Harker's eyes bored into Eve's. 'I crawled out of a hole in the ground,' he said, his voice as soft as it could be under the howling wind. 'I heard people talking to to ' he mimed holding something to his ear.

'A phone?' Eve said faintly. 'A mobile phone?'

'I don't know. They were talking about Crazy Eve Carpenter. Someone said you were going to jump. As if it was entertainment. So I came.'

'You said you would,' Eve whispered.

'Eve, for the love of God, please don't jump.'

Eve's hand flew to her mouth. She suddenly felt like laughing. 'You bloody idiot,' she said, and gestured to the fireman to bring the bucket closer. To Harker she said, 'This is where I fell from. Into the river. Into your world.'

Sudden understanding dawned in his eyes.

'The only place I was jumping was towards you,' Eve said, reaching for him, taking his cold, dirty hand and gripping it as tight as she could. Then she giggled, light-headed with relief. 'That's a terrible line. Remind me to use it in a song.'

Harker smiled more genuinely, and opened the gate for her. He said he'd come, I knew he'd come, Eve thought.

'You took your damn time,' she said, and fell into his arms.

About the Author.

Kate Johnson is a prolific writer of romantic and paranormal fiction. Born in 1982, Kate is Choc Lit's youngest author and lives near Stansted. She is a selfconfessed fan of Terry Pratchett, whose fantasy fiction has inspired her to write her own books. Kate worked in an airport and a laboratory before escaping to write fiction full time. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and has previously published short stories in the UK and romantic mysteries in the US. She's a previous winner of the WisRWA's Silver Quill and Passionate Ink's Passionate Plume award.

The Untied Kingdom was her UK debut novel and was shortlisted for the 2012 RoNAs (Romantic Novelists' Association's Award for Romantic Contemporary Novel category.

For more information visit: www.katejohnson.co.uk.

More Choc Lit from Kate.

Run Rabbit Run.

Sophie's in trouble. Must be Tuesday.

Sophie Green's an ex-spy, or trying to be. You wouldn't believe the trouble she's in. An MI5 officer has been shot with her gun, her fingerprints all over his office. And no, she didn't kill him.

But she has gone on the run.

Now Sophie's desperately seeking whoever's trying to frame and kill her. She's being forced to work with the least trustworthy man in Europe, MI5 is following her every move, and she's had to leave the tall, blond, god of a man she loves behind.

Luke Sharpe works for MI6. Or did, until his girlfriend became a murder suspect.

Doing nothing wasn't an option, so he started investigating. Who cares if it is means jeopardising his career? Sophie's everything he used to say he never wanted. Young, irresponsible, bright and mad. Now she's just everything and she has to live.

She will live, won't she?

Find out more and purchase in the kindle store: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rabbit-Sophie-Green-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00794L7AC More from Choc Lit.

If you've enjoyed Kate's heroes, you'll enjoy the rest of our selection. Here's a sample:.

The Silver Locket.

Margaret James.

Winner of Catanetworks Reviewers' Choice Award for Single Titles 2010 If life is cheap, how much is love worth?

It's 1914 and young Rose Courtenay has a decision to make. Please her wealthy parents by marrying the man of their choice or play her part in the war effort?

The chance to escape proves irresistible and Rose becomes a nurse. Working in France, she meets Lieutenant Alex Denham, a dark figure from her past. He's the last man in the world she'd get involved with especially now he's married.

But in wartime nothing is as it seems. Alex's marriage is a sham and Rose is the only woman he's ever wanted. As he recovers from his wounds, he sets out to win her trust. His gift of a silver locket is a far cry from the luxuries she's left behind.

What value will she put on his love?

First novel in the trilogy, followed by The Golden Chain (May 2011) and The Penny Bangle (May 2012) Find out more and purchase in the kindle store: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Silver-Locket-Choc-ebook/dp/B004D4ZYTQ The Importance of being Emma.

Juliet Archer.

Darcy & Friends Series.

Winner of The Big Red Reads Fiction Award 2011 and short listed for the 2009 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance.

Mark Knightley handsome, clever, rich is used to women falling at his feet. Except Emma Woodhouse, who's like part of the family and the furniture. When their relationship changes dramatically, is it an ending or a new beginning?

Emma's grown into a stunningly attractive young woman, full of ideas for modernising her family business.

Then Mark gets involved and the sparks begin to fly. It's just like the old days, except that now he's seeing her through totally new eyes.

