Hugh MacCarrick has been obsessed with Jane Weyland for 10 years, yet forced to stay away from her because of a centuries-old MacCarrick curse: ...walk with death or walk alone.... Hugh has been dispatched by Jane's father, his superior, to protect her from a man who wants to kill her; a man Hugh knows all to well to be a monster. Weyland treasures only one thing in this world -- his daughter Jane. Having loved Jane for so long, Hugh will do anything to keep her safe. The killer knows if he takes away Jane, the two men he despises most will be destroyed forever.

Hugh cannot believe that the plan Weyland has concocted is for Hugh and Jane to marry. How can Weyland choose a gunman, an assassin with blood on his hands, for his beloved daughter? But it's because of what Hugh is, what he's done and the fear of his family's wrath that will keep Jane safe. A deal is set. If Jane agrees to wed him, Hugh will take her into hiding until the danger has passed. If she refuses, he must take her away temporarily and risk scandal, at best, and increased danger, at worst.

Hugh and Jane wed, but there can be no "sealed union" between them. As long as he does not claim her, she will be safe from the bloody curse. Hugh asks, "If I cannae have the woman and family of my own, what exactly is my life about?" He does know that it's not about staying near the woman he deeply loves until he destroys her life. Hugh is massive, strong and intimidating. Jane is beautiful and brimming with wit and charm. But Jane has been harboring a secret. She's madly in love with Hugh and was deeply hurt and confused when he left her years earlier without so much as a good-bye.

What a pair. A coquette about to be taken down by an assassin, and an assassin about to be taken down by a coquette. How ironic. And now the spellbinding, heart- rendering, dangerous adventure begins.

IF YOU DESIRE is romance at its very best and this story will leave you breathless. Kresley Cole's gift for storytelling matches no other. IF YOU DESIRE is a sizzling, sensual and satisfying treasure that will keep you reading well into the night. You will not be able to put it down. Ms. Cole's stories are adventures and her characters take us on journeys of the heart; what dreams are made of.

I treasured the time I spent with Courtland in IF YOU DARE, the first installment of the MacCarrick Brothers trilogy. I hated to see Hugh's story end in IF YOU DESIRE and I'm looking forward to Ethan's story in the final installment. Oh, be still my heart, meeting these tall, tough and troubled Highlanders with brogues that melt your heart. They are Scottish men at their verra, verra best (and sometimes their wonderfully worst) being brought to their knees by the strong women who love them. You cannae miss this trilogy. It's what romance is all about.

Book Summary

He tried to run....

In his youth, Hugh MacCarrick foolishly fell in love with a beautiful English lass who delighted in teasing him with her flirtatious ways. Yet he knew he could never marry her because he was shadowed by an accursed family legacy. To avoid temptation, Hugh left home, ultimately becoming an assassin.

She tried to forget him....

Jane Weyland was devastated when the Highlander she believed would marry her abandoned her instead. Years later, when Hugh MacCarrick is summoned to protect her from her father's enemies, her heartache has turned to fury -- but her desire for him has not waned.

Will passion overwhelm them?

In hiding, Jane torments Hugh with seductive play. He struggles to resist her because of deadly secrets that could endanger her further. But Hugh is no longer a gentle young man -- and toying with the fever-pitched desires of a hardened warrior will either get Jane burned...or enflame a love that never died.