{"product_id":"mcclairens-isleisbn-9780440226277","title":"McClairen's Isle","description":"Raine: The Reckless One...there was sin in his smile and wildness in his soul....\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRaine Merrick's wild, reckless spirit had earned him time in a French prison. When a mysterious beauty gains his freedom only to betray him, Raine Merrick sets out for his father's castle on McClairen's Isle, seeking the treasure hidden within. But strange surprises await him in the Highlands. He never expected to find his deceitful angel masquerading as an honored guest. Or to want her with all the searing passion in his sinner's soul.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWatch for the crowning volume in the spellbinding McClairen's Isle trilogy, \u003cb\u003eThe Ravishing One\u003c\/b\u003e, coming soon. And don't miss the first book in the trilogy, \u003cb\u003eThe Passionate One\u003c\/b\u003e, available from Dell.Early praise for \u003cb\u003eThe Reckless One\u003c\/b\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\"Readers will enjoy the excitement and passion.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for \u003cb\u003eThe Passionate One\u003c\/b\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\"Exquisite romance...\u003ci\u003eMcClairen's Isle: The Passionate One\u003c\/i\u003e is the first in a trilogy featuring the Merrick siblings.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This is a glorious book, wonderful reading.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eRomance Reviews\u003c\/i\u003eWhile on a tour of Scotland in 1997, Connie Brockway fell in love. With the country. Since she was traveling with her husband, David, at the time, this was a good thing. She fell in love with clear, cold lochs and pine-cloaked mountains, red stag and single malt whisky, and most of all the proud and sometimes tragic history of this wonderfully evocative country. Once home, she found it impossible to do anything but write a romance set there. So she began what ended up being \u003cb\u003eThe Passionate One\u003c\/b\u003e, the first novel in the McClairen's Isle series, using as its backdrop the majestic north coast of Scotland. She hopes she can bring to her readers some of the Highland magic she so enjoyed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlso the author of \u003cb\u003eMy Dearest Enemy\u003c\/b\u003e, which won the Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA Award, \u003cb\u003eAll Through the Night\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eAs You Desire\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eA Dangerous Man\u003c\/b\u003e, Connie Brockway loves to hear from readers. Please write her at P.O. Box 828, Hopkins, MN 55343 or visit her Web site for excerpts and reviews of all of her Dell books at www.conniebrockway.com.It was possible Madame Noir regretted her decision to choose him; that titillation had taken a back seat to fear.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut this woman was notorious for her outré appetites. The more probable reason for her ostensible fear was that it was all part of some perverse game. A game which, if Raine played it correctly, he might use to his benefit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf he could convince her to unchain him he would be out of this carriage in seconds, losing himself in Dieppe's twisting alleys. With such thoughts, he crouched low as he entered the carriage, conscious of the part he needed to play.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMindful of how his shoulders crowded the doorway and blocked the light, Raine slouched down onto the seat opposite her, angling himself in such a way that he did not appear threatening. He could hear her short agitated breaths, feel her tension.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJacques called out from up top and the horses plunged forward, pitching her across the slick leather seat. Raine flung out a hand to keep her from falling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Take your hands off of me,\" she whispered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe was not commanding him. She was pleading. As false as he suspected her trepidation to be, her simulated fear worked insidiously on him. His body reacted instinctively to the implicit submissiveness in her appeal. Was she pretending that she was an anxious virgin closeted with a ravening beast? If so, her fantasy marched closer to the truth than she could know.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt had been years since he'd felt such lust.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Take your hand off me.\" Her voice quavered. He obliged, releasing her slowly, letting his hands slide down her sleeve. He did nothing to hide the direction of his gaze, allowing it to linger on the agitated rise and fall of her breasts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRole-playing be damned. He wanted her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Madame,\" he said softly, lifting his arms and spreading open Jacques' cape, displaying his shackled wrists and naked chest, the scars of Pierre's frequent \"disciplinary actions\" ridging his white, prison-hued skin. \"As you can see, I am at your disposal, to do with as you please.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe shrank back against the deep, tufted leather seats. \"You don't understand,\" she whispered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I do not,\" he agreed. \"You will teach me, though. What \u003ci\u003eis\u003c\/i\u003e your pleasure, \u003ci\u003epetite\u003c\/i\u003e Madame? You touch; I am not allowed to touch? You arouse and then withhold the culmination of the arousal? Is that how you achieve satisfaction? Pray, do your damnedest by me. I am in a lather to be so victimized.