for Elite Construction—whose employees had to be among the happiest in the city today—and for herself. Since moving back to Chicago from New York ten months ago, she'd been trying to build her business up to the level of success she'd had back east. Things were getting better—much—but a quick infusion of cash for an easy afternoon's work definitely helped.</p><p>Finally, after the last child in line had been seen to, Lucy eyed the chubby man in red. "I think that's about it." She glanced at a clock on the wall. "Five minutes to spare."</p><p>"Damn good thing," he said. "God, I hate kids."</p><p>Lucy's mouth fell open; she couldn't help gawking. "Then why on earth do you do this?"</p><p>He pointed toward himself—his white hair, full beard, big belly. "What else am I gonna do, play the Easter bunny?"</p><p>Not unless he wanted to terrify every child on earth into swearing off candy. "Bet you can land a part in the stage version of <em>The Nightmare Before Christmas'"</em> she mumbled. He sure looked like the Oogie Boogie man. And was about as friendly.</p><p>Lucy turned to the children lingering around the edges of the area that had been set up as "Santa's Workshop"—complete with fluffy fake snow, a throne and stuffed reindeer. Whoever had decorated for this party had really done a fantastic job. These kids had already had their turn on the big guy's lap, but were still crowded around the crotchety St. Nick. "It's time for Santa to get back to his workshop so he can finish getting ready for his big sleigh ride tomorrow night," she announced. "Santa, do you want to say anything before you leave?"</p><p>Father Friggin' Christmas grimaced and brushed cookie crumbs off his lap as he rose. "Be good or you won't get nothin'," he told them, adding a belly laugh to try to take the sting out of the words. His feigned heartiness fooled everyone under the age of ten, but certainly none of the adults. Waddling through the crowd toward the elevator, he didn't stop to pat one youngster on the head, or tickle a single chin.</p><p><em>Jerk.</em></p><p>For her part, Lucy found the little ones in their party clothes and patent leather shoes irresistible. Sweet, happy, so filled with life and laughter and excitement. There was one boy who was so photogenic he ought to be on the cover of a magazine, and she was dying to talk to his parents about a formal sitting.</p><p><em>You've come a long way, baby.</em></p><p>A very long way. To think she'd once vowed to never take a Santa photo, equating kid portraiture with one of Dante's circles of hell.</p><p>When she'd first set her sites on photography for her future, she'd argued with her brother over leaving Chicago to go to NYU to study. Then they'd argued when she'd decided to go from there to Europe, insisting she didn't want to take baby's-first-haircut pictures, dreaming instead of high fashion. Models and travel and exotic locations and <em>French Vogue</em> magazine covers.</p><p>She'd done all of that. Well, except for the magazine cover, though one of her shots had landed in a fashion week edition.</p><p>Yet, when all was said and done, she'd ended up finding her niche, her innermost talent and her satisfaction, back in the good old U.S. of A., working with children. It was, in this business, her claim to fame. Frankly, she was damn good at it. She'd made a name for herself in New York, her signature being the use of one color image in black and white shots. A toy, a piece of candy, a shirt or bandanna…something bright and sassy that demanded attention. Just like her photographs did.</p><p>Now she needed to drum up the same level of business in Chicago—which, despite her having been gone for so many years, was still her hometown. No, she'd never imagined moving back here, but when her brother, Sam, had gone through a messy divorce and seemed so lonely, she'd decided family came before anything else. She was all he had, and vice versa. So she'd returned.</p><p>Talk about changing your plans. Who'd have imagined it? Certainly not Lucy. And not her best friend from college, Kate, who still laughed about both her change in career path and in residence. Kate remembered Lucy's home-and-kids-are-boring stance in the old days.</p><p><em>Kate.</em> She needed to give the other woman a call. Lucy hadn't seen her friend since she'd moved, though she and Kate kept in touch with frequent calls. Kate's two children were the ones who'd really opened her mind to the wondrous possibilities of tiny faces and hands and smiles, and she wanted to make sure their Christmas presents had arrived in time.</p><p>Those gifts—and working this party in the ridiculous getup—were about the sum total of her Christmas activities this year. Her brother had to work the whole weekend, cops not getting every holiday off the way civilians did. And though she was now back near the Chicago suburb where she'd grown up, she no longer had any close friends here who might have invited her over.</p><p>Not that she would have gone. Lucy avoided Christmas like the plague, and had for years. She'd just as soon pretend the holiday wasn't happening.</p><p>Most people would probably think that pathetic; Lucy found it a relief. Especially since the weatherman was saying a storm to rival the one at the start of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was on the way. It was supposed to roll in tonight and shut down the city with a couple of feet of the white stuff by Christmas morning. Sounded like an excellent time to be locked in her warm apartment with her Kindle and a bunch of chocolate and wine. Or chocolate wine—her new addiction.</p><p>Eyeing the gray sky through the expansive wall of windows, she began to pack up her gear. The party was winding down, only a dozen or so people remaining on this floor, which had been transformed from cubicles and meeting rooms to a holiday funland. She smiled at those nearest to her, then, seeing the glances at her silly hat, reached up to tug it off her head.</p><p>Before she could do it, however, she heard a voice. A deep, male voice—smooth and sexy, and so not Santa's.</p><p>"I hear that you did a terrific job."</p><p>Lucy didn't respond, letting her brain process what she was hearing. Her whole body had stiffened, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up, her skin tightening into tiny goose bumps. Because that voice sounded familiar. <em>Impossibly</em> familiar.</p><p><em>It can't be.</em></p><p>"It sounds like the kids had a great time."</p><p>Unable to stop herself, she began to turn around, wondering if her ears—and all her other senses—were deceiving her. After all, six years was a long time, the mind could play tricks. What were the odds that she'd bump into <em>him</em> here? And today of all days. December 23. <em>Six years exactly.</em> Was that really possible?</p><p>One look—and the accompanying frantic thudding of her heart—and she knew her ears and brain were working just fine. Because it was <em>him.</em> Ross Marshall.</p><p>"Oh, my God," he whispered, shocked, frozen, staring as intently as she was. "Lucy?"</p><p>She nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off him, wondering why the years had made him even more attractive than ever. It didn't seem fair, or just. Not when she'd spent the past six years thinking he must have started losing that thick, golden-brown hair, or added a spare tire to that trim, muscular form or lost some of the sparkle from those green eyes.</p><p>Huh-uh.</p><p>The man was gorgeous. Truly, without-a-doubt, mouthwateringly handsome, and every bit as hot as he'd been the first time she'd laid eyes on him. But he wasn't that young, lean, hungry-looking guy anymore. Now he was all fully realized, powerful, strong—and devastatingly attractive—man.</p><p>She'd been twenty-two when they met, he two years olde... </p><p><br></p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations"><span style="font-weight: bold; ">11/21/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2824 (99%) </span></div></div>


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<div><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>The weather was unusually warm for late November. Kellan Quinn stared out at the sea from his spot above Smuggler's Cove. He walked over to the rocky edge of the cliff to look down at the narrow strip of beach where he and his brothers used to play. He hadn't been down the path in years, not since before he left for university.</p><p>But the little beach, sheltered from the wind, would be a perfect place to think, to find some solitude and clear his head. Life in Ballykirk had turned into a whirl of activity since his younger brothers had both found mates, and though he was happy for them, lately he'd felt like the odd man out.</p><p>Riley would be getting married in just over a month and though he and Nan had planned a simple New Year's Eve ceremony at the village church and a reception at the pub, it promised to be the biggest social event Ballykirk had seen in quite some time. Both Danny and Kellan would be standing up with Riley, which didn't sound like much. However, Kellan had learned that serving as a groomsman meant that you were at the beck and call of the groom until he left for his honeymoon.</p><p>Kellan still couldn't get over how quickly things had changed for the Quinn brothers. Riley and Danny had both fallen for american girls in the space of a few months. Of course, everyone assumed Kellan would be next and to that end, they'd started to put interested single girls in his path. But he knew better.</p><p>When it came to romance, Kellan Quinn was a realist. The chances of finding lasting love were slim at best. Though he'd turned thirty last year, he really hadn't ever come close to marriage, or enjoyed a long-term relationship. Perhaps it was because he'd never found a woman who could hold his attention. A woman who was more interesting than his career.</p><p>His reputation as an architect was growing with every project he completed and he was usually at the top of the list for any major historical renovation in Ireland. Though it wasn't really cutting-edge architecture, Kellan enjoyed doing his part to preserve pieces of Ireland's past.</p><p>Sixteen-hour days didn't leave much time for a social life, but he did manage to date occasionally when he stayed at his flat in Dublin. There were women who were happy to have him warm their bed, no strings, no expectations. But the relationships lacked an emotional component, existing purely for physical release.</p><p>Kellan drew a deep breath of the damp air. Riley and Danny had found their perfect matches. It was as if both women had just dropped out of the sky and into their beds. Had they been searching, waiting, wondering?</p><p>The wind buffeted his body and Kellan pulled his canvas jacket closed. In the past few days, a strange restlessness had come over him. Something was about to change. He could feel it inside, like the sky darkening before a storm.</p><p>He'd had an offer to do a project in France and he'd been considering the opportunity. It would mean moving to Brittany for a year to supervise the renovation of an old armory into a world war II museum. Maybe it was time for a change. Maybe he needed something new in his life.. just like his brothers.</p><p>Raking his hands through his windblown hair, Kellan walked to the rocks and searched for the way down. The descent was easy once he found the right path. As he clambered over the jagged traverse, he noticed something odd lying on the beach.</p><p>At first, it looked like a pile of debris and seaweed. But as he got closer, his heart started to pound. It was a body! He made out a long, slender arm and the unmistakable curve of a woman's hip. Kellan jumped down the last five feet and ran over to her, almost dreading what he was about to discover.</p><p>But the moment he touched her, she jerked, then sat up, brushing the damp strands of hair from her eyes. She looked at him through eyes so pale they were almost colorless.</p><p>"Are you all right?"</p><p>A tiny frown worried her brow, but she made no attempt to speak.</p><p>"What are you doing down here? How did you get here? Were you in the water?"</p><p>She reached out and smoothed her sand-covered palm over his cheek, her gaze studying the details of his face. And then, without warning, she leaned forward and touched her lips to his. She tasted of salt water and smelled of the ocean breeze.</p><p>The kiss was so surprising, he jerked back. But she was determined and slipped her hand around his nape, pulling him closer, drawing him down into the sand with her. Kellan normally exercised a great deal of self-restraint around women. But the moment her lips touched his, his control dissolved into an overwhelming need.</p><p>Her lips parted on a sigh and he took the chance to taste, his tongue delving into the sweet warmth of her mouth. She responded immediately, writhing beneath him as if trying to get closer. Her body trembled and when he finally drew back he realized it wasn't from the impact of their kiss but from the cold.</p><p>"Are you all right?" he asked again. "What's your name?"</p><p>Her eyes fluttered and then closed as she went limp in his arms. Kellan grabbed her chin and turned her head. She was still breathing, but just barely. Cursing, he scrambled to his feet and picked her up, hoping that she'd regain consciousness. She was dead weight in his arms, like a rag doll.</p><p>Kellan looked up to the top of the cliff. The only way to get her up was tossed over his shoulder. It wouldn't be comfortable, but there was no other option.</p><p>The dress she wore was barely enough to keep her warm in midsummer much less late autumn. Just a thin layer of green silk. He shrugged out of his canvas jacket and struggled to get her into it, buttoning it up once he had. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you should count yourself bloody lucky I came along."</p><p>He bent down and grabbed her thighs, her body folding over his shoulder. The path was narrow but navigable, even with a passenger. He had to be cautious of her head, careful not to bump her against the rocks. When he finally reached the top, Kellan set her down in the grass and took a deep breath.</p><p>Her eyes fluttered again and for a moment she opened them. "Can you stand up?" he asked.</p><p>Her lips curled into a sleepy smile and she shook her head and closed her eyes again.</p><p>"What the hell am I supposed to do with you?" he muttered. "If the hike home doesn't kill you, it will probably kill me."</p><p>He couldn't leave her here alone. But he could probably run home and fetch his car in less time than it would take to carry her. The hike to the road was only about half a kilometer. Home was nearly five.</p><p>He had his mobile. He'd ring the pub and see if one of his brothers could drive out. Meanwhile, he'd try to get her warm and awake. He flipped open his phone and to his relief, Danny answered almost immediately.</p><p>"I need your help," Kellan said. "I need you to drive up the coast road and park your car just around the bend by the dry stone fence, before you get to Castle Cnoc. Right where we used to leave our bikes when we'd come down to the cove."</p><p>"Why?" Danny asked.</p><p>"Just do it. I'll explain when you get here."</p><p>"Riley and Nan have me stuffing invitations for their engagement party. This is important stuff I'm workin' on, Kell. I can't just be hopping off for no good reason."</p><p>"It's an emergency. Maybe even life or death. Leave now. I'll meet you there in a few minutes."</p><p>"I'm on my way."</p><p>This time, when Kellan hefted her over his shoulder, she groaned and fought against him. "That's right," he said. "It's not so comfortable, is it? Maybe if you could summon the energy to walk, we might both be spared the trouble of me lugging you through this meadow like a lumpy sack of potatoes."</p><p>"Ow," she said.</p><p>"What were you doing on that beach, anyway? If I hadn't come along, you'd be on your way to dead right now. Dead and washed away by the tide. That's no way to leave this world. What about your family? They might never have known what happened to you."</p><p>"I—Oh, sick," she muttered. A few seconds later, she retched and he felt the back of his leg go damp. After that, she seemed to settle down.</p><p>"Lovely. Brilliant." Kellan tried to calm his own stomach. If there was one thing he couldn't handle it was—He felt a wave of nausea overtake him and he stopped and drew a deep breath through his mouth. "I don't know if you're drunk or just crazy, but you'll be thanking me for this later."</p><p>By the time he reached the road, Danny was waiting in his battered old Land Rover. His brother jumped out of the driver's side and ran up to him. "What the devil! Where did you find her?"</p><p>"On the beach at the cove. She's cold and I think she might be drunk. Or sick. I don't know."</p><p>"What are you going to do with her?"</p><p>"Take her back to the cottage. I'll get her warm and call Doc Finnerty."</p><p>"Maybe we should drive her directly to the hospital?"</p><p>"All the way to Cork? Let's get her out of these wet clothes first and warm her up. If she doesn't come round, I'll take her."</p><p>When they got her settled in the backseat, Kellan slid in beside her, resting her head on his lap. Danny turned the car around and raced back toward town. At the fork in the road, he turned up toward the cottage.</p><p>Kellan had been living in Ballykirk for the past couple weeks, taking a break from life in Dublin while his family planned for the upcoming wedding. The small, whitewashed cottage had been his childhood home, set on a high rise above the seaside village. On occasion, it was let out to tourists, but when it wasn't, Kellan often stayed there.</p><p>When Danny pulled the car to a stop, Kellan got out and carefully scooped the woman up into his arms. "Do me a favor. Give Doc Finnerty a call and if he doesn't answer, see if you can find him."</p><p>"I know where he is," Danny said. "He's having a pin... </p></div>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The promise of Kushiel's Dart (2001), the first volume of Carey's immense trilogy set in a skewed Renaissance world, is more than realized in this splendid conclusion. In the 10 years since the action of the second, relatively uneventful volume, Kushiel's Chosen (2002), the winsome and gritty anguisette Phedre, bidden to seek pain in love by her demi-gods, the cruel Kushiel and the loving Naamah, has matured gracefully. Now the Comtesse Phedre no Delaunay de Montreve, she enjoys maintaining an estate together with the swordsman Joscelin, her faithful consort. She still follows her calling, though accepting but three patrons a year. Only the lonely fate of her imprisoned childhood friend, Hyacinthe, who's courageously volunteered to become Master of the Straits, disturbs her serenity. Then the beautiful, treacherous Melisande Shahrizai asks the anguisette to rescue her kidnapped son, Imriel. In return, Melisande promises to help PhŠdre find the Name of God, the key to freeing Hyacinthe. Having traveled west in the first book from the French-Italianate city-state of Terre d'Ange, Phedre here journeys south into the equivalents of the Middle East and Africa, where she triumphs gloriously. Effortlessly rich in adventurous incident, with a huge cast of well-defined characters, this poignant and robust story will appeal to both fantasy lovers and fans of erotic romance.<br>Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Booklist</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> Terre d'Ange's inhabitants are the descendents of angels, a race of breathtaking beauty whose highest law is Love as Thou Wilt. Extraordinarily skilled as a courtesan as well as in diplomacy and espionage, Phedre no Delauney has risen to be a queen's companion and peer of the realm. Ten years earlier, she was critical to Terre d'Ange's defense against invaders. Peace and her life were bought with the sacrifice of her friend Hyacinthe, who assumed an ancient, eternal contract as apprentice to the master of straights. Phedre vowed to free him, and has finally discovered how. She must speak the true name of God, which will banish the embittered angel Rahab, who controls Hyacinthe's fate. To discover the true name, Phedre journeys to distant lands and dangerous places, and not the least of the latter lies within. For Phedre is the only living <em>anguisette</em>, chosen by the god Kushiel to experience pain and pleasure as one, and to maintain divine balance in the world. At the hands of the insane warlord and servant of the dark god Mahrkagir, Phedre learns what true horror is, nearly losing her soul to keep the covenant with Kushiel. As her spirit and strength drain away, the love of her life, Josceline the Cassiline warrior priest, must stand by. Carey's lush, sensuous prose again makes her heroine's story a savory feast for mind and heart. <em>Paula Luedtke</em><br><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p></div>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The seventh installment in Carey's bestselling Kushiel series (after 2008's <em>Kushiel's Mercy</em>) follows its youthful protagonist, Moirim, from bed to bed as she worships sexuality goddess Naamah. Following a tragic affair, Moirim travels to Terre d'Ange, this world's France. There she takes a variety of lovers, from the aristocratic occultist Raphael de Mereliot to Queen Jehanne herself. The elderly but wise Lo Feng befriends Moirim and leads her to the distant land of Ch'in and the true love of her life, the gruff but affectionate ex-bandit Bao. Moirim and her friends endeavor to save the Ch'in emperor's daughter Snow Tiger from a curse, but their efforts come at terrible costs, not least of which is the certainty of multiple sequels. Carey's triumph as a writer lies in her ability to turn these stock—nearly stereotyped—components into an engaging, fascinating novel. <em>(July)</em> <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Review</h3><p>"[A]nother stunner...A multilayered plot and Imriel's complex inner life as he struggles with pain and loss...hook the reader but good." (<strong>Booklist on Kushiel's Justice (starred review)</strong> )<br></p><p>"Carey has wowed us...leaving faithful readers feeling both deliciously sated and hungry for more from her." (<strong>Booklist on Kushiel's Mercy (starred review)</strong> )<br></p><p>"Unforgettable characters who live out their lives, whether blessed or cursed by the gods, against a background of high passion, complex intrigues, and subtle magic." (<strong>Library Journal on Kushiel's Mercy (starred review)</strong> )<br></p><p>"Intelligent, sexy, heartbreakingly human, Carey at her intoxicating best." (<strong>Booklist on Kushiel's Scion (starred review)</strong> ) </p></div>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In this sequel to 2009's <em>Naamah's Kiss</em>, Moirin, the devoted servant of a sex goddess, journeys across half of a fantasy version of Asia in search of her soulmate, Bao. In Tatar territory, she finds Bao... and his wife. His father-in-law, the Great Khan, is willing to go to great extremes to keep Bao and Moirin apart. Captured by the fanatic Patriarch of Riva, Moirin escapes to find that Bao has vanished again, this time headed toward the distant lair of the Spider Queen and her army of assassins. The romantic tale is marred by Moirin's narcissistic awareness that she is destined for a glorious fate that lesser mortals like Bao's jealous wife may only envy. Carey's storytelling ability is top-notch, however, and readers will applaud her willingness to resolve major plot threads in the middle book of a trilogy. <em>(June)</em> <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From Booklist</h3><p>Still chasing her destiny in the sequel to Naamah's Kiss (2009), Moirin follows the urging of her diadh-anam across Tatar territory, looking for Bao, her Ch'in lover, who holds the other half of her divine soul-spark. She finds him married to the Great Khan's daughter, and their plans to smooth this wrinkle go disastrously wrong when the Great Khan arranges to have Moirin kidnapped by fanatical, pious Vralians, while Bao is led into the lands of the Spider Queen. Though this book is packed with new people, new lands, and new gods, the pacing is slow and the tone reflective. Carey's involving depictions of several religions also grow rather pointed. While Bao is never present long enough to gain depth, Moirin grows in strength and compassion, confronting several interesting crossroads in her faith and her way of life. Despite a “middle book” feel, series fans will love it, and an ominous warning about Raphael de Merliot, whom Moirin must “reckon with,” gives us something to look forward to in the next book. --Krista Hutley </p></div>


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<p>TOM CLANCY'S GREATEST CHARACTERS FACE THEIR DEADLIEST CHALLENGE After almost a decade, Tom Clancy--the acknowledged master of international intrigue and non-stop military action-returns to the world he knows better than anyone: a world of chaos, caught in the crossfire of politics and power, placed on the edge of annihilation by evil men. But there are other men who are honor-bound to stop the bloodshed and protect their homeland-by any means necessary... It is called the Campus. Secretly created under the administration of President Jack Ryan, its sole purpose is to hunt down, locate, and eliminate terrorists and those who protect them at will, without sanction or oversight. A self- sufficient entity, it has no official connection to the American government-a necessity in a time when those in power consider themselves above such arcane ideals as loyalty, justice, and right or wrong. Covert intelligence expert Jack Ryan Jr. and his compatriots at the Campus have waged this silent war in every corner of the world. Now joined by two of his father's closest allies-black ops warriors John Clark and "Ding" Chavez, as well as Brian and Dominic Caruso and Mary Pat Foley-the Campus has come up against its greatest foe: a sadistic killer known as the Emir. The mastermind of countless horrific attacks, the Emir has eluded capture by every law enforcement agency in the world-a fact which the Campus is determined to change. But his greatest devastation is yet to be unleashed, as he plans a monumental single strike that will destroy the heart of America, unless the Campus can take him Dead or Alive. On the trail of the Emir, Jack Ryan Jr. will find himself following in his legendary father's footsteps on a deadly manhunt that will take him and his allies across the globe, into the shadowy arenas of political gamesmanship, and back onto U.S. soil-in a battle to prevent the fall of the West... Together for the first time, an all-star cast of Tom Clancy's characters race to ensure the nation's survival and to complete their mission: the desperate search for a madman who may be hiding in plain sight.</p>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>This is an erotic romance short story in the Maybourne series.<br>The content of this story is unsuitable for readers under 18 years of age.<br></p><p>Tony is to be best man at Dan's wedding to Paula, and hires Samantha as a stripper at Dan's drinks party. There's a surprise waiting for Samantha....<br></p><p>Appended as a bonus is the first chapter of "A Close Match", narrating what happened when Paula and Dan first met.<br></p><p>SAMPLE EXTRACT<br></p><p>After walking what seemed an eternity, I finally approached Maybourne, lit up ready to welcome me. I looked at my watch; it was 12.20, and I was nearly ninety minutes late.<br>When I arrived at The Swan, I announced myself to the night reception staff, and I was escorted to the room where the private party was being held.<br>I walked in to a darkened room and had to wait a minute for my eyes to get accustomed to it. Dan and Tony introduced themselves; I handed them my CD and I was about to explain why I was so late, but they had turned away, put on the CD and then pointed to where they wanted me to start dancing.<br>I moved to my spot, and got into the rhythm of the first number, I’m So Dizzy.<br>There was an interruption; one of the hotel staff came back into the room; Dan and Tony looked at each other, and both left the room. “Carry on – just dance!” Tony called, and the music started.<br>In the low lights, I counted nine or ten men. And only one guy there looked anywhere near sober. The rest had fallen asleep in their chairs, their heads cradled in their arms on the table. I had arrived late – if they had started drinking at eight that evening, it was no wonder they appeared intoxicated.<br>And there was only one guy sufficiently awake to enjoy my performance. But I had been paid half the fee in advance, so I was under an obligation to continue.<br>Along with the rhythm of the music, I gyrated, my hips wiggled, I pulled up the side of my skirt to reveal the stocking top; the first thing to go was the high-visibility vest identifying me as their stripper. After a little longer, my top came off and I pretended to play with my nipples through my bra.<br>Next, I dropped my skirt to the ground, and began thrusting my crotch at the one-man audience. He was sitting behind a table, fumbling with himself. Nobody else was watching me; what a waste, I thought, but at least I’m earning good money.<br>I beckoned him forward. He obeyed. From the way he walked, I guessed he was completely sober. Had he been on orange juice all night? I pulled up a chair in front of me, and gestured to him to sit down. I twirled my high-visibility vest round my waist provocatively. I was going to give him a special one-man show.<br></p></div>


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<div><p>Two New Christmas Stories by Liliana Hart<br></p><p>Naughty or Nice<br></p><p>A blizzard leaves Kate Carson stranded in Chicago on Christmas Eve. When she finds she’s without a place to stay for the night, billionaire Derek Worth tempts her with an offer she can’t refuse, and she finds out it’s a lot easier to stay warm being naughty instead of nice.<br></p><p>A MacKenzie Christmas<br></p><p>Grant MacKenzie is ready to settle down and start a family. The only problem is the one woman he’s interested in doesn’t seem to be ready for the long haul. But fate lends Grant a helping hand in getting exactly what he wants under his Christmas tree.<br></p><p>Other Novellas by Liliana Hart<br>Dane <br>Thomas<br>Riley<br>Cooper<br>Dominating Gracie<br>Double Jeopardy<br>The Madam Duchess<br>Who’s Riding Red<br>The Adventures of Goldilocks and the Three Behrs</p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p><em>She left everything familiar behind—but love found her anyway.</em> A story from <em>The Perfect Gift</em>. Sophia is determined to spend Christmas on her own terms this year. Her daughter will be spending the holidays with her boyfriend’s family, and Sophia has no intention of staying home alone with her memories. She knows Ethan would be more than happy to keep her company. But he’s her business partner—and her late husband’s best friend. It’s past time to stop leaning on him and learn to stand on her own two feet. A cruise to the Caribbean might be just the ticket to discovering who she is now, and what she really wants. </p><p>Ethan is stunned to discover that Sophia has decided to go on a cruise for Christmas—alone. He’d thought something more was finally developing between the two of them. If she’s ready to move on after the loss of her husband, he’ll be damned if he lets her move on without him!</p><p>On the spur of the moment, Ethan books a stateroom, determined to prove to Sophia that what they have goes far beyond friendship. The romantic atmosphere of the cruise sparks a passion the two had only dreamed of before—but can their fledgling relationship survive beyond the vacation of a lifetime? </p><p>Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language (but don’t tell my mom).</p></div>


