Short Game

Nothing is as it appears when Nightshade, a deadly samurai assassin, accepts a seemingly easy contract on his brother. Who can he trust when he is betrayed by his employer? A Samurai Cyberpunk Saga.

Come with me on a walk through the graveyard. What will we find? A song that gets stuck in your head and just won't go away--and there's a sinister reason why...A cat that continues to bring gifts in the form of dead birds and mice--and other things...A junkyard where the old cars aren't exactly what they appear to be...A vinyl record collector who just has to have that one special album, regardless of the price...A prescription drug that has side effects that were never listed on the label...and Brackett Hollister once again finds himself lost in the dreaded Black Swamp--can Chula save him...

Nurse Nina: Filled Deep It's my very first day on the job working for the rich Mr. Manner. My boss Dr. Ardeen embarrasses me by performing an intimate physical exam. I'm stretched and probed. But that isn't the worst, my employer Mr. Manner is present and is watching my dirty initiation. Later that night, I'm given my first night watch over Mr. Manner. It's supposed to be easy and uneventful but Mr. Manner has one of his episodes and needs my help. Dr. Ardeen directs me on the intimate therapy I have to administer. I am not sure I can submit to such behavior. But he won't let me get away ...

For over a month, he's been counting down, anticipating the promise circled in red Sharpie on their calendar. In a marriage that's evolved from vanilla beginnings into something far more complex, Ben has learned to serve, to watch, and most painfully, to wait. Dana enjoys her freedom, her rotating cast of impressive lovers, and—most of all—her husband's unwavering devotion through it all. She rewards his patience just once a year, on his birthday, with the ultimate gift: herself. But first, she makes him earn it. When Dana's favorite lover arrives unexpectedly on Ben's special night, ...

Showcasing the best of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories including his well-known classics - as featured in the magnificent three-part, six-hour PBS documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick - this new collection is introduced by award-winning author Tobias Wolff.

Heather and Adam don't just need a babysitter, they desperately want the babysitter too! Little does poor innocent Freya know that she's just walked into the most warped babysitting job of her life. But Adam and Heather have intended it to be that way, for they know far more about Freya than she could ever imagine. Will the adorably cute babysitter cotton onto their game? Can Adam's acting skills last long enough to keep Freya inside the house? and how can Heather make sure that the babysitter adheres to her strict instructions? Find out only inside this darkly comical, extremely taboo ...

Understand the vibrant world of the Hindi language with this engaging audiobook collection designed specifically for language learners! Whether you're a beginner or at an intermediate level, this carefully curated compilation brings together a variety of fun and educational audio resources to enhance your Hindi skills. Inside, you'll discover a mix of short stories read aloud in simple yet captivating Hindi, allowing you to build vocabulary and grasp sentence structures naturally through listening. Each story is followed by key words and a full English translation to reinforce learning.

Author’s note: Drinking Games contains three sweet and sinful novellas, filled with all the best parts of a romance. No triggers or cliffhangers and guaranteed happily ever afters. Suck: This mob boss always gets what he wants - even if she belongs to someone else. Reece Diavolo. They call him The Devil behind his back, and when the vicious mobster sees the bride at his cousin’s wedding he decides there won’t be a marriage after all that day…because now she belongs to him. Macy Shaw. They call her The Mouse to her face, and when the goodest of good girls learns her blackmailing ...

I am paralyzed with dread and uncertainty as I stand in the cold and bare examination room. I turn to face the metal contraption, a strange combination between a table and a chair with leather restraints at the foot and head area. I shiver and look at the large mirror covering almost half of one wall. The door opens with a squeak. I turn to face the person who has purchased me. I suck in a sharp breath. I know the man, everyone knows him. His name is Darian Brandt. He is tall, has broad shoulders, and has an aura of authority surrounding him. He is wearing a black suit that is tailored to ...

