Showing results by narrator "Amy Soakes" in All Categories

Have you ever felt so drawn to someone, that you will put up with anything to be with them? That's how I feel when I'm around him. Most of the time, I want to hate him. I want to stay as far away from him as possible. He's so cocky and arrogant. And he gets in the way and tells me what to do. He's all things that I normally detest in a man. But, when we're alone...I can't even think for myself - the pull is that intense.

When Emma meets him, the only way she's looking to be tied down is in the literal sense. But Avner - shady hacker, off-the-books investigator, occasional spy - takes her breath away. He's the first man who doesn't turn to mush under her sexual spell - a fact that makes what's between them very different...and very real.

Ryan "West" Westlake belongs on the island. It's in his blood and who he is. Nobody can deny that. When Piper Harland walked out of his life years ago, West let her go. He'd never stand in the way of a woman and her dreams. But now that she's back, their past smacks him right in the face. With tempers flared and desires heightened, West just might realize what he lost so long ago. Piper would do anything for her brother - even if means going back to Stewart Island - the one place she swore she'd never go again.

Bailey Sheppard had loved Nick Heart for as long as she could remember. They had been best friends in school and graduated to a friends-with-benefits arrangement after she left for university. His once-a-month visits, when she would have him all to herself for the weekend, were the highlight of her life. And then he told her he was getting married. Bailey needed Nick in her life. She wanted to be the one he married and lived happily ever after with. So she hatched a plan to stop the wedding and steal the groom. And then she met Hunter.

Big, sexy men who don’t relate well to kids need not apply.... Ben Harland is, by his own admission, a bit of a grouch. He doesn’t do soppy chick flicks or cozy home and family. He sure doesn’t need any more drama in his world. But life has a way of biting him in the ass. Cue insta-daddyhood to an eight-year-old girl who lands on his doorstep and an out-of-control attraction to Stewart Island's hot school teacher. Kezia Murphy plays her widow card well. When you don’t trust people not to let you down, you don’t get involved.

Gertrude Stein's work flourished in a world which was finding bold new ways of expressing itself. Forms like Impressionism, cubism, expressionsism and other non-representational styles were developed that provoked and challenged the observer (as well as the established art world). What avant-garde artists did with paint and ink, Gertrude Stein did with words – dispensing with conventions of grammar and clarity, she gave free rein to word play and the musicality of sounds, without regard to their meaning or relationships.

She can save her people - or doom the world. Narissea faces an impossible choice. Armed with a map discovered in the hidden shrine, she’s forced to lead Inyene’s heir through the wilds of the Plains to claim the ultimate prize. For only the wearer of the Stone Crown can command all dragons and take the High Throne that rules over the three kingdoms. To place the crown’s power into Inyene’s hands is unthinkable. Yet failure to obtain it means certain death.

No sooner has Narissea successfully recovered the Stone Crown and used its power to fend off Inyene, the evil metal queen, she discovers the crown can’t be removed. And it’s consuming her mind with its poisonous whispers. Irrational commands and uncharacteristic rage burst forth before she considers their impact. Unwittingly, dragons across the land are enslaved by forced obedience to her every word.

In the hours just before dawn, blasphemous curses echo throughout the stone manor. A knife clatters to the floor, and a feisty young widow is bound, blindfolded, and led to the marriage altar. The king couldn't possibly have sanctioned this farce of a marriage, could he? After all, she alone transformed a few mud huts and starving serfs into a flourishing town, never once hesitating to pay generous taxes to his royal kingdom.

In the early Renaissance, a captain born in a noble family must choose. Will he marry the child bride his father has chosen or the woman who has captured his heart? The doctor's assistant is brave, learned, and handles a weapon like a man. Unfortunately, her beauty is beyond compare, and without a dowry, she attracts the attention of a powerful man who would have her as his mistress.

After a catastrophe in the real world leaves Kraven's broken body trapped in a regeneration capsule, his mind is connected to the latest new-generation virtual reality game, World of Noria. But things in game-world are not all they seem, and to survive, Kraven will need a strength he has little time to cultivate.

In the light of the early dawn, Lady Fay traverses her parapet wall and waits with bow drawn taut. Only when she realizes the group of men who exit the Saxon rowboat are tonsured does she allow herself to breathe. She need not shoot another of King Alexander's suitors. At least not today. With a wicked grin, she lets go the bowstring, and the arrow makes a perfect arc to land directly in front of the one in the lead. She isn't so fond of priests, either.

Three years have passed since Damien lost Etta. His obsessive and irrational behavior drove her away and destroyed his life. For three years he has languished in prison. Every day he's had but one thought: Etta. She is the holder of his soul, and he can't see a life without her in it. When he is finally released and tracks her down, he is faced with something he didn't expect: his daughter...and Aaron. Damien needs to redeem himself in the eyes of the woman he loves.

New problems bring new opportunities. After escaping the attack on Varna, Rav, Ari, and friends begin converting an ancient arena into a home defensible against the Weatherblight. For the first time in his life, Ari understands what it means to be a part of a real community. But establishing a new frontier town brings with it a new set of responsibilities. He’s needed as a leader, a cornerstone of the newly growing settlement. He’s needed as a man, to give comfort and intimacy to the women he loves. He’s needed as Lord Stoneblood.

It always happens when you least suspect it. Love. The chemistry. The pull. Even when you don’t want it to. Timing - it’s a bitch. And then you have to make a choice. Do you regret what is, or what isn’t? Because when love’s involved, there’s always regret. And my story is no exception.

The plague has been eradicated and the remaining nightmare monsters have fled Alveria—for now. With the Source of Fire now in their possession, Mari Asadottir and King Kai must remain vigilant during the royal ball held to honor their official bonding and graduation to Akademy initiates. For there are enemies all around.

A short story about how two people stopped smoking. After a day working together Penny teaches Joe how to stop smoking in simple terms.

Anemone's certain fate has it in for her, until a huge man bursts into her house, insisting he's been woken from his centuries-long sleep to be her personal protector.

This collection of short stories, by celebrated New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfield, was first published in 1920. Many of Mansfield’s short stories explore New Zealand landscapes and identity, and her work has been a shaping force in the short story genre.

Jasmine's a tough, savvy woman who's worked hard to get where she is. Used to being used by men and women, looking to get ahead, she doesn't trust easily when it comes to relationships. Shane's her cousin's best friend from Australia who's been working in Cherry Springs while he gets his Masters. Now that school's out, he's going to have to leave the country. She's always kept him at arm's length, afraid to ignite the passion that sparks whenever he's near. He does everything in his power to remind her of what she's missing.