With a war brewing in the east and no guarantee of surviving another brutal winter, Gib's life is plagued with uncertainty. To make matters worse, he suddenly finds himself uprooted from his home and drafted into the army. Forced to leave his siblings behind, Gib reports to Silver City, where he enrolls in the legendary Academy of Arden. An outsider and misfit, Gib struggles to fit in among the highborn city folk. His charming candor eventually wins him a handful of friends—an enigmatic mage trainee with a secret, a young girl who has defied tradition by joining the military, and a prince looking to escape his stifling, royal life. But his new-found comrades may not be able to help when Gib alone overhears a traitorous plot—a scheme so horrible that if seen to fruition, all of Arden will suffer for it. It's up to Gib to convince the High Council of Arden to act, to stop the terrible danger before it's too late.

    After exhausting every available course of action to get her daughter back within the boundaries of the law she’ll have to play dirty if she wants to see Kaley alive again. But the question remains: Will she be too late?

    Will Derrie likes girls but he isn’t honest with them; he wants kinky sex and lots of it. When Hugh offers to dominate him, no sex required, Will realizes it might not be so easy to separate the two. Sometimes all it takes is a new angle on an old idea to change everything you thought you wanted. Hugh Reynolds holds the world at arm's length. He lives alone, works alone, and he thinks he's as happy as he'll ever be. But Will gets under his skin and once he's gone, Hugh realizes he doesn’t want to go it alone forever. Sometimes all it takes is a random encounter to open your mind (and your heart). Truman Jennings hits on a cute guy at a conference and he’s smitten by the end of their first date. Hugh's not the kindest or the easiest boyfriend Truman's ever had, but he brings one thing to their relationship that no one else could: kinky, adventurous, sweetly submissive Will. Sometimes you can't find the right man till you find the wrong one. Three men. Three sides to love, and intimacy, and laughter. Three people who don't know what they're looking for...until they find it in each other. This book is the first book in the Scientific Method Universe, and was originally published as two volumes: The Scientific Method and Hugh's New Dude. The new version has some additional bits here and there, but covers most of the same ground. Information about the rest of the series can be found at krisripper.com/smu

    Both of them would rather be anywhere else. Gabe needs a sober ride home without his douchey ex bringing him down. Lincoln needs to put the mistakes that brought him to Hollow Forge behind him for good. A simple lift back to campus turns into one night together that leaves them both wanting more. One night becomes two, but soon their pasts are knocking at the door and the clock is running out on their weekend. 15,000 word gay romance novella

    He’s a monster, after all. How would he ever find a man who can deal with his other self—the wolf?When a reckless young hiker named Leo gets his leg caught in an old bear trap, Kirk rescues him, tracking him down by scent alone. While Kirk takes care of his injuries, Leo’s bright, sunny presence slowly wears down all Kirk’s defences.But as the full moon rises, Kirk struggles between the urge to protect Leo and the demands of the wolf, who wants only one thing: to claim his mate…

    He meets a gentle, insecure magician named Gene, who's come to work on the crumbling mansion's moldings. He doesn't expect to fall in love.Note: This story first appeared in "Christmas Delights," a collection of Male/Male gay romance stories set in and around the Christmas season.Length: 9,615 words Heat level: sweetThemes: Christmas, magic, gay romance, sweet romance, historical fantasy

    When he loses a bet to her and the penalty is to go out on five dates with men she’s chosen from Guys4Guys.com, he thinks that’s bad enough. Finding out she used a thirteen-year-old picture of him to score a date with a young guy who looks like a rock star? Epically bad.Jay thought he wanted to fall for an older man. But his last boyfriend left him feeling humiliated and determined to stick to guys his own age. When he realizes he’s been conned into a date with exactly the kind of man he’s sworn to avoid, he’s ready to walk away on the spot. Only Devin’s swift apologies convince Jay to accept dinner to make up for the deception.“The date doesn’t count for the bet unless you get a goodnight kiss.” After one not-a-date dinner with Jay, Devin isn’t worried about his sister’s rules. He just wishes he could convince Jay to go out with him for real. Jay wants no part of Devin, but Devin wants every part of Jay . . . so he asks Jay to help update his look for the rest of his dates. But once Jay’s made Devin over into the perfect date, will he be able to let him go?------------Dear Author,I lost a bet with my sister. I was so sure the Broncos would win. Now it is time for me to pay up. She has decided I need a man in my life. She submitted a profile for me at Guys4Guys.com and set up five dates. I haven’t been on five dates in the past five years. And if the thought of five first dates isn’t scary enough, check out the photo she put in my profile.Yes, that hot, young, guy really is me… thirteen years ago! To be twenty-two again. I miss my thirty-two-inch waist and six-pack.Photo Description: A good-looking, young blond man leans back against exposed pipework. He is shirtless and his jeans look a little old-fashioned with their light wash. His arms are huge and he sports a six-pack, although he’s already looking the tiniest bit soft around the waistline. As if that six-pack might not quite be there in ten years…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.

