Emma V Leech

Girls who dare - Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen. Eleven girls - Eleven dares in a hat. Twelve passionate stories. Who will dare to risk it all?To Hunt the HunterA doomed love affair... Matilda Hunt knows what the Marquess of Montagu wants. He has made no secret of the fact that he desires her and wants her for his mistress. Despite the growing strength of the attraction between them, Matilda has fought to keep him at a distance, fought to deny what is becoming increasingly inevitable. As her last hope for a respectable future is taken from her, a future of security, love and family, it seems the man who ruined her offers Matilda the only chance to find some measure of happiness, no matter how fleeting.A dangerous man ...Yet as her determination to keep her honour intact wavers, she is drawn deeper into Montagu's world and discovers a man with secrets, a man who is not all she had supposed him to be. That world is tangled with lies and deception and is more dangerous than she could have believed, and not only to her heart.A dare she cannot refuse ...To have all that she wants, Matilda must dare to risk it all for love and hunt out the truth of the man she cannot bring herself to walk away from.As more and more people warn her the marquess is ruthless and cruel, Matilda wonders if she truly is a fool not to believe it. Angel, devil...or a little bit of both.

To Hunt the Hunter

Girls who dare - Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen. Ten girls - Ten dares in a hat. Who will dare to risk it all?To Wager with Love.Once bitten, twice shy...Harriet Stanhope is intelligent and serious, the kind of girl who reads Plato and likes long walks in the rain. She is unsuited to ballrooms and flirting and finds the season a horrific waste of time. Once upon a time she fell in love, however, she trusted her heart to a man who kissed her and whispered sweet words ... and then laughed with a friend about her having done so. Heartbroken and humiliated, Harriet vows to use her brain in the future and never trust her stupid heart ever again.An unrequited passion...Jasper Cadogan, The Earl of St Clair is hopelessly in love, with a woman who hates him.Lovable rogue, Jasper, is handsome, charming, easy-going and beloved by the ton, the most eligible man on the marriage mart, but he can't put a foot right with childhood playmate Harriet Stanhope. Though they were once close, Jasper knows he did something years ago that hardened Harriet's heart against him, but for the life of him he can't think what it was.Jasper knows Harriet believes he's frivolous twit at best, and in awe of her superior brain, gorgeous Jasper is struggling to prove himself otherwise. Determined to discover what it was that drove Harriet away from him, he'll use fair means or foul to get to the truth.A wager that will risk both their hearts...The Peculiar Ladies dare Harriet to bet something she doesn't wish to lose and when her big-mouthed friend Kitty tells Jasper, she knows she's in trouble. Too stubborn to back down, Harriet accepts Jasper's shocking wager and plunges them both into a scandal that will risk everything, including two hearts.

To Wager with Love

A Desperate Young Lady... Miss Grace Weston is in trouble. In fact, Miss Weston is in about the worst trouble a young unmarried lady can get herself into. No amount of regret will change the fact that she was nitwit enough to be seduced by a handsome face and a lot of romantic nonsense. No amount of weeping will change the fact that she will have a child out of wedlock. She will break her parents' hearts and taint the whole family with her shame. Her folly will forever exclude her from the society to which she belongs... Unless something extraordinary happens. A Quiet Man... Mr Sterling Oak is a man of few words. Raised by his ambitious father to be a gentleman, he treads a line between his family's lowly past and the society that scorns him. An educated farmer with a fine house and dirt beneath his nails, he hides behind silence rather than reveal the man he really is. When Sterling's keen eye detects that which no one else has yet noticed, something moves him to make the delicately lovely Miss Weston an offer of marriage. A Devil's Bargain... Grace does not know what to make of Mr Oak. He appears little more than a big, mannerless brute with a scowl, a man who would rather grunt a reply than endure a conversation. Yet what choice has she? Her husband-to-be is fierce and intimidating, but Grace is desperate, and not as fragile as her fair beauty may suggest. Accepting the devil's bargain is probably the second-worst mistake of her life... Unless it turns out to be the beginning of something wonderful.

