For a taste of sheer, sensual bliss, the adventurous women in these sizzling stories are willing to do anything, risk everything, and break all the rules. . . "Checkmate" Courtesan Cora Durand longs to find a man to satisfy her own hidden desires. Rupert Roland has dreamed of having beautiful, defiant Elsa at his carnal mercy, and when each gets their wish, the outcome is pure ecstasy. . . "Lust's Vow" Hannah Rosworth's late husband claimed that she was too sexually inexperienced for his tastes. But Kenneth Walker, an infamous rake, can see the fire beneath her sedate exterior. And at the season's most decadent orgy he'll show her how to give–and receive–the ultimate pleasure. . . "Night of the Taking" At the Festival of Catus in a small English village, local virgins take part in a mysterious, erotic ritual. Jessica can hardly believe she's been chosen, but the irresistible green-eyed male who claims her will use any wickedly seductive means to prove that she is his mate–and his queen. . .