Project Gutenberg Count Of Monte Cristo Novels & Stories

In the seventh year of my relationship with Ruby Carrington, she picks me up from work in the heavy downpour one evening. When I open the door to the front passenger seat, I notice a puddle of water on the seat. A strand of short hair is there as well. Ruby grips the steering wheel without even looking at me. "I just dropped off an intern from the project department at his home. He didn't bring an umbrella with him, so he was drenched." As I sit on the damp seat, I feel my heart slowly going cold as well. "Ruby, you knew very well that I'm severely germaphobic." Ruby just chortles in response. Her tone is filled with impatience and exhaustion. "It's just a seat, isn't it? He's younger and funnier than you, not to mention he's also more handsome than you even when he's drenched in the rain. "I tried having a relationship with him. Being with him is definitely a lot more interesting than with you. But I'll still marry you, though. As long as you pretend not to know anything about my affair, we can keep this relationship going." Rain continues streaking down the window outside, and yet, I find the air inside the car even more suffocating than the rain itself.

Bronwen James has a complicated life. She lives in a small Massachusetts town with her Dad and her older brother, Alec. Her Dad is quiet notorious around town, but not for any reason that's good. He's known as the town drunk who killed his wife. Bronwen is known around school as the chunky, nerdy girl with the weird name and drunk murderer for a father. Life is hell. Add in an intense, long time crush on a guy who only pays attention to her when he's telling her what's wrong with her body. Things change when she meets the new kids at school. A dangerously sexy bad boy and his overly friendly sister. There is something strange about the pair, but she can't place what is off about them. But when her new friend offers to give her a makeover, to make her the kind of girl no guy can resist, how far is she willing to take it? Bronwen wants to get the boy, but she's beginning to wonder which boy she wants. The sexy bad boy or her brother's best friend? When she becomes the vampire's project, how far will they take it? Will she trade in her average life to become a vampire herself?

Animals were driven with only a few instincts to live their lives by: to find food, shelter, and to mate. Humankind was driven by multiple things: lust, anger, hate, grief, jealousy, joy, and a host of other instincts and emotions. When lycans were created the goddess of such things thought it would be enthralling, exhilarating to see how such savage wolves and desensitized humans would meld together as one... The result was disastrous. The select few humans she chose to go forward with her experiment with the strength of her sacred animal, the lupine, destroyed one another. He was a mosaic, composed of broken pieces. She was an unfinished art project The moon godddess ends the lives of Lycans she sees as a threat to the Lycan community. Instead of being ripped apart by her hounds, she gives a warrior the chance to redeem himself and his friends through gifting him a mate who is bound to change his life. An accident links a potential future servant to the moon goddess to the warrior. How will Pomelia Grace, a holy novice react to being mated to such a man, Warren of Bane pack? All of the humans she chose went mad with the power, abilities, and strength that came with the wolf gene. The goddess had succeeded in creating a unique race but had a hard time managing her creations without killing them out of anger.

"I'll pay you $3,000, Megan. Please ruin my blind date tonight." Ruining a blind date should have been easy. Megan needed the money, and the offer landed in her lap.  Why would she refuse?  One blind date with a rich, arrogant brat seemed like a piece of cake. It was until she cashed the check after successfully ruining the date, paid her tuition, and walked into her first college class. For their first group project, she and her classmates were assigned to work with the Vancleaf hockey team. And there he was. The same rich, arrogant brat she humiliated during the date. Worse, Vinn Graham has been looking for her. He didn’t forget the alien names she called him, and now that she’s on his team, where he’s captain, he promised to make her life a living hell. He promised her hell, but his gaze said the opposite. When he offered to be her fake boyfriend so her crush would notice her, things spiraled. Every stolen glance, every lingering touch, every kiss felt too real and tasted like paradise. Can Megan trust an arrogant trust-fund kid with her heart?

What happens when people start going missing from a range of small towns in the middle of nowhere? The local police department have absolutely no idea what to think or how to investigate the disappearances or what to do with the body count piling higher and higher. Once again Mary wakes up outside the little wooden cottage naked and covered in blood. This always happens when something happens that ticks her off. Mostly it's her father not letting her do anything or never letting her leave the house. Constantly moving around also kind of defeats the purpose of going out and making friends if you are just going to be leaving the town in the next couple of months. Is Ryder really Mary's father and if he is where is her mother and why does he never talk about her? Should Ryder have told Mary that she is the Werewolf Princess? Should he have told her while she was growing up like he had planned before the accident or should he let her believe that she is a normal human being to help keep her safe and calm? Will they be able to help keep Dora and Mary alive when the time comes for Dora's forced marriage into slavery to cover her father's gambling debt with the goblins. Will Dora see her mate and have the curse removed? Why is Hera on the killing spree and what triggered it in the first place? Could it be Mary, her human who is afraid of what she is and what she smelt after her blood session as Mary had started calling her blackouts. Follow along and find out the secrets of the forest and what it hides in plain sight from unsuspecting humans and supernaturals alike.

