Reproduction of the original: Desert Love by Joan Conquest

I want her. She intrigues me, this fiery Scottish wench. I mean to have her. I shall survive. I will not weaken. This English lord can do as he will with me, but I shall never surrender. It is the year 1490. Stephen Parnell, Marquis of Otterburn, has been sent by Henry VII, the new Tudor monarch, to guard his northern shires against the ferocious Scots. Battle-hardened by years spent in the service of his king, Stephen is more than equal to the task and has no hesitation in hunting down the rievers who have laid waste to his people's crops. However, his skills as a warlord are no use to him when faced with the fiery little Scottish wench he captures in battle and decides to keep as his own, for a while at least. Flora MacKinnon is used to taking charge. Her ailing father needs her, and she is determined to do what must be done to serve her clan. She does not expect to be taken captive by a mighty English warlord and certainly does not intend to anger him so much that she finds herself lashed to a post awaiting a whipping. But events take an unexpected turn. Will the mighty Marquis of Otterburn follow his heart or his head? And, when tragedy threatens, can Stephen protect those dearest to him? Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. If such content upsets you, please do not purchase this book.

Of all of history's great romances, few can compare with that of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin. Their turbulent and complicated relationship shocked their contemporaries and continues to intrigue observers of Russia centuries later. Lovers, companions, and, most likely, husband and wife, Catherine and Potemkin were also close political partners, and for a time Potemkin served as Catherine's de facto co-ruler of the Russian Empire. Their letters offer an intimate glimpse into the lovers' unguarded moments, revealing both ecstatic expressions of love and candid insights on eighteenth-century politics. In February 1774, the Russian empress took Grigory Potemkin for her lover and, it is now believed, secretly married him a few months later. Particularly in the first two years of their relationship, Catherine was consumed by her passion for Potemkin. The hundreds of letters and notes she dashed off to him between assignations in the Winter Palace during this time attest to the giddy exuberance of the new love that so fully embraced her. Love and Conquest contains the most historically significant and personally revealing of these letters, only a few of which have ever before been translated into English. Beginning with Potemkin's letter to Catherine written while off fighting the Turks in 1769 and concluding with his farewell note scribbled the day before his death in 1791, the correspondence spans most of Catherine's reign. The letters are at once personal and political, private and public. Many of Catherine's love letters to Potemkin written during their stormy affair reveal the empress's passionate personality. Potemkin's letters provide rare insight into his arrogant and mercurial character, while serving to dispel the myth of Potemkin as little more than a corrupt sycophant. Love and Conquest reveals the complexity of Catherine and Potemkin's personal relationship in light of dramatic changes in matters of state, foreign relations, and military engagements. After their love cooled, Catherine and Potemkin continued to discuss and debate a wide range of state affairs in their letters, including the annexation of the Crimea, court politics, wars against the Ottoman Empire and Sweden, and the colonization of southern Russia. Together they carried out the most dramatic territorial expansion in the history of imperial Russia, transforming Catherine into a powerful world leader and creating a bond of affection that would never fully fade. Readers will find in the letters new insights on Russia's most famous empress, her passions, and her world.

Cain Sinclair has a plan. In order to finally bring peace to his clan, he will wed the young female chief of their greatest enemy. Only problem: capturing her and forcing her back to Sinclair castle doesn’t exactly make her want to say yes. Ella Sutherland may be clever, passionate, and shockingly beautiful, but what she isn’t is willing. Every attempt Cain makes to woo her seems to backfire on him. A gift? The kitten practically claws his eyes out. A competitive game of chess? Even when he wins, he loses. It seems the only time the two ever see eye to eye is when they’re heating up Cain’s bed. Still, the only thing Ella truly wants is the one thing he cannot offer her: freedom. But when Cain discovers she’s been harboring a secret—one that could threaten both clans’ very existence—he’ll have to decide between peace for the Sinclairs or the woman who’s captured his heart. Each book in the Sons of Sinclair series is STANDALONE: * Highland Conquest * Highland Warrior * Highland Justice * Highland Beast * Highland Surrender