Then I was a hermit. For so long—for years that seemed to go on forever—I couldn't bear to be touched. I put up not just walls but whole stone bunkers to keep everyone out, emotionally, and physically as well. I was protected from people, from ghosts, from specters real and imagined. Sure, I was alone. But I felt safe. Only, after a while, I wasn't sure any longer whether a totally "safe" empty life was really worth living.Then Tobin came along. Out of the blue, out of my past, with a summons from the king that he wouldn't let me ignore. I tried to cling to my isolation, but he wouldn't give up on me. Tobin never believed in walls.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.http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

    But what Dylan and Blake couldn’t have prepared for was that an easy cover story could turn into reality.Dylan is more than just an elite Navy SEAL with something to prove. He’s a dark-haired omega that will do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if it means pretending to the mate of a charming spy on a secret mission.Flirty, and confident, Blake is a professional spy who takes nothing for granted. He’s also a self-assured Alpha who has been sent to gather as much information as he can about a new shifter group called the Shadow Pack. The assignment is simple – infiltrate the group, and return with information.These two shifters were never supposed to meet, but when an accident during a full moon puts their lives at risk, these strangers realize that in order to survive, they’re going to have to depend on each other before their cover is blown, and their lives are put in jeopardy.Sailing Deep is a hot gay love story that will make you want to report for duty. Filled with passion and desire and a few surprises along the way, this paranormal story features hard-bodied shifter romance, sizzling sex, and themes of male pregnancy; all hands on deck! Suitable for readers over the age of 18 only.

    Almost.A deadly hunter.Hraban has dedicated his life to taking down creatures like Drakjan, protecting those who cannot protect themselves.An uneasy truce.When fate forces them together, the nix and the hunter discover a dangerous attraction… and a threat that can destroy everything Drakjan has come to love.~~~~~~This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" 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. "Still Waters" contains sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. ~~~~~~This story prompt and photo inspired "Still Waters":Dear Author,I only have two words for you: ginger merman! Everything else is up to you.Photo Description: A redheaded, muscular young man with a short beard stands in a lake, a scraggly stand of seaweed-draped deadwood behind him and mountains in the distance. He looks directly at the viewer, wearing a neutral expression. The water comes up to just above his waist, and he is lifting a sturdy white net from the water with both hands.

    Twenty years ago, monsters rose on earth and began a new age of civilization. One where humans live in military-controlled, cramped and dirty cities along the coasts, and the majority of the United States is known as the Wastes. A lawless, desolate and dangerous place, teeming with monsters that have claimed the land for their own. Including Wyn the Soul Eater. He appears every three years, making his way across the country and slaughtering humans randomly, sucking them dry until they’re nothing but husks. I’ve only been in the military for six months, but now I’m part of a unit tasked with trying to stop and capture him. And when I’m the only soldier out of hundreds that the Soul Eater leaves alive, I realise that… something about me has intrigued him. But what is it? What could a twenty-three year old guy from the south, with no one and nothing in the world, have possibly done to capture the attention of a death monster with horns, blackened fingertips and a face hidden in the dark depths of his hood? Soul Eater is the debut novel of Lily Mayne. It is the first in a planned post-apocalyptic fantasy series featuring monsters and human men falling in love. This m/m love story contains explicit content and is not suitable for young readers. It also contains scenes of violence, but don’t worry—they get their happy ending.

    He is at the command of the White Monks, who summon him at will to destroy demons. In return, the monks provide for his sustenance and promise the return of his immortal soul. Sarasija Mishra's most compelling job qualification might be his type O blood… The 22-year-old college grad just moved across the country to work for some recluse he can't even find on the internet. Sounds sketchy, but the salary is awesome and he can't afford to be picky. On arrival he discovers a few details his contract neglected to mention, like the alligator-infested swamp, the demon attacks, and the nature of his employer's "special diet". A smart guy would leave, but after one look into Dupont's mesmerizing eyes, Sarasija can't seem to walk away. Too bad his boss expected "Sara" to be a girl. Falling in love is hard at any age… The vampire can't fight his hungers forever, especially since Sara's brought him light, laughter and a very masculine heat. After yielding to temptation, Thaddeus must make a choice. Killing demons may save his soul, but keeping the faith will cost him his heart.

    Albans is the youthful heir to his family's fortune and affiancéd to his beloved Cecil Mandeville, a family friend as well as Julian's lover.When Mandeville is murdered using magical means, Alex is brought in on the case. It's the worst day of Julian's life, but until they meet, it's just another case for Alex. Neither of them have any idea how their lives are about to change.Alex has to disentangle the magical threads until he can catch the murderer, and to do that he has to put himself right in the thick of things. His long-denied family connections get him invited to participate in Julian's Courtship as a Suitor, where he can observe the suspects firsthand. He just has to stay alive long enough to figure out which of the competition thinks Julian is a prize worth killing for.

    Seth vows revenge on Jesse's killer - too bad the murderer has been dead for a hundred years. Seth uncovers a cycle of ritual killings that feed the power of a dark warlock's immortal witch-disciples, and he's hell bent on stopping Jackson Malone from becoming the next victim. He's used to risking his neck. He never intended to risk his heart.

