When Gia Lopez signs up for the Submissive's Wish Charity Auction she has no idea that she's about to be bought by a Russian Dom who will do anything to make her fantasies come true. Including staging an elaborate kidnapping that Gia believes is real. Ivan is instantly drawn to Gia and he wants to be the best Master she's ever had. As he spends time with Gia he begins to have intense feelings for the strong, independent, and sexy American woman. He's only won a week of her service but wishes to keep her forever. Unaware of Ivan’s true feelings, Gia fights her growing emotional attachment to him. All she wants is to settle down with a nice Dom in the United States, continue her career, and live a normal life. However, Ivan sets a plan into motion that will push Gia to all of her limits and take her on a global journey of self-discovery, extreme pleasure, and love. Warning: Contains Erotic Spanking, Subspace, f/f situations, a devastatingly sexy Dom who knows what he wants, and a submissive who just might be ready to give him what he needs.
Good men doing evil things, and the women who love them. This boxed set contains the first four books in the bestselling Russian Mafia/BDSM Romance Submissive’s Wish series. Ivan’s Captive Submissive When Gia Lopez signs up for the Submissive's Wish Charity Auction she has no idea that she's about to be bought by a Russian Dom who will do anything to make her fantasies come true. Including staging an elaborate kidnapping that Gia believes is real. Ivan is instantly drawn to Gia and he wants to be the best Master she's ever had. As he spends time with Gia he begins to have intense feelings for the strong, independent, and sexy American woman. He's only won a week of her service but wishes to keep her forever. Unaware of Ivan’s true feelings, Gia fights her growing emotional attachment to him. However, Ivan sets a plan into motion that will push Gia to all of her limits and take her on a global journey of self-discovery, extreme pleasure, and love. Dimitri’s Forbidden Submissive As the daughter of an outlaw biker, Rya DeLuca is used to living a wild life, but nothing could prepare her for the danger of falling in love with Dimitri Novikov. To Rya he's a warm, loving, sexy as hell Dom who gives her exactly the kind of bondage and discipline she craves in the bedroom, but to the rest of the world Dimitri is a feared man, a cold blooded, heartless killer who is at the top of the Russian Mafia food chain. While her hard and Dominant Master is her perfect match in every way that matters, their love can never last longer than a few days at most. Every moment Rya spends with Dimitri puts her life in jeopardy from rival gangs and Dimitri’s own family. Alexandr’s Cherished Submissive 7 years ago From the moment Alexandr Novikov met the young auburn haired woman bartending at her uncle’s pub in Ireland, he’d been fascinated by her delicate beauty and fiery spirit. Unfortunately, he is in no position to offer her the kind of safe, normal life she deserves so he attempts to put her from his mind for her own good. Something easier said then done when a deal is struck between the Novikov Bratva and the Irish Cleary Gang, an arrangement that includes Alex and his men being on twenty-four hour bodyguard duty with the object of his forbidden desires. There are outside forces that will do anything to keep them apart, and Jessica will have to make a desperate choice that will change their lives forever. Alexandr’s Reluctant Submissive Having believed for five years that his wife and daughter are dead, Alexandr Novikov’s world changes forever when he discovers not only are they alive, but the vile person who tore his family apart was none other than his father, Jorg. Determined to make up for lost time, Alex sets about winning the hearts and trust of his wife and daughter, and healing the emotional damage done to Jessica by their forced separation. Easier said than done when jealousy rears its ugly head, and Jessica struggles to deal with all the women Alex was intimate with after her supposed death. Only as equals will they find courage enough to face the days ahead. Especially since Jorg isn’t done meddling with their lives…and his latest actions will have deadly consequences for generations to come.
‘The Grand Inquisitor’ is a short story that appears in one of Dostoevsky’s most famous works, ‘The Brothers Karamazov’, but it is often read independently due to its standalone story and literary significance. In the tale, Jesus comes to Seville during the Spanish Inquisition and performs miracles but is soon arrested and sentenced to be burned. The Grand Inquisitor informs Jesus that the church no longer needs him as they are stronger under the direction of Satan. ‘The Grand Inquisitor’ is incredibly interesting and compelling for its philosophical discussion about religion and the human condition. The main debate put forth in the poem is whether freedom or security is more important to mankind, as an all-powerful church can provide safety but requires its followers to abandon their free will. This tale remains remarkably influential among philosophers, political thinkers, and novelists from Friedrich Nietzsche and Noam Chomsky to David Foster Wallace and beyond. Dostoevsky’s writing is both inventive and provocative in this timeless story as the reader is free to come to their own conclusions. ‘The Grand Inquisitor’ should be read by anyone interested in philosophy or politics. Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was a famous Russian writer of novels, short stories, and essays. A connoisseur of the troubled human psyche and the relationships between the individuals, Dostoevsky’s oeuvre covers a large area of subjects: politics, religion, social issues, philosophy, and the uncharted realms of the psychological. He is most famous for the novels ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘The Idiot’, and ‘The Brothers Karamazov’. James Joyce described Dostoevsky as the creator of ‘modern prose’ and his literary legacy is influential to this day as Dostoevsky’s work has been adapted for many movies including ‘The Double’ starring Jesse Eisenberg.
