Los Cerros is famous for its fairy village and its supposedly welcoming attitude toward magical beings like Ray, but Ray is one of only two beings on the police force. While dealing with human prejudice, Ray and his partner have to solve crimes relating to magic, and are forced to rely on the department’s part-time magical consultants, something Ray tries to avoid—and not only because werewolves are uncomfortable around magic. Enter Cal Parker, the son of the department’s most admired detective. Cal is brilliant, contemptuous of the police, and half-fairy. He’s also Ray’s mate, a fact that Ray has kept secret despite his every instinct screaming for him to claim and worship, because weres mate for life, and fairies… don’t. Everyone knows that. Fairies are beautiful, flighty, and fickle. But perhaps it’s not only the humans who have prejudice about beings. Cal isn’t shy about his desire for Ray—not that fairies ever are—and Ray’s resistance is crumbling. But the situation is growing more dangerous as they get closer to the killer, and by the time Ray accepts the truth of a fairy’s heart, it might be too late. A Being(s) in Love StoryMagical creatures known as beings emerged from hiding amid the destruction of the First World War. Since then they’ve lived on the margins of the human world as misunderstood objects of fear and desire. Some are beautiful, others fearsome and powerful. Yet for all their magic and strength, they are as vulnerable as anyone when it comes to matters of the heart.

    Andreas is fleeing from a man he doesn’t want only time wind up not in a different city but a different time itself. A time which he knows nothing about, except for what he has read in history books.Born of royalty and living the life of a slave, Leif finds himself drawn to the enigmatic stranger who is capture by the village. Deep down he knows he belongs to Andreas, even as his heart loves another.Rurik rules the village with a strong hand yet even he has secrets the other don’t know about. Fate throws him together with the captive and the slave and they must join together if they are too all come out of this alive.Original Prompt:Dear Author,Please tell me the story of this handsome Norseman.He went out viking and came back to this scene in his village!Who is this sexy stranger and what is happening?Photo Description: Two pictures, two men. One stares out with icy blue eyes from behind a Viking helm, his nose and cheeks covered by the metal guards, his reddish beard and long hair escaping. The other is a prisoner, collared and chained, dark haired and stubbled. Swirling tattoos mark the pale skin of his naked chest and arms.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Hot Summer Days" 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.Read the story here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 2.__________Genre: paranormal, ménage, mild bondageTags: gay m/m, Viking, time travel, vampire, mmm romance, bad spellsWord Count: 15,752

    But even the fates have off days. Fate Delivers a Prince by Andrew Grey: Finding love shouldn't be that difficult for a diplomat's son, except Cheyenne is part of a grand tradition of werewolves, and a werewolf with a skin condition needs more help than most mortals. When Chay meets the prince of his dreams, it takes Clotho's intervention to keep him from letting go. Jump by Mary Calmes: When two lovers die, their threads of life are collected instead of scattered, as one of them was the brother of a god. Can the fates reunite two lovers whose threads should have twined together for eternity? Or will Cassidy allow Raza's interest to pass his pale, mortal self by? Believed You Were Lucky by Amy Lane: The gods' meddling isn't always welcome. It's given Leif good luck but poor fortune, and Hacon a family curse he's lived in fear of all his life. But when Leif's good luck saves Hake's life, Hake has to reevaluate everything he's ever believed about luck, life, and love.

    And maybe for more whiskey. Until a mysterious stranger offers him a job so dangerous that no one has ever attempted it and survived to tell the tale: recover a priceless object from the Turtle Merchants’ impregnable palace. Intrigued by the man and the challenge, Eric accepts—but the stranger is none other than the legendary airship captain known as the Tea Demon, terror of the Sea of Clouds. Eric must come up with the best plan in history if he wants to complete his job... and survive it too. Short story. Mature content.

    When he tracks a non-sentient construct across the dimensional barrier, he’s sure he’s about to confront Gorvenath again. But the person who bursts onto the porch in a swirl of tuxedo coattails is a monster of a very different sort—but is he Gorvenath’s accomplice or his victim?Monster Till Midnight is an 11,000-word gay romance featuring a hopeful samhainophile, a suspicious LEO, gratuitous candy corn, and a relationship that threatens to be really, really, really long distance.

    For as long as he can remember he has been destined to be part of a harem dedicated to powering his master’s spell casting.But Ethan has dreams. Dreams that won’t be denied. When a mysterious gift allows him the opportunity to escape, he grabs hold of it with both hands. But the realities of a life of freedom are nothing like what he had envisioned. Soon he is confused, hungry and running for his life.Luck is with him, however, when he meets Michael Barnes. With the help of this warm, caring, emotionally bruised man, Ethan finally begins his journey to understanding the strange world and customs he has been thrust into and takes his first tentative steps to true freedom.But there are those that would take back everything Ethan has gained. People that would like nothing more than to drag him back to his life as a harem slave.Reader Advisory: This book contains a dubious consensual sex scene between minor characters. This book is the first book in a series that is best read in sequence.