    And helping her out is the mysterious Caleb Stone, a consultant that the city has sent to assist. Allie has never met anyone like Caleb before. He sets her heart beating wildly, but he doesn’t seem to want to talk about his personal life at all… Caleb recognises the beautiful blonde woman immediately. He inadvertently turned into the wolf to save her from a mugger on the street. Fighting his attraction to Allie, Caleb knows that he is flirting with danger. Because if he finds his mate, he will lose his position with the Wild Keepers. And that cannot happen. He has worked too hard to prove himself. Book Two Maya Roberts has always hated the city of Covenester. But when she is offered the position of prima ballerina with the embattled Covenester City Ballet, it seems too good to resist. But then she finds the artistic director dead in a strange room of the old theatre, and encounters something that terrifies her more than anything she could have ever imagined… Evan Watts doesn’t want to take on the case at the city ballet company. Ballet is not really his style. But the leader of his pack of wolf shapeshifters, the Wild Keepers, insists, and so Evan poses as a security guard to find out if demons are behind all that is going wrong with the company. Who killed the artistic director, and why? Book Three Shay has worked the mean streets on case after case with the Wild Keepers, the pack of wolf shapeshifters sworn to protect the city from the Vilgath, a vicious race of demons. And he’s done his job damn well. So damn well he’s now beta, the second in command. But at this time of year, it all starts to get on top of him. Memories of what happened to his best friend, Eric, on a lark that went wrong back when he was a junior at high school, start to haunt him. And with them come memories of Tess Nolan. A sixteen-year-old beauty with wild auburn hair. The one that got away, all those years ago… Book Four Zach Byrnes is surprised when Thad, the alpha leader of the Wild Keepers, wants him to take on a case as a favour for an old friend. A woman is missing, having seemingly vanished into the mean streets of Covenester which she knows so well. A working girl, apparently, who has run away from her powerful and wealthy benefactor. As far as Zach is concerned, the woman probably wants to stay missing. And who is he to force her hand? But the mysterious, vulnerable Sienna Carter is not what she seems. Nor is the life that she has been forced to live. Sienna knows that she is a freak because of what she can do. Something so powerful she is running away from the man who enslaves her because of it. A man of such overwhelming power that his influence is beyond imagining. And now that she knows his secret there is no telling what he will do… Book Five A once proud wolf pack is gone. The streets of Covenester are filled with riots and death. The people know that the wolves have abandoned them. And the man who was once their proud leader, sworn to defend the city from the demons, has fled to the mountains. To hide and lick his wounds. He is haunted by the mistakes that he has made, which have cost him everything. All he wants now is to be left alone. But Keeley Walters has other ideas. She has heard that Thad Morgan, the mysterious man who is living in the cabin by the lake, might be able to translate the book. The book that she found in her father’s bag, after he returned home a changed man. A man who rocks and says a single sentence over and over.

    Reeling from a brutal breakup, he’s determined to captain his LGBT soccer team out of scandal and into a winning season. For that, he needs strict rules and careful plans. He does NOT need a brash, muscle-bound lad messing with his head and setting his body afire.John Burns has a rule of his own: Don’t get attached. Boyfriends are for guys with nothing to hide. Nobody—not his university mates, not the men he beds—knows his family’s shame. Now his double life is starting to unravel, thanks to a certain Highlander whose storm-riddled eyes turn John inside out, who wears a kilt like he was born in it.Fergus is the first man John wants to share his secret with—but he’s the last man who could handle it. John knows the truth would shatter Fergus’s still-fragile heart. But how can he live a lie when he’s falling in love?

    When an axe-wielding maniac knocks on his front door and asks to dig up his living room floor, he figures his Monday from hell is complete.But an axe-wielding maniac may be just what Josh needs.This story also available in print in the anthology Ever After: The Collected Short Works of Marie Sexton.

