Two reader-favorite stories of powerful men…wrapped around their babies' little fingers CLAIMING HIS OWN From their first explosive night together, Caliope Sarantos and Maksim Volkov agreed to no commitment. Her pregnancy changed everything. Though the Russian tycoon made the baby his heir, he soon disappeared. Now he's back. Will Caliope's heart break again? Or will Maksim risk everything to claim this woman and child as his own? HER LITTLE SECRET, HIS HIDDEN HEIR Reuniting with his ex-wife, millionaire Marcus Keller gets more than a jolt of desire. He discovers he's a daddy. He refuses to walk away from his child…his heir. And despite Vanessa's betrayal, Marcus tries to be civil with her. But can it really only be business between them, or will Marcus fight to make this woman his again?

Mary Jo Bona reconstructs the literary history and examines the narrative techniques of eight Italian American women's novels from 1940 to the present. Largely neglected until recently, these women's family narratives compel a reconsideration of what it means to be a woman and an ethnic in America. Bona discusses the novels in pairs according to their focus on Italian American life. She first examines the traditions of italianitá (a flavor of things Italian) that inform and enhance works of fiction. The novelists in that tradition were Mari Tomasi (Like Lesser Gods, 1949) and Marion Benasutti (No Steady Job for Papa, 1966). Bona then turns to later novels that highlight the Italian American belief in the family's honor and reputation. Conflicts between generations, specifically between autocratic fathers and their children, are central to Octavia Waldo's 1961 A Cup of the Sun and Josephine Gattuso Hendin's 1988 The Right Thing to Do. Even when writers choose to steer away from the familial focus, Bona notes, their developmental narratives trace the reintegration of characters suffering from a crisis of cultural identity. Relating the characters' struggles to their relationship to the family, Bona examines Diana Cavallo's 1961 A Bridge of Leaves and Dorothy Bryant's 1978 Miss Giardino. Bona then discusses two innovative novels—Helen Barolini's 1979 Umbertina and Tina De Rosa's 1980 Paper Fish—both of which feature a granddaughter who invokes her grandmother, a godparent figure. Through Barolini's feminist and De Rosa's modernist perspectives, both novels present a young girl developing artistically. Closing with a discussion of the contemporary terrain Italian American women traverse, Bona examines such topics as sexual identity when it meets cultural identity and the inclusion of italianitá when Italian American identity is not central to the story. Italian American women writers, she concludes, continue in the 1980s and 1990s to focus on the interplay between cultural identity and women's development.

They want a broodmare. I want out. I've never wanted anything to do with the mafia life. I was going to get my degree and get out. But thanks to mafia warring, I'm now being held hostage by one of the largest criminal empires. Giulio Pavone is as personable as he is cruel, treating women like nothing more than product to be sold. Damien Rossi's faux gentle touch makes my skin crawl. Slayer has made no secret how much he wants to see my tears. And above all, they want to forcibly use me to continue the Pavone family line. I'm nothing but a broodmare to them. I know if I get pregnant, my chance of escape becomes next to nothing. I have to get out. I have to stay strong. I can't become one of the broken girls they sell at their seedy clubs. Note: This work contains extremely dark themes with potentially triggering content, including forced pregnancy. Read at your own discretion. Though this book picks up where Loving Lucia left off for Vanessa's story, it is not necessary to read the Spoils of Victory trilogy before diving into the Breeding Contempt trilogy.

Hiding from a crazy ex-boyfriend, Hannah Winters is determined to keep her head down and her heart locked safely away. Burned out from practicing medicine and dealing with a controlling jerk, her interest in romance is at absolute zero...until they walk in. One look at Cole and Declan and Hannah is going to have a very hard time keeping the ice around her heart from melting.Declan grew up in Bridgewater, and his job as a police officer means he's got an instinct for trouble, and Hannah Winters stirs up all kind of feelings he can't fight. When his friend, Cole finds out about the sexy type-A woman with desire in her eyes but lies on her lips, he's just as determined to tame her and uncover her deepest fears--and desires.When her past catches up to her, it'll be Cole and Declan who convince her to stop running, from her past, and from the desire burning white hot between them. They're going to claim her, even if they have to do it the hard way...one seductive kiss at a time.Warning: Panty melting! Claim Me Hard is book 2 in the wildly dirty series where two obsessed alpha cowboys meet their Type-A heroine. This standalone HEA is all about her - no M/M.

Catherine is very inexperienced, but all that is about to change when 2 very BIG strangers decide they must bring Catherine to her knees and make her beg & plead for more...Oh, and her best friend Karen wants a piece of the action too! dubcon, dubious consent, taboo erotica, forced submission sex, forced, taboo, best friend sex, bisexual erotica, forbidden erotica, group sex, menage, orgy, erotica short stories, erotica short story

Every fifty years, a cult claims twelve men to murder in a small Texas town. Can one girl end the cycle of violence - and save the boy who broke her heart? "A richly woven tale of magic and murder and vengeance. This book kept me up all night! One of the best stories I've read all year." - Shea Ernshaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep San Solano, Texas, is a quaint town known for its charm, hospitality, and history of murder. Twice now, twelve men have been brutally killed, and no one knows who did it. A shadowy witch? A copycat killer? Or a man-hating murderess? Eighteen-year-old Natalie Colter is sure that the rumors about her great-great-grandmother's cult of wronged women are just gossip, but that doesn't stop the true-crime writers and dark tourism bloggers from capitalizing on the town's reputation. It's an urban legend that's hard to ignore, and it gets harder when Nat learns that the sisterhood is real. And magical. And they want her to join. The more Nat learns of the Wardens' supernatural history, the more she wonders about the real culprits behind the town's ritualistic murders. Are the Wardens protecting San Solano from even darker forces? There are shadows in the woods, bones on the outskirts of town, and questions Nat needs answered. But everything becomes more urgent when people start getting "marked" as new victims--including Levi Langford, the boy whose kiss haunted Nat for a year. With Levi in danger, doing nothing would be harder than fighting back. Nat knows that no one is safe. Can she and the sisterhood stop the true evil from claiming their town?