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<div><p>One dark, wild night a mysterious stranger seduced Kim Wright, changing her forever. He did wicked things to her, things she'd never dared dream of.</p><p>He even bit her! And by doing so, he transformed Kim from an inexperienced mouse to a sinfully sexy woman.</p><p>A woman who craved more of what only Stephen could give her.</p><p>Now, a year later, Kim has finally found Stephen again. And she still wants him, desperately. But Stephen's not like other men. He can't get attached to any one woman. Still, he can't resist sinking his teeth into Kim just one more time.</p><p>Too bad Kim's not going to let Stephen get away that easily.</p></div>


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<p>The ABCs of Erotica series takes readers on a sensual journey through the erotic alphabet from A is for Anal to Z is for Zipless F*ck.<br /></p><p>The first installment, A is for Anal, is a short teaser story (1800 words).<br /></p><p>Michael cannot help but feel there is more to Grace than meets the eye. He suspects her demure reserve hides a carnal nature. They agree to meet outside work and fireworks ensue! Michael introduces Grace to her naughty side and shows her the pleasures of backdoor play.<br /></p><p>Erotica author, Malia Mallory, covers the erotic spectrum from BDSM to ménage and everything in between in her collection, The ABCs of Erotica.<br /></p><p>This story contains sexually explicit material, and is intended only for persons over the age of 18. All of the characters involved in the sexual situations in this story are fictional and 18 years of age or older, whether they are explicitly described as such or not.</p>


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<p>Attorney Nita Reynolds is hot for Det. Craig Walker, but he's given up asking her out. She doesn't date cops...until a doctor's call makes her re-examine her priorities. Believing she has a brain tumor like the one that killed her father, she vows to make love to Craig Walker while she still has her full faculties. By the time the doctor realizes he's mixed up the scans, she's in way too deep.</p>


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<p>I’ve received a letter from Wendy: <br /></p><p>Dear Author, <br /></p><p>With that unholy gleam in his eye and all that luscious chocolate, I NEED to know what this hunk is up to. Can you please help me find out? <br /></p><p>Sincerely, <br />Wendy <br /></p><p>Photo Description: Handsome, scruffy looking man with a hand covered in chocolate and a sensual silver-eyed stare. He is licking chocolate off of his index finger. <br /></p><hr /><p>Dear Wendy, <br /></p><p>Wendell Choate dreams about finding the perfect job that allows him to be around chocolate. A place he can be accepted even though he’s Deaf. <br /></p><p>He answers an advertisement for a chocolate shop called Luscious Love, and is surprised to discover that the owner, Caleb Adams is more than accepting of him. <br /></p><p>Will Caleb and Wendell just find a peaceful working relationship, or something more? <br /></p><p>Always, <br />Zach Sweets</p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Shower Sex for One is short, steamy erotica story that takes care of business. Go into the world of orgasm by water and more. Expect hot, heavy breathing action, and a special twist at the end. It will have you rushing to take care of business. 2,500 word quickie lunch read! </p>


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<p>Please note: this is a FREE sample of the full ebook, which is a 15,000 word novella.<br /></p><hr /><p>Sex with an incubus comes with a price...<br /></p><p>Jess' fevered dreams are haunted by an incubus: sexy, charming and inexplicably terrifying. As she sleeps, Mathias awakens her darkest, most hidden desires, indulges them until she screams for mercy and then begs for more. As he vists her more often, Jess craves his control, his orders, the glorious pain and intense pleasure he can inflict upon her. But upon waking, Jess finds Mathias' mark upon her - a beautiful tattoo that wraps around her body, searing her skin and spreading more every time.<br /></p><p>Can Jess resist the heady pleasure he gives her, or will Mathias complete his mark and stake his claim to her - for eternity?</p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Exciting, intimate, and quirky, Blow is a suave erotic short. Featuring the first of Christina's trysts with the men who dominate her fantasies, her sexual encounters awakens desire, and sensualize the raw power of hot sex. Warning: This book contains explicit sex between consenting adults. 18+ </p><h3>From the Inside Flap</h3><p>Christina spies on James, Matt, and Luke, and finds out they want her as much as she wants them. James teaches her a lesson for spying by indulging in some hot vanilla sex.... </p>


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<p>The story of Cinderella is far more adult than you were lead to believe. A lady of the night, she spends her days working the streets and her nights living in poverty. Her stepsister's controls her every decision and she is forced to live under her stepmother's iron fist.<br /></p><p>Her entire life is thrown into an uproar when the majestic Prince Jacob visits, inviting all to his masquerade ball. Cinderella’s only problem is that she has no way of getting to that party.<br /></p><p>That all changes when she discovers a power hidden deep within her, and takes matters into her own hands.<br /></p><p>Naughty Cinderella is an adult fairy tale, containing some graphic sexual scenes and coarse language. <br /></p><p>This novella is approximately 11,050 words. Adults Only.</p>


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<p>A beautiful woman experiences her first sexual encounter with another beautiful woman in a women's department store dressing room.</p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>She wonders how her friend can have such a happy married life, such a fulfilled one, and is surprised to learn the answer... and then surprised again! </p>


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<p>Despondent, broke, and left by a young wife, Ted Blaine returns home to Buffalo to lick his wounds. With bills up the wazoo, a meddling sister, and endless thoughts of his wife, Ted's life is spiraling downward...until. This story is for adults and has explicit language. Word count: 5600. Teddy Bear is included in Thirst and Spots Blind, two short story collections by the author.</p>


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<p>Super short Prequel to Asking for Andre<br /><strong>Can be read alone but better with the companion book</strong><br /></p><p>Andre Lavin lives life in the fast lane and the pampered Italian playboy isn’t used to being denied. Anything. Which makes his attraction to the shy, hauntingly beautiful Cassandra Michaels even more frustrating. She’s unimpressed by his flashy lifestyle and his every attempt to get closer seems to drive her further away. <br /></p><p>Until he overhears her whispered wish for sex lessons. <br /></p><p>Where Casey comes from rich handsome men don’t fall for girls like her but there’s nothing to stop her from enjoying a fling. All she needs is one night to find out what she’s been missing and then she can go back to her boring, predictable life. One night to touch and be touched and she can leave with her heart intact. <br /></p><p>Or can she? Because although Andre is more than ready to teach her anything she asks, what he isn’t willing to do is ever let her go.<br /></p><p>Length: 5k words, 20 pages<br /></p><p>WARNING: This is erotic romance. If you are offended by explicit language and/or characters who like to get busy, do NOT download this book.</p>


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<p>Prince Brennan is sent on a ridiculous mission by his father the King, to find a cache of pirate gold. When they arrive at the island rumored to contain the gold, the crew starts to hear mysterious singing, pulling them from bed. Finally one night three women appear on a jetty of rocks, their sirens song and naked bodies tempt the men into dangerous consequences.</p>


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<p>Ryan was Justin’s high school street sweetheart who lost his way, and wound up homeless in the gay prostitution trade on the mean streets of Las Vegas. Justin takes pity on him, and invites him to move in, but their shared past comes back to haunt them. Can they find true happiness with each other and have amazing sex on top of it? Or will Justin learn and grow from this romantic experience? This short erotic gay love story explores what it means to truly love another man. <br /></p><p>Please note that this story contains explicit erotic and sexual content and is intended only for persons over the legal adult age. By downloading and opening this document, you are stating that you are of legal age to access and view this work of fiction. Mature readers only. Reader discretion is advised. <br /></p><p>This work of fiction is the product of the author’s imagination. Any similarities to real life characters, places and events are unintended and purely coincidental. <br /></p><p>Please further note that all characters depicted are of legal adult age.<br /></p><p>Excerpt: “Justin,” he whispered in his husky voice. “I want to taste you again. Just one taste.”<br />I avoided looking into his sweet green eyes, because I knew I could never resist them.<br />“Look at me,” he murmured. <br />I did. Just one look and all anger-related resistance melted. As far as I was concerned, he could have me.<br />“Take me,” I said, breathless.<br />He leaned in and kissed my lips, gently massaging them. He sucked on my bottom lip. I felt lighter and lighter, like I was a balloon floating away. <br />He pulled back long enough to say, “God, I missed you.”<br />But there was that hesitant look on his face again. “If we do this, it’s just physical. Just for fun. Feelings complicate things. I might have to leave anytime, and I don’t want to hurt you.”<br />I held onto his lats, and then wrapped my arms around his waist. My hands touched hard, back muscle. They continued to explore his hard body, feeling his strong deltoids, bulgy biceps and ripped triceps. My hands moved to the front of his body, groping his hard pecs, chiseled abs and broad, broad chest.<br />Nothing but muscle.<br />Muscle, muscle, muscle.<br />Why the hell did I love man muscle so fucking much? It did so many things to both my brain and my body.</p>


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<p>Detective John Sanders has been on the police force almost twenty years now. He was a drunk, a loudmouth, and a womanizer, but he was also the best Detective in the city. A young Spanish immigrant is murdered, and John's life becomes a whirlwind of passion and intrigue.<br /></p><p>This short story is about sex, drugs and guns. And every one of them kills.<br /></p><p>Warning: This eBook contains explicit sexual acts. Adults only.<br /></p><p>Word Count: 5500</p>


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<p>Rae Lewis has been down on her luck since birth. Left to raise her four-year-old son on her own...even living in the Carver Housing Projects of Spanish Harlem, New York had become too much. Stuck in a dead end job with a pervert as her boss, there was no way things could get any worse. Sometimes being in the wrong place at the right time is all it takes for a person’s luck to change.<br /></p><p>Filthy rich blonds didn’t stumble into downtown Manhattan convenience stores on a daily basis. Hurt and in pain, Vana Valentino could only offer to help after Rae went out of her way to get her home safely. There was only one question she needed to answer…<br /></p><p>“Would you let some stupid prick beat the hell out of you for five thousand dollars?”<br /></p><p>A new life, a fresh start, and more money than she’d ever dreamed of was the reward, but it came with a price. In the S&amp;M underground, Sex wasn’t just sex when served with a closed fist punch and a few smacks to the face. Never in her life had she thought that she would sell herself for money, but barely a week in and a new offer was on the table. One that she couldn’t refuse…<br /></p><p>Five million dollars… For her life…</p>


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<p>Another kinky tale from the author of The Madame X School of Sex series(A super-short prequel)<br /></p><p>SUMMARY<br /></p><p>The first time I stole something was on a dare.<br /></p><p>I was fifteen and reckless, determined to prove I could be a bad ass. My best friend Jody dared me to take a pack of gum from the Handy-Mart. In retrospect, I'm surprised my bumbling effort didn't land me in jail. It was hardly a covert mission but I did it.<br /></p><p>I did it, I loved it and I've been stealing ever since.<br /></p><p>Usually it's something small, just enough to give me the rush. Over the years, I've graduated up to pickpocketing which requires a bit more daring and a lot more finesse. I've never gotten caught and I suppose that's part of the thrill.<br /></p><p>Every time I take something I have to wonder if this is the day my luck will run out.<br /></p><p>This is the story of the day I stole from the wrong man.<br /></p><p>READER ADVISORY:<br /></p><p>Story contains content some readers may find objectionable, including voyeurism, exhibitionism, anal play, sex with strangers and extended orgasms. If you have a problem with orgasms, do not purchase this book.<br /></p><p>Book length: 4k words, 15 pages<br /></p><p>Hope you enjoy the freebie: Please review on Amazon and B&amp;N for me!!!</p>


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<p>Sex, sex, and more sex!<br /></p><p>That's an understatement!<br /></p><p>For the first time ever, every single title in Kelly Haven's Diary of a Nympho series is brought together to make up one massive volume of hardcore, explicit fun that you will never forget. <br /></p><p>Tales of schoolgirl crushes, men in uniform, gangbang fun, creampies, anal sex, voyeurism, domination, lesbian sex, threesomes, dildos, double penetration, step family fun, and more…as only Kelly Haven can do.<br /></p><p>Diary of a Nympho: The Collections, is a journey into the experiences of a real life nymphomaniac, and is sure to please even the most timid of people. It's extremely hot, graphic, and filled with content that is just waiting to explode all over you. <br /></p><p>Featuring 14 diary entries comprising over 50,000 words, including The Hitchhiker, Creamy Surprise, The Step Dad, My First Gangbang, Top Secret, Special Delivery, Hot For Teacher, Pool Party, Spread Your Legs, and more! <br /></p><p>Explicit adult fun that will leave you begging for more…guaranteed!</p>


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<p>“Barb’s Sexual Awakening” is one complete erotic story, extracted from the full length “non-fictional” title “True Life Erotica” by J.T. Holden.DO NOT buy this title if you already own "True Life Erotica" as is appears there in its entirety.This short story is almost 5000 words long and details the transition of a girl from sexually reserved and conservative to open-minded and more aggressive, mostly as a result of being exposed to exhibitionism by her boyfriend.</p>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Adults only! Five short, erotic stories from five authors: <br>The Coach's MILF,‭ ‬by Brandie Buckwine;<br>Dirty Hot Mess,‭ ‬by Summer Ellis;<br>The Cusp of Libra,‭ ‬by Ellison James;<br>Amy and the Plumber,‭ ‬by Nikki Palmer;<br>Extra Credit,‭ ‬by Samantha Whitney‭</p><hr><hr><p><strong>From "Extra Credit," by Samantha Whitney</strong></p><hr><p>I closed the door behind me. "It's time to get out of that coat now. We need to get you measured."</p><p>She exhaled, huffing. "Fine." Gayle then took off her heavy coat, which I promptly hung on the wall.</p><p>I hung my coat next to hers. "The shirt, too."</p><p>Huffing again, she pulled her well-worn black T-shirt over her head and tossed it to the bench<strong>.</strong>"Oh," I said. Even in her old bra and worn-out jeans, she was breathtaking. Her blond hair fell all over her shoulders, setting off her light blue eyes exquisitely. She had a natural beauty, the kind I rarely saw. I could tell she was wearing no makeup, yet her cheeks had a peachy glow and her lips were full, and stained a nice rosy tint.</p><p>"Gina?" She chuckled. "You just gonna make me stand here?"</p><p>"Sorry." I looked down at her chest.</p><p>I could have asked her to hold the end of the measuring tape as I walked around her in a circle, but that wouldn't have been as much fun. Instead, stood in front of her with the tape in one hand, then reached around her back with both arms. Then, using both hands, I brought the tape forward to meet at her chest, just below her bra.</p><p>"Well?" she asked. "What's the measurement?"</p><p>"I should do it again to make sure it's accurate."</p><p>This time I leaned in a little further. She was only slightly taller than me, so my lips were mere inches below hers as I looked in her eyes and held the measuring tape at her back. A rush of warmth made its way inside my panties as my fingers brushed against her soft skin. I kept my eyes set on hers and, slower than before, and ran the tape around to her chest. I stayed there, gazing up at her long after my fingers met in front.</p><h3>From the Author</h3><p><strong>From "The Cusp of Libra," by Ellison James</strong></p><p>"It is time for the anointing of the Goddess Morgan." Maeven looked at Shayla and brought the microphone away from her mouth, cupping it with her hands. "Would you be willing to perform a little role-playing, Shayla?" she said in a hushed voice.</p><p>"What will I have to do?" Shayla asked, a little concerned over where this might go.</p><p>"Oh, nothing really," Maeven said, winking at her again. "You'll lie on the altar and allow Aiden and Liam to anoint you with rose oil and massage." Maeven paused, looking at her, obviously gauging her response. "After the anointing, you must declare one of them your favored lover."</p><p><em>Rose oil? Massage? Aiden's, and Liam's, hands on my body? Hell yes!</em></p><p><em></em></p><em><p><em>"I think I might like that," Shayla said, a little giggle escaping her as she moved to the altar.</em></p><em><hr><p><strong>From "Amy and the Plumber," by Nikki Palmer</strong></p><hr><p>"I'm sorry. I'm keeping you from your bath." He stepped back and watched as she stepped into the tub and sank beneath the mountains of bubbles. He wasted no time as he quickly stripped off his khaki slacks and blue polo. "Mind if I join you, Ma'am?"</p><p>She shook her head, staring avidly as he removed everything. He pushed down his boxers and stripped off his socks. He stepped into the large jetted tub behind her. She scooted forward, and then turned around to face him. Her hand stroked his shoulder, leaving a trail of bubbles across it.His chest was hairless and strong. He obviously worked out often. She dropped a kiss to his nipple, catching it between her teeth and biting down softly. He groaned, pushing his fingers through her hair. She dropped one hand below the bubbles and played with his balls, rubbing her thumb slowly over his sack. She stroked along his cock, pumping her hand up and down along it.</p><p>He let his head drop back, groaning loudly. "That's perfect. Just like that."</p></em></em></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Cicely Stevens needs the vacation of a lifetime. After being cheated on by her boyfriend and passed over for a promotion, she's off to the Caribbean for a weekend of hot island fun. And there's no sexier bad boy than her old college rival Chase Yearwood, who's on the same plane en route to his lush estate…and whose kiss Cicely never forgot. When he takes her in his arms again, he's more irresistible than ever. But will she lose her heart before this fling is flung?</p><p class="description">They call him the "Wolf" because of his legendary skills in the boardroom—and the bedroom. Now is Chase's chance to even the score with the woman who once beat him at his own game. But can rivals in business become passionate partners in love? Under a romantic tropical moon, he'll seduce her with a passion that will have her begging for more!</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  2/12/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2223 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">Couples from favorite authors including Brenda Jackson, Francis Ray, Melanie Schuster, Angie Daniels, Deborah Fletcher Mello, Adrianne Byrd, Gwyneth Bolton, Wayne Jordan, A.C. Arthur, Rochelle Alers and Gena Showalter.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  5/30/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 258 (54%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>When Capri Timmons trades her chaotic Miami life for suburbia, the reserved photographer doesn't realize her fantastic new house comes with a gorgeous doctor next door! Sexy, way-too-easy-on-the-eyes Tiberius Evans is just the kind of man Capri has vowed to steer clear of at all costs. Except the more she resists, the more Tiberius wants her…. With Tiberius, women usually check their inhibitions at the door. But his luscious, one-step-at-a-time neighbor isn't like anyone the devout bachelor has ever known. And his protective instinct isn't the only thing aroused. A dose of seduction is just what the doctor ordered. But Capri is making Tiberius rethink his just-for-one-night past—and his unclaimed future. Tiberius is happy to act the perfect gentleman… if it lands him the woman he loves in the end!</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3377 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">Xavier Garrett's dangerous career as a homicide detective finally prompted Vanessa Garrett to end their marriage. When a murder occurs at the publishing house where Van works, Xav heads the team handling the case. When it's discovered that the killer is targeting the company's executives, Xav goes to great lengths to protect his ex-wife. The situation is far too close for comfort and reminds Vanessa of everything she gave up when she left her sexy ex-husband.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2762 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Tall, muscular, compassionate and strong-willed, Dr. Jack Ferguson is everything Melanie Sparks wants in a man, and the last thing she needs in a boss. Growing up poor, Melanie dreamed of becoming a nurse, and her job at Jack's clinic can make that a reality—but only if she keeps her mind away from a tempting seduction that could never be more than a wonderful fling.</p><p class="description">Son of a prominent Baltimore doctor, Jack is expected to choose a wealthy wife. Instead he's falling for someone his powerful father will never accept. Working with Melanie to help those most in need, Jack realizes that what he truly wants is the woman who's right in front of him—but can he convince Melanie of that?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3747 (100%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>They had a hot, fleeting affair Farrah Langley has never forgotten. Attorney-to-the-rich-and-famous Xavier Kane was tender, sexy, attentive—and ravished her body. Everything she ever wanted in a lover. Getting together with him again in New York is a fantasy come true. She certainly doesn't expect the footloose bachelor to change his ways. And the burned-by-love mediator isn't looking for forever.But Xavier is.There's something about Farrah…something that touches him deep in his soul…something that keeps him coming back. So when fate brings them together again, Xavier's ready to pick up where they left off. But this time around, he wants more. Can he convince the lean, leggy beauty that he's finished playing the field? That he wants only one woman in his bed, in his arms—in his heart?</p><p class="description"></p><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations"><span style="font-weight: bold; ">12/4/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 4701 (99%)</span></div></div>


