Nalini Singh. Every. Thing. By. Her. *swoons FOREVER* Incidentally, I also want to be her when I grow up. Really...some wicked hybrid of her and Meljean Brook and a handful of sexy sci-fi romance authors whose stuff can be hit or miss so I won't bore you all with my ridiculous and very specific lists--and just keep the genes for the good ones instead. O.o And more on topic, for period...I'm also pretty much "favorite books", rather than authors.
Dreams come in a size too big so we can grow into them.