New Releases by Stephanie Laurens

They proved their bravery fighting for His Majesty''s Secret Service and were rewarded with brides of great beauty and breeding. But one member of the Bastion Club has remained a bachelor . . . until now. "Christian, I need your help. There is no one else I can turn to . . . L." When Christian Allardyce, 6th Marquess of Dearne, reads those words, his world turns upside down. Lady Letitia Randall is a woman like no other, and the day he left her behind to fight for king and country was the most difficult of his life. He never forgot the feel of her lips against his, but never expects to see her again. Yet now she seeks his help, and Christian knows he will not resist her plea. Letitia believes that Christian abandoned her when she needed him most, and she hates to call on his aid. But to clear her brother''s name, she has sworn to use every weapon at her command, even if it means seducing her ex-lover. Yet all the while, Christian is waging a war of his own—a campaign of pure pleasure and sweet revenge that will take them both beyond the edge of desire.

The gentlemen of the Bastion Club have proven their courage while fighting England''s enemies, but nothing has prepared them for dealing with that most formidable of challenges: the opposite sex. Deverell, Viscount Paignton, needs a wife and believes he''s discovered her—not swanning about like a typical debutante, but in the library with her nose buried in a book! Phoebe Malleson is tempted to distraction by Deverell, yet marrying him isn''t part of her plan. But telling him to go away doesn''t work . . . and he quickly learns of the secret she''s been trying to hide. Someone powerful has her pet cause targeted for destruction—and now she must accept Deverell''s help . . . though the cost to them both might be dear—and deadly.

Meet the gentlemen of the Bastion Club. The Earl of Crowhurst recklessly swears he''ll marry the next woman to cross his path, never expecting he''d have to fulfill this pledge.

For no gentleman is this more true than Charles Morwellan, the eighth Earl of Meredith. Although he''s seen the many successful unions of his Cynster connections, he has also watched his father''s obsessions nearly destroy their family and fortune, a mistake Charles will not repeat. But as Lord Meredith he must marry, so he offers for Sarah, the daughter of his neighbors Lord and Lady Conningham. She''s intelligent enough to run his social life, beautiful enough to grace his arm, and old enough to know the value of his offer. For most young ladies of the ton, the right marriage is the culmination of years of training, perfect deportment, and intricate plans that would impress a general. But as a lady of independent means with a life of her own, Sarah is unwilling to wed unless it is for unbounded love. But Charles always gets what he wants. He convinces Sarah to give him two weeks to win her; if he succeeds, they will marry immediately. And so begins an intense courtship. By day, Charles and Sarah are models of decorum indulging in innocuous walks, polite conversation, sedate waltzes. Each night they steal away to the lush, moonlit gardens, where sensual embraces turn to searing kisses, and much, much more. Both are swept away on a tide of passion and feeling neither can resist. And yet, after the wedding, despite nights of insatiable passion, Charles remains aloof, as if the near-sinful sweetness of their nights exists only in a dream. Sarah battles to prove that true love is a force that can''t be contained, a gift worth fighting for, but it''s only when she''s engulfed in a web of increasingly dangerous incidents that Charles discovers how much he''s willing to surrender to protect . . . the taste of innocence.

The internationally bestselling author continues her extraordinary success with this lushly romantic new tale featuring the wildly poplar Cynsters.

Jack, Baron Warnefleet, narrowly avoids marriage when he flees London for the refuge of his estate. But there waits Lady Clarice Altwood, whose beauty is impossible to ignore.

The passion is endless and it''s only just begun in these four scintillating tales of brides-to-be by four of today''s hottest romance authors... My Scandalous Bride Christina Dodd, "The Lady and the Tiger" Laura Haver will stop at nothing to find out who killed her brother-even if it means posing as the wife of notorious rogue Keefe Leighton, the Earl of Hamilton. But things go too far when Keefe engages Laura in an artful game of seduction-a game that can have only one winner... Stephanie Laurens, "Melting Ice" Once, Dyan St. Laurent Dare, Duke of Darke, dreamed of making Lady Fiona his bride. Now they''re together again-at a scandalous dinner party where debauchery is the menu''s main course. But will wedding bells ring after the guests get their just desserts? Celeste Bradley, "Wedding Knight" Alfred Knight will do anything to avoid a scandal-even marry a woman he barely knows. But his bride has a most titillating secret...one she''ll share as soon as she conquers her temptation for the man she was never supposed to marry! Leslie LaFoy, "The Proposition" Rennick St. James, the Earl of Parnell, has four days to seduce London''s most popular widow into becoming his wife-or else she''ll marry another man. It won''t be easy...but Rennick has been lusting after the beguiling Julia Hamilton far too long to let her go now... Look Inside for an Excerpt to Christina Dodd''s brand new contemporary romance

The promise in a kiss: a Christmas novel/ Stephanie Laurens.