Showing results by author "Natasha Knight"

Taking her is my right. Breaking her, my duty. I was always going to choose Helena. I knew it the instant I saw her. She’s different than the others. There’s a darkness about her. Something wild inside her. And it calls to the beast inside me. But she isn’t what I expected. With every word and every touch, she pushes me, burrowing deep under my skin, challenging the rules, and upending history. And all the while, I see how my brother watches her. He wants her, and as the rules stand, she’ll become his in one year’s time. Except that I have no intention of giving her up.

I'm one of four Willow daughters. He's the first-born son of the Scafoni family. And we have history. For generations, the Scafoni family have demanded a sacrifice of us. A virgin daughter to atone for sins so old that we don't even remember what they are anymore. But when you have as much money as they do, you don't play by the rules. You make them. And Sebastian Scafoni makes all the rules. The moment I saw him, I knew he would choose me. Even though the mark on my sheath declared me unclean. He made me his. And then he set out to break me. 

Stefan Sabbioni showed up uninvited in my bedroom on my 16th birthday. He stood in the shadows, smelling of whiskey and death and wrapped a broken, blood-crusted necklace around my neck. I thought he’d strangle me with it. That night, he left a message for my father. He said he’d be back to take something precious. I never delivered that message, though. I wonder if things would be different if I had because now, two years later, he’s back. And he’s not hiding in any shadows.

We're a match made in hell, Stefan and I. He took me to exact his revenge. I went from being a pawn to my father to being a pawn to Stefan. The only difference is I have a ring the size of a boulder on my finger and a husband I don't want. And the hardest part is I thought he was different. I thought I was falling in love. I guess my father was right. I'm not a very smart girl. Stefan is a powerful man. He doesn't play nice, not if you're his enemy. But I've learned one thing about my husband.

I’m the right-hand man of the mafia king. She’s a girl with a past she’s desperate to hide. But I need something from her. And I know she won’t help me. Not willingly. She’ll need some persuading. Lucky for her, I can do that. Something about this girl makes me curious, though, and it’s more than the scars that line her back. 

Eva Webb didn't know what she'd find the night she secretly followed her fiancé. She had feared he was meeting another woman. But it was so much worse than that. The man she loved betrayed and kidnapped her, packing her onto a truck destined for the black market to be sold to the highest bidder.

It all started with a contract signed by him, then by me, while our families watched. While my father sat silent, a man defeated, giving his daughter to the Benedetti monsters. I obeyed. I played my part. I signed my name and gave away my life. I became their living, breathing trophy, a constant symbol of their power over us. That was five years ago. Then came the time for him to claim me. For Salvatore Benedetti to own me. I had vowed vengeance. I had learned hate. And yet nothing could have prepared me for the man who now ruled my life.

I knew little of Raphael Amado's history with my family, but when he turned up on our doorstep demanding restitution, my grandfather quickly conceded. That restitution? Me. Six months later, on my 18th birthday, Raphael came for me. He stole me from my home, taking me to his Tuscan estate, where from the crumbling chapel to the burnt-down vineyard, to the cellar that haunted him, the past stalked him like a shadow. It waited for him, hid behind corners for him and trapped him at every turn. As much as Raphael's cruelty terrified me, his darkness seduced me.

The Beast had Belle. Killian Black has me. How I got here doesn’t matter, even though he says it does. Says it was my choice. He doesn’t get it, though. It wasn’t ever a choice for me. And now, he’s changing the rules. The agreement was one month. For 30 days, I’d be his. He’s no longer satisfied with my body alone, though. He wants my soul, too. Wants every part of me. And even though I can pretend I’m safe when I lie beneath him, this man does something to me. Something wicked. A thing that will break me.

Fifteen years ago, my sister was kidnapped. For months, she'd endured hell. Somehow, she'd survived it. Someway, she'd escaped her captors. But it hadn't mattered. In fact, it had been like losing her twice, because six weeks after she came home, she was dead, and the man responsible was alive and well, oblivious to her fate, ignorant to what he had coming. Fifteen years I'd been waiting for this moment, all that time, planning, preparing, and readying to put things into motion. To finally make the SOB pay for what he'd done.

Two years ago, I made a deal with the devil. That night, I lost everything. That night, I thought he died. But he's back. Risen, like Lazarus, from the dead. And he's dark. Darker than he was before. Dangerous. Unhinged. A scarred, tattooed savage. The way he looks at me should terrify me, but I'm drawn to him, to his intensity. Consumed by it. By him. Even though I know if I'm not careful, his obsession will destroy me. 

I was the boy who would never be king. The monster who could never be loved. Gia was just a job. Just another girl caught in a world of monsters. It didn't matter that I liked the look of her. I didn't care that she cringed when she saw my soul. I liked it. I liked her fear. And I wanted her.

I'm the first-born son of the mafia king. The favorite. Destined to rule, I'm a dangerous man, a ruthless one. But in my world, you have to be. Then Natalie stumbles into my life. Wrong place. Wrong time. Twice, fate put her in my path. Twice, fate placed the innocent lamb at the mercy of the monster. I gave her a chance to walk away. Told her it would be better for her if she did. But she didn't listen. And now it's too late. Because I'm not good. I never wanted to be. And I won't let her go anymore. See, I'm not the hero. When I touch her, it's with dirty hands. 

I'm a hit man, an assassin. A deviant by all accounts. I never pretended to be the good guy. She was the opposite. But the minute she pulled the curtains back and saw my face, watched me screwing the blonde who happened to be my next mark, she sealed her own fate.

When Skye Madden is caught trespassing at an exclusive ski resort while trying to support herself as a tabloid photographer, she is stunned to discover that her childhood crush, Aidan Hastings, is the head of security. More shocking still, Aidan tells her in no uncertain terms that if she is found snooping around the resort again he'll take her over his knee and give her a spanking she'll never forget.

I was as prepared as one could be when vanishing into the U.S. Marshal's Witness Protection Program. I just wasn't prepared for him.For ex-Navy SEAL turned mercenary Lake Freeman, escorting Lily Cross into the Witness Protection Program was just another job - until a better offer came along. Lake couldn't have cared less about the life he'd been hired to protect. After all, she was a part of the very organization that had cost him so much already. At least he never expected to care.

Elijah had watched Kayla for years, serving as a hidden protector for this beautiful young woman-until the night an abusive boyfriend sought to do her harm. Afterwards, he knew that there could be no hiding what had happened, and she would have to come with him whether she liked it or not. Try as she might to convince herself that her eyes had deceived her, Kayla knew that she had seen a giant wolf toss men about like ragdolls and then shift into the human form of her neighbor Elijah.

In the aftermath of a plague which brought civilization to its knees and left most of the world's female population sterile, the few women who remain fertile have become a precious commodity. They live in relative comfort, but upon reaching adulthood they must bear children to carry on the species.

Olivia has spent years training to hunt and kill the dangerous savages who live outside the dome which protects her city, and she stands ready to carry out her mission with pride - until the day she is shot down and her life is changed forever.

Mudita, Wheel Publicaton No. 170, contains several short essays, one by the editor, Ven. Nyanaponika, and three by lay practitioners on one of the lesser known and too-little practiced sublime states of mind. Mudita, usually translated "sympathetic joy", was designated one of the brahma-viharas by the Buddha, one of the sublime, noble states of mind. How is it to be practiced, and what are the implications of mudita on the spiritual path? These essays address those questions.