Homo Ludens: A Study Of The Play Element In Culture

My younger sister, Angela Schrute, got married at 20. By 21, she already had a child. I'm Elizabeth Schrute, 27 years old, and still unmarried. Over the years, I've brought home a few boyfriends. But every time the subject of marriage comes up, my father, Michael Scrute, will take them into his study. I don't know what he said to them. But whenever they come out of that room, they will turn cold and frightening. It's like their hands are itching to wrap around my throat and squeeze the life out of me. My latest boyfriend thinks Dad is being unreasonable… until he follows him into the study. When he emerges, his eyes burn with rage. He breaks up with me on the spot and slaps me. Twice. I still can't figure it out. What is it that drives each of them away? And what secret is hiding in Dad's study?

Why is the world so cruel?” Nora had spent fifteen years of her life being the perfect daughter, obedient, loyal, and silent. She cooked, cleaned, and sacrificed her dreams to please her father, believing love was something she could earn through pain. But on the day of the will reading, her world shattered. Every property, every piece of her father’s empire, was left to her younger sister. All Nora got was a letter with three empty words: “Forgive me, Nora.” With nowhere to go and nothing to live for, she finds herself entangled with Adrian Cole, the city’s most arrogant billionaire playboy, a man known for breaking hearts, not healing them. He’s everything she swore to avoid: proud, dangerous, and emotionally untouchable. But when their paths collide, secrets unfold, secrets that link their families, their pain, and their pasts in ways neither expected. What starts as a cruel game of seduction soon turns into a storm of emotions neither of them can control. He played her heart... Until he realized she was the only one who could break his.

"Spread your legs for me, Celeste." His voice was dark silk and hot sin pressed against my ear. --- My husband was fucking my best friend behind my back for six months. Six months of roses. Six months of 'you are my everything' while he was making her moan his name. I trusted him with my whole heart. He handed it to her like a cheap gift. So when Dominic Ford showed up with rage in his eyes and proof in his hands, something in me snapped. And in that broken, dangerous place, a sinful idea was born. "An affair," I told him, meeting his gaze. "Real. Raw. Dirty. No strings. No limits. We give them exactly what they deserve." He studied me for a long, slow moment. Then he pulled me close, his lips brushing my neck as he whispered. "When do we start?" Dominic Ford touched me like he was trying to ruin me for every other man. He succeeded. He took me apart, piece by piece, night after night, until I was shaking and screaming and begging for more... and when morning came I was crawling back for everything he gave me the night before. This was supposed to hurt them. It was never supposed to feel this good. It was never supposed to feel like home. Now our cheating spouses are on their knees, right where we wanted them. But Dominic is looking at me like the plan just changed. And God help me, I don't want to walk away either. We agreed. No strings. No feelings. Just revenge. That was the deal. We lied. --- WARNING: This story contains explicit sexual content, graphic scenes, and two broken people who find each other in the most sinful way possible.

This is a sequel to Mated To The Gay Alpha: Four to Tangle. "Mine!" their wolf howled in unison, and just as they were about to move closer to her, Austin, their younger brother, came out of the car and stood before the girl. "Hello, big brothers," he greeted and wrapped his hand around the waist of the girl, which made their wolves to howl possessively. "Olivia, these are my brothers, Alpha Theodora and Alpha Leonardo, the Alphas of the biggest pack in California. Brothers, meet Olivia, my fiancée." Olivia had one mission in life, and that was revenge. She was trained and groomed to take revenge on the family that sent her mother to prison, which led to the death of her mother. At the age of five, she was told of a particular family who had ruined her mother’s life, and she swore to wipe out everyone in that family; no soul would be left out. As part of her plan, she dated the youngest child of the family and even agreed to marry him so she could be close to his family. But, when she met the twin Alphas, Alpha Theo and Leo, who are the elder brothers of her boyfriend, she realized she was mated to them. Can the mate bond stop her from taking her revenge, and can she keep the secret of being mated to the Alphas away from her boyfriend? Can she avoid the hot-looking Alphas who are bent on having her? This is a book about games, betrayal, deceit, and revenge.

"You look like this is the last place you want to be just because I'm here. Am I really that vile?" Timothy said nothing. Instead he gritted his teeth and shoved his hands into his pocket. Even in her anger, Chloe noticed him... Every inch of him... And his smell. She could pick out his unique scent. Rough. Masculine and mouthwateringly . It made no sense to her, but she was attuned to his every nuance. The man she had called her best friend until a dizzying series of events dissolved the title like sugar in hot water stared at her dispassionately. It was a good thing they were outside and she hoped that he couldn't see the hurt and disappointment on her face. The look wasn't just in his eyes. It seeped through every shrug, every curl of lips she had once thought were the most perfectly created set of lips on earth. She looked deeper, pathetically desperate to find something else. Something more. A reminder of those times when they would talk to each other for hours, and resume conversations the moment they saw one another again. But clearly the Tim she knew had been replaced by a harder, edgier version of a Timothy Kavell - Packard. He was hard and edgy and cynical to start off with. If she had known that he hated her this much, she wouldn't have agreed to his parents' offer to have dinner with them. She had agreed because a part of her had hoped that somehow, they would fix things and be friends again... And she was just beginning to see how wrong she had been....

Sofia Lorie Andres is a 22-year-old former volleyball player who left behind everything because of her unrequited love. She turned her back on everyone to forget the pain and embarrassment she felt because of a woman she loved so much even though she was only considered a best friend. None other than Kristine Aragon, a 23-year-old famous volleyball player in the Philippines. Her best friend caused her heart to beat but was later destroyed. All Sofia Lorie knew Kristine was the only one who caused it all. She is the root cause of why there is a rift between the two of them. Sofia thought about everything they talked about can easily be handled by her, but failed. Because everything she thought was wrong. After two years of her healing process, she also thought of returning to the Philippines and facing everything she left behind. She was ready for what would happen to her when she returned, but the truth wasn’t. Especially when she found out that the woman she once loved was involved in an accident that caused her memories to be erased. The effect was huge, but she tried not to show others how she felt after knowing everything about it. Until she got to the point where she would do the cause of her previous heartache, Role Play. Since she and Rad were determined, they did Role Play, but destiny was too playful for her. She was confused about what was happening, but only one thing came to her mind at those times. She will never do it again because, in the end, she will still be the loser. She is tired of the Role Play game, which she has lost several times. Will the day come when she will feel real love without the slightest pretense?