{"product_id":"fever-dreams-isbn-9780345467874","title":"Fever Dreams","description":"Once again Nicole Jordan thrills and enchants with this fabulously seductive Regency romance, the next installment in the Paradise series.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe is the woman of his dreams . . . \u003cbr\u003eand he will pay any price to possess her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the moment he met the lovely Lady Eve, soldier of fortune Alex Ryder set his sights on winning the spirited beauty. But fate intervened, making Eve another man’s wife then a widow. Now, despite Eve’s ardent vow never to marry again, Ryder aims to use every seductive weapon in his arsenal to woo her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA renowned matchmaker for the ton, Eve defies Ryder’s wicked allure but cannot resist his challenge to find him a suitable bride–never dreaming that she is the only woman he will ever desire for his bride, or that his breathtaking sensuality will awaken her to soul-searing passion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut as their delicious mating dance begins, an assailant threatens Eve’s life. Now Ryder must protect Eve while striving to convince his beloved that he alone is her perfect match in the tantalizing game of love.Nicole Jordan is the nationally bestselling author of numerous historical romances. She lives with her real-life hero in the Rocky Mountains of Utah, where she is at work on her next sizzling tale of dangerous rakes and bold adventurers set in the Regency era. You can e-mail her via her website at www.NicoleJordanAuthor.com.Chapter   One\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e      London  April 1816\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “What I cannot understand, Eve,” Cecil said, spearing a kippered herring  on his breakfast plate, “is why you don’t wish to marry again. Since we  arrived here for the start of the Season, I must have counted at least a  dozen gentlemen who are eager   to court you.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Caught off guard by her brother’s unexpected choice of topics, Eve drew a  sudden breath and regrettably wound up choking on her morning coffee.  Blindly setting down her cup, she groped for her napkin and pressed it to  her lips to stem her fit of coughing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    But if she hoped to avoid answering, she was doomed to disappointment, for  Cecil waited with stubborn patience for her to be able to speak again,  even to the point of ignoring his forked kipper.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “One marriage was enough, thank you,” she finally rasped.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Seriously,” Cecil prodded with a frown, “why don’t you want to remarry?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “If you were a woman, you might understand why a widow would cherish her  independence,” Eve replied vaguely.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “But I’m not a woman—or a widow—so it doesn’t make any sense to me unless  you explain.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Holding back a smile at his earnestness, Eve busied herself with taking a  bite of soft-boiled egg. Cecil regularly puzzled over the “inexplicable  workings of the female mind.” But because it would be impossible to make  her younger brother understand how she felt when he had no concept of what  some married women endured, she wouldn’t even begin to attempt to explain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Thankfully, though, Eve reminded herself with joyful relief, after six  interminable years of marriage and one of widowhood, she finally had a  glimpse of freedom and independence. And she would allow nothing and no  one to spoil it. She would never, ever marry again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “It does seem a contradiction,” Claire said in her soft, melodic voice,  “since you are insisting that I marry.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Eve cast her sister a sympathetic glance. “Because marriage is the only  viable option for a young lady of quality. But I promise you, dearest, no  one will force you to accept any man who is not your ideal match. We will  find you a husband who can make you happy. You have my most solemn word on  that.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Claire gave a rueful sigh. “Doubtless you will, since you are such a  splendid matchmaker. But it does seem a trifle ironic that you delight in  arranging suitable matches for everyone but yourself.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “I am perfectly content to remain a widow,” Eve insisted, managing a  careless smile.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    At her declaration, she spied the twins exchanging a long, meaningful  glance. “Why this sudden   interest in my remarriage?” she asked, her smile fading to a frown.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Oh, no reason,” Claire replied, her tone perfectly innocent.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Eve’s gaze narrowed as she looked from one twin to the other. Her siblings  were up to something, although what she couldn’t guess. Before she could  probe further, however, she heard the sound of carriage wheels outside the  breakfast-room windows.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Fortunately her brother’s attention was similarly diverted, and he turned  his head to glance out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Look, there is Sir Alex at last!” Cecil exclaimed, tossing down his fork.  Jumping up from the table with no thought whatever to gentlemanly  behavior, Cecil crossed to the window for a better view. “I told you he  intended to take residence today.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    With effort, Eve controlled the urge to leap from her chair and rush to  the window herself. Her heart had suddenly quickened, but she refused to  be seen gawking like her nineteen-year-old brother.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    She and the twins were alone in the breakfast room, which overlooked  Bedford Square. Sipping her coffee, Eve contented herself with glancing  casually across the tree-shaded, grassy expanse that separated her elegant  town house from the others in the square. A dashing curricle had just  driven up and halted before the imposing mansion opposite hers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “What a bang-up rig that is,” Cecil declared, admiring the red and yellow  sporting vehicle. “I cannot wait to try it. Sir Alex promised to take me  for a drive this week and let me handle the ribbons.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Ignoring the curricle, Eve instead found her gaze riveted on the driver,  who was dismounting and tossing the reins to his groom. Even from a  distance she recognized Ryder’s tall, hard-muscled form. His shoulders  filled out his bottle-green coat to perfection, while his buff breeches  and polished Hessian boots molded his long, powerful legs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    It was her first sight of Alex Ryder in seven years, but there was no  excuse for the sharp little leap her heart gave. Perhaps it was merely the  surprise of seeing him dressed as a fine gentleman. When she’d known him  on Cyrene, he had rarely worn a coat or cravat, just shirt and breeches,  since the Mediterranean island was far warmer and much less formal than  London.