title: Stranger's Embrace
author: Conrad, Helen (1)
description: SHE YEARNED TO BE KISSED
  Fiery-spirited Marina Crafts craved excitement. Mexico was finally free from Spanish rule, life along the California coast was peaceful, but dull, and the chestnut-haired beauty dreaded the idea of marrying a stuffy proper man her family had chosen for her. As she stood staring at a ship newly anchored in the harbor, Marina noticed a tall man peering through a spyglass...directly at her! Wantonly, she opened her cloak and allowed the wind to blow back her long hair and press her dress against the curves of her body. Then, closing her eyes, she imagined the feel of the handsome stranger's hands caressing her, his lips claiming hers in a searing kiss, his body crushing hers in of purest rapture...
  
  HE NEEDED TO BE CARESSED
  Raised as the eldest son of a major Spanish landowner, Sebastian de la Cruz was eager to finish his military service and return to Spain. This remote colonial outpost bored him... until he lifted his telescope and beheld a vision of loveliness. Intrigued by her seductive pose, he came ashore and tracked down the bewitching goddess as she bathed in a woodland stream. Though she feigned outrage when he first pulled her close and tasted her sweet lips, he vowed to make her his. He'd take it slow-but not too slow--and soon the willful minx would beg for more of his caresses, moan in ecstasy at the touch of his warm hands, and surrender to love's ultimate embrace... here, and wherever he might take her!