Ericka

In Poppy Page's mind, there are two types of women in this world: those who are faithful to their husbands and those who are not. Until now, Poppy has never questioned which she was. But when handsome, charming Matthew Gordon walks back into her life after almost two decades, that changes. Poppy makes a single mistake - and that mistake will be far more dangerous than she could imagine. Someone is going to pay for it with their life....

This sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, the first of Anne Rice's elegantly written volumes of erotica, continues her explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology of human desire. Now Beauty, having indulged in a secret and forbidden infatuation with the rebellious slave Prince Tristan, is sent away from the Satyricon-like world of the Castle. Sold at auction, she will soon experience the tantalizing punishments of "the village".

Penny couldn’t believe her luck when they first arrived at Oak Tree House, the grand country estate where she would be spending the week to celebrate her sister’s 30th birthday along with her mum and aunt. Guarded by two gigantic oak trees, the empty house stands alone within Oakdene, a quiet and desolate village. She ignores her mischievous aunt as she jokingly tries to convince them that their rented apartment is haunted the moment they step foot inside.

Lance Jeffries is sexy-silvered, in his late 40s, and happily married. Yet, he's always had a thing for black women. Vanessa Young just hit the age of 40, she's sexy, thick in all the right places, and smart - and happens to be on me-me time for a couple of weeks in the tropical island of Aruba. Lance is vacationing with his smokin' hot curvy wife, but cannot resist his temptation any longer; the moment he saw Vanessa alone, her hips busting out the sides of her beach chair, he knew he had to take his shot. If Lance gets one chance, he better make it count....

Nick Wolfe is a top secret agent for an uncommonly aggressive government institution. His agency works with alien abductees in an effort to preserve public safety and homeland security. A recent abductee and returned woman named Madison Monroe falls under his charge of responsibility. Nick finds himself uncharacteristically drawn to her, to know her, to protect her. Now, he must make a choice: adhere to his brutal tactics, training, and commitment to humanity, or devolve into a man who seeks justice for an individual?

Connie White is running away from an abusive relationship. Fear and desperation have driven her to Bowdley Hall Hotel in the Scottish Highlands, where, despite an unceremonious start, she appears to have fallen on her feet. The owner, Frances McKenzie, is kind and understanding and seems happy for Connie to hide out in her hotel for a while. With a roof over her head and a job as a chambermaid, Connie is in a better situation than she could ever have hoped for. Her workmates seem nice, but she’s determined to keep them at arm’s length.

In Sacrum Umbra you were treated to tales from the shadows, the literary darkness that lives within all of us. Here you will find tales of another sort, the type you might find in the less wholesome end of the collective unconscious and the very depths of the gut. From stories of childhood gone horribly wrong to sex and madness with an impossible cost, this is where you'll find the more gruesome end of the spectrum.

Set in a sprawling Gothic mansion in a remote coastal location, somewhere in the British Isles, the elderly recluse Lord Alfred Willoughby is deciding what is to become of his vast fortune after his death. Whilst his head is telling him to leave nothing at all to his wastrel son, Matthew, his heart is speaking differently. After much deliberation, in a last-ditch attempt to try and show to his son the importance of applying himself to a task and staying with it to the end, he devises a series of enigmatic puzzles cunningly concealed within the lines of a poem - the cryptic lines.

Tom Roberts has been aware from childhood that mysterious events once occurred at his grandfather's remote country house, but has no idea of exactly what happened there. Years later, when he spends a short break at the property, the horrifying past comes vividly to life as ghosts rise from their graves to reveal deeply buried family secrets.