    He only knows he has the power to heal people, making himself sick in the process. Exploited by a crooked faith healer who sells his abilities and his life to the highest bidder and then left for dead, Jory flees, falling into a job at a small-town café where he can put his lifelong obsession with baking to good use.But the minister who exploited him wants him back.Exiled hellhound-turned–bounty hunter Malpheus Pelle has no idea why his human client wants him to track down an incubus. Jory is traumatized and afraid to touch anyone, an emotional handicap that could prove fatal for a demon who requires physical contact. Needing answers, Mal concocts a disastrous plan: pretend to date Jory to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, his plan never included dealing with an ancient demon assassin, Jory’s orgasmic pumpkin cookies, or losing his heart to the incubus he’s supposed to be hunting….

    The draegans were all but destroyed, with the few who remained, scattered and in hiding. Now, a group of them have united and begun to fight back. Their leader, Keiran Hareldson, seeks to free his people from the cruel repression the high sorcerer’s reign has imposed on them. Gaige Rizik is captain of the sorcerer’s High Guard, and known for his lethal ability to hunt down his prey with no remorse. His orders are to infiltrate the draegan rebels’ camp, learn their plans, and identify their leader so he can be destroyed. But when Gaige joins the rebels, posing as a human sympathizer to the draegans’ cause, he discovers the shapeshifters aren’t the bloodthirsty beasts he’s been led to believe, and their leader is a passionately captivating man who only wants what’s best for his people. Keiran sparks powerful emotions in Gaige, tearing down his walls of steely control, and stirring a longing in him he can’t deny. Torn between his duty to the high sorcerer and his growing feelings not only for Keiran, but for the draegan way of life, Gaige knows he’s damned no matter which he chooses. In a world of lies, deception, and dark secrets, one false move will bring destruction to all he’s begun to hold dear. With the fate of so many lives on his shoulders, Gaige’s only hope is to follow his heart...and pray it’s true enough to save them all. TRUE OF HEART was previously published. This new, second edition has been revised, with added content and word count, since its original release.

    He narrowly avoids the brutal prison system thanks to his mother, who negotiates with the judge to secure him a five year apprenticeship in lieu of a prison sentence. And so William finds himself in a carriage bound for the remote woods upstate, where he'll spend the next years of his life learning a new trade under some old master.When he first sees Merrick, William thinks he's been dropped into a medieval horror story. Tall and gruff, dressed in a hooded robe that completely conceals his features, and riding a black mare, Merrick might as well be the Grim Reaper.But appearances are deceiving. A skilled apothecary and healer, Merrick proves to be a generous host and a gentle teacher, and William soon finds himself surprisingly comfortable in his new surroundings. And yet troubling mysteries abound: Why does Merrick never show his face or hands? Why do his movements seem so young and sure beneath his robes? What lies within the cave behind the stone cottage? Something unnatural is afoot. But most alarming by far is William's own reaction to his new keeper. For Merrick's strange charms are bewitching enough by day; but by night, in the darkness of the room and the bed they share, William finds himself entirely overwhelmed by desires he never imagined...51561 words

    My dad gave me and my siblings wooden stakes and flash grenades. To protect us from vampires. From the moment he adopted us, he warned us about the dangers that lurk in the dark. Obviously, I thought he was crazy. Vampires aren't real, and I was already enduring enough panic attacks without buying into Dad's insane ideas. But then I met Talon. Talon has fascinating scars and a mouth I want to kiss and a body I want to feel--and fangs. Vampire fangs. Suddenly, the weapons Dad gave me start looking real useful.Only I don't want to fight Talon. I want to feel his teeth on my neck. I can't explain it. He makes my knees goes weak. I know it's wrong, but it feels right.It feels like destiny. When Talon bites me, I forget everything, even that he is a monster. Even that I shouldn't be falling for him. Even that his coven wants me dead.

    It’s not life in the fast lane, but he takes it very seriously, and his first missing-child case is eating him alive. When his own boss sends in a psychic to help with the case, he’s gutted – he’s a level-headed copper who doesn’t believe in such things, and he can’t help but think that the arrival of clairvoyant Lee Tyack is a comment on his failure to find the little girl. But Lee is hard to hate, no matter how Gideon tries. At first Lee’s insights into the case make no sense, but he seems to have a window straight into Gideon’s heart. Son of a Methodist minister, raised in a tiny Cornish village, Gideon has hidden his sexuality for years. It’s cost him one lover, and he can’t believe it when this green-eyed newcomer stirs up old feelings and starts to exert a powerful force of attraction. Gideon and Lee begin to work together on the case. But there are malignant forces at work in the sleepy little village of Dark, and not only human ones – Gideon is starting to wonder, against all common sense, if there might be some truth in the terrifying legend of the Bodmin Beast after all. As a misty Halloween night consumes the moor, Gideon must race against time to save not only the lost child but the man who’s begun to restore his faith in his own heart.

    When a murderous spirit possesses Bobby’s wife and disrupts the perfect life he’s built away from Oklahoma, he’s forced to ask for his little brother’s help. Adam is happy to escape the trailer park and get the chance to say I told you so, but he arrives in Denver to find the local magicians dead.It isn’t long before Adam is the spirit’s next target. To survive the confrontation, he’ll have to risk bargaining with powers he’d rather avoid, including his first love, the elf who broke his heart.The Binder brothers don’t realize that they’re unwitting pawns in a game played by immortals. Death herself wants the spirit’s head, and she’s willing to destroy their family to reap it.