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<div><h3>Review</h3><p>"Jackson is a master at writing... "</p><p>-- Publishers Weekly on SENSUAL CONFESSIONS<br></p><p>"Sexy, and sizzling..." </p><p>--Library Journal on INTIMATE SEDUCTION </p><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>Darcy stood on the balcony and glanced out at the beach. It was hard to believe this was her third day in Jamaica and she was just getting out of her hotel room today for the first time. She, who rarely got sick, had gotten a stomach virus her first day and had stayed in her hotel room in bed. What a bummer of a way to start off her vacation.</p><p>The good thing was that today she was feeling like her old self again, and she intended to spend as much time outside as she possibly could. She had lost two valuable days, but from here on out it was full steam ahead.</p><p>When she had checked in, the hotel clerk had given her a list of the hotel's activities for the week, and tonight they would be hosting a classy beach party. Her health had improved just in time. A party was the last thing she wanted to miss.</p><p>She turned away from the window and crossed the room to glance at herself in the full-length mirror. She had purchased the wide-brimmed straw hat from a gift shop at the airport, and the sundress she was wearing had caught her eye the moment she'd seen it at Macy's over the summer. At the time, a trip to Jamaica had been just a fancy, and in a way, it was hard to believe she was actually here.</p><p>Instead of donning a bikini and lying on the beach today, she thought she would take a tour of the island and get some sightseeing in. She had purchased a new digital camera and intended to put it to good use. And she definitely intended to do some shopping. When she had visited Jamaica a few years ago—a college graduation present from her parents—she had purchased several pieces of jewelry that had been handcrafted by an island woman. Darcy intended to see if the small shop near the pier was still there. There were several more pieces she would love to add to her collection.</p><p>She glanced around the room. Since she would be here for three weeks she'd decided to get one of the residential suites, and she loved it. It was huge and spacious, and although it was costing her a pretty penny, it was worth it. Besides, she deserved it.</p><p>The furniture in the sitting area was elegant and the decor colors of cream, yellow, mint green and plum perfectly reflected an island theme. Floor-to-ceiling windows lined one wall and provided a balcony view of the water.</p><p>French doors led from the sitting room directly into the bedroom, which had its own balcony. There was nothing like waking up to the beauty of the Caribbean Sea. But it was the bathroom that she'd found simply breathtaking. It had a dressing room area and a closet large enough to camp out in if the need arose. Then there was the humongous Jacuzzi tub that could hold several couples if you were inclined to get that kinky…which she wasn't. She wasn't into sharing of any kind when it came to relationships.</p><p>Grabbing her purse off the table, she headed for the door. It was a beautiful day, and she planned to spend as much of it as she could outside. Then she would return and take a shower and a nap before getting ready for the party tonight.</p><p>York walked along the pier. It hadn't taken any time to get his game plan in place and head toward the island. Jamaica was beautiful, but unlike all the other times he came to the island, he was here for business.</p><p>Regardless of what Malcolm thought, every member of the cast and crew was a suspect. His team had divided the list, and every single person was being checked out. He was hoping it wouldn't take long to expose the culprit since he planned to spend the holidays back in the States. His parents had moved to Seattle a few years ago and luckily didn't expect everyone to show up on their doorsteps for the holidays. In fact, as long as he could remember, once he and his siblings began having lives of their own, his parents would spend the holidays in Toronto, visiting friends they had there. Usually York would spend a quiet Christmas at home, and those times he wanted company, he had five sets of godparents he could visit.</p><p>Most people knew the story as to how six guys who'd met and become best friends while attending More-house had on graduation day made a pact to stay in touch by becoming godfathers to each of their children and that the firstborn sons' names would carry the letters of the alphabet from <em>U</em> to <em>Z.</em> And that was how Uriel Lassiter, Virgil Bougard, Winston Coltrane, Xavier Kane, York Ellis and Zion Blackstone had come into existence. He was close to his godparents and god-brothers and couldn't imagine them not being a part of his life.</p><p>He checked his watch. A couple of his men had checked in already with their reports, and it was obvious Malcolm didn't know some of his people as well as he thought he did. However, there was nothing to indicate any of them could be suspected of anything other than engaging in a number of illicit affairs.</p><p>York glanced around and saw he was the object of several women's attention. He didn't mind, and if he'd had the time, he would even indulge their fantasies. He was well aware that a number of women came to the island alone to get their groove on. They were man-hunters who were only looking for a good time.</p><p>He kept walking. He was on assignment, and there wasn't a woman he'd met yet who could make him take his mind off work.</p><p>Darcy squinted against the brightness of the sun while moving from shop to shop in Montego Bay. Reggae music seemed to be playing just about everywhere. Pausing, she pulled out her sunglasses to shield her eyes from the sun. It was hard to believe how bright it shone here when, according to weather reports, it was still snowing in New York.</p><p>She stopped at a fruit stand, admiring the basket of strawberries, all plump and ripe, when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.</p><p>A man.</p><p>And boy, what a man he was. She could only see his profile, but even from almost fifteen feet away she could tell he was a fine specimen of the opposite sex. He was in a squatting position, going through a rack of T-shirts that some peddler was trying to sell him.</p><p>Darcy tilted the sunglasses a little off her eyes to get a better view, deciding she didn't want to miss anything—especially the way the denim of his jeans managed to stretch tight across his thighs. And the way his shoulders filled the shirt he was wearing.</p><p>He stood up a little and his tush—OMG, it was definitely the kind a woman would drool over. She bet they were perfect masculine cheeks, firm and fine.</p><p>Her mind began working, and she immediately began seeing him as a hero from one of the romance novels she read. <em>But which one?</em> she asked herself, thumping her finger against her chin.</p><p>She immediately thought of Jansen Trumble, the bad boy from the spicy novel <em>Mine Until Morning.</em> That had been one hot book, and even after reading it at least four or five times, she would give just about anything to have a rumble with Trumble. She settled her sunglasses back on her eyes thinking if she couldn't have the fictional Trumble then a lookalike would have to suffice.</p><p>"Miss, would you like to try some of my strawberries? I just rinsed this batch off. I bet you'd like them."</p><p>Her attention was pulled momentarily away from the gorgeous hunk when an island woman offered her a tray of fresh strawberries, sill wet from a recent rinsing. "Thanks, I'd love to try one."</p><p>She popped a strawberry in her mouth, immediately enjoying the taste when the sweet flavor burst on her tongue . It was wet, juicy and so delicious. That made her glance back over at the man. Now he was standing to his full height as he continued to consider the T-shirts. He was tall, and she could see just how well built he was.</p><p>She tilted her head, thinking there was something about him that was oddly familiar, although she had yet to see his features. Like her, he was wearing sunglasses. His were aviators. And even from a distance she could tell he was an American. He had chocolate colored skin, and his dark hair was cut close to his head.</p><p>"Delicious, miss?"</p><p>She glanced back at the woman and smiled, remembering they were talking about the strawberries and not the man. "Yes, definitely delicious."</p><p>"Would you like another?"</p><p>Darcy chuckled. She hadn't intended on being greedy but since the woman asked… "Yes, I'd love another."</p><p>She put another strawberry into her mouth, and when she glanced back over at the man, she saw he was staring over at her. Facing him, she immediately recognized him and almost choked on the strawberry in her mouth.</p><p>York Ellis!</p><p>Even wearing sunglasses she would know him anywhere. The shape of his mouth and his chiseled jaw would give him away each time. What the heck was he doing here?</p><p>She felt irritation invade her entire body. Staring into his handsome face did nothing to calm her rising anger. Her best friend was married to one of his godbrothers, so they were usually invited to the same family functions.</p><p>She and York always managed to rub each other the wrong way whenever they would run into each other. Things had been that way between them since the time they'd met at Ellie and Uriel's wedding two years ago. During that time, her ex-husband Harold had tried threatening her to take him back. York had tried coming on to her at the reception. She had been in a bad mood at the time and had rebuffed his advances. Evidently he hadn't taken rejection well.</p><p>He removed his sunglasses and stood staring across the way at her, evidently as surprised to see her as she was to see him. She felt her body get hot under his intense stare but forced her emotions to stay in check. She certainly couldn't be that hard up for a man that she would be attracted to him.</p><p>And this wasn't just any man. It was York Ellis. He was arrogant. Cocky. Too damn sure of himself at times to suit her. So why was she having such a hard time dragging her gaze from him? Why instead was she allowing her eyes to roam all over him, taking in how well he fit his jeans, his shirt? And then, there was his looks…</p><p>So, okay he had a nice looking... </p><p><br></p><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations"><span style="font-weight: bold; ">12/6/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2230 (99%)</span></div></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>His faith shattered by loss, Daniel Buchanan has built a cocoon around his heart, spending his days counseling troubled teens. But his life changes the night he meets Renée Walker. The dedicated social worker reawakens something in him, her kisses igniting a firestorm of desire that takes the widowed minister by surprise.</p><p>After being left at the altar, Renée isn't ready to love and lose again. But how can she fight such a powerful attraction? Spending time with this caring, sensual man and his close-knit family is starting to make her believe in second chances. Alone together in a tropical sanctuary of passion and healing, will Renée and Daniel find the love they desperately crave?</p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Decorated police detective Lawrence Hightower's instincts click into high gear when a beautiful but suspicious stranger appears in his stakeout zone. Soon he realizes Minerva Jones is in danger and needs protection. He can't trust her. But he can't get this tough, feisty, stubborn siren out of his head.Desperate to keep a low profile, the last thing Minerva needs is a sexy cop getting too close for comfort. Not that she's guilty of anything, except her own intense attraction to the too-fine detective. But she's got a few secrets, and trouble is closing in. Dare she surrender to the promise this sensual hero holds in his strong, protective embrace?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  10/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2941 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Firefighter Patrick Hightower is fearless--except when it comes to love. Then sexy teacher Aisha Miller tempts him to risk his heart. However, Aisha has had enough of alpha males controlling her life. Can Patrick show her his gentler side? Original.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  10/14/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2339 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>The skills of a surgeon…</p><p>Having a crush on her drop–dead–gorgeous boss could get Hopewell General intern Jasmine Campbell fired…especially with the prestigious Virginia hospital reeling from a shocking scandal. But head resident Lucien De Winter is impossible to resist. And he's arousing a healthy dose of desire as the good doctor wages an all–out war to make the sheltered Southern belle his own…</p><p>The heart of a lover</p><p>Head over heels for Jasmine, Lucien vows to keep their relationship a secret. He knows they're playing a dangerous game, but he can't live without the sensual sister. Even if it means putting his hard–fought career on the line, the seduced surgeon is ready to risk it all. Because Lucien knows that the only thing to cure his acute condition is a lifetime of love… </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  9/25/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2704 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Review</h3><p>"A unique storyline presented in a romantic backdrop makes this a page-turner.-RT Book Reviews on SEDUCED ON THE RED CARPET </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p><em>Sensuality heals. Love cures.</em></p><p>Lia Taylor needs Thomas Bradshaw like she's never needed anyone before. The hunky, super–ambitious Head of Surgery at Hopewell General is the only one who can save her young son. Falling for the seductive surgeon is a prescription for trouble. But there's no cure for her smitten condition once Thomas brands her with his sensual touch.</p><p>The scion of a powerful family, Thomas has vowed to devote his life to healing others. Having an affair with the alluring computer wiz and single mother could cost the workaholic doc his career at the prominent, scandal–plagued Virginia hospital. Especially if his explosive secret gets out. But Thomas can't give Lia up. His diagnosis? A future together filled with all the love their hearts can hold… </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  9/27/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2908 (99%)
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<div><div><p>Rich, super-successful New York attorney Maxwell Wade has never lost a case. Hired by Hopewell General to settle a potentially explosive lawsuit, the freewheeling bachelor plans to continue his winning streak by getting Camille Hunter into bed. The spunky PR manager is arousing a healthy dose of desire...but seems to be the only woman immune to his sensual charms.</p><p>Camille wasn't expecting Prince Charming when she meets the suavely handsome hotshot lawyer. Forced to work together to protect the Virginia hospital from erupting scandal, she knows she won't be able to resist Max for long. But she doesn't plan to be just another notch in the seductive playboy's belt. Until Max stuns her with a passionate declaration and makes his case...for love!</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  10/10/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2582 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Beautiful and brilliant, Christian McKinley could set the world on fire. Instead, this Southern girl only dreams of returning to her family's ranch in Texas. But Malcolm Williams, son of one of Atlanta's most prominent African-American families, has other plans for her. Only hours after their college graduation, he publicly proposes to Christian at the social event of the year.</p><p class="description">Gorgeous, well-connected and obscenely rich, Malcolm is accustomed to women swooning over him—everyone but Christian, that is. But how can she tactfully turn down a proposal that practically every woman in Atlanta would kill for? By inadvertently falling in love with his twin brother, Jordan. When Malcolm catches Christian in a kiss with his own brother, he's outraged. Yet even with a family feud threatening to explode, neither Christian nor Jordan can deny the sweetness in the kiss they shared—or their desire for more….</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3483 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Atlanta novelist Christian Williams knew her husband, Jordan, was the only man she would ever want. But after fifteen years of playing second-best to her husband's successful software company, she'd had enough. Determined to get a divorce, she took refuge at her family's Texas ranch to decide where to go with her life. But when Jordan followed her there, Christian soon discovered that the man she still loved was closer than she ever dreamed.</p><p class="description">Jordan had learned from his hard-driving businessman father that you could never be too successful. He thought that once he'd made his business a leader in the software field, he would finally have time to show Christian how much he loved her. Somehow that day had never come, and now Jordan feared it might be too late. With all they've built hanging in the balance, Christian and Jordan must rediscover the desire they once shared—and the passionate dreams still waiting to be fulfilled.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2775 (100%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>From the moment Julia Kelly fell in love with Cortez Wallace, she knew her life would never be the same. Their passion was hot, tempestuous, explosive. And to her surprise, it didn't last forever.To escape the pain of yet another breakup, Julia moved to L.A. But now, when she hears startling news about her ex-lover, the successful TV producer comes home to Detroit for one final encounter with the man she simply can't get out of her heart….Popular television anchor Cortez has loved Julia since high school. Except Julia's the one who walked out. Cortez's mind remembers betrayal. His heart tells him to win his woman back. But love is never as good as the first time…is it?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  1/25/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2808 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Review</h3><p>"She keeps readers on edge from the beginning of the story through unexpected twists to a greatly satisfying conclusion." -RT Book Reviews on SWEET LIKE HONEY </p><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>_They say hindsight is twenty/twenty—but that's only if you're brave enough to look back and learn._</p><p>Marlowe Chambers's long, thick fingers tapped rhythmically against the keys of his laptop. The motions sounded like slow rain in his hospital room. Oxygen from the tube in his nose made a faint, thin, whispering sound, the way fog might if you could hear it settling to the ground.</p><p>Marlowe would swear that hospital rooms were getting smaller and smaller, along with everything in them. The bedside table on his left was barely large enough for a water pitcher and tissues. The visitor's chair was barely larger than a card table seat, and the TV above the chair couldn't have been more than seventeen inches. Marlowe had to squint to see Wolf Blitzer's hairy face. A thick, white pull curtain separated his bed from the next bed, which was less than five feet to his left. If he'd had a "roommate," they would have been able to hear each other blink.</p><p><em>By the time we are wise enough and brave enough to look back at the lessons learned from the levees, it may be too late for us to see clearly. Until then, we must—</em></p><p>"You look like death in a white sheet," a voice from the doorway pronounced.</p><p>Marlow recognized that voice. Tuck Milsap, his current client. Marlowe's teeth clenched. A muscle throbbed in his jaw. He kept typing.</p><p><em>Stop doing what Leila DuPont called "humming with our ears covered."</em></p><p>"I'm surprised you aren't hooked to more tubes," Tuck said.</p><p>Marlowe watched his own words form sentences on the screen. "I was when they brought me in."</p><p><em>And start doing what the </em>Village Vanguard <em>suggests: "Acknowledge the absurd."</em></p><p>He was close now, he could feel it. Like the end of a good meal or the sweet release after making good love, Marlowe was about to wrap up another prize-winning story. It was writing itself now, making the case for due diligence and activism. Most days, Marlowe wished he could type faster, get the stories out of his head quicker, get paid sooner. But, at the end, at the sweet spot, where all his sweat, research, long days and pavement pounding came together, he'd slow down, take his time, drag it out until the last syllable— "Chambers!"</p><p>"Yeah," he said, looking up for the first time.</p><p>Marlowe hadn't seen Tuck in months. As usual, the man was a long swatch of precision, from his shadow-fade haircut to his clear-polish manicure and mirror-shine shoes. Not one defiant hair, loose button, or wrinkle. Marlowe suspected the man had OCD and used a portable steamer to press himself throughout the day. "Yeah?" Marlowe repeated. His face tightened like a fist, and he realized his client hadn't come to check on him. He'd come to check on the story.</p><p>"I'm writing the end now."</p><p>Tuck hiked up designer pants so stiff they looked as if they could stand by themselves and took a seat in the chair across from him, careful not to scrape his knees on the foot of the bed. Tuck scratched a spot at the top of his head and glanced pensively out the window.</p><p>Omaha was waking up. From Methodist Hospital, he had an unobscured view of the eastern bulk of the city. The better part of seven hundred thousand residents locked into their morning commute. Dodge Street, the main artery of the city running parallel to the hospital, was choked with traffic. On the horizon, the sun's orange-red glow peeled away the dawn.</p><p>Tuck glanced back at Marlowe. His face much less tight and sour. More as if it had taken a pity bath and was still damp. "We need to talk."</p><p>Marlowe's fingers left the keyboard. He sat back against the thin, flimsy pillows behind him and breathed carefully from the oxygen tube.</p><p>"I need your advance," Tuck said. The words rolled out of him like sharp-edged boulders.</p><p>Marlowe was sure he hadn't heard correctly. "Say what?"</p><p>"They're pulling your story."</p><p>Marlowe lowered the breathing tube from his face. If he suddenly had to jump up and strangle the bull out of Tuck, he had to make sure he wouldn't be yanked back by an air hose.</p><p>"They…or <em>you?" </em>Marlowe asked, already knowing the truth. At Hughes Enterprises, Tuck green-lighted all stories. He had a board he reported to, sure, but he had had that board wrapped around his pinkie for years.</p><p>"Let's just start with the basics. Your stories never come in on time, man."</p><p>"Whose do? Name one investigative journalist in my league who actually gets a story in on time."</p><p>"Anthony Howard."</p><p>"Man, kiss my ass. When has that close-up hog put his life on the line for anything?"</p><p>"That's what you don't get. He doesn't have to. He's a jour-nal-ist. Not a caped crusader. He <em>reports </em>the news. He doesn't become part of it."</p><p>Of course Tuck would bring up Anthony Howard. Another newsman who was just too tidy for his own good.</p><p>"I'll bet he's never even gotten a splinter from any story he's covered."</p><p>"Chambers—"</p><p>"Hell, if the wind blew and an eyelash got in his eye, he'd probably be on the next plane back to Atlanta."</p><p>"Chambers!"</p><p>"What?" Marlowe hollered back. He was so tired of people questioning his professionalism. It was bad enough when it came from random clients. But Tuck was a friend as well as a colleague. If he was going to get on his ass, too .</p><p>Tuck got up and paced under the TV. Blitzer's <em>Situation Room </em>marched on like a war story across the screen. "All I wanted was a follow-up. Six years later. And I sent you in because you're the best reporter I know. And I prayed—_I prayed_—you wouldn't let me down."</p><p>"Man, I got the story."</p><p>"And almost killed your lungs. The nurse said when they brought you in, you were coughing up tar."</p><p>"Whatever."</p><p>"No. Not whatever. <em>Whenever? </em>As in when are you ever going to stick to the news? Focus on the story?"</p><p>"I helped clean out some office space. The whole area was like Beirut, man. Or the apocalypse. Even after five years. I had to do something." He left off the part about Leila. That he had to do something for Leila—the beautiful woman from the Seventh Phoe-nyx whom he spent most of his time with—day and night. At least he thought he was just spending time until he found the <em>L word </em>jumping off the tip of his tongue. The thought of being in love so fast scared both of them. Soon they were backing away from each other, and it was all business and interviews until the day he left.</p><p>"You got…involved… again. I don't even want to know her name. The only thing I need to know now is whether you can write a check for the advance now, and if not, how soon I can expect it."</p><p>Marlowe stared at the masterpiece on the screen in front of him. Tuck was right. He was the best journalist he knew. He was one of the best in the industry, and he was one paragraph away from what his gut told him was his finest work.</p><p>"Tuck, one hundred words. No, ninety-nine. Just be still for a minute. Shut up, okay? I'll be finished in thirty seconds. Sixty tops."</p><p>"You're not hearing me. I came down here to do this face-to-face. You deserve better than a phone call or an email. It's done, Chambers."</p><p>"Tucker…man…"</p><p>"I mean it. I can't keep sticking my neck out only to have the very person I'm protecting chop it in half."</p><p>"Okay, I get it. But, you know me. I report from the inside out, but I always get the story. Always."</p><p>Tuck sat down again. Took another look out the window. "Yeah, but they take too long to come. And they're too expensive. Your week's stay in this hospital has already cost us fifty thousand dollars. That's what Dan the copy chief makes in a year."</p><p>For a moment, Marlowe wondered why Tuck would bring up Dan's salary. Then it made sense. Tuck's gripe might be with Marlowe to a certain extent, but it was mostly about the bottom line.</p><p>Marlowe's chest tightened. He couldn't tell if it was from his weakened lungs or the thought of his friend's newsmagazine going under. The economy had been hard on everyone, everywhere. Newspapers and magazines had taken hard blows. People didn't want to wait for news, and they weren't so willing to pay for information they could get instantly on the internet. Freelance reporters like Marlowe had compensated by trying to give the editors they contracted with more engaging stories. Some had even resorted to features that were more like reality TV on paper. It may have slowed the hemorrhage of the print industry, but it hadn't stopped it.</p><p>"How many?" Marlowe asked, seeing the layoffs riding his friend's tidy features. Tuck sighed heavily. He sounded as though he could use an oxygen machine, too. "Twenty-three…to start. The board wants to 'incrementally decrease the negative pecuniary strain on revenue.' That's corporate speak for we're looking at close to a hundred over the next seven months."</p><p>"Too bad you can't send me in on that. I could do a story on Hughes Enterprises. You can call it 'Black Business in the Red.'"</p><p>"As usual, that's a brilliant idea. But you'd end up spending more time with LaKayla in Accounting than you would on the story."</p><p>"Man, she's hella fine."</p><p>"Tell me about it," Tuck admitted.</p><p>Marlowe grinned. "I know you hit that."</p><p>"Hit it and quit it."</p><p>"My dog!"</p><p>The two men chuckled, and the tense air between them loosened up. "Seriously," Tuck said, "this habit you have of getting caught up with one-time-use women is going to get you in big trouble one day."</p><p>"One-time-use? No, man, I loved Leila."</p><p>"Leila? Is that who it was this time?"</p><p>Marlowe couldn't lie. "Yeah."</p><p>"And before that it w... </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Norene Webster is too smart—and jaded—to expect life to imitate art. In fact, the divorced romance novelist has just about given up on finding the man of her dreams. But when she's asked to deliver a package to an anonymous person in Barbados, her imagination is sparked. And she's more than a little intrigued by Michael Vaughn, the handsome stranger she meets on the cruise ship. Except this tall, dark and so-hot brother may not be who he seems….One final mission, and Michael's covert career is history. Now, Norene could compromise his latest undercover gig. The last thing he wants to do is expose this sexy lady to danger. But will he lose her once she discovers who he really is? Or will their passionate love story have a happy ending after all?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><div><div><p>SUMMARY:</p></div><p class="description">Bestselling author Claudia Madison is single and loving it. And now her book on sex and romance without the ring is being made into a TV show! Then she meets her cohost, Peter Warren. The gorgeous bachelor and leading authority on how to stay happily single—and the man she almost married—is as dangerously irresistible as ever.The minute he sees Claudia again, Peter's ready for their next heady round of passion. Only this time he isn't letting the girl who got away get away again. His plan is to seduce and win the heart of the fiercely independent writer without getting hurt himself. But as desire reignites, threatening to derail both their careers, Peter's suddenly dreaming of that walk down the aisle…with Claudia.</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Drop-dead-gorgeous Ethan Chambers loves his life as Hollywood's most eligible—and elusive—bachelor. Plus, the talented actor has just gotten an offer he can't refuse: a starring role on TV's hit medical drama. But it's the show's sultry makeup and wardrobe director who's got his pulse racing—and making him think twice about staying single.</p><p class="description">Getting the gig on Paging the Doctor has thrust Rachel Wellesley into the unwelcome glare of the spotlight. She wants to paint the story, not be the story. But when Rachel starts falling for the show's sinfully sexy star, she knows it's time to get her own heart checked. But how can she give up these passionate nights in Ethan's arms? Now, as the cameras roll and her creative vision comes to life, is Rachel finally ready for her close-up—with the man of her dreams?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2594 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Charlene Quinn can't believe her luck when she lands a major contract with L.A.'s hottest record label. Even more thrilling, she'll be laying down tracks with none other than Akil Hutton in his private Miami recording studio. Despite Akil's gruff, take-no-prisoners attitude, Charlene is powerfully attracted to the driven music producer. She never dreams the feeling's mutual…until the night she ends up singing a song of passion in Akil's arms….  His shy, innocent new client isn't Akil's usual type. Until he hears her sing. With her celestial voice and voluptuous body, Akil knows Charlene is headed straight for stardom—and his heart. But the powerhouse producer's holding tight to secrets from his past—ones that may drive his new protégée away. What will it take to keep the angelic singer in his arms forever…long after the last sweet, sensual note fades away?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2707 (100%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Discovered at sixteen, supermodel Livia Blake has lived a life most women only dream of. But beneath the glitz and glamour is a small-town girl who yearns for babies, a permanent home—and the man to go with it. Then she meets Hunter Chambers at his family-owned Napa Valley winery. The sexy single father tempts Livia with a desire she's never known...and with a dream she was afraid wouldn't come true.</p><p class="description">Hunter knows Livia's type...and she's nothistype at all. But he can't deny the passion surging between them. But what happens once Livia jets off to her next photo shoot, taking Hunter's heart with her? Is their love strong enough to create their own private paradise, far from the glare of the spotlight?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2839 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Limelight Entertainment is Sofia Wellesley's whole life. So she's fit to be tied when she discovers her agency is about to merge with Limelight's biggest rival—run by none other than Ram Jordan. Sofia had a major crush on gorgeous Ram growing up…until her childhood friend became her worst enemy. So why is her traitorous heart clamoring for the man she hates most in the world?</p><p class="description">Ram knows what caused the rift between the two Hollywood families, and he's determined to protect Sofia from the truth. But now…he wants more. He wants all this lovely, sensual woman has to give. But getting Sofia to trust him will take his most persuasive powers of seduction. From L.A. to Vegas, the spotlight's on passion as Ram fights for a future together—and the love that could be theirs at long last….</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2837 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Yesterday — After her marriage ends in bitter divorce, all Lorren Jacobs wants is to leave California behind. Returning to her roots in Texas seems to be just what the doctor ordered; until she meets real-life physician Justin Madaris. Lorren has vowed never to give her heart to another man, but she can't stop herself from responding to the handsome widower's sensuous whispers of love.</p><p class="description">Today — Justin thought no woman could ever move him as deeply as his wife had. Until Lorren. She rekindles a desire he never believed he'd feel again. But sharing a life together means letting go of the past. Somehow, Justin and Lorren must fight through the painful memories to fulfill the passionate promise of tomorrow.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3249 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Even a once-in-a-lifetime love…When Halston Parker calls his daughter Caitlin to his deathbed, she's shocked to discover that her ex-husband, Dex Madaris, has been summoned as well. It's been four years since Caitlin felt the heat of Dex's touch, the urgency of his kisses and the promise of an everlasting love that never was. As a flood of bittersweet memories warms a cold and lonely night, Halston's real motive for the unexpected reunion comes to light. As does the daughter Dex never knew existed, a secret Caitlin has kept too long from the only man she's ever loved. A secret she fears Dex will never forgive.…Deserves a second chanceDespite the past, Caitlin and Dex cannot resist the attraction, or fight their hunger to renew a once-in-a-lifetime passion they thought they'd lost forever. As each learns a lesson in faith and trust, they discover that no heartache, no betrayal, is strong enough to withstand the enduring power of true love.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3827 (100%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Friends…Attorney Syneda Walters and fellow attorney Clayton Madaris are just friends…the last two people likely to end up as lovers. Syneda holds all men at arm's length because of the father whose name she never knew. Clayton has always been a playboy, and no woman has ever come close to keeping his interest for very long.or Lovers?</p><p class="description">Things suddenly heat up between them when Syneda impulsively accepts Clayton's invitation to join him for a Florida vacation, and is shocked by how much passion she feels. To Clayton, Syneda has become a temptation he cannot resist…and the woman he wants to share the rest of his life with. But getting her to trust again means finding a way to heal old wounds and convincing her, with all his heart, that she will always be eternally his.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  2/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 4504 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>An Outrageous OfferTo help her brother's struggling cosmetics company, schoolteacher Colby Wingate travels to Los Angeles for one last, desperate gamble—-to have superstar actor Sterling Hamilton endorse her brother's new perfume. But Sterling thinks Colby has come to answer his want ad for a woman who would bear his child. When she realizes what Sterling is looking for, Colby is shocked that he expects any woman, let alone her, to comply no matter how much money he's willing to pay....A Passionate Bargain A childhood loss has made Sterling determined not to get too close to anyone—-even the strikingly beautiful Colby. But somehow, he has to convince Colby to become the mother of his child...with no strings attached. What he doesn't expect is for his carefully laid plans to explode into restless, fiery desire. Now, Sterling knows he needs Colby for much more—-if only he can prove his intentions are for real and that he'll cherish and love her...forever.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3469 (100%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Two years ago, geologist Corinthians Avery had brazenly sneaked into a hotel room to seduce Dex Madaris, head of Madaris Explorations and the longtime object of her affection. But the man who emerged from the shower to find Corinthians clad in next to nothing was handsome foreman Trevor Grant. When a smug Trevor informed her that Dex was not only absent from the trip, but at home happily married, Corinthians was mortified.</p><p class="description">Now, stuck in South America on a business trip with Trevor, Corinthians tries to avoid him at all costs. If only his broad shoulders and wickedly sexy smile didn't send her senses into flames. Their hotel falls under terrorist attack, and Corinthians has no choice but to place her trust in Trevor. As the two make a daring escape into the war-torn streets, fear for their lives suddenly turns to feverish desire, as they both give in to the hottest danger of all. What neither of them realizes is that one sultry night of passion under the luminous Latin skies will change their lives forever….</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 4436 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><div><p>

</p><p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Truly
everlasting is now a movie. This is the commemorative edition that includes -
the novel truly everlasting; the movie script; and photographs of the cast and
crew on set.</span></p><p></p><p></p>

<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>As
the holidays settle in around Houston, Texas, young Austin has but one wish- for
a Christmas daddy. When his mother, Felicia Madaris, learns of his wish, she
turns to childhood rival turned family friend, Trask Maxwell, to help fulfill her
young son’s wish. But soon, Felicia realizes that it’s not just Austin’s Christmas
wish that is coming true….</span></p><p></p><p></p>

<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Read
the book and then buy the movie:</span></p><p></p><p></p>

<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Dvd
of movie goes on sale November 25, 2011 at: www.filmbaby.com</span></p><p></p><p></p>

