Re-introduce yourself to the Steele family in these two latest novels in the Forged of Steele series from New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson — collected here in one volume! Claimed by a Steele Agreeing a PR stunt would be good for business, trucking CEO Gannon Steele invites reporter Delphine Ryland to hitch a ride cross-country. Soon, he’s keeping his eyes on his sexy passenger instead of on the destination ahead, and when the trip turns from strictly business to strictly pleasure, the consequences might be more than this rough-and-ready bachelor can handle… Previously published. Seduced by a Steele When the “thief” caught driving his stolen vintage car turns out to be a stunning runaway heiress, Mercury Steele is conflicted. On the one hand, Sloan Donahue, penniless and on the run from her tyrannical family, triggers the billionaire playboy’s protective instincts. But she also triggers red-hot desire. Mercury refuses to think his simple seduction is becoming something deeper, especially when Sloan is keeping secrets… Previously published. Read the entire fan-favorite Forged of Steele series: Book 1: Never Too Late Book 2: Solid Soul Book 3: Night Heat Book 4: Beyond Temptation Book 5: Risky Pleasures Book 6: Irresistible Forces Book 7: Intimate Seduction Book 8: Hidden Pleasures Book 9: A Steele for Christmas Book 10: Private Arrangements Book 11: Possessed by Passion Book 12: Seduced by a Steele Book 13: Claimed by a Steele

Indulge in this tale of ultimate seduction from New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson, part of the bingeworthy Forged of Steele series. Perfect for fans of the popular Westmoreland series and readers of passionate contemporary romances! This playboy CEO is handsome, successful and always in the driver’s seat… but is he ready for the wildest ride of his life? Agreeing that a PR stunt would be good for business; trucking company CEO, Gannon Steele invites reporter Delphine Ryland to hitch a ride cross-country. Soon, he’s keeping his eyes on his sexy passenger instead of the destination ahead, and when the trip turns from strictly business to strictly pleasure, the consequences might be more than this rough-and-ready bachelor can handle… From Harlequin Desire: Luxury, scandal, desire—welcome to the lives of the American elite. Forged of Steele: Book1: Never Too Late Book 2: Solid Soul Book 3: Night Heat Book 4: Beyond Temptation Book 5: Risky Pleasures Book 6: Irresistible Forces Book 7: Intimate Seduction Book 8: Hidden Pleasures Book 9: A Steele for Christmas Book 10: Private Arrangements Book 11: Possessed by Passion Book 12: Seduced by a Steele Book 13: Claimed by a Steele

Though the law and courts of nineteenth-century Peru were institutions created by and for the ruling elite, women of all classes used the system to negotiate the complexities of property rights, childrearing, and marriage, and often to defend their very definitions of honor. Drawing on the trial transcripts of Cajamarca, a northern Peruvian province, from more than a century ago, this book shares eye-opening details about life among this community, in which reputation could determine a woman's chances of survival. Exploring the processes of courtship, seduction, and familial duties revealed in these court records, historian Tanja Christiansen has unearthed a compelling panorama that includes marital strife, slander, disobedience, street brawls, and spousal abuse alongside documents that give evidence of affection and devotion. Her research also yields much new information about the protocols for conflict and cooperation among nineteenth-century Peruvian women from all social strata, and the prevalence of informal unions in an economy driven in large part by migratory male labor. Reviving a little-known aspect of Latin American history, Christiansen's book simultaneously brings to light an important microcosm of women's history during the nineteenth century.

An heirloom ruby. That’s where Sarah Walsh’s troubles began. Oh and sex. That came into the equation when she met Flynn Wangford. Now he has her jewel and she wants it back. Bad boy Flynn is causing trouble again. Sarah and fellow spy, sometimes lover Thomas MacIntyre attend Lord Maxwell’s society birthday party, their assignment to protect the British prime minister and royal guest Princess Leila from Mundavia while keeping an eye on Flynn Wangford. For Sarah it’s a chance to retrieve her ruby, an opportunity she fully intends to exploit. Somehow, she’ll juggle official duties and best the cocky Australian. But before she knows it, Sarah is alone with Flynn and somehow they end up horizontal. The sex is explosive and hot, hot, hot, but she can’t stop thinking about Thomas. Two men. They’re so different yet both are delectable and very distracting for a woman with a mission. Sarah must concentrate on recovering her ruby but it seems she and Flynn aren’t the only players in the quest to secure the gemstone. Thomas wants the ruby as well. Warning: This is a tongue-in-cheek story—an adventurous caper with a prized jewel for the winner. If you’re looking for a serious thriller, this isn’t the book for you. It also contains same-gender and ménage a trois sex scenes.

