The problem is that he doesn’t desire females, and it’s physically impossible for him to be with males. Thankfully, he and his best friend, Fayle, have an arrangement that keeps him alive . . . if lonely. He finds some solace in his work as a medic at Thirst, a vampire club known for its rough clientele. But his carefully structured world turns upside down when he meets a mysterious male who makes him want what he can never have.Slake is an assassin used to getting what he wants, and what he wants is Raze. But he also wants to earn back the soul he sold when he was a much different demon. All he has to do is capture a runaway succubus named Fayle and hand her over to her family. What he doesn’t count on is being caught himself by a web of lies—and his attraction to Raze.Raze and Slake must navigate a dangerous world to be together. But as Fayle’s jealousy of their relationship turns deadly, they find themselves embroiled in a battle not only for their love, but their lives and souls.

    This mistake will endanger his life . . . and his heart. Thrill! As our hero battles dreadful kraken above Prosperity. Gasp! As the miracles of clockwork engineering allow a dead man to wreak his vengeance upon the living. Marvel! At the aerial escapades of the aethership, Shadowless. Beware! The licentious and unchristian example set by the opium-addled navigatress, Miss Grey. Disapprove Strongly! Of the utter moral iniquity of the dastardly crime prince, Milord. Swoon! At the dashing skycaptain, Byron Kae. Swoon Again! At the tormented clergyman, Ruben Crowe. This volume (available for the first time on mechanical book-reading devices) contains the complete original text of Piccadilly’s memoirs as first serialised in All the Year Round. Some passages may prove unsettling to unmarried gentlemen of a sensitive disposition.

    One relative away from homelessness, he's taking the bus to Sacramento, where his cousin has offered a house-sitting job and a new start. He has one goal, and that's to get his life back on track. Friends, pets, lovers? Need not apply.Finn Stewart takes one look at Adam as he's applying to Candy Heaven and decides he's much too fascinating to leave alone. Finn is bright and shiny—and has never been hurt. Adam is wary of his attention from the very beginning—Finn is dangerous to every sort of peace Adam is forging, and Adam may just be too damaged to let him in at all.But Finn is tenacious, and Adam's new boss, Darrin, doesn't take bullshit for an answer. Adam is going to have to ask himself which is harder—letting Finn in or living without him? With the holidays approaching it seems like an easy question, but Adam knows from experience that life is seldom simple, and the world seldom cooperates with hope, faith, or the plans of cats and men.

    At least, it should. Unfortunately, Dixon Penn failed his Spellcraft initiation. Instead of working in his family’s shop, he’s stuck delivering takeout orders in his uncle’s beat-up Buick.Winning a Valentine’s Day contest at the largest greeting card company in the tri-state area would be just the thing to get his life back on track—but something at Precious Greetings just doesn’t add up. And despite numerous warnings to quit pestering them about his contest entry, he just can’t stop himself from coming back again and again.It doesn’t hurt that the head of security is such a hottie. If Dixon had any common sense, he’d be scared of the big, mysterious, tattooed Russian.To be fair, no one ever accused him of being too smart….Quill Me Now originally debuted in the Bad Valentine collection, with Love Magic by Jesi Lea Ryan, Hidden Hearts by Clare London, and Temporary Dad by Dev Bentham.

    I thought I knew - until I met Maximillian. I was on my way out of the Capital City before the local vampires could catch on to me and let’s just say if that happened, then this club dancer would be facing her expiration date. And that’s when the famous DJ blew into town - and into my head and heart. He turned all my plans upside down with his sick friend and his electric blue eyes, damn it. I should have cut bait and run for my life, but I couldn't abandon someone I could heal - even if it meant the vampires might catch up with me. Besides, Maximillian smelled familiar, like deep forest and pine needles baked in the sun mixed with that chilly snap of running water and the coolness of twilight. Those things have a smell that adds up to a dream. You can get lost in that kind of dream. It can fill your mind with ideas and notions you have no business thinking or feeling. Dreams like that make it easy to forget the danger you’re in.

    So much so that her grandfather forces her to go on a sabbatical. She takes off from the big city for some rest and relaxation in her family's home town of Galveston, Texas.While there she meets Mixed Martial Arts fighter Zach Thomas. After a rocky first encounter, they end up stuck together during a hurricane, and while the storms rage outside, the heat between the two of them rises on the inside.

