Dear Reader, At long last, I'm getting to fulfill a dream: completely rewriting my first book to include my beloved MacLeans. This book, an Elizabethan-set historical romance, was written under another name. I still love saucy Fia MacLean and the dashing English earl Thomas Wentworth, but as I grew as a writer I longed to tell the story as well as it deserved to be told. Now I have that chance. Meeting lovely Fia is all it takes to turn Thomas' espionage mission in Scotland topsy-turvy. Flirting in the woods with the seductive, infuriating lass leaves him captive in the MacLean castle, but his escape attempt brings worse! Caught in an apparently compromising position with the lady, the English earl has no chance to make any ado before he finds himself wed. Thomas is on a serious assignment, but Fia's sharp tongue and saucy wit bring mayhem to his life. How can he concentrate, when just one glance from her makes him burn with desire? Karen Hawkins P.S. As an added bonus, I get to tell how the MacLean curse became entwined with my upcoming series—featuring the Hurst amulet—when the lord of Clan MacLean lays a claim on that treasure and sets in motion the events that lead to the curse.

The first in a scintillating series by the New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins follows a desperate beauty on an urgent quest, a dark earl scarred by his beastly past—and the ancient treasure that binds their fates. Someone is holding her brother prisoner in exchange for a gold-and-onyx box covered in mysterious runes, so Mary Hurst boldly sets out from the family vicarage to find the priceless artifact. But the man who possesses it, Angus Hay, the Earl of Erroll, is less than sympathetic to her plight. Himself a prisoner of his dark past, Angus refuses to yield the box—or allow Mary to leave. Suspicious of the alluring lass’s mission, he vows to wrest a confession from her, but unearths a fiery temper and a will as strong as his own. Passion flares between them, but now there is more at an unknown enemy is hunting down the precious box and will stop at nothing. Risking all for love, Angus must solve the mystery behind the runes…and trust the only woman who can awaken his forgotten heart.

A DESPERATE BEAUTY Despite fame and countless admirers, actress Marcail Beauchamp has never forgotten William Hurst, the audacious seafarer she once loved...and lost. Now, forced by a mysterious blackmailer who threatens her family, she must steal an ancient onyx box from the one man she's vowed never to see again. A BOLD ADVENTURER To save his brother from a ruthless abductor, William must deliver the artifact as ransom. He's stunned when Marcail, more lovely than ever, suddenly appears on his ship. But when she drugs him and steals the box, his fury knows no bounds. THE TREASURE EVERYONE WANTS William pursues Marcail, but too late: she has already delivered the box. The estranged lovers realize they must work together—both to regain the artifact that could mean life or death to his family and to destroy the mysterious blackmailer's power over her family. Thus begins a high-stakes quest through the reaches of Scotland, a quest that stirs up long-forgotten memories and an unquenchable passion...

Mysterious, elusive, and unforgettable—the Hurst Amulet series continues to lure lovers into peril as New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins spins her scintillating tale of danger and desire. For beautiful, seductive Moira MacAllister, the stakes have become terrifyingly high. Her daughter has been abducted and a priceless ancient relic is the ransom. Moira must acquire it at any cost, even if it means confronting the man she once duped and left, a man who still doesn’t know she has a child...and that he is the father. Robert Hurst, an operative in the king’s service, has never forgiven the mysterious spy who seduced him into marriage and then disappeared without a trace. Now, as he pursues the onyx box that will save his brother’s life, their paths cross again. But Robert isn’t sure which he longs for more—to satisfy his lust for revenge or to quench his relentless hunger for this bewitching woman. When Moira reveals to Robert her long-kept secret, however, he realizes his burning desires must wait as a treacherous foe closes in, threatening all they hold dear...and their second chance at love.

New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins pits a world-renowned explorer against his strong-willed assistant as they pursue a long-lost treasure. When famed Egyptologist Michael Hurst discovers that the infamous Hurst Amulet is hidden in Scotland, he insists his trusted assistant, Miss Jane Smythe-Haughton, accompany him north. Strangely, the usually unflappable Jane seems perturbed by their destination—the mysterious Isle of Barra. A fascinated Michael watches as his staid assistant transforms, revealing intriguing layers of mystery and vulnerability. Could he be about to uncover not one, but two, precious treasures? Once her clan’s princess, Jane fled Barra years ago to avoid a forced marriage. Since then, she has made her living as efficient Miss Smythe-Haughton—the perfect (and highly paid) assistant. Now she must confront her secrets…including her feelings for her irascible employer, too-handsome-for-his-own-good Michael Hurst. Others are also searching for the missing amulet, however. Can Jane and Michael learn to trust each other in time to solve two the location of the Hurst Amulet, and the meaning of the vivid passion flaring between them?