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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Celebrity actress Diamond Swain needs a peaceful place to hide out from the news-hungry paparazzi—a place like Whispering Pines. And yet from the moment she arrives at the remote Texas ranch, Diamond finds herself at odds with its rugged owner, Jake Madaris—a man who challenges her to care about more than making it to the top.</p><p class="description">Jake doesn't have time to babysit some Hollywood star. Then he comes face-to-face with beautiful, compassionate Diamond and is drawn into a whirlwind, secret romance. But is what he shares with her strong enough to overcome the media's prying eyes? Together Jake and Diamond must discover what's truly important…if they're to claim a love that lasts a lifetime.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  2/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3687 (100%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Corporate executive Shayla Kirkland has landed her dream job with one of Chicago's top new firms, Chenault Electronics. Now she's in a perfect position to destroy the company for unjustly ruining her mother's career. But she never expected that handsome CEO Nicholas Chenault would spark a passion that challenges her resolve—and makes her surrender to the most irresistible desire….</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  2/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 4144 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>After a childhood spent moving from army base to army base, independent-minded Nettie Brooms is determined to secure a stable life—and never become involved with a military man. Then she meets incredibly handsome and charming Ashton Sinclair, a dedicated colonel in the U.S. Marines who's intent on capturing her heart—no matter what it takes. Now Nettie's wondering how a man she swore she would avoid could so easily test her resolve by igniting an irresistible passion she can't walk away from.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><div><p class="description">Main Agenda - (Raven/Linc) Four years ago, Raven Anderson and Lincoln Corbain met and shared a romance on a Black College Weekend in Daytona. Lincoln wanted to continue their relationship, but never found Raven when he traveled to Tallahassee to see her. Now she has entered Leo's as he sits at the bar. Can the memory of that glorious weekend become more than just a personal history tidbit and turn into a lasting relationship?</p>
<p class="description">Strictly Business - (Regina/Mitch) Houston's freelance writer Gina Grant Farrell just got a job offer too good to refuse - a week on a Texas ranch to interview the ruthless, ambitious, and very handsome millionaire Mitch Farrell, who happens to be none other than her ex-husband! Is Mitch proposal strictly business? Or is he planning a sizzling seduction and nights filled with strictly pleasure . . .?</p>
<p class="description">Irresistible Attraction - (Sydney/Tyrone) the music director of Leo's, Tyrone, meets the woman of his dreams, Sydney, at her brother and his friend's wedding. Six months later they serendipitously meet in New York and begin an intense affair. Last but not least, cousin Ayanna is smitten in Francis Ray's "Blind Date." When the infamous and wealthy Tanner Rafferty overhears an Ayanna conversation, he helps her save face by acknowledging their "date." But when he has to choose between his family and his woman, he makes a shrewd compromise. </p>
<p class="description">The Hunter - (Hunter/Mallory) Mallory Standish and Hunter Sloan share a steamy one night stand. But, the next morning, Mallory learns that the P. in P.I. doesn't stand for "private." In Hunter's case, it stands for "playa."</p>
<p class="description">Extreme Satisfaction - (Cathleen/Rory) Successful financial adviser Cathleen McAlister has worked hard to achieve what she considers the perfect life. There isn't much else she could possibly want . . . except the man who got away while she was climbing the ladder of success.</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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 <br><b>Location 1449 • Highlight</b><br><i>Corbain.” strictly business A man </i><br><b>Location 1449 • Bookmark</b><br><b>Location 2925 • Highlight</b><br><i>pleasure. irresistible attraction So teach </i><br><b>Location 4085 • Highlight</b><br><i>again. the hunter For we </i><br><b>Location 5171 • Highlight</b><br><i>tamed. extreme satisfaction Love endures </i><br><b>Location 6049 • Highlight</b><br><i>forever.” Read on for a </i><br></div></div>


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<div><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Sexy, dangerous, unforgettable. . .the Madaris family and their unlikely band of friends captured readers' hearts and souls. Now, in The Midnight Hour, bestselling author Brenda Jackson brings us another breathtaking novel featuring the Madaris family and friends.One, CIA agent Sir Drake Warren gave his heart to a woman---a fellow Marine whose death in an explosion left him aching for justice. Drake vowed he would never love again. But his devotion to his former lover is tested when he meets his mysterious new partner, Agent Victoria Green. With golden-brown eyes and skin like melted chocolate, Victoria leaves Drake yearning for the love he lost---and flirting closely with the white-hot passion he once knew, he's sure he'll get burned. . .Few people know that Victoria was once a Marine named Sandy Carroll. . .and that she was embroiled in a fervent love affair with Drake until an explosion nearly killed her. Her life-saving surgery gave her a new face and identity---that of CIA operative Victoria Green. Now, Victoria is bound by duty to keep her true identity a secret, especially from Drake.Paired on a deadly mission, Victoria's senses are awakened by Drake's every move. But just as the passion she's denied for so long threatens to boil over, Drake begins to put together the pieces of the puzzle. And when he does, will Victoria lose him forever?</p>
<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Sexy, dangerous, unforgettable. . .the Madaris family and their unlikely band of friends captured readers' hearts and souls. Now, in The Midnight Hour, bestselling author Brenda Jackson brings us another breathtaking novel featuring the Madaris family and friends.One, CIA agent Sir Drake Warren gave his heart to a woman---a fellow Marine whose death in an explosion left him aching for justice. Drake vowed he would never love again. But his devotion to his former lover is tested when he meets his mysterious new partner, Agent Victoria Green. With golden-brown eyes and skin like melted chocolate, Victoria leaves Drake yearning for the love he lost---and flirting closely with the white-hot passion he once knew, he's sure he'll get burned. . .Few people know that Victoria was once a Marine named Sandy Carroll. . .and that she was embroiled in a fervent love affair with Drake until an explosion nearly killed her. Her life-saving surgery gave her a new face and identity---that of CIA operative Victoria Green. Now, Victoria is bound by duty to keep her true identity a secret, especially from Drake.Paired on a deadly mission, Victoria's senses are awakened by Drake's every move. But just as the passion she's denied for so long threatens to boil over, Drake begins to put together the pieces of the puzzle. And when he does, will Victoria lose him forever?</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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 <br><b>Location 225 • Bookmark</b><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Daring, seductive, and totally unforgettable, the Madaris family and their friends have dazzled readers with their provocative lives...and love affairs. Now, in Unfinished Business, bestselling author Brenda Jackson pens another Madaris novel filled with the sensual romance her readers have come to love... A PROMISE MADEInvestigative reporter Christy Madaris doesn't want to complicate her life with romance. She made that mistake once when she believed Alex Maxwell's promise to marry her. True, Alex made that promise when Christy was just a teenager. But she believed him with all her heart-and when Alex laughed it off years later, Christy was crushed. A PROMISE BROKENThe owner of his own P.I. firm, Alex Maxwell refuses to compromise everything he's worked for to honor a silly promise. Christy should have known he was only teasing, right? But when Alex finally sees Christy again, he knows he made a big mistake. She has grown up into a smart and stunning woman-and Alex can't get her off his mind. A LOVE THEY CAN'T FORGET...When Christy's latest story takes a dark turn, the Madaris brothers ask Alex to keep her safe. But putting Alex in charge of Christy is like putting a rooster in charge of the hen house! The more she snubs him, the more he wants her. But when Christy's life is in danger, can Alex save her before it's too late? "A tension-packed read."-"Publishers Weekly" on "The Midnight Hour" "A roller-coaster read of passion."-Sharon Sala, " New York Times" bestselling author</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  6/11/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 4250 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Everything in attorney Skye Barclay’s life is fitting smoothly into place until she makes the startling discovery that she was adopted. Not only does she learn that her birth mother has died, but now Skye finds out that she has a biological brother: Vincent. Skye wants to track him down, and her parents support her. But her fiancé, Clark, refuses to accept her decision…and abruptly ends their engagement.Skye’s search for Vincent leads her to his adoptive parents, Dr. Justin and Lorren Madaris, and, lo and behold, Slade Madaris—Vincent’s tall, dark, and sexy cousin. Slade is by far the most compelling man Skye has ever met, but she isn’t ready to get involved so soon after Clark’s rejection…not even when Slade offers her a job so she can stay in town and get to know her brother better.Slade is a shrewd businessman, but hiring Skye is one of the riskiest moves he’s ever made. Soon their mutual attraction explodes into a steamy summer affair. When Clark shows up in town, determined to win Skye back, Slade sets out to prove that he and Skye are meant to be together. Because a Madaris man never walks away from a challenge—especially when true love is on the line…</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  6/15/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 4243 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Attorney Mackenzie “Mac” Standfield swore off love when her heart was shattered into a million pieces. But there’s one man who has managed to tempt her beyond reason—rodeo star Luke Madaris. Although five years have passed, Mac discovers when she runs into Luke again that the sexual tension is just as charged as ever… When Luke gets injured in a rodeo, he knows the only place where he can recuperate—without being smothered by his worried family—is at Mac’s place. After all, like Mac, he has no interest in any romantic entanglements….until being in such close quarters with Mac forces Luke to confront a desire he can no longer fight…With each passing day, Mac and Luke come to realize that their smoldering attraction can be put out only if they surrender to it. But what Mac doesn’t realize is that once you give yourself to a Madaris man, there’s no turning back…</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  6/21/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 4337 (98%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Blade Madaris has watched the men in his family surrender their single status one by one, and he has no plans to join them. But the gorgeous attorney he meets at his cousin's wedding would make a fine notch on his bedpost. And when circumstances bring them together for six months, Blade formulates a plan to sweep Samari Di Meglio off her feet and into his arms.Though Blade is the kind of player Sam has spent years avoiding, a no-strings one-night stand is too tempting to resist. But their sizzling night together comes with unforeseen complications. Blade can't walk away from the most passionate woman he's ever met. To break through her resistance, the consummate bachelor will have to bare his soul and confess everything that's in his heart….</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  7/10/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3765 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Living under Reese Madaris's roof makes LaKenna James the envy of every woman in town. But Reese's offer of a place to stay is strictly platonic—just until Kenna's new condo is completed. He has no idea that his best friend has been attracted to him since college, and Kenna plans to keep it that way.</p><p>Ever since his cousin Blade got married, Reese has become Houston's most eligible bachelor—and a magnet for gold diggers. Reese turns to his temporary roommate for dating advice, and suddenly sees Kenna for the beautiful, voluptuous woman she is. Though Kenna's afraid to give her heart to the man who could so easily break it, when her life is in jeopardy, she'll discover just how far a Madaris man will go when love is at stake… </p><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p><em>Blade and Samari's wedding reception, New York City…</em></p><p>"What's this I hear about you and Kenna moving in together?"</p><p>Reese Madaris tightened his hold on the wineglass and met the intense gaze of the older woman staring back at him. She was his great-grandmother, Felicia Laverne Madaris—_the first, _since she'd had the honor of having a granddaughter named after her.</p><p>The elderly woman stood as straight as she could for someone in her nineties. She was quick to tell anyone that her cane was strictly for appearances' sake and not because she ever used it, although most people knew better.</p><p>You would think that since it was his cousin Blade's wedding day—an event his great-grandmother had worried might never happen given Blade's reputation as one of Houston's most notorious bachelors—she'd be happy. Reese couldn't help thinking, <em>Why isn't she in the middle of the ballroom floor doing a happy dance? </em>Instead, she was harassing him about his best friend, LaKenna James.</p><p>He knew his great-grandmother wouldn't give up until she'd gotten an answer. "Yes, Kenna's moving in with me for a while," he said. "She found out that her condo won't be finished for another month after she'd already packed up her stuff to leave Austin."</p><p>A smile touched his great-grandmother's lips. "That was nice of you to offer her a place to stay."</p><p>He shrugged. "I'd do anything for Kenna. You know that."</p><p>Felicia Laverne Madaris nodded. "Yes, I know. The two of you have a special friendship. I just hope it will survive the coming months."</p><p>He lifted a brow. "The coming months?"</p><p>"Yes. Since Blade is no longer Houston's most eligible bachelor, you are," she said. "Which means?"</p><p>"You're a Madaris. And although you work for a living, most people know you don't have to. Whether you want to admit it or not, you're pretty wealthy. And thanks to your uncle Jake, you all are."</p><p>Reese took a sip of wine and acknowledged that what his great-grandmother had said was true. Thanks to his uncle Jake Madaris who was one of the area's most prosperous ranchers and a savvy businessman and investor, Reese, along with the rest of the Madaris clan, was extremely wealthy. If Reese never worked another day in his life, he would still be able to live comfortably. But the bottom line was he <em>did </em>work for a living and he enjoyed it.</p><p>"I still don't follow you, Mama Laverne. What does my being a bachelor with money have to do with anything?" he asked.</p><p>His great-grandmother shook her head. "Blade has been the most eligible single Madaris man for so long that now you and your cousins have to assume the obvious."</p><p>"Which is?"</p><p>"Women will turn their sights toward another Madaris—you, Lee, Nolan and Corbin, but especially you."</p><p>He lifted a brow. "Why <em>especially </em>me?"</p><p>"Because you're the oldest Madaris bachelor, even if it is by just a few months. And because you're a loner, you date whenever it pleases you and not according to anyone else's timetable. They'll see you as a challenge—not only in pursuing you, but as the ultimate catch in marriage."</p><p>A scowl quickly appeared on Reese's face. His great-grandmother was right about him in that he only dated when it pleased him. He was more than comfortable being serially monogamous—dating one woman at a time. He didn't want any woman in his pocket and didn't intend to be in any woman's pocket either. In other words, he liked being in control. Unlike Blade and his older cousin Clayton, who had both enjoyed having plenty of lovers before they'd finally settled down, he was never interested in getting involved with a bunch of women just for the sake of doing so.</p><p>He had a habit of being up-front with any woman he dated. He much preferred relationships to one-night stands and casual affairs. However, the length of time the relationship lasted depended on how well he and his partner connected.</p><p>He had dated Alyson Richards for close to a year before she began showing signs of jealousy toward Kenna. That was the one thing he did not tolerate from any woman—Kenna would always be in his life. <em>Whoever came between them was wasting their time, </em>he thought.</p><p>He glanced across the room to where Kenna was dancing with his uncle Jake. She was his best friend and had been since college, and he refused to put up with any woman who had a problem with that. He refused to be a trophy for any woman who pursued him just for the thrill of it or for the Madaris status—that wasn't going to happen.</p><p>"Just thought I'd warn you," said his great-grandmother, her voice interrupting his thoughts. "You also need to consider how being the most eligible bachelor in Houston is going to affect Kenna."</p><p>His gaze moved from his uncle Jake and Kenna back to Mama Laverne. "Affect Kenna in what way?"</p><p>"Kenna being your best friend is one thing. But now that she'll be living under your roof for a while, it will cause a stir. She'll become the envy of every single woman in town."</p><p>Reese couldn't help but laugh. "Really, Mama Laverne, I doubt women will start coming out of the woodwork. Besides Kenna's and my relationship is strictly platonic. You and the family know that, and frankly it's nobody else's business."</p><p>"That might be the case, but I can see some women trying to drive a wedge between you and Kenna."</p><p>Reese shook his head, thinking their friendship was too rock solid for that to happen. "Thanks for the warning, but don't worry. Kenna is the closest friend I have and she always will be."</p><p>"Yes, and that's a good thing as much for Kenna as it is for you," his great-grandmother added.</p><p>He knew he shouldn't ask, but he couldn't resist. "And why is that?"</p><p>Resting both hands on top of her cane, she responded, "Because Kenna is a nice-looking girl who will be new in town. There will be plenty of men vying for her attention. There will probably be just as many men checking her out as there will be women knocking at your door."</p><p>She paused a second, glanced around and said, "Well, I might as well mosey on over and chat with May Lois to see what she's been up to."</p><p>Reese pondered his great-grandmother's words. After all, Felicia Laverne was the matriarch of the Madaris family. She had outlived her husband, whom she readily admitted to being deeply in love with. She had raised seven sons and buried only one of them. She was close to her sons, <em>and </em>their wives, her grands and great-grands. She was a good mother—the best.</p><p><em>But she had one major flaw. </em>She had a tendency to stick her nose where it didn't belong when it came to family. She knew it. They knew it. But she had a heart of gold that couldn't be traded for anything in the world. Since it was her only flaw, the family figured they'd overlook it.</p><p>After the song had ended, Reese glanced across the room and found Kenna again. She was back on the dance floor, this time with his brother Luke.</p><p>For some reason his great-grandmother's comment about Kenna being hotly pursued once she moved to Houston seemed to annoy him. Over the years she'd had a number of steady boyfriends, a few hits and a few misses. Some he'd liked and some he hadn't liked. But he knew for a fact that she hadn't been head over heels in love with any of them. She'd guarded her heart after her college boyfriend Terrence Fairchild had played around on her with another girl on campus. At the time Reese had been involved with someone else, but that hadn't stopped him from providing Kenna with the shoulder she needed to cry on.</p><p>Although she'd dated steadily after that, it was years before Kenna got involved in a serious relationship again. That guy was Lamont Cotton, whom Reese hadn't much cared for. She and Lamont had been involved for eight months before they'd gone their separate ways. Then she began dating again, but didn't get serious with anyone until Curtis Purcell. She'd mentioned last month that she and Purcell had split, but she hadn't said why.</p><p>Personally, he didn't need to know the details. What he did know was that another man she'd gotten involved with had broken her heart yet again. Over the years his protective instincts for Kenna had grown stronger. In a way, that was what had made them closer, and made their relationship seem what some considered more than friendly. For Reese and Kenna, it was normal. It was the way things were naturally supposed to be.</p><p>The very first time he had brought her home from college one weekend to introduce her to his family and explained to them that she was his best friend and nothing more, they had accepted her as such. But every once in a while someone would try to insinuate that there was more between them. It had gotten to the point where he let them assume whatever they wanted to.</p><p>He took another sip of cabernet. For some reason he couldn't stop staring at Kenna as she moved around the dance floor. He tried to see her as other men did. Not as his best friend, but as a woman—and if his great-grandmother's predictions were true—who would attract dozens of men once she moved to Houston.</p><p>Her short, medium-brown curly hair was stylishly cut and framed an attractive, warm-brown face. No doubt men would be mesmerized by her soft brown eyes, her full lips, creamy, flawless, chocolate-brown skin and the soft curves of her body. Although most women assumed a tall, slender frame was the only body type that could catch a man's eye. Reese knew that men were strongly attracted to a full-figured, voluptuous woman like Kenna, who was stacked in the most delectable ways. There was no doubt in his mind that any man would think she was beautiful.</p><p><em>Just like there was no doubt they would lust after her, </em>he thought as he took another sip of red wine. Even Reese had to admit to lusting after her himself, <em>once</em>—the first time they'd met when she had shown up at his dorm room one day. He had been twenty and in his junior year at Morehouse and she was eighteen and a sophomore at ... </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  7/12/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 4428 (99%)
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<div><div>When author Meghan Reese's agent suggests she add more sizzling heat to 
her novels, Meghan decides hands-on research is the best way to learn. 
Since she doesn't know the first thing about being satisfied by a man, 
she practices what she preaches with self-pleasuring. What she hasn't 
anticipated is Christopher Montgomery-the sinfully sexy alpha male next 
door.<br><br>When Meghan returns to Wisconsin for a week of 
self-exploration, Christopher offers to show her anything she wants to 
learn. Eager to experience every one of her sexual fantasies, Meghan 
agrees to become Christopher's pupil. Only she's in for far more than 
she bargained for when Christopher goes above and beyond the call of 
duty. And now that he's made the first move, the gorgeous hunk plans to 
take her on the most sensual ride of her life.</div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  3/12/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 1207 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>It's been three years since Brianne Kenyon's fianc disappeared while hiking in the Rocky Mountains. Just when she starts to get a foothold on life, her fiance's best friend, Alex Thorpe, returns to town. Alex is determined to show Brianne that their love is meant to be. Original.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  9/20/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2862 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>One couple, two coasts--it may be unconventional, but Riley and Asher make it work. Riley's fierce New York career and Asher's lucrative Phoenix sports agency are the perfect balance to their sexy, satisfying marriage. Which is what makes Asher's sudden ultimatum to Riley--leave New York or leave him--so shocking. And Riley has an even bigger surprise in store, forcing her to decide where her heart and future <em>really</em> lie....<br></p><p>Brokering million-dollar deals is easy for Asher; living apart from his wife isn't. But can Asher walk away from everything he's worked for? Or will ambition and drive--the things they love most about each other--tear Riley and Asher apart?<br></p><p>Perhaps changing priorities will make this couple fly even higher....<br></p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>AlTonya Washington's first contemporary novel, “Remember Love” BET/Arabesque 2003, was nominated by <em>Romantic Times</em> as Best 1st Multicultural Romance. Her novel “Finding Love Again” won the <em>Romantic Times</em> Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Multicultural Romance 2004. Her fourth novel “Love Scheme” was nominated as Favorite Steamy Novel for the prestigious EMMA Award of Romance Slam Jam. She presently resides in North Carolina. </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  11/2/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3755 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Social worker Meghan Howard lived to help others. But <em>she's</em> the one in need after being downsized out of her job. Now the only way Meghan can get her life back on track is to accept an out-of-this-world offer from wealthy, widowed businessman Thomas Worthington-Yates. </p><p>They've decided: after Meghan fulfills her part of the agreement, she will go her own way. But workaholic Thomas is proving to be a caring, sensitive man underneath his hard-driving ways. And Meghan is finding it harder and harder to resist their growing attraction—or the sweet promise of a future, and a family, together…. </p><h3><br></h3></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  11/3/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2791 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Elle Jones is living her dream. She's come to Italy on vacation, but when she learns legendary composer Dominic Corelli is holding open auditions for his next opera, she jumps at the chance to perform for him. Not only does the driven musician cast her as the lead in his latest opus, he arouses desire like nothing Elle has ever known. Elle knows she's playing with fire, but how can she resist Dominic's haunting melody of seduction?  </p><p>Elle doesn't act like any diva Dominic's ever known. Music may be his mistress, but he's sinfully tempted by the voluptuous beauty with the voice of an angel. Will each of them end up singing a solo of unfulfilled yearning? Or, together, can they make the sweet, soul-stirring music that comes straight from the heart?  </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  8/3/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2610 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Patrice Sutton has just landed the role of her career. Snagging the female lead opposite devastatingly handsome, six-foot-three movie idol T. K. McKenna is a dream come true. When she learns they'll be filming out West she's secretly thrilled…and ready to show her gorgeous costar the ropes of life on the ranch. Until T.K. turns the tables—by initiating her into the art of seduction far from the camera's glare.</p><p>T.K. knows that with her incredible beauty, talent and sweet sincerity, Patrice has what it takes to make it really big. And the burgeoning film star is showing T.K. a passion more real than anything he's ever experienced on—or off—the screen. But what will it take to prove to her that she's the only woman he'll ever desire…and love? </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>With the publication of Temptation's Song in July 2010, Janice Sims celebrates fourteen years as a romance writer.  In fourteen years she's published seventeen novels and had nine stories included in anthologies.  When asked why she writes romances, she smiles and says it's the only genre in which happily ever after is a foregone conclusion.  Plus, where else are you going to find a perfect male? </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  8/18/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2406 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Prima ballerina Belana Whitaker knows exactly why she hasn't found her soul mate. Her whole life has been about practice and the pursuit of perfection. Now, though, she has to admit: her jeweled tutus aren't keeping her warm at night. But when a devastating surprise sidelines Belana, a partner from her past tempts her with a whirlwind seduction.</p><p>Gorgeous, wildly successful sports agent Nicolas isn't used to waiting in the wings. He's entranced by Belana's commitment to her craft and her graceful beauty. But how can he convince the reserved ballet star that they should share the sweetest dance of all? He's determined to show her step by passionate step, kiss by irresistible kiss. </p><h3><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;"><br></span></font></h3></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  8/20/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2445 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>
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  Millionaire security expert and rancher Zeke Travers always separates 
emotion from work until a case leads him to Sheila Hopkins—and the 
immediate, scorching heat between them. Suddenly, Zeke is tempted to 
break the rules. And it's only a matter of time before he gives in….      </div></div><div class="productDescriptionWrapper"><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations"><span style="font-weight: bold; ">11/30/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 4701 (99%) </span></div></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Brenna Gathers returned to her hometown to help her ailing aunt, hoping to get out of small-town Sheraton Beach as soon as she could! Unfortunately, once there she ran into Jabarie Beaumont, the wealthy jerk who'd jilted her at the altar. Andthe truthwas that even though he'd broken her heart years before, she still wanted him. Jabarie had intended to sleep with Brenna and finally get her out of his system. After all, according to his father, she was nothing but a gold digger. Then Jabarie learnedthe truth. His father lied to keep him and Brenna apart. Now Jabarie was on a mission to show Brenna the ultimate truth. Love could be even sweeter the second time around.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3392 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>It's only one weekend...Sheyna Simmons hates to lose. Unfortunately, so does her sexy, domineering boss. She and Jace Beaumont have been competing with each other since grammar school, but ever since she showed up in a skimpy maid's outfit to pay off her latest bet, she's noticed Jace can't take his eyes off her. Good thing she'd never fall for a playboy....But when she gets in a jam at a bachelorette auction, it's Jace who agrees to pay $50,000 for a forty-eight-hour getaway with Sheyna in Vegas. And he has every intention of collecting his prize-even if getting Sheyna in his bed means he'll never want her to leave....</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2932 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Danica Dansforth shared a month of sweet, sensual bliss under the sun and between the sheets with Jaden Beaumont—before feeling like a fool. Then she was outta that player's game! But fate had other plans when her car broke down, stranding her in his body shop, under his melting chocolate gaze and in the heat of a sizzling attraction.</p><p class="description">Jaden wasn't about to forgive Danica for the games she played, but he would put her to work in exchange for some expensive repairs to her vintage car. Maybe now he could finally get some answers to why she left, and why memories of her warm cinnamon skin still kept him up at night. When it came to Danica, he was through playing. His heart was in this game for real.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3206 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Feisty Bianca Beaumont is finally engaged! She's blissful... until longtime family friend London Brown tells her she's marrying the wrong guy. Not that Bianca believes London at first, but the sexy former investigator turned restaurateur has convincing proof. Now Bianca is single, and she's got some secret news of her own.... A true gentleman despite his bad boy reputation, London proposes marriage to avoid a Sheraton Beach scandal. (She is a Beaumont after all!) Bianca agrees—in name only. But London knows she's feeling the sizzling heat of their attraction. And he's prepared to turn it up a notch, but only when Bianca is ready, willing and able to claim him as her husband...in every way.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3380 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Kellis Saunders has loved Diamere Redmond since childhood. But when he leaves town, she vows to forget him. Now Diamere is back and determined to pick up where they had left off. But Kellis isn't sure she's ready to risk her future on him—again. Original.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/25/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2568 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p>In hopes of avoiding a week of her interfering grandmother's 
matchmaking, wedding planner Zanaa Reynolds blurts, she's engaged. Then 
to her dismay, her parents call and insist she bring her fiancé home to 
Virginia for the holidays. With Christmas only three weeks away, Zanaa 
better find a fiancé quick, fast and in a hurry, otherwise, her 
grandmother's going to have every eligible bachelor in town lined up at 
the door. In a state of panic, Zanaa ask Scott Simmons to marry her. 
Only it isn't a real proposal-it's just to get her family off her back. 
Except the man she just propositioned-her sinfully sexy next-door 
neighbor-is all too irresistibly real. And now that Zanaa has made the 
first move, the videogame entrepreneur has every intention of taking the
 relationship all the way.      </p><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  2/5/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3998 (100%)
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 <br><b>Location 1097 • Highlight</b><br><i>welcomed.”</i><br><b>Location 1134 • Highlight</b><br><i>planned</i><br><b>Location 1156 • Highlight</b><br><i>in the</i><br></div></div>


