Darius Cooper, Maitre d' of upscale Montgomery House, isn’t entirely pleased when owner Rhys Montgomery decides to allow the Gourmet Network to use the restaurant for an episode of a reality show. But if he thought that was bad, discovering the show’s director is his former lover, Max Boyd, is nearly catastrophic. Max is the only man Dare has ever loved, and he’s spent seven years fruitlessly trying to erase Max from his mind and heart.

Max was young and immature when he and Dare were together, but now he’s a different man, and ready to settle down into the kind of relationship he wasn’t prepared for back then. He’s never found anyone else who affects him the way Dare does, and he wants Dare back in his life. The only problem is Dare isn’t the forgiving sort. Between dealing with bridezillas and Executive Chef Stephen Pierce, Max has his hands full. Fortunately he has a ninja-Cupid in the form of Stephen’s PA Robert Logan on his side – but Max still isn’t certain if Dare will forgive him, or if he’s blown his only chance at true love after all.

Daytime soap star and part time rancher Marcus Bailey ought to know better than to take in a stray. But there's something about the streetwise hustler he pulls out of a bar room brawl that makes him throw caution to the wind. Malcolm Quinn, half starved, wary, and bearing the physical and emotional scars of a tough upbringing in foster care, wants nothing to do with charity, nor will he brook anything that hints at pity.

When Marcus offers Malcolm a job and a place to stay, the kid turns him down flat, but all that changes when Marcus' mare, Sylvie gives birth to a gangly, long eared colt that falls ill soon after birth. Malcolm agrees to stay and help with the foal, never realizing the chain of events that decision will unleash.

Marcus' jealous and violent partner, Paul Wilson, escalates his abuse of Marcus under the guise of a BDSM arrangement and Malcolm and Marcus are caught up in a rollercoaster ride of violence and scandal. Marcus must find the strength to stand up to Paul and end their relationship, while Malcolm struggles to come to terms with the BDSM lifestyle and become the loving dominant that Marcus needs. Two men from very different worlds, can Malcolm and Marcus surmount the obstacles in their path and forge a future together?

Ketu is the king's consort and the king's diamond, a gift provided by the gods. Ketu loves Damalepazhur deeply, but still asks himself what is his true purpose in life. Is it only to look after Damal, or is there something more?

Troubled by doubts about his place in the kingdom and in court, Ketu fills his days with looking after Damal’s household and children, and helping anyone who comes to him for assistance. When people try to worship him as the Face of Azhur, the child of their main god, Ketu tells them only to live good lives. He enjoys a passionate, if sometimes frustrating, relationship with Damal, but even this makes him wonder if he'll end up like former diamonds after the king's death, despairing and alone.

Hoping to cheer him, Damal takes Ketu to the newly-restored summer palace, where they enjoy each other's company and explore the countryside. Seers warn Ketu about Damal's recklessness, but he puts them out of his mind until Damal's life hangs by a thread. Only then does Ketu explore the full depth of his powers and what it means to be a gift from the gods.

Love at first sight...

Young, cool, laid back professor Kieran is totally captivated by the blind and beautiful Lucien.

Lucien has been around a long time, but he is equally caught by Kieran's sensuality. He believes Kieran might be the man he wishes to spend the rest of eternity with.

Lucien's blindness doesn't turn Kieran off, but will his secret?

Originally published in Eternal Darkness and as a part of All Romance Ebook's 28 Days of Heart Campaign.

Everything has fallen apart. With the Night Shift HQ destroyed and supernatural murders spreading across Chicago, the Night Shift team circles the wagons. Reeling from their losses, Fynn has to draw on every friend –supernatural and not-- he has left to track down the monster responsible, a chase that will take his team far from home and the comfort of the world he thought he knew.

With his partner Jack and their daughter, Fynn faces questions about his family, an old feud and the Night Shift’s origins will bring Fynn closer to the truth, but he’s not sure he going to make it out of this one. He’s not even sure he wants to.

Nikolas is a performer at paranormal the nightclub Bloodrose. When it comes to bottoming on stage, he’s incomparable. When it concerns dating co-workers, Nikolas is on way shakier ground.

New bar manager Ashe has been told Nik is way out of his league. Maybe that’s why he’s not prepared for what happens when the two of them begin dating. Can the boys figure out their hang-ups before it’s too late for their relationship?

A Bloodrose story.

Jesse Putnam, once a union cavalryman and now a California rancher, has no one but himself to blame when he realizes the foreman assigned to help him investigate the problems on the Southern Californian acres of a railway baroness has a face that’s all too familiar. Even on the Barbary Coast of 1869, unknown vaqueros who share Jesse’s inclinations are few and far between, and Jesse didn’t even try to resist the heated attraction between them. But he never counted on his nameless companion of the previous night turning out to be Wardley Bridger, now his colleague and fellow investigator.

Bridger, at peace with his nature in a way Jesse is not, proves to be a calm and canny companion as they travel south and start sorting through a mystery that stretches out from the dusty Pueblo of Angles into the brush-covered hills of Ranchero Los Robles. But as the ghost rider’s threat overshadows both them and the ranchers of Los Robles, can Jesse still learn that friendship might merge with his shadowed hungers to gift him with a kind of bond he has never even dared to desire?