While Mark struggles to keep his feelings in check, Emma remains immune to the Knightley charm. She's never forgotten that embarrassing moment when he discovered her teenage crush on him. He's still pouring scorn on all her projects, especially her beautifully orchestrated campaign to find Mr Right for her ditzy PA. And finally, when the mysterious Flynn Churchill the man of her dreams turns up, how could she have eyes for anyone else?

Find out more and purchase in the kindle store: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Importance-Being-Emma-ebook/dp/B003ZSHNWW Love & Freedom Sue Moorcroft Short-listed for the Festival of Romance Award for Best Romantic Read 2011.

New start, new love.

That's what Honor Sontag needs after her life falls apart, leaving her reputation in tatters and her head all over the place. So she flees her native America and heads for Brighton, England.

Honor's hoping for a much-deserved break and the chance to find the mother who abandoned her as a baby. What she gets is an entanglement with a mysterious male whose family seems to have a finger in every pot in town.

Martyn Mayfair has sworn off women with strings attached, but is irresistibly drawn to Honor, the American who keeps popping up in his life. All he wants is an uncomplicated relationship built on honesty, but Honor's past threatens to undermine everything. When secrets about her mother start to spill out ...

Honor has to make an agonising choice. Will she live up to her dutiful name and please others? Or will she choose freedom?

Find out more and purchase in the kindle store: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Freedom-ebook/dp/B00564A0RS.

Turning the Tide.

Christine Stovell.

All's fair in love and war?.

Depends on who's making the rules.

Harry Watling has spent the past five years keeping her father's boat yard afloat, despite its dying clientele. Now all she wants to do is enjoy the peace and quiet of her sleepy backwater.

So when property developer Matthew Corrigan wants to turn the boat yard into an upmarket housing complex for his exotic new restaurant, it's like declaring war.

And the odds seem to be stacked in Matthew's favour. He's got the colourful locals on board, his hard-to-please girlfriend is warming to the idea and he has the means to force Harry's hand.

Meanwhile, Harry has to fight not just his plans but also her feelings for the man himself.

Then a family secret from the past creates heartbreak for Harry, and neither of them is prepared for what happens next ...

Find out more and purchase in the kindle store: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turning-The-Tide-ebook/dp/B003Y8XQOC.

Please Don't Stop the Music.

Jane Lovering.

Winner of the RONA Best Novel of the Year 2012.

Winner of the RONA Best Romantic Comedy of the Year 2012.

How much can you hide?.

Jemima Hutton is determined to build a successful new life and keep her past a dark secret. Trouble is, her jewellery business looks set to fail until enigmatic Ben Davies offers to stock her handmade belt buckles in his guitar shop and things start looking up, on all fronts.

But Ben has secrets too. When Jemima finds out he used to be the front man of hugely successful Indie rock band Willow Down, she wants to know more. Why did he desert the band on their US tour? Why is he now a semi-recluse?

And the curiosity is mutual which means that her own secret is no longer safe ...

Find out more and purchase in the kindle store: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Please-Dont-Stop-Music-ebook/dp/B004LROOFK.

Highland Storms.

Christina Courtenay.

Winner of the 2012 RoNA Best Historical Romantic Novel Category Award.

Who can you trust?.

Betrayed by his brother and his childhood love, Brice Kinross needs a fresh start. So he welcomes the opportunity to leave Sweden for the Scottish Highlands to take over the family estate.

But there's trouble afoot at Rosyth in 1754 and Brice finds himself unwelcome. The estate's in ruin and money is disappearing. He discovers an ally in Marsaili Buchanan, the beautiful redheaded housekeeper, but can he trust her?

Marsaili is determined to build a good life. She works hard at being a housekeeper and harder still at avoiding men who want to take advantage of her. But she's irresistibly drawn to the new clan chief, even though he's made it plain he doesn't want to be shackled to anyone.

And the young laird has more than romance on his mind. His investigations are stirring up an enemy. Someone who will stop at nothing to get what he wants including Marsaili even if that means destroying Brice's life forever ...

Sequel to Trade Winds.

Find out more and purchase in the kindle store: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Highland-Storms-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B00629ZK0I.

Never Coming Home.

Evonne Wareham.

Winner of the 2012 Joan Hessayon New Writers Award.

All she has left is hope.

When Kaz Elmore is told her five-year-old daughter Jamie has died in a car crash, she struggles to accept that she'll never see her little girl again. Then a stranger comes into her life offering the most dangerous substance in the world: hope.

Devlin, security consultant and witness to the terrible accident scene, inadvertently reveals that Kaz's daughter might not have been the girl in the car after all.