Based on a detailed study of Australia's earliest civil court records - a million handwritten words about daily life and trade - Debt, Seduction and Other Disasters covers the turbulent years in the penal colony. This was a period when starvation was barely averted, emancipated convicts contended with one another to become wealthy through trade, and Aborigines fought for their land. Soldiers and governors struggled for power, culminating in the overthrow of Governor Bligh, the only military coup on Australian soil. In this important and entertaining book, Kercher: shows the remarkable egalitarianism of life in the colony, even for serving convicts and married women discusses the invention and legal consequences of tickets of leave and the central role of law in creating the local version of freedom reveals details of daily social and economic life unavailable elsewhere: the seduction cases and sexual scandals; details of the wheat farm at Woolloomooloo; the problems of the grain growers at the Hawkesbury provides unique information about working conditions of: convicts the seal killers in New Zealand and Macquarie Island sailors the very few Aborigines who worked alongside Europeans details:the first case in Australia in which an Aborigine sued (he lost) the first recorded sale of a wife (at Windsor in 1811; sale void) the case in which Mary Reibey was alleged to have blown up the bakery next door (she won) the sharp practices of Tommy the Banker, Dick the Needle and the petty bankers who deliberately wrote their documents in fading ink describes the lives of the convict women who lived with officers but were abandoned explodes the myth that rum was a major currency and explains the use of alternative currencies, such as wheat, and establishes the crucial role of pigs in town life.

Chocolate and sugar, alcohol and tobacco, peyote and hallucinogenic mushrooms—these seductive substances have been a nexus of desire for both pleasure and profit in Mesoamerica since colonial times. But how did these substances seduce? And when and how did they come to be desired and then demanded, even by those who had never encountered them before? The contributors to this volume explore these questions across a range of times, places, and peoples to discover how the individual pleasures of consumption were shaped by social, cultural, economic, and political forces. Focusing on ingestible substances as a group, which has not been done before in the scholarly literature, the chapters in Substance and Seduction trace three key links between colonization and commodification. First, as substances that were taken into the bodies of both colonizers and colonized, these foods and drugs participated in unexpected connections among sites of production and consumption; racial and ethnic categories; and free, forced, and enslaved labor regimes. Second, as commodities developed in the long transition from mercantile to modern capitalism, each substance in some way drew its enduring power from its ability to seduce: to stimulate bodies; to alter minds; to mark class, social, and ethnic boundaries; and to generate wealth. Finally, as objects of scholarly inquiry, each substance rewards interdisciplinary approaches that balance the considerations of pleasure and profit, materiality and morality, and culture and political economy.

The Greek’s terms? She must wear his diamond! Lysandros Drakakis always gets what he wants, and he’s never stopped wanting beautiful pianist Rio Armstrong! A fake engagement to please his family is the perfect opportunity to uncover why she walked away from their powerful connection…and indulge their still-sizzling desire under the Mediterranean sun. But Rio’s heartbreaking revelation changes the stakes—he’s given her his ring, yet now Lysandros finds himself wanting to give Rio everything… Enjoy this dramatic fake engagement romance!

Mistakes are easy. It’s fixing them that can make or break a marriage. Caroline Rutherford is at the end of her marriage tether. As much as she loves her husband, it’s time to admit defeat. Their long-term, love-at-first-sight relationship is no longer working, and they’re hurting each other and their two young sons by continuing the happy family farce. Feline shifter Marsh Rutherford knows his relationship is in trouble, and he and Caroline, his human wife, haven’t shared a bed for months. He made a mistake at the start of their marriage, omitting to tell the truth, and now the secrets are strangling their happiness. Admitting the reality to himself is simple, but finding a solution to fix the problem is tearing him apart because reality has the potential to destroy what little trust remains between him and his wife. Their future looks murky until a new opportunity presents itself—a fresh start for the entire family, a means for husband and wife to reconnect in and out of the bedroom. Caroline and Marsh agree to grasp the chance for a new future. Things are going well and their sex life has never been better, but those mysterious secrets hover in the background like pesky flies. Marsh must discover a way to make everything right because Caroline is his mate and the only woman who can make him happy. Losing her isn’t an option. Warning: contains a sexy feline shapeshifter felled by a good woman. He’s confused and befuddled and makes mistakes, but it’s not too late, folks. We can fix this mess with love, with tears and a few humorous mishaps during the romantic journey. Fingers crossed…let’s go!