The Trouble with a Dare

An Outspoken Beauty... When Lady Georgina Anderson goes to spend Christmas with her godparents, The Duke and Duchess of Bedwin, she is full of anticipation. Spending the festive season with the large, boisterous family in their splendid home, away from Scotland and her three annoying older brothers will be nothing short of bliss. Or, it would be, if not for the very large and irritating fly in the ointment. A Humourless Nobleman... Alden Seymour, the Duke of Rochford, is an unlikely friend to the Duke of Bedwin's heir, Jules, the Marquess of Blackstone. Several years his senior and utterly different in disposition and character, Rochford is a solitary figure who prefers to keep the world at a distance. Yet this year, the idea of spending Christmas alone as usual is even less appealing than enduring the proximity of his friend's aggravating family. A Clash of Wills... Thrown together during the season of goodwill, Rochford and Georgie despise each other on sight. Rochford must endure the never-ending round of exciting activities the Bedwins have arranged for their guests and the infuriating proximity of a young woman who provokes him like no one has ever dared before. Daring is never something Georgie has been in short supply of, but this Christmas, it is just possible she has gone too far. Somehow, Rochford and Georgie must get through the next few weeks without murdering each other, unless... something more surprising happens. Their mothers dared all for love. Just imagine what their daughters will do...

The Mistletoe Dare

Curiosity killed the cat... When Florence Knight is invited to stay at Holbrook House for the month of August, she is pleased to catch up with her friends and forget the disappointment of her last season. The young men in town are so dreadfully dull she cannot imagine ever wishing to marry one, and then she meets her hostesses' brother. Sophisticated, amusing, and some years her senior, Florence is frustrated that Henry seems not to know she exists. But sinister goings-on at his neighbouring estate catch her attention and fearing Henry is blind to the danger facing him, Florence decides he needs her help whether he likes it or not. A wanderer returns... When Henry Stanhope returns home after many years abroad, he is pleased to discover his family home, Saxenhurst Hall has been well maintained in his absence. Yet odd things happen as soon as he settles back into life in England. The Hall was never haunted previously, and why do things keep disappearing and then turning up in the most peculiar places? Most unsettling of all is the appearance of The Maiden, a beautifully crafted corn doll that keeps appearing wherever Henry goes. Having travelled the world and seen many strange customs, Henry dismisses the events as quirks of the old house and the local community and puts them out of his mind. A cunning woman... Florence is less than convinced by Henry's indifference, both about the goings-on at the Hall and his feelings for her. With support from her friends, she investigates, uncovering a centuries-old vendetta and finding herself in something of a bind. A tenant for life... When the strange events take a sinister turn, Henry wonders if perhaps Florence has a point and things are more serious than he realised, and he doesn't just mean because a ghost tried to kill him. Florence has wormed her way into his heart, the dreadful girl, and he's simply going to have to marry her. Except now he's in a tight spot, and his future might be over before it has even begun.

Dare it All for Love

To Steal a KissGirls who dare - Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen. Ten girls - Ten dares in a hat. Who will dare to risk it all? To Steal a KissThe desire to take a chance and snatch at happiness.Being dared to kiss a man in the moonlight is all well and good, but men and moonlight do not fall from the skies at will.Until they do.Under instruction from a friend, drab Alice Dowding lingers alone on a moonlit balcony. Not the most sensible course of action for a usually sensible girl. Yet being sensible has gained Alice a seat among the wallflowers and her only likely chance of marriage to a man she finds nigh on repulsive. Something must be done.A guilty conscience and a bad man.When Nathaniel Hunt's sister begs him for a favour, he can hardly refuse. Nathaniel, part owner of one of the most scandalous gambling dens in London is responsible for Matilda's tattered reputation, and she knows he is no position to deny her anything. When she begs him to kiss her mousy friend on a moonlit night, however, a chain of events is set in motion that none of them could have predicted.When a little favour ignites an inferno.Ignited by one soul-stealing kiss, mousy, sensible, dull Alice, is setting off sparks wherever her feet touch the ground, and all Nathaniel can do is pray he doesn't get burned.**** Warning: This book contains a careful selection of quiet determination, resolute tight-lipped-ness and (almost) insurmountable levels of tension. Although coupled with the presence of occasionally descriptive sexual encounters, we are very pleased to highlight that this book - and series - is in no way verging on erotica. ***