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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>From the award-winning author of The Second Time Around, The Beaumont Series, comes a full-length novella about love, family and making every second count....<br></p><p>Brenna and Jabarie Beaumont have been happily married for nine years. She loves her husband and their five children, but between managing a bookstore and her family, Brenna is starting to feel overwhelmed. Determined not to be anything like her estranged mother, she feels forced to make a choice between the business she loves and time with her children. <br></p><p>Jabarie had no idea Brenna was feeling overburdened. As CEO of the Beaumont Corporations, he’s been busy dealing with problems of his own. The hotel has been hit with economic hardship and has little choice but to lay off ten percent of its staff. But in Sheraton Beach everyone is family, and the Beaumonts are determined to find another way. <br></p><p>With everything going on, Jabarie thinks what he and Brenna need is a weekend away from the stresses of work and family, wrapped in each other's arms, while making some serious decisions about the future. Unfortunately pulling Brenna away from the kids for an insatiable weekend is easier said than done. But Jabarie is willing to use any means necessary to convince her. Unfortunately, getting away complicates matters in more ways than one. Is Brenna and Jabarie’s love strong enough to overcome all the obstacles thrown their way?<br></p><p>Author Angie Daniels has released over two dozen novels. She has won numerous awards including a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for When it Rains, and an Emma Award in the category of Best Steamy Romance, for A Delight Before Christmas. She began her road to publication in 2001 when she was offered a four-book deal with Genesis Press. In 2002, she signed with BET/Arabesque which was purchased by Harlequin/Kimani Romance in 2005. Angie joined Kensington Publishing in 2003. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Columbia College, and a Master’s in Human Resources Management. For more information about upcoming releases, please visit her website at www.angiedaniels.com. </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  11/7/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2283 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>After his wife walked out on him and his son, veternarian Ryan Blackstone swore never to love again. He'd tried to dislike beautiful Kelly Andrews-the teacher hired to run Blackstone Farms Day School-on general principle, but failed. And it wasn't long before the sultry widow had ignited a firestorm of emotion that was burning a sensuous trail...straight to his heart! Ryan had shattered Kelly's visions of a lonely future since that first mind-bending, knee-weakening kiss. Before she knew it, he was oh-so-close to tearing down her defenses. Even as Kelly gave in to the passion they both ached to statisfy, Kelly wondered—was what Ryan felt for her love or just lust?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 1972 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">At one time, nothing had been able to quench Jeremy Blackstone's insatiable hunger for luscious Tricia Parker. He'd lived for their passion-filled encounters even though they were from such different worlds. Then ugly accusations of her betrayal ripped them apart....</p><p class="description">Years later Tricia had come home to help her grandfather, not to rekindle her affair with Blackstone. But Jeremy was injured and needed her nursing skills. Staying by Jeremy's bedside and seeing to his most intimate needs stirred a sensuous yearning in Tricia she couldn't control. Like déjà vu, the magnetic closeness they once shared ignited an irresistible attraction that inexorably pulled them together...again.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2112 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">Sheldon Blackstone, CEO of the legendary stud farm that bears his name, has a lot to be grateful for, and some regrets. But Renee Wilson, Sheldon's mysterious, new administrative assistant, is about to show her enigmatic boss that it's time to look beyond past mistakes and see the future.<br>Renee Wilson has her priorities—a good job and a safe place to raise her unborn child. Blackstone Farms offers both, until the body heat she shares with Sheldon keeps cooler heads from prevailing. With so much at stake, can Renee afford to surrender to the passion...or to the man?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/25/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 1966 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>When E.R. doctor Celia Cole-Thomas is wounded and her fiancé killed in a shootout at the hospital, the only way she can heal her body and her heart is to spend time at her mountain retreat. In her remote cabin on the Tennessee border, she isolates herself from the world—until Gavin Faulkner moves into a nearby lodge. And as hard as Celia tries to stay away, Gavin's friendship and sensuality are slowly bringing her back to life.</p><p class="description">An FBI special agent, Gavin has been ordered to apprehend a fugitive in the area. The moment he meets Celia, he knows he can't pass up the chance to show this vibrant woman all the passion she's been missing. But his dangerous assignment could shatter the fragile trust they've built, unless he can convince her that love's rewards are worth the risks….</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  2/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3791 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Clothing designer Camille Davis is sophisticated, ambitious, talented...and riddled with self-doubt-except when it comes to selling her father's home. No deal, no way. But Las Vegas real estate mogul Adam Donovan's negotiating skills are leaving Camille weak in the knees...and maybe, just maybe, willing to compromise? Adam, the youngest of the "Triple Threat" Donovan brothers and the sexiest bachelor in town, is drawn to Camille's seductive mix of vulnerability, sweetness and strength. As for her take-it- or-leave-it deal-he's in. He's willing to see how this gamble plays out, because his heart says there will be no losers in Vegas on this bet.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/24/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2995 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Fashion model Tia St. Claire keeps things light when it comes to men…no strings, just flings. She's got her reasons, thank you. But even she finds Trent Donovan hard to resist—he's sexy, successful, persistent and built for a woman's wildest dreams. When their one-night stand leaves defiant longings, Tia isn't sure whether to run, hide or surrender to the former navy SEAL's rugged charms.</p><p class="description">The last of the successful and seriously single "Triple Threat" Donovan brothers still happily unattached, Trent Donovan has dedicated his career to duty and danger. Until desire and beautiful, spirited Tia change everything. Now he's sleepless over an attraction too powerful to deny, and a secret dilemma with only one way out—following his heart.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2847 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Getting her brother-in-law's casino off the ground is Noelle Vincent's big opportunity. But the attraction sizzling between Noelle and developer Brock Remington makes her wary. With her history of disastrous relationships, can Noelle defy the odds to win a lifetime of love? Original.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2455 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p></p><p>Writing romance novels has fulfilled Deena Lakefield's deepest 
fantasies. But the rising author and art-gallery heiress still hasn't 
found the hero in her own life. Until she travels to historic Hilton 
Head Island, where hunky Vegas real estate tycoon Maxwell Donovan 
seduces her with candlelight dinners and midnight swims. Deena has 
finally found love—only to have her dream man vanish once their idyll 
ends.</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  11/9/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2877 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>The ex-marine spoke with confidence and steely determination, but all Renny Bennett saw in his new bodyguard was a petite, doe-eyed nymph. Sabrina Dedune's feisty, take-no-prisoners attitude proved she took her job seriously. But suddenly the gorgeous body under that T-shirt seemed far more dangerous than any threat on his life. Sabrina was good at her job, but this talented sculptor and his erotic works of art left her reeling. Staying focused was hard when her body ached to taste all Renny had to offer. But after one searing kiss, she was guarding more than his body. Now her heart was at risk.…</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3637 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Belinda Eaton is dedicated to her job as a history teacher in one of Philadelphia's most challenging high schools. Committing to a man? Not exactly on her agenda. But then a tragedy brings her closer to gorgeous attorney Griffin Rice and they have to share custody of their twin goddaughters.</p><p class="description">Griffin never saw himself as husband or father material. But suddenly family vacations and Sunday dinners with the girls are the highlight of his schedule—and getting closer to their smart, intriguing godmother is his number-one priority. Can he teach her that their partnership has turned into a loving relationship powerful enough to last?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  2/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2812 (99%)<br></span><br></div><div class="user_annotations"><br></div><div class="user_annotations"><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight: bold; "><br>8/23/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2812 (99%)</span></div><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Law professor Myles Eaton knows a lot can happen in ten years. A decade ago, Philadelphia's finest bachelor was a hotshot attorney engaged to a woman he swore he'd love forever—until she left him to marry a powerful politician. The only thing more difficult than forgiving her has been forgetting the searing heat they shared. And just when Myles is sure he's over her, Zabrina Cooper arrives back in his life.</p><p class="description">Nothing could stop Zabrina from loving Myles, not even when she was blackmailed into becoming wife—in name only—to another man. And as her secrets are revealed, Zabrina has one summer to convince Myles that beyond their incredible chemistry is a soul-deep bond that never faded.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br></div><div class="user_annotations"><div class="user_annotations"><span style="font-weight: bold; "><br>8/24/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2953 (99%)</span></div><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>When playwright Preston Tucker finds Chandra Eaton's erotic journals, he's captivated. Chandra's embarrassment turns to passionate intrigue when Preston returns the journals. But is he using them for creative inspiration, or to sweep her into his loving arms? Original.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  8/25/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2606 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Denise Eaton is proud of the day-care business she built from scratch. But now the scion of this Philadelphia family dynasty could lose everything. The man who holds the key to her future? None other than Rhett Ferrell, the man she passionately loved in college…and who broke her heart.</p><p class="description">Rhett has waited six years to take his sweet revenge. Now the legendary corporate raider is about to have Denise right where he wants her—at his mercy and in his bed. He's never forgiven her for walking out and taking up with his most hated enemy. But he's also never forgotten the desire that still burns so hotly, so irresistibly between them. That's when Rhett plots one final conquest: to take over Denise's heart. And he's a man who plays to win….</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  11/26/2010<br>Last Page Read: Location 3046 (99%)<br></span><br><br></div><div class="user_annotations"><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight: bold; "><br>8/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3046 (99%)</span></div><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Settling down isn't high on Xavier Eaton's list—he's having too much fun playing the field, sharing his bed but never his heart. All that changes when the high-ranking military man and longtime bachelor comes back to South Carolina and walks into Selena Yates's tantalizing patisserie….</p><p>Charleston is a long way from Selena's West Virginia mining hometown. And the gorgeous Eaton war hero isn't like anyone the wary chocolatier has ever met. Xavier's kisses spark desire… and a powerful yearning to belong to him. As his kisses heat up the sultry Southern nights, Selena is tempted to say "I do" to a lifetime of passion. But is she ready to take her rightful place among the Eaton women as Xavier's beloved and adored bride? </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today's most popular African-American authors of women's fiction, Ms. Alers is a regular on bestsellers list, and has been a recipient of numerous awards, including the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing and a Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.  Visit her Web site www.rochellealers.com</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  8/27/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3480 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>A West Virginia mining community is a long way from Dr. Mia Eaton's Dallas hometown. But trading in her designer duds for flannel and jeans isn't such a major sacrifice. Not when the town has virile, off-the-charts-gorgeous Kenyon Chandler as their sheriff. Too bad he's as arrogant as can be…until the night he's injured in the line of duty.</p><p>Ever since they met at her cousin Xavier's wedding, Kenyon hasn't been able to get Mia out of his mind. And once he's under the sultry Southerner's tender loving care, he knows he's lost. Kenyon gives her six months before she hightails it back home for the pampered life she left behind. Unless he can convince her that they are each other's sweet destiny… </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today's most popular African-American authors of women's fiction, Ms. Alers is a regular on bestsellers list, and has been a recipient of numerous awards, including the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing and a Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.  Visit her Web site www.rochellealers.com</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  8/30/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3245 (99%)
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<div><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Sherri Griffin knows all about hot, stormy weather. The kind where all a girl wants to do is strip down to her La Perla lingerie. A successful radio producer, Sherri's had to weather all kinds of storms. But nothing could prepare her for the force of football-star-turned-sports-DJ Terrence Jeffries.Never give your heart; never get hurt. That's the credo gorgeous, arrogant Terrence has always lived by. And he's looking to add Sherri to his all-star roster of lovely conquests.But a hurricane is poised to hit the Keys, leaving Sherri and Terrence stranded…together. While the gathering clouds bring gale winds and pounding seas, Sherri and Terrence are making their own shelter from the storm. And walking right into the eye of a hurricane of passion.</p><p class="description"><br></p><p class="description">Mother Nature's Matchmaker</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  2/20/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2070 (97%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Kimani Cannon knows she's in trouble the second she lays eyes on 6'4" of luscious male. The best kind of trouble, toohellip;mm-mmm! Duan Jeffries turns out to be the perfect man-charming, consideratehellip;and the best lover she's ever had. Too bad Mr. Delicious is just a one-night standhellip;.Until Kim needs a date to her mother's (fifth) wedding! Duan's willing to act the part of her fiancehellip; as long as it means full benefits. More amazing sex? No problem!</p><p class="description">Then Kim finds out that Duan's got his own private agenda. Suddenly, she doesn't know what to believe. Her head and heart are telling her to be careful. But the sensual thrumming in her blood is turning out to be much more persuasivehellip;.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  2/25/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2307 (98%)
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 <br><b>Location 32 • Bookmark</b><br><b>Location 1419 • Bookmark</b><br><b>Location 1422 • Note</b><br>so very true<br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>About last night...Daughter of a prominent senator, ambitious Washington, D.C., attorney Isabella Kane has big dreams that include marriage to equally ambitious Randall Jarrett. But a funny thing happened on the way to the altar. She met a luscious hunk, and for just one forbidden night she followed her heart and indulged her deepest passions. But now she can't forget....His mystery lady was gone by dawn, but political strategist Derrick Knight can't stop thinking about the irresistible woman he longs to see again. When she shows up as his fraternity brother's fiancee, he's stunned—but determined to stake his claim. He and Randall let a woman come between them once before...but this time he won't back down. He wants Bella for his own bride!</p><p class="description">Kappa Psi Kappa—these brothers are for real!</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  2/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2591 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Charlie Masters, playa extraordinaire, has no plans to change his heartbreaker ways. Then some bad news from his doctor gives him pause for regret…and six months to make things right with all the women he's wronged.</p><p class="description">Most don't believe him; a few are cooking up revenge; and one has a knockout sister offering him a taste of heaven.</p><p class="description">Gisella Jacobs is busy launching her new shop, Sinful Chocolate, when delectable Charlie knocks at her door. Her friends warn that he's trouble, but his kiss is richer than her finest Belgian cocoa, his touch as velvety smooth as her lightest truffle. And when something so wrong feels so right…how can a woman resist?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  2/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2676 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">Also Book 1 of the Hearts at Play series:</p><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Nikki Jamison didn't know being a playwright in New York would end up like this. After a few financial and creative flops, she's determined to put her Broadway dreams behind her. Recalling a friend's story about an empty villa in St. Lucia, Nikki decides that it's the perfect place to recover—in luxury! But when the home owner shows up unexpectedly, Nikki's little white lie leads to an out-of-control marital charade.</p><p class="description">Hylan Dawson is married. Only problem is he doesn't know it. When Hylan takes off for his vacation home, his plan is to get a little R &amp; R…maybe indulge in a summer fling. But as soon as he arrives on the island, the locals begin congratulating him on his recent nuptials. Hylan feels for his sexy wife, even if she is an impostor. Are the "newlyweds" falling into a bed of sizzling summer seduction—or marching toward a lifetime of wedded bliss?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/25/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2516 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Kappa Psi Kappa brother Taariq Bryson loves the single life. So when his frat brother sets him up on a date with his sister-in-law Anna Jacobs, Taariq figures it will be just another notch on his freewheeling playboy belt. But the two prove to be a stormy combination, that is until they're stranded together and share a night of explosive passion.Anna's track record with men is a disaster. And her blind date with sexy, arrogant Taariq Bryson tops the list. So when they're isolated in a remote cabin, Anna prepares for the worst. Instead, the sexual sparks fly…but it's more than body heat that keeps this unlikely pair coming back for more. Can their combustible, passionate affair ignite a real love match?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  9/1/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2905 (98%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>When physician Tamara Knight rescues Jared St. Clair, who, unbeknownst to her, has been hired to protect her from danger, she falls in love with this secretive man who takes her to new heights of passion. Original.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2683 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>After dumping her cheating boyfriend, Sandra Walters doesn't trust 
men…especially men in white coats! So when she runs into Troy Whitehall 
in Barbados, she vows to steer clear of the heart-stoppingly handsome 
surgeon. The passion they once shared is something she'll never forget, 
but she isn't going to let down her defenses again. Even if the good 
doctor has a bedside manner no woman can resist.</p><p>Troy remembers every 
detail of that incredible night they spent together. And he intends to 
have Sandra in his arms again. But this time the love-burned beauty 
isn't so easily seduced. She's looking for forever, and the workaholic 
doctor has never planned to settle down. Can Troy change both their 
minds and order a treatment for happiness that can lead to a lifetime of
 love?      </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  7/14/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2806 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Warrick Mayne has spent twelve years blaming Raina St. James for ruining his sister's life. Now the self-made millionaire has the perfect opportunity for payback—knocking down Raina's luxury day spa to build an office complex. But his plan has met a hitch, in the delectable form of Raina herself. He may be her enemy now, but long ago, Raina had a secret crush on her friend's gorgeous older brother. And time has only enhanced Warrick's appeal. When an innocent business trip to Warrick's out-of-town estate turns unmistakably seductive, they succumb to their electrifying mutual attraction. But it'll take more than one encounter of sensual healing— no matter how blissful—to open Raina's and Warrick's eyes to the passionate, heartbreaking truth.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  4/6/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3815 (99%)
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<div><div><p>Neveah Symon has achieved success beyond anything the Houston native could have imagined. And when Xavier Mayne taps the world-famous artist to design a mural for his family-owned community center, her fame comes full circle. Except Neveah shares a stormy history with the former bad boy. Can she resist the suave and seductive entrepreneur's sensual assault...and protect her heart this time around?</p><p>This up-from-the-street brother has never been able to stay away from the ambitious Texas beauty. Thirteen years apart has only made Xavier's desire for Neveah even stronger...and hotter. Now that she's come back home, he isn't letting her get away again. Together, can they overcome the sins of the past and create their greatest masterpiece—a love meant to last for all time?</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  4/6/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2982 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Grammy-winning songwriter Ransom Winters wants more from Coco Stanley than jobs for the kids in his youth program. But the beautiful chocolatier is afraid to commit. If Ransom can get Coco to say yes, it'll mean a lifetime of sweet, delicious bliss. Original.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  4/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2784 (99%)
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 <br><b>Location 2788 • Note</b><br> 3 stars<br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Pleasure before business...John Stallion may be a ruthless CEO who thinks he can buy her family's Texas ranch, but Dallas businesswoman Marah Briscoe intends to put her considerable charm and savvy into breaking his iron grip on the proposed deal. Instead, she's blindsided by a man as infuriating as he is irresistible-a man who makes it clear he plays to win, especially where a beautiful woman is concerned.</p><p class="description">Marah is feisty and furious, but all John can think about is the feel of her soft skin and full, sensual lips. The line between business and pleasure is crossed the moment she storms into his office wearing skinny jeans and sultry perfume. Determined to get closer to this passionate woman who has invaded his life, he begins their negotiations with a kiss....</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  9/16/2010<br>Last Page Read: Location 3732 (99%)
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<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>He likes to go fast…But when mogul Mark Stallion meets sharp-shooting mechanic Michelle "Mitch" Coleman, the motorcycle-driving Texan discovers what it means to fall fast and hard, leaving him in awe of Mitch's skills…and her beauty.</p><p class="description">She likes it slow…Mitch isn't interested in a pretty rich boy who plays games with women's hearts—no matter how well-built and fine he is. But the heat generated between Mark and Mitch is enough to create new opportunities for her heart to thaw. Soon some matchmaking and a little mystery show her how easy it could be to fall in love.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  9/18/2010<br>Last Page Read: Location 3627 (99%)
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<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Luke Stallion has a different woman in his bed every other week. Then he meets fashion designer Joanne Lake, who arouses a passion the playboy can't live without. Will her secret threaten the future of Luke's powerful clan?</p></div></div></div></div></div></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  9/20/2010<br>Last Page Read: Location 3078 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Just jilted by her overseas fiancé, Tierra Brady isn't looking to be hurt again. But she has to admit: the rugged, caring soldier who delivers the Dear Tierra letter is taking the sting out of her recent heartbreak. Before she knows it, the dashing Sergeant Travis Stallion has completely swept her off her feet in a whirlwind romance.</p><p class="description">On leave for thirty days, the last thing Travis wants is to be the bearer of bad news. But the more he tries to comfort Tierra, the deeper he falls for the proud, love-wary beauty. So the smitten military man maps out a campaign of seduction to persuade Tierra to take that fateful walk down the aisle…with him. But is she ready for a lifetime of passion with her loving Stallion?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2564 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>"Only a special woman can win the heart of a brother..."Meet the Steeles: Chance, Sebastian, Morgan, and Vanessa. Running the family-owned Steele Corporation, these hard-working relatives are successful in business...and once they meet that special someone, they're lucky in love, too. Experience all the passion and romance of "USA TODAY" bestselling author Brenda Jackson's complete Forged of Steele series in one handy bundle. Bundle includes: "Solid Soul, Night Heat, Beyond Temptation," and "Risky Pleasures," plus the free bonus novella "Never Too Late" that introduces all the Steeles!</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  2/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 11459 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>One week of mind-blowing sex on a beautiful Caribbean island. Of all the business proposals financial tycoon Dominic Saxon has heard, Taylor Steele's is definitely the most tempting. All Taylor wants in return is for Dominic to father her baby. No strings, no commitments…just a mutually satisfying arrangement. Make that very satisfying. For a man with no intention of marrying again, it sounds ideal.</p><p class="description">Taylor wants a baby, not a relationship. And sexy, intelligent Dominic seems like a man with perfect genes. Turns out, Dominic has perfect everything. Their "procreation vacation" is a whirlwind of sensual ecstasy. But when it's over, will either of them be able to say goodbye?</p><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Playboy Donovan Steele has one goal: to make sultry Natalie Ford his latest conquest. She's resisting, only their sizzling chemistry makes her think twice. But once she reveals her true identity, will Donavan disappear for good? Original.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>All she has to do is be his lover for a week…And when the man is gorgeous Galen Steele, what woman could possibly say no?</p><p class="description">Brittany Thrasher has her own hidden motives for accepting Galen's proposal. Only the savvy businesswoman draws the line at actually falling for the sexy playboy. Even if he is the incredible lover of her most taboo fantasies….The moment their paths crossed again at an auction, Galen knew Brittany was special. If she wants the house he just won so badly, how far is she willing to go to get it? That's when the Phoenix entrepreneur makes her an offer he fully expects her to refuse.</p><p class="description">But once their passion heats up, the bidding really begins. And Galen will uncover Brittany's secret. Because this determined man of Steele isn't about to let the woman of his dreams get away….</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/26/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2606 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>When Shelly Brockman walked into his office, Sheriff Dare Westmoreland could almost taste the sweet, steamy passion they'd once shared. Then Shelly informed him he was the father of her son, the unruly preteen he'd arrested that day, and his fantasies turned to fury! </p><p>Shelly had returned to her hometown in Georgia to save her son from the mean streets of Los Angeles. Getting to know his father would be good for her son. But would being so close to Dare--the only man to make her pulse race--reopen a wounded heart that had never healed? Or, would this be her final chance to win Dare's love? </p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Atlanta's Westmoreland men were notoriously easy on the eyes, but champion motorcycle racer Thorn Westmoreland exuded a heat that could melt metal. Rugged and moody, he was a loner betrayed by love, a man committed to staying in control—until he met Dr. Tara Matthews.</p><p>It wasn't every day that the sexiest man on earth appeared at her door, looking like God's gift in a black leather jacket. And Tara's chances of playing it cool with a man as hot as Thorn were about as good as a snowball's in hell. But when Tara reversed roles in their game of seduction, what were the odds of Thorn—the ultimate bad boy—coming out on top?</p></div>


