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.

    When he finds himself the property of Lord Naeven Sactaren, a mage as frightening as he is beautiful, Lark is thrown into a life of magic and quirky friends that force him to change in ways he never thought he could.Inexplicably drawn to his master, Lark struggles against his own fears and desires as he works side by side with the seductive mage. Never has he been so enchanted by anyone, which raises a frightening question: Would Lord Sactaren bewitch his slave in order to lure him into his bed? In a world where sex is magic and lust is power, can Lark trust what he feels, or has he simply been Magebound?

    Once he gets over his shock, Sobran decides that Xas, the male angel, is his guardian sent to counsel him on everything from marriage to wine production. But Xas turns out to be a far more mysterious character. Compelling and erotic, The Vintner's Luck explores a decidedly unorthodox love story as Sobran eventually comes to love and be loved by both Xas and the young Countess de Valday, his friend and employer at the neighboring chateau.

    But in a world where magic is commonplace, sewing enchanted clothes is seen as little more than a frivolous distraction. Paul is hiding a secret, however: he possesses a powerful--and illegal--innate magic that could help him achieve his wildest dreams.Unfortunately, Paul confides in the wrong person--his latest crush, Captain Hector Hollister--and is drawn into a sinister plot that risks reigniting the machinery of war. To make matters worse, the pretty American gossip reporter Paul just met reveals her personal quest to expose a government cover-up may be related to Hollister's magical goals. When Hollister threatens the life of Paul's dearest friend, he realizes that his poor judgement has put not only his family and friends in danger, but also the whole world.The only way to set things right may be for Paul to undergo the dangerous ritual to become Court Magician--the most powerful magician in the country. But is becoming part of the institution the best way to enact change in a terribly unjust society?

    He's desperately short of money the night a well-dressed shih-aan offers to take him home. While Wishbone has heard that shih-aan are dangerous, he doesn't expect to find one of them so dangerously seductive. Rumored to be demonic, shih-aan fought humans to a bloody standstill in a war a decade past. Though peace between the two races is profitable, humans avoid and fear the shih-aan merchants living in Bronlyn Harbor. Wishbone allows himself to be drawn closer to the sophisticated alien whose only name is given as Sir. Wishbone learns the shih-aan's secrets as he uncovers the mysteries of the alien's body, hidden beneath layers of exquisitely tailored clothing. Sir seethes with sexual desires that his human hosts consider blasphemous. And he is a spy.

    But ,Damien has no use for a personal slave. But a bet with his two younger brothers has Damien keeping the boy at his side as a matter of pride. When attempts on his life begin, Damien discovers just how protective the cat-like human can be. This is the story of a young neko who wasn't given the choice to become a slave. Having been captured by hunters who killed his parents and sell slaves illegally to the mines, Kayden grew up with the hunters torturing him into submission, until they finally sold him six years later to a slave market. It is here where the young neko is bought on a whim by a peer of the realm as a birthday gift--and his life begins to change. This book contains m/m relationships and sex between men. There is also a scene of non-consent [rape]. Please do not read if any of these situations offend you.

    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...

    Ancrum's The Legend of the Golden Raven novella, part fairy tale and part gritty reality, follows a boy as he descends into madness. August and Jack weren’t meant to be friends. One is a misfit with a pyro streak and the other a golden boy on the rugby team. But as their relationship intensifies, Jack slowly begins to lose his mind—taking readers on an intimate journey into the fantasy kingdom creeping into the edges of his world.As the novella moves back and forth between a medieval legend and our own, contemporary world, nothing is as it seems. The boys alienate everyone around them as they struggle with their sanity and as Jack’s quest to fulfill a dark prophecy begins to consume them both . . . Devour this companion novella to The Wicker King. An ImprintBook

    If he fails and the Ankylos go to war, the human race will likely be exterminated. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s under pressure to marry and produce an heir. When he mistakes the brothel owner, Kazha Deinos, for his escort prior to the negotiations, the resulting evening makes Jathan realize his life is missing a man who can be a true partner to him.Kaz never met his most important client, and Jathan’s misconception allows Kaz the freedom to give in to desires he’s never let himself indulge in before. But Kaz has a business to run, one that a rival is trying to steal, which will force him to reveal his true identity to Jay. There’s also the little issue of Jathan’s impending marriage. Kaz is not interested in being a boy on the side of Jay’s marriage, no matter how much he’s come to care for Jathan. Will Jathan and Kaz find a way to be together, or will losing the man Jathan’s grown to love be yet another price he must pay for saving the human race?32,900 words

