The Panther and The Pearl (39 page)

A Marriage of Convenience
(Contemporary Romance). Taylor Braddock. His name brought back memories of a man so handsome that a young girl had fallen in love - and made a fool of herself. A man so unique he’d spoiled Sharon Philips for any other love.

But now her father’s will had joined their lives once again. In a final attempt at matchmaking, Dad left half his California horse ranch to Sharon, the other half to Braddock - provided they were husband and wife.

A quick wedding. A quick divorce. A quick sale of the ranch. It seemed simple. but time had only fueled their passion. Could Taylor erase then years of pain and show Sharon that loving him was her destiny?

Marriage in Name Only
(Contemporary Romance): Years ago Ann Talbot had been forced to leave Heath Bodine without a goodbye. Now she was back, and though Heath still had the power to make her insides quiver with longing, he had changed. Yes, he was proposing marriage. But not out of love—out of revenge. And Ann knew she had no choice but to say yes.

Heath intended to make Ann pay for running out on him. But no matter how much he tried to deny it, living under the same roof and sharing the same bed with her was going to prove his undoing. Because he didn’t just want her body, he wanted her heart as well...

Montega’s Mistress
(1986) tells the story of a Central American revolutionary who discovers love with a sheltered American heiress when, badly injured, he stumbles into her family’s isolated resort home in Florida. Matteo Montega relies on Helen Demarest for his very survival as she nurses him back to health, but then must leave her to pursue overthrowing the corrupt government in his native country. How their lives reconnect and take them to the jungles of fictional Puerta Linda to share an unlikely but compelling passion is a timeless tale of devotion with an unexpected and delightful conclusion. Matteo and Helen are an irresistibly appealing couple, and you’ll root for them to overcome the odds and get together in the end. BTW, love the title.
 

Winter Affair
(Contemporary Romance): A twilit hush had settled over the cemetery, and the sighing of the wind in the trees and the hiss of falling snow combined to enclose two strangers in a still world.
 

Leda Bradshaw was visiting the grave of her beloved father. Kyle Reardon was paying his last respects to a man everyone believed he had wronged.
 

Leda knew Reardon was accused of destroying both her father’s business and his life. She knew the townspeople scorned him as an outcast. She knew he was the one man she should avoid at all costs. But one glimpse of the pain and determination in his bleak gray eyes told her he was also the one man she could never turn away from.

An Indecent Marriage
(Contemporary Romance): The town of Bright River held too many sad memories for Jessica Portman. She’d returned for one reason—to oversee the takeover of her ailing father’s mill by a rival company. She intended to finalize the deal and return to Italy.

Then she met the owner of J.C. Enterprises, Jack Chabrol—the boy she’d left behind. Only Jack was no longer a boy; he was a man—a man bent on revenge. He had never forgiven Jessica for leaving him to marry someone else, nor had he forgotten the love they’d once shared. Jack was determined to possess Jessica, and she had only one defense against his anger: her love.

MEN OF INTRIGUE: A Trilogy
 

Montega’s Mistress
(1986) tells the story of a Central American revolutionary who discovers love with a sheltered American heiress when, badly injured, he stumbles into her family’s isolated resort home in Florida. Matteo Montega relies on Helen Demarest for his very survival as she nurses him back to health, but then must leave her to pursue overthrowing the corrupt government in his native country. How their lives reconnect and take them to the jungles of fictional Puerta Linda to share an unlikely but compelling passion is a timeless tale of devotion with an unexpected and delightful conclusion. Matteo and Helen are an irresistibly appealing couple, and you’ll root for them to overcome the odds and get together in the end. BTW, love the title.
 

Danger Zone
(1987) has a tough, cavalier loner for a hero in Steve Colter, and the fun in this story is watching Karen Walsh worm her way gradually into his mercenary’s heart and break down his defenses. He tries hard to resist her and maintain his independent existence but the reader can tell from word one that he will eventually surrender. The story takes them around the globe but never far from each other’s thoughts, and when at the conclusion Colter transforms his life to keep Karen with him it is gratifying and fulfilling but not a surprise. The story also features a wise and witty best friend for Karen in Linda Folsom, a savvy Brit with a wicked sense of humor who keeps the saga humming along on the rare occasions when Colter is offstage. All in all it’s a fast moving and absorbing tale.

Devil’s Deception
(1985) has a mafia princess for a heroine and an FBI Bureau Chief for a hero, so the story gives new meaning to the notion of “opposites attract.” Brett Devlin is a fed planted in the home of Angela Patria in the guise of her bodyguard to get the goods on her drug smuggling uncle. When Devlin finds himself instantly attracted to the lonely, withdrawn beauty who is Patria’s innocent niece, his life becomes complicated very quickly. It is Devlin’s job to be with Angela at all times since he is supposed to be protecting her, and this task makes it impossible for him to conceal his growing feelings for the woman he is deceiving on a daily basis. How this dilemma is resolved and the embattled couple wind up together makes for a satisfying read, and watching straight arrow Devlin unbend enough to fall for the gangster’s ward is touching as well as amusing.

The Harder They Fall:
Helene Danforth had loved her late fiancé, though he’d never stirred the passion she knew was in her. So when she found herself alone, unmarried and pregnant with his unborn child, she realized she had to do something to make things right. She never expected that Martin’s brother Chris, a Wyoming rancher and rodeo champion, would offer her marriage; she never dreamed she’d be hungering for Chris’ long, lean body...

Chris Murdock swore to give his bother’s child a secure life, but he wasn’t about to let the “innocent” Miss Danforth lure him into her gold digging trap. But Chris soon discovered that he had no defenses against his own fiery longings...