Andy’s Mom sends him to his childhood home to check on the house for Christmas -- and he can’t avoid memories of the past, especially when Jake shows up on his doorstep to spark a fire in the unheated house.

    While he's gone, Johnnie is busy wrapping an extra special present for his lover, all dressed up in a pretty red ribbon.

    He won awards in 4-H and rodeo competitions from the time he could walk, and he’s happiest in the spotlight. So when he got the chance to be a star—in porn—he took it. He still loves Montana and everything about being a cowboy, but when news of his alternate identity leaks out, he figures he’s lost the town’s goodwill forever. Clyde’s Corner would never accept an openly gay cowboy, even a hometown boy born and bred.Joshua Braintree always had the notion that he and his best friend’s kid brother, Ben, would end up together. Ben’s always been a diehard cowboy, just like him: they need the land and its freedom as much as they need air. So when Joshua learns Ben moved away from their small Montana town to be a porn star in Vegas, he can hardly believe it. He’s determined to finally declare himself and bring Ben home.Despite his longtime crush on Joshua, Ben won’t be as easy to tame as Joshua’s “lost cause” horses. It will take a lot of heart and holiday spirit for Joshua to convince Ben that even old prairie dogs can learn new tricks in the name of love.

    Until he meets Tork. Tork is clever and funny. He makes origami models and reads Dickens. Tork has green hair and makes Adam's heart race with longing. But Tork is homeless and not at all impressed with Adam's attitude.Can Adam see past his fear and arrogance? Can Tork give Adam a chance? Can two such different men turn the world upside down and find out what really matters? Read to find out their story.Content Warning: the story includes reference to and description of self-harming.* * * * *A story from Boughs of Evergreen: A Holiday Anthology

    The Faradays have supported Alex through his struggles with being bipolar. He loves them as he loves nothing else, but this year, his excitement for the holiday has less to do with the family as a whole and more to do with their youngest son, Everett.Everett is Alex’s best friend and the love of his life, but for years, Alex has been consumed by the idea that he is a burden on the family, and worried that someone as amazing as Everett would never truly want a man constantly on guard against his own mind. But last Christmas, with his career doing well, and his life as stable as it likely will ever be, Alex finally let himself respond to Everett’s open adoration—with one condition. A year without seeing Everett to be sure he can stand on his own without Everett’s ready support. Alex needs to know that he can, for his own sake and for Everett’s, because he has already failed once, and it nearly destroyed them both.There will never be a time when Alex is perfect. But this is as close as it gets, and he is tired of waiting. This Christmas, all he can hope for is that Everett still wants him, and that he can be brave enough to keep his promise.

    So when his best friend, Madison, asks him to travel to her childhood home to celebrate Christmas, he can’t refuse fast enough. Scott doesn’t even get along with his own family, so the last thing he wants is to get saddled with her relatives for a whole week of snow and holiday cheer. Madison is good at getting what she wants, though, and before he knows it, Scott finds himself in for a seventeen-hour drive back to their home state of Michigan. Just as Scott is getting adjusted to the idea of having to deal with Madison’s crazy family, another one of her relations joins in for the car trip; her very sexy, very younger brother, Anson. Not only is Anson still in college, but he’s the baby of the family, both of which should make him hands-off for Scott. To Scott’s horror and joy, however, Anson doesn’t want Scott to keep his hands to himself. The younger man immediately makes it clear that Scott is the only present he wants to unwrap for Christmas. Holiday miracles can happen to anyone, or so Scott would like to believe. And it will take true magic for him and Anson to survive the holiday with their sanity intact, let alone for them to find a happily ever after...

    When Office Steve Coleman pulls him over and gives him a speeding ticket, he doesn’t react well. He’s even less happy when he discovers the cop lives next door to his parents’ house. No matter where they turn this holiday season, Steve and Mason keep running into each other, and whenever they talk for more than a minute, they piss each other off. But from wayward dogs to Christmas tree hunts to maple syrup festivals, it proves impossible to avoid each other in the small town. If Mason can see the good man behind the badge, he might just get a cop for Christmas.