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<div><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Brenda Jackson's beloved Westmorelands series continues with books six through ten of this fan favorite family saga! Bundle includes "Jared's Counterfeit Fiance, The Chase Is On, The Durango Affair, Ian's Ultimate Gamble, " and "Seduction, Westmoreland Style."</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  5/19/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 10895 (99%)
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<div><div><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Bestselling author Brenda Jackson's brings you five more stories in the Westmorelands saga, now available in one convenient download! This bundle includes books eleven through fifteen of the series: "Spencer's Forbidden Passion, Taming Clint Westmoreland, Cole's Red-Hot Pursuit, Quade's Babies, " and "Tall, Dark...Westmoreland!"</p></div></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  5/28/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 10027 (99%)
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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; "><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Mr. November: Dillon Westmoreland, real-estate tycoonObjective: Pamela Novak, business ownerStrategic Plan: Seduce and rescueThere was a secret to Dillon Westmoreland's heritage—and Pamela Novak had the key. Though the raven-haired beauty was ensnared by her shifty fiancé, Dillon—eldest of the Denver Westmoreland clan—couldn't resist a mind-blowing night in her arms. And after that incredible passion… Well, once a Westmoreland claimed the woman he wanted, he wouldn't let anything tear them apart!</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Two Westmoreland novels—one classic and one new—from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Brenda JacksonDelaney's Desert SheikhA mix-up in Delaney Westmoreland's vacation plans forces her to share a cabin with a tall, dark and oh-so-handsome sheikh who is bent on her seduction. Jamal Ari Yasir intends to school Delaney in sensuality for his own pleasure. But instead of loving and leaving her, he becomes enraptured by an irresistible and unforgettable passion for his sexy-as-sin roommate. Can the arrogant sheikh convince his secret lover that they are fated for more than just a summer fling?</p><p class="description">Seduced by a StrangerJohari Yasir has no interest in returning to her homeland to marry a man she's never met—at least, not without sowing some wild oats first. And when a handsome charmer offers to whisk her away in his private plane, she impulsively accepts. Rasheed Valdemon is shocked that his bride-to-be would fly off with someone she barely knows— even though he's the one doing the asking. More surprising is his hunger for this lovely, rebellious woman. Yet what will happen when she realizes she's been seduced by the man who's destined to be her husband?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>He knew better than to lust after the hired help. But Ramsey Westmoreland's new cook was just so delectable...it was enough to make the Denver rancher rethink his rules. When temptation got the best of him, he discovered Chloe Burton was just as hot in the bedroom as she was in the kitchen.  </p><p>Though their affair was growing steamier by the minute, Ramsey couldn't help but question Chloe's true motives. And when he discovered her ultimate betrayal, he was set to satisfy himself with cold showers. Until he realized his fatal mistake: never underestimate the power of the human heart, <em>especially</em> a Westmoreland's.  </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Mr. September: Callum Austell, sexy Australian ranch ownerHis Deepest Desire: The elusive Gemma WestmorelandThe Seduction Plan: Get her on his turf—ASAP!He'd been biding his time, and now the perfect opportunity had arrived to pursue the ultimate object of his affections. Offering Gemma a job to decorate his new home meant she had to come to him. And on his territory, the Aussie knew he could easily woo her into his bed. But this Westmoreland woman was no pushover. If Callum was going to get what he wanted—as always—the millionaire just might have to utter three little words first.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>For weeks, Derringer Westmoreland was haunted by memories of a woman whose face he could not recall. But he wanted—he needed—to share that intense passion again. Now. When he finally traced his mystery woman, he was met with a surprise. His fantastic one-night stand was Lucia Conyers, his sister-in-law's best friend. And Lucia wasn't about to become one of Derringer's women. For the first time in his charmed life, the ranch owner had some wooing to do. And if he wanted to win Lucia's heart, he'd better be ready to risk his own.…</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  4/06/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2427 (99%)
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<div><p>The moment he met Bella Bostwick, Jason Westmoreland wanted her—<i>and</i> the land she'd inherited. With one convenient proposal, he could have the Southern beauty in his bed and her birthright in his hands. If only Bella would say yes....</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  6/1/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2362 (99%)
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<div><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>D'marcus Armstrong was demanding, autocratic and cranky as a boss. But as the star of her feverish nighttime fantasies, the man was simply divine. Still, Opal Lockhart had no chance with Detroit's self-made millionaire. What would a high roller like him want with a buttoned-up, naive secretary like her? Enter the Lockhart sisters—for some attitude adjustment and a wardrobe makeover. With some décolletage and come-hither heels, they have the sex kitten in Opal downright purring.  Now she's giving D'marcus notice—he'd better watch out!</p>
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>New preacher Wade Kendrick might as well have taken out an ad for a wife-all the church mamas paraded their daughters in front of him every Sunday. But after a tainted past, Wade wanted a reserved, traditional woman. Everything his star gospel singer was not.But he only had eyes for her-Pearl Lockhart, aka Ms. Wrong. Pearl had her eye on gospel stardom. She didn't fit into the preacher man's world any more than he fit into hers. But he was one fine black man-and their sexual chemistry downright sizzled. What was a sister to do?</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Trouble was her middle name-Of the four Lockharts, Amber was the wild child, a part-time student and full-time groupie who gave her older sisters sleepless nights. But even Amber was surprised when her pre-Christmas getaway turned nasty, causing her to flee from danger-right into the six-pack abs of Paul Gutierrez.His was danger-Going home was not an option when Amber became the target of a man desperate to keep a secret. So Paul'sL.A. home became her safe house, his strong arms her armor. After long nights with her macho protector, Amber was in danger, all right-from a hot, sexy Latin lover!</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  1/20/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3562 (100%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Sex changed everything?After marrying off her sisters, Ruby Lockhart could finally concentrate on her career. After all, love wasn't in the cards for the pragmatic Ruby. Only she could wake up the morning after her sister's wedding with a gorgeous, sexy man in her bed and have him be her best friend!Mr. Sexy--aka Luther Biggens, ex-navy SEAL--had always been Ruby's rock. Now he was her problem. She couldn't look at him without remembering the ways he'd pleasured her. More troubling than how she'd ended up in bed with Luther was that Ruby wanted to do it again? and again?.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Ladies' man Marcel Taylor got his nickname, Casanova Brown, the old-fashioned way—he earned it. His life of privilege has been filled with the finer things and the finest women, but he's becoming bored with it all…until a mysterious seductress enters his world. When Marcel meets "Mayte" at a masquerade ball, he's powerless to resist her seductive charms and desperate to learn her true identity. Beneath the mask, Mayte is hardly a stranger to the infamous Casanova Brown. Yet, once revealed, she will finally show him the true face of love….</p><p class="description"><br></p><p class="description">#2 - The Beautiful Ones</p><p class="description">#3 - Feel the Fire</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><div><div><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>Flight 1269 for Los Angeles was delayed. Toni Wright entered through the lobby doors of the cocktail lounge of the airline's Crown Room in desperate need of a drink. Instead her eyes zeroed in on a handsome brother at the bar who looked like he wanted to drown his sorrows in his glass.</p><p>Fleetingly, she wondered what could be so bad, but the last thing she wanted to do was play Dear Abby to some stranger. At the bar, she ordered a Cosmopolitan. As she waited, her gaze drifted back to the man.</p><p>He was tall, just like she liked them, and well dressed. In fact, he had a certain aura of power and prestige. That was definitely a plus.</p><p>Toni wished he would look up so she could see his eyes. She had a feeling they were beautiful.</p><p>"Here you go, ma'am," the bartender said.</p><p>Toni smiled and laid down a tip. She turned to walk away but then felt compelled to make small talk with the brooding brother. Why not?</p><p>"A penny for your thoughts," she said, and then cringed at the campy line. When he didn't respond, she felt like an idiot. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Toni settled into the chair next to him.</p><p>It was a good thing, too; the man's heavenly fragrance was seductive enough to melt off a woman's panties.</p><p>He reached for his glass and drained the rest of his drink.</p><p>"Buy you another?" she asked.</p><p>Finally, he glanced her way. Just as she thought, he had beautiful eyes.</p><p>"I always thought that men were supposed to do the asking, not the other way around?"</p><p>Toni's toes curled at the velvety smoothness of his voice. "I figured we could make an exception, seeing how you look as if you needed it."</p><p>A corner of his lips curled and an adorable dimple appeared. "That's very kind of you, but—"</p><p>"And if it makes you feel better, you can buy my next one." She winked and flashed him her best smile.</p><p>He hesitated, looked her over and then nodded. "Deal."</p><p>While Toni signaled for the bartender, she could feel the man's eyes linger. She hoped he liked what he saw, but there were no guarantees, since she'd dressed down for travel.</p><p>"You're a lawyer," he said flatly.</p><p>Astonished, she glanced back at him. "How did you know that?"</p><p>He smiled again. "You have that look about you."</p><p>"Oh?" She crossed her arms. "And what look is that?"</p><p>"The I-can-eat-anyone-alive-and-still-have-room-for-dessert look."</p><p>She laughed and managed to maintain eye contact. "Does that look scare you?"</p><p>"Very little scares me." His smile diminished, but he remained polite.</p><p>"Another scotch on the rocks for the gentleman," the bartender announced.</p><p>For a few minutes after the drink was delivered, Toni found herself at a loss as to how to keep the conversation going. She had already used the penny-for-your-thoughts line, and she just wasn't willing to demean herself by asking for his zodiac sign.</p><p>"Thanks for the drink, but I don't think I'm going to be very good company," he said.</p><p>She considered him for a moment and warred with herself as to whether to stay or leave. "You know, I've been told I'm a pretty good listener," she said. "And it looks like I have plenty of time to kill."</p><p>"You don't want to hear my sob story." She smiled. "Maybe I can help."</p><p>"Trust me. I've heard it all. Trouble don't last always. This, too, shall pass. Or my personal favorite—there are plenty of fish in the sea."</p><p>Genuine concern crept into her voice. "So someone broke your heart?"</p><p>"That's putting it mildly."</p><p>Toni drew a deep breath. "Who was she?"</p><p>"Someone…very special," he whispered. "Someone I loved the moment I laid eyes on her."</p><p>She waited for him to continue, but she saw she had to nudge a little more. "Does this woman have a name?"</p><p>He nodded. "Yes. Ophelia Missler. I guess you can say that it all started at a wedding…."</p><p>Toni remained true to her word and listened to the man's heartbreaking story about a love gone awry. There were parts that were funny, sweet and endearing. The only problem was that it was a love story that involved three people—one too many by her count.</p><p>A couple of hours into the story, Toni thanked the bartender for another round before settling her gaze back on the handsome man beside her.</p><p>"So far this sounds like one hell of a triangle."</p><p>"Sometimes love gives you more than you bargained for," he said despondently.</p><p>"So I've been told," she whispered, taking a sip of her drink and watching with concern how he downed his own.</p><p>"You've never been in love?" he asked.</p><p>The question threw her off guard. Toni had dated many men—from all walks of life. Some men had showed her a good time, others had taught her life lessons and the rest she'd rather forget.</p><p>"I'm going to take that as a no." He chuckled.</p><p>"Well, it's not that I don't believe in love or anything," she said, "but I've never experienced a lightning bolt or stared into the depths of a man's eyes and felt beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'd met my soul mate." Toni laughed, but then she was crushed by a wave of disappointment. She had come close once, but close didn't count.</p><p>"Then consider yourself lucky," he mumbled. She didn't feel lucky. While she was out leaping tall buildings in a single bound, most of her friends had settled down and started families. Meanwhile, she couldn't decide whether owning a dog was too much of a commitment.</p><p>And yet, she was okay with being single. Preferred it, really, when she considered the hell her parents' marriage was. </p><p>"Flight 2193 is now ready for boarding. Flight 2193."</p><p>Toni sighed. At this rate, she should have taken a taxi to LosAngeles. "So what happened?" she asked, reaching for her glass. "I have to admit I'm intrigued."</p><p>"And here I thought I was boring you."</p><p>"Not hardly." She nudged him. "Go on. I'm dying to know how this all played out."</p><p>He glanced at his watch and gave a half shrug. "All right. Let's see. What happened next?"</p><p>Toni huddled closer as her handsome stranger continued his story: boy gets girl, boy gives girl an ultimatum to get rid of the other boy, but things start unraveling at the seams.</p><p>"I think you're purposely drawing this story out to keep me on pins and needles," Toni complained after another hour had rolled by. "When are we going to get to the wedding?" She gasped. "Wait. Was there even a wedding?"</p><p>The bartender approached. "Can I get you two anything else?"</p><p>"I'm good," she said.</p><p>Her handsome storyteller simply shook his head, and the bartender silently drifted away.</p><p>Toni glanced back at her companion with a million questions racing through her mind. His story had the makings of a soap opera. Did this Ophelia Missler really love her childhood friend, Solomon, or had Jonas, her current drinking partner, stolen her heart?</p><p>"You know, I really don't know why I'm running off at the mouth like this. My rehashing this story isn't going to change how things turned out."</p><p>Fearful she wouldn't hear the rest of the story, Toni carefully placed a hand against his arm. "Maybe not, but talking about things can be therapeutic."</p><p>His silence seemed to stretch for an eternity before he finally met her gaze. "I guess you want to hear the rest?"</p><p>Toni nodded and leaned in close. However, the wedding turned out to be a disaster with the bride marching down the aisle; but unable to say "I do," and leaving Jonas at the altar while the bride ran off to Las Vegas to marry Solomon.</p><p>"Flight 1269 to Los Angeles is now ready for boarding."</p><p>"Oh, that's me." Toni dabbed her eyes and then slid her purse strap over her shoulder before she glanced at Jonas again. She didn't quite know what to say to such a bittersweet love story, especially since he had gotten the short end of the stick. "It looks like I did a lousy job in cheering you up," she admitted.</p><p>Jonas's adorable dimples flashed. "I don't know about that. It felt good to finally talk about it. It's been a year, and Lord knows, my brothers, though well-intentioned, have been unsuccessful in getting me to open up." He met her gaze. "Looks like you are a good listener."</p><p>"A year, huh?" Toni's interest perked.</p><p>"Yeah. I heard Ophelia and Solomon had a beautiful girl last month. For the most part, I've been able to move on. I'm a little nostalgic because today would've been our one-year anniversary."</p><p>Toni nodded as she studied him. "You know, I bet she was right about you," she said. "One day you'll make some woman a wonderful husband."</p><p>She didn't know what possessed her to say that, but she meant it. Maybe it was something about his eyes. He had kind eyes, though now upon closer inspection and after hearing his sob story, she could see he was still very much a scarred man. Most likely, he had even thrown in the towel when it came to love.</p><p>Pity.</p><p>Then again, hadn't she done the same thing? Jonas leaned back and crossed his arms while he studied her. "Is that right?"</p><p>A delicious warmth swept throughout Toni's body, and if she was standing, she was certain her knees would've buckled.</p><p>"Now boarding Flight 1269 to Los Angeles…" Reluctantly, Toni stood from her bar stool. She reached into her purse and withdrew a business card.</p><p>"If you're ever in Los Angeles, give me a call."</p><p>Still watching her, Jonas accepted the card. "I just might do that, Ms.…" He glanced at her name and a wide smile eased across his lips. "Ms. Wright."</p><p>"Until then." She winked, and then made sure she swished her hips in just the right way as she strolled out of the Crown Room.</p><p>Jonas enjoyed the view as he pocketed the card. "Until then, Ms. Wright."</p></div>

<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>A woman he can't resist</p><p>In this stunning sequel to The Beautiful Ones, business mogul Jonas Hinton has learned to stay clear of gorgeous women and the heartbreak they bring. A chance meeting with confident, sexy attorney Toni Wright stirs a longing he tries to deny. But when Toni strides into his office months later, delivering a lawsuit, Jonas can't hide his attraction.</p><p>a love he can't ignore</p><p>Tired of waiting for Jonas to make a move, Toni begins dating his younger brother, Sterling. But sexual tension sizzles every time she and Jonas are together. Torn between loyalty to his brother and overwhelming desire, can Jonas find a way to win the woman who could be his real-life Ms. Wright?</p><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>Flight 1269 for Los Angeles was delayed. Toni Wright entered through the lobby doors of the cocktail lounge of the airline's Crown Room in desperate need of a drink. Instead her eyes zeroed in on a handsome brother at the bar who looked like he wanted to drown his sorrows in his glass.</p><p>Fleetingly, she wondered what could be so bad, but the last thing she wanted to do was play Dear Abby to some stranger. At the bar, she ordered a Cosmopolitan. As she waited, her gaze drifted back to the man.</p><p>He was tall, just like she liked them, and well dressed. In fact, he had a certain aura of power and prestige. That was definitely a plus.</p><p>Toni wished he would look up so she could see his eyes. She had a feeling they were beautiful.</p><p>"Here you go, ma'am," the bartender said.</p><p>Toni smiled and laid down a tip. She turned to walk away but then felt compelled to make small talk with the brooding brother. Why not?</p><p>"A penny for your thoughts," she said, and then cringed at the campy line. When he didn't respond, she felt like an idiot. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Toni settled into the chair next to him.</p><p>It was a good thing, too; the man's heavenly fragrance was seductive enough to melt off a woman's panties.</p><p>He reached for his glass and drained the rest of his drink.</p><p>"Buy you another?" she asked.</p><p>Finally, he glanced her way. Just as she thought, he had beautiful eyes.</p><p>"I always thought that men were supposed to do the asking, not the other way around?"</p><p>Toni's toes curled at the velvety smoothness of his voice. "I figured we could make an exception, seeing how you look as if you needed it."</p><p>A corner of his lips curled and an adorable dimple appeared. "That's very kind of you, but—"</p><p>"And if it makes you feel better, you can buy my next one." She winked and flashed him her best smile.</p><p>He hesitated, looked her over and then nodded. "Deal."</p><p>While Toni signaled for the bartender, she could feel the man's eyes linger. She hoped he liked what he saw, but there were no guarantees, since she'd dressed down for travel.</p><p>"You're a lawyer," he said flatly.</p><p>Astonished, she glanced back at him. "How did you know that?"</p><p>He smiled again. "You have that look about you."</p><p>"Oh?" She crossed her arms. "And what look is that?"</p><p>"The I-can-eat-anyone-alive-and-still-have-room-for-dessert look."</p><p>She laughed and managed to maintain eye contact. "Does that look scare you?"</p><p>"Very little scares me." His smile diminished, but he remained polite.</p><p>"Another scotch on the rocks for the gentleman," the bartender announced.</p><p>For a few minutes after the drink was delivered, Toni found herself at a loss as to how to keep the conversation going. She had already used the penny-for-your-thoughts line, and she just wasn't willing to demean herself by asking for his zodiac sign.</p><p>"Thanks for the drink, but I don't think I'm going to be very good company," he said.</p><p>She considered him for a moment and warred with herself as to whether to stay or leave. "You know, I've been told I'm a pretty good listener," she said. "And it looks like I have plenty of time to kill."</p><p>"You don't want to hear my sob story." She smiled. "Maybe I can help."</p><p>"Trust me. I've heard it all. Trouble don't last always. This, too, shall pass. Or my personal favorite—there are plenty of fish in the sea."</p><p>Genuine concern crept into her voice. "So someone broke your heart?"</p><p>"That's putting it mildly."</p><p>Toni drew a deep breath. "Who was she?"</p><p>"Someone…very special," he whispered. "Someone I loved the moment I laid eyes on her."</p><p>She waited for him to continue, but she saw she had to nudge a little more. "Does this woman have a name?"</p><p>He nodded. "Yes. Ophelia Missler. I guess you can say that it all started at a wedding…."</p><p>Toni remained true to her word and listened to the man's heartbreaking story about a love gone awry. There were parts that were funny, sweet and endearing. The only problem was that it was a love story that involved three people—one too many by her count.</p><p>A couple of hours into the story, Toni thanked the bartender for another round before settling her gaze back on the handsome man beside her.</p><p>"So far this sounds like one hell of a triangle."</p><p>"Sometimes love gives you more than you bargained for," he said despondently.</p><p>"So I've been told," she whispered, taking a sip of her drink and watching with concern how he downed his own.</p><p>"You've never been in love?" he asked.</p><p>The question threw her off guard. Toni had dated many men—from all walks of life. Some men had showed her a good time, others had taught her life lessons and the rest she'd rather forget.</p><p>"I'm going to take that as a no." He chuckled.</p><p>"Well, it's not that I don't believe in love or anything," she said, "but I've never experienced a lightning bolt or stared into the depths of a man's eyes and felt beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'd met my soul mate." Toni laughed, but then she was crushed by a wave of disappointment. She had come close once, but close didn't count.</p><p>"Then consider yourself lucky," he mumbled. She didn't feel lucky. While she was out leaping tall buildings in a single bound, most of her friends had settled down and started families. Meanwhile, she couldn't decide whether owning a dog was too much of a commitment.</p><p>And yet, she was okay with being single. Preferred it, really, when she considered the hell her parents' marriage was. </p><p>"Flight 2193 is now ready for boarding. Flight 2193."</p><p>Toni sighed. At this rate, she should have taken a taxi to LosAngeles. "So what happened?" she asked, reaching for her glass. "I have to admit I'm intrigued."</p><p>"And here I thought I was boring you."</p><p>"Not hardly." She nudged him. "Go on. I'm dying to know how this all played out."</p><p>He glanced at his watch and gave a half shrug. "All right. Let's see. What happened next?"</p><p>Toni huddled closer as her handsome stranger continued his story: boy gets girl, boy gives girl an ultimatum to get rid of the other boy, but things start unraveling at the seams.</p><p>"I think you're purposely drawing this story out to keep me on pins and needles," Toni complained after another hour had rolled by. "When are we going to get to the wedding?" She gasped. "Wait. Was there even a wedding?"</p><p>The bartender approached. "Can I get you two anything else?"</p><p>"I'm good," she said.</p><p>Her handsome storyteller simply shook his head, and the bartender silently drifted away.</p><p>Toni glanced back at her companion with a million questions racing through her mind. His story had the makings of a soap opera. Did this Ophelia Missler really love her childhood friend, Solomon, or had Jonas, her current drinking partner, stolen her heart?</p><p>"You know, I really don't know why I'm running off at the mouth like this. My rehashing this story isn't going to change how things turned out."</p><p>Fearful she wouldn't hear the rest of the story, Toni carefully placed a hand against his arm. "Maybe not, but talking about things can be therapeutic."</p><p>His silence seemed to stretch for an eternity before he finally met her gaze. "I guess you want to hear the rest?"</p><p>Toni nodded and leaned in close. However, the wedding turned out to be a disaster with the bride marching down the aisle; but unable to say "I do," and leaving Jonas at the altar while the bride ran off to Las Vegas to marry Solomon.</p><p>"Flight 1269 to Los Angeles is now ready for boarding."</p><p>"Oh, that's me." Toni dabbed her eyes and then slid her purse strap over her shoulder before she glanced at Jonas again. She didn't quite know what to say to such a bittersweet love story, especially since he had gotten the short end of the stick. "It looks like I did a lousy job in cheering you up," she admitted.</p><p>Jonas's adorable dimples flashed. "I don't know about that. It felt good to finally talk about it. It's been a year, and Lord knows, my brothers, though well-intentioned, have been unsuccessful in getting me to open up." He met her gaze. "Looks like you are a good listener."</p><p>"A year, huh?" Toni's interest perked.</p><p>"Yeah. I heard Ophelia and Solomon had a beautiful girl last month. For the most part, I've been able to move on. I'm a little nostalgic because today would've been our one-year anniversary."</p><p>Toni nodded as she studied him. "You know, I bet she was right about you," she said. "One day you'll make some woman a wonderful husband."</p><p>She didn't know what possessed her to say that, but she meant it. Maybe it was something about his eyes. He had kind eyes, though now upon closer inspection and after hearing his sob story, she could see he was still very much a scarred man. Most likely, he had even thrown in the towel when it came to love.</p><p>Pity.</p><p>Then again, hadn't she done the same thing? Jonas leaned back and crossed his arms while he studied her. "Is that right?"</p><p>A delicious warmth swept throughout Toni's body, and if she was standing, she was certain her knees would've buckled.</p><p>"Now boarding Flight 1269 to Los Angeles…" Reluctantly, Toni stood from her bar stool. She reached into her purse and withdrew a business card.</p><p>"If you're ever in Los Angeles, give me a call."</p><p>Still watching her, Jonas accepted the card. "I just might do that, Ms.…" He glanced at her name and a wide smile eased across his lips. "Ms. Wright."</p><p>"Until then." She winked, and then made sure she swished her hips in just the right way as she strolled out of the Crown Room.</p><p>Jonas enjoyed the view as he pocketed the card. "Until then, Ms. Wright."</p></div></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  8/17/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3422 (99%)
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>All her life, Alyssa Jansen has loved handsome, wealthy Quentin Dwayne Hinton—a man who barely knows she exists. Now, after years away in France, Alyssa's back, and suddenly Q is seeing her in a whole new light. The surprising thing is, so is his brother Sterling.…</p><p>Sterling is stunned by the sexy, smart career woman Alyssa has become, and by his desire to protect her from his irresponsible brother. Platonic friendship turns into a deep, passionate affair that leaves them both feeling confused and guilty. And when Q decides he wants Alyssa after all, she'll have to choose between a fairy tale come true and a new, unexpected love….</p><p><br></p><p><br></p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  8/15/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3337 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Their romance was a modern-day fairy tale: handsome older millionaire falls hard for struggling young waitress. Robert swept Elsie off her feet—and into his bed—put a huge diamond on her finger and spirited her away in his private jet destined for happily-ever-after.  Eight years later, Elsie Kolstadt realizes the clock has finally struck midnight. The five-star restaurants, exclusive address and exotic vacations can no longer make up for Robert's obsessive desire to control everything about their life together. From her hairstyle to her music playlists, Robert has things just the way he wants them. No matter what.  But it's Robert's ultimate, unforgivable manipulation that finally shocks Elsie into action. Though divorce would strip her of everything, she can't live under Robert's roof any longer. Making her decision easier is Dion Carter, a high-school football coach with a heart of gold and a body of sculpted steel. Suddenly Elsie is deep in a steamy affair that could cost her everything—because Robert will stop at nothing to keep Elsie under his thumb.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  2/5/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 4397 (100%)
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 <br><b>Location 1903 • Bookmark</b><br></div></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>After her husband confesses to a racy but ultimately unfulfilling affair, Sophie Gibson's rage leaves her raw, unable to process his attempt to repair the damage by suggesting she have her own tryst.</p><p>Soon, though, the idea of sex as retaliation begins to intrigue her—a no-strings-attached, sexually subversive liaison may be just what she needs before she can forgive Andrew. Hooking up with Peter, a dark and dangerous artist willing to push the limits of Sophie's lustful, quivering need, fits the bill perfectly.</p><p>Sophie's covetousness for Peter was always about experiencing intensity in the moment, but soon the affair runs its course and now it's time for her to focus on her future…with Andrew. Except, Peter is convinced he can't live without her. Then come the cards, the presents, the calls…the hint of a threat. One way or another he will have Sophie. Even if that means exacting revenge of his own. </p><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p><em>Six weeks earlier… </em></p><p>I awoke to the sounds of fucking coming from the other room. </p><p>For several moments I lay on my bed, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. My right temple throbbed, evidence of too many margaritas that evening,and a general lack of sleep over the past few days. </p><p>Yawning, I rolled over and glanced at the bedside clock. </p><p>Three-thirteen in the morning. </p><p><em>"Right there…yes, right there. Ohhh…" </em></p><p>Despite my headache, I couldn't help giggling. Maybe Marnie thought I was dead to the world and therefore didn't think she needed to be quiet. Or maybe she didn't care. All I knew, as I lay there, was that she and the guy she'd picked up were screwing like this was their last night on earth—if the loud moans and screams coming from the other room were any indication. </p><p><em>"Yes, yes! Fuck me, baby!" </em>Marnie screamed. </p><p>I hugged my pillow and closed my eyes, but I knew I wouldn't be getting back to sleep anytime soon. Not with the sexual Olympics going on in the next room. </p><p>I heard a consistent banging on the wall—likely the headboard. At least, I hoped it wasn't someone's body part hitting the wall. And how thin were these walls, anyway, that I could hear their every grunt and moan? </p><p>I debated getting out of bed and going to Marnie's bedroom door. But the last thing I wanted to do was embarrass her and the stud in the room with her. </p><p>So I stayed where I was, keeping my eyes closed and hoping I'd somehow be able to get back to sleep. </p><p>A loud crash in the next room had me bolting upright, alarm shooting through me. What the— </p><p>Laughter. </p><p>I lay back down. Whatever had happened, Marnie and her lover weren't concerned. The sounds of their lovemaking picked up right where they'd left off. </p><p>The moaning and groaning and occasional giggles had me suddenly missing my husband. Missing the way we were in the beginning. Spontaneous, and frisky, and a lot like Marnie right now— not caring who heard us if we were in a hotel fucking. </p><p>It had been four whole days since I'd seen him, since I'd left on this trip with Marnie, my long-time best friend, to Grand Bahama Island. Marnie had been in the dumps because she and her fiancé had broken up, and she needed a getaway. </p><p>I'd suggested this trip as a way to get her mind off of her heartbreak. And it had been a blast. Marnie and I had had a fun four days of partying like we were college kids with endless energy, and Marnie hadn't mentioned Brian once. I doubt that between ogling hot young men and downing flaming Sambuca shots she'd even had time to think about him. The trip had gone a long way to mending Marnie's broken heart. </p><p>I supposed that after being engaged for a couple of years, she was entitled to get her freak on. </p><p>Even if I was in the other room. </p><p>I couldn't help but listen to them, and I couldn't help feeling slightly envious. What I heard coming from Marnie's room was exactly the kind of sex I wanted to be having with my husband. After eight years of marriage, Andrew and I had fallen into a bit of a routine. Sex on Saturday nights. Sometimes Sunday mornings as well. It was a good week if we also got in a mid-week fuck. </p><p>At the beginning of our relationship, we used to go on lots of romantic weekend trips and screw like bunnies. With both of us working full-time now, that kind of spontaneity was impossible. But I still adored my husband, and he adored me. He could still look at me from across a room and make my body tingle the way he first had ten years ago in college. </p><p>I suddenly wanted to talk to him. Call him and have some spontaneous phone sex. Get him in the mood to give me the kind of homecoming I was craving. </p><p>Yes, it was after three in the morning, but that's what spontaneous was—not worrying about the time nor the place. </p><p>I used my cell phone, having learned that it was more expensive to use a credit card to call from the hotel phone. I punched in the digits to my home in Orlando, then lay back on my pillow as I waited for Andrew to pick up. </p><p>My lips were slightly parted, poised to say something dirty the moment Andrew answered the phone. But after four rings, it went to voice mail. </p><p>Disappointed, I sighed softly. I debated hanging up and calling him back. I wanted to tell him how much I wanted to touch him, stroke him. How badly I wanted him inside me. And while I was at it, I'd even ask if he would take a plane and meet me here, or meet me in Fort Lauderdale, where Marnie and I had boarded the Discovery Cruise Line to head to the Bahamas. </p><p>Spontaneity and all that. </p><p>But common sense got the better of me when the beep sounded and I heard my voice prompting me to leave a message. It was the middle of the night, and even though I was desperate to talk to him, I couldn't call Andrew back. It wouldn't be fair to him. He had to be up for work in the morning. Besides, I'd be seeing him in less than twenty-four hours. </p><p>Real sex would be far better than phone sex anyway. </p><p>Though I didn't think I would, sometime during the night I'd drifted off to sleep. I awoke with a start and found Marnie sitting on the edge of my bed. </p><p>"Morning, sleepyhead," she crooned when my eyes met hers. </p><p>I took a moment to register that she was really there, that this wasn't a dream. I could smell the fresh scent of some sort of floral soap, could see that her short black hair was wet and slicked back.Yep, she was definitely here. And she looked surprisingly well rested for a woman who'd spent most of the night screwing her brains out. Her dark complexion never gave anything away. </p><p>"You'd still be sleeping too if you were woken up by the sounds of serious fucking." </p><p>"You heard us?" Marnie asked, sounding surprised. </p><p>"You've got to be kidding. How could I <em>not </em>hear you?" </p><p>"Oops," Marnie said sheepishly. </p><p>"Is the room a total disaster zone or what? Cuz it sure sounded like you were doing some serious damage to it." </p><p>"We broke one of the lamps." Marnie spoke almost proudly. </p><p>"What?" But I was really wondering, <em>how? </em>"And you're smiling about that?" </p><p>"Don't worry. I already went to the front desk to let them know, and I paid to replace it." </p><p>"Oh. Okay." Though I was dead tired, I eased myself up on an elbow. Stretching, a yawn escaped my throat. </p><p>Marnie grinned from ear to ear."And trust me,I'm not smiling because we broke a lamp." </p><p>I shook my head in mock reproof. "I can't believe you're up already. After the workout you got." </p><p>"I know." Marnie sighed happily. "He only left an hour ago, so I knew there was no way I'd be getting any sleep if I was going to make it to that boat later today. I took a shower, had a couple cups of coffee and, amazingly, I feel fine." </p><p>"You'd never know. Not with that,'I've been fucked so hard, I could die a happy woman' look on your face." </p><p>"I know." Marnie giggled. "It was incredible, Sophie. Out of this world." </p><p>"You don't have to tell me. I feel like I was a spectator. All I was missing was the popcorn and the dildo." </p><p>Marnie roared with laughter. "I should be embarrassed—but, what can I say, I'm shameless." </p><p>I yawned again, then asked, "So you like this guy?" </p><p>"I like his cock. No, I <em>love </em>his cock." </p><p>Marnie had been my best friend since eighth grade, and we didn't have a problem speaking explicitly to each other. But if the parents of any of our students happened to overhear us talking when we were out on the town, they'd likely be pulling their kids from our classes. </p><p>Of course, we didn't have to worry about that here. And we definitely didn't have foul mouths when we were at the front of our grade-school classrooms. </p><p>"I do like him," Marnie went on, "but we leave today. Maybe if he lived in Orlando. Heck, if he even lived in the Bahamas. But he's headed back to the Dominican Republic the day after tomorrow." </p><p>"It was cute watching you two trying to talk to each other at the bar." What Soriano had lacked in language skills he had easily made up in charm. And that radiant smile of his hadn't hurt. </p><p>"At least he served his purpose," Marnie said. "Which was to <em>totally </em>get me to forget about Brian. I don't know if it's because this guy was a one-night stand, but nothing Brian did in bed with me was <em>ever </em>as exciting as what Soriano and I did." </p><p>"It probably was, in the beginning with Brian," I pointed out. "New sex and all that." </p><p>Marnie shrugged."Maybe. But now my body knows that there's life after Brian, and that that life can be quite exciting." </p><p>I smiled at my friend. For her sake, I was glad. For a good three months, she had moped over the end of her relationship with Brian, and she'd needed something to get her out of her funk. </p><p>She'd already had one marriage fall apart after her husband repeatedly cheated on her, and now that she and Brian had ended things, I knew she was depressed over the thought that she'd never meet her Mr. Right. </p><p>I sat up fully and swung my feet off the bed."I'm gonna go take a shower. Is there any coffee left?" </p><p>"I'll make another pot." </p><p>"Thank you, babe. I'm going to need it." </p><p>It was a little after nine in the evening when I pulled into the driveway of my Orlando home. My husband's Cadillac Escalade was there—as I'd expected on a Sunday evening—and excited, I sprinted inside. I wanted to throw my arms around his neck and kiss him until we ended up naked on the living room floor. </p><p>I was hoping he would have heard me pull up and be waiting for me at the door. He wasn't. But Peaches, our orange and white tabby, was. She purred in greeting, and I bent to give her a quick rub on the head before making my way into the living room. </p><p>Peaches followed me, clearly needing more attention. I needed Andrew. </p><p>But he wasn't in the living room. Hadn't he heard me? He had to be somewhere in the house, so why hadn't he come out to welcome me home? We hadn't seen each other in five days. Maybe it was a little corny, but I expected him to stop whatever he was doing and rush out to meet me. Sweep me in his arms and not let me go until we were both screaming as we came. </p><p>"Andrew?" I called. When he didn't answer, I frowned. Tonight, I wanted spontaneity. An... </p></div>


