Leisure books

THE CAPTAIN She had dreamed of him all her life, had waited eagerly for the man who would take her soaring among the stars. But when Esme was rescued from her desert exile and taken aboard the ship of her dreams, she found its captain a man of steel and fire, a man who clearly considered her the enemy. THE SEDUCTRESS From the moment he laid eyes on her, Raul burned with an unreasoning desire for the beautiful girl they'd rescued from the desert. Had she really been cast out by a superstitious people who didn't understand her special talents, or was she actually a highly trained seductress sent by enemy forces to subvert his men? More than anything Raul longed to ease his throbbing hunger in her soft white arms, but was his love a fatal weakness or an unbreakable bond forged by destiny itself?

BARTERED BRIDE Desperate to escape her leering Uncle Hugo, lovely young Juliet Darcy fled a forced marriage --- only to find herself aboard a ship full of mail-order brides bound for California and promised to a man she had never met. Darkly handsome Rodrigo Delgado had no intention of claiming a husband's rights --- until he looked into Juliet's flashing azure eyes. Here was a woman who set his passions ablaze, a woman he must take for his own, no matter what the cost. Bound to one another by hastily spoken vows, torn asunder by the fierce pride of an aristocratic California family, they battled all odds to consummate their burning love.

THE LADY After her father's accidental death, it was up to young Fancy Cranson to keep her small family together. But to survive in the pristine woodlands of the Pacific Northwest, she had to use her brains or her body. With no other choice, Fancy vowed she'd work herself to the bone before selling herself to any timberman -- even one as handsome, virile, and arrogant as Chance Dawson. THE LOGGER From the moment Chance Dawson laid eyes on Fancy, he wanted to claim her for himself. But the mighty woodsman had felled forests less stubborn than the beautiful orphan. To win her hand, he would trade his roughhewn ways for tender caresses, and brazen curses for soft words of desire. Only then would he be able to share with her a love that united them in passionate splendor.

IN HER ENEMY'S ARMS Returning to her father's Texas ranch after two years at an Eastern boarding school, silver-blonde, violet-eyed Laurel Burke was more beautiful than ever. As she stepped off the train, her gaze met that of rugged young rancher Brandon Prescott, and a long-smoldering flame was instantly rekindled. But a bitter family feud had sown seeds of distrust and hatred between the Burkes and the Prescotts, and Laurel's father was adamantly opposed to a match between his beloved daughter and his sworn enemy. Bound to one another by searing passion, Laurel and Brandon would have to overcome deceit, misunderstanding, and three generations of violent enmity before they could yield to a lifetime of ecstasy....