They both want what they can't have--each other.

Blackie Scarpacchio has had hard lessons kicked in him from birth, leaving him cynical and afraid to trust in love.

Lori Gordon has loved Blackie all her life. After one stolen night together, he'd torn her soul in two when he admitted their relationship was based on vows he'd made to her father. Five years later, she's come home to discover that absence has made her heart grow fonder.

Blackie doesn't know how to deal with his own unresolved feelings. But when Lori starts receiving threats, his protectiveness thrusts him into constant contact...and reborn needs.

Small-town girl Ayodele "Della" Flynn lives in a city she abhors, where danger seems to be lurking around every corner. When her husband dies very unexpectedly, she's confronted with figuring out where her home is with her young son River and trying to come to terms with the loose ends her husband left their lives in.

Jon Rushing has finally found the answer to a lifetime of misplaced guilt and misery. Tracey Scott is unlike anyone Jon has ever met before. She's completely open and honest, ever true to her own heart--and determined to have a baby, ASAP. Even as Jon vows to be everything she'll ever need and Tracey sets her heart on him, the past rears its ugly head. What Tracey wants most of all is the one thing Jon can't give her...unless he can find a way to go back in time and reverse the damage.

After risking her heart once and learning to regret it, JoJo Summers finds it necessary to live her life as a paper doll. No emotions, no danger and no pain. Randy Briggs is the one man who can change her mind. His only ace in the hole is that she underestimates the power of love. Just when JoJo takes the first step in risking her heart to Randy, her past comes back to haunt her, in flesh and blood...and then her heart isn't the only thing she's in danger of losing.

Can a rogue find love with the girl next door? Not if his ex-girlfriends have any say in it!

Bethany Briggs is a wallflower who's always looked for love in the wrong places. Rod Summers is notorious for the string of broken hearted girlfriends he's left behind. Even when she sees a teddy bear beneath his wild exterior, she isn't sure she can trust her heart. But this shy girl-next-door is about to prove that the pattern for leather and lace can be tailor-made.

Savannah ("Savvy") O'Brien is level-headed, sophisticated and in complete control of her life. The only commitment she's willing to make is to her career as a lawyer...and to a parking space for her new car.

Brett Foxx has loved and he's lost. He's put a lifetime of anger, recklessness and a multitude of sins behind him. The road warrior has finally settled down and he plans to keep himself as far from love as he can get. He's not looking for trouble, but if anyone can give it to him it's his former lawyer and unrequited fantasy Savvy O'Brien.

She was expecting...anything but him!

During a traumatic childhood, Darlene Foxx had only one light--Jason Radcliffe, her best friend and eventually her lover. Until she found out that she wasn't his only lover, Darlene dreamed of the day they'd escape and be together forever. At seventeen, she left home alone and forced herself to overcompensate for her upbringing by never trusting anyone, especially Jace.

Years later, Darlene is in desperate need of a friend to share her joy, her fear and past secrets that have haunted her. Maybe she can even share her heart with her first love, forever.

A man of God, a fallen angel. Two different worlds, one undying love...

For the first time in her life, Rori Mason is independent, supporting herself; she has friends who love her, and-most importantly-she respects herself. She's vowed never to allow a man to hurt her again. Nate Jovanovich broke the heart of a younger, less cynical Rori by marrying her rival. 11 years later, Nate has lost his wife, gained a child and, at the end of it all, realizes Rori is still the woman of his heart.

She was expecting...anything but him!

During a traumatic childhood, Darlene Foxx had only one light--Jason Radcliffe, her best friend and eventually her lover. Until she found out that she wasn't his only lover, Darlene dreamed of the day they'd escape and be together forever. At seventeen, she left home alone and forced herself to overcompensate for her upbringing by never trusting anyone, especially Jace.

Years later, Darlene is in desperate need of a friend to share her joy, her fear and past secrets that have haunted her. Maybe she can even share her heart with her first love, forever.

Network Operative Hunter Savage is nearly at death’s door when he turns renegade to save his sister, kidnapped by the Black Pope, Rex Kovac, leader of the covert terrorist organization R.E.D. Hunter’s only means of saving Celine? Steal Kovac’s most prized possession—his wife. Renowned belly dancer, Tanya Kovac is nowhere near as innocent as she seems...and Hunter is nowhere near as indifferent to Tanya’s charms as he wants and needs to be to save his sister.

Eight DISTINCTIVE AUTHORS offer new, short, exciting Tales from the Treasure Trove—each featuring a sparkling jewel! Eight COMPELLING COUPLES discover romance, suspense, forces of nature, or the supernatural. Eight ENTERTAINING SITUATIONS feature destined lovers, wild men of the past and present, deadly gems…or even creatures of fantasy come to life! Christine DeSmet (Dame Moonstone) Carrie S. Masek (Dame Topaz) Nancy Pirri (Dame Sapphire) Jane Toombs (Dame Turquoise) Cassie Walder (Dame Bloodstone) Janet Lane Walters (Dame Amber) Karen Wiesner (Dame Amethyst) C.J. Winters (Dame Tanzanite)

Alex Lynch has spent a lifetime working hard toward the goal of owning the Triple Aces Ranch in Fever, Texas. His dream has finally come true when Gina Calhoun—a girl he’d loved all his life, despite her penchant for looking for trouble and his penchant for bailing her out—drops back into his life, seemingly out of nowhere. Network Communications and Systems Analyst Justine Fielding, the former Gina Calhoun, is all grown up, more beautiful than ever...and even more restless. Little does Alex know that the woman he’s falling under the spell of all over again is there on a mission to uncover and stop the dangerous men who killed her father—Alex being her chief suspect. This time, Gina may be the only one who can bail him out of the trouble about to come down on him.