Conquered Bride

After losing his betrothed, Ceana, to a Lowlander, Laird Gabriel MacKinnon is charged with saving her cousin along with a brood of children from an impenetrable castle. Though the lady he's been tasked to protect has been accused of a heinous crime, Gabriel has no fear of her. In fact, he's a little irritated at the prospect of delivering her to her kin. But this hardened, cold warrior just may find his heart melting, for the hellion brings out a passionate side he'd thought long buried. Lady Brenna has had more than her share of hardships, and when freedom looks to be on the brink of her horizon, she's not about to let some moody Highlander take it all away. She'll stop at nothing to keep her children safe-and to guard her heart-even though the warrior's heated kiss threatens to change every vow she's ever made and every belief about love she's ever known. Contains mature themes.

Lady Kirstin MacNeacaill is determined to lead a life of piety in hopes of erasing a past filled with pain and transgressions. She takes vows at the abbey on the Isle of Skye that has sheltered her since she was a girl. But when Scotland erupts in turmoil and she is sent as an envoy to Melrose, she runs straight into one of her past transgressions. Old feelings arise, never truly forgotten. Forced to face her past, she must choose between penance and allowing herself to fall passionately in love all over again. Laird Gregor Buchanan receives devastating news for Scotland and must travel to Melrose, where Robert the Bruce is laying low. With his country divided between those who are for Scottish Independence and those who have sided with the English, he must ferret out those who threaten their very freedom. On his way to meet his future king, Gregor intercepts a small party, coming face-to-face with the woman he's always loved and never forgotten. For the past ten years he'd searched for her, never coming close. Gregor does not want to let her go this time, and he's praying she'll give him a second chance. Contains mature themes.

A widower, Laird Torsten Mackenzie, has worked long and hard to regain the respect his clan deserved after his older brother turned traitorous. Even in death, Cathal's crimes remain a mar on Torsten's conscience. Setting aside his grief, Torsten devotes his life to his people and to his young, motherless daughter. When a rival clan attacks his lands unprovoked, he's determined to put them in their place once and for all. Marching on their gates, he's taken by surprise when Lady MacDonell steps through the opening instead of her wayward husband. Reacting impulsively, Torsten exacts his revenge by whisking her away. Headstrong and fierce, Éabha MacDonell's true nature has been buried for six long years in a marriage that fills her with shame and that has kept her tucked in the shadows. But the death of her husband, and being forced from the only home she's ever known, brings freedom in a way she'd never imagined. It leaves her free to rediscover parts of herself she'd thought never to behold again-her love of art, her desire for children. But most of all, she now feels the tug at her heart, the warmth of a secret glance, and the heat of a passionate embrace. Contains mature themes.

She was supposed to be his prize . . . But not all rewards are sweet . . . Laird Brody Keith, Marischal of Scotland, has been asked by his future king to travel with William Wallace to Dunnottar Castle, where they will seize the castle back from the English. If he completes his mission, the castle, the land and all it holds, will be his. Brody is more than eager to sink his blade into the hearts of his enemies after the brutal murder of his sister and father. But what he doesn't count on is finding an English lass in need of his protection . . . Lady Guinevere has led a less than pleasant life in Scotland over the past year, and now she can either run for her life, or accept the proposal of a man who should be her enemy. Survival bids her to acquiesce, but that doesn't mean she has to play nice. Except, she's coming to adore the people whom she's always been told she should hate, and respect the man who risked his life for her. Joined for a mutual purpose, Brody and Guinevere seem doomed from the start, but as time passes, and their true enemies draw closer, they'll form an alliance that not even the devil himself can break. Contains mature themes.

Suffering through a short marriage to an enemy of Scotland, Lady Emilia MacCulloch manages to escape just before her husband dies. But the Ross Clan will stop at nothing to get her back, for she plays a big part in their plans to thwart Robert the Bruce. She fears not only for her life, but for her family who will be labeled traitors. Placed by her king as a governess in the household of a devastatingly handsome warrior, Emilia finds herself drawn to the man when she had previously sworn off love altogether. Ian Matheson has spent his entire life trying to prove himself. When his father passes away and his mother takes her vows at a nearby abbey, he is suddenly left in a position he was wholly unprepared for. And then his father's dozen illegitimate children arrive on his doorstep in need of a father figure of their own. They are adorable and reckless, and he's certain they'll drive him mad. Just when he thinks he might actually need to find a wife to help him, Lady Emilia is presented to him by the king. She needs his protection and he needs her help with the bairns. Ian is tempted by her angelic face, her fiery tongue, and the secrets that surround her. He must resist his growing desire and prove to his clan that he is a worthy leader. But maybe he can have the respect of his people and Emilia, too. Contains mature themes.

When she needed a champion . . . He raised his sword . . . While besieging an enemy castle, Laird Douglas Hay comes across the half-frozen body of a lass. She's obviously one of the enemy, but he cannot allow her to die. Besides, as his captive, she could bring a hefty ransom. He revives her, a task easier managed than her fiery temper and the intense desire heating his veins. Taken as a prisoner by the brutish warrior, Lady Annora Comyn is determined to make her escape. Secretly, she believes the war between the Comyns and the Bruce is ridiculous, that the vying for the crown should have died the day her royal brother was murdered. Annora struggles internally with the notion of letting men fight their battles or putting herself forward as collateral in a treaty to unite the warring Scots. After all, there are far worse things than having to kiss Laird Hay every day for the rest of her life . . . Contains mature themes.