Showing results by author "W Winters" in All Categories

Challenging the listener to take control and to stop hiding behind excuses for a bad night's sleep, neurologist W. Chris Winter explains the basic, often counterintuitive rules of sleep science. Dr Winter explores revolutionary findings, including surprising solutions for insomnia and other sleep disturbances, empowering listeners to stop taking sleeping pills and enjoy the best sleep of their lives.

This issue includes "Werewolves of War" by D. W. Hall, "The Tentacles from Below" by Anthony Gilmore, "The Black Lamp" by Captain S. P. Meek, "Phalanxes of Atlans" by F. V. W. Mason, and continues with "The Pirate Planet" by Charles W. Diffin, - Summary by Bill Boerst

I saw her from across the bar. My bar. My city. Everything in that world belonged to me. She stood out from the crowd like she was looking for someone to blame for her pain. That night, I felt the depths of my mistakes. I felt my scars. With a single glance, I knew her touch would take it all away. I craved it more than anything. I knew she would be a tempting, beautiful mistake. One I would make again and again...even if it cost me everything.

There are two things I’ve always known: Magic is real. The Gods have no mercy for women like me. I was born into power although what little I have is dying. Nonetheless, I’ve been protected all my life. There are myths and tales that say one day I will come to a fork in a long, long path. Either the light will take me or the dark. I never paid any mind to the whispers and warnings…until he crept into my window late at night.

Some love stories are a slow burn. Others are quick to ignite, scorching, and branding your very soul before you’ve taken that first breath. You’re never given a chance to run from it. That’s how I’d describe what happened to us. Everything around me blurred, and all that existed were his lips, his touch. The chase and the heat between us became addictive.

I'd have chosen her above all else...if only I could go back. Even if it meant I never got to kiss her, to love her, to be consumed by the woman she is and the love she gave me. She deserves more than this... She deserves more than this dangerous life I lead. She was never supposed to be involved. She was mine to lust after, to have in the darkest hours of the night, to love in secret even.

I should feel shame for not wanting this to end, but he doesn’t want it to end either. When the darkness sets in, the flames all flickered out, and the loud click of the locks signal it’s over, that’s when reality comes back. The war. The drugs. All of the lies that leave a tangled web for me to get lost in. I don’t want any of it. I only want him. Jase Cross. My enemy. And yet, the only person I trust...Jase Cross will be my downfall.

Sometimes you meet someone - maybe meet isn't the right word. You don't even have say hello for this to happen. You simply pass by them, and everything in your world changes forever. Chills flow all the way from the crook in your neck where you imagine he'd kiss you, all the way down, with only a single glance. I know you know what I'm referring to. The moment when something inside of you ignites to life, recognizing their other half that's been gone for far too long. It burns hot, destroying any hope that it's only a coincidence, and that life will go back to what it was.

I ran from him, even though my heart knew better. Love was one thing, but survival another. I should have known he'd come for me. Men like him always get what they want. The temptation in his eyes, the heat of his touch...it's all still there, but his gaze is harsher now and his grasp unrelenting. He's not the boy I fell in love with, although pieces of what we once had are still there. I can feel it. I know what he wants from me, and I know it comes with a steep price. I'll pay it though, if for no other reason than to touch him again.

There's a moment when I forget he's not mine. This small spell of time, when I let my thoughts carry me away. He holds me. He kisses me. He makes all of this better. That moment when I'm his and everything is all right, is gone in an instant. It's quick and fleeting, moving so fast that it slips through my grasp. If I could catch it, I'd hold on to it forever. I always thought this thing between us would only ever be just that. A passing moment, a pleasant dream that helped lull me to sleep at night.

He enters the car accompanied by a chill from the evening wind and the car rocks gently, until he’s seated behind me and the door is shut. His scent fills my lungs first and as it does, I remember that I’ve been told that smell is the sense that holds the most memory. Maybe I read it somewhere, but I’ve never known something to be truer than that fact is now.

I should have known when I couldn’t keep my eyes off her that this would be a mistake. I was hired to protect her, this woman who’s lost everything, yet there’s an obvious fire that blazes behind her beautiful gaze. She stares back, daring and tempting me. It calls to a side of me that’s darker and longs to tame her. The moment she agrees to my terms, I know I’ve crossed a line. One of many rules I’m willing to break. No one can know, not a soul, but secrets in the life I lead never last for long.

Not everyone knows about the Club, which is by design. The main floor entertains the elite. There are dim lights and stolen touches, and the liquor flows to ensure the guests get exactly what they want. But it’s what lies beneath these floors, down the spiral staircase, that intrigues me the most. There’s a man who stays in the corner of the darkest rooms. In this world of sinful tastes, he is the ruler, the devil, the boss. Declan Cross. I knew him once when times were different, and the years have changed everything.

I ran from him, even though my heart knew better. Love was one thing, but survival another. He chose a life of crime. I never wanted any of it; I only wanted him. I left when the danger bled into my life, taking more than I was willing to sacrifice. Desperate to Touch is book 2 in a series. Hard to Love must be heard first.

I own this town. The deals, the cash flow, the corruption - I decide it all. Blood and violence taints everything I claim. She was a constant through it all, and she never knew how badly I needed her. Just a touch would singe and soothe. Just a look would tempt and torment. She was too good for this world. I was too much of a bastard to push her away. She became my escape and my addiction.

Some love stories are a slow burn. Others are quick to ignite, scorching and branding your very soul before you’ve taken that first breath. You’re never given a chance to run from it. That’s how I’d describe what happened to us. Everything around me blurred and all that existed were his lips, his touch.... The chase and the heat between us became addictive.

Everyone knows the tale of Hansel & Gretel. The innocence that was taken from them and the torture the witch put them through. But what happened after they burned the witch in the oven? With scars and memories of horror, their lives were forever changed, until one day the trail leads back to that cottage in the woods.

I was born into luxury and used to getting what I wanted. What I desired most, with my life in disarray, was the man who sat across from me. He was tall, dark, and handsome, but, most notably, forbidden. It made every accidental touch more sinful and every session more addictive.

I should have known when I couldn’t keep my eyes off her that this would be a mistake. I was hired to protect her, this woman who’s lost everything, yet there’s an obvious fire that blazes behind her beautiful gaze. She stares back, daring and tempting me. It calls to a side of me that’s darker and longs to tame her. We both have secrets; we both have a past we’re not ready to face. More than that, we both want to get lost in each other.

I took the fall for a crime I didn’t commit, and it cost me everything—including the only woman I ever loved. I’m not the man she fell in love with. Four years behind bars made me harder, colder...with a temper I can’t control. But one look at Kat and nothing else matters. I’m broken without her and a shell of a person I used to be.