Best Lesbian Romance 2009, edited by the award-winning author of such books as When Dreams Tremble and Turn Back Time, presents the juiciest, most seductive love stories written today. Putting a new spin on the subject, these stories explore the underlying emotions and complex relationships that help define love between women. From a shy glance across a crowded room, to a casual meeting at a dinner party, to an accidental encounter on a street corner, this collection of romantic interludes showcases the many ways love can be both lost and found. Contributors include Jennifer Fulton, Karin Kallmaker, Radclyffe, Rakelle Valencia, and Alison Tyler.

    He can’t wait for college, so he can find a man to drive away his pointless crush.Rick Ferguson can’t escape his strange obsession. For months, whenever he's been with a woman, all he can think about is Jordan. Satisfying his curiosity is the only way to get his tall, muscular friend out of his system. Right?On a camping trip just weeks before the semester starts, Rick takes Jordan to a one-bedroom cabin with a king-sized bed big enough for two all-stars to share. But Rick doesn't want forever, and Jordan is in love. Giving in to desire could jeopardize their friendship, and the ugliness of the world beyond their cabin could tear them apart.This steamy gay romance novella is intended for a mature audience. It contains scenes of groping, fumbling, wet kisses, angst, shirtless volleyball, grown-up toys, and two-man showers.Alternate-cover editions can be found here, here, and here

    For Aaron Forester, it’s a gay-friendly buffer between himself and the rest of the world. After being outed in high school and bullied to the point of violence, his family uprooted their lives and relocated to the small hamlet. He’s moved on from all that and now owns a popular café in the bustling shopping district. But after twenty years of happy living, Aaron’s past creeps up on him in the most unexpected way. Brad Collins only has one regret and he’s carried it with him since he was a teenager. When he moves to Heartsville and gets set up on a blind date with the most adorable, engaging man he’s met in a long time, he couldn’t be happier. But Brad didn’t expect the guy to be the person he outed in high school—who he’s now falling in love with. Aaron and Brad hit it off instantly—in and out of the bedroom. But after a long overdue apology and a small serving of resentment, is their fledgling relationship worth another shot?

    It continues as a series of unforgettable encounters with men and, especially, women whose lives have been improbably and yet permanently transfigured by the strange power of desire. Lucid and lyrical, The Pure and the Impure stands out as one of modern literature's subtlest reckonings, not only with the varieties of sexual experience, but with the always unlikely nature of love.

    Just before graduation Beth had a freak accident causing her to lose her memory of Ryan. The two women meet eight years later and Ryan hopes one last time to find a way for Beth to remember what they were to each other all those years ago. Take Ryan and Beth's journey of lost love and new hope. By the author of the number one best seller SOMEBODY LIKE YOU in Lesbian Romance

    After a full weekend of celebrating her birthday, she goes to work thinking it will be just another typical workday. That thought comes to a crashing halt when she flips the “Closed” sign to “Open” and finds an elderly mustachioed man standing at the door.Gordon LeVitt, Attorney at Law drops a bombshell that will flip Cassie’s life upside down. The man that she believed to be her father for the last thirty-three years is not really her father, and her recently deceased biological father Collin Masterson has named her as an heir in his Last Will and Testament. The catch: Her presence is required at the reading.Cassie heads to Masterson, West Virginia and has a blow-out that sends her car careening off the side of the road. With her heart racing in her chest, she is relieved when the most gorgeous creature she’s ever seen stops to help and then Cassie does something she has never done in her life—make mad passionate love with a complete stranger named Eelyn M. Carmichael who has agreed to drop Cassie off for her appointment.After Mr. LeVitt’s introductions, Cassie gets an even bigger shock when Eelyn comes strolling into the room and takes a seat next to Lenora, her father’s widow. Feeling sick to her stomach and thinking her world is crashing down, Cassie does the only thing she can—she runs with no intention of looking back. The one thing Cassie forgets is that things are seldom what they seem and Eelyn M. Carmichael has already made up her mind that Cassie Reynolds is not going to be the one who got away because some things that happen in the now, can and do last forever.

    It was the night before Halloween, the night we always called Wreck Night or Devil's Night back when we were kids and Halloween was second in our hearts only to Christmas. At least the newspapers got that much right. The day, I mean. They pretty much screwed up the rest of the story. I was there that night. Let me tell you what really happened…

    From the time he woke up until the exact minute he crawled back into bed, his day was set. He wasn't the kind of man to seek out other men in chat rooms. He certainly wasn't the type to fall in love with someone he only knew from typed words. After a six-month online affair, Matty agrees to meet Jay in Florida for a weekend getaway. Only Jay isn't what Matty expected; although, perhaps he should have known it was too good to be true. After all, Jay's screen name AlwaysMJ stands for 'Always making jokes'--or does it?