Originally published in Under This Cowboy's Hat.

How do you cope with the realization that not everyone respects your marriage? Chance Shanahan and Tucker McBride know being in a same-sex relationship isn’t easy or common for men in their careers. The two firefighters find ways to surmount the everyday obstacles, but eventually Tucker becomes more and more frustrated with the roadblocks two gay men must face. His anger soon consumes him and threatens the very foundation his and Chance’s relationship is built on. Is there any way that Chance can help Tucker see that the only opinion that matters is their own?

Originally published in To Serve and Protect.

Really on just on their feet again after their sub Peter died of cancer, Treat and Killian are thrown for a loop when Killian is kidnapped by a madman's brother. Shot during the rescue, Killian is injured, both physically and mentally.

Can Treat find a way to heal the new scars on Killian's psyche, or will this latest incident be the final straw?

Mitch is a police detective with a life that should be smooth sailing; unfortunately, his boyfriend is getting on his nerves, he has a murder to solve, and he has a mysterious stranger telling him details no one but the killer could know. Can Mitch make sense of the chaos before the killer chooses another victim?

Originally published in To Protect and Serve.

All Ashe wanted was to collect Katsu and go home. All Katsu wanted was Ashe. Figuring out that they're in love might have taken a while, but now that they've done it there's only one thing remaining: to leave the country.

Except a bounty on Ashe's head means that everyone is out to kill him. Threats are constant and injuries abound. Not even the dragon can stop a mob from slaughtering Ashe, and if a mythical creature can't do it, what hope does a dispossessed prince have? They'll need a miracle to get out of this alive, and none of them believe in miracles anymore.

Johnny has spent thirty-two years trying to do what’s expected of him. When he finds himself divorced, overweight, living with his parents again, and losing the job he’s had since leaving school, it’s the wake-up call he needs to start taking charge of his life. It's time to do what he wants -- if only he can figure out just what that is.

Choosing to go looking for his brother Joey, who he hasn't seen or spoken to for eight years, he follows a postmark on a Christmas card to the seaside town of Anwell-by-Sea. Joey isn't that difficult to find and comes complete with boyfriend Dave, Dave's Uncle Ed, and a rather large and very bad tempered arsehole called Charlie.

Johnny is happy to find Joey and enjoys meeting Dave and Uncle Ed; but he's pretty glad to see the back of Charlie. Despite Charlie being an unpleasant git, Johnny can't wait to get back to Anwell-by-Sea with his kids for an Easter break, and maybe he can make some progress on his to-do list by then, too.

Four years ago, after winning seven Olympic medals, two of them gold, Justin retired from swimming, and he's been floundering ever since. For years swimming was everything, but his Coach waved him off once he'd retired. The Fourth of July finds him contemplating doing something stupid, so Justin calls up Coach. To his surprise, Chris answers.

When Justin retired, Chris cut all ties with the swimmer he'd fallen in love with, wanting to make sure that Justin didn't stay with him as a lover just because it was the easy thing. He's been waiting for a long time for Justin to come back to him, so when Justin calls, he immediately offers to let Justin back into his life, and into his arms.

When he finds out that Justin is lost, drowning in a pool of self-doubt and the belief that his happy years are behind him, Chris realizes maybe he made a mistake letting go so suddenly. He brings Justin to his home, and gives in to the urges they’ve ignored for a long time. Now Chris can love Justin, give him rules and structure that Justin needs. As long as he can convince Justin that it’s really love. Can Justin and Chris put the last four years behind them and find themselves a golden moment?

The world has gone to hell in a hand basket with the dead shambling in the streets and attacking the living. Konrad and Jase have a Plan for the ZA, because, who doesn’t? Something that was just for fun is frighteningly real now. The married couple is separated by a hundred kilometers of zombie infested roadway. Konrad is at their condo and Jase is at the military base he’s assigned to. Neither one is going to let that stop them from reuniting with each other.

What follows is running and gunning that surpasses anything available in video games.

Dane Coulter is so far in the closet, he can’t even see the door – not even when his father forces him into an engagement he doesn’t want. Randolph Coulter rules his family with an iron fist, and Dane is so concerned about his mother’s happiness that he is willing to sacrifice his own.

When his best friend Cal seduces him in a desperate attempt to make Dane confront the truth about himself before he makes a terrible mistake, it only complicates matters and drives a wedge between them. Now Dane is alone, and he has to make a decision. Can he stand up to his father and fight for his own happiness, or will he lose Cal forever?

Welcome to Shady Business, the hottest gay BDSM club in town. Owned by Grey Shade, it's the place you want to be if you're into leather, whips, crops, and hot and steamy sex.

Each story in this anthology takes the reader inside the club for a steamy, hot night filled with passion, sex, and leather. From love stories that pluck at the heartstrings with riding crops to subs masquerading as Doms, from virginal first-time forays into the scene, to tales of experienced members in the leather community, there's something for every reader here. Top or bottom, Dom or sub, every need is met, every desire filled.