    One weekend. No limits... My name is Foster Golden and I'm looking for a man with a strong hand and a shitty moral compass. I wasn't expecting to ring in the new year with Sage, a man I already know and hate, but I think he might be able to give me exactly the kind of pain I'm looking for.Please review the content warning at the start of the story for any potential triggers. This story has BDSM themes and content.---This book is the prequel that can standalone, but has no HEA. Foster and Sage's story is continued in Dual Destruction, Duality #1

    Inside, two men, lovers, have enacted a plan of revenge, kidnapping the handsome son of the man who wronged one of them. Al, the accomplice, has stalked Rob for weeks, and his infatuation for the young man has grown deeper than he ever anticipated. So much so that he finds himself drawn to protect Rob from the rage and vengeance burning away his partner Jay's insides. Caring for their bound and gagged captive, with each passing day Al finds his power over Rob a potent and irresistible aphrodisiac and his heart dangerously moved. But Jay has no intention of ever allowing the young man to escape. Winner of the Pauline Reage Novel Award of the National Leather Association: International!

    For a pet like him, the only fate left is to be put down. But when Sir Jiat—of the City Guard, no less—visits the pound, he goes straight to Ewan. Jiat prefers the more mature pets and treats Ewan better than he's ever been treated by any previous owner. Ewan sleeps at the foot of his master's bed, not on the floor or outside; he is given toys and other pets to play with and plenty of room to run; and he's fed on a schedule and eats very well. But Ewan's love for his master begins to change, to become something else, something more.Plenty of pets have been killed over the years for acting on the feelings that Sir Jiat inspires, so he dares not express the desire building inside him. And yet, Ewan can't help but notice that Sir Jiat has begun to act differently as well, more doting, treating Ewan almost as an equal. So even though the thing he wants more than anything is also their society's greatest taboo, Ewan resolves that if he must die, he will die having felt, just once, the warmth of Sir Jiat's soft fur pressed against his bare naked skin.

    Pete has just about given up hope of Ash ever fulfilling his promise when one day the end of a long shift finds Ash waiting for him. Tonight is the night. Ash is ready, and it seems the time has come for him to leave his mark on Pete in more ways than he ever imagined.

    For over two years, Michael has been scouring the midwest for buried newspaper articles and obscure medical reports, and now he's finally pinpointed the source of the problem. Too bad he can't exactly go to the cops and tell them his friend was murdered by vampires. Since it's his duty to start wiping out the scourge, he's posing as bait—and he's got a bag of sharpened hickory stakes to do the job.Everything should go smoothly, given the amount of preparation that Michael has put into the hunt. He's got a practiced repertoire of come-hither eyeliner looks and a full blister-pack of the date rape drug Rohypnol. But he didn't count on Wild Bill showing up.Wild Bill is a vision in spiked hair and scuffed black leather—exactly the type of guy Michael would have fallen for…if he'd ever had the chance. Unfortunately, with a vampire in his sights, Michael has no time for an actual date. Despite his best efforts, it seems there's nothing Michael can do to shake Bill loose. Looks like they're in for a wild, wild ride.

    Locked in a careful dance to bring down a corrupt government, Dorjan struggles to balance his grief with Areau’s anger. Just when Dorjan reaches the end of his rope, he sees a familiar face in the shadows, and the boy he trusted a decade before offers him unexpected kindness.Taern remembers the soldier who found him under the rushes and listened to his pleas to save his family. When Dorjan reappears in his life, Taern is both captured by his commitment to justice and terrified by the risks he takes. All Taern wants to do is fix him, but the oncoming destruction has been ten years in the making, and Dorjan doesn’t want his help. Not if it puts Taern at risk.Powers clash and a world's fate dangles between Areau's madness and Dorjan's nobility. While Dorjan fights to save the world, Taern joins the battle simply to save Dorjan, knowing everything hinges on the heart of a man in armor and the strength of the man who loves him.