Faced with the possibility of being left behind, Jesse vows to care for her young son, though he’s not convinced he can.When Trip Cantrell returns to town, he’s blindsided the instant he’s reunited with his kid brother’s lifelong friend, Jesse. His inability to find happiness in the years he’s been gone, suddenly makes sense. Love’s been waiting at home all along.Life begins to look promising, except for the fact that neither have come out of the closet publicly, and that’s not even their biggest problem. Someone has a secret so shocking they may never find a way past it.Will they be accepted in their small Texas town, or will secrets, lies, and the threat of tragedy destroy everything?

    Whether it's a May/December romance, a second chance at love, or finding a soul mate later in life, these stories prove that it's never too late for love.Stories Included are:Nachos on Saturday by J. Leigh BaileyQueening Out by Mari DonneGranddad's Cup of Tea by Amy Rae DurresonThe Way to a Fisherman's Heart by Tray EllisNo Place Like Home by Kim FieldingIvory Black, Flecked with White by Laylah HunterLoving Again by John InmanFull Circle by Rhidian Brenig JonesStraight Shooting by Maggie LeeHero Worship by Sam C. LeonhardCurtain Calls by Pinkie Rae ParkerThe Bodyguard's Dilemma by Chris ScullyPicture This by Dottie Stratton & Linda JamesHunting Season by AC ValentineWaiting for the Light by Layla M. Wier

    In his professional life, Richard's successful and in control, but his personal life consists of little more than sitting down in front of the television set at seven and being in bed by nine. Then he meets his son Kyle's best friend and roommate, Paul Watkins, the handsome gay son of a former rockstar. Richard's bland, predictable world is thrown into chaos by Paul's sweetly determined pursuit of him. To some Richard's new lease on life seems like a mid-life crisis and Paul's infatuation seems motivated by daddy issues, but to Richard, Paul is his chance to explore a part of himself he's kept buried all his life. With friends, family, and their pasts threatening to keep them apart, what will it take for each to become the other's man?

    First Officer Ryan Nelson accompanies the sickest patients to the planet's surface, where he is put under the supervision of Juo-ta-ri, an apprentice to one of the healers who is helping the crew. The two have barely begun to explore the chemistry between them when Ryan's body betrays him and he falls ill as well. Now it's a race against time to see if Juo can bring the fever down before Ryan's hallucinations kill him.Reprint: This novella was originally published in the Dreamspinner Press anthology Size Matters.Revisit Ryan and Juo in Hot Cargo by Nicki Bennett and Ariel Tachna.

    The police are convinced Michael drowned, but Jamie knows better. No way would Michael swim to his death, especially on a beach with a wicked rip tide. Finding a stranger in his brother’s cottage only deepens his misgivings. Felix Bergstrom is recently discharged from the British Army. Unable to put the past behind him, he takes an unhealthy interest in old acquaintance and millionaire businessman Karl Weston, hoping to catch him up to no good. Michael’s disappearance adds fuel to Felix’s suspicions. Weston’s clifftop home overlooks the beach where Michael supposedly walked into the sea, but Weston has an alibi for that day. When Jamie and Felix meet, the physical attraction is instant. Mistrust keeps them from acting on it until finally all their secrets are laid bare. But time isn’t on their side. Before they’re able to work out whether they have a future, danger catches up with them and threatens to put an end to everything.approx 60,000 words

    No doubt it’s because of his fascination with humans and their culture. For decades he’s been content to observe from the shadows, but then a lonely human wanders onto Rodney’s rooftop one night and turns his world upside down. David Marshall is everything Rodney has wanted in all his years of solitude. Rodney manages to keep his crush and his identity a secret until David needs a gargoyle’s protection more than late-night conversations with a reclusive friend. Will David be able to see past the monstrous exterior to the true person within? Time is running out, and Rodney must try to grab onto life—and love—before it’s too late.

    And nothing makes this pilot fly higher than wrapping himself in his husband Kaden’s arms. He’s thrilled when his grandfather entrusts him with O’Neil Airways, the family’s charter airplane business. With a mix of humanitarian and corporate clients, Rhett plans a bright future where his success improves the world.Elise, Rhett’s mother, begins offering advice to “help” her son through the transition into increased responsibility. As evidence surfaces that her words are escalating into devastating actions, the truth comes out about the death of Rhett's sister Annabelle. Kaden has to race to protect his husband and himself from the consequences of the Secrets in the Air before it’s too late.

    Sentenced to community service for being arrested at a rally, John begins working at a relay service for the hearing impaired. Through his new work he meets Steve, a deaf man, who helps him understand that love comes in all shapes and sizes. Steve and John face disapproving families, clashing lifestyles, and discrimination, but they eventually find a place that gives them the peace they need to learn how to love each other, and to discover that sometimes the sweetest voice is the one you can't hear.

    So when tasked with retouching photos for a big fashion client, a stunning, lanky model mesmerizes Scott and occupies his thoughts and fantasies long after the assignment is finished. Scott soon discovers that the object of his desire is nothing like the backstory he imagined. Despite Jamie Donovan’s aloof and dismissive behavior, Scott struggles to forge a friendship with him, all the while trying to keep his attraction at bay. Will Jamie follow through on signals that he may be interested, or will he forever be the beautiful man in the photograph, an untouchable fantasy?

