But can beautiful Myst the Coveted accept an enemy vampire as her own? Tehya has spent the last twelve years as an accidental wolf, but is truly a vampire at heart. When she gets injured, Lobo sneaks her inside MoonBound’s headquarters and nurses her back to health…with potentially deadly consequences. Desire collides with danger in “Forsaken by Night,” a MoonBound Clan novella from Larissa Ione! In Gena Showalter’s Otherworld Assassins novella, Dark Swan, Lilica Swan isn’t quite human or otherworlder; she is the best—and worst—of both. She is willing to do whatever proves necessary to save her sister from the seductive and deadly Alien Investigation and Removal agent, Dallas Gutierrez, even bond her life to his…effectively wedding him. But without consummation, the bond will fade. Can Dallas resist his insatiable desire for the powerful beauty? Or will she lead to his ultimate downfall?

     Snow is in the forecast. In a time and place not too far away, Mia Snow is an alien huntress for the New Chicago Police Department. Heading up her expert team of Alien Investigation and Removal agents, Mia's unmatched at battling the elusive enemy among us, and she's the perfect girl for the job. She's seen her brother die at the hands of aliens. She's earned each of her scars. And she'll die before she cries. Now, a series of killings have Mia and her partner Dallas tracking alien suspects—but a sudden blast of violence leaves Dallas fighting for his life. They are ice and fire. The chance to save Dallas appears in the form of a tall, erotic stranger. An alien. A murder suspect. Kyrin en Arr, of the deadly Arcadian species, holds the power to heal the injured agent but not without a price. For Mia Snow, that price is surrendering to Kyrin's forbidden seduction...and embracing their electric attraction. She's walking a knife's edge, risking her badge and even her life. The closer she gets to Kyrin, the more Mia learns about her own heart, her human needs—and the shocking secret that will shatter everything she's ever believed.

     Suspenseful, surprising, sometimes dark, sometimes humorous-these all-new stories will ensure that readers never think of vampires (or birthdays) in quite the same way again. In New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris's "Dracula Night," Sookie Stackhouse is the only human at the annual commemoration of Dracula's birth. But this year, the Prince of Darkness actually shows up-and finds Sookie to be a tasty-looking present. New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher's crime-solving wizard Harry Dresden, of the Dresden Files novels, heads to a role-playing party to give his vampire brother a birthday present in "It's My Birthday Too," only to discover there are some bloodthirsty party crashers who don't share their brotherly love. In "Twilight," Cassandra DuCharme, who appeared in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's Dime Store Magic, knows she has to kill to live as a vampire another year-but finds herself disturbingly disinterested in the hunt. Plus ten more bloody good birthday stories that take the cake.Contents xi • Preface: A Few Words (Many Bloody Returns) • (2007) • essay by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner1 • Dracula Night • [Sookie Stackhouse 4.3] • shortstory by Charlaine Harris21 • The Mournful Cry of Owls • novelette by Christopher Golden50 • I Was a Teenage Vampire • novelette by Bill Crider73 • Twilight • [Women of the Otherworld Short Fiction 7.2] • novelette by Kelley Armstrong100 • It's My Birthday, Too • [The Dresden Files 9.2] • novella by Jim Butcher146 • Grave-Robbed • [Vampire Files] • novelette by P. N. Elrod176 • The First Day of the Rest of Your Life • [The Morganville Vampires: Extras 2.5] • novelette by Rachel Caine201 • The Witch and the Wicked • novelette by Jeanne C. Stein230 • Blood Wrapped • [Henry Fitzroy] • novelette by Tanya Huff254 • The Wish • shortstory by Carolyn Haines265 • Fire Ice and Linguini for Two • [Garnet Lacey 2.5] • novelette by Lyda Morehouse [as by Tate Hallaway ]290 • Vampire Hours • novelette by Elaine Viets318 • How Stella Got Her Grave Back • novelette by Toni L. P. Kelner

    They chat in a bar during a rest stop, which eventuates into a one-night-stand, and ultimately changes the rest of her life. Why do Flint’s brown eyes occasionally glow turquoise, or he growls so much? Imaginations run wild, in this supernatural, romance novella.word count: 27,575

    A werewolf after her pleasure.Nico Moore is the leader of of The Werewolf Society's elite Royal Guard. Aylia Richardson is the witch who calls to the beast in Nico, but destiny has also made her the keeper of a gift that threatens the very existence of his race. To destroy this gift will destroy this woman...the only one he has ever dared to call 'mate'.Note: This series is actually a continuation of characters and plotlines from the 'Vampire Warden' series; and is not a true beginning to a new series.