To Steal a Kiss

Girls who dare - Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen. Ten girls - Ten dares in a hat. Who will dare to risk it all?To Dance with a DevilA young woman desperate to escape her fate.Bonnie Campbell's time is almost up. In the light of no better offers, her guardian, the Earl of Morven, is forcing her to marry her cousin, Gordon Anderson. Vivacious Bonnie will have no option but to comply, condemning her to spend the rest of her life in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands, far from her friends and any possible chance of fun. During her final weeks of freedom however, she will live as though these were her last days on earth and find the courage to show the man she truly loves, just how she feels.A young man determined to prove his older brother wrong.Jerome Cadogan, younger brother to the Earl of St Clair, is a good-natured scoundrel. His blond, blue-eyed looks are not the least marred by his broken nose, his reputation for trouble, nor his predilection of falling in love with unsuitable women. Reeling from a stinging lecture delivered by his brother the earl, Jerome faces having his allowance cut off if he can't mend his ways. Determined to prove that he can be every bit as mature and sensible as St Clair, Jerome swears off drinking, carousing and getting into trouble.A scandal looking for a place to happen.Sadly, his dearest friend Bonnie has other ideas. Lurching from one disaster to the next in her wake, Jerome is tearing his hair out and knows he must end their friendship before his brother ends him. Yet when a hulking Highlander turns up to claim Bonnie for his own, Jerome ought to breathe a sigh of relief, but it appears his heart has done something unforgivable and fallen in love with the most unsuitable woman of all.

To Dance with a Devil

Girls who dare - Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen. Ten girls - Ten dares in a hat. Who will dare to risk it all?To Follow her HeartA lost love ...Kitty Connolly has spent the whole of the last season assuring her uncle she's been trying to find a husband, but there's a problem he is unaware of. She already has one.Admittedly, she was only eleven when the ceremony took place in the presence of her family's dog, and her betrothed was only thirteen. Yet, vows were exchanged and as far as Kitty is concerned, a promise is a promise. Luke Baxter promised to love her till death do him part and he's not getting out of it.The problems don't stop there, however, as Luke disappeared from her life just weeks after their secret wedding, and Kitty never saw him again.Until now.Hopes reignited ...When Luke appears out of the blue at the Earl of St Clair's summer house party and announces his betrothal to lovely heiress, Lady Francis Grantham, Kitty is stunned ...... and honour bound to point out the problem.One determined heart ...All hell breaks loose when Kitty threatens to sue for breach of promise, but her beloved is in an untenable situation and reminding him what it means to live for love means risking more than her heart.

To Follow Her Heart

Girls who dare Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen. Ten girls - Ten dares in a hat. Who will dare to risk it all?To Break the RulesAn irresistible enigma ...Senorita Lucia de Feria is possibly the most beautiful woman in the world and beyond a doubt the most beautiful that Viscount Cavendish has ever seen.Yet this mysterious beauty is up to something, something that has Cavendish convinced that her motives are less than pure.The viscount needs no further motivation to spend time in lovely Lucia's company, but desire and intrigue make for unholy temptation.A dangerous lover ...Lucia is not everything she seems to be. Lucia has secrets ... secrets one man would kill her for. Now, with revenge in her heart and a fortune at stake, she's close to having it all or losing her life.At every turn, Viscount Cavendish is there, with his pirate smile and those wicked blue eyes. A daring circle of friends ...When an unusual book club brings The Peculiar Ladies into her life, Lucia is charmed and lured into feeling she belongs for the first time. Between her new friends and a man she is in danger of falling for, her plans are all going awry. This beautiful Senorita has spent her entire life longing for vengeance, but she never expected to find something she cared for more along the way.Lucia cannot afford distractions, friends or a suspicious nobleman. Yet suddenly she has all three.It might be time to break her own rules.**** Warning: Contains both a feisty heroine and a classic alpha male, meaning you may encounter some mild swearing and mildly graphic, descriptive sex scenes. ****