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Or perhaps her quickened pulse was due to anticipation at again  encountering the handsome rebel who had at one time both fascinated and  unnerved her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Like his body, Ryder’s face was lean and hard, possessing a dangerous  masculine appeal. It was the face of a man who didn’t cater to  anyone—utterly compelling and perhaps a little sinful. What she remembered  most about Ryder, however, was his smoldering intensity. He possessed a  pair of breathtakingly intense eyes, the hue of dark mahogany, just like  his hair. And the air of danger that surrounded him only added to his  forceful impact.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Eve thought she had prepared herself to contend with Ryder again, but  seeing him in the flesh was more of a jolt than she’d bargained for. And  so were the unexpected feelings her remembrances of him aroused.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Silently scolding herself, Eve brought her coffee cup to her lips to hide  her deplorable flush. She should have banished her memories of him long  before now. It seemed a lifetime ago when they had been friends on Cyrene.  A lifetime ago when she’d harbored a girlish infatuation for him during  their final summer together.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Then again, she doubted that any woman could ever forget Alex Ryder.  Certainly any woman who had ever been fiercely kissed by him, as she had.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Ryder had already created quite a stir in the short time he’d been in  London. Mercenary turned hero. The papers were full of gossip and  speculation about him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    It was strange to think of him as Sir Alex, though. He’d always been  simply Ryder to her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Even more strange, they were to be neighbors again, since he had hired the  house directly across the square from hers for the Season. Workmen had  been traipsing in and out all week in preparation for his arrival.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    She suspected her brother had something to do with the odd coincidence,  but she hadn’t wanted to seem overly interested in Ryder by asking about  his plans.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “Do sit down, Cecil,” Eve told her brother as Ryder disappeared inside his  house. “There will be plenty of time to admire Sir Alex and his curricle   after you finish breakfast.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Cecil gave an impatient sigh but complied with her request, much to Eve’s  relief. She was well aware that Ryder was her brother’s idol.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Admittedly, Cecil’s obsessive case of hero worship worried her a little. A  whirlwind of energy, he was capable of getting into enough mischief and  mayhem on his own, without having a former soldier of fortune to pattern  his behavior after. Cecil was here now only because he’d behaved so  outrageously at Oxford that he’d been sent down for the rest of the term.  In his defense, he had wanted to be with his twin when Claire made her bow  to society—to offer her moral support and provide her with an escort if  she couldn’t manage to find any beaux on her own.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    It was exasperating, trying to rein in Cecil’s admirable but misguided  chivalrous instincts, yet Eve had cherished having both her siblings with  her during her final months of mourning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    She had lived quietly in Hertfordshire for the past year, not merely out  of respect due her late husband Richard, but because she much preferred  the freedom offered her in the countryside to the starched formality of  town life. Then three weeks ago, she had opened the London house for the  Season and moved in with the twins, to begin Claire’s society debut.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Richard’s widowed aunts—Drucilla, Baroness Wykfield, and Lady Beatrice  Townley—had accompanied them. The aunts were elderly dowagers of exalted  birth and fortune and influential enough with the ton to significantly aid  Claire’s comeout.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Since their arrival, Eve had spent much of the time commissioning a  wardrobe for Claire, sparing no expense to outfit her sister in the height  of fashion in the hope that beautiful gowns would bolster the girl’s  confidence when she faced the judgmental arbitrators of the ton.  Additionally, Eve had found it necessary to refurbish her own wardrobe,  since she’d finally put off her black and gray widow’s weeds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    She had also spent time renewing old acquaintances and was gratified to be  welcomed back enthusiastically, more for Claire’s sake than for her own.  Richard had been very popular with London’s fashionable set, for his  public persona was far more congenial than his private one. Eve was  planning on resuming her place in society in order to give her sister  every possible chance at success.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    At Claire’s pleading, however, they had forgone a formal court  presentation. Instead, the aunts had held an elegant dinner earlier this  week in her honor, so Claire was officially “out” now. They had not yet  attended many evening functions, but invitations were pouring in, and Eve  expected to have a full   social calendar for the next several months.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    She was listening with only half an ear when Cecil addressed his twin with  his usual youthful enthusiasm. “Mr. Ryder has invited us to tour the  London sights with him, Claire. He wants to see   the Tower tomorrow. I mean, Sir Alex. I sometimes forget to call him by  his new title.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    The girl brightened. “Oh, I would enjoy that immensely.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    “What would you enjoy?” Lady Wykfield questioned as she swept into the  room. Tall, elegant, and silver-haired, Drucilla was the elder and more  sharp-tongued of Richard’s two aunts. Trailing in her wake was Lady  Beatrice—a softer, fluttery version of her sister.Bestselling author of Wicked Fantasy He will not be denied his waking desire","brand":"Ballantine Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304958251237,"sku":"NP9780345467874","price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780345467874.jpg?v=1767726830","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/fever-dreams-isbn-9780345467874","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}