Veronica came to Paris from New Zealand to sightsee. But right after she arrived, she spent her days in bed with the flu. Her only pleasure was staring at the attractive man sitting in the bar across from her hotel. On her last day in Paris, she recovered from the flu and decided to go to the bar he frequents. One thing led to another and they decided to go sightseeing together. They couldn’t communicate well linguistically, but Vanessa had an amazing night with the man she’d been dreaming about for the past few days. The next morning, she left him without saying goodbye to keep their meeting as a good memory of being in a foreign country. But when she arrived at her next destination, he was at the station!
Things get awkward for Veronica Bell when she unexpectedly meets hotshot billionaire financier Lucien Ryder again. They shared one incredible night together in Paris, and now he's seduced her into becoming his mistress. To Veronica, Lucien's a mystery—so why is he so suspicious of who she is? Especially now that a public scandal threatens to make their hot-and-steamy romance front-page news….
One convenient download. One bargain price. Get all November Harlequin Presents with one click! Mix irresistible desire, sizzling sensuality and undeniable passion with tormented jealousy, cynical mistrust and foolish misunderstandings, and you have the perfect recipe for breathtaking drama and thrilling romance. And when you set these enthralling stories in lush locales and people them with powerful, wealthy, privileged men and innocent, alluring, feisty women, you have the makings of a classic Harlequin Presents romance. Enjoy eight new stories chock full of gripping emotions and sexual tension, by some of Harlequin Presents's top selling authors in this fabulous bundle, which includes: Ruthlessly Bedded by the Italian Billionaire by Emma Darcy, Sicilian Husband, Unexpected Baby by Sharon Kendrick, Mendez's Mistress by Anne Mather, The Sheikh's Wayward Wife by Sandra Marton, Bedded by the Greek Billionaire by Kate Walker, The Mediterranean Prince's Captive Virgin by Robyn Donald, Public Scandal, Private Mistress by Susan Napier, and A Night with the Society Playboy by Ally Blake.
Feisty Leola Foster has been kidnapped! Her captor is gorgeous, but arrogant, and she refuses to obey his superior commands. Who does he think he is—royalty? Leola then learns that the stranger is Prince Nico Magnati! In return for his protection she must act as his mistress until the danger has passed. Soon their charade explodes into real physical attraction. Now Leola is Nico's willing prisoner—at the prince's every demand!
The things she had to do to save her family business! Emily Quest had dressed to the nines and gone to an awful party, where she'd been rescued by a handsome stranger. Despite the sizzling attraction between them, Emily never thought she'd see him again. But now he's right in front of her, as gorgeous as ever! Ethan West thinks Emily is a rapacious good-time girl, and he's about to make her face the consequences—in his bed!
For fans of Downton Abbey comes an immersive historical epic about a lavish English manor and a dynasty of rich and powerful women who ruled the estate over three centuries of misbehavior, scandal, intrigue, and passion. Five miles from Windsor Castle, home of the royal family, sits the Cliveden estate. Overlooking the Thames, the mansion is flanked by two wings and surrounded by lavish gardens. Throughout its storied history, Cliveden has been a setting for misbehavior, intrigue, and passion—from its salacious, deadly beginnings in the seventeenth century to the 1960s Profumo Affair, the sex scandal that toppled the British government. Now, in this immersive chronicle, the manor’s current mistress, Natalie Livingstone, opens the doors to this prominent house and lets the walls do the talking. Built during the reign of Charles II by the Duke of Buckingham, Cliveden attracted notoriety as a luxurious retreat in which the duke could conduct his scandalous affair with the ambitious courtesan Anna Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury. In 1668, Anna Maria’s cuckolded husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, challenged Buckingham to a duel. Buckingham killed Shrewsbury and claimed Anna Maria as his prize, making her the first mistress of Cliveden. Through the centuries, other enigmatic and indomitable women would assume stewardship over the estate, including Elizabeth, Countess of Orkney and illicit lover of William III, who became one of England’s wealthiest women; Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the queen that Britain was promised and then denied; Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland, confidante of Queen Victoria and a glittering society hostess turned political activist; and the American-born Nancy Astor, the first female member of Parliament, who described herself as an “ardent feminist” and welcomed controversy. Though their privileges were extraordinary, in Livingstone’s hands, their struggles and sacrifices are universal. Cliveden weathered renovation and restoration, world conflicts and cold wars, societal shifts and technological advances. Rich in historical and architectural detail, The Mistresses of Cliveden is a tale of sex and power, and of the exceptional women who evaded, exploited, and confronted the expectations of their times. Praise for The Mistresses of Cliveden “Theatrical festivities, political jockeying and court intrigues are deftly described with a verve and attention to domestic comforts that show the author at her best. . . . [Livingstone’s] portraits of strenuous and assertive women who resisted subjection, sometimes deploying their sexual allure to succeed, on other occasions drawing on their husband’s wealth, are astute, spirited, and empathetic.”