The second sensual historical romance in the Mistress Matchmaker series from USA Today Bestselling Author Jess Michaels. A mistress should never be foolish enough to fall in love with her protector, nor trust him with her financial future. Mariah Desmond did both, and now her dearly departed protector has left her with nothing. Forced to seek another protector, she's determined that this time, she'll lead with her survival instinct-not her heart. But when she attends one of Vivien Manning's infamous parties, the familiar face of her late lover's best friend throws her for a loop. A painful past taught John Rycroft that he's not fit to be anyone's knight in shining armor. His soft spot-make that a hard spot-for Mariah is precisely why he's kept his distance. Yet the sight of her flirting with a bevy of men vying to become her next lover makes something inside him snap. As John hauls her bodily away from her suitors, Mariah's indignation melts away in the heat of the sizzling sexual chemistry. She quickly finds it isn't easy to navigate John's stormy emotional waters. Especially when his abusive father's quest to get his son back under his thumb puts her life in danger. Length: Full Length Novel Heat Level: Lots. This book is the second book in the Mistress Matchmaker series.

Explaining how to become a Christian hedonist, a bestselling author offers guidance on how to find spiritual joy to readers who are unsure of where to seek it.

In this addition to the award-winning Church and Postmodern Culture series, respected theologian Daniel Bell compares and contrasts capitalism and Christianity, showing how Christianity provides resources for faithfully navigating the postmodern global economy. Bell approaches capitalism and Christianity as alternative visions of humanity, God, and the good life. Considering faith and economics in terms of how desire is shaped, he casts the conflict as one between different disciplines of desire. He engages the work of two important postmodern philosophers, Deleuze and Foucault, to illuminate the nature of the postmodern world that the church currently inhabits. Bell then considers how the global economy deforms desire in a manner that distorts human relations with God and one another. In contrast, he presents Christianity and the tradition of the works of mercy as a way beyond capitalism and socialism, beyond philanthropy and welfare. Christianity heals desire, renewing human relations and enabling communion with God.

The transformative new book from “one of the most important American poets at work today” (Dunya Mikhail) I am content because before me looms the hope of love. I do not have it; I do not yet have it. It is a bird strong enough to lead me by the rope it bites; unless I pull, it is strong enough for me. I do worry the end of my days might come and I will not yet have it. But even then I will be brave upon my deathbed, and why shouldn’t I be? I held things here, and I felt them. —From “Psalm 40” The poems in Katie Ford’s fourth collection implore their audience—the divine and the human—for attention, for revelation, and, perhaps above all, for companionship. The extraordinary sequence at the heart of this book taps into the radical power of the sonnet form, bending it into a kind of metaphysical and psychological outcry. Beginning in the cramped space of selfhood—in the bedroom, cluttered with doubts, and in the throes of marital loss—these poems edge toward the clarity of “what I can know and admit to knowing.” In song and in silence, Ford inhabits the rooms of anguish and redemption with scouring exactness. This is poetry that “can break open, // it can break your life, it will break you // until you remain.” If You Have to Go is Ford’s most luminous and moving collection.

"The book studies conflict based on the imitation of others' desire in international politics. It also looks at studies of agency and structure, normative change, peace, and reconciliation"--

Are you a single adult who sometimes feels isolated, vulnerable, and alone? Like everyone else you want to be known and understood; you don't want to feel invisible. You want to be included and cared about. You don't want to be lonely; you want to be connected to someone. So how do you find the intimacy and relationship you desire? Jayne V. Clark, an experienced counselor, explains that the remedy for loneliness isn't a change in your circumstances; it's a relationship with a person: Jesus Christ. As your relationship with him deepens, you will be able to use the practical strategies outlined here to move toward people in genuine love.

A rake in tarnished armor… Desdemona Carlisle has spent most of her young life dreaming of a knight in shining armor. When a dashing figure in midnight-black riding a snow-white steed comes to rescue her from the ruffians who have kidnapped her, she believes her destiny has finally arrived. She surrenders herself to the masked stranger’s embrace only to discover her rescuer is none other than Harry Braxton, the scoundrel who stole her heart when she was just a girl, adding it to his collection of exotic treasures as if it were just another trinket. Harry Braxton doesn’t want to be any woman’s knight-errant. He plays the role of notorious rake to hide the dangerous secret that has kept him from offering Desdemona his own heart. But his tarnished armor soon begins to crumple beneath the irresistible assault of Desdemona’s sparkling wit, her dazzling beauty, her teasing and tender touch. As a legendary treasure hunter, he never dreamed he’d be forced to give up the most priceless treasure of all. When Lord Ravenscroft, Harry’s aristocratic cousin, comes courting, Desdemona makes a startling discovery. She might yearn for a hero, but what she really needs is a man—the only man who can fulfill all of her desires… “Connie Brockway’s work brims with warmth, wit, sensuality and intelligence.”—Amanda Quick, New York Times bestselling author “If it’s smart, sexy, and impossible to put down, it’s a book by Connie Brockway!”—Christina Dodd, New York Times bestselling author “If you’re looking for passion, tenderness, wit, and warmth, you need look no further. Connie Brockway is simply the best.”—Teresa Medeiros, New York Times bestselling author “Connie Brockway’s work belongs on every reader’s shelf!”—Romantic Times “Connie Brockway delivers romance with strength, wit, and intelligence.”—Tami Hoag, New York Times bestselling author “Brockway’s lush, lyrical writing style is a perfect match for her vivid characters, beautiful atmospheric setting, and sensuous love scenes.” — Library Journal