Protectorates were divided by beliefs and distance. Slavery was accepted and threats both natural and supernatural were commonplace. This became a world where sentries were needed. Trained almost from infanthood, these tough men and women lived in a society within a society. They were warriors and protectors, ferreting out evil and defending the citizens of New Colorado Protectorate from inhuman terrors and, on occasion, human ones. Todd Ruger was born into life as a sentry. Raised by a hard father into a hard life, Todd becomes the consummate sentry, tough, dangerous, and good at what he does. When he wasn't quite into his teen years, he was bonded to a special young slave named Nick. For years their only interaction was through letters. Friendship turned to a sort of courtship between them. Todd lived for the day Nick became of age and Todd's ownership would take effect. That was the day Nick would leave the village with Todd. They'd begin a life together. They'd make a difference. Raised as a slave, Nick never wanted to be special, but nature had other ideas for him. He grew up in a village with other slave children and was taught to be useful to his future master because he a gift ... or curse. The tutors responsible for his upbringing didn't understand what Nick could do, what he was; they were afraid of him. If sentries hadn't bought him, it was likely he'd never have lived to see the age of five. All that changes the day Nick leaves the village with Todd. He's cared for and shown a new, better life with a man who loves him honestly and wholly. But after being together barely a day, Nick is brutally attacked and injured. Though he recovers without incident, Todd's heart fills with revenge. The guardian in him turns into a dangerous, driven assassin, a wolf on the hunt. Todd's obsession with tracking down the men who hurt Nick and making them pay could very well get them both killed. Can they survive and build the life together they've both dreamed of for years? NOTE: This is the third edition of Marked Yours. The first and second editions were released by another publishing house. This story has been revised and re-edited with the end result being a better, stronger story.

    Each Recruit participates in increasingly difficult and violent military training for a chance to advance to the next level. Those who fail must choose an “Incentive”—a family member—to be brutally killed. If Lucky fails, he’ll have to choose death for his only living relative: Cole, his four-year-old brother.Lucky will do everything he can to keep his brother alive, even if it means sacrificing the lives of other Recruits’ loved ones. What Lucky isn’t prepared for is his undeniable attraction to the handsome, rebellious Digory Tycho. While Lucky and Digory train together, their relationship grows. But daring to care for another Recruit in a world where love is used as the ultimate weapon is extremely dangerous. As Lucky soon learns, the consequences can be deadly...

    Coast Guard.For the past year, their close loss in the annual Boarding Games has haunted Interceptor Team: Zuma’s Ghost. With this year’s competition looming, they’re looking forward to some payback—until an unexpected personnel change leaves them reeling. Their best swordsman has been transferred, and a new lieutenant has been assigned in his place.Maxine Carmichael is trying to carve a place in the world on her own—away from the pressure and influence of her powerful family. The last thing she wants is to cause trouble at her command on Jupiter Station. With her new team in turmoil, Max must overcome her self-doubt and win their trust if she’s going to succeed. Failing is not an option—and would only prove her parents right.But Max and the team must learn to work together quickly. A routine mission to retrieve a missing ship has suddenly turned dangerous, and now their lives are on the line. Someone is targeting members of Zuma’s Ghost, a mysterious opponent willing to kill to safeguard a secret that could shake society to its core . . . a secret that could lead to their deaths and kill thousands more unless Max and her new team stop them.Rescue those in danger, find the bad guys, win the Games. It’s all in a day’s work at the NeoG.