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Quiet!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Just tell me the rules of the game, Madame,\" he said tersely. He was more than willing to pay whatever price freedom demanded. He sank back against the seat, his aroused body flaunted for her perusal. \"You have only to look to see how primed I am for whatever sport you chose,\" he said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Oh Lord.\" Her whispered epitaph embodied the virgin maiden's horror of a lecherous suggestion. 'Sblood, she was a good little actress.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I am yours.\" He leaned forward and gently grasped her wrist, drawing her gloved palm forth until it lay flat low on his belly. He drew his breath in on a hiss of undeniable pleasure. \"Can you feel my muscles clench with the promise of that which you withhold?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe tried to snatch her hand back but he kept it there, desperately trying to gauge the nature of his role. How much to ravish; how much to seduce. His very life depended on his ability to judge her reactions. Once, a lifetime ago, he'd been well on his way to being a master of such sensual expertise.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I was resigned to my celibacy, Madame,\" he said grimly, \"having long since purged myself of the tormenting memories of a woman's soft body, a woman's sweet mouth, a woman's ardent embrace. You've resurrected those, given them substance, teased me with their reality.\" His voice grew low and fervent. She tried to tug away, but her efforts lacked conviction. She wanted to hear this confession. Bask in it. Damn her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe grabbed her other wrist and, heedless of her sudden resistance, yanked, tumbling her into his embrace. He hauled her into the lee created by his wide spread legs. His arm snaked about her waist, the chains locking him to the floor jangling noisily.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe gasped, her hands trapped between them, pushing at his cold chest. The feel of her gloved fingers stroked his nerve endings. His heart thundered in his chest in equal parts fear and arousal.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Cry out and I'm dead 'ere I've been of any use to you,\" he grated out. She was svelte and tensile as a young she-cat, her hips narrow. Even through the thick layers of her skirt he could feel the delicate jut of her pelvic bones brand his inner thighs. Her veil settled over his knees in a drift of black silk.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Let me service you,\" he whispered, the line between playacting and reality blurring with the heady feel of her. His patience was wearing thin. She would find herself ravished in fact if he played this game much longer. \"Let me touch you. Fondle you. Inflame in you a fire to equal my own,\" he purred. \"Enjoy me.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe rocked lightly against her, striving to keep the anger from his voice. Anger as much with himself as with her, at the body that betrayed both his mind and spirit. \"Here. Now,\" he said. \"Let me take you. I can not wait. Only unchain me,\" he ground out urgently, \"and I will swive you as thoroughly as a spring stallion at his first mare.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Let me go!\" The veiled face jerked back. Raine cursed his impetuousness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe released her arms immediately. He'd read her incorrectly, decided that coarseness would appeal to what he knew of her appetites. Instead, she'd been appalled. He was not mistaken in that reaction; no one could act \u003ci\u003ethat\u003c\/i\u003e well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe forced his features into a submissive expression, dropping his gaze so that she might not see how it burned. Trembling, she scrambled into the seat opposite him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Forgive me,\" he began in a hard, far from humble tone. But he'd been stretched a bit far, worn a bit thin. By this game. By her. \"I should not have allowed my desires to make me so bold.\" His hot eyes lifted contemptuously to her concealed face. \"But then, I thought you liked your captives vulgar and base. 'Tis the rumor in the prison where you purchase your toys.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs soon as the words were spoken he cursed himself again. He hadn't planned on speaking thus. The words had simply come. He sneered at his manacled wrists. He'd thought that four years in prison had culled the impetuousness from his soul.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe waited for the inevitable; a blow across his face, an imperious call to turn the carriage around.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmazingly, it did not come. She only squeezed herself further back against the seat. \"Sir. Please. Be still. Be quiet. The guards might hear you. Only wait, I pray you,\" she urged, \"wait!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I am your creature, Madame.  You have only to command me,\" he said flatly.  \"As you well know.\"","brand":"Dell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304882426085,"sku":"NP9780440226277","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780440226277.jpg?v=1730758733","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/mcclairens-isleisbn-9780440226277","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}