After fleeing a bad break-up in London, the only blood, sweat, and tears he has left are for his gyro stall at the Christmas market. Rebound fling? No thanks. He’s sticking to one-night-stands.Ex-army vet Gavin Richie has even less capacity for romance. Managing a homeless shelter while recovering from injury keeps him far too busy. So what if he’s often alone? He’s content being single, or so he thinks until a chance meeting lights a spark he can’t ignore. Yani is the warmth and affection Gavin hadn’t known he was missing. As Christmas lights up the city, their lives entwine in more ways than one. Falling for each other is easy. Holding on is harder, unless a hometown Christmas proves their love can last longer than the festive season.Hometown Christmas is a standalone MM Christmas novella.

    These stories range from 7k to 10k words and feature plenty of laughs, Marian cameos, and steamy nekkid bits. A suggested reading order can be found in the Look Inside, but you do not need to have read any other Made Marian novel to enjoy these stories. Please be aware that two of these stories can also be found in the Made Marian Collection bundle. Brad's Story:When Brad opens his Vegas hotel room door to find a hot police officer waiting on the other side, he assumes crazy Aunt Tilly has sent him a strip-o-gram. But instead of getting naked, Detective Gorgeous pulls out his cuffs. Turns out, the badge and uniform aren't just props, this cop is the real deal. Beck's Story:After touring around the world, sleeping with fans after sold-out concerts, Beck is still unsatisfied in the bedroom. Men, women, men and women? He doesn't know quite what he's looking for when he enters an exclusive club to find some company for the night. But two sexy strangers begin dancing with him at the same time, and Beck finally begins to realize that it might not be variety he's after, but just the right set of lips whispering sexy words into his ear. Keller's Story:After telling Tilly to back off her attempt at setting him up, Keller catches sight of the nude model for the old lady's art class. Did he speak too soon? Meanwhile, stand-in model Eli is regretting his decision to strip down for a group of senior citizens, but then meets the manager of the vineyard and realizes being naked might not be so bad after all. Especially when things get wet... like really very wet... with hoses. Josh's Story:After moving from Denali, Alaska, to San Francisco in order to branch out, Josh hosts a big poker night for the Marians and his co-workers at the National Park Service. Little does he know, his own true love may not be someone new after all. Eight years ago, Cyrus Dimakos had to leave the love of his life to take care of his great-grandmother on a remote island in Greece. A family obligation may have kept Cyrus's body away from Josh all this time, but his heart never left him. Could it be that The One That Got Away is finally back for good?

    Making ends meet seemed impossible until Tate Chandler took them in -- his knight in shining armor who promised to make life about more than just surviving. But Tate is not the man he seemed to be, and even his whispered I love yous and generous gifts do little to soothe the pain he causes. Knowing he can't give his sister all that she deserves without Tate, Skylar stays with him, relying on bad puns and a worse sense of humor to keep up the charade. He will do anything for his sister, even if that means acting the responsible adult and going back to his old high school to meet Dexter Weston, the hot math teacher who can make even algebra interesting. Sparks fly between the two of them, but with his dependence on Tate, Skylar isn't free to follow his heart. He wants what is best for Evie, but can he pass up the chance to find love that heals instead of harms? Warning: This book contains scenes of domestic violence/abuse that some may find triggering to read.

    He struggles with rejection from his tight-knit, working class family as much as he struggles with the heartbreaking loss of the one who was the centre of his world. But most of all, Matt struggles with accepting his true self. When an explosive confrontation leads to exposure, Matt is faced with a stark and terrifying choice: live his life in denial or strive to forge a new path for himself as an out gay man.Rick Taylor has never had to struggle. With money, self-confidence and a sense of entitlement, Rick expects life to give him exactly what he wants. Rick and Matt should never have met, let alone fallen in love, so when their worlds collide one freezing winter’s day their lives are changed forever. Will they reach for the stars, or will they come crashing down to earth?Loose Connection is a bittersweet opposites attract love story resulting in a hard fought for HEA, with no cliff hanger.

    These stories -- re-edited for quality content and given a Winterheart Designs cover -- were written in 2008, in part as a protest over the passage of Proposition 8 in California. They follow the course of Ethan and Barry's love affair in ten year intervals from the moment they first admit it, at prom in 1978, to a major breakup and reconciliation in 1988, to a family vacation in Hawaii that turns into more in 1998, and election night 2008, a time of deliberation and decision.This version includes the *bonus* holiday (also previously published) story “The Cursed Noel.”

    He was free-falling from a plane at the time. He cheated his death, but was left a very broken man. Two things kept him going through the pain: Keeping his promise to Becca and raising her son as his own, and bringing her killer to justice. But he was going to need something he hated to ask for. Help. Sheriff Gabriel Green had done the right thing all his life. Part of that included on the job, working on a case that led nowhere with no clues or leads. Justice still needed to be found. But with the case of Becca Shepard’s disappearance, it seemed a long way off, and getting longer by the day. Then Colin came back to town and things started heating up. And not just on the case… All About Zane is a slow burn MM Gay Mystery Romance and the first book in the Travis County Legal Series. It has a happily-ever-after ending, no cliffhanger, and a great steamy get together scene worth waiting for.

    Inheriting his grandma’s lake house is the last thing he wants, even if the plumbing in his tiny trailer doesn’t work. When Erik arrives to fix Luther’s pipes, a tattoo hints he might be up for more than working on the drain, though he’s shy about it.They kiss—unheard of—and when Luther wakes to an empty bed, he’s disappointed. He can’t get their night out of his head. The last thing he expects is to want more. Yet every time they’re together, Luther feels grounded and Erik comes out of his shell.When the lake house demands attention, Luther asks for Erik’s help. Working side by side, he imagines a more permanent life, one where he stops running. A life with Erik. Now to ask. But the skeletons in Erik’s closet might make this relationship as temporary as all the rest.An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.