    He has a good life, but the emotional aftermath of a horrific crime makes him feel too damaged to date. So when his sister’s hot bestie, Malcolm Umbertini, comes on to him, he turns him down flat. Mal is Relationship Material: the kind who thinks in the long term. What would Evan do with a man like that?As a prosecuting attorney, Mal’s learned how to read people, and he knows there’s more to Evan than meets the eye. Mal has faced his own hardships since his family kicked him out as a teen, and he respects Evan’s courage and emotional resilience. More than that, he wants Evan—in his bed and in his life. But can he weather another rejection?Both wary, they agree to a no-strings fling. Mal knows that Evan wants things to stay casual, but he’s falling in love a little more with each encounter. With health, happiness, and bruised hearts on the line, Mal and Evan must risk everything for love.Reader discretion advised. This title contains the following sensitive themes:Child Abuse (past)Drug Use (references to past interaction with drug users/drug dealers)Emotional Abuse Explicit Violence (past)Eating Disorder (past)Non-Consent (Discussion of past incident)Self-Harm (references)Sexual Assault (Discussion of past assault)

     Officer Noel Carlson isn’t out to anyone in small-town Stratton, Pennsylvania, only to distant friends and family, so a relationship is out of the question. That doesn’t stop him from wanting one, though. When a night-shift call brings him face to thonged butt with a hired stripper whose girl-party gig went terribly wrong, Noel takes pity on the guy and lets him go. But he can’t get the encounter out of his mind. Shane has big-time debts to repay, especially to the brother who sacrificed nearly everything for him. His two jobs, in a deli and as a stripper, leave him no time for a social life. But a non-date of hot sex and takeout food with Noel? He can squeeze that in. The bond they form is stronger than either expected or wanted. Especially since the step Shane’s about to take to put his brother—and his soul—back in the black isn’t quite legal. And he never calculated just how much his determination to make things right will cost him in the end. Note: This book was previously published by Samhain Publishing. No significant changes have been made to the text. Please read with tissues handy.

    The man who normally has a clear path to victory surrounded by brothers in combat is suddenly lost and alone. After meeting Beckett Ridge, a bearded tattoo artist, Dax’s journey begins winding down an unexpected path. Still reeling from events that shook his foundation, Beck has never been part of anything meaningful. Now faced with responsibilities foreign and daunting, Dax’s broken spirit mends Beck in ways he never even knew he was destroyed. As both struggle to find balance, they are healed by the comfort they find in one other. On the other side of chaos, they hope to find themselves On Solid Ground.

    Together, the three face all the dangers of space, along with murder, aliens, a school dance, and one really, really bad day. But none of this can prepare Noa for the biggest challenge—falling in love. And as Noa’s feelings for DJ deepen, he has to contend not just with the challenges of the present, but also with his memories of the past.However, nothing is what it seems on Qriosity, and the truth will upend all of their lives forever.Love is complicated enough without also trying to stay alive.

    But a precious few begin even before birth.In the dual-gendered realm of Ylandre, the great divide between the high-born True Bloods and the lower-ranked Half Bloods is deemed impassable by most. Rohyr Essendri dared to cross it when he took young Lassen Idana from his provincial town and made him his paramour. Lassen perforce learned how to navigate the intricate byways of life at court. What he never expected, however, was to fall in love with Rohyr, a most inadvisable and impractical thing to do when one’s lover is sovereign ruler of the land. But anything worth having is worth fighting for, both figuratively and, as Lassen discovers, literally speaking.Contains hermaphroditism and explicit homoerotic sexual encounters.

    Personalized chips are now implanted beneath the thumbnails of every infant, where glowing numbers count down to the moment they will meet their soul mate. Fate is now a calculation.But loving someone isn’t.When Shannon Wurther, the youngest detective in Southern California, finds himself face-to-face with Aiden Maar, the reckless art thief Shannon’s precinct has been chasing for months, they are both stunned. Their Camellia Clocks have timed out, and the men are left with a choice—love one another or defy fate."Handcuffed by fate, this cop-and-robber duo will steal hearts; a strong start to a promising series."-Kirkus "Fortitude Smashed is a pleasant read that will pull on the heartstrings of readers and make them reevaluate what love truly means."-RT Book Reviews "The refreshingly fluid view of sexuality and Brooke’s implied, off-page steamy scenes will fuel many fantasies about her two leads."-Publishers Weekly