At Shady Business, no good deed ever goes unpunished.

Twenty-three-year-old Cam Phillips is a waiter at Newark Airport’s The Layover and has aspirations of owning his own restaurant in New York. With a lust for older men and stormy eyes that demand affection, Cam has a troubled past with airport regulars that includes bathroom rendezvouses.

Every Thursday night, Cam rebuffs the advance of Anderson Montgomery, a corporate lawyer more than a decade older, who always sits at Table 26. Anderson seems different from Cam’s usual encounters, having class and offering kindness, but Cam’s troubled past keeps him from committing to a relationship that seems more take than give. What is he willing to give to Anderson, and what can he give—other than cayenne pepper in Anderson’s meals?

Alexus' role in life as a Slayer is to remove or eliminate preternatural beings as dictated by his town’s bishop, Mathias. He is deeply in love with Josiah, the town apothecary, who also creates weapons and protective garb for Alexus. When dealing with the latest supernatural threat to the town, however, Alexus quickly realizes that the real threat is something far darker and more deadly than it first appears.

When Josiah is attacked, Alexus goes after his abductors and uncovers the true evil. But in trying to save Josiah, will his own life be forfeit?

Alistair isn't sure he remembers what loving feels like. He's done his duty by his family, leaving behind the feel of a man's touch years before. If he yearns sometimes for the rough love of a man, he keeps it to himself. Things are about change for Alistair, though, when his old school friend Griff sends a very special stablemaster his way. Mick Cole, with Griff's help, intends to remind Alistair what it's like to have some fun, and to let his responsibilities go just long enough to remember pleasure.

A true Victorian romp!

Cain's had a bad, bad day. All he wants is some candy to sweeten his mood, but what he gets instead is an unexpected dinner invitation from a stranger.

Denny's fond of cherry sours, too, but he thinks Cain needs more than candy to smooth out the rough edges in his life, and he's perfectly happy to give it to him.

As Cain's insecurities vanish along with his inhibitions, the two of them discover that you can go from being strangers to being very close in no time at all.

The boys from Off World are back!

Vigilant crewmember Sandy D'abu stays behind on Doradus station to mind the crew’s new secure cargo business while the rest of the guys take the spaceship out on a run. There isn't a lot for him to do, so he spends his evenings at Durty Nelly's, keeping an eye on bartender Alex, a former pleasure slave a few of his crewmates feel responsible for.

When the man who made Alex's a pleasure slave back on Earth suddenly turns up as part-owner of the sex club, Sandy agrees to help Alex out by pretending to be his boyfriend. After all, what are a few kisses among friends? The problem is that Sandy doesn't want to pretend; he's already in love with Alex.

Alex is still skittish about being touched at all by anyone, let alone kissed by the huge ex-soldier, and if that wasn't enough, there are plenty of bad guys in both Sandy and Alex's pasts back on earth who have escaped to Doradus station too, and they all want a piece of the action..

Will Sandy and Alex be able to put the past, and the men who want to hurt them, behind them to find a future together? Find out in this passionate sequel to Off World.

Sord left his home among the plains people when he was just a boy to become dragonkeeper to the mighty dragon Rafon. They live happily together in the hills of the Riokonnan, with the other dragons.

When Rafon's son Gerri goes missing, Sord volunteers to find the young dragon. His travels take him to the city of Tazeen where dragons are prized highly -- as ingredients in magic potions. It is not place for any dragon to come, especially a youngling. But come to Tazeen Gerri has, and Sord isn't quite sure what to do when he discovers that Gerri risked the trip for the sole purpose of finding his own dragonkeeper.

Kell has lived all his life on the streets of Tazeen, neither noble nor rich, merchant nor worker. Imagine his surprise when he discovers Gerri in the catacombs beneath the city and realizes that he can sing the dragon language. What will he do when Sord arrives intent on returning Kell's new dragon friend back to the safety of the mountains?

Read this fantasy adventure and find out!

It's bad enough that Danny's lonely, missing his ex, but then he wakes up one morning to find that his utility room has been flooded by his upstairs neighbor. Talk about going from bad to worse; his electricity is out and his drywall and breaker box are ruined.

Help comes in the form of hunky drywall repairman, Ken. Ken is hot, built, and agrees to go to dinner when Danny asks, so Danny figures things are looking up. At least until Ken runs after a make-out session in Ken's truck. Now Danny has to figure out what to do. Can he convince Ken that he's more than just a job, and a mistake?

Bryn leaves his small town Orkney home behind to go to college, enjoying spending time with his new best friend Kyle and his studies in Oceanography. Things start to go wrong when he gets some bad family news, and when he starts getting the cold shoulder from some classmates.

Professional medium Marc doesn't put too much stock in the Tarot. That's his sister Maggie's job. So when the Justice card turns up lot in his life, he thinks his sis is trying to tell him something. Turns out it's more like a new job that's calling his name.

