Showing results for "Duke" in Literature & Fiction

The Weatherford Ball is the last chance Julia Beaumont has to escape the clutches of her horrid stepmother. Any potential husband will do-rich, poor, even a reasonably well-groomed walrus. But all of Julia's matrimonial chances are completely obliterated...thanks to the actions of an infuriating and utterly rakish duke. Gregory Carter, Duke of Ashworth, would never risk his cherished bachelorhood by flirting with marriage-starved debutantes. But one look at the luscious and refreshingly clever Julia, and he simply can't resist a stolen kiss-scandal be damned.

Grit, determination, and a will of steel have propelled Hudson Stone through life. No case he faced as Chief Inspector at Scotland Yard went unsolved. But nothing could have prepared the implacable investigator for inheriting a dukedom. Even more maddening than his ducal obligations is Lady Elysande Collingwood, the previous Duke of Wycombe’s betrothed. Worst of all, the debts Hudson has been bequeathed along with the title mean he needs to marry an heiress to save his estates from ruin, and the cheerful, dazzling Lady Elysande is the only one he knows.

Reese: My life hasn't been easy. At age 11, my parents and two younger siblings were murdered and I went to live with my grandmother. At age 18, I broke up with my boyfriend of almost one year because he wasn't who I thought he was. He further proved that when he put his hands on me. Two weeks later, my grandmother died. I moved to a new town with my last living relative, my older brother, Carbon, to finish my senior year of high school at Croftridge High. Then, I met Duke Jackson. One decision changed my life forever.

The longer I live at Bainbridge Hall, the more apparent it is that someone is out to get me. They know too much and are determined to use my worst fears against me. As my memories rise to the surface, they bring with them vivid reminders of what I've lived through.

I was born into British aristocracy, but I've made my fortune in Manhattan. New York is now my kingdom. Back in Britain, my family is fighting over who's the next Duke of Fairfax. The rules say it's me - if I'm married. It's not a trade-off worth making. I could never limit myself to just one woman. Or so I thought until my world is turned upside down. Now, the only way I can save the empire I built is to inherit the title I've never wanted - so I need a wife. To take my mind off business I need a night that's all pleasure.

The Lords never expected Story Austin to walk back into their life. They certainly never thought she’d rise to be their Queen. But they aren’t the only Royals in Forsyth. The Dukes are known for winning with their fists, but transforming Lavinia Lucia from the Kings’ captive to their unwilling Duchess will be their biggest match yet.

When 18-year-old Eliza Cross agrees to visit her school friend, Lady Celia, at her home for the summer, it's immediately clear how out of place she is at Caerdon Abbey. Eliza, orphan and charity student, can't help feeling different from the aristocracy who are living their lives in luxury. But when Celia's brother, Alan, the handsome Duke of Caerdon, comes home from France, Eliza finds herself irresistibly attracted to him - especially after he disciplines her on the very first morning after they meet.

When her governess catches 18-year-old Anne Solmes in the act of pleasuring herself, Mr. and Mrs. Solmes conclude that drastic action is required. Anne soon finds herself on her way to Miss Halton's Preparatory Academy for Girls, a school founded by the famously strict Duke of Panton for the correction of young women of marriageable age. The girls of Miss Halton's have disgraced themselves, but their future prospects may still be salvaged by means of proper discipline and training.

An instant USA Today bestseller! A Lady of the Light Refined, kind, and intelligent, Lady Iris Jordan finds herself the unlikely target of a diabolical kidnapping. Her captors are the notoriously evil Lords of Chaos. When one of the masked---and nude!---Lords spirits her away to his carriage...

When her guardian learns of her scandalous behavior in London, 18-year-old Dora Harper is brought to his country estate for a painful chastisement and a humiliating lesson in obedience. But the stern, old-fashioned gentleman does not intend merely to reform his wayward ward. He plans to claim her, first as his bride and then as his playing piece in a game far more shameful than anything she could have ever imagined.