    Ewyn Kelley Calderone is a mob brat. Both work for the government, at the same agency, yet they have never met. One fateful night, Ewyn walks into the Silver Fox Bar and Grille, a regular haunt of Devin's, and Devin takes a risk to save him from an abusive lover. The attraction flares, instantaneous, and Devin takes yet another risk and makes Ewyn his own.But Ewyn has secrets. Dangerous secrets that create a conflict of interest for Devin, test his loyalty to Devin, and perpetuate murder. When Devin chooses to ignore the danger, their mutual attraction quickly turns to love. Then Ewyn's world explodes around them, becoming deadly at every turn. People are dying, people close to Ewyn, and Ewyn is the prime suspect.Devin thinks the perpetrator is eliminating all traces to himself, in preparation of one fatal strike at Ewyn. And what Ewyn knows, Ewyn won't tell. Despite Ewyn's lack of faith in him, Devin races against time to find the killer, before Ewyn becomes the next victim.

    Evan Murray is working hard to get back to as close to normal as he can after the death of his husband. An attempt on his life shatters the hard-won peace he has achieved. Meeting Ian, one of the detectives sent to handle his case, Evan finds himself feeling something he didn t expect to feel for any other man again-attraction. Evan doesn t believe anyone wants to hurt him, yet with each new attempt, he realises he might be in more danger than he expects. Although he might be in danger, he won t let the unknown person control his life. As he gets to know more about Ian, Evan finds himself drawn to this man who is working to find the one out to kill him. Evan doesn t want to be just another case. There is so much more he needs from Ian...things that include being more up close, personal, and wicked. Ian Walsh finds his professional detachment shattered by his latest case. Evan s optimism in the face of everything, and his guilelessness, makes for an interesting puzzle. His stubbornness, on the other hand, aggravates Ian. Yet he can t help but be captivated. Keeping Evan at a distance has become a problem. The lines between case and personal are blurred, but Ian is powerless to stop what is happening. With each new attempt made on Evan, they are baffled by the randomness of it. Ian will not let anything happen to this man who has captured him with his wicked intentions."

    When the combination of the two walked into his life in Luke, Adam couldn’t help but want him. But how was he supposed to know if Luke felt the same attraction? He had no prior experience, no past encounters, nothing to help him. Not even his sight.One look at Adam and Luke wanted him. Sensual, gorgeous, kind, with a strength that Luke was drawn to, Adam was everything Luke desired. Being in Adam’s arms, showing him the pleasure of a man’s body, being touched, held, and desired in return, had Luke wanting more, had him wanting what he knew he couldn’t have.It didn’t matter to him that Adam was blind, but Adam deserved more than someone like him. Luke was a man with a broken past and falling in love with Adam was a foolish thing to do, especially because Adam would never love him back if he found out what Luke was hiding.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: male/male sexual practices, voyeurism.

    While other subs spend their days trying to find their one true mate, Jake goes out of his way to avoid dominants. He's seen the dark side of soul bonds, and all he wants is to be left alone to tend his small Montana cattle ranch in peace. When an oil company starts buying up land all around town, Jake comes under increasing pressure to sell. A chance encounter brings him into contact with one of his potential mates, Henry Waterstone, son of the man trying to buy Jake’s ranch and a handsome dominant who pushes buttons Jake didn't know he had. For the first time Jake is tempted by the true pleasure of being a submissive. But as Jake and Henry grow closer, a new player in the oil company rises up and threatens to sever their fragile connection. Suddenly the person Jake was most afraid to find becomes the one he’s most terrified to lose.

    After the tragic loss of his parents and sister, Rex has no interest in romance. He's respected in his community and regarded as one of Carlisle's most eligible bachelors, but he's accepted that his life isn't conducive to a romantic relationship, especially as a closeted gay man. Enter Josh Billings, a veterinary student who's serving an internship in town. Josh's deepest passion is helping animals. Romance is the furthest thing from his mind... until the night he meets taciturn, handsome Rex Payton. Chance and an after-hours dance conspire to forge an intimate connection neither man looked for-one neither man can ignore after the dance leads to a kiss. Suddenly romance isn't so insignificant, but it's also not without complications. For this relationship to work, Josh has to decide if he can cope with dating a single dad, Rex has to open his heart, and Ty has to learn to share his dad's affection.

    Through a computer screen, a high-school boy falls in love with his oldest friend; in a dorm room, a college boy opens up to his newest. At a hospital, a young man looks into his future; on snowy Cape Cod, he connects with his past. In the passenger seat of his car, a grown man seizes the day with a soldier; under summer fireworks, he shares his story.Ollie shows us how even the most ordinary days can move us in profound ways. In "The Youth & Young Loves of Oliver Wade," we see that our lives may be just a series of moments, but it's these moments that become our momentum.A stand-alone companion to "The Painting of Porcupine City."