Featuring authors from around the globe:
Ashe Barke
Amy Rose Bennett
Vanessa Brooks
Em Brown
Ellie St. Clair
Nicola Davidson
Emmanuelle de Maupassant
Brandy Golden
Gracie Malling
Viola Morne
Carole Mortimer
Emily Murdoch
Jaye Peaches
Stacy Reid
Lauren Smith
Scarlett Scott
We hope you enjoy unwrapping these sixteen gorgeous novellas. Our authors, hailing from all over the world, are thrilled to have come together to create this sizzling set of historical romances. These stories appear chronologically, opening with a Viking tale, travelling through the centuries, and concluding in 1903.
Yuletide Yielding – by Ashe Barker
She shares his bed and he has her heart. Lynet is a powerless thrall in Stian’s household, property to be bought or sold on a whim. She adores her Viking master and knows he cares for her. But this Yuletide he is to wed and that changes everything…
Trusting Her Highland Laird – by Brandy Golden
Laird Gallagher loves his feisty Scottish beauty just as she is, but Eileen wishes to overcome her terror of the dark, and demonstrate her trust, by donning a blindfold. Will the experiment drive her fear deeper, or can he prove to her that love conquers all.
Duke of Christmas – by Ellie St. Clair
The Duke of Ware has avoided his betrothed for as long as possible in pursuit of pleasure -- until one fateful meeting. Christmastide takes on new meaning as the man who cares for nothing sets out to win his future wife.
A Christmas Masquerade – by Vanessa Brooks
The French revolution left behind a damaged angel. A bewildered child. A man in despair. Can the bitter Yuletide winds drive a Christmas miracle? Will there be enough seasonal magic to heal all three?
Peril with a Prince – by Emily Murdoch
Prince Éduard of Aviroux is hunting down the Great Whisperer – the spy helping the French nobility escape the guillotine – when thwarted by the delectable Giselle. He's never seen a woman like her: resourceful, cunning, and ready for a fight. What he doesn't realise is that she's just the spy he's looking for. Trapped on an island together, will Éduard discover Giselle's terrible secret - or will he reveal some of his own?
Her Mistletoe Promise – by Jaye Peaches
Sent home from the battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars, disgraced Lieutenant Elias Seton catches the attention of gregarious Jenny Templeton, who has fled London following a scandal. Determined to cheer him up, and with little thought for her reputation, Jenny seduces the officer and promises to keep him company every night between Christmas Day and Twelfth Night.
After their first night together, she discovers Elias is a demanding master of the bedroom. Will she be able to fulfill her promise, and what if her family discover them together?
Mistletoe Mistress – by Nicola Davidson
England, December 1813: Miss Rachel Lindsay is desperate. Abandoned at an isolated country inn on a snowy Christmas Eve, her only hope is a wealthy, stern, and sinfully handsome stranger—masquerading as her husband. Awaiting a carriage repair, Arran Elliott, Marquess of Kyle needs lodgings. And, it seems, a wife. But when their bargain turns into nights of scorching passion and sensual discipline, he can’t let the spirited and curvy beauty go. His—and her—secrets be damned…
The Gentleman’s Seduction – by Lauren Smith
Martin Banks wins a woman in a wager – the daughter of his most hated enemy, yet her spirit and passion remind him of how much he longs for love, in this Regency Christmas tale.Bastian’s Surrender – by Carole Mortimer
Abigail Brown's first meeting with Lord Bastian Forbes, the Earl of Shaftesbury, is to find him tied naked to a bed at the notorious Club Venus, where she now works. The following evening, she learns he is to be the gentleman who claims her virginity. But things are not always as they appear, and despite the unusual start to their acquaintance, Abigail quickly finds herself falling in love with the arrogant earl. However, once the earl learns of her true identity, she has every reason to believe he will never return her feelings.