To Break the Rules

Their mothers dared all for love.Just imagine what their daughters will do...Dare to be BrazenThe perfect lady...Lady Elizabeth Adolphus, eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Bedwin is the most sought-after young lady of the ton. Seen as the perfect debutante, beautiful, sweet-natured, and demure, she is besieged by offers from eligible gentlemen.And she doesn't want any of them. There is only one man she wishes to pursue, and he is far from eligible.A dangerous man, with a dark past...Monsieur Nicolas Alexandre Demarteau, owner of the infamous Parisian nightclub, Rouge et Noir, is the illegitimate half-brother of Louis César de Montluc, Comte de Villen. Having left Paris to escape a scandal, Nic is determined Louis César will marry the perfect English lady to secure his position among the ton, only to discover the woman Louis came to England to pursue is the embodiment of Nic's every dream. Keeping the promises he made Louis César will test his resolve when every instinct demands he keep Eliza for himself.An English rose with a will of iron...Now recovering from a near fatal accident, Eliza may appear more fragile than before, but her determination to make her own choices is stronger than ever. She is tired of always doing the right thing, of being polite instead of speaking her mind, of dancing with respectable men when the one she desires is the personification of wickedness... and he doesn't even seem to like her very much.A passionate desire...All Nic wants is for Eliza to be safe, but how can he protect her when all she wants is him. How can he resist her when she refuses to be the perfect lady a moment longer?When she's decided... it's time to be brazen.

Dare to be Brazen

Girls who dare - Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen. Eleven girls - Eleven dares in a hat. Twelve passionate stories. Who will dare to risk it all?To Ride with the KnightA reckless beauty...Lady Helena Adolphus is no stranger to scandal. Her brother may be a duke, but his black reputation once threatened her own chances of making a good match. Now returned to the bosom of the ton, Helena is feted and courted as much for her loveliness and wild green eyes as for her hefty dowry. Yet the eligible bachelors leave her cold and respectability is deadly dull. There is only one man who makes her pulse leap, and she knows she'd be a fool to pursue him.A ruthless man...Gabriel Knight understands desperation. Born into poverty and raised in a foundling home, Gabriel used every opportunity to claw his way out of the gutter. Now one of the wealthiest men in England, wicked Knight is dismayed to discover his success has not bought him happiness. Restless and bored, he blames his ennui on the pompous aristocrats he despises, those who still close doors in his face.An imprudent affair ...Though Helena is aware of Gabriel's animosity for the ton that shuns him, the sinful man tempts her beyond all reason. He is out to ruin her, and she knows it, but her stupid pride won't let her back down from each scandalous challenge he sets her.As the heat of attraction flares hotter between them, the risk of getting burned only makes riding with the Knight ever more enticing.

To Ride with the Knight

Their mothers dared all for love.Just imagine what their daughters will do...A serious dilemma...Miss Elspeth Cadogan is a cuckoo in a very lively nest. Her parents, Jerome and Bonnie Cadogan, are notorious for their wild parties and practical jokes. Elspeth is sensible, bookish, and just wants a quiet life. Having helped her friend Eliza create her charitable school for girls, she is even considering becoming a teacher. Until...A rake and a libertine...'Dare' Kelburn, Viscount Roxborough, has never refused a wager, turned down a dare, or walked away from a fight. He can't, however, ignore the pile of bills that is threatening to become a serious fire hazard or the fact his house is falling down. When his friends point out that pretty little wallflower, Elspeth Cadogan has a dowry weighty enough to buy half of Derbyshire, Dare can hardly disagree.Loathing at first sight...When Dare's usual brand of charm and wickedness fail to impress, it is clear desperate measures are called for. With a little help from his friends, a scandal is easy enough to arrange. A dull little killjoy or a challenge he cannot resist...Elspeth may have been tricked into marrying the most loathsome man in all of England, but he can't make her dance to his tune. If he wanted a nice, quiet, docile wife who would sit at home while he spends all her money, he's misjudged. Elspeth has learned from the best what it means to be wild...and she's damn well going to show him.

