Showing results by narrator "Kirsten Lee" in All Categories

In these twelve new stories, Richard Bausch explores the passions of men and women facing unex­pected circumstances and the complications of modern life and love. In the novella “Donnaiolo,” for instance, the parents of a young divorcée who has returned from Italy and a failed marriage must deal with the completely different, and unappealing, person she has become. In “Isolation,” a happily married woman who has con­ceived an unexpected passion for another man learns, in lockdown during the pandemic, that this man—into whose life Bausch also gives us a window—has become ill with Covid.

I think this woman may be the death of me. A dire prediction, but probably true. Probably true because she's not mine to have and I'll probably take her, even at the risk to my own safety. So many men slobbering to get a taste of her and only one, sweet, virginal girl to go around. That's right. She's a virgin. Looking like a porcelain china doll that would break if not handled carefully. But I also know she's stronger than she looks. She's a contradiction. She's most likely my downfall.

Rand Bishop's dreams of Olympic gold were shattered years ago, but he's left that all behind, settling into a new career and lifestyle that would make any man jealous. While he may not be competitively racing down the ski slopes anymore, he's just as happy getting his rocks off as a Fantasy Maker for The Silo.

Cain Murphy is as big and bad as they come. After serving in the Marines, he's returned home to Wyoming and now works as head of security at the exclusive sex club, The Wicked Horse. His job is to protect not only the patrons, but to zealously guard the secret existence of the club itself. Sloane Preston is all about discovering secrets. As an undercover reporter, she's determined to reveal the truth behind the façade of The Wicked Horse and expose it for all the world to see.

Mister Black swept in and out of my life like a tornado, leaving me twisted up and forever changed in his wake. And now that my life is finally back on track, I need to move on, despite the many reminders of our time together. But our pasts are only as far away as the shadows we hide behind, and sometimes those shadows grow darker, converging on the present in the most insidious way.

No matter how hard I've tried to let go of Mister Black, the memories of us together torture me. They're an unforgettable reminder of a life I can't have for many reasons. Burying myself in work mostly keeps thoughts of him to a screaming minimum, until he's thrust into my life under circumstances beyond my control. Despite my need for his protection, this time I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to survive with my heart intact. He is Black: a fierce protector and irresistible charmer.

Bridger Payne is an enigma that no one can figure out. Wise beyond his years, eerily intuitive, and sexy as hell, every woman in The Silo wants him. None can have him. Not the real man, anyway. He might wield the lash for you if you ask prettily, but he'll get no gratification from it. He'll definitely make you scream, but he won't think twice about you when he walks away. Bridger carries the darkest of secrets. He's filled with too much pain. He's utterly untouchable. Until she came along.

Macy Carrington is broken. The strong, beautiful woman that I've unwittingly fallen in love with is all kinds of broken from a secret that she has carried for far too long. A secret so dark, she has gone to great lengths to protect it. A secret that I'm terrified will one day rip her away from me.

Passion, betrayal, and heartache collide in an emotionally charged and dangerous chain of events that could unravel everything Sebastian and Talia have worked to overcome. While looking forward to a bright future with the upcoming birth of their child, and navigating the often humorous and overbearingly protective aspects of approaching parenthood, Mister Black and Little Red manage to strengthen their passionate connection.

He Never Came Home is a collection of 22 personal essays written by girls and women who have been separated from their fathers by way of divorce, abandonment, or death. The contributors to this collection come from a wide range of different backgrounds in terms of race, socioeconomic status, religion, and geographic location. Their essays offer deep insights into the emotions related to losing one’s father, including sadness, indifference, anger, acceptance—and everything in between.

When wedding plans go awry and tragedy hits, Sebastian and Talia race against time to uncover the culprit who dared to strike out at the Blakes. As they wade through murky family waters to discover the truth about the attacks against their family, Mister Black and Little Red’s relationship deepens and simmers to new levels.

It might be fair to say that I despise Macy Carrington. She slings insults with precision, not caring about the destruction she leaves in her wake. We clash in a battle of wills every time we're around each other, and yet I still fantasize about being lodged deep within her body. I have never encountered someone that grates me the way Cal Carson does. His pompous, arrogant demeanor. A holier-than-thou attitude. Any interaction with "Saint Cal" ends in a verbal clash of epic proportions, and yet there's no one I'd rather have.

Emma's with childhood crush Cole Marlowe, and Layla finally found Mr. Right in alpha cop Ben Montrose. But both couples face unexpected obstacles that will test their relationships. Layla and Emma find solace in each other as battle lines are drawn, and they rediscover the close friendship they lost over Cole. It's all on the line as the sisters struggle to find the answer to the most difficult question they've ever faced: Is the love they have now meant to last forever?

Lives separated by time and space have collided, and an exiled Englishman, a writer trapped far from home, and a girl destined to die too young, have each glimpsed a world that is not their own. Travelling through the centuries, between colonies on the moon and an ever-changing Earth, together their lives will solve a mystery that will make you question everything you thought you knew to be true.

I'd say I'm down on my luck, but that's an understatement. I'm flat on my ass. Homeless, hungry, and in hiding with my little sister at the age of 21, I've never been so desperate. I've hit rock bottom when I get an offer I can't refuse. Sell my body to save my sister? There's nothing I won't do to keep her safe. I make the rules, and I'm not afraid to defend myself if this rich guy crosses the line. But once I see beneath his cold, calculating façade, the lines aren't so clear anymore.

In this captivating tale of imagination and ambition, a seemingly disparate array of people come into contact with a time traveller who must resist the pull to change the past and the future. The cast includes a British exile on the west coast of Canada in the early 1900s; the author of a bestselling novel about a fictional pandemic who embarks on a galaxy-spanning book tour during the outbreak of an actual pandemic; a resident of a moon colony almost 300 years in the future; and a lonely girl who films an old-growth forest and experiences a disruption in the recording.

She spends her nights treating patients, but Dr. Jocelyn Drake's own wounds are unfixable. Her ex-husband and his younger, bouncier girlfriend work just a few floors away at Tulane Medical Center, and they serve as a constant reminder of what Joss lost. But a fierce determination to continue her research project and a shred of remaining pride keep Joss from transferring out of the Big Easy. Carson Stephens recently returned from a tour of duty in the Middle East, and though willing women present themselves at every turn, his closest companion is loneliness.

Sometimes appearances deceive. Take me, for instance. I look like a respectable doctor with his shit together, but the rural Montana mental hospital I work at is actually a sanctuary from my demons. At just 35 years old, I've already failed on an epic scale. Treating patients at Hawthorne Hill is part of my atonement. I've found peace when a new patient turns me inside out. Allison Cole is a beautiful, haunted survivor who fell into silence after witnessing a murder. But even without words, I'm drawn to her.

The night I met her, I had no idea I saved her life. The night I took her home, I never wanted her to leave. The night I fell for her, she was running from somebody else. The night I give her my heart, she doesn't give me hers... and I'm about to find out why.

At 28, Luke Maxwell is the hottest eligible bachelor in America and the billionaire CEO of Maxwell Computers. When Brina Kingston is hired by Luke's competitor as a corporate spy, Brina successfully works her way into a position in Luke's office and his bed. But she soon finds herself risking the most important assignment of her career and, possibly, the greatest love of her life.