—The Wall Street Journal “Missing Downton Abbey already? This tome promises ‘three centuries of scandal, power, and intrigue’ and Natalie Livingstone definitely delivers.”—Good Housekeeping “Lively . . . The current chatelaine—the author herself—deserves no small credit for keeping the house’s legend alive. . . . Any of her action-filled chapters would merit a mini-series.”—The New York Times Book Review “Though the personal tales and tidbits are fascinating, and the sensational details of these women’s lives will intrigue Downton Abbey devotees, the real star of the story is Cliveden.”—Booklist “Lovers of modern English history and the scandals that infiltrated upper-crust society will find much to enjoy in this work.”—Library Journal
"Common women" in medieval England were prostitutes, whose distinguishing feature was not that they took money for sex but that they belonged to all men in common. Common Women: Prostitution and Sexuality in Medieval England tells the stories of these women's lives: their entrance into the trade because of poor job and marriage prospects or because of seduction or rape; their experiences as street-walkers, brothel workers or the medieval equivalent of call girls; their customers, from poor apprentices to priests to wealthy foreign merchants; and their relations with those among whom they lived. Through a sensitive use of a wide variety of imaginative and didactic texts, Ruth Karras shows that while prostitutes as individuals were marginalized within medieval culture, prostitution as an institution was central to the medieval understanding of what it meant to be a woman. This important work will be of interest to scholars and students of history, women's studies, and the history of sexuality.
"Common women" in medieval England were prostitutes, whose distinguishing feature was not that they took money for sex but that they belonged to all men in common. Common Women: Prostitution and Sexuality in Medieval England tells the stories of these women's lives: their entrance into the trade because of poor job and marriage prospects or because of seduction or rape; their experiences as streetwalkers, brothel workers or the medieval equivalent of call girls; their customers, from poor apprentices to priests to wealthy foreign merchants; and their relations with those among whom they lived. Common Women crosses the boundary from social to cultural history by asking not only about the experiences of prostitutes but also about the meaning of prostitution in medieval culture. The teachings of the church attributed both lust and greed, in generous measure, to women as a group. Stories of repentant whores were popular among medieval preachers and writers because prostitutes were the epitome of feminine sin. Through a sensitive use of a wide variety of imaginative and didactic texts, Ruth Karras shows that while prostitutes as individuals were marginalized within medieval culture, prostitution as an institution was central to the medieval understanding of what it meant to be a woman. This important work will be of interest to scholars and students of history, women's studies, and the history of sexuality.
Examining how gender impacts political sex scandals in the United States, this book explains how political sex scandals contribute to the mistrust of government and identifies why these events have serious consequences for our political system. The increasing tabloidization of politics and focus on politicians involved in sex scandals is both problematic and important. When a major political sex scandal occurs, it occupies as much as 25 percent of all news coverage in the United States. Even if people may deny it, they enjoy "consuming" and talking about political sex scandals. Written by a former journalist who has frequently explored the intersections of politics, sex, and gender in the United States, Sex Scandals, Gender, and Power in Contemporary American Politics investigates how political sex scandals contribute to the mistrust of government and why these events have great significance in our frenzied media environment. The book makes use of comprehensive descriptive data (including statistics) to explain how political sex scandals are a representation of society's broader gender dynamics, conveying subtle messages about power and morality. It addresses the roles of men and women in political sex scandals over time, the increasing tabloidization of politics, and the often-overlooked consequences of sex scandals for the political system. Author Hinda Mandell also documents how scandals' multiple negative effects for the politicians themselves and for society include turning politics into a spectator sport, contributing to the mistrust of government, the questioning of politicians' competence and judgment as a group, and politicians' diminishing effectiveness in office.