    Not only did he let one of the targets live, he attacked the team sent to retrieve him. Now the Corporation wants answers and they bring in the brilliant robopsychologist Dr. Clarice Maven to get them—giving her the power to make sure Deacon never fails the Corporation ever again.As Deacon tries to keep his secrets and the doctor cuts through his defenses, a cunning game of cat-and-mouse begins. The question is: will Deacon be able to resist Dr. Maven’s power and protect the only thing that has ever truly mattered to him?With full-color art by Winona Nelson, Artifice deals with the classic sci-fi question: What does it really mean to be a "person"? And what would an Artificial Intelligence designed to be the perfect soldier ultimately choose: love... or honor? Artifice has got action, romance and even some moments of comedy. And you can read it for free right now over at artificecomic.com.

    All reported to be runaways looking to escape their shitty lives, but Remy’s starting to put together a different picture and he doesn’t like it one damn bit.Inspector Jamie Mainwaring stares at the six reports, willing them to make sense. Six boys, six months, all from just outside of London, which meant six different investigations. All of the boys were between the ages of ten and fifteen, all purportedly runaways from dysfunctional families. Something was rotten in Denmark.There are always runaways. Every small town loses them—every big city collects them. Kids look for freedom and discover they have more to lose than they ever thought possible. London and Phoenix, culture and cowboys, nothing linking these two sprawling metropolitan areas. Nothing except a hit on a computer data search.Two cops, one a cowboy, the other a Lord. A secret government agency, human trafficking, and a blazing hot mutual distraction.What the hell have Remington and Mainwaring gotten themselves into?

    Humans struggle to survive in the few remaining cities beside Mechi, artificially intelligent beings whose most recent models are indistinguishable from their human creators, and the Ezri, a race of humanoid alien life whose descent to Earth changed the future of humankind forever.Caden is number 508349, and has lived a comfortable and privileged life as the son of a wealthy corporate bigwig, kept safe from the dangers of life outside of Belen. An inexplicable restlessness leads Caden to pursue Earth's lost past in cities other than his own and in the dusty words of suppressed history books.Together with his streetwise friends, Mikas and Blue, Caden learns to navigate the shadowed world of the Underground Streets as he searches for answers to the questions left by his recurring nightmares.When a series of catastrophic events leads to an encounter with a mysterious stranger, Caden is drawn unwittingly into a decades long war for freedom. As he struggles to accept his place in his rapidly changing reality, Caden is given insight into his true nature, allowing him to finally take the leap of faith he needs to reclaim his identity and freedom.

    At least not until he meets “Wilfred Calder” who’s been been running from it all his life. When Wil is brought in for questioning as a witness to a brutal murder, and subsequently flees, Dallin is dragged by duty into the chaos of ancient myth, fanatical religion, and the delicate politics of a shaky truce between two perpetually warring countries. And all of it seems to reach its nexus in the man he knows is not Wilfred Calder.When Dallin finally catches up to Wil, it only makes matters worse. Prickly and full of rage, Wil tells an unbelievable tale of magic and betrayal that threatens to shatter the carefully cultivated foundations of Dallin’s world. Leery and only half-believing, Dallin finds himself questioning not only his own conscience and his half-forgotten past, but the morality and motives of everyone around him—including those who hold the power of his own country’s fate in their hands.

    He uses his heightened senses to track down the missing or murdering dredges of humanity. His only safe haven is a hustler with the ability to see other people’s pasts.A psi, hiding in plain sight, Misaki spends his days pleasing men for money and basking in beautiful shoes. Shane’s presence in his life sometimes means gruesome murder cases and memories that give him nightmares, but he can’t help being drawn to the gruff detective.When an official’s daughter goes missing, Shane asks for Misaki’s help. But the trip into the killer’s mind opens a door to evil long forgotten and it’s coming for them next.

    But when he meets Kieran Trevarde, a hard-hearted gunslinger with a dark magic lurking in his blood, Ash finds that necessity makes strange heroes... and love can change the world.