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<div><div><div><p>Left scarred and bitter, he demands her body and desires her heart. But could she come to love a beast?Gwendolyn Sinclair needs help. And the one person who can give her the aid she urgently requires is exacting a high price.Desperate to keep the neighborhood community center open, Gwendolyn seeks out Xavier St. James, her childhood friend and the brother of her dead fiance. Xavier's family foundation possesses the funds necessary to keep the center open, but instead he offers a bargain—a devil's bargain: submit her body for his pleasure for seven days, and the building doesn't close its doors.Left scarred from an accident, Xavier is bitter, resentful, and alone. When Gwendolyn reappears in his life, need and loneliness override conscience, and he proposes an arrangement she can't afford to refuse. With the woman he has always wanted but could never have finally in his bed, he hungers for more. Her heart. But could she come to love a beast?</p>

<div><div>Left scarred and bitter, he demands her body and desires her heart. But could she come to love a beast?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Gwendolyn Sinclair needs help. And the one person who can give her the aid she urgently requires is exacting a high price.</div><div><br></div><div>Desperate to keep the neighborhood community center open, Gwendolyn seeks out Xavier St. James, her childhood friend and the brother of her dead fiance. Xavier's family foundation possesses the funds necessary to keep the center open, but instead he offers a bargain—a devil's bargain: submit her body for his pleasure for seven days, and the building doesn't close its doors.</div><div> </div><div>Left scarred from an accident, Xavier is bitter, resentful, and alone. When Gwendolyn reappears in his life, need and loneliness override conscience, and he proposes an arrangement she can't afford to refuse. With the woman he has always wanted but could never have finally in his bed, he hungers for more. Her heart. But could she come to love a beast?</div><div><br></div></div></div>

<div><div>Left scarred and bitter, he demands her body and desires her heart. But could she come to love a beast?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Gwendolyn Sinclair needs help. And the one person who can give her the aid she urgently requires is exacting a high price.</div><div><br></div><div>Desperate to keep the neighborhood community center open, Gwendolyn seeks out Xavier St. James, her childhood friend and the brother of her dead fiance. Xavier's family foundation possesses the funds necessary to keep the center open, but instead he offers a bargain—a devil's bargain: submit her body for his pleasure for seven days, and the building doesn't close its doors.</div><div> </div><div>Left scarred from an accident, Xavier is bitter, resentful, and alone. When Gwendolyn reappears in his life, need and loneliness override conscience, and he proposes an arrangement she can't afford to refuse. With the woman he has always wanted but could never have finally in his bed, he hungers for more. Her heart. But could she come to love a beast?</div><div><br></div></div></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  8/11/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 1903 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>At the last minute Reginald Hodges is asked to play Santa at the clinic's holiday party. Mistaking him for their resident pediatrician, Berlin hops onto his lap and gives him the hottest kiss of his life. From that moment onward, Berlin and Reginald are on a roller coaster ride of attraction and lust. The more they want each other, the hotter they get.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  1/24/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3962 (99%)
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<div><div><p>Romance was the last thing on their minds--until the holidays brought these two women face to face with the men of their dreams. .</p><p><br></p><p> .Holiday Seduction - Kayla Perrin</p><p>Mikki Harper isn't looking forward to going home for her sister's wedding--especially since she's just been dumped. Then she runs into "Boring Barry" from high school and soon the two are catching up on old times--and Mikki discovers Barry is anything but boring. Mikki doesn't expect to see him again, especially not at a dinner hosted by the groom's family. It turns out Barry wants to relive their fling. But will Mikki run into his arms--or back to her ex, who's suddenly had a change of heart? </p><p>Her Holiday Gifts - Deborah Fletcher Mello</p><p>Commissioned to bake a towering cake for the Whitman Corporation's CEO at their New Year's extravaganza--Malisa Ivey is mortified when she gets trapped inside. Even worse, the cake is then transported--with Malisa inside--to Gabriel Whitman's office. The sexy business tycoon is shocked when a beautiful woman pops out of his dessert--and can't help but wonder what it would be like to have such sweetness in his life all year. . .</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  11/11/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3928 (99%)
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<div><div><p><i>I'll Be Home for Christmas</i> by Beverly Jenkins</p><p>Three years ago, Broadway star Dina Caldwell and celebrity chef Morgan Caldwell were passionately in love. Now America's onetime favorite couple are about to be reunited in Morgan's Detroit hometown for the holidays. Is this the season for forgiving and forgetting? With sizzling kisses under the mistletoe, Morgan vows to make this a Christmas Dina will never forget!</p><p><i>Second Chance Christmas</i> by Elaine Overton</p><p>Diana Rogers is ready for some holiday R &amp; R. Until Robert Fenton comes home for Christmas. The handsome, powerful hotelier has plans to take over her beloved family winery. But this is the season for miracles. And Diana's seductive ex-lover has his own secret wish list—one that includes a second chance with the woman he's never stopped loving.</p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  10/20/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2595 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Ever since she was a little girl, Paula Devine has dreamed of a romantic Christmas Day proposal like the one her grandmother received back in the day. Instead, her list of disappointing exes gets longer each year. But just as she's ready to give up, Paula begins remodeling the home of an irresistibly sexy client—a man who inspires the kind of sinful thoughts that could land her on Santa's "naughty" list permanently.</p><p class="description">If there's one thing rarer than a flawless diamond, it's true love fused with passion. Jeweler Chase McCord had it once, and wondered if that shimmering heat was gone forever. But the beautiful woman who's renovating his home is also overhauling Chase's outlook, tempting him to submit to her honeyed seduction—even if it means losing his heart all over again.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/24/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3223 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>A season of miracles...and second chancesAudrey Lamour was a successful artist and devoted mother, forever indebted to the heroic fireman who pulled her from a blaze twenty-five years ago on Christmas Day. She honored him by painting his portrait-never dreaming her picture would become a lifeline to love....Conrad Pearson was driven to meet the woman whose emotional painting of his father seared his soul, even if it meant returning home to the Pacific Northwest, and painful memories. But Audrey's beauty, grace and unforgettable kiss ignited the kind of sensual fire that made a man glad to be alive. Now he was ready to confront all the ghosts of Christmas past to keep this angel in his arms forever.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><p></p><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/24/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2886 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div></div>


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<div><div><p><em>Finding the Right Key</em> by Adrianne Byrd</p><p>Professional party planner Kimora Evans has dreamed up her quirkiest party theme yeta holiday key partywhere singles hook up based on a car-key lottery. With best friends, boyfriends and bosses in the mix, there's more than enough sexy fun to go around. But what Kimora doesn't count on is what happens when she plays romance Russian roulette.</p><p><em>'Round Midnight</em> by Donna Hill</p><p>Relationship expert Summer Lane is so busy helping lovelorn callers on her late-night radio talk show that she finds herself in her own romance slump. As New Year's Eve approaches, she decides to follow her own adviceand speak straight from the heartto keep the handsome program director from slipping away when the clock strikes twelve.</p><p><em>Blind Faith</em> by Kayla Perrin</p><p>Trapped for days in her car when it careens off an isolated stretch of road outside of Buffalo, New York, Andrea Dawson has already said her prayers and given up hope of ever being rescued. But then she suddenly sees a blinding lightnot from the great beyond, but rather a flashlight held by her sexy savior, Mark Potter. With both of them looking for something to believe in, has fate brought them together for a reason? </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><p class="description"></p><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Kisha Moran can't get news anchor Craig Jackson off her mind, but he's too secretive for her. Craig's tired of celebrity-hunting women, but something tells him Kisha's different. So what gives when Kisha goes ice-cold on him? He yearns for another chance to open up to her. Original.</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations"><span style="font-weight: bold; ">11/17/2010<br>Last Page Read: Location 2922 (100%) </span><br><b>Location 943 • Bookmark</b></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  11/13/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2900 (99%)
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>No matter what the thermostat says, the holidays can be the hottest time of year when you're curled up with these unforgettably sexy stories from three of romance's most sizzling talents….Holiday Heat by Beverly Jenkins For Eve Clark, winter usually means long cold nights spent alone, until she's persuaded to attend a masked ball. Abandoning her inhibitions, she shares a blissful tryst with a mysterious partner. Though she runs from their hotel room the next morning, Leyton Palmer is determined to track Eve down and show her that the night neither can forget was only the start of something sensational….Candy Christmas by Adrianne ByrdPeace on earth and goodwill to all men? Not if the man in question is drop-dead-sexy Montel Starks, Candy Lahane's competitor since he started at their ad agency a year ago. But on a business trip to Europe, rivalry gives way to a red-hot, explosive affair that makes Candy realize that what she really wants for Christmas is right in front of her, just waiting to be unwrapped….Chocolate Truffles by Kimberly Kaye TerryIt started as an innocent drink with a stranger to celebrate her promotion. It turned into the most erotic night of Camille Jackson's life. But the man she was sure she'd never see again is now her instructor in a two-week managerial workshop, and Gideon Taber is making it clear that he'd love to relive every delicious detail of their encounter, again and again….</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>As the owner of Love Unlimited, a matchmaking firm, Noelle Brown has an enviable track record. When world-renowned and drop-dead gorgeous architect Derrick Brandt graces her doorway, she's incredibly pleased. Hooking him up will raise her agency's profile and give it an incredible public-relations boost. But after a few moments of conversation with the arrogant Derrick, Noelle understands why the tabloids have labeled him the most ineligible bachelor in the city.</p><p class="description">Derrick needs to find himself a wife—a woman who understands his demanding career. He's stunned to find himself captivated by the sexy siren Noelle. As the sparks of passion heat up between them, they both wonder if their relationship is indeed the perfect match.…</p><hr class="annotations_divider"><br><div class="user_annotations"><br><span style="font-weight:bold"><br>  1/24/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 3169 (99%)<br></span><br><br><br></div><p></p></div>


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<div><p class="description">Two Christmas romances: Unwrapped: She thinks he's an irresponsible, womanizing jerk incapable of settling down. He thinks she's a cold-hearted coward who dumped him over the phone on Christmas Eve. But when they meet again, three years later, their simmering passion heats up and before they know it, they're getting unwrapped.... Christmas Carol: Hot sex under the Christmas tree isn’t what Jackson Parker expected when he returned to his small hometown for the holidays, but it's a gift he’s not planning on returning any time soon…</p><p class="description"></p><div><p class="description">Two Christmas romances:</p><p class="description">Unwrapped: She thinks he's an irresponsible, womanizing jerk incapable of settling down. He thinks she's a cold-hearted coward who dumped him over the phone on Christmas Eve. But when they meet again, three years later, their simmering passion heats up and before they know it, they're getting unwrapped....</p><p class="description">Christmas Carol: Hot sex under the Christmas tree isn’t what Jackson Parker expected when he returned to his small hometown for the holidays, but it's a gift he’s not planning on returning any time soon…</p><br><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>As a result of her parents' messy divorce, Keysa Donovan refuses to celebrate Christmas or to let herself fall in love. A successful marketing exec, she's positive she doesn't need anything or anyone else in her life to be happy. Until Ian Sanchez, her sexy co-worker, catches her off guard with homemade cocoa, old holiday movies and kisses that promise the heat of pleasure. Now, Keysa's second guessing everything she thought she beleived and wondering if Ian's touch is worth risking her heart this holiday season.<br></p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><div><h3></h3><h3 class="productDescriptionSource">Product Description</h3>
  <div class="productDescriptionWrapper"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">
  After "the love of her life" broke her heart, Monica Lakefield vowed 
never to trust a sexy, sweet-talking man again. Dubbed the Ice Queen, 
she hides her hurt beneath her cool, corporate facade. Until the 
workaholic Lakefield heiress arrives at an exclusive Aspen resort…and 
discovers hunky Alexander Bennett in her room!</span><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">As CFO of his own 
company, Alexander works hard and plays harder. After being tricked into
 a vacation by his matchmaking relatives, he finds himself snowbound 
with the reserved yet sinfully sexy Monica. In front of a roaring fire, 
with the snow falling outside, he'll show the all-business businesswoman
 what real passion can be. He'll take nothing less than her kisses. Her 
heart. And all the love she has to give</span>…      </p></div><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Artist C. Arthur was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland where she currently resides with her husband and three children. Determined to bring a new edge to romance, she continues to develop intriguing plots, sensual love scenes, racy characters and fresh dialogue—thus keeping the readers on their toes! Artist loves to hear from her readers and can be reached through her contact form or via email at acarthur22@yahoo.com </p></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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  11/10/2011<br>Last Page Read: Location 2402 (99%)
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<div><div><h3 class="productDescriptionSource">Product Description</h3>
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  After being dumped by her fiancé, Stacy Carlson has no illusions about
 love. That doesn't stop the Phoenix gift shop owner from harboring hot 
fantasies about her sexier-than-sin landlord. Major player Eli Steele is
 a heartbreaker in tailor-made designer duds. But who can resist the 
sensual seducer who's decking the halls—and her heart—with a passion 
she's never known?<p>This Steele brother is no pushover. But it's time 
to transform his playboy image. And once Eli turns up the heat, Stacy 
starts getting into the holiday spirit. Only now it's Eli's heart that's
 on the line. Can he turn their strictly business arrangement into a 
Christmas filled with pleasure…<i>and</i> lasting love?      </p></div></div><hr class="annotations_divider"><div class="user_annotations">
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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>When it comes to joining the ranks of Washington D.C.'s glamorous elite, no social ladder is too high for these ambitious ladies to climb…</p><p>Sherise, Billie, and Erica will do anything to penetrate the capital's shimmering social circle of movers and shakers, even if it means engaging in some risky business. Sherise's dangerous game with a ruthless powerbroker is putting her on the White House fast track-and derailing her marriage… High-powered lawyer Billie will use any weapon to battle her sexy ex-husband between the sheets so she can move on after heartbreak… Erica's prestigious new promotion at the Pentagon means bad news for her former-hustler boyfriend that may wreck her dreams for good… And when drama even these divas never saw coming turns explosive, they'll have to fight fire with fire, and prove their loyalty to each other-because in D.C. you always need someone to have your back... </p><p><strong>Praise for Angela Winters</strong></p><p>"Entertaining…the pacing is fast and the drama (is) unrelenting.” --_Publishers Weekly_ on <em>Never Enough </em></p><p>"A <em>Dynasty</em>-esque mix of money, power, sex, and crime.” --Washingtonian.com on <em>View Park </em></p></div>


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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>When Michaela Landry agreed to house-sit at her godparents' Memphis home, she expected a quiet, peaceful summer. Instead, her stay takes a dramatic turn when she finds a runaway teen and brings him to the nearest hospital. The only person he trusts is Cooper Smith Townsend, a local pastor whose calm demeanor and dedication are as attractive as his rugged good looks.Smith's experiences have inspired him to serve God and help others at the expense of his personal life, but Michaela's warmth and courage are irresistible. Now their greatest challenge will be to trust that a passion neither planned for is strong enough to overcome any obstacle….</p>