Binding Pleasure and Pain I am Dr. Jennifer Palmer, a psychiatrist, and I am here at the Northwest Penitentiary to meet with the notorious and brutal inmate, Jeremy Miller. Jeremy is brought to me naked and in chains. He is huge and muscular. I must admit that I have difficulty focusing on his face. The guards leave, and it is just us. I need to gain his trust, but I’m not quite ready to unlock the chains. We compromise and to put us on even footing; I take off my clothes. But I know I must unchain him to prove he can trust me. As soon as he’s loose, his mouth is on mine and his hands ...

Set in the Rocky Mountains, Legends of the Fall is the epic tale of three brothers and their lives of passion, madness, exploration, and danger at the beginning of World War I. In Revenge, love causes the course of a man's life to be savagely and irrevocably altered. And in The Man Who Gave Up His Name, a man named Nordstrom is unable to relinquish his consuming obsessions with women, dancing, and food.

Control. Power. Sin. This is my world, and there’s no room for love. But when Hazel crosses my path I know one thing: she’s mine. She’s innocent, pure, living in a world so far removed from the dark edges of my carnal kingdom. But I can see the look in her eyes. The desire she’s too afraid to name. My world is no place for her. She’s tangled in a game she doesn’t understand. None of that matters. Because now that I’ve claimed her, I’ll never let her go.

Nick Antosca's The Girlfriend Game is a tumble through the looking glass into a vortex of violence and desire. The 12 stories in the newest collection by the Shirley Jackson Award-winning author are brutal, urgent and unforgettable. In "Predator Bait", a decoy in a sex-sting news show questions her job and the man who shares her bed. An undependable son watches his mother become a creature he hardly recognizes in "Amphibian". A young man plots the death of his girlfriend's killer in "Winter Was Hard".

I'm Dr. Rachel Williams a female doctor who works with the US Military. I offered the opportunity to learn more about aliens and I could not resist the temptation to learn more about them. Currently I find myself naked and bound by a futuristic metal spider. Open and helpless to the alien that is performing the most disgusting experiments on me. There is so much pain, but also an incredible amount of pleasure... when he allows it.

The hunter becomes the hunted. You listened to The Most Dangerous Game in high school and college, but you've never experienced Richard Connell's classic short story like this before! As part of our Otio Dramatized Classic series, Otio Stutios has transformed this iconic story into a full-cast audio production skillfully assembled by world-class sound designer Brandon Leith and executive producer George Caudill.

Best-selling author Ben Mezrich offers a gripping, beat-by-beat account of how a loosely affiliate group of private investors and internet trolls on a subreddit called WallStreetBets took down one of the biggest hedge funds on Wall Street, firing the first shot in a revolution that threatens to upend the establishment.

Games are everywhere: Drivers maneuvering in heavy traffic are playing a driving game. Bargain hunters bidding on eBay are playing an auctioning game. The supermarket's price for corn flakes is decided by playing an economic game. This Very Short Introduction offers a succinct tour of the fascinating world of game theory, a groundbreaking field that analyzes how to play games in a rational way.

In a world of criminals, thugs, con artists, cheats, and swindlers, there must be a man to stand against the powers of darkness and corruption. A man not afraid to walk the mean streets—whether they be those of 1930s Los Angeles, an ancient fantasy realm, or some far-flung planet of a future star empire. He is a man who knows that a “good man” is not always a “nice guy”. But when the chips are down, he understands that a hero does the right thing, even if it means losing everything.

Maxine was made to do one thing: die. Except the minor non-player character in the world Riley is building makes her own impossible decision - veering wildly off course and exploring the boundaries of the map. When the curious Riley extracts her code for closer examination, an emotional relationship develops between them. Soon Riley has all new plans for her spontaneous AI, including bringing Max into the real world. But what if Max has real-world plans of her own?

An anthology celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Predator franchise, If It Bleeds includes 17 brand new, never-before-seen or heard stories featuring the Predators throughout space and time. Based entirely on the original films, novels, and comics, Predator: If It Bleeds reveals the Predators stalking prey in 12th-century Japan, ninth-century Viking Norway, World War I, Vietnam, the Civil War, Hurricane Katrina, and the modern day, as well as across the far reaches of future space.