Add that to his being gay, and he’s definitely the black sheep of the family. Dr. Barty Halloran grew up with lessons instead of friends and toys and, as a result, became a gifted psychologist… with only an academic understanding of people and emotions. When Jim’s pursuit of a serial killer goes nowhere, he turns to Dr. Halloran for help, and Barty thinks he can get inside the shooter’s mind. In many ways, they’re two sides of the same coin, which both scares and intrigues him. Together, Jim and Barty make progress on the case—until the stakes shoot higher when the killer turns his attention toward Barty. To protect Barty, Jim offers to let Barty stay with him, where he discovers the doctor has a heart to go along with his brilliant mind after all. But as they close in on their suspect, the killer becomes desperate, and he’ll do anything to elude capture—even threaten those closest to Jim.

    His gaze is determined, deliberate, and his eyes are glowing as if lit by a fire within. He is magic, powerful. In the background, we see his other form, a red fire dragon illuminated against a sky on fire.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

    She neglects to mention that it’s occupied by the enigmatic and sexy Finn Murphy, a cemetery tour guide with a penchant for Victorian attire and a Cajun accent. A body discovered in an open crypt forces reclusive Drew to deal with Finn’s eccentric group of friends and his underlying attraction to the hot Cajun—despite warnings about Finn’s violent past. Drew might write this stuff, but he’s never had to solve a real-life murder. With a deadline looming and a killer on the loose, this retreat is proving to be anything but helpful for Drew’s novel. Drew can only hope he won’t end up a tragic tale for the Ghostly Legends & Lore, Inc. haunted tour. States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

    After nearly two centuries of life as one of Faerie Queen Titania's prized wolves and a handful of years as a Roaring Twenties mob boss's favorite enforcer, he's now exiled to New York, making rent doing dirty jobs for other fey outcasts. He used to consult on the occult for Detective James Corhagen at the NYPD, but since their highly combustible friendship burned itself out a year ago, Cole hasn't heard from him.All that changes when Corhagen summons Cole right out of his shower and into the middle of a crime scene. The NYPD is facing a rash of messy black-magic murders, complete with exploding hearts and very little forensic evidence, not to mention the sinister disappearance of several half-fey children. However hard he tries to deny it-and his inconvenient attraction to the sidhe-Corhagen needs Cole's help. A persistent police inspector rounds out the team, but when their investigation comes too close to the truth, suddenly it's their lives on the line. With a powerful killer on the loose, Cole, James, and Inspector Vallimun must race against time to stop the monster out to claim the thirteenth child.

    No matter how the encounter begins, by the end of each story, with a little help from their finned, furred, or feathered friends, our heroes have discovered some animal magnetism of their own.Stories included are:A Few Too Many by Heidi ChampaHaving a Ball by Cari Z.Along Came Spiders by Matthew VandrewCuddling Up by Chris T. KatNew Tides by Avery VanderlyleCare and Rehabilitation by Kim FieldingButterbean and the Pretty Princess Make a Home by R. CooperJonno by Emily GouldOn an Eagle's Wings by A.J. MarcusWhy Did the Chicken Cross the Road? by Skylar JayeTears for a Broken Sun by Minerva WistingStripped Bare by Lily VeldenWild Horses by Kate PavelleShow and Tell by Liz MakarThe Conch Republic by G.S. Wiley

    He hadn't planned on confessing, but with Mashita's insinuating behavior, will Matsushima be able to hold his feelings back?

    Cameron Sherwood turned his back on law enforcement the night his investigation led to the death of an innocent gay man. Now Cam spends his time running a business that caters to his favorite animal, cats. But when Cam stumbles upon the body of a friend while feeding her feline, he can’t walk away. Dealing with a sexy yet stubborn sheriff, a matchmaking sister, and a terrifying blind date, Cam must somehow track down a killer, all while keeping the cats around him fed with his gourmet cat treats.

    After searching for years for a mate, Kirit decides it’s time to try a new approach. Against the advice of all his friends, he heads for the human side of the world. There he finds Cody, and the man is everything he could ever want. It takes a little bit of persuasion, but he manages to talk Cody into coming back with him to Faerie.Within a week of arriving, Cody is beginning to rethink his impulsive decision. He’s trekked across more terrain than he would care to remember, been summoned to meet a king, and flown on a dragon—not an experience he’s willing to repeat anytime soon. Kirit’s growly possessiveness is starting to wear on his nerves, and the unexpected hostility he encounters at the palace is almost enough to make him give up.But Cody is stubborn. He may not be willing to admit it out loud, but Kirit has got under his skin. He may even, shockingly enough, love the big guy.Now Cody has to decide what he’s willing to do to keep the man of his dreams.