This is not a stand-alone book. You have to have read book one: Flight of the cardinal. The last surviving member of the royal Cardinal family took flight after the uprising. Princess Cressida Cardinal–now living as Ida- spent the last ten years since the uprising in hiding. During her indenture as a maid in the Kestrel household, she found her fated mate Xander, and together they escaped the clutches of an angry Duke Kestrel, only to tumble into more turmoil. In book one, they uncovered a secret about Ida's heritage while searching for answers to explain her powerful magic. Ida is a hybrid. Part Faith and part magic wielder. This makes her a dangerous weapon that could unleash all hell on earth. But there is a sinister reason why no other hybrids exist. Osprey has now captured Ida and took her into custody within the very castle she used to call home. While in his care, Ida's life is turned upside down, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. As Ida is imprisoned, Xander must hide and bide his time until he can rescue her. He cannot count on the support from the rebellion, as he suspects there is a traitor amongst them. This will cause Xander to embrace his Lycan legacy and set out to find loyal supporters in the last Lycan pack. Alas, time is short when he learns Ida has escaped and found the one who bound her as a child. Will he reach her in time and prevent Ida from losing herself with the torrent of power in her, or will the past repeat itself and bring their entire world into chaos, dooming all humans, shifters, and magic wielders alike? Find out in the last book of this series.

Zach thought he'd left the drama of high school behind when he started college, eager to focus on his studies, make new friends and enjoy a peaceful campus life. He didn't expect to see the last person he wanted there; Ryder. Ryder Summers, the star jock and notorious player in highschool was infamous for his charm and skills. Girls swooned over him, Guys wanted to be him. He was adored by all. But not Zach. To him, attractiveness aside, he was nothing but a bully that tormented him through high school and his worst enemy. As it seemed, things weren't so different now, whether it was people's reaction to Ryder, his hatred for Ryder or Ryder’s equal dislike for him. He was a different person from the nerd Zach knew before however and he'd show it. When they are paired in a high-stakes project in their class he is sure it's doomed from the start. Forced to work together, Zach is forced to confront Ryder on a daily basis. Yet, amidst the tension, Zach can't help but notice Ryder’s gaze lingering on his lips. Wasn't he supposed to be straight? Shouldn't he hate him? Why then does Ryder seem drawn to him now? And worse, why doesn't he hate it?

In Kieran Chase's eyes, I was not his wife. I was a non-performing asset waiting to be liquidated. When I got sick and asked for help, he became impatient. He said, "This is a minor problem. You can handle it on your own. No need to tell anyone." When I broke down in tears, he reprimanded me. "Losing emotional control shows weakness. It exposes the fragility of our alliance. I'll have the PR team teach you emotional management." Even when I called for help after a car accident, he hung up. "Nothing about you is important enough to interrupt a transaction worth hundreds of millions." I spent seven days in the ICU fighting for my life. On my first day home, I found Kieran leaning over another woman, his voice suddenly soft and coaxing as he convinced her to take her medicine. He opened his mouth to explain. I smiled bitterly and handed him the papers I'd prepared long ago. My tone mirrored his perfectly. "Mr. Chase, regarding our marriage project, the return on investment is unacceptably low after comprehensive evaluation. I'm formally proposing we terminate our cooperation. "Here's the divorce agreement. Sign it."

Claimed as the Wrong Bride: Tripicity Book One Octavia Maddox is a grey zone artist living rough in Tripicity, selling her work to survive. When mob boss Bastien Leclair arranges a contract marriage with Olivia Maddox to secure a political alliance against his rival Corporal, Olivia refuses and doesn't show up. A gallery mix-up, possibly deliberate, puts Occy in the wrong room at the right moment. She signs a contract she doesn't fully understand in exchange for a number that covers the warehouse she's been saving for. Bastien comes to collect. What follows is a chase through the grey zone, a count system of punishments for running, a fever that lands her in hospital, and a slow negotiation of trust between two people who don't trust easily. He moves her to the Alderton, his building, his world, and builds her a studio with north-facing light. She migrates to his bed without deciding to. They fall into something neither of them names. Meanwhile Corporal, operating as Mrs. Santoro, has been watching Occy through a hacked security feed and commissions a painting from her. The three-way power structure of the city tightens around Occy without her knowing it. The Meridian overstep begins destabilising the grey zone she built her life in. Bastien's attempt to secure her position legally through a Maddox family adoption explodes when he tells her without asking her first. She walks out. He sits in the room she left. Coming: the grey zone war, the Maddox meeting with Occy, Corporal's escalation, the truth about who engineered the signing, and whether Occy chooses to stay. Not because she has to, but because she wants to.

I've worked with my wife, Naomi Prescott, for seven long years. Yet, she refuses to make my identity public in the company. Naomi claims that she's worried that the entire company might think of me as a man who relies on his partner. Believing her excuse, I stick to myself and keep a low profile all this time. But on the day my project team secures a ten-million-dollar business deal, Naomi is quick to make me give the credit to her childhood friend, Matthias Crowell. When faced with my questions, Naomi retorts in a matter-of-fact tone, "Matt is new to the company. Can't a veteran employee like you take care of him at work?" I'm furious, to say the least. "What if I say no?" Naomi throws a resignation letter at my face. "Well then, you can pack up and get lost, you pathetic loser!" I pack my belongings calmly and leave the company afterward. Three days later, Naomi's company is on the brink of bankruptcy. She sobs loudly as she begs me to return with her. I produce a business card and give it to her. "Sorry, but I prefer being the boss of my own company. It so happens that my company still needs a janitor. I suppose I can reserve that position for you, seeing as we used to be married and all."