The Witching Hour Anne Rice

My mother-in-law has gotten kidnapped, and yet my husband, Josiah Broadway, decides to celebrate the success of his childhood sweetheart, Vivian Spencer's performance with her. The kidnapper has requested a ten-million-dollar ransom. If he doesn't receive the money in his bank account in an hour, he'll kill the hostage immediately. But my calls to Josiah's phone never go through. When there's only one minute left on the timer, Josiah calls me back calmly. "Since that hag is already that old, she might as well die. I'm not wasting my money on her." Just like that, my mother-in-law is thrown into the sea by the furious kidnapper. The search-and-rescue team has to resort to using long hooks in order to fish her corpse out of the sea. As soon as the body is delivered to the crematorium, Josiah sends me a voice message excitedly. "Have your mom's corpse sent to the studio! Vivian's performance needs a corpse anyway! Using a real corpse will make the whole performance seem more realistic!" I'm pissed off, to say the least. So, that bastard thinks that my mom is the one who died, huh? After that, I have my mother-in-law's corpse, which is completely disfigured from all the fishing and hooking, sent to the studio without any hesitation.

Photo by Anastasiya Doborvolskaya via Pinterest A hundred years had passed since the war against witches reached its conclusion, leading the Kingdom of Londeve to a century-long peace. Everything's all well either for the young village baker boy, Tristan who lives a simple life with his two younger siblings not so far away from the country's capital. As ordinary as he might seem, it is not to be expected that he's actually acquainted with the only living royalty residing in his homeland, Crown Princess Anne of Londevè. Even so, their decade-long friendship never brought any significant change in each others' lives throughout the years, and for the humble young man, it is something to be relieved for. However, fate seem to have its own mischievous way of twisting the humble orphan's life. It was a remarkable encounter that turned his seemingly normal life into a dangerous rollercoaster ride as he got involved with the epitome of misery herself — the manipulative and mysterious lady, Serina Lourdemayne, who has been ironically keeping the peace at the Kingdom as a substitute Queen despite being a witch herself. Will this accidental and unwanted engagement ever reward him? Will they be able to work progressively despite their obvious and huge differences with their loved ones, responsibilities and aspirations in line? Dive into the world of magic and witness the journey of Tristan and Serina together with the noble Paladins as they protect the Kingdom from the coming calamities and from the new enemies that could possibly be more powerful and sinister than the wicked witches the human race had faced before.

Liam being a popular detective with zero crime reports in the past when he joined as a newbie at the German general TM corporation detective hide. Being the team leader with excellent career and an hour billionaire claimed himself lucky as of his bad luck was that he can't just sleep with those horrible nightmares. Loosing everything was his least thought on his list of life but the horror of his dirty little nightmare was what he was more afraid of. As his first love, Rose being the representative and a perfectionist of designing world class diamonds which has a special SPC Sponsor Profit on behalf of the top seven countries including Germany was being loved by her own and left by her father. Soon to start a family that she dreamt of but the dream was just a dream. At a point she lost everything love to trust as her beloved detective goes to coma for literally six months without giving Rose a hunch of his secret nightmares that he suffered. The fact that he had nightmares which showed the only face of Rose's father and his own mother was a huge shock to take it with the days were counted when Liam took birth as a wild venomous root that grew into a tree and his actions were the very chapter which started with loosing everything when he killed the one he never thought off.

THIS BOOK CONTAINS RAW, STEAMY, AND EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT. IF YOU'RE NOT 18+, PLEASE ABSTAIN. When Shemika accidentally kills her brother‑in‑law during a four‑hour, drug‑laced BDSM session on the night of her sister’s funeral, she flees and was hit by a car. The driver turns out to be the smooth‑talking ex‑convict everybody calls Bishop, manager of the ultra‑exclusive nightclub known as Wet Nights. He carries her to the club’s secret hospital beneath the dance floor for her to recover.  To dodge arrest, Shemika begs for a job at the club. After a shocking demonstration of wax play, orgasm denial, and bondage, she signs a blood‑ink contract and becomes property of Wet Nights. She was taken to the performers’ 14‑storey dorm, known as the Crimson House where all the performers (employees) at Wet Nights stays. The house is managed by the predatory house‑manager known as Sinner—he fucks every newbie in the house as part of their onboarding session. On her first night, Shemika is bullied to parade naked through all fourteen floors, but the funny bisexual icon Jax steps in and helps her. Soon Shemika teams up with two dancers namely; Synn, the ice‑cold top performer, and Lexi, whose real purpose is finding her sister who vanished while working at the club. But some doors in Wet Nights stay locked for a reason…

My mother-in-law lives alone. One day, her house suddenly catches on fire. It's a life-threatening situation. I call my firefighter husband several times before he answers impatiently. "I don't care why you're calling—can't it wait? I'm fixing Sophie's pipes!" I tell him about his mother being trapped in a fire, but he merely sneers. "How dare you curse my mother just to make me go home? You're insane!" He hangs up without another word. I'm left helpless. All I can do is wait for his colleagues to arrive, but they only come half an hour later. Their expressions shift to horror when they see the blazing fire. "Didn't Captain Scott say his wife was lying?" My mother-in-law dies due to the delay. My husband even misses the funeral because of his first love. I give up on him and ask for a divorce. However, he rips the divorce agreement to shreds and shatters the urn that contains his mother's ashes. "Drop the act—I would definitely go through with the divorce if not for my mother!" I laugh. He doesn't even know his mother is already dead.