    When Eve finds out that she was adopted, the search to find her birth mother spirals her into a world of darkness and myth. A trip to Krakow to defend a soldier in a disturbing rape case brings Eve face to face with the demon incubus Perun. Intent on seducing her for his own purposes, Perun is dangerous and uncontrollable and yet he's the only who can tell Eve what she wants to know. When Eve follows the trail to San Francisco a local ranch hand intervenes to protect Eve from Perun and in the process stops her from finding her mother. Eve, caught between two men with their own agenda, becomes a pawn in a battle for power between her own family and the demons who seek to control her. Only the greatest sacrifice can save her and the people she loves. First she must learn to master her emotions to survive. From the courtrooms of London to the Dragon’s Cave in Krakow, from the Slovakian Mountains to the wilds of Yosemite, Eve’s journey will keep you entranced to the very end. A scorching fantasy with a strong, believable heroine...this is the start of an epic adventure of seduction, loss, love and revenge.

    Floating upon the current and awaiting death, he is rescued by a mythical sea elf. Cuke knew his curiosity with humans would only lead him to trouble but he never expected it would lead him to love. A love filled with complications as he is bound to his watery home.Can the couple overcome the restrictions of their races and be the fathers to their unexpected child or are they destined to be torn apart by their different worlds?Author Note:Contains m/m and hermaphrodite sexual practices and is intended for readers of legal age in the country in which they reside.

     QUICK ON THE DRAW Glenister McCreedie was never a lucky man. Imprisoned for a crime he never committed, deserted by the woman he loved and betrayed by his own family. His bad luck seems to be running out when he is released early from prison and finds a job on the railroads. But it doesn’t last long. First he gets into a fight with a man who turns up dead and whilst still on the run, his train is held up by his own brother’s gang. Then he somehow manages to offend the railroad boss’ daughter, the beautiful Elizabeth. With the fates out to get him, Glen has to use all his wits and strength to take control of his own destiny… THE FIGHTING COWBOY Steve Blondel is better known throughout the West as El Cougar – the fighting cowboy. An unbeatable force, he’s winning competitions nationwide and earning a reputation for his skills in the ring. As the first fighting cowboy to come out of the West, Blondel is quickly becoming the one to beat. Huge bets are placed on his success and people travel far and wide to watch him in action. But his career is suddenly interrupted when he learns of the disappearance of his brother, who has mysteriously vanished whilst enroute to a fight. However, it’s not long before Blondel realizes that his brother has been murdered by a gang of vicious train robbers, and his body tossed into the nearby canyon. Blondel vows vengeance, and locates the prime suspects of the attack – the infamous Morton family – who will stop at nothing to get what they want... BATTLE AT BROKEN KNEE Trouble always seems to find Careless O’Connor. But when he comes across a wrecked wagon off a lonely Texan trail, dangerously close to the volatile Mexican border, he has little premonition that this chance encounter will change his life forever. Lying amongst the debris of shattered wagon wheels and dead horses is the woman who will turn Careless’ world upside down. Little did he know the plight of Grace Whitfield, with her blue eyes, blonde curls and fierce desire to avenge the ruthless imprisonment of her brother, was going to lead Careless on many an adventure – both in the harsh desert and in his heart. Battling against terrifying odds, Careless and his crew – the beautiful Grace, brave young Yippee Clay, honest Burt and dastardly Big Mouth – struggle on in their quest for justice. Praise for Gordon Landsborough 'A punchy tale coupled with plenty of action - an engaging read!' - Philip McCormac, bestselling western author 'A must-read collection of western adventures.' – Tom Kasey, bestselling author of Trade Off. Gordon Landsborough (1913-1984) was a publisher, author and bookseller. Writing tales about the exploits of gun-toting cowboys fighting out on the arid sands of the Wild West, Landsborough was himself a pioneer in the English paperback publishing world of the 1950s. He was widely known amongst his peers as the ‘maverick publishing genius’.

    But his sister coerces him into standing in line overnight for this year's must-have toy. Supplies prove smaller than expected, and Reece gets trampled in the resulting stampede. Toy store manager Angel tends to Reece's wounds. When Angel discovers Reece's cynical attitude, he invites Reece to spend Christmas Eve with him. Over the course of the day, Angel shows Reece what Christmas means to him. With Angel's guidance, maybe Reece can finally understand the joy of the holiday—and maybe even find love as well.

    . . and you’re listening to 91.3 FM.” Justin knows three things for sure about DJ Dangerfield: He has some questionable taste in music. He always provokes Justin into ringing in. And he might just be his favorite weekly distraction. But who is this DJ Dangerfield in Real Life? And will Justin like him in the flesh as much as on the air? ***Short College-Based Novella***