Böcker av Roxane Beaufort

Riku pushed Romilly back till her knees pressed against the great slab. Mahil was dancing round mouthing incantations. The tribe swayed and chanted as they watched. The warriors lifted Romilly onto the altar and bound her, ropes about her ankles and wrists. She had never believed in God, not seriously, bucking against attending services in the church on her father's estate or going to those in London, but again she prayed. 'Dear Jesus, save me.' It is the mid-seventeenth century. Lady Romilly Fielding is an 18-year-old virgin. Beautiful, rich and spoilt, she is travelling to Virginia to visit relatives who own plantations there. She is accompanied by her betrothed, whom she does not love, plus several other friends and servants, but there is a storm when they reach the West Indies and they are shipwrecked on a tropical island. Set upon by natives, she and her companions are rescued by a mysterious man and his ruffian followers. He is Armand Tertius, the scourge of the Caribbean, a deposed aristocrat who has become a pirate, living like an emperor in his fortress and controlling all the area around. He has slaves of both sexes and a stunning mistress, and introduces Romilly to the enigma of pleasure and pain - becoming her master. Her pride is ground into the dust and, although she has other suitors, when the time comes for her to be rescued by a British ship will she leave Armand? Or will she remain in his Devil's Paradise forever, captivated by this intriguing sea-wolf?

Judith stood in the centre of the cell, looking around her. The only light was from a window high up in the stone wall, and this was protected by iron bars. There was no bed, no chair, nothing, and if Steven intended to force himself on her, then it would have to be against the wall or on the bare brick floor. Did he want to starve her into submission, seeing her grovel? His behaviour suggested he would... England during the Civil War. 1642/45.Repressed Lady Judith, unhappily married to Parliamentarian supporter Lord Steven Ashley, is surprised when he brings an enemy prisoner to their manor house. The handsome Cavalier is addressed as Captain, but is in fact a woman, Countess Antonia Durward, and she heads a troop of soldiers, male and female. Eighteen year old Judith hates her middle-aged husband, who thinks it his right to chastise her for the smallest misdemeanour. She and the Countess escape and Judith joins Durward's she-soldiers, their lives fraught with danger as the war progresses and the Royalists face defeat. They head for France where she helps Isobel Thorley, a wickedly attractive bisexual courtesan, open a high-class brothel. At last Judith is enjoying a freedom never before experienced, and swears never to return to her husband and the Puritan way of life...

The French Revolution, 1790 and onwards.Spirited Chantel is furious with the leader of the revolutionaries, Captain Gautier, who takes over her estate, but though hating everything he stands for is strangely attracted to this saturnine man.She is courted by a French Comte and helps him escape from Gautier, adopting the disguise that is going to cover her tracks as she organises escape routes for her persecuted friends. She dresses as a man and earns the name of The Fox, and through a series of adventures she is threatened by the feared Chief of Police, who imprisons her in his fortress where she is groomed for his mistress, the beautiful and corrupt Voletta Delmar.The regime is brutal, with aristocrats going to the guillotine daily, and Chantel risks her life to save some of them, eventually escaping to Dieppe and an English ship that will take her home. But can she leave Gautier, and can she ever settle for the humdrum again with so much adventure on offer?

The vehicle stopped. She was lifted, carried down the steps, and then hoisted over a broad shoulder. She guessed it to be Aidan by the smell of him. He was walking and she swayed, her head hanging down, her hair streaming. Cold air. Sounds of footsteps and the jingle of harness as the cab retreated. Where was she? What was the bastard about to do to her? It was horrible to be robbed of sight and voice, and unable to struggle or defend herself. Would he let her go eventually, or did he intend to keep her prisoner? She heard the squeal of iron hinges and knew by his movements that he was descending. It was colder still, and damp, and Angela was terrified. Fate deals beautiful but pampered Lady Angela Bayswater a cruel blow when her wealthy landowner father dies suddenly. Not only is she now alone in the world, but she discovers that he was deep in debt and the house and estate has to be sold to pay his creditors. She hopes her betrothed, the handsome Lord Aidan Driscol, will honour his promise of marriage, but he refuses now there is no substantial dowry. Instead he offers to make her his slave, to submit her to his sexual domination. But proud and headstrong she refuses and battles with the vagaries of fortune now that she has fallen from riches to rags, struggling to survive in the midst of the harsh life of mid-Victorian London. Will the lovely damsel in distress sacrifice her precious virginity in order to claw her way up from the gutter? Or will she remain prey to the many ruthless, greedy, lustful desires of perverts and villains?

Horror gave Lucy strength and she wrenched herself free of his grasp. 'How dare you?' she yelled. 'How can you suggest such a thing, and you a man of God?' 'What does it matter to you, slut?' he spat. 'You're only a servant who'll end up with child to Lord Ludlow or one of his sons, and then you'll be turned out on the street to fend for yourself and your bastard as best you can. You'll become a whore in the end, so why not start now? You could buy a lot of fripperies with a penny.' 'You disgust me!' she hissed... When beautiful Lucy Browne, orphaned, penniless and fresh from the country, finds herself abandoned in London, she has no idea of the pitfalls. It is during the last quarter of the 18th century, an era of vice and debauchery. She is completely innocent and falls into the clutches of a brothel madam who pretends to befriend her, and then sells her to the highest bidder - aristocratic rake, Lord Tarquin, an expert in punishment. As her cruel master, he robs Lucy of her virginity and submits her to slavery, teaching her the painful pleasures of correction and bondage. She is fascinated by him, but wilful and confused she falls in love with a poor student, Charles Prescot. But they are forced to part. She becomes the mistress of a perverted old nobleman, and is soon renowned for her extravagance and wild parties. She is pursued by Lord Tarquin, and finds Charles again, but she is now a woman of substance. Will she continue to be a notorious courtesan? Will she be Lord Tarquin's slave, or marry Charles, or do all three? The choice is hers.

As a student and a singer Stella is haunted by the vision of a beautiful man, Lazio, who is often in the audience when she performs, but it is not until she takes up residence in Troon Hall and visits a ruined monastery nearby that she meets him properly, and falls victim to those who made him a vampire.A dairy that once belonged to Emma, her great-great-grandmother, tells of a trip to Venice where she and her friend Candice met the leader of the Nosferatu, Prince Dimitri. Candice fell in love with him and accepted the dark gift of eternal life. Emma was distraught, and spent years trying to contact this immortal girl who wanders in limbo, but died without succeeding and now expects her descendant, Stella, to unite them.Dimitri's bizarre votaries seduce Stella, keeping her under restraint and subjected to their unnatural desires, but the love that links her and Lazio can be used to form a bridge between Candice and Emma. Shall Stella exchange blood with him and become a vampire, too? Or is she content to meet him at those times when he can function as a human being?There must be a way in which she can have everything she desires and pacify Emma's unquiet shade. Stella has to make choices and understand her passions, the prompting of her heart and the lusts of her flesh.