    Stetson is a rancher, tied to the land he loves in Taos, New Mexico, while Curtis is a rodeo cowboy whose wanderlust never could be tamed. But now Stetson’s momma is dying of Alzheimer’s, and she can't remember that Curtis hasn't been Stetson's boyfriend for a long time. Curtis's absence makes her cry, so Stetson swallows his pride and calls his ex-lover. To Curtis, Stetson is the one who got away, the love of his life. And Momma is his friend, so he’s happy to help out. Yet returning to the ranch stirs up all sorts of feelings that, while buried, never really went away. Still, the rodeo nationals are coming up, and Curtis can’t stay—even if he’s starting to want to, especially to support Stetson when he needs it most. Stetson and Curtis want to find a place where they both fit, to be there to catch each other when they fall. But family, money problems, and the call of the rodeo circuit might end their second-chance romance before it even gets started.

    But much like Richard, Daniel hides dark secrets that could get him killed. When Daniel’s past as a hacker catches up to him, Richard has the skills to help Daniel out, but not without raising some serious questions and risking his own new identity and the friends who went into hiding with him.Solving problems like Daniel’s is what Richard does best—and what he’s trying to escape. But finding a way to keep Daniel and his son safe without sacrificing the person he’s becoming will take some imagination, and the stakes have never been higher. This time it’s not just lives on the line—it’s his heart….

    So when he sees Austin Brody at a local pool, diving like a trained athlete, he thinks he's found his ticket back to the big leagues. Austin is the least likely man to go to diving meets. He dives for beer, smokes, and works double shifts as a welder. He thinks Vince might be a little crazy, wanting him to try diving competitively, but he's willing to give it a shot. What Austin isn't willing to do is let Vince rule him, and he argues about everything from waxing to wearing Speedos. Used to young, up-and-coming athletes who fold under pressure from their coach, Vince finds Austin's independence baffling; and hot. The two find common ground, gradually working toward being more than just friends, but can they compete? The world of a professional athlete takes money, time, and hard work. Austin and Vince are both willing to fight for what they want, but will they be able to work their way up the ladder to the kind of elite competition it will take to get Austin noticed?

    The only thing missing is a boyfriend — but Ryan’s been burned by Hollywood relationships before, and he’s not eager to try one again. Jason Santos has almost everything he's ever wanted: a fulfilling career teaching middle school, a house in a city he loves, and parents who support him in every way. Too bad he can't seem to forget the ex-boyfriend who rejected his marriage proposal.When a talk show host launches a dating contest to find Ryan a boyfriend and Jason accidentally wins, neither of them expect anything to come from it. Yet somewhere between a disastrous massage and a mud sinkhole, they both start to wonder if this date could be more than just a public relations stunt. But before they can move into the future, they'll both have to learn to let go of the past.

    I'm going to make you pay..."Draco swore his revenge on Harry for Lucius's imprisonment, and Harry all but laughed at him. But Draco is planning more than schoolyard pranks this time. The old rivalry turns deadly when Draco abducts Harry for Voldemort. It's the perfect plan, guaranteeing revenge, power, and prestige, all in one blow. But when Draco's world turns upside down, the fight to save himself and Harry begins, and the battle will take them both through hell and back. If they come back.

    For years, his friend Julie has been the face of his brand, but she wants her life back now. Fast running out of ideas for his popular series, Noah wants to break out into other genres. Not that he’s writing much of anything at the moment anyway, thanks to paralyzing writer’s block. With his publisher breathing down his neck for the next installment, he hopes a change of scene will get his writer’s juices flowing again. Desperate enough to try anything, during the holidays Noah swaps his isolated cabin in the woods for a gentrified horse farm. USAF Major Connor Harrison has chosen forced retirement over facing charges for an unauthorized mission to rescue a buddy from behind enemy lines. No one expects him home for the holidays, and he certainly didn’t anticipate finding a stranger in his house, much less Noah Kinley with his acid tongue and a wry sense of humor that pierces all of Connor’s defenses. Both men need to figure out what the next chapter in their lives will be—and whether it will include each other.

    A modern day (BBC) Merlin AU set at the University of St Andrews, featuring teetotal kickboxers, secret wizards, magnificent bodyguards of various genders, irate fairies, imprisoned dragons, crumbling gothic architecture, arrogant princes, adorable engineering students, stolen gold, magical doorways, attempted assassination, drunken students, shaving foam fights, embarrassing mornings after, The Hammer Dance, duty, responsibility, friendship and true love...145,248 Words Complete