Amidst the treacherous intrigues of the English court, their passion raged like wildfire... She was a maiden pledged to the holy church, until one man aroused her to love... Shy and lovely Nessa had vowed to be a nun, unlike her worldly sister, the beauteous, selfish Aleria. Yet when Garrick, Earl of Tarrant, arrived at Salisbury to claim the bride bestowed upon him by King Henry, Nessa felt a surge of unaccustomed emotion. Garrick, a man distrustful of the fairer sex, was to wed her sister...but Nessa herself was deeply attracted to the brooding, dashing nobleman. Great was Garrick's disappointment to find himself bethrothed to the vainglorious Aleria. Only he divined the sensual fire beneath Nessa's quiet demeanor...yet even he could not know how fervently she longed to return his passion. Joined in uneasy wedlock by a clever intrigue of Queen Eleanor, they dared not trust the love that was now their right. But when Garrick was threatened by a dastardly foe, Nessa would summon all her womanly arts to win his heart and his trust...and to save his very life!

In a land besieged by war, they were sworn enemies—destined for a golden, glorious love... Honor bade him give her up for ransom...but her love would prove the greatest treasure of all... Sir William of Kensham stormed into the crude hut that was Cassandra Gavre's prison, furious that his men had defied orders to kill all Frenchmen who invaded the forests of the Weald—and only slightly mollified to find that his captive was the lovely young daughter of a French lord. The lavender-eyed beauty's ransom would aid King Henry's cause, and William prayed it would be accomplished quickly, having no liking for the company of haughty highborn ladies. Yet Cassandra was no coy, spoiled maiden. Frightened yet fascinated by her handsome, notorious captor, she met his gaze unflinchingly...filling him with a longing it was torment to deny. And when at last they joined in mutual surrender, claiming a desperate, forbidden ecstasy, William swore that he would never give up the bold, passionate woman who was fated to be his bride...