When he gets to the new job, Marc is shocked to see his old lover, Dean. Dean is having serious problems with evil entities and needs Marc's help. Marc is not sure he's willing to take the case, but he might be convinced that Dean is worth the trouble. And the danger.

Alex is a reporter, determined to follow a great race through the Sahara and earn his name in his field. What he doesn’t count on is desert cheiftan Alfahl kidnapping him and carrying him off.

Alfahl needs and English tutor, and Alex fits the bill. Alex fascinates him, as much for the Arabian Nights style tales he tells as for his sweet body and foreign ways. Can these very different men find enough common ground to last together? Or will they become just another story?

Hard working and a little reclusive, Marshall insists that he’s perfectly happy with his life. His friend Paige disagrees, and drags him out for a night on the town, where Marshall meets Tyler. He thinks Tyler is perfect for a one night stand, but what’s Marshall to do when Tyler doesn’t leave?

After much digging his heels in, Marshall decides to just drink Tyler off is mind, but Tyler has other ideas. Can he convince Marshall that there’s more to life than work, and that Tyler needs a place to settle down?

Guy works hard, wrangling both cattle and tourists for a Wyoming dude ranch. The problem? He's a bit lonely, and figuring he hasn’t got many good years left in him for finding someone.

That's when AJ shows up. He's a young veteranarian, taking over practice for the old doc who's fleeing to Florida to warm his old bones. Turns out to be the best thing that could have happened to all of them, inclosing the menagerie of strays AJ takes in after he arrives.

The two get to know each other, get to liking each other, going from friendship to a little sweet romance just in time for winter. Just in time for Guy to figure he's not so old after all. Just in time to keep each other warm for in the place they've made with each other, menagerie and all.

Returning from best-selling Single Shot, Cherry Sours, Denny and Cain are learning all about each other, playing games that make Cain blush and make Denny as happy as he's ever been. They're getting along great, but Cain doesn't want Denny to think he needs financial support.

When Cain gets even deeper into money trouble, he hesitates to tell Denny, even though he wants to. He knows he's in love, but he's just not sure he can trust what he feels. Can Denny convince Cain that what they have is real?

Detective Shane Mullin is used to domestic investigations. So when Janet Brint hires him to tail her husband, City Councilor Daniel, he doesn't think much of it. Everyone has something to hide, and Janet thinks Daniel's problem is drugs.

It's not drug abuse that has Daniel hiding out, though. As Shane follows Daniel about, he realizes the politician is having lots of sex. Gay sex at that. Shane is fascinated with Daniel's case, wondering just what Janet hopes to gain by exposing Daniel's secrets.

Shane is also fascinated with Daniel the man, so much so that attraction blooms, and he and Daniel begin an online friendship. One thing leads to another, and Shane finds himself leading his own double life, seeing Daniel while continuing to investigate him.

With no good way out of his deception, Shane has a decision to make about what to tell Daniel, and Daniel himself has some tough choices about his life and whether or not to go public with his sexuality. Can Shane and Daniel work their way through their web of lies?

Scott was a child star, and had all the pitfalls of his profession, including drugs and a controlling, partying mom. Now he's clean, putting his life back together, and acting in a nationally known soap opera. Things are going great until his mother shows up, demanding money, threatening to out him to the entertainment world unless he coughs it up.

When Gray Latham's uncle Will, dies unexpectedly, Gray travels to Connecticut to pay his respects to both Will's memory and Will's long-time girlfriend, Eva Monroe. Imagine his surprise when Eva turns out to be Evan -- tall, lean, too attractive and completely in mourning Evan Monroe.

Evan's expecting a quick visit from his lover's uncaring nephew, but when Gray shows up at his door he finds much more than that. Between the instant attraction and an ill-advised, Margarita-fueled kiss, Evan isn't sure what to make of the Montana rancher, especially with Bill so recently and suddenly gone. With emotions running high and interfering friends and family sticking their noses into things, can the two men find a way to accept life's lemons and make lemonade?

Lusty fairy Fionn has a problem. A curse from Queen Danu leaves Fionn at the mercy of any human who calls him. And keeps him from being satisfied more often than not. Granting wishes is Fionn's gig, but he usually doesn't get anything in return but a whole lot of frustration.

Through the centuries, he satisfies many men, but never finds his own release. It's enough to make fairy very cranky. Eventually he learns to control his curse. Kind of. He can put the book that calls him in the right hands, and he’s getting a lot more action out of it! But when Danu catches wind of it, she conspires to keep him downtrodden. Can Fionn find a way to survive, and have time to fall in love?

Compilation of the Chaser series Fionn 'o the Fae.

Gypsy wanderer Lightning has a problem. Actually, he has tons of them, from his responsibility as the leader of his Caravan to the fact that he has to find his soul mate before his fast approaching twenty-first birthday.

When he meets Traveler, a man he thinks is a Deserter of the Road, or a gypsy who has turned his back on the nomadic lifestyle he so loves, Lightning refuses to believe that he’s found what he’s been searching for. There’s no way that Traveler can be the \answer to the curse that will fall on his people. No way. So when the ancients insist that Traveler is the one, Lightning is less than thrilled.

