In the midst of a moonlit safe-cracking mission, British spy James Locke witnesses a ruby necklace spirited away as if by conjurer's trick. Following the jewels leads him to Lusinda Havershaw, who's inherited the talent of turning invisible in the moonlight--at least, the parts of her that are unclothed. Locke trains Lusinda in espionage, even while he finds her close proximity bewitchingly distracting. And as their mission to track Russian spies grows treacherous, they'll find that the heart behaves even more mysteriously than Lusinda in the moonlight.
In this delightfully sexy debut, Donna MacMeans—“a witty,
wonderful new voice in historical romance”*—vividly portrays
the importance of a well-rounded education…
Emma Brimley made one small fib in her application to the
Pettibone School for Young Ladies: she claimed to be a widow.
But when she arrives in Yorkshire, she is dismayed to learn
that she’s expected to prepare her students for the intimacies
of marriage—of which she knows nothing! Her only hope of
maintaining her place lies with the alluring Lord Nicholas
Chambers, a neighboring artist whose behavior is scarcely
consistent with that of a gentleman.
True to his reputation, “Lord Bedchambers” offers Emma
a scandalous bargain: he will answer her questions about
anatomy and bedroom etiquette, if she will pose for him…in
the Grecian fashion. Though keenly aware of the dangers
of such a scenario, Emma determines to best this noble roué—never
thinking she may be risking her heart as well…
“A feisty heroine with the best traits of Jane Eyre
and a charismatic hero to rival Mr. Rochester. I can’t wait
for other books from this author.”—*New York Times bestselling
author Karen Harper
You're
invited to follow your heart and your dreams through nine
stunning paranormal romances, including stories by award
winning authors J.C. Wilder, Megan Sybil Baker, Rosemary
Laurie, Isabo Kelly, C.B. Scott, Gail McAbee and more!
Life,
love, ghosts, space stations, shape shifters, dragons, intergalactic
intrigue and more! Enter the romantic and intriguing worlds
of Dream Quest.
Exerpt
from Smoke and Mirrors by Donna Mac Means :
"Hey Tom, we're all heading over to the Blue Moon after
work. Join us?"
Jealousy burned in Amber Wilson's stomach. Pretending not
to hear the friendly banter outside her office door, she
stuffed papers into her satchel for later review. Don't
invite the fat girl, she thought to herself. She doesn't
have any feelings.
Laughter and hurried footfalls of the five o'clock exit
shook her office walls. At one point, Amber thought someone
had hesitated outside her door. Her spirits lifted in hopes
that one person, just one, might stop and ask her about
her plans for the weekend, maybe care enough to invite her
to join the others.
But the footsteps continued past, the hallway fell silent,
and she remained alone. An all too familiar lump of anguish
settled in her throat. Tears threatened. One would think
she'd be used to rejection by now. She'd certainly had enough
practice. She silently packed up work to finish at home.
July heat radiated off the wide downtown sidewalks, making
the short walk to the parking garage a stroll through Hell.
Hesitant to merge into the crowd of perspiration-soaked
workers, Amber sought the path where the pavement joined
the buildings and a thin line of shade lingered.
Just as a rivulet of sweat slipped down her back, an unexpected
current of chill air wisped over her shoulder, luring her
toward an antiquities store's open doorway. Basking in the
escaping air conditioning, Amber studied the contents of
the display window.
"You see something you like?"
She glanced over to a withered old man leaning heavily on
a cane just inside the doorway. At least, she thought it
was a man. The body had no womanly attributes but the voice
carried a husky feminine note, lending it a strange, seductive
quality. He wore a faded turban that in another lifetime
might have been a brilliant red.
"I was just looking at the rings," Amber said with a quick
glance back to the window. The man had to be a hundred,
if he was a day.
"These rings, not for you," he said, gesturing her inside
the shop. "Come in. Come in. I show you something special."
She hesitated, trying to remember if she had ever passed
this window display before. Stores like this didn't just
appear overnight. Eventually, curiosity and the promise
of relief from the heat carried her across the store threshold.
"Gaudy rings not for fine young fingers." The strange man
wove a path through dusty display cases filled with odd
crystals and twisted figurines. His cane bumped several
teetering stacks of leather-bound books. Amber, following
the circuitous route behind the old man, dragged her finger
across one of the books, uncovering gilded lettering and
liberating a tiny cloud of dust. (Donna's treasure is Magic
trapped in Amber) She sneezed, sending more dust into the
air. So much for the overnight theory, she sniffed, searching
for a tissue. Dust like that takes years to accumulate.
The old man rummaged beneath a glass counter. His faded
turban bobbed erratically with his search. Amber paused
to admire a collection of clear glass orbs of various sizes.
Paperweights, she supposed. The jumbled eclectic collection
in this place could take hours to explore. "Lynn would love
this stuff," she murmured, deciding to bring her best friend
back for a visit.
"I found it." He called, barely straightening his rounded
spine. The edge of a flat wooden box poked from beneath
his arm. "This is your namesake," he said, with a reverent
smile. "Come see."
The box unhinged with a stubborn creak. Amber stepped closer.
There, on an inviting bed of black velvet, lay an amber
amulet encircled by deep burnished gold.
"How did you know my name was Amber?" Her fingers darted
out to touch the semi-precious stone.
"The necklace told me. Try it on." Before she could press
for details, the heavy pendant dangled before her, light
dancing in the deep golden shadows.
"Something's trapped in there." She peered closer in the
dim light. "A bug or something."
"Or magic," the little old man whispered, drawing out the
word. "Try it on."
Text
copyright 2006 by Donna MacMeans
Site design and graphics copyright 2006 by Karen
McCullough
Dream
Quest