My Lady of Misrule – by Amy Rose Bennett
When widowed countess Minerva, Lady Harlow, discovers a devastating secret about her late husband just before Christmas, she turns to trusted friend Sir Tristan King for support. However, when a long-denied desire flares to life—and Minerva and Tristan agree to a Twelfth Night tryst—Tristan worries a secret of his own will ruin a treasured friendship. But then again, perhaps this shared night of wicked, unbridled passion will spark an everlasting love...
A Wicked Christmas Wish – by Em Brown
In this wickedly hot Regency, a husband betrayed ventures into the realm of domination and submission to claim his estranged wife. But will his intentions to satiate his burning desires backfire and ruin Christmas?
A Bluestocking for Christmas – by Viola Morne
Addy Blye is pretty, clever, and poor. When her ailing father can’t undertake his newest contract, Addy decides to impersonate him. Arriving in Cornwall, she meets the Duke of Trelawney, who is furious at her deception. Handsome and powerful, he stirs Addy’s darkest desires, but can she trust the duke with her heart?
The Marriage Game – by Gracie Malling
In Victorian England, a Christmas parlour game goes awry when Anna, a virtuous young lady, finds herself upended over the lap of David, her best friend’s rakish older brother. Now, it’s Christmas two years later and David has returned home from the British Army determined to make Anna his bride. But can she trust that he’s serious, or is this just another of his games? Wicked Deeds on a Winter Night – by Stacy Reid
Primrose Markham and Captain Gabriel Northcote cannot deny the burning hunger between them. Will a wicked night of passion on a winter's night lead to the greatest love? Or only to betrayal?
The Night Before Scandal – by Scarlett Scott
When a handsome lord and an eccentric lady meet in the midst of a blizzard at a country house party, scandal is not far behind. What happens in a carriage does not always stay in a carriage, and Lord Harry and Lady Alexandra are forced to make a match to avoid ruination. Will they find true love together by Christmas day?
Master of the Moor – by Emmanuelle de Maupassant
After more than twenty years in exile, Lord Mallon returns to his native Dartmoor – a place vast and barren and mysterious – and there meets the charming Comtessa de Rosselline. Neither believe in love, but the attraction between them is immediate, and irresistible. Can they defy the ghosts of the past, allowing their tempestuous affair to become something more?
Excerpt from Yuletide Yielding by Ashe Barker
He paused, eyed her with a curious blend of exasperation and something else also. Something softer, warmer, more compassionate. “You did not hope to wed me yourself, did you? You must realise that is impossible.”
“I know that. I have never said—”
“But you have wanted it? Wished it could be so?”
“Perhaps,” she whispered. “But I am not a fool. I am a thrall. Vikings do not marry thralls.”
“They do, on occasion. But I am not merely a Viking. My brother is the jarl. I have responsibilities. Even so, I do not wish to hurt you, and I would prefer that you could be content with what we have.”
But even if you are not, it is happening anyway. The words lay unspoken between them.
His expression hardened. “I have said all I wish to on this matter. We will not speak of it further.”
“Very well.” Resigned to her situation since she could not alter it, and to her coming punishment, Lynet stared at her bare toes. “Do you want me to take off my clothes?” Apart from the blanket and Stian’s cloak, she wore only her thin, rough woollen night smock.
“I do. Then you may arrange yourself across my lap.” Stian started to unfasten the leather belt around his waist.
“You would beat me with your belt?” Lynet recoiled. “I had thought you meant just to spank me.”
“Disobedience alone would have merited a spanking. Your dishonesty requires something a little sterner by way of correction. So, you will undress then come here, Lynet, and accept your punishment.”
More about Ashe Barker
Ashe Barker wiles away her time in the wilds of Yorkshire, England, writing smutty books and drinking Earl Grey tea. She loves writing historical stories and has a particular passion for hot, sexy Vikings.
When not writing Ashe enjoys digital photography, reading erotic stories, pole dancing (though not especially well), and listening to Bon Jovi. Loud.