Even if Lightning is willing to give it a try, Traveler has problems of his own. His past is full of intrigue and danger, forcing him to hide his true identity from Lightning. When his former life catches up with him, Traveler has to leave Lightning behind, and they might never find each other again.

Can Lightning get past his natural suspicion and the wounds of his childhood to make a life with Traveler? Will Traveler’s past mistakes cost them both their chance at happiness and bring more than one curse down upon their heads? Magic, mayhem and true love reign in this gypsy tale!

When Massimo Rossi meets Piero at a renaissance Florentine masked ball, he finds instant attraction, and instant trouble. Piero is not all he seems, hiding secrets from Massimo even as he loves him.

Family intrigue abounds, from cousins who lurk in the shadows to protect their kin to mistresses who dally with their maids. With poisonings, swordfights, and love hot enough to set even a renaissance palazzo on fire, Masque is a can't miss, exciting ride.

Forced into an arranged marriage after the death of his true love, Gareth has no intention of giving Alric of Kray the time of day. He'll do what he has to, but he knows he'll never find a love like the one he's lost. Alric has problems of his own, but is willing to go along with the wedding to help defend his kingdom from the forces ready to tear it apart.

When Alric is gravely injured, Gareth discovers the secret of Alric's magic, and discovers that he has feelings for Alric that he's been trying to deny. They may be able to heal Alric's wounds, but can they defeat the enemy that lurks behind the scenes, waiting for them to make one false move?

Plum is as good a thief as any he's ever met, aided by the fact that he has a little magic to his light fingers. So when he's hired to steal a wizard's treasure, he doesn't think twice.

Corm is no regular wizard, though, and he finds Plum absolutely enchanting, deciding he must have the pretty thief at all costs. When secrets arise between them, Corm finds he might lose everything he's works so hard to gain with Plum, and he has to summon more than just his magic to set it right. Based on the Tarot card The Magician!

Sometimes all you want for Christmas is a heavenly good time. Nestled into stockings and tucked into bed, you'll delight with these yummy tales of delectable delights. If one hunky man is a dream, then two of them become a fabulous Christmas fantasy. When a fire burns down Chris' home, Gavin and Kate discover that having a trio for Christmas really lights up the holidays in All I Want, by GS Wiley. In Kitten's Ribbons, by CC Bridges, Cooper and Jason have a sexy surprise for Lexi, a woman who loves ribbons. Old lovers find one another and something more in Christmas at Abbie's, by KJ Cartmell.

Mason, Lor, and Vivien discover that a ramshackle cabin in the woods can be lovely holiday retreat in Christmas Presence, by Cari Z. In The Good Girl, by Megan Rose, Sarah finds out that being naughty, not nice, gets her everything her heart and body desires. Finally, in Let it Snow, by BA Tortuga, Vicki is trapped in Boulder, when all she wants to do is escape Mark and Luke before they find out she's a failure. Can they convince her to stay? Find out what came Down the Chimney for these threesomes today!

When shapeshifters mix it up with threesomes, you can be sure that sparks are going to fly. That's the idea behind Shifting Them, a collection of ménage shapeshifter stories that mix the boys with the boys with the girls, from big cats to wolves and beyond.

From the glamorous world of modern-day magicians to a futuristic universe filled with danger, the stories in Shifting Them will sweep you away into a whole new universe, where wolves scrabble about on city streets, where snake shifters plot from their nests, where a seemingly innocuous dog helps to make sparks fly between humans. Whether it's fur or fangs, these very human creatures have a wild side, one that excites and amazes.

Mix the shifters' inherent sexiness with a threesome, and you've got a volatile, romantic combination. With stories from C.C. Bridges, Anah Crow, Dianne Fox, Kiernan Kelly, J Rocci, and BA Tortuga, the raw, animal magnetism of Shifting Them proves that adding a third person -- in life and in bed -- can make for a happy, and hot, ending.

Sarhaan and his band of elite soldiers don't know what to make of Caleb when his little spaceship turns up on their viewscreen. Believing that he might be a spy, they bring the junior diplomat onto their stolen spaceship and question him.

Caleb is no spy. He's come looking for Sarhaan's soldiers to help them clear their names of a crime they didn't commit. What he hadn't counted on was falling for the genetically enhanced Sarhaan, who seems to think Caleb is just a good time.

Set against the backdrop of space and Doradus Station, a place where anything goes, Off-World is part mystery, part romance, and all heat!

Jack saves Nehemiah from drowning, or worse, on the Cornish coast, surprised to find he has an American in his midst. He's also afraid that his fellow villagers will kill Nehemiah rather than look at him, all for the peridot ring on his finger. He takes Nehemiah in, sharing his home, and eventually his secrets.

Pressed into the navy, Nehemiah is lost at sea, and lost for words when Jack pretends to rob him when he washes up on shore. Close quarters makes for close companions, though, and his growing feelings for Jack make it hard for Nehemiah to return home when he has the chance. Can they find a way to stay afloat?