Re-read this classic romance by New York Times bestselling author Penny Jordan,previously published as Too Short A Blessing in 1986 Why wouldn't Jonas Chesney just leave her alone with her memories? Why was thisarrogant new neighbor so determined to intrude on Sara's emotions—and arouse herpassion? After her fiancé's sudden death more than a year before, Sara had resolved neverto fall in love again. But she'd reckoned without the strong-willed Jonas Chesney… To her own surprise, Sara found her body awakened by his caress—and she responded with a fervorso intense it promised to overshadow her past!

No-nonsense divorce court judge Vanessa Colton-Kirk has seen it all, presiding over the breakup of countless unhappy and disillusioned couples in her Houston courtroom. But now career-driven Vanessa is facing her own marriage crisis when her husband decides to call it quits. She goes but not without a fight, and is determined to emerge the victor. Then a twist of fate helps her see things in a whole new light and Vanessa must face the hard questions, most importantly: Can she open her heart to the renewing power of love and forgiveness?

Over the years, Sylvia Plath has come to inhabit a contested area of cultural production with other ambiguous authors between the highbrow, the middlebrow, and the popular. Claiming Sylvia Plath is a critical and comprehensive reception study of what has been written about Plath from 1960 to 2010. Academic and popular interest in her seems incessant, verging on a public obsession. The story of Sylvia Plath is not only the story of a writer and her texts, but also of the readers who have tried to make sense of her life and work. A religious tone and a rhetoric of accountability dominate among the devoted. Questing for the real or true Sylvia, they share a sense of posessiveness towards outsiders or those who deviate from what they see as a correct approach to the poet. In order to offer a new and more nuanced perspective on Plath’s public image, the reception has been organized into interpretive communities composed of critics, feminists, biographers, psychologists, and friends. Pertinent questions are raised about how the poet functions as an excemplary figure, and how – and by whom – she is used to further theories, politics, careers, and a number of other causes. Ethical issues and rhetorical strategies consequently loom high in Claiming Sylvia Plath. The book may be employed both as a guide to the massive body of Plath literature and as a history of a changing critical doxa. Why Sylvia Plath has been serviceable to so many and open to colonization is another way of asking why she keeps on fascinating all kinds of readers worldwide. Claiming Sylvia Plath suggests a host of possible answers. It includes an extensive Plath bibliography.

They claimed her once. After seven years in the military, they’re home. Now, they’ll claim her again. Rory and Cooper haven’t forgotten Ivy. She’s the one for them, the one who became theirs one starry night before shipping off to boot camp. They didn’t expect so much time to pass before they saw her again. She’s left Bridgewater County. Changed. But they don’t care. They’ll do everything they can to make her theirs… and the baby she kept a secret. KEYWORDS: romance books, contemporary romance, small town, new adult romance, best friends, cowboy romance, western romance, menage, mfm romance, marriage and family, series starter, first in series, romance series, romance saga, romantic family saga, bestseller romance, steamy, sexy, heartwarming, heart-warming, family, love, love books, kissing books, emotional journey, captivating romance, emotional, healing, hot, hot romance, forbidden love, second chance romance, sparks, loyalty, swoon, funny romance, modern romance, forbidden romance, enemies to lovers, childhood crush, friends to lovers, one night stand, second chance romance, hidden romance, strong alpha, alpha hero, family business, strong female lead, workplace romance, strong heroine, family secrets, top romance reads, best seller, New Adult, Romance books free, romance novels, love story, alpha, angst, American western, Montana, unrequited love, coming of age, adult romance, mature romance, rodeo, sports, heartbreak, tear jerker, first person, breakup, redemption, strong woman, contemporary women, full length, girl power, steamy, banter, angsty, first love, romance series, series, circle of friends, college, found family, mistaken identity, grumpy hero, historical, American historical western, historical cowboy, mail order bride, marriage of convenience, paranormal romance, shifter romance, cowboy shifter, werewolf, fated mates, country westerns. Readers also enjoyed books by: Ann Mayburn, Anna Zaires, B.J. Daniels, Carly Phillips, Carrie Ann Ryan, Cat Johnson, Catherine Cowles, Chelle Bliss, Cherise Sinclair, Cheyenne McCray, Claudia Burgoa, Debra Holt, Devney Perry, Diana Palmer, Esther E. Schmidt, Genevieve Turner, Helen Hardt, Jane Henry, Janet Dailey, Jeanne St. James, Jenna Jacob, Jennifer Ryan, Julia Sykes, Kennedy Fox, Kim Loraine, Lani Lynn Vale, Lauren Blakely, Lauren Landish, Laylah Roberts, Lexi Blake, Linda Lael Miller, Lindsay McKenna, Lorelei James, Lori Wilde, Maisy Yates, Max Monroe, Megan March, Melissa Foster, Nicole Snow, Penelope Ward, Renee Rose, Samantha Madisen, Shayla Black, Sophie Oak, Stephanie Rowe, Susan Stoker, Vi Keeland, Vivian Arend, Willa Nash, Willow Winters