Royal Rewards

As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, Benedict Frost had the respect of every man on board and the adoration of the women in every port. When injury ends his naval career, the silver-tongued libertine can hardly stomach the boredom. Not after everything-and everyone-he's experienced. Good thing a new adventure has just fallen into his lap . . .When courtesan Charlotte Perry learns that the Royal Mint is offering a reward for finding a cache of stolen gold coins, she seizes the chance to build a new life for herself. As the treasure hunt begins, she realizes that her tenacity is matched only by Benedict's, and that sometimes adversaries can make the best allies. But when the search for treasure becomes a discovery of pleasure, they'll be forced to decide if they can sacrifice the lives they've always dreamed of for a love they've never known. Contains mature themes.

Lord Hugo Starling is having the worst day. Not only have funders rejected his ambitious medical plans, again, but his friend's younger sister has disguised herself as a boy to hunt for gold sovereigns stolen from the Royal Mint. No. Absolutely not. Ridiculous. Or... is it? Due to the terms of her parents' will, Georgette Frost is about to lose her bookshop home. If she can cross England in time to claim the Royal Mint's reward, her future will be secured. She invites Hugo to join her, for a share of the reward would allow him finally to bring his medical plans to life. Fine. If he must. Just to make sure she's safe. Georgette is resourceful and eager for adventure, and as they follow clues ever northward, they encounter a pickpocket, a Bow Street Runner, and inns with only one bed. The maddening woman is under his protection-but not even Hugo's iron self-control can resist forever. As he and Georgette test each other's mettle and share truths they've never confessed, they begin to lose their hearts. They don't have time for that sort of thing. They just need to find the stolen gold; then they can finally go their separate ways. That's what they both want. Right?

London society knows Lady Isabel Morrow as a proper widow, the devoted guardian to a young ward since her art dealer husband's violent death. No one would guess that Isabel discovered his scandalous secrets-and coped by sharing a passionate night with Callum Jenks, the handsome Bow Street Runner investigating the case. Callum couldn't forget the beautiful widow, but a grocer's son and a marquess's daughter inhabit different worlds. He plunges into the ceaseless grind of his work, never expecting to see Isabel again. Yet crime brings them together once more, as Isabel seeks Callum's help when another potential scandal threatens her ward's prospects. Her late husband's trade in forged art will become known unless a false Botticelli painting can be quickly swapped for a true one. And who better to help Isabel make the switch than the skilled Bow Street Runner who once won her trust . . . and a night in her arms? A Runner cannot break the law, even when the law seems wrong. But an old loss and a twist of fate have Callum rethinking his loyalties-and soon enough, he agrees to aid Isabel. As they plan an art heist together, partnership turns to passion . . . and passion turns to love. Once their scheme has ended, can they build a life together-or will their romance ignite the greatest scandal of all?

London society knows George Godwin, Lord Eastbrook, as a fun-loving rogue-but since a near-tragedy, George has preferred scientific experiments to scandal. Yet his favorite thing of all is matching wits with Cassandra Benton, a maddeningly clever investigator who works alongside her Bow Street Runner brother. Skilled and shrewd, the Benton twins once helped George's family, and he never forgot the irresistible Cass. When a long-ago wager resurfaces to endanger the life of George's reckless father, George calls upon the Bentons again to identify the threat. An injury sidelines Cass's brother, so she and George concoct a new plan: Cass will investigate from within the heart of the ton by posing as his notorious (and fictional) cousin. It will mean days and nights at George's side, but the self-reliant Cass is sure she can resist the intoxicatingly attractive heir. If only he wouldn't keep making her laugh, and tempting her into wicked nighttime confessions . . . As they find passion in each other's arms, love begins to bloom-but danger still surrounds them. Society says they have no hope of a future together. And as the case takes unexpected twists, they might soon have no future at all . . .