Rye is trying to settle into his latest job, which he likes enough that the thought of moving on again makes him ache. The girls at the club are sweet, the nights go by fast, and for a while, Rye thinks he can forget all of the bad things that have happened to him. When cop Jaime shows up, looking for his sister, Rye is a little worried, thinking someone is after him, but he soon finds out that Jaime is a good guy.

When Aubrey Jacek hits bottom, he goes all out. When he finds out his man is cheating on him, all of the trouble at home spills over into work, and Aubrey just can’t keep it together. He hits the bottle hard, hits other things harder, all the while spiraling out of control.

The one good thing in his life is Kelly, the kid who might just turn his life around. Through all of the wandering from one dead end job to another, through all of the drinking and despair, Kelly is like a shining beacon at hope. Can Aubrey clean up his act and make his way home to Kelly before it’s too late to start over?

Peter is used to guys coming and going. College is all about experimentation, after all, and Kai is new to the whole experience. Still, he's more than willing to help Kai learn all of the ins and outs of college life, even if the kid leaves in the end.

Kai is a lot less fickle than Peter thinks, though, and is curious about everything his new tutor can teach him, in and out of the classroom.

Can these two make the grade?

Following his heart, young Chulu finds his way to a grand temple, where the followers of the Path of Iro use their bodies to praise the gods. They make their prayers with their earthly forms, decorating them and loving with them. Chulu's pilgrimage leads him to the Ivory Shard, where his new master, Pandreas, awaits him.

Through a series of stories passed from master to noviate, Chulu learns about the different shards, or sects, who follow the path of Iro, some with great passion, some with violence. Has Chulu truly found where he belongs? Join him as he learns this whole new world of sensuality, sex, and love.

When Jacob gets the call that no man wants to hear, he leaves his Wyoming home to go find his mother's killer. A whole digging party in Sardinia is dead, all of the archaeologists but one accounted for. All but Jacob's ex-lover, Caleb. Flying to Sardinia, Jacob sets out to find out what happened. And to find Caleb.

Meanwhile, a package has arrived for Jacob in Wyoming, where his friend Ben lives with his lover Mac. The package brings a whole load of trouble with it, and the Mac and Ben face up to an overwhelming evil.

Charles is a professor, am expatriate Brit, and a man with a past. He's put that aside, living the peaceful life he thinks he needs. He figures he's happy.

Until he meets Gray Collins, that is. He's a student, and even though Gray waits until after his class with Charles ends to make his move, Charles decides he's not about to get involved. Gray is stubborn, persisting until Charles can't resist, which is when Charles' past comes to light. Will Gray be able to accept all that he learns, and convince Charles to let him get as close as he wants to?

What happens when an uppity fire mage takes the son of a neighboring kingdom prisoner to teach him a lesson? Sparks, of course. Only in this case, where there’s smoke, there’s more than just fire. The Prince and the Mage both have their secrets to hide, leading the reader through an intricate dance of war, deception, and smoldering sexuality.

Incendiary.

Grey and Paul were good friends in college. Good friends with privileges. But they haven't been together in years. When Grey puts pen to paper and writes Paul a letter, he half expects it to be ignored. But Paul writes back and their old flame is rekindled.

Or is it? Has too much water gone under the bridge or can Grey and Paul reconnect and deal with the issues that took them in different directions after college?

Tune into this epistolary romance and find out!

Evan knows about things that sparkle and shine. He was married to a sweetheart of the rodeo once, and he found out fast that glitter didn't make a relationship. Still, he has his daughter Cheyenne and his best friend Brooks, and life is pretty good.

Just as he and Brooks start to realize they might be more than friends, though, Evan's ex shows up, stirring up trouble. He and Brooks have to make some tough decisions about their rodeo careers, about Cheyenne, and about their growing love. Can they beat the odds and find the happiness they want so badly?

The Five O'Clock is a gay bar on the road between Denver and Cheyenne, a lonely stretch of road just perfect for owner Craig. Craig loves his bar, his life and his man, trucker Barney. But Craig and Barney are just two of the men who haunt the Five O'Clock.

From Craig and Barney to bargoers who include cowboys, plumbers and musicians, the Five O'Clock Bar gives the boys a safe place to play, and a place to meet the man of their dreams. Blue collar or white, first-timers or regulars, all of them have one thing in common. They need someone to love.

Sean Michael gives us the bar owner and his man, along with a down on his luck musician. Chris Owen presents jilted cowboys and pool hustlers. Julia Talbot and BA Tortuga serve up a healthy serving of working-class men and cowboys, all of them hunting the one thing money can't buy.

Join some of Torquere Press' favorite authors as they explore the world of midnight pancakes, good beer, hot men, and the Five O'Clock Bar!

Big Roy is a hard rock miner with a not so secret love for the theater, so when he hears a new troupe of actors are coming to the Telluride opera house to put on a Shakespeare play, he saddles his mule and makes the trek into town to see it.

The play doesn't disappoint, but the beautiful lead actor, Edward Clancy, certainly does. Clancy is rude and arrogant, and Roy figures he'd never have a chance with such a man. He's wrong, because Clancy needs some entertainment himself, being stuck in a Hellish mining town for the
long, snowy winter.

