Donovan's Bed

Finding the truth will take some fast talking—and a faster gun.

Calhoun Sisters, Book 2

Susannah Calhoun has always been able to charm her way into anything she wants. But when she is arrested for a murder she didn’t commit, she realizes there’s no sweet talking her way out of this one. The victim is the brother of a U.S. Senator, who demands Susannah be tried in his home city of Denver. He’s even summoned a U.S. Marshal to make sure she gets there.

Marshal Jedidiah Brown reluctantly accepts the assignment as a favor to a friend. He already knows Susannah’s trouble from the way sparks flew the first time they met, but he doesn’t believe her a murderer. When a lynch mob busts her out of jail and tries to hang her, Jedidiah realizes he has to buy time to prove her innocence.

Pursued by the man who would see Susannah dead, the road to Denver is filled with peril as they search for the witness who could clear her name. Their time alone on the road brings them closer than ever, but the witness proves elusive, and Denver looms on the horizon—the end of a journey that could end with love. Or the gallows.

First published by Avon in March 2001

From the wonderfully romantic and creative pen of Debra Mullins, here is an exciting and sensuous tale about two people who overcome a dark past to find an everlasting love.

The Groom: Rogan Hunt has no need for a wife. After a stint in prison, he is only concerned with rebuilding the coffers of his estates. But then the Duke of Belvingham makes him an offer only a fool would refuse .

The Bride: Lady Caroline Ware is horrified when her father arranges her marriage with a man said to have a wild temper and an even wilder reputation. But the Duke is dying, and Caroline has no choice but to agree.

The Marriage: Caroline could not have imagined that her husband would be so tender, so warm, so . sensual. Rogan was expecting a meek and timid wife, but instead Caroline is vibrant, charming and . passionate. Will this marriage turn into something they have secretly hoped it would be? Or will the real reason behind it finally come to light, destroying them both?

Her love will capture the ultimate treasure—his heart.

Diana Covington is a dutiful daughter with a boring future all mapped out for her. A shipping fortune and lush Jamaican estate that will someday be hers, a husband of her father’s choice. Romance and Caribbean adventure exist only in her dreams, in which the Black Spaniard, El Moreno, plays a starring role.

Until she is kidnapped by the evil pirate Marcus, and her girlish fantasies quickly turn to nightmares.

Alex Rawnsley’s dark Spanish looks makes him the perfect choice to take on the identity of El Moreno. His mission is to bring Marcus to justice, but his heart thirsts for blood. Vengeance for his brother’s murder is within his grasp when Diana’s kidnapping throws a hitch in his strategy.

Snatching her from Marcus’s clutches is easy enough, but what to do with her now? He cannot return her home lest she be taken again. He has no choice but to keep the distracting, innocent beauty aboard his ship. In his cabin. In his bed. The temptation to make her his own grows stronger by the hour…but opening his heart to love may forever close the door on his quest for revenge.

Originally published in 1999 by Avon Books

Warning: Contains sweeping, high-seas adventure, a feisty heroine who doesn’t let maidenly innocence stop her from unbuckling the hero’s swash, and a hero who finds himself walking the plank of love.

Phillip Crawford, the eighth Earl of Rawlings and notorious rake of the ton, has come to the end of his rope. Out of money, out of favor, and out of luck, he wanders the streets of London in the rain, hoping to be hit by inspiration...or a runaway carriage. Something has to give. It is his father's final cruel trick to hold his inheritance just out of reach, requiring him to marry by his next birthday in order to claim his full rights as earl. His step-mother refuses to offer him any more support. With no money, no prospects and no other place to turn, he has only two options:

Marriage or debtor's prison.

The better choice seems clear enough, but with his name and reputation being attacked daily in the society papers, there's not a proper lady in all of London desperate enough to accept him. It isn't going to be easy, even if the reports of his exploits and rakish lifestyle are greatly exaggerated.

On the other hand, debtor's prison does start to look much more appealing when the only friends he has left decide to help him in his search for the perfect bride. Matters become much more complicated when the only woman who shows an interest in him just happens to be the young sister-in-law of the Duke of Tempest; the same man who, just months ago, had been tempted to kill him.

One thing is for certain, as the Season draws to an end, Lord Rawlings will have to decide once and for all, if his wicked ways are enough to bring him contentment in life, or if a leopard really can change his spots. Or in Phillip's case—can a devil truly be redeemed?

Two years ago, Lady Emmeline cried off from her engagement to Viscount Denby, fearing he was a fortune hunter and would never be faithful. On her way to meet the family of the staid man she plans to marry, Denby waylays her. He takes Emmeline off to a secluded garden folly, hoping that a night of passion will rekindle the love between them and convince her that they belong together.

LADY EM’S INDISCRETION is an original, sexy Regency novella (short story) by award-winning author Elena Greene. Length: about 13,000 words (7 chapters). Sensuality: Erotic. Lovemaking scenes are central to the story.

"I release you..." were the last words Rosalind remembered before her world went black. Stefan, the future duke of Montmouth, no doubt thought his words were welcomed but he couldn't have been more wrong. Oh, he was handsome as a pagan Norse god, but that was unimportant when her life as well as those of her family hung in the balance.