    Tristan Taormino chose her favorite butch/femme stories from the Best Lesbian Erotica series, which has sold over 200,000 copies in the 16 years she was editor. And if you think you know what goes in in the bedroom between femmes and butches, these 22 shorts will delight you with erotic surprises. In Joy Parks's delicious "Sweet Thing," the new femme librarian in town shows a butch baker a new trick in bed. The stud in "Tag!," by D. Alexandria, finds her baby girl after a chase in the woods by scent alone. And the girl in a pleated skirt gets exactly what she wants from her Daddy in Peggy Munson's "The Rock Wall." Sometimes She Lets Me shows that it's all about attitude -- predicting who will wind up on top isn't easy in stories by S. Bear Bergman, Rosalind Christine Lloyd, Samiya A. Bashir, and many more.

    After three years working for Leo Foster’s construction company, Charlie’s worst fears are realized, and Leo finds out what Charlie has worked so hard to hide. When Leo meets the revelation with absolute love and acceptance, Leo has to trust that Charlie’s love isn’t just gratitude, and Charlie has to learn to trust again, period. It’s going to take a lot of work for these two men to get any closer.

    She had just completed her third interview, and was told to wait in the lobby while the three person panel deliberated. Renee was positively hopeful. It was her 3rd call back after all. She looks around the sitting area, and notices one young man with spiked hair wearing a thin black tie with a black and white checkered shirt, and another woman with black rimmed glasses, blonde bangs, and tresses, and a burgundy sweater. "I guess this is the competition." Renee whispers to herself under her breath. She glances down at her own apparel. Renee is dressed in black washed out slacks, a black blouse with ruffles down the center, and her thick curly hair worn up in a top-knot bun. Of course she is wearing her trusty black ballet flats - that Renee almost never leaves home without. Eventually the conference room door opens, and one by one each candidate is called back into the large room with an oval glass table, surrounded by silver high-back chairs. When Renee is summoned, she immediately springs up and speeds walk toward the room. Whether good or bad news, Renee is anxious to learn the final outcome.

    The opening narratives feature adolescent or pre-adolescent boys struggling with their conceptions of manhood: making sense of an old hermit whose life seems to have left no mark, or coexisting with a repulsive great-uncle in a world with no other male role model. Later, the stories depict grown men who find that these same struggles of manhood never go away: a man out of place among hunters and fathers in search of a missing child, or a man fighting through a blizzard to prove his worth to his own wife. The landscapes and lakescapes serve as recurring characters in the book. The boys and men wander forests—sometimes finding tranquility, sometimes finding tragedy. They climb and descend dunes. And often, they encounter the Big Lake: Lake Michigan. The idea of a Third Coast figures prominently in the book, the lake and its horizon serving as a kind of world’s end, where things pass away or come to life.

    She just can't stop fantasizing about Father Michaels. So when she steps into his confessional just to be closer to him and confesses all her sinful thoughts, she's surprised when Father Michaels offers her private counseling. Little does she know what Father Michaels has in store for her and it's nothing she could have imagined. The priest also has a secret past, one he thought he left behind him when he entered the priesthood. Will they be able to cage their lust or will the transgression ruin both their lives forever?Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: BDSM theme and content includes: bondage, spanking, toys, anal play, and masturbation.

    They died when a floating cuboid interrupted the gaming night and vaporized everyone. Waking with powers reminiscent of his paladin character, William finds himself alone in a fantasy frontier of dungeoneers, desperadoes, and damsels of the monster girl varieties.Set on reuniting with his friends, William accepts the duties of a Frontier Ranger. Unfortunately, the job is a ticket to a lifetime of trouble.Local ruffians, a laser golem infested dungeon, and enemies from the deep seas force the former mall cop to stretch his magic of divine blessings to its limits. Thankfully, William has a nerdy faun archeologist and a psychic aboleth princess by his side. Together they explore the hidden mysteries of the Cursed Frontier.Ruinland Ranger contains explicit engagements between a monster girl harem and the main character.

    One shopkeeper.And the one wish that brings them together.Candy shop provisioner Emma has more than enough on her plate: her small-town business is struggling, the weather is cold and rainy, and her young daughter is a precocious handful.Yet when daughter Dani asks Santa for the impossible, Emma has another problem on her hands.Because Dani wants a stepmom. More specifically, she wants her mom Emma to get married!Enter city girl Tamryn, who is on assignment on behalf of her law firm. From the moment Emma sees her in a coffee shop, she’s infatuated – and from the moment Dani sees her mom’s eyes wander?Nothing will stop one little girl from bringing Emma and Tamryn together!The cozy tourist town of Cannon Beach is about to vibrate from the cosmic electricity of fate. Good thing Christmas is the season of everything sweet… with just a hint of spice.