Come spring, though, Clancy knows he's going to want to move on, and he thinks Roy will be easy to forgot. Then tragedy strikes, and Clancy has to rethink his entire life. Can these two strike gold?

One fantastic week with a man he just couldn't forget has kept Rory thinking about Purgatory for nearly ten years. The ski resort wasn't the same after Dante went back to the Navy, so Rory got on with his life, leaving to travel, doing odd jobs and saving up for his dream of owning a ranch.

Now he has everything he wanted; the ranch, a good income from the tourists that come to play cowboy, and his Colorado mountains close to hand. The only thing missing is someone to share it with, until by some twist of fate, Dante comes back into his life, revisiting his own happy memories. Can Rory convince Dante to stick around, putting their time in Purgatory to rest once and for all?

Mitch figures he’s hit rock bottom. He’s lost his job, his boyfriend Gus, and very nearly his life hiking in the canyons of eastern Utah. Between floods, fights, and collapsing tourists, Mitch decides that he can’t get much lower.

Knowing he’s brought most of his trouble on himself, Mitch sets out to clean up his life. He finds a new job, saves his butt from Mother Nature, and tries to get Gus to take him back. Can Mitch climb his way out of the hole he’s dug for himself and repair what may be damaged beyond help?

After parting ways with their traveling companions Aline and Mirran, Windbrothers Surial and Kade find themselves traveling, searching for what remains of Kade's tribe, for a place they can call home. They also find their relationship deepening, unable to deny the attraction that exists between them. Kade's freedom from slavery and Surial's release from his family's tyranny allow them to explore the boundaries of their bond, which goes far beyond Kade's ability to help Surial recover from using his healing gift.

While they rejoice in discovering new intimacy, Kade follows where the winds lead, trying to stop the slavers who would destroy his people. Surial isn't sure he can bear it if Kade becomes a killer, and he can't help but voice his worries, making Kade worry that he will lose his One through his own actions. Can these two very different men find a way to keep their fledgling love alive, or will it be over before they really begin?

Michael’s hating life since his lover Alex dumped him on what should have been a very important night for them. Even his best friend Jim is having trouble bringing Michael out of his slump. Until Jim does, with a temporary solution to Michael’s loneliness that’s as unexpected as it is welcome, at first.

The last thing Jim expects when he tries to cheer Michael up is to fall in love with the guy. They’re just comforting each other; being very friends with benefits, right? So why is Jim so damned hurt when Mike takes off without as much as a goodbye? What is it about Michael that has Jim feeling lost without him? And is there any chance that Mike feels it too, or will Jim forever think of Michael as the one that got away?

Mark is a burnt-out cop who just lost his partner. Deciding to get little perspective, he goes to get a tattoo to honor his fallen buddy. Little does he know that his tattoo artist will give him a whole new view of the world.

Rooster helps Mark out in more ways than one, lending a hand with the ink, and with the kind of contact Mark needs more. When they meet again, things start to get hot and heavy, but it takes Mark almost losing Rooster to realize what he has. Can Mark convince Rooster that he needs more than a little time under the needle?

Dean’s been around the rodeo circuit long enough to know when a new kid is down on his luck. Giving Will a ride to the next event is just the neighborly thing to do, passing on some of the kindness strangers have shown him over the years.

Who could expect that Will could be such good company? So good in fact, that Dean figures he might just keep Will around. Will feels the same way, despite protests from friends and family. They have a lot in common, traveling together from rodeo to rodeo, enjoying all of the fringe benefits they can. These two cowboys are a match made in heaven, but can they convince everyone else to let them live their own lives?

Augustine Fleur went into the grave knowing that curiosity killed the cat burglar, but when she rose she discovered a world where curiosity kept one alive. A newly risen Grave Watcher, Augustine stumbles through her new world –Paris, London, and elsewhere-- under the guidance of Sebastien Crowle, who has his own baggage. But while Augustine may have left the grave behind, there are those who would much rather she never did.

The Ghost King, a mythical entity of terrible power is stalking her, demanding something be returned to him. Except Augustine has no memory of the theft, and he’s getting impatient. With a grave disturbed in London, and vampires to blame, it also begins to look like the long-held peace between vampires and Watchmen is coming to an end.

Augustine must unlock her memories if she’s going to solve the riddle of her time in the grave and save the people she’s come to care for. She may just die trying. Again.

Publisher’s Note: The Grave Watchers series is primarily GLBT in nature. However, this volume contains non-GLBT relationships.

Holt is leaving his life in the city, ready to shed himself of the drama of his ex and get back to the simple life in Texas. His ex, Dave, disagrees with the idea. Violently. When Holt ends up injured and stranded, it’s his old friend, Teague, who comes to the rescue.

Teague has always regretted letting Holt slip away, and he’ll do whatever he needs to keep the man in his life now, even if that means enduring the agony of “just friends”. Will Holt ever realize how much Teague loves him, or will it be too late for both of them?

Originally published in Under This Cowboy's Hat.