With less than six weeks left, Rosalind has stopped believing in the fairy tale, the prince on the white horse, and the stolen kiss that would awaken her from her worst nightmares. Resigned to her fate, she waits for the inevitable curse to run it’s course.

"We must marry at once!" Stefan declared, fully expecting Rosalind to be delighted that he had come to save her, but he was sorely mistaken. Rosalind was no simpering docile female; she was a fiery temptress with a stubborn streak only matched by his horse, Samson. Insulting, infuriating, intoxicating and alluring enough to drive a man mad. Stefan found himself thankful for the curse that required him marry her, thankful for the betrothal contract he had so recently tried to release her from...With the fortitude of a sailor shipwrecked, abandoned, and a solider warring for his life Stefan decides to lay siege to the greatest prize, Rosalind's heart.

Driven to distraction by the redhead across the room, Anthony Benson barely hears the terms of his brother’s challenge before agreeing to them.

No matter. It will be easy. Viscount Maddox has never had any problem impressing the ladies. And four weeks is more than enough time to win over this so obviously neglected wallflower.

But things are never as easy as they seem.

The lady has lofty aspirations. And not one of them includes love or marriage. Especially not with an arrogant and self-assured playboy like the viscount. No matter how attractive he may be.

Winner, Readers' Choice Award for Best Novella, 2001!

Determined to convince his trustees that he is ready to settle down and take control of his estate, Julian Ardleigh, Viscount Debenham, proposes marriage to Harriet “Harry” Woodford, his childhood friend.

Since her one disastrous London Season, Harry has been content to live in the country breeding and training horses. She has no intention of marrying anyone, least of all her rakish friend.

Julian persists, so Harry tells him she will marry him if he can avoid so much as kissing another woman for three months. The wager is on, but neither gambles on losing their hearts!

THE WEDDING WAGER was originally published in the Zebra Regency anthology HIS BLUSHING BRIDE, a Romantic Times Top Pick. It won the National Readers’ Choice Award for Best Novella in 2001. Length: about 20,000 words (80 pages in print version). Sensuality: sweet (kisses).

Reviews for the original anthology, His Blushing Bride:

“There is nothing quite like a cozy Regency read, and this charming anthology with three first-rate tales is one to savor with enthusiasm.” (4 1/2 stars) — Romantic Times

“’Tis the season for weddings and His Blushing Bride offers readers three charming stories of romance and happily-ever-after. Each tale is delightfully different, but all are well-written, with refreshingly original plots and intriguing characters. For an entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable celebration of love and marriage, I recommend His Blushing Bride.” — Susan Lantz, Romance Reviews Today

The earl of Shaftesbury's countess must be refined. Cultured. Perfect. It was a lesson that proper Evelyn Ashley-Cooper had learned flawlessly over six oppressive years of marriage. Even when widowhood freed her from the prison her life had become, Eve still floundered under the veneer of perfection that her domineering husband demanded, unable to unleash the lively girl she once was from the confines of her prim exterior.

But when her long-lost first love Francis MacKintosh, earl Glenrothes reappears in her life, Eve is tempted by the desire to escape her proper façade and the longing to truly live once again. Discovering that enticement alone cannot overrule years of tyranny, Eve struggles between her old self and the new, between yearning to be with him and a determination never to put herself under the thumb of another man - even one she discovers she still loves as much as her Glenrothes.

Since meeting a vivacious, young Eve many years before, Francis MacKintosh has become a man embittered by life, by a wife who has made him a cuckold to the whole of Scotland and by a humiliating divorce that has rained scandal down upon the heads of himself and his family for years. Never had he thought that he would find Eve, his Eden, once again or that he would dare push aside his disdain of the fairer sex, to trust and love once more. But for Eve, for the love and happiness he is suddenly certain they can find only in each other, he finds himself willing to take a chance.

If only he might convince his true love to do the same!

Francis' seduction and ability to blend her proper side with the spirited Eve of years past lure the countess back to him but just when happiness seems but a step away, their mutual pasts will come crashing down around them attempting to tear them apart and Eve and Francis will have to risk their lives for a future together.

The question remains, will their rediscovered love be enough to conquer all?

Who said being bad wasn't oh so good?

Benedict Devlyn, Duke of Banbury, has one thing on his mind and it isn't marriage. But things take a turn for the worse when his menacing aunt throws a hitch in his plans to remain the most sinful and talked about man in the ton. After all, a man cannot keep the reputation of being The Devil Duke when he is leg-shackled to some simpering spinster.

But his aunt, bless her heart, thinks she's dying, and believes her nephew’s behavior is the only thing standing in the way between her entrance to heaven or hell. So she very lovingly and selflessly sets him up. With his childhood nemesis.

A young woman who, though she claims it was an accident, has nearly killed him thrice through her lack of grace and manners. It matters not that the minute he sets eyes on her at the Christmas ball, his blood boils with lust. He refuses to allow himself to fall prey to his aunt’s ministrations.

That is, until he is compromised and stuck in an engagement to a girl who claims she'd rather jump from a moving carriage than marry him. Funny thing that, for the very minute she says no, he finds his heart very much wants to say yes. When she doesn't leap at the chance to marry him, he sets about to not only prove that he's worthy of her favor, but also worthy of her heart.