Showing results for "A Quartet of Pleasures" in Literature & Fiction

"Definitely Kinky": Ruby's known the guys in her string quartet forever. But after five years, Ethan, the viola player, is still a mystery: quiet, unassuming, and intensely dedicated to the music they create. Who would've thought he'd be the one to tilt her world sideways using only his voice, his fingers, and a bundle of rope?

Definitely Kinky: Ruby's known the guys in her string quartet forever. But after five years, Ethan, the viola player, is still a mystery. Perfect and Powerful: Ruby can’t stand lead violinist Jonathan most of the time, but she agrees to play his girlfriend at a party. Play with Me: Steve’s the big-brother type. When Ruby shows up on the wrong night for one of his famed parties, he invites her to stay. The Full Concerto: The Gold Quartet has been invited to play as guest artists, but the concert falls on Ruby’s birthday.

Ruby can’t stand lead violinist Jonathan most of the time, but she agrees to play his girlfriend at a party so he can fend off a stalker-ish fan. The only problem is that, over the course of the night, she discovers Jon’s an amazing dancer - and an even better kisser. When she’s in his arms, he’s passionate and forceful. He’s always a strict taskmaster during rehearsals and concerts, but maybe that translates into something more fun in the bedroom. With Ethan’s support and encouragement, Ruby decides to find out....

The good news is that the Gold Quartet has been invited to play one of their favorite concertos as guest artists with the noted Berlin Philharmonic. The bad news? The concert falls on Ruby’s birthday, so she’ll be traveling to Europe with her fellow musicians instead of celebrating at home with family and friends. The guys hatch a plan to make it up to her, a plan to celebrate Ruby’s birthday in a way she’ll never forget.

Ruby's known the guys in her string quartet forever. There's Jonathan, the bossy lead violinist, and Steve, the cellist, who plays ref when they're at each other's throats. Then there's Ethan, the viola player. After five years, he's still a mystery: quiet, unassuming, and intensely dedicated to the music. Who would've thought he'd be the one to comfort her after a wedding-reception gig goes haywire? Who would've thought they'd end up in each other's arms? And who would've thought he'd know how to tilt her world sideways using only his voice, his fingers, and a bundle of rope?

Steve’s the big-brother type, always has been - tall, blond, fun-loving, faithful, and protective. When Ruby shows up on the wrong night for one of his famed pajama parties, he graciously invites her to stay and hang out. Everything’s great - until she gets a little too drunk on hard cider and professes her horniness for him...repeatedly. Now Ruby and Steve have to decide if they want to cross that line or if it’s better to preserve their easy friendship. Maybe, with a little luck, they can do both.

"Dawn broke that morning in the same way that it did every other day, but I knew nothing would ever be the same again. The shore resembled a scene after battle. Bodies were scattered haphazardly across the sand, nude, lithe, breathing in unison as if the scene which we had all witnessed had unified the crowd in some unearthly way. I turned to look at Iris. She was laughing, as if the events of the previous night had filled her with giddy amazement."

He was everything that Alice wanted in a man - or everything that she had thought she wanted. Until the moment arrived when they were destined to be joined at last, and she knew that she didn't want him at all. The sound that escaped her full lips was barely audible, no more than a whisper. And yet the single word that she spoke silenced the entire congregation instantly. "No."

It took years for Giselle to complete the journey from Orleans to New Orleans. Her mother had given birth to her a week or so earlier than her parents had expected, while the family were staying at their country villa in Orleans, in the French provinces by the curve of the Loire river. Throughout her childhood she would hear people, relatives and friends, speaking of New Orleans in America and she always imagined it as a newer, cleaner version of the sleepy regional city where she was born.

I always knew I was different from other women... An eminent psychiatrist has established there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. When Dominik died, I experienced none of these. I initially found myself reeling in shock, and then all I could do was miss him, miss him, and miss him over and again.