Wesley is a college professor with a deep and unhealthy fascination the darker side of things. When he starts writing a book on a series of serial murders, he comes to the attention of some very dangerous people. Jack is sent to silence Wesley, but discovers that he is far more interested in Wesley himself.

When Wesley looks up after his first class of the semester, he notices a very avid, very handsome student who asks all the right questions. When Jack follows him to an isolated study room in the library, it is only the beginning of a journey that will have unexpected consequences for both of them.

Publisher’s Note: This book contains strong elements of erotic horror or what is commonly called “darkfic”.

Prez has been in the arms – or tentacles – of one too many brothel workers in his time. The memory of long-lost love is all he has, and it’s not enough. But no one in the Belaar-Andra system wants an alien half-breed for a partner, so life is as good as it can be. He’s making money, he’s going places, he’s got friends and a spaceship he loves – a decrepit cargo ship named Outcast. And now he’s got a new co-pilot, from the remote world of Aldor. Lan’s mysterious and doesn’t say a lot, but as they get to know each other, Prez starts to feel something he hasn’t felt in a long time – hope.

But the past hasn’t quite released him, and the Outcast isn’t done yet. On its final mission to deliver a mysterious cargo for the Belaari government, long-buried secrets start to stir. When his old co-pilot – and best friend – is finally himself again, Prez has a difficult decision to make, but Lan has other ideas about his own destiny. A rich man at last, can Prez finally get the things he really wants?

This collection breaks the mold of the stale, stock-standard zombie story. In Lynn Townsend's "W.O.L.", Knight Korin meets Doctor Avesy and is forced to consider the sacrifices that every Knight must make -- and wonder if the cure is worse than the disease. In "The Domesticated Zombie" by Rob Rosen, zombie Jake starts to show signs that he's not entirely dead, and Max, his owner, gets more than he bargained for. "Fox Spirit" by Alyx Shaw gives us Karl, who's never really understood his lover Kenny's fascination with foxes. When their oldest fox dies late one rainy night, Kenny asks Karl to bury him, but Karl unfortunately decides to wait until morning...

Damian Serbu's "Delicious Caleb" presents us with a professor at a conservative college who has always had to hide his lust for men -- until his zombie state forces him to accept assistance from his one-time student, Caleb. "Violet" by K.C. Morgan introduces us to Josh, whose world crumbled when he came out to his parents with disastrous results. Little did Josh know that the rest of the world was about to end, as well. And in V.L. Locey's "Two Guys Walk into an Apocalypse", Paul and Gordon face off against the zombies with only a cat, a senile old man, their love, and their killer wit.

Little Francis is recovering from an abusive relationship that put him in the hospital. He's doing fine now, working at Permanent Ink and staying in one of the spare bedrooms at Treat and Killian's place. He knows now that love and the lifestyle aren't in the cards for him, and he's trying to make peace with that.

Enter Nick, a single Dom who falls for Francis the moment he lays eyes on him. Nick has to battle not only an overprotective Killian just to get a date with Francis in the first place, but also Francis' own beliefs that he's somehow responsible for bringing out his abuser's dark side.

Just when things seem to be going Nick and Francis' way, Francis' past comes back to haunt not only Francis, but everyone he's close to as well.

Can Nick convince Francis that not only is an abusive Dom the exception and not the rule, but that Francis wasn't responsible for the man's actions? And will Little Francis ever let himself fall in love again?

Slayde's got the best job on earth: he's a nanny to Army nurse and widow Mindy's three kids. He's been with the family since the oldest was born and is Uncle Slayde to all three children. When Mindy's deployed, things aren't easy, but he manages just fine. At least he does until Mindy's big brother Drake shows up unexpectedly, announcing he's there to help while Mindy is gone.

Drake is almost a stranger to the kids, hot as hell, especially in his motorcycling leathers, and straighter than straight. On top of that, Drake's not used to dealing with kids, with things like gluten free, recycling and not eating fast food and soon has Slayde's tight routine in shambles.

Slayde thinks Drake is far more of a hindrance than a help, at least at the start, but he tries to get along for Mindy's sake and eventually, having Drake around is easier than not. But what's he supposed to do when the straight, sexy leather wearing ex-cop makes a pass at him one night? Maybe there's more to Drake than Slayde assumed.

Alec has the perfect gift for his lover Kono this year -- his best friend Swan.

Kono has a lot of fantasies about being a submissive, while Alec likes to watch and Swan is the best Dom he knows, so a week together fulfilling Kono's fantasies seems like just the ticket.

Of course, he hasn't taken into account that maybe there are stronger feelings at play here between all of them. Will these three men turn out to be exactly what they each need for Christmas this year?

Rancher and homebody Derrick loves going to the bullriding finals in Reno, especially when he gets to see his favorite rider, Stone. This year he gets way more up close and personal with Stone than he ever expects, and all of his fantasies come true.

After Reno, though, Stone has nowhere to go for Christmas, so he shows up at Derrick’s ranch, knowing there’s something about Derrick that makes him think of settling down. Will Derrick panic and send Stone away, or will he had the rodeo cowboy to his collection?