His scarred hands are the gentlest I've ever known. If only life were a fairy tale where Beauty got to keep her Beast... Every morning I wake up and remind myself I am not my past, but beneath my drab clothing hides a secret—proof of the abuse I suffered at the hands of my possessive ex, tattooed on my skin in a lurid reminder of everything I've survived. I'm alone and in hiding, trying to rebuild some semblance of a normal life. I didn't expect healing to come in the form of a rough ex-con whose rage drives him in ways I'll never understand. Ivan's scars are on the inside—a wounded soul like me. But day by day, this gentle giant proves to me that there are second chances in life, and he deserves them as much as I do. And maybe finding each other will finally allow us to pick up our broken pieces and make something beautiful and new... This high-heat romance is an emotional tale of survival and contains strong themes of past domestic/sexual abuse. Please see reviews for details. Praise for Under Her Skin: "A dark and emotional tale that will make your spine tingle as well as your heart."—SARINA BOWEN, USA Today bestselling author of Bittersweet "The perfect romance...a hint of danger, a whole lot of spice, and an HEA you believe in."—ANNE CALHOUN, award-winning author of Under the Surface "Emotionally riveting page-turner."—Publishers Weekly STARRED Review "Incredibly sexy, heartbreaking, and intense."—Kirkus STARRED Review
Sarah Life as the old lady of Carlos 'Beach' Rodriguez, National President of the Iron Horse MC, was everything I never knew I wanted. Not only did I have a good man who treated me like a queen and loved me like crazy, I also had a vast-extended family of rough and tumble bikers who accepted and welcomed me into their world without judgement. Unfortunately, good things don't last for a girl like me and just when I finally felt like I'd found my happily ever after my psychopath of a mother had to show up and destroy it. She betrayed me, betrayed the club, and put everyone I've ever loved in mortal danger. Our only chance of surviving this is for me to find her and recover the weapons that Iron Horse was moving for the Russian and Israeli mafia that she helped steal. I can only hope that Beach can forgive me for her sins. Beach I should have known Sarah would never betray me, would never work with her junkie mom to steal from the club, but I let my temper run my mouth and now my woman's gone. Normally I'd go after her, but the Russian and Israeli mafias want their merchandise back and if we don't find it they'll wipe us off the face of the earth. To make matters worse, there are traitors in the Iron Horse MC that are feeding our every move to our enemies, kidnapping our women and children, and killing our men. I have to stay here in Austin and try to save our people while Sarah is out there, somewhere, alone, hunting down some of the most dangerous men in the world. I can only pray that God takes mercy on my wicked soul and protects my baby girl from those seeking to cash in on the massive bounty on her head before I can find her. 'Cause if they find her first death would be a mercy compared to the nightmare her life will become.
As a technology pioneer at MIT and as the leader of three successful start-ups, Kevin Ashton experienced firsthand the all-consuming challenge of creating something new. Now, in a tour-de-force narrative twenty years in the making, Ashton leads us on a journey through humanity’s greatest creations to uncover the surprising truth behind who creates and how they do it. From the crystallographer’s laboratory where the secrets of DNA were first revealed by a long forgotten woman, to the electromagnetic chamber where the stealth bomber was born on a twenty-five-cent bet, to the Ohio bicycle shop where the Wright brothers set out to “fly a horse,” Ashton showcases the seemingly unremarkable individuals, gradual steps, multiple failures, and countless ordinary and usually uncredited acts that lead to our most astounding breakthroughs. Creators, he shows, apply in particular ways the everyday, ordinary thinking of which we are all capable, taking thousands of small steps and working in an endless loop of problem and solution. He examines why innovators meet resistance and how they overcome it, why most organizations stifle creative people, and how the most creative organizations work. Drawing on examples from art, science, business, and invention, from Mozart to the Muppets, Archimedes to Apple, Kandinsky to a can of Coke, How to Fly a Horse is a passionate and immensely rewarding exploration of how “new” comes to be.
A supplemental textbook for middle and high school students, Hoosiers and the American Story provides intimate views of individuals and places in Indiana set within themes from American history. During the frontier days when Americans battled with and exiled native peoples from the East, Indiana was on the leading edge of America’s westward expansion. As waves of immigrants swept across the Appalachians and eastern waterways, Indiana became established as both a crossroads and as a vital part of Middle America. Indiana’s stories illuminate the history of American agriculture, wars, industrialization, ethnic conflicts, technological improvements, political battles, transportation networks, economic shifts, social welfare initiatives, and more. In so doing, they elucidate large national issues so that students can relate personally to the ideas and events that comprise American history. At the same time, the stories shed light on what it means to be a Hoosier, today and in the past.
A brilliant work from the most influential philosopher since Sartre. In this indispensable work, a brilliant thinker suggests that such vaunted reforms as the abolition of torture and the emergence of the modern penitentiary have merely shifted the focus of punishment from the prisoner's body to his soul.
After a motorcycle accident left her with a fractured pelvis, former dare devil and actress Kira Harmony cannot have sex without pain. Unwilling to give up on her dreams of someday having a normal love life, she has come to Club Wicked to find a Dom. And not just any Dom. Kira is looking for the best sadist she can find, a Master who can help her learn how to turn her pain into pleasure and help her escape the prison her body has become. Lord Bryan Sutherland has always had a taste for meeting the needs of masochistic submissives. When Kira contacts him, her plea for his help intrigues him. He's always loved curvy redheads, and they certainly have an explosive chemistry together, but he doesn't know if it is possible to establish the kind of trust needed in order to train her mind to convert agony into ecstasy. That trust is sorely tested when Kira continually pushes herself too far and refuses to safeword out. Bryan must make a decision; continue to train Kira and run the risk of seriously hurting her, or walk away from the uncontrollable woman who holds the key to his heart.
