Showing results by narrator "Alexis" in All Categories

All cultures lie in the shadow of ancient Mesopotamia-the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that is now mostly encompassed by the borders of modern Iraq. In this fascinating series of 36 lectures, an award-winning teacher leads you on a vivid journey through Mesopotamian history-from Neolithic times to the age of Alexander the Great.

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter for Animators, Inc., is offered a cool mil to raise a 283-year-old corpse. But she knows that the older the zombie, the bigger the death needed to raise it. Only a human sacrifice is 'big' enough to raise this old soul – and Anita’s no murderer. Now, a creature from beyond the grave is tearing a swath of murder through St. Louis. And Anita will learn that there are some secrets better left buried – and some people better off dead …

You don't volunteer for slugfests with vampires. It shortens your life expectancy. And you don't fall in love with a werewolf. It interferes with your work. Especially when you're a preternatural expert, like me. My name is Anita Blake. My business brings me up close and personal with all shapes and sizes of monsters. And not all of them want to kill me.

The first hit man came after me at home, which should be against the rules. Then there was a second, and a third. Word on the street is that Anita Blake, preternatural expert and vampire killer extraordinaire, is worth half a million dollars. Dead, not alive. So what's a girl to do but turn to the men in her life for help? Which in my case means an alpha werewolf and a master vampire. With professional killers on your trail, it's not a bad idea to have as much protection as possible, human or otherwise.

Jason is a werewolf. He's one of my best friends and sometimes a lover. And right now he needs me, Anita Blake – not to be a vampire hunter, or a Federal Marshall, or a necromancer, but because his father is dying. Because this is the weekend that Marmee Noir, ancient mother of all vampires, picks to make her move.

When Anita Blake meets with prospective client Tony Bennington, who is desperate to have her reanimate his recently deceased wife, she is full of sympathy for his loss. Anita knows something about love, and she knows everything there is to know about loss. But what she also knows, though Tony Bennington seems unwilling to be convinced, is that the thing she can do as a necromancer isn't the miracle he thinks he needs.

When a vampire serial killer sends Anita Blake a grisly souvenir from Las Vegas, she has to warn Sin City's local authorities what they're dealing with. Only it's worse than she thought. Police officers and one executioner have been slain – paranormal-style. Anita heads to Vegas, where she's joined by three other federal marshals, including the ruthless Edward hiding behind his mild-mannered persona. It's a good thing Edward always has her back, because, when she gets close to the bodies, Anita senses 'tiger' too strongly to ignore it.

Rafael Marino is the epitome of a Mafia man. Dark, destructive, and deadly. Then he demands I become his nanny and tells me he owns every inch of me. Beneath his darkness, he sees me for who I am—a broken girl. Then he claims me as his little doll and promises to protect me. But what happens when he’s the one I need protection from? What happens when it’s him who becomes broken?

Seasoned hockey player Camden "Hero" James has a compulsive need to help women in distress, and Anastasia Lennox is no exception. From the moment he first sees her dance he's determined to save her—and have her—even though she's hell-bent on keeping him at arm's length. Anastasia isn't sure why a gorgeous, famous NHL star wants anything to do with a damaged ballerina who can barely make ends meet. They're clearly from two different worlds. But when she suddenly has nowhere to live, she grabs the lifeline Camden throws her with both hands.

Most women complain that there are no single straight men left. I'd just like to meet one that's human. I'm Anita Blake, expert on creatures of the night. I've dined with shapeshifters, danced with werewolves, and been wooed – but not won – by Jean-Claude, the Vampire Master of the City. And now a darkly dangerous vampire named Alejandro has hit town. He wants me for his human servant. A war of the undead has begun. Over me ...

Malakai Farrow needed a wife, and I would have done anything to save the last piece of my family. Now I'm here, in his house, seeing firsthand how dangerous this man is. He's merciless, brutal, and cold. And my new husband. He tossed my life into the air and then watched it fall and shatter. So now, I'm going to make his life hell. Playing with fire has never been this much fun. And if I get burned in the process? Well, I'll be sure to take him down with me.

Jace Thatcher musthave her. Ever since he laid eyes on Riley, the Tennessee Tigers' star wide receiver has been consumed by the thought of making her his—possessing her, body and soul. But Riley isn't a game to be won. She has scars that run deep, and a past that's never too far behind her. Riley's looking for a clean start when the cocky football player enters her life. His dangerously seductive grin has her feeling weak in the knees, blowing past the carefully crafted defenses she's built to keep her from making the same mistakes all over again.

Ruthless, arrogant, and cold-hearted are some of the words I would use to describe my a**hole of a boss, Damon Everette. That doesn't stop the goosebumps from rising along my neck every time he says my name or the way my pulse races when his stormy gray eyes pierce mine. So, when he coerces me into a fake marriage to uphold his family's tradition, I can't resist pushing his buttons. He's a walking red flag, and I should run the second this arrangement ends. But the very thought of losing him is suffocating—a dangerous addiction that I can't seem to break.

Bash Everette's reputation precedes him as a reckless, irresponsible, eternal bachelor who never takes anything seriously. Only he's been living in his personal form of hell. One where the days meld together into a sea of everlasting boredom. That's until he catches Anastasia Volkov, disguised as her brother, attempting to steal from the Order of Saints. Shattering every preconceived notion he has of the perfect society princess. She's like a live wire, shocking his heart back to life, stealing every ounce of his attention.

In Las Vegas, Sin City, Dmitri Sevastyan finds her, Victoria Valentine - sexy, vulnerable, and in need of a protector. Obsession takes root deep inside him. Despite a history tainted with violation and betrayal, he will stop at nothing to possess her. Descended from a long line of con artists, 24-year-old Victoria, a.k.a. Vice, needs the score of a lifetime to keep her loved ones safe. She sets her sights on gorgeous and rich Dmitri Sevastyan.

I hate Christmas. Years and years of disappointment have taught me that Christmas is the worst. I don't like the music, the food, the decorations…anything. And Lincoln Daniels, my tattooed hockey god of a husband, thinks he's going to change that… I tell him it's not going to happen.

The Daymakers were the hottest alt-rock band since the nineties, the masked members making fans swoon at the very thought of who might be hiding under the skull masks. Known only by their stage names—Royal, Hero, Poet and Knight—their real identities were a carefully held secret.

Trapped in a life she never wanted, Sloane is subject to the whims of rich, powerful men. She survives by playing the part, but inside she feels nothing. Because having feelings is dangerous. She's managed to stay numb for so long . . . until a rookie hockey player spots her and turns her whole world upside down.

I am back in St Louis and trying to live a normal life – as normal as possible for someone who is a legal vampire-executioner and a US Marshal. I have my lovers, my friends and their children, school programs to attend. In the midst of all this ordinary happiness a vampire from my past reaches out. She was supposed to be dead, but the Mother of All Darkness is the first vampire, and it's hard to kill a god.

The second I board the Bruise Cruise, I’m ready to indulge—top-shelf liquor, five-star meals, and maybe a little pain to round out the night. What I don’t expect? Falling for the one woman guaranteed to ruin everything. A federal agent. She’s here to sink us, and I’m stuck sharing a suite—and a bed—with the enemy.