Showing results by narrator "Virginia" in All Categories

As a princess of the Romanov Empire, Elizabeth has enjoyed a life of luxury and privilege. But the sudden deaths of her parents leaves her unprotected, awash in the dangerous tide of her family’s political rivals. When the supreme council crowns her half-nephew Peter II in her place, Elizabeth is left with no title, no power, and no allies. Now little more than a bastard in the eyes of the world, she is sent to serve in the palatial home of Prince Menshikov - the real power behind the boy king.

As her freshman classmates move into dorms at Cornell University, Olivia Somerset suffers a nervous breakdown. When months of coaxing and analyzing fail to rouse Olivia from her stupor, big sister Miranda decides the sisters should fly off to Barcelona for some “vacation therapy”. After a mistake at their Barcelona hostel puts the Somersets in a large coed dorm room, Olivia and Miranda are saved by kindly Mr. Brown and his son, Greg, who happily volunteer to surrender their private room.

With Iris now dating and working on her first novel and Geneva reaping the benefits of being the most famous amateur sleuth in northern Indiana, things seem to be looking up for the crime-solving duo. That is, until the day they go shopping at a high-end clothing store and discover a scene of carnage. Marilyn Abshire, 77, the genius impresario behind Sunday Chic, is found run down in a deserted alley.

"Lei fece scorrere la mano sulla sua coscia, solo qualche centimetro in entrambe le direzioni, ma non c'era dubbio al riguardo. C gli stava accarezzando la coscia. E a lui piaceva". La rockstar Paul McKenzie ha una nuova regola: rimanere fedele a sua moglie. Ultimamente è stato molto bravo a rispettarla. Ma quando incontra la sua fan più devota, Candice, da sola e in lacrime a una stazione di servizio sperduta in mezzo al nulla, non riesce a voltarle le spalle. Ha un aspetto così indifeso, con quegli occhioni blu.

Tasked with finding her a husband, he concludes he is the best choice. When Mr. Bennet collects on an old debt, Fitzwilliam finds himself in the strange position of inviting Lizzy to London on a secret mission to find her a husband. She isn’t to know his intentions, per his promise to her father, but as he introduces her to men of the Ton, he finds it increasingly difficult to imagine Lizzy marrying anyone but him. Will she move past her refusal to ever marry and accept his proposal? If she does, how will she react when she learns of the scheme her father invented and he undertook?

The long-awaited second volume of Vladimir Odoyevsky's excellent prose is here at last, delivering more titillating gossip, astute society remarks, a touch of mysticism, a healthy dose of the ridiculous, and much more.

It’s 1890. A veteran, Detective Rudyard Bloodstone has fought a brutal battle and witnessed war horrors that haunt his nightmares. Now, one of those horrors has followed him home from Africa. A vicious predator, the Cape cobra, can kill a man in 30 minutes. A suspect using the snake as a weapon in robberies is terrorizing London. When the crimes escalate into murder, a victim’s daughter Honoria Underhill becomes the focus of the killer.

When two sisters, Lyla Ford, a successful stunt woman, and her sister Kat Ford, a sought after makeup artist, decide to change course after Lyla is almost killed in a stunt-gone-wrong accident, they never think that becoming Pet Nannies to the stars will put them on the trail of a cunning murderer. Lyla’s visit to take care of a Golden Retriever puppy named Gracie turns into a murder investigation when she discovers Gracie cuddled up next to a dead woman who turns out to be a well-known actress – Faith Sheridan.

"Facendo scivolare le mani sul suo ventre, accarezzandole i fianchi e sfregandole la gamba fece quello che gli era stato chiesto. Afferrò il bordo del suo vestito e lo tirò su fino alla vita. Infilandole le dita sotto trovò presto il reggicalze ma niente altro. Non aveva le mutandine. "Ho la sensazione che avessi intenzione di sedurre qualcuno stasera..." mormorò." Harry e la sua nuova moglie, una splendida giovane sui vent'anni, litigano costantemente. Se non scopano, sono sempre lì a urlarsi dietro di tutto.

"Lo sapeva. Oh. Se. Lo. Sapeva. Cazzo. E fu allora che accadde. Lei fece scorrere la mano lungo l'interno coscia, fermandosi sul suo sesso. Senza smettere di guardarlo, di fissarlo dritto negli occhi. Lui sentì quella ben nota contrazione là sotto. Il suo cazzo si stava risvegliando. Velocemente". Nick non è il tipo di uomo che deve masturbarsi sbirciando le donne; è una star del cinema, è attraente ed è noto col secondo nome di "stallone". Ma con la sua vicina di casa, non riesce a farne a meno.

