Broken Vow

He'll protect her...whether she likes it or not. Riona Griffin is gorgeous, intelligent, and iron-willed, determined to carve her name in the family ledger without a man at her side. But when she barely survives an unexpected attack on her life, her family hires Raylan Boone as her bodyguard--a rancher, a soldier, and a southern boy with plenty of charm to burn. And Riona hates his guts. She doesn't think she needs anybody, but Raylan is pretty sure she needs him. After all, she's being hunted by an assassin who never misses his mark. To keep her safe, Raylan will have to stay by her side, day and night, for the foreseeable future. Riona might think that's a fate worse than death, but once they're alone on Raylan's family ranch, the chemistry between them comes to a boil--and everything changes. Raylan knows Riona could learn to love him. But he'll have to keep her alive first. And this hitman isn't getting his girl without a fight.

Nicholas Gregory is everything any woman could ever wish for in a man. He’s towering in height, with a gorgeous chocolate complexion. Throw in the facts that he’s sexier than homemade sin and gainfully employed, and there’s no doubt he’s a certified keeper. So, why at age twenty-nine is he childless and a virgin? Stricken by a severe case of lust, Nicholas asks himself the same questions when he meets the irresistible Royce Phillips, a nurse turned health-and-fitness mogul. Her chance emergence into his world is more catastrophic than any natural disaster. For the first time in his life, Nicholas rethinks the decision he made as a little boy to become a Catholic priest. The raw essence of Royce causes him to long for romantic love and the intimate touch of a woman—both forbidden pleasures he’s vowed to never partake of. And Royce isn’t spiritually strong enough to lead him not into temptation. Now, fully indulged in the most sizzling secret affair of all time, Nicholas is living a double life. He’s a righteous man in the pulpit, preaching to his flock, but night after night, he’s anything but holy in Royce’s bed. The young priest is torn between his vow to God and his love for this woman who has grown tired of being his part-time lover. She wants more. She wants it all. So, Nicholas is forced to choose between the church and the love of his life. Heartbroken, Royce must learn to live without the man who made her feel born again, and a tiny, unexpected blessing gives her the inspiration to do just that. But while Royce embraces the next phase of her life, Nicholas realizes he can’t live without her. He takes a leap of faith, placing love before tradition. Happily together at last, tragedy tests the strength of their bond. Nicholas believes they’re being punished for the decision he made. He makes a new vow to God in exchange for a miracle, and this time, it’s a vow he plans to keep forever.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1845.

Dead Boy’s Game and The Broken Vow is the first book of Magical Rome Universe. Late at night in Magical Rome, an elderly druid plunges two baby boys into a cauldron bubbling with a mysterious potion. One boy is alive; the other, dead. Instantly, a spectacular magic begins inside the cauldron — life diffuses from the living boy to the dead. Thirty-seven years pass … and the two boys, oblivious of their magical past, grow up believing that their beloved Rome will outlive time itself. But when the ancient powers commanding their bygone adventure come calling, carnage rains upon the great city. And our heroes’ lives intertwine once again. Will the two men defend the city of their birth or hurl Rome into a never-ending abyss? Thirty-seven years after a feat of impossible magic, a deadly game begins in Magical Rome.