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Get ready to meet three brave, sexy men -- and three women bold enough to take them on -- in this exciting theme anthology. A raging storm unleashes stormy passions in Jill Shalvis's fast moving story, "Stranded!" Emergency room physician Matt Walker can handle almost any crisis -- except the emptiness in his own heart. Dedicated scientist Molly Stanton has to admit that, in her quest for success, she's somehow forgotten to get a life. When Matt rescues Molly from the perils of a flood and they're stranded alone together, the rest is history. Next, the earth moves in Donna Kauffman's "Buried!" As far as Haley Brubaker is concerned, a woman's best friend is her dog -- after all, four-footed companions never break you heart or steal your money. Though she's miles from home when the earthquake strikes, nothing and no one is going to keep her from getting to her dog, Digger. She expects Brett Gannon and his rescue dog, Recon, to be the biggest obstacle she'll face on the way…until her loyalty proves to Brett that Haley is a woman after his own heart. In "Trapped!" by Lori Foster, love burns hotter than fire. Rosie has always loved her childhood friend, Ethan Winters. She loved him enough to back off when Ethan became engaged to another woman, loved him enough to be his friend when he was jilted, and loved him enough to try some shock therapy to show him the searingly passionate new possibility she'd been burning to offer. She figured if the handsome firefighter woke up half naked in bed with her, they'd both find out once and for whether passion can burn between them. Sue Stone

From the Publisher

These men are heroes -- strong, fearless . . .

Fireman Ethan Winters ran headlong into a burning building to find Rosie Carrington. Rescue worker Brett Gannon defied the aftershocks of a San Francisco earthquake to prevent Haley Brubaker from entering her collapsing home. And emergency-room doctor Matt Walker braved gale force winds and rising floodwater to rescue scientist Molly Stanton.

And impossible to resist!

For Rosie, the heat in Ethan's eyes was enough to start a three-alarm blaze! As for Haley, being trapped amidst the rubble with Brett meant heightened tension -- and heightened passion. And sheltering together from the storm, Molly needed Matt to make love to her. It was the only way for her to know she was still alive . . . and that she'd stay that way.

More than just life-and-death intimacy. . . Their love was the real thing.

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Men Of Courage

Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.

Chapter One

Most noteworthy was the woman in his bed. Yep, that very shapely slim leg draped over his belly was definitely of the feminine variety, not to mention the small, delicate hand resting over his heart. Ethan looked at that hand, but with his eyes so fried, it didn't look like any particular woman's hand. Just a hand. A female hand.

Yeah, okay, so he was in bed with a woman. No big deal. He'd figure that one out soon enough. Since he wore no shoes and no shirt, only slacks that were unsnapped and unzipped-he knew that because he could feel her warm thigh on his skin-it stood to reason that the female was only half-dressed, too. That could mean several things, but likely only meant one thing.

So what? He was thirty years old, single, free to do as he damn well pleased, never mind that he didn't remember what the hell had pleased him.

With the sun so bright through the window, he realized it had to be midmorning. A quick glance at the clock showed it to be eight-forty. What time had he gotten into bed?

The incessant pounding on his front door, now getting louder, had probably awakened him, not the soft woman clinging to him.

Groaning with the effort, Ethan raised his head off the pillow to look at her. All he could see was a luxurious tangle of silvery-brown hair. She had her nose stuck close to his side, practically in his armpit, and she wore his uniform dress shirt-a shirt that didn't quite cover the satiny peach panties stretched over a very fine ass.

He didn't remember giving her his shirt and he sure as hell didn't remember either of them undressing. He reached for her hair, ready to brush aside the heavy mass so he could at least figure out her identity, when the pounding on his front door started again.

The woman stirred, then stretched awake, arching her body into his, raising her hands high above her head. Ethan stirred, too, despite being horribly hungover and in pain. Whoever was at the door could just damn well wait. He smiled down at the woman, anxious to see her, to have the mystery solved.

She rolled onto her back with a sleepy little moan.

Ethan leaped out of bed so fast his head spun and he nearly dropped to his knees. No. Hell, no.

His shaky legs continued to try to give out on him and his heart shot into his throat, making him dangerously close to barfing. He grabbed the footboard for support, swallowed hard, found his voice and shouted, "What the hell. Rosie!"

The smile faded off her face. Very slowly she peeked open one smoky-blue eye and groaned. "Shut up, Ethan. My head is splitting."

He sputtered, heard the continued noise at his front door, and nearly panicked. "Get out of my bed."

The look she sent his way wasn't nice. Rather than obey, she rolled onto her stomach and nestled into the pillows. "I need coffee."

Unbound, her hair was glorious, but it wasn't long enough to cover her rump. Ethan stared.

Oh, God. What to do? Rosie. His Rosie. His longtime friend, a woman he'd grown up with, his ex-best friend's little sister ...

Damn she looked good.

No. No she did not. He squeezed his eyes shut to block out the view of her sprawled in his bed, the sight of her plump bottom turned up for him to see, the long length of those legs. He'd seen her legs before, of course. She wore shorts, even the occasional swimsuit. But he hadn't seen her legs in his bed. Not once. Not ever.

Surely he hadn't ... Of course he hadn't. Ethan snorted. What a ridiculous thought. Why, if he'd done anything with Rosie, he'd remember it, and besides, he wouldn't do anything with Rosie. She was practically like family. Practically. Not quite, but close enough.

Reassured with his own thoughts, he opened his eyes again-but to be safe he didn't look directly at her. "Stay put."

Rosie grunted but otherwise didn't reply.

Ethan slipped out of the bedroom on unsteady legs and pulled the door shut behind him. Whoever loitered at his front door was making a horrid racket and if he woke up all the neighbors, they'd give Ethan fits.

He crossed the living room, jerked the door open and was met with the sight of Riley Moore, Harris Black and Buck Bosworth. Without being invited, they pushed their way in. Ethan cast a quick glance at the hallway, but all was secure. The very last thing he wanted was for the guys to know Rosie had spent the night.

They wouldn't believe that nothing had happened. Hell, he wouldn't have believed it. "What do you guys want? As you can see, you've interrupted my beauty sleep."

Harris snickered. "You'd need to hibernate for a whole winter to improve that mug."

Buck shook his head pityingly. "I knew you were crocked last night, but you must have really fried the old gray matter if you don't remember our fishing day."

Fishing. Oh, hell, he didn't want to fish. Ethan held his splitting head and took two deep breaths. "I've gotta pass today. I can barely stay on my feet."

Riley, the most serious of the three, gave an aggrieved sigh. "I told you last night to quit drinking. I told you to give it up and get over it. But, no, you wouldn't. So now you have to pay the consequences. Go get dressed. We're not leaving without you."

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Men Of Courage by Lori Foster Copyright © 2003 by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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