"Non smettere. Ti prego non smettere" dissi gemendo. "E allora dimmelo". "Tutto quello che vuoi Paul. Con quelle mani mi puoi fare qualunque cosa". "E cosa vuoi che faccia in particolare?" "Che mi scopi"." Non c'è nulla che ecciti Ellie tanto quanto l'idea che delle mani, per la precisione quelle di un certo pianista dalle lunghe dita sottili, la penetrino mentre è allungata su di un pianoforte. Quando Paul, che è proprio quel pianista, per caso la sente parlare dei suoi erotici organi prensili da "pornografia con le mani", Ellie si sente profondamente mortificata.

Some might see the lessons in Odoyevsky's short and charming life manual for children old-fashioned and outdated. Some might even bristle at certain suggestions. However, we would like to urge our listeners to look beyond the somewhat antiquated rhetoric and consider these lessons as they were intended - guidelines for bringing up intelligent, well-educated, considerate, and industrious future spouses, parents, and, most importantly, engineers of the future world.

Lady Mariana Belmont has just arrived at her family's townhome in Dublin. She is greeted unceremoniously by her father's art protégé, Thomas O'Geary. Realizing she has been mistaken for one of O'Geary's models, Mariana retaliates by playing along with the case of mistaken identity. Her surprise encounter with Thomas is just the first in a whirlwind of events that culminate in a tale of murder, romance, and mystery as Mariana learns more about her father, and about her own rumor-filled origins at the dark castle named Thornywilde....

Three months have passed since Lady Emmaline Darling left her lover and fellow adventurer, Miles. Not certain she’s in love with him, they’re bonded in a miraculous way - she’s enceinte. Yet, despite his promises to write and make plans, there’s been nothing but silence. When she discovers he’s lied and has been out of pocket on a secret mission for the Crown, she’s convinced she can go it alone despite the scandal - and he can’t be trusted enough to know her secret hope.

In 17th-century France, Imogen, a theater performer from a hardworking family, desires an escape from her impoverished existence. Befriending thieves in the Court of Miracles results in using her acting talent to swindle and con, and Imogen becomes a pawn entangled in a plot to dethrone King Louis XIV. She forms an attachment with another pawn, a mysterious man, integral to the plan’s success.

It’s the Christmastide season, and the Hawkins family is at their country estate in Kent. Emmaline, the Countess of Archewyne, is excited, for it’s her first Christmas with her little family, as well as one of the few she’s spent in England. Passing his leisure time with his loved ones gives Miles Lawrence Hawkins, the fifth Earl of Archewyne, great pleasure, as does anticipating their faces when they open his gifts.

Murder in the Pachysandra introduces Hattie Moon, an elderly widow, who steps out of her dusty world of cat hair, mixed-up days, and rambling conversations with her dead husband, to solve the murder of her paperboy Jason Meeks. She, along with her friend Muriel Manning, unravel clues the police have missed. Suddenly, the amateur sleuths find themselves swirling in a deceitful, troubling world of marital infidelity, drugs, the dark web, and a diabolical force that hovers, ready to pounce.

"The Test" is a short, powerful piece that describes a day in the life of a woman, whose past comes to haunt her just as she thinks she is settled and perfectly safe in her life. Faced with memories of long ago as well as considerations and responsibilities of today, she must make a difficult choice she knows will change her life and affect the lives of those around her.

When Sebastian of Hawkesmere returns from the Crusades, he becomes a recluse, locking himself away in an enchanted tower and dabbling in alchemy and magic. When his brother captures a beautiful woman with a satchel full of amazing instruments, Sebastian is enlisted to help discern their purpose and discover where she came from.

Jeb Jackson, a once famous rodeo star, lives in isolation on his family’s storied ranch in Montana. Until the day a mysterious and complex young woman pays him a visit. Less of a visit and more like the surprise of his life - an unwelcome one at that. Or so it seems, when the beautiful stranger (who claims to know him) announces she needs “straightening out”. Now he’s got a drugged-up, freshly-divorced, sequin-encrusted beauty queen passed out in his bed and has no idea what to do with her or himself. Falling in love seems like the only option.