Dare to be Wild

The stories of the Peculiar Ladies book club and their hatful of dares has become legend among their children. When the hat is rediscovered, dusty and forlorn, the remaining dares spark a series of events that will echo through all the families... and their daring daughters.Dare to be WickedTwo daring daughters...Lady Elizabeth and Lady Charlotte are the daughters of the Duke and Duchess of Bedwin. Raised by an unconventional mother and an indulgent if overprotective father, they both strain against the rigid morality of the era. The fashionable image of a meek, weak young lady, prone to swooning at the least provocation, is one that makes them seethe with frustration.Their handsome childhood friend...Cassius Cadogan, Viscount Oakley, is the only child of the Earl and Countess of St Clair. Beloved and indulged, he is popular, gloriously handsome and a talented artist. Returning from two years of study in France, his friendship with both sisters becomes strained as jealousy raises its head. A situation not helped by the two mysterious Frenchmen who have accompanied him home.And a simmering sibling rivalry...Passion, art, and secrets prove to be a combustible combination, and someone will undoubtedly get burned.

Dare to be Wicked

Girls who dare - Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen. Eleven girls - eleven dares in a hat, twelve passionate stories. Who will dare to risk it all?To Bed the Baron.One desperate young woman...Jemima Fernside is the epitome of a well-behaved lady, bred to marry a gentleman and play the part of the perfect wife. Until she finds herself alone in the world without a penny to her name. With few options available to her, Jemima has little choice but to accept a scandalous proposal to become the paid companion to a man she's never even met.One desperately lonely man...Solomon 'Solo' Weston, the Baron Rothborn, is sick of society, and people in general who leave him irritable and impatient. As Lieutenant Colonel of the 15th King's Dragoons, he was invalided out of the army after a bullet left him lame. Haunted by guilt, by dead comrades and a lost love, he is becoming ever more reclusive, finding escape through his beloved books. And a passion neither of them expected to find...When driven to seek comfort from his bleak existence, Solo believes he has little to offer but financial security in return for a lady's virtue.But Jemima is not the kind of woman who will leave sleeping ghosts lie, and soon the past and the future don't look at all like Solo expected them to.

To Bed the Baron

Girls who dare - Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen. Eleven girls - Eleven dares in a hat, twelve passionate stories. Who will dare to risk it all?To Experiment with Desire.An attraction she cannot ignore...Minerva Butler is tired of her mother's ambition to see her wed a duke like her clever cousin Prue. Beautiful, blonde, and with a healthy dowry thanks to her cousin's generosity, it appears Minerva can finally take her pick of the ton's eligible gentlemen. So naturally, this is the moment she becomes infatuated with the brilliant and impoverished natural philosopher, Inigo de Beauvoir.A woman who threatens his peace of mind...Inigo de Beauvoir is a driven man, consumed by his work to the detriment of all else, even his health, until a beautiful society Miss begins a seductive war against his belief that love is nothing more than lust with a ring on its finger.A dangerous liaison...On the surface, Miss Butler is the one with everything to lose, yet Inigo soon comes to realise that experimenting with desire will pose a very real threat to his heart.

To Experiment with Desire

A Rogues and Gentlemen Christmas Novella.Widowed farmer Ned Hardy is facing a bleak winter and a lonely Christmas alone, when a beautiful young woman turns up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, frozen and terrified. Stunned by the arrival of a fine lady who looks like a Christmas angel, all of Ned's protective instincts flare to life.Grace Honeyfield is on the run from her abusive brother and the terrifying man he's forcing her to marry. Escaping into the darkness on a snowy night, she stumbles onto an isolated farm, and into the arms of a handsome farmer. Although not a gentleman by birth, Grace comes to realise Ned deserves the title more than any well-bred man of her acquaintance.When Ned offers to marry Grace to keep her safe, he dares hope that the future might hold more happiness than the past. To his astonishment Grace agrees to his proposal, and Ned can't help but wonder if all his Christmases have come at once...AUTHOR'S NOTE. This 44K word book was previously published within "Once Upon a Christmas Wedding" A Holiday Romance Collection Boxset

Emma V Leech

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