“Do you feel that, Rose?” He asked in a gruff tone. “The effect I have on you is real. Don’t deny it. Don’t deny me.” Rose’s cheeks burned with shame, even though she pushed her bosom more into his hand, seeking the pleasure she knew he could give her. Then, she recalled that they were in a restaurant, and stilled at once, eyes wide, heart thudding wildly, and breathless. “We’re in a bar,” she told him, her protest sounding weak even to her own ears. “A desert one,” he chuckled. She turned around, and saw that the restaurant was indeed vacant, save for them, and Enzo and Stefan who were standing by the door, their backs to them. It was rush hour, and that couldn’t have happened, even if the food was terrible — and it wasn’t. She understood immediately that the divillish man sitting next to her, who starred in all her fantasies as of late, had ensured that they would have the privacy they needed. For a ruthless mafia boss, he sure could be considerate. ... ... ... ... When Rose meets a mafia boss on one of her night shifts, she thinks he is a peculiar and unpleasant patient whom she would do well to avoid... Little does she know that that encounter is but the beginning to a tumultuous passionate chapter of her life. Risking everything for the man shouldn't be an option... And yet, she soon finds herself caught in his web of sin, desire, and obsession.

⚠️ Contains emotionally intense and mature themes. (R 18+) "Look at me, Hazel." Diego approached, his breath burning Hazel's ear. "I only ask for one thing... beg me." Hazel shook her head, her knees trembling. "No... you can't—" Diego smiled faintly, darkly, full of triumph. "If you beg... I will never let you go." Hazel Anne Quinn, 24 years old — a small-time journalist who no one takes seriously. Living a mediocre life, abandoned since birth, and writing erotica as a ghostwriter at night to survive. No one ever wanted Hazel... until Diego Ronan Blake appeared. A senior actor and tycoon at 34, a man who makes the world bow down and causes women to fight to be his. But Diego becomes obsessed with the one woman who avoids him — Hazel's grayish-green eyes, filled with fear yet a hint of defiance, make Diego lose control. For Diego, Hazel isn't a fantasy — she is a necessity. He wants Hazel as his, body and soul, and this obsession drives him to tear down the walls that have protected Hazel, only to rebuild them with himself at the center. Hazel can be afraid, can hate, can resist... but as long as she doesn't beg, Diego will never stop. Because once Hazel gives in — even just once — Diego will never let her go.

On our fifth wedding anniversary, my wife, who had struggled with fertility for years, suddenly felt nauseous. The college student we had been sponsoring panicked and rushed her to the hospital. Half an hour later, she called me. "I'm pregnant." I was thrilled, until her next words froze me in place. "The father's the college student, the one we've been supporting. He got sick that night and I felt bad for him, so I stayed over. I didn't think anything would happen. We have to keep this quiet. He's graduating soon and joining our company. We can't let this mess things up for him. "And you need to quit your job, so he can take your position. I'm going to need you home to take care of me." The sheer audacity left me speechless, but I kept my voice level. "Okay." She hung up, satisfied. What she did not know was that years ago, someone had made me a promise. If I turned 30 years old and still did not have a child, she would give me one. Today was my 30th birthday.

I discovered my Alpha mate Ethan's secret. The ring he gave me on our wedding day was actually used to track and monitor me. But I didn't cry. I pretended my eyes hadn't healed, and witnessed firsthand how Ethan and his mistress clung to each other, entangled in affection. Ethan's voice was low and husky: "Let's be quick. Selene usually wakes up after an hour of rest." The mistress covered her mouth and giggled softly: "She's just a blind wolf. What does it matter if she wakes up? As long as we don't make any noise." Hearing this, Ethan glared at her in warning. "Even though Selene has lost her sight, she's still the person I love most, and she's my bottom line. If you disrespect Selene again, whatever is between us ends right here." But what he didn't know was that my blindness had been cured. I could see everything clearly now. After getting out of bed, I wiped away my tears and made a phone call. "Tell the Alpha of the Shadow Pack that I'm willing to become their Chief Healer."

Crown Princess Isla's life takes a terrifying turn when a bizarre urge compels her to steal iron at the market, triggering unsettling dreams, a disturbing connection to metal, and a public scandal. Her family, horrified and confused, confines her to her room. There, a monstrous transformation begins: Isla's body twists into a wolf-like creature, driven by primal instincts and a chilling connection to iron. As Isla grapples with her horrifying new reality, her sister Anne, fueled by ambition and exploiting the public's fear, plots to seize the throne, even resorting to supernatural means to undermine Isla and marry Prince Caius. Escaping her confinement under the full moon's influence, Isla, now a terrifying werewolf, unleashes chaos upon the city. Amidst the terror, she encounters Kael, an ordinary man haunted by the same curse that afflicts her, a descendant of the woman who cursed the royal line generations ago. They find solace and love in their shared monstrous fate. The curse's origin is revealed: a vengeful act targeting the seventh princess, compelling her to worship the curser and bring her iron. United in their shared affliction, Isla and Kael terrorize the city together, their love story unfolding against a backdrop of fear and destruction. Their reign of terror is ultimately brought to an end when the terrified populace captures them, leaving the future of the cursed kingdom uncertain. The story explores themes of transformation, betrayal, the destructive nature of curses, and an unlikely love born in the heart of a nightmare.