    When a young lover is viciously taken from him, he begins to reevaluate his connection with Emilio. Could he have saved the young man, had he resisted the deep seated desire to belong to someone? Lost and uncertain for the first time in his life, his bravado is slipping away. When he’s given his next filthy assignment, he remembers Emilio’s final words to him… “Who will grieve for you when you are gone, Walker?” His next choices set him on a dangerous path where there is no turning back and when an old friend gets in the way, he has an impossible decision to make. Callum Tryst is a dangerous man in his own right. Young and cocky and undeniably one of the finest assassins alive, he goes after a target not knowing that there is one painted on his own back. When he crosses paths with a career sniper, he finally meets his match… or does he? Callum learns the hard way that perhaps the best weapon against his enemy is another enemy. He finds himself asking the question, “If I’ve never ever cared about anyone, did I ever really matter?” Join the pair as they meet out justice as only they know how, in a desperate fight to the finish… and the discovery that the fight is not as they always assumed it to be. Assumptions get you killed… and dead men cannot love.

    James starts his junior year of high school without any friends in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. When he meets Kevin Vincent, he’s too distracted by the promise of new friends to see that Kevin has secrets of his own. Having created an environment where he's feared and admired by his classmates, Kevin finds pleasure in using his good looks and violence to control and manipulate those around him. Secretly, he cruises the gay club scene, turning tricks to earn money so he can party and get high. As Rick’s dad becomes increasingly violent and abusive at home, the two form a surprising and volatile trust. In this battle of wills, their precarious friendship will either keep their lives from blowing up around them or possibly light the fuse that will cause the explosion.

    The money is too enticing. It’s the answer to all his problems.It’s just a some racy pictures and a few suggestive videos, right? No big deal.But there is a catch. This job can’t be done solo, and the one other person who needs to be involved might not agree with Atticus’s desperate plan.Morals and ethics go out the window. Real and fake start blending together.Can Atticus fulfill the obligations of the job without crossing too many boundaries?And what happens when the scene ends and the feelings don’t?

    Taking another new job in another new city, Hunter hopes that maybe, just once, he can finally settle down.Then he meets Kacey Reynolds, a free-spirited student who is as beautiful as he is exasperating, to say nothing of the unbearable arousal Hunter feels whenever the boy is around.Hunter knows he can't give in to temptation. He's managed to stay celibate for two decades, and breaking that streak would make him just as bad as them.But Kacey might prove more than he can resist.**This book contains content of a taboo nature.** Also contains one stern logic professor who's haunted by his past, one sassy FTM trans student with an affinity for makeup and belly dancing, and philosophical musings on different cultures' views on sex and relationships.(Note: This story takes place in a fictional world, the same as in the Shifting Isles Series. There are multiple gods, different names for the days of the week, etc. A glossary is included.)

    Good looks. Good brain. Whatever the challenge: good odds. Except, what happens when those odds change?Dad’s had enough bankrolling Ben and requests him to get a job. The challenge: make enough money to finance Christmas or face telling his little brother the holidays are dead.Then there’s Sebastian. The guy from his politics class who is always coming in second after him. The guy who steals Ben’s idea to collect bottles for quick cash. The guy who makes Ben wonder if any amount of luck will be enough to win him what he really wants…~*~(This story was originally published in the Wish Come True anthology 2015)

     To distance himself from Trevor, even after discovering they weren’t really related, he left for college at sixteen. Moving into the city, building a new life, and running an anonymous blog about what he considers sick, twisted feelings might make Tristan famous on the Internet, but it isn’t enough to get over his obsession. Every time he goes home, a quick glance at Trevor brings it all flooding back. When commitment-phobe Trevor announces he’s got a serious boyfriend during one of Tristan’s rare visits home, the adoring kid brother will be forced to run once again. This time, however, Trevor doesn’t stand back and watch him leave. Instead, he follows him, making it nigh on impossible for Tristan to keep his love a secret for much longer.

    The day he acknowledged to himself that he was gay was also the day he vowed to stay in the closet in order to chase his dreams. The problem is, he never counted on Mason Atley.Sean showed rookie short stop Mason Atley the ropes, both on the field and off. The two forged a friendship which continued as both of them moved through the ranks of the farm system and into the majors. Unfortunately, there’s always been one secret Mason never felt he could share with Sean. Until now.For seven years, Sean lived with the fact that he loved a man who would never reciprocate. When Mason admits that he’s always known he’s bisexual but has never allowed himself to pursue a relationship with a man, will Sean be able to put aside his reservations about starting a relationship with the friend he’d always assumed was straight? And more importantly, will they be able to find a way to stay together when their careers keep them apart more than they can be together?

    Kindergarten teacher Nash Spencer is fresh off a bad break-up. Meeting the handsome single father on the first day of school is the last thing his battered heart needs, but he’s drawn to Bronson. With the help of Bronson’s five year old, Tucker, the men start spending time together. Despite Bronson’s fears of his sexuality costing him custody of his son, he can’t help developing feelings for his son’s teacher. When Tucker shows up to school with bruises, Nash is pulled into the court case, and the custody battle turns into an all-out war. Are Bronson’s and Nash’s feelings for each other strong enough to win the day or will their love become a casualty in Bronson’s fight to save his son?