    As night falls, a strange man appears and casts a spell over them. They are captured and embark on a journey of incredible lust and self discovery.Diana is infuriated, humiliated. insanely aroused. Who do these black-skinned, white-haired, sex-oozing devils think they are making her into a broodmare and sex-slave? She won't do it. Who cares if the damned elves were created as sex toys for a goddess? Or if each and every dark elf that visits her is a well-trained, exquisite lover. Or if Commander Salin makes her mind and body hum with desire and pleasure she's never before experienced? She won't submit. She won't. Will she? Commander Salin's men have all had their turn trying to tame the hellcat swordswoman. To a man, they've brought her to the heights of ecstasy but they've all had to rely on trickery or mystical attraction to bring her to heel. Even now, she refuses to submit and accept her new life. Never has a woman been so much trouble. Never has a woman so fired his blood. He will have her. He must. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be used, pleasured. Taken? PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This ebook contains substantially explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations some readers may find objectionable. This e-book also contains illustrations of a graphic nature that may be offensive to some readers. Readers should be advised that the illustrations have resulted in file sizes in excess of 1 MB in HTML and PDF formats.

     A QUESTIONABLE CLIENT – In this ‘intro’ to the Kate Daniels world, we meet the extremely ‘shifty’ Saiman for the very first time, when Kate takes on the task of serving as his bodyguard to protect him from some very determined—and dangerous—Russian wizards. RETRIBUTION CLAUSE – Saiman’s cousin, Adam—a frost giant and also an insurance adjuster—and his enigmatic partner, Siroun, set out on an impossible mission to enforce a client’s Retribution Clause; that is, to kill the person who killed her. But is their target even guilty? Magic and mayhem and a little personal chemistry will reveal the truth! OF SWINE AND ROSES – A young adult story about a girl, a pig, some magic, and the worst date ever. Chad Thurman is a thug, who carries brass knuckles in both pockets and lays magic traps for intruders into "his" neighborhood. The last thing Alena Kornov wants to do is to go on the date with him. But when her family pressures her, she can't say no. Now the ice-cream is absent, the pig is running for its life, and we won't even mention the dead guy... GRACE OF SMALL MAGICS – Grace has always known she wasn’t like everyone else and that her family has magic abilities. After flying to meet the head of Clan Dreoch in order to fulfill her families’ “duties” as servants, Grace finds herself in the middle of a mage clan war… MAGIC TESTS – A short story in the Kate Daniels universe. Kate recruits her teenage ward, Julie, to search out a missing student whose location spell has her hidden somewhere on campus…

    When he later checks on the cheetah and instead finds a gorgeous, naked woman with an arrow in her leg, he's completely flabbergasted.For six months, Aliyah Carver has been trapped in cheetah form. Taken by poachers who import exotic animals to illegally hunt, she stayed in animal form to avoid detection. She escaped the hunters, but now she faces another problem -- a devastatingly sexy sheriff who now knows her secret.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse.

    But pulling off the Collars can cause Shifters to go mad or kill them outright.In Austin, Jace meets Deni Rowe, a wolf Shifter with troubles of her own—she was deliberately run down in the road, and while her body has healed, she still has episodes of total memory loss during which she retreats into her pure animal self.Jace has never met anyone like Deni. Courageous and beautiful, she volunteers to help him test the Collar removal. And as Deni and Jace work together, they feel the mate bond begin. But can Jace help Deni believe she can heal enough to be anyone’s true mate?This sixteen chapter novella includes a preview of the upcoming Shifters Unbound novel Wild Wolf.

    Homicide detective Trace Dilessio has always considered himself a regular meat and potatoes kind of guy-a red-blooded man who likes his women with big boobs, a nice ass, and legs that don't stop. Aislinn Windbourne is a whole different type than what he usually goes for. And even though he hates psychics - especially those that get tangled up in police business - Trace can't seem to fight his obsession for the delicate beauty who makes him feel both primitive and protective. Years of being shunned in Elf-space because of her half-elf, half-human blood have made Aislinn cautious about opening her heart - until she meets Trace. He beguiles her from the start, and among Elves such a reaction usually means that a couple is destined to form a heartbond. But even as love chases away her loneliness, every time Trace rejects the magic that's part of who she is, Aislinn fears that this human world might be every bit as painful as the one she grew up in.