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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>She would never know her real dad. And that fact made Noelle Greenwood desperate to connect with his family, even if it meant assuming a false identity to gain their trust. And if she had to hook up with sexy playboy Colin Mayes in a risky game of seduction to claim her birthright-- a share of River Oaks, the legendary stud farm Colin co-owned with her grandfather-- she would do it. But when Colin sparked real passion in her, Noelle's pretend affair spiraled out of control... . Noelle had turned Colin's world upside down. Then he discovered her true identity. She'd used him to get River Oaks. Furious, Colin vowed to end their relationship. But as hard as he tried, he couldn't seem to get the nights they'd shared out of his system or Noelle out of his heart!</p>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>What begins as a tantalizing romance between two stubborn individuals loses some oomph in Ray's fourth Grayson Friends novel (after 2009's <em>One Night with You</em>). Zachary Albright Wilder, an in-demand music producer, is shocked and angry when beautiful, solitary classical musician Laurel Raineau refuses to work with him because of his scandalous reputation. Determined to persuade her, Zach follows her from Los Angeles to Mexico, keeping his identity secret. As Laurel learns to separate Zach's true character from the rumors, he discovers that loving a person might be easy, but making a relationship work was another matter. The love scenes are frequent and steamy, though the writing is often jumpy and clichéd, and readers who like a lot of glamour with their romance will enjoy the frequent references to fast cars, exclusive clubs, and high fashion. <em>(May)</em> <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Review</h3><p> The sexual chemistry between the couple was flaming hot and continued to burn intensely until the very end.  This is one Joyfully Reviewed Recommended Read that you will not want to miss out on!</p><p>--Joyfully Reviewed  </p><p>Ability to bring a fresh voice to a long-running series is a gift that Ray possesses in spades. Newest entry to the Grayson Friends takes readers into a clash of musical worlds: classical vs hip-hop. Sit back and enjoy another jewel.--RT Book Review  </p><p>"An emotion-packed, enjoyable tale." —_Romance Reviews Today_</p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Life has always gone Indigo Burns's way. She's smart, pretty, and talented, and she knows exactly what she wants. A photography internship at her hometown's local newspaper is the next step in her well-laid plans for her future. But her long-term goals are put to the test when her boyfriend Brian proposes--two years before he's supposed to and in front of all the guests at her college graduation party. Too concerned about his feelings to say no, she heartily agrees, but inside she's cringing.   </p><p>Indigo knows in her heart that she's not prepared to sacrifice her dreams to become Brian's wife--not before she has achieved any of them. Will she find the answers among family and friends in Jubilant, Texas? Or will the picture-perfect life she dreams of be left behind? </p><h3>From the Back Cover</h3><p>Her future was just coming into focus. But what will she do when everything becomes a blur?  </p><p>Indigo Burns's life is going according to plan. She possesses the ambition and talent to be a professional photographer, and she thanks God for all the blessings that surround her. Now, all at once, Indigo's family life, love life, and hopes for success have flipped upside down. Indigo loves the Lord, but can she trust him to work his plan in her life?  </p><p><em>Worth a Thousand Words </em>dramatically explores the tough decisions one woman must make in the world of love, relationships, and career. Will Indigo find the courage to face her own truths--and accept those being harbored by the people she loves most? Either way, she risks losing everything she's ever wanted.  </p><p>"A novel that will reawaken the power within you to be free to become all that God has created you to be. You will be delighted, inspired, and transformed."--Marina Woods, president , GoodGirlBookClubOnline.com  </p><p>Stacy Hawkins Adams is an <em>Essence</em> bestselling author whose books illuminate the themes of faith, forgiveness, and women's friendships. She is the author of several books, including <em>Speak to My Heart</em> and <em>The Someday List</em>. Adams is also a freelance journalist and inspirational speaker who devotes considerable time to child advocacy issues. She and her family live in Virginia. Stacy welcomes readers to visit her at www.stacyhawkinsadams.com. </p></div>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Seeking refuge from his headstrong mother, who is hell-bent on marrying him off, 34-year-old former FBI agent Luke Grayson retreats to the solitude of his New Mexico mountain cabin, only to discover the presence of a beautiful, gun-toting visitor. Having earlier been offered the cabin by Grayson's cousin to recover from an assault and to prepare for her Santa Fe speaking engagements, Dr. Catherine Stewart, bestselling author and a professor of child psychology, is unable to hide her irritation with--or attraction to--the handsome, unwelcome stranger. Noticing something amiss in Stewart's behavior, Grayson extracts the information that she's being stalked and offers his services as a private investigator. Ray (Break Every Rule) finds common ground for the pair to develop a loving relationship in their dedication to helping others (together they adopt a wolf hybrid and care for a homeless mother and child) and highlights Grayson's dual African- and Native-American heritage through his commitment to family. (Aug.) </p><p>Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.</p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>Seeking respite from his matchmaking mother, Luke Grayson, successful private investigator and owner of his own firm, heads for his isolated cabin in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and suddenly finds himself looking down the barrel of a .380 held by a beautiful, leggy woman with a definite no-nonsense attitude. Although this is hardly an auspicious beginning, UCLA professor and child psychologist Catherine Stewart and Luke find themselves attracted to each other. But Catherine is hiding a secret that could keep them apart forever, and it isn't until she sees things realistically that she and Luke can find the happiness they both want. Her crisp style, realistic dialog, likable characters and fast pace make Ray (Break Every Rule) one of the better, more popular writers in the Arabesque line. She lives in Texas. <br>Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Lucky Annelise may be having the best sex of her life with her new man, but she can't help noticing her two closest friends and her sister—fresh from very recent, very public breakups—are miserable. So she does what any good friend would do: plans a girls' weekend in Vegas! </p><p>In a town that emphasizes hedonism, Lishelle is sorely tempted. Between sensual masseurs and private exotic dancers—how's a girl to choose? She finally lets her guard down and beds the perfect guy for a no-strings-attached affair— a sexy rapper looking for a good time with no questions asked. </p><p>Meanwhile, Claudia is busy getting her groove on with a younger man who makes her laugh. Even better, he's eager to please and—much to her delight— wants her to be in control in the bedroom. </p><p>It's Samera who hits the jackpot, though, hooking up with a high roller and finishing off the night in his luxury suite. But Rusty has a dark side, and Samera can't get home to Atlanta—and away from Rusty's dangerous friends— fast enough. </p><p>But once the friends return from Sin City, they all receive threatening notes, suggesting someone has been watching them all along. Maybe this time what happened in Vegas won't stay in Vegas.—</p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>A moonlit angel—that's what Harrison Payne sees when he wanders onto the balcony of his luxury Colorado resort. The former pro quarterback knows next to nothing about the sensuous, intriguing stranger basking in the night air, except that he wants to know her much, much better.</p><p>Discovering that Cherisse Washington is the mother of a promising young skier he's agreed to sponsor is a stroke of luck—and learning that Cherisse's ex is determined to get back in her life is an unwanted setback. But all's fair in love—and Harry intends to use every seductive means available to win the woman he knows belongs in his life forever…. </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Janice Sims is author of more than twenty titles and feels as if she's just getting started.  She has been hooked on writing since she was seven years old, more years than she'd care to admit to, and the desire to create is still burning brightly.  Her characters, plots, and settings feel real because they're inspired by real people, situations, and locations.  So don't be surprised if you see yourself in one of her books. </p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Have the sins of the mother come upon the daughter?Jasmine Larson Bush is finally living a drama-free life. She’s left her lying, cheating, stealing stripper days behind and is standing by her husband’s side as the first lady of one of the largest churches in New York City. The Bushes have been blessed with the best of everything—including two lovely children. </p><p>But just when Jasmine has committed her life completely to God, her daughter Jacqueline is kidnapped from a mall the day after Thanksgiving. The police and the church community join in the frantic search to find the four-year-old. As the days pass without any sign of her daughter, Jasmine begins to crack under the strain and turns to Brian Lewis, Jacqueline’s biological father, for solace. </p><p>Has Jasmine’s past finally caught up to her? Will her daughter be found or will Jasmine pay the ultimate price? </p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong>Three lives. Three wishes.</strong></p><p><strong>One chance to get it right.</strong></p><p>Adopted at birth, attorney Sunny Adams is shocked to learn that Hollywood actress Audra Kane is her real mother. Though she longs to visit Audra in L.A., Sunny won't abandon the murder case she's working on—not even when Audra's gorgeous stepson Jonas Blake is the one who's asking.</p><p>Sunny is the most beautiful, strong-willed woman Jonas has ever met, and he's happy to stay and protect her in the small Georgia town until her dangerous case is over. Getting involved with Sunny gives him hope that he can make her part of his own life. But can love work enough magic to make three people's wishes come true?</p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Janice Sims is author of more than twenty titles and feels as if she's just getting started.  She has been hooked on writing since she was seven years old, more years than she'd care to admit to, and the desire to create is still burning brightly.  Her characters, plots, and settings feel real because they're inspired by real people, situations, and locations.  So don't be surprised if you see yourself in one of her books.</p></div>


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p><em>I knew it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. . . . And yet, I couldn’t help staring at him, wondering. However fleeting, there was the slightest hint of doubt in my mind.</em></p><p>Didi Randall doesn’t think her life can get much worse than public humiliation when her boyfriend is the subject of a vicious rumor on campus. Despite their four-year relationship, the rumor puts a wedge between her and Drake, but Didi is hopeful that they can reconnect on the winter break cruise. She, Drake, and a handful of Lan-U students will be sailing the high seas of the Caribbean just before the start of the New Year and new semester. </p><p>The cruise turns out to anything but happy and carefree when ugly secrets and grudges between friends are revealed. But Didi’s troubles go beyond simple public humiliation when she wakes up on deck early in the morning, disoriented, and then learns that Drake is missing. It quickly becomes clear that he must have gone overboard. But was it an accident—or was it murder?</p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Kayla Perrin is the author of twenty-seven novels. She lives in Toronto, Canada. Please visit her on the Web at www.kaylaperrin.com</p></div>


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<div><h3>Review</h3><p>"A story that tugs at the heartstrings." --_Romantic Times BOOKreviews_</p><p>“Fast and fun and full of emotional thrills and sexy chills. Everything a racing romance should be!”—_Roxanne St. Claire_</p><p>"Not only does Francis Ray rock in this book but also you see a whole different side of racing that will keep you on the edge of your seat." --_Night Owl Romance_</p><p>__ </p><p>"A wonderful read." --_Fresh Fiction_</p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>NASCAR star Cameron Dunlap is poised to win this year’s Sprint Cup. But being a successful race-car driver comes with a price: His own life. Cameron knows that his profession puts him at high risk. Thankfully, his latest visit to the hospital left him intact. That is, until he bumps into Caitlin Lawrence…and is thrust back into his painful past.  </p><p>The one-time love of his life who left him at the altar, Caitlin could never accept Cameron’s fast and furious existence. The threat of losing him on the racetrack was just too much for Caitlin—and the young son Cameron never knew he had. Now that this chance meeting has changed their lives forever, will Caitlin and Cameron find a way to recapture what might have been?</p></div>


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<div><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>"I don't understand why we're at the store purchasing an outfit for me, when I have a perfectly good pair of slacks and a snazzy blouse at home." Sara Lovell followed her four sorority sisters through the department store toward the women's section.</p><p>"This is a milestone birthday, correct?" Denise asked, over her shoulder. Her pace didn't slacken. She was a pint-sized dynamo whizzing past customers.</p><p>"I don't think twenty-five is a milestone," Sara responded, rolling her eyes at Denise's exaggeration.</p><p>"Girl, you'd better celebrate it. How many women are twenty-five years old, a professor and no lame man hanging on?" Naomi stepped outside of their entourage to throw out her question, as Sara, who was bringing up the rear, passed her.</p><p>"I'm not tenured," Sara corrected. This was her first semester and there were no guarantees in the collegiate world. Like anyplace else, climbing the ladder partially depended on office politics.</p><p>"Whatever! Only you highbrowed people know the difference. We, mere mortals, will continue to call you Professor Lovell." Naomi grinned with extra effort since her braces had only been removed two days ago.</p><p>They arrived in the women's department, not too quietly. Sara followed the direction of their scrutiny and finger-pointing, trying to catch the gist of their discussion. Her sorors were always up to something. Why did she think her birthday would be any different among these mischief-makers? But she'd be on the lookout for any pranks.</p><p>"Ooh, I like this." Naomi held up a little black dress.</p><p>"Is that the entire dress or is that only the skirt?" Sara asked, concerned with the choice. "You like to show your skin. I don't."</p><p>"You're right. This little number would look good with my long, shapely legs." Naomi spun in front of the three-sided mirror. With a manicured hand on one hip and a haughty raise of her chin, she erupted in a fit of giggles.</p><p>"At least those legs would be good for something," Denise added, with a smirk. "I sure enough lost a pretty penny on your lazy behind in the last basketball game. The coach should've left you on the bench." Denise stood behind Naomi's still form, fearlessly sizing her up with open disgust.</p><p>Sara foresaw the potential conflict that always ignited without much provocation. She stepped toward Naomi, removed the black dress from her iron grip and set it on the rack with other unwanted items. Then she propelled her friend out of the dressing room to another area of the women's department to cool off.</p><p>"Don't take on Denise. You know that she's always in a bad mood after she loses money."</p><p>Her friend's budding pro basketball career wasn't exactly taking off in the right direction. Sara empathized with her soror. One thing she'd learned the hard way was how to shoot for the stars, but end up sitting in dirt.</p><p>"Hey, Sara, I found a great pantsuit."</p><p>Sara looked over at Asia standing next to her twin, Athena, who held up a navy blue pantsuit. The tailored cut was flattering. And how could she pass up the added bonus to wear pants, her clothing item of choice?</p><p>Asia handed off the suit to Sara, who headed for the dressing room again.</p><p>"I've got several blouses to go with this." Sara changed into the pantsuit. The jacket's cut enhanced her figure, as she expected it would. It had a longer hem that covered her well-padded behind. Although not fond of full pants legs, she did like the comfortable fabric of these that didn't cling to her thighs.</p><p>She stepped out into the open area to model. "I really like this." The darker shade complemented her toasty brown coloring.</p><p>"Good!" her friends answered in chorus.</p><p>Sara laughed. They'd often criticized her inability to make a quick decision. This impromptu trip did manage to improve her mood, considering that she awoke today feeling a bit bummed. The year had not been one for celebration when the highlight was a botched wedding ceremony.</p><p>Her sorors made quick business of paying for the outfit. Back at her condo, each woman found a chair and noisily flopped dramatically into the seat, as if they had just completed a marathon.</p><p>Sara, seemingly the lone survivor, stood and looked over the four women with whom she'd pledged six years ago. Her line sisters in Xi Theta Sigma were as close to her as blood relatives. Their pledge line, called Ladies of Distinction, consisted of all sophomores. After completion of their pledge process and the ensuing bonding experiences, she thought the line name more aptly described what they strived for in their post-university lives.</p><p>Sara headed to the kitchen for refreshments. The party wasn't due to begin for another four hours, enough time for all of them to laze and get rejuvenated. They were known to dance until the houselights came up at more than a few nightclubs.</p><p>"What's the final number for the party?" Denise questioned, popping her gum with annoying frequency.</p><p>"I got forty, but about fifteen didn't respond. People can be so rude. Anyway, I ordered enough food for about forty-five." Sara flipped through her writing pad with pages of copious notes and other details. "Let me go to my laptop. I've an Excel file with additional notes."</p><p>"Stop agonizing," Naomi wailed. "You make my head ache, rehashing nit-picking details. No one can control how much people will eat. When the food is done, well, then, it's done."</p><p>"Don't worry, Sara. We're following up on the big and little items," Denise reassured.</p><p>Sara sighed, reluctantly closing her writing pad. "Thanks, guys, I'm a basket case. I'm looking forward to the party, despite feeling gun-shy about the idea earlier." Sara sat next to Denise and leaned her head against her soror's shoulder. "Not much to celebrate this year, I'm afraid. I'm on the loser trail when it comes to men."</p><p>"You're exaggerating, soror." Denise patted her cheek.</p><p>"No, she's not," Naomi objected. "First, she breaks up with her college sweetheart, a.k.a. soul mate. Then she breaks up with her husband-to-be at the altar." Naomi shook her head, clicking her tongue. She twirled her finger around the ends of her braided hair.</p><p>"She didn't break up with her soul mate. He walked away from her. And, she didn't have a choice about the wedding, not with his pregnant girlfriend in the audience making a big stink," Athena stated, reciting the list of events without emotion, as if she read a shopping list.</p><p>"Thank you, Frick and Frack, for boosting my self-esteem before my birthday party." Sara waved aside their apologies and retreated to her bedroom.</p><p>Through the walls, she heard Denise scold Athena for her thoughtlessness.</p><p>"My bad," Athena replied in her typical droll manner.</p><p>"Sorry, Sara!" Naomi yelled.</p><p>Sara was more embarrassed than angry. Fake Prince-Charming types had worn out their welcome in her life. She only wanted to enjoy her party with her friends and sorority sisters.</p><p>Jackson Thomas searched the nearby parking lot in the complex for a space, but had no luck. He headed toward another distant area, keeping an eye out for signs that allowed visitor parking. The overhead streetlights didn't illuminate the lot very well. Walking a little farther, if he had to, didn't bother him, since he hoped the extra minutes calmed his nerves. He didn't believe in blind luck, but tonight he certainly accepted this symbol as his four-leaf clover.</p><p>As he drew closer to the dimly lit community room, boisterous party-goers walked in and out of the building. Music pulsated out of the windows and door. Heavy beats from the latest R&amp;B hit spilled into the outdoor night air.</p><p>Jackson slowed. His nerves sapped the energy from his legs. Doubts held his will in a mind-numbing grip. He wished that he'd brought one of his buddies to bolster his flagging courage as he tried to face his past. He took out a handkerchief and wiped his damp forehead. All over, his skin prickled with sweat to complete his body's reaction to the tension.</p><p>"Hey, Jackson."</p><p>Jackson sharply turned toward the voice. Denise waved at him, grinning with obvious enjoyment at his startled expression. "Didn't mean to startle you. Don't worry, I'm not springing her on you. Your girl's chatting in the back. Asia and Athena have her in an in-depth conversation about the top African-American literary authors of all time. You know that's right up her alley. She's on a roll. The twins probably can't wait for you to show up and save them."</p><p>Jackson smiled, took a deep breath and headed for the door. He paused, then turned. "Denise, thanks for inviting me. I've wanted to visit—keep in touch—for a long time. You gave me a break. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to see Sarafina. Maybe even ask for another chance, or something like that…" His voice died under the uncertainty.</p><p>"That's our sister in there. You've hurt her once. Do it again, and I'll personally hunt you down." Denise waved away his protest. "Go. Don't waste time talking to me." She turned, and headed back into the building.</p><p>Jackson acted on Denise's advice and sped up his entry. The large room was like a sauna, with the warmth and humidity. The area was populated with small table-and-chair sets already occupied with guests. Unaware of the party's formality, he wore a jacket over a polo shirt. Jackson shrugged out of his jacket and slung it over his arm.</p><p>He weaved through the party crowd. Frankly, no one else mattered. There was only one person he cared to see. So far, he couldn't locate her in the crowded room.</p><p>"Hi J.T.!"</p><p>A familiar young woman with a pile of micro-braids seemingly exploding from the top of her head nudged his arm.</p><p>"Naomi, good to see you," he shouted over the music, exchanging a warm hug with her.</p><p>"Go past that column. She's over at the bar. Hurry!" Naomi shoved him.</p><p>"Good to see you, too," he managed to reply, although the music probably drowned his words.</p><p>He rounded the column with a slower approach. As much as he couldn't wait to see Sarafina, he didn't want to run blindly into her, either. Knowing how her sorority sisters operated, he was sure that they hadn't prepared her for his appearance.</p><p>"Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Look who's here." Jackson froze as Asia's piercing scream drew s... </p></div>


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<div><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3><p>Fresh from a fifty-minute session with her personal trainer, Denise Dixon drove into the small city of Bloomsburg, an hour north of Chicago. It was a Friday afternoon, on the cusp of dusk, and the roads were jammed with professionals escaping the hectic madness of the Windy City. The sidewalks and walking paths were filled with joggers and speed walkers and every other person appeared to have a dog attached to a leash out for their daily routine.</p><p>Daily exercise was her therapy. One hundred fifty dollars an hour for her troubles seemed a bit overpriced. But that was her cross to bear.</p><p>Denise turned right at a corner by a church. Her mother had given her directions, but Denise preferred to double-check with an online mapping service.</p><p>The residential area had nothing in common with her more humble, childhood beginnings.</p><p>"Wow!" Large houses, more like mansions, lined both sides of the road. Money was the tool between her and her parents. They used various amounts as her cause dictated. Her stepfather had his business, but had the family wealth. Her mother had class, but not a penny. Unlike her socialite sister, Denise worked in the city's government with its employee grades and job levels and notorious low pay. Her parents weren't impressed with her attempts to be independent. They thought it was better to take care of some things for their children.</p><p>A few more turns took her deeper into the neighborhood away from the main thoroughfare. Denise cruised at a pedestrian pace to read the house numbers. Finally, she braked in front of her new house. She looked in the rearview mirror, but saw no traffic. The street was eerily quiet, clean and orderly, as if it were ready for its place on a postcard. And this paradise was now home.</p><p>The driveway curved in a giant horseshoe, straightening in front of the spacious house, before disappearing through the foliage. The windows on the bottom level were oversize, and windows were in abundance on the second floor, where the roof peaked at sharp angles for a cathedral ceiling effect inside.</p><p>Denise saw that any further admiration had to be put on hold.</p><p>Scaffolding had been erected on one side of the house. Half of the roof tiles were stripped. The front door had been taken off the hinges and now sat on its side against the front of the house. The house was a wreck!</p><p>"Mom, it's me." Denise cradled the cell phone between her shoulder and ear. "I'm at the house. I don't see any other car so it looks like no one is here. The door… well, there's no door."</p><p>"Are you sure, dear? There should be an entire construction crew there."</p><p>"Yes. I'm in the car looking at it, but I can see that no one is here." Denise turned off the engine. "I'm going in to check. I'll call you back later."</p><p>"Be careful. Maybe you should let me stay on the phone, just in case."</p><p>Denise wasn't in the mood for her mother's statistical rundown of brutal crimes in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Instead, she ended with a vague promise to call her back after investigating.</p><p>Her watch showed two o'clock. Lunch break was over. She pushed up her sleeves, ready for a fight with surly construction workers. Maybe she'd be lucky enough to sneak up on them throwing back a couple of beers.</p><p>Denise walked through the gaping doorway, then stood her ground with her hands on her hips as her gaze swept the foyer and living-room area. Signs of work were evident—additional scaffolds and partially constructed walls. Drop cloths covered various items.</p><p>She had to admit her parents knew what they were doing and were very good at it. They selected fixer-uppers, renovated them and then handed out a property to each child or resold it at a much higher value.</p><p>Closed double doors drew her attention. She opened them to admire a room framed with crown molding. From its position in the house next to the living room, she determined that it was the formal dining room.</p><p>"I don't cook, so I won't be using this room too much." Her voice echoed, magnifying the room's emptiness, a sad commentary on her life. She shrugged off her mind's attempt to wander down that path. <em>No, I will not go there—not today.</em></p><p>Enjoying the sound of her shoes against the wood floors, she performed a short rendition of her sorority's popular step routine. Her hands clapped and smacked her thighs, accentuating the beats of her feet stomping against the hardwood floor in a rhythmic style that combined steps from hot musical groups with African traditional dances. The exertion left her panting and dying for a cold drink. She knew it looked crazy, but how could she resist the fun? There was just so much room here! Memories of her college days and Xi Theta Sigma flooded her mind. She shook it off and straightened her jacket. Growing up was a one-way, unyielding street, one she wasn't sure she was ready for.</p><p>Jaden Bond barely saw the lone figure enter the house. He'd heard a car pull up, but didn't get to the window fast enough. Despite craning his neck, he couldn't get a good line of sight. The unlit entryway provided enough shadow to disguise the person's identity. From his vantage point on the second floor, he moved a little closer to get a better view. The stranger crossed into a ray of light that cut through the large windows in a wedge shape across the floor.</p><p>His gaze narrowed. The telltale curves of the slim frame revealed part of the mystery. A woman, a stranger nonetheless, had entered the house.</p><p>She walked through the foyer and living room tapping the walls, brushing aside debris with her foot, then stood still with her hands stuffed in her jacket pockets studying the lower level.</p><p>Had the county sent an inspector? He wasn't in the mood for any bureaucratic crap. All the necessary permits had been obtained. Then again, she might be a nosy neighbor, a member of the home owners' association taking it upon herself to check on the property. Whoever she was, she'd now earned the label of trespasser.</p><p>When she disappeared into the formal dining room, he moved from his hiding spot. He didn't want to alert her that he was in the house—not yet. The way she moved around, her air of authority, intrigued him. What was she up to?</p><p>Suddenly, loud thumping sounds fractured the quietness. He slowed his approach, frowning with the effort to discern what made that rhythmic stomp. The dining-room doors remained partially opened. He eased them further open until he had a clear view of the woman, who was in full step mode. This unusual sight had him at a loss. Who walked into a house, selected a room and began stepping like the black Greek fraternities on campus?</p><p>He recognized some of the signature steps of Xi Theta Sigma sorority. On his campus, they were considered sisters to his fraternity. And he had to admit she was good. What if he started stepping? She'd probably freak. That would serve her right. When she paused to wipe her glistening forehead, he finally stepped forward with an irritable, authoritative demeanor for effect.</p><p>"Oh!" The woman jumped and stepped back until she hit the large, ornate mantel over the fireplace. Her gaze shifted from the door to him and back to the door. Her breathing sped up as she stiffened into a guarded stance.</p><p>"I'm Jaden Bond." He greeted her calmly, in even tones. "I'm renovating this house." Jaden waved his hand over the empty room. "What would you be doing here?" He pointedly looked down at her feet, which only seconds ago had been maneuvering in intricate steps with clean precision.</p><p>"I'm Denise." Her chin rose a smidgen. She stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets. "The hardwood floor looks good. I know that looked crazy…I was step mistress in university…" She chuckled, but it quickly died when he didn't respond. "I got carried away." Her hesitant tone had turned defiant.</p><p>Jaden didn't let the subtle change affect his decision. She was an annoying, albeit attractive, busybody who got caught nosing around someone else's property. "Your name?"</p><p>The woman tilted her head and in a flash turned a piercing gaze on him. Jaden accepted the challenge. Her attitude toward him was that <em>he </em>was the intruder. Maybe it was her snazzy suit and the way she crossed her arms as if staking her claim.</p><p>"Would you show me around the house?"</p><p>"Name?"</p><p>"Excuse me?" She tightened her crossed arms.</p><p>"I don't know you. I'd rather be personable when I show you the door."</p><p>"As if." The woman approached, moving across the room with a distinctive strut. "Look, I'm sure your boss mentioned my visit. I'll be living here."</p><p>Jaden frowned, unsure why this woman wanted to be mysterious. He knew his clients. They were old enough to be her parents. Maybe they were. He didn't trust easily, but he'd go along with her little game for a few more minutes, only out of curiosity. "Not a problem."</p><p>"Do you have a large crew working on this project?" She raised her eyebrows waiting for his explanation.</p><p>"Nah. It's pretty quiet at the moment."</p><p>"Given the amount of work left to be done, that may not be such a good thing."</p><p>"I've got it under control." Apparently, she was one of those types who figured she knew everything.</p><p>"We'll see if that's true." She walked past him with a small smile on her lips, as if she knew something that he didn't.</p><p>He quickly closed the gap as she exited the room. He hated to admit that this stranger intrigued him. She was pretty, but that wasn't it. The power suit probably meant corporate shark. The tight, neat ponytail shouted uptight personality. She was Type A, up close and personal. Maybe it was the slight sway of her hips as she moved in her stilettos that made him want to play along for a quick minute.</p><p>"Willing to give me the tour?" she asked over her shoulder.</p><p>"I've got the time." Jaden glanced down at his watch to verify his boast. His men would be returning to work the afternoon shift in thirty minutes. He'd wanted to finish writing up his status report before they came back. Playtime with this heiress apparent would have to end in ten minutes. He stepped up to walk beside her.</p><p>"The houses in this area were built in the boom days before the Depression wiped out families. The community ca... </p></div>