Penniless and with no prospects for marriage, twenty-one-year-old orphan Jemima Cooper has no choice but to take any work she can find, no matter how shameful. When she is sent by her employer to serve the Duke of Hillcrest, however, Jemima is surprised to discover that the handsome, eccentric nobleman intends to make her not merely his concubine but also his pet.

Elizabeth Wilcox is trapped in a web of deception and betrayal. A gentleman’s daughter, she has no choice but to do the unthinkable in order to save her sister. Posing as a chambermaid to infiltrate the estate of a nobleman, she will steal. She will spy. She will submit. Marcus, Duke of Montague is no stranger to espionage, but he doesn’t expect to find it in his own home.

The reality of being a mob boss' daughter is anything but glamorous, despite what one might think. In the absence of true freedom, my only companion was my loyal dog, Bruno. When he passed, I felt like my life had hit rock bottom. But when aliens abducted me from my pity party in a local wine bar, I realized how wrong I was. As if things couldn't get any worse, I woke up in an alien duke's closet, forced to rely on a giant alien pleasure toy as my only means of defense. All I know is that the gaudy duke can't stand me . . . and the feeling is mutual.

When she is chosen by the Duke of Norley to provide entertainment at an upcoming festival, 18-year-old Clara Mansfield is unsure what to expect. Upon being ordered to strip herself bare during training, however, the innocent young lady quickly realizes that this will be no ordinary ball and she will soon be putting on the most shameful performance imaginable. Clara will not merely sing and dance naked for the duke and his many esteemed guests, she will also surrender her beautiful virgin body for the use and enjoyment of the host and anyone with whom he decides to share her.

Beauty tames the beast when a marriage of convenience becomes anything but convenient for a duke with dark secrets. Haunted by a dark secret, Dorian, the Duke of Rath , is consumed by wrath and guilt. The powerful lord will endure any torture to atone for his sins, even marry a perfect stranger—his victim's little sister—to save her family from ruin. He vows not to touch her and to protect the innocent girl from his depraved sensual pleasures. But she must stay for one year and follow his strict rules.

When Katherine Atworthy finds herself bereft and alone as a young lady with nowhere to go...and with her father dying, he decides to ship her off to be wed to some stranger, in the hopes that she may have a better life. The virginal Katherine soon arrives at the home of a powerful, handsome, and strict Duke. The man who was meant to prepare her for a new husband - but upon seeing the tempting lass, this stern Duke decides to keep her for himself!

Edgar Hunton Smythe, Duke of Lovell, has spent six seasons sidestepping the marital trap with a carefully curated air of gruff detachment, general roguishness... and one humiliating secret. Though society whispers refer to him as a stallion in more ways than one, Edgar has never once been able to make those whispers a reality. His solution? Enlist his dearest friend, Giselle, as a faux mistress to preserve his reputation and buy time. But when Giselle offhandedly suggests his desires might lie not with women—but with his golden-haired, ever-watchful valet—Edgar begins to wonder…

After losing the love of her life, Lady Rosina Preston had no intentions of looking for love. Fortunately, for Rosina, love isn’t always part of the equation when it comes to indulging her desires. But all that changes one night at a country house party, where Rosina finds herself in the middle of a scandalous arrangement with James, the Duke of St. Albans. Soon, Rosina finds herself falling for James and his charming, steadfast heart. But is she able to forget the pains of the past and begin again? Or will she lose love a second time?

Max Arrington, the Duke of Pelham, vows to never again let a handsome face blind him to a man's true intentions. But ten months of celibacy and lonely nights drive him to a decadent brothel, where a beautiful young man arouses his illicit passions as never before. Tristan Walsh has grown tired of being used for men's pleasure. But his latest client is different: Commanding yet generous, Max makes him feel cared for as well as wanted.

Before Mickey can blink, he's married and dealing with a stepson who would rather see him dead than at the dining room table, a husband who only seems to want him for his body, and a secret that he doesn't know how to reveal to his new family, but one that he only has about nine months to share before it makes an appearance all on its own.