    Is she prepared for the demands and risks he expects? And what will she get in return? The more she gives, the more she wants. As The Suit leads her into increasingly exposed and exhilarating situations, Tara finds herself in deep, not only in seeking pleasure, but in seeking him. She may let him control her body, but can anyone control her emotions? Spontaneous – Book One of the Suited To You Trilogy – features characters who first appeared in Come Underground, a short story in Xcite's Watching Me, Watching You and Your Ultimate Fantasy anthologies

    Especially a wolf shifter, whose presence alone was an insult to my princely principles. As Prince of the Ocelot Shifters, I prided myself on my infallible feline instincts, uncompromisable dignity, and flawless fashion sense. If having a canine follow me around at all times wasn’t bad enough, I now faced the most important moment of my entire life. The time had come to prove I was worthy of my crown. If only I could find a way to get rid of the pesky bodyguard. Grimmwolf When the King of All Shifters asked me to guard Prince Owin, I admit I had no idea what to expect. Cat shifters tend to be a little intense, not to mention kinda cranky. Owin was no exception, though he seemed crankier than most. Being his bodyguard was proving to be one of the greatest challenges of my life—but not nearly as great as convincing him there was something special between us. When Owin is faced with a perilous quest to prove his worth, I was determined to keep him safe, even if the same couldn’t be said of my heart.

    At least that’s the plan. First, they have to convince Warlord Tarrick that Krampus is not only real, but the reason incubi children have gone missing… Note: This novella is told from the point of view of Jet, a gargoyle who sometimes takes the form of a Rottweiler. This is not a standalone story. It is meant to be read after Broken: Beautiful Monsters Vol. 3. 25k words

    Trained as a samurai warrior, she was to be the bodyguard of Isawa Tadaka, a powerful shugenja—and the man she loved. Although her new duties have drawn them apart, she refuses to stand by and watch as Tadaka falls to the darkness within him.Tsukune follows Tadaka north to Cliffside Shrine, home of the Kaito family, where he is investigating the mysterious death of a prominent priestess. All around them, the shrine shows signs of decay and desecration, and the wards that for centuries have bound an evil demon are fraying. What secrets are the Kaito family keeping? And can Tsukune save Tadaka from descending down a dark path before it’s too late?

    Maddie wants to take hers and run. After getting court ordered to live with her grandparents in Sugar Valley, seventeen-year-old, Maddie Haven doesn't expect to tick off the hot student body president, have a faceoff with a horrendously grumpy girl in a wheel chair, and get blamed for a school fire—all on the first day of school. Good thing she plans to leave. And don't even ask why Maddie volunteers to help out after her grandpa has a heart attack. Staying in Sugar Valley is not possible! After an unexpected friendship leads Maddie on a journey to remember the faith she thought no longer existed, the only thing she knows for sure is the truth never comes easy. And helping someone else just might change her in ways she never thought possible. When the people that share her secret threaten the people she loves, Maddie is left with a choice: run away or let it all go up in smoke.

    Francisco, a bustling city of English lords and Chinese ghettos. St. Francisco is a jewel in the Empire’s crown and as deeply embroiled in the conflict between the Arcane and Science as its sister city, London—a very dark and dangerous battle.Marcus Stenhill, Viscount of Westwood, stumbles upon that darkness when he encounters a pack of young bloods beating a man senseless. Westwood’s duty and honor demand he save the man, but he’s taken aback to discover the man is Robin Harris, a handsome young inventor indirectly responsible for the death of Marcus’s father.Living in the shadows following a failed coup, Robin devotes his life to easing others’ pain, even though his creations are considered mechanical abominations of magicks and science. Branded a deviant and a murderer, Robin expects the viscount to run as far as he can—and is amazed when Marcus reaches for him instead.

    That’s what the doctor had said. The sea air and the sun. “A few quiet weeks on the coast is what you need. Go for a swim. Explore the beaches and the caves. Maybe you’ll find a mermaid. Or…” he added with a wink, “some hidden treasure, like in your adventure books.”He was teasing me, I know, but a part of me burned with the idea that maybe… there would be something there, something special, something hidden.Of all the things to find washed up on the beach, I was not expecting this half-drowned man. Nor what followed after.Photo Description: A handsome blond wearing a cape and embroidered tunic is on one knee. He’s clutching a smaller man protectively to him. The smaller man is bound hand and foot and wears knee breeches and a long shirt. The blond wields a sword, which he has just used to cut the rope that is twisted around the smaller man’s arms.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" 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.

    When a dead body comes through her portal at a time of growing rebellion, Xin is drawn deep into a station-wide conspiracy along with Ouyang Suqing, one of the station’s mysterious, high-ranking starmages.

    But to find the book, Colin must travel to the remote Western Isles and solve a centuries’ old murder.It should be nothing more than an academic exercise, so why is dour — and unreasonably sexy — Magister Septimus Marx doing his best to keep Colin from accepting this mission — even going so far as to seduce Colin on their train journey north?Septimus is not the only problem. Who is the strange fairy woman that keeps appearing at inconvenient times? And who is working behind the scenes with the sinister adventuress Irania Briggs? And why do Colin’s employers at the Museum of the Literary Occult keep accusing Colin of betraying them?As Colin digs deeper and deeper into the Long Island’s mysterious past, he begins to understand why Septimus is willing to stop him at any price — but by then, it’s too late to turn back.