    2015: the Wonderland series is back, better than ever. The award winning “Taken by Passion: King of Hearts” includes sixty pages of new and expanded, never before published scenes. After being cheated on yet again, full-figured Alice O'Brien no longer believes she’ll find her Prince Charming. She resolves to enjoy men, but refuses to involve her heart. When she literally tumbles down a rabbit hole, she finds she has left her familiar home city of San Francisco. She has landed in a strange and beautiful world, where she meets a powerful and dominant shapeshifter, Jarronn, and his equally fierce and irresistible brothers. By the draw of a card foretelling his kingdom’s future, Jarronn has deliberately lured Alice to his realm in hopes of averting a terrible danger threatening his people. He has every intention of saving his kingdom with his and Alice’s bond of passion, and nothing will stop him from making her his Queen of Hearts. St. Martin’s Press published the Wonderland series in trade paperback only, with the pseudonym Jaymie Holland. Ellora’s Cave published the series primarily in e-book, under the name Cheyenne McCray. Neither version had the new and expanded scenes. Taken by Passion/King of Hearts has won numerous awards and accolades, including the “RT Book Reviews Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Award!”

    . .The world holds great danger for Alec Reynard and his kind. As the dark hollows of his soul threaten to overwhelm him, he undergoes secret medical treatments that allow him to bear daylight. Living a double life as a bodyguard, he must also battle the powerful chemistry that explodes between him and Domini Lancer, a mere mortal -- and, unbelievably, his soul mate. Domini knows nothing of Alec's true nature. But when danger threatens, he kidnaps her to his clan's stronghold to protect her . . . and there, he can no longer hide who -- or what -- he is. As the forces aligned against Domini draw near, Alec wonders whether she'll accept the darkness within him -- or whether she's actually a vampire slayer who's cleverly infiltrated his clan.

    While working the case, Sydney finds herself inexplicably drawn to Kade, fighting the passion she feels towards him. Kade, determined to solve the case and mete out justice, is captivated by the independent, fiery detective. As he attempts to protect her from a very real murderer, Kade grows concerned that the beautiful, but very human detective, could easily end up dead should she tangle with supernatural forces that are beyond her control.The investigation leads them into a dark and dangerous world, deep in the heart of New Orleans, where together, they search for the perpetrators of the Voodoo killings. Sydney soon becomes the target of the killer and ends up fighting for her life and love in the Big Easy. If she makes it out alive, will she give into the intoxicating desire she feels for Kade?Warning: This book contains several love scenes and is intended for adult readers only.

    BUT THEN THEY WERE Bitten by Cupid... -A Daring Vampire thinks she can conquer anything, but when she's paired with a mortal detective, she'll find her life--and her heart--in grave danger...-An innocent woman falls into the arms of a mysterious man when she can't get a killer's terrifying thoughts out of her head...-A stunning beauty should be thrilled when her lost love finally returns, but instead she fears for their immortal lives...On Valentine's Day, some women want roses. But some just want to make it through the day alive. In Bitten by Cupid, New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands and newcomers Pamela Palmer and Jaime Rush present three tales of dangerous desire, where giving in to temptation could turn deadly, and even immortality won't keep you safe from Cupid's bow.Stories included are:Vampire Valentine (Aregneau, #12.5) by Lynsay SandsHearts Untamed (Feral Warriors, #3.5) by Pamela PalmerKiss and Kill Cupid (Offspring, #2.5) by Jaime Rush

    Stalked by kidnappers. Tamra McMillan needs a safe haven. When tattooed bad-ass Kyle Rossini steps into her life, the last thing she expects to find is a sanctuary from her demons in his arms. In fact, everything about him screams danger. But appearances can be deceiving. The tender possessiveness of his touch, the hunger in his eyes, the scorching sensuality of his kiss... He wants to brand her as his for life.Etruscan werewolf Kyle is a loner. The king’s assassin with a killer’s instincts. The last thing he needs is a mate who could be placed in danger because of him. Until he meets the one woman who needs him more than he needs his solitude. When Tamra, battered but not broken, stumbles into his world and tumbles into his bed, she captures his heart. And nothing—not kidnappers or visions of his possible death—will keep him from her.