Highland Guard #1 April 2010 On Sale: March 23, 2010 432 pages ISBN: 0345518225 EAN: 9780345518224 Mass Market Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com The Chief by Monica McCarty AN ELITE FIGHTING FORCE UNLIKE THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN . . . Scouring the darkest corners of the Highlands and Western Isles, Robert the Bruce handpicks ten warriors to help him in his quest to free Scotland from English rule. They are the best of the best, chosen for their superior skills in each discipline of warfare. And to lead his secret Highland Guard, Bruce chooses the greatest warrior of all. The ultimate Highland warlord and a swordsman without equal, Tor MacLeod has no intention of being drawn into Scotland’s war against the English. Dedicated to his clan, the fiercely independent chief answers to no one—especially not to his alluring new bride, bartered to him in a bid to secure his command of the deadliest fighting force the world has ever seen. The treacherous chit who made her way to Tor’s bed may have won his hand, but she will never claim his heart. Although her husband’s reputation is as fierce as his manner, Christina…

Tim Barney was the first boy I ever dated. The first boy I ever kissed. I met him when I was eighteen — a freshman in college. I’d never been on a date. Didn’t go to high school proms or dances or hang out at parties. I read Harlequin romances. I worked. I wrote. And then, in geology class in 1977, I met Tim. I fell so hard and so fast and had so little experience, I was completely out of my element. Tim broke my heart. Twenty-seven years later, when I was living in emotional isolation, Tim sent me an email. He wondered if I remembered him. He claimed that I broke his heart back in college. Did I remember him? A girl doesn’t forget her first kiss. Or her only true love. And as for breaking his heart, I didn’t think so. But twenty seven years had passed. Life had taken its toll. For me, the price had been heavy. I’d been attacked by darkness. Lived in darkness. I wasn’t the same naïve young girl Tim had held in his arms all those years ago. HCI books heard about our story from an author friend of mine. This…