    Calder King has it all: a football scholarship at a prestigious university, a guaranteed position as CEO of his family's company (someday) and all the hot co-eds he can handle, but Calder is way more interested in his missing memories and the weird things he can do -- like his super strength and invulnerability. Not to mention the crazy vigilantes terrorizing the city, the ones Calder alone (aka Titan) can handle. Enter super genius Patrick Black. Not only is he Calder's new college roommate, he's also the ward of the man Calder's family despises. On the surface they should be enemies, but Patrick's the only person who understands what it's like to have the whole world expect stuff from you -- stuff Calder's not sure he can give. Never mind that Patrick is also openly gay and way too hot for his own good. Because Calder is straight, and Patrick doesn't date straight guys. Patrick Black's whole persona is a carefully controlled lie. By day, he's a studious college student, and by night he's a vigilante exposing the city's dark underbelly as Apprentice. That doesn't mean he can't have a little fun once in a while. Calder King is fun and gorgeous, but he's also as straight as a damn ruler, which takes him off the table. When a mysterious stranger named Titan rescues Patrick one night, sparks fly. If Patrick can’t have Calder, maybe Apprentice can have Titan. Lust and sex bring these two college roommates together but will their buried secrets tear them apart? Contains graphic gay sex and violence.

     Ethan, one of the humans hired to entertain the werewolves, goes into the event with only one expectation: getting paid for having fun. The prospect of maybe meeting an Alpha female is only a bonus. Max, a successful Alpha, has been getting pressure from all sides to settle down and prove his Alpha genes. Two problems: he doesn’t believe that the Mating Ball works and he is only interested in men. Once there, he meets Ethan, who catches his attention immediately, but the man insists that he isn’t gay, or interested in Max. As the ball comes to an end, the two men can no longer deny their attraction and take off together. Only to wake up to a very special surprise. Omega’s Fate is a first time gay romance, with unprotected steamy action. This story contains male pregnancy (Mpreg).

    Little does he know there's more to the job than meets the eye.Vlatko's trying to find a way to survive. When Rue arrives in his life, Vlatko knows the thief has ulterior motives, but he's willing to risk everything for a taste of Rue's lips.

    Because now the statue is alive. And now there are two of them. And that's only the beginning.

    Jay, Argent, and Ben are three of them, and they've just met the men of their hottest dreams. Next of Kin by Astrid AmaraJay Yervant is a Hell Cop so powerful that his bare skin incinerates anyone he contacts. Isolated, he is tortured by desire, until he meets Brian, a sensual young man who touches him with impunity. But Jay's burgeoning hope is threatened when a malevolent sorcerer unleashes a host of demonic assassins against Brian. Keeping his lover may cost Jay his life. Red Sands by Nicole KimberlingAnthropologist Michael Gold's got problems. His apartment's been ransacked, his dad's missing, and he's been framed for murder. As a half-demon he expects trouble from the city's Hell Cops. Instead, he gets Argent, a man with intimate knowledge of Michael and whom Michael can't penetrate with his psychic powers. So does Argent want to clear him or expose him? Touching Sparks by Ginn HaleWhen photojournalist James Sparks discovers an underworld of sorcery, blood sports and demonic drug traffic, he turns to Detective Ben Moran, a hard-bodied Hell Cop whose touch sends James's pulse racing. But when James uncovers evidence of police corruption he realizes that Moran may be in as much danger as he is.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices, strong violence.

    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.

    Since his clone-wife died on entry, he’s been doing the work of two on his failing protein farm. Overworked and undersized, Runt’s dwindling hope of earning corporate citizenship has turned to fear of violent “retirement.”When an overdue crate of provisions crashes on his beach, Runt searches frantically for a replacement wife among the tools and food. Instead he gets Ox, a mute hulk who seems more like a corporate assassin than a simple offworld farmer.Shackwacky and near-starving, Runt has no choice but to work with his silent partner despite his mounting paranoia and the unsettling appeal of Ox’s genetically altered pheromones. Ox plays the part of the gentle giant well, but Runt’s still not convinced he hasn’t arrived with murder in mind.Between brutal desire and the seeds of a relationship, Runt’s fears and Ox’s inhuman past collide on a fertile world where hope and love just might have room to grow.

    And the body bag. (God.) It doesn’t take long, though, for him to remember the hot guy with wings he ran into just before a city bus ran into him.Junior Reaper John must explain to his supervisor how his first solo assignment went so wrong. All he knows is that he happened upon Emery quite by accident, that Emery saw John when he shouldn’t have been able to, and when they accidentally touched, a bus came out of nowhere and plowed Emery under. (John really does feel bad about that.)Hot angels, annoying demons, hijinks, absurdity, drunk siblings, a dash of silly romance, an inordinate attachment to wings, and a highly disorganized bid for world domination—Don’t Fear the (Not Really Grim) Reaper follows Emery and John down the rabbit hole where they find that moms are scarier than demons from hell, a goat is not a puppy no matter what Emery’s sister says, and awkward romance can happen anywhere.

    Explicit language warning but little erotic content. (11,000 words ~ 43 pages) First published in The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 (2010).WARNINGContains confused lovelorn werewolves and very pretty ex-Goth mermen who are exclusively interested in each other. May also contain fish, Irish mafia, and a shocking lack of tea.