    He thinks it’s boring and overly sentimental. With the rest of the household laid up with ‘the flu’, Sol’s planned on using the time to crack on with some work. His mother, however, has other ideas. And so does Sol’s husband, Adam. A stand-alone holiday special featuring Sol and Adam from Checking Him Out. *** Also in this series: Checking Him Out (book 1) Hiding Out - a Hiding Behind The Couch / Checking Him Out crossover novella. (1.2) Taking Him On - Noah and Matty's Story (book 2)Checking In (book 3)

    About to give up hope of ever having a Christmas date, Dan meets Jake, a hot guy with a rock and roll edge. Jake is infatuated with Dan’s sweater but vanishes before Dan can decide if Jake is for real or really in need of an eye-check. After all, no one has ever liked the sweater.Dan’s sweater is rocketed to national attention, when Jake’s radio colleagues launch a hunt for the mystery man in the hideous jumper. Dan jumps at the chance to meet Jake again, and they hit it off in a big way, to the accompaniment of intimate gigs, exclusive clubs, and the paparazzi. Dan falls hard, but despite obvious mutual attraction, Jake refuses to take him back to his apartment. Is the relationship real – or a ratings stunt? After all, Jake has a reputation for cool that Dan, a lowly gym instructor, could never approach. Is a fondness for tacky Christmas clothing the only thing they have in common? Or does uber-cool Jake hide a Christmas secret of his own?

    But they are also times of stress and strife, family drama, pressure and heartache—a potent mix of high expectations and conflicted emotions. Add in power exchange relationships, kinky gift swaps, and unconventional love in a sometimes unforgiving world, and you have a formula for a sizzling anthology of stories that tug at your heart.From Ava March’s forbidden Regency love among men, to Katie Porter’s scorching hot contemporary tale of two women discovering holiday happiness, everyone will find a favorite here. Pervertible toys abound: Lambda Literary Award finalist L.A. Witt’s candy cane, Jane Davitt’s wrapping paper and tape, and Alexa Snow’s Christmas candles all please and delight. Newcomer Elyan Smith and fan favorite Kim Dare both celebrate New Year’s Eve with romantic flair and kinky fireworks, while bestselling author Joey W. Hill’s poignant story of love lost and regained will lead you home.Whatever your desires, we invite you to explore new fantasies and old with these eight kinky tales of holiday happy endings.Ava March, “’Twas the Night”Percival Owen yearns for the nights when he can kneel before his lover, even though no self-respecting gentleman willingly submits to another. Michael wants his first Christmas with Percy to be perfect, but is frustrated by Percy’s inability to ask for what he wants. The gift Michael offers Percy—and that Percy offers in return—is the best Percy could ever hope to receive: his will to submit.Jane Davitt, “Tree Topper”Martin’s new to the scene, and his sub Stan has recently stopped taking him seriously. Their tree has floggers, clamps, and cuffs underneath it, but will they ever be used? Frustrated and confused, Martin knows it will take more than a star to guide him on his way to becoming the Dom Stan needs—but their path to happiness might be shorter than he thinks.L.A. Witt, “Candy Caning”Nate is dreading the annual Christmas visit with his family, during which they will ignore or insult his partner and Dominant. Stephen tries hard to take Nate’s mind off the trip with the promise—and threat—of a three-foot-long candy cane. It’s a race to see if Nate’s resolve or the candy cane will shatter first.Alexa Snow, “Ring Out the Old and In the New”Recovering from a mugging on the London Underground, Evan has barely left the house in weeks. His partner and Dom, Russell, finally manages to drag him outside on Christmas Eve, but it’s the surprise that Russell has waiting for him back home that helps Evan get past his trauma and remember what’s important: being on his knees for the man he loves.Elyan Smith, “Open Return”Fifteen years ago, Zach left the small Midwestern town he grew up in, confused and scared and determined to figure out who he was. Now transformed, he’s drawn back by the memory and promise of the dominant couple he left behind. Laura and Scott are still together, and as the year draws to a close, they explore old feelings and new ones as they discover they’ve all been waiting for Zach to come home.Kim Dare, “His Very Last Chance”Drew screwed up. So when his master, Kingsley, summons him on New Year’s Eve, he knows he deserves the punishment in store for him. Everything changed for Kingsley when he overheard Drew running his mouth to his friends on Boxing Day. Now, there’s only one way he can possibly ring in the New Year: starting over fresh, either with an ending or a new beginning.Katie Porter, “Fireworks”Rachel’s job is taking her to Tokyo, which means leaving behind her lover and submissive, Emma. When she summons Emma for one last hurrah on New Year’s Eve, Emma answers, hoping desperately to be able to break through her ma’am’s emotional barriers and find the spark of love among the glittering fireworks.Joey W. Hill, “Submissive Angel”After Robert found Ange bleeding in an alley, he employed the man in his vintage toy store as an act of charity. However, this Christmas, the eccentric young dancer will offer his thanks—and himself—to teach a brokenhearted Master how to open his heart to love again.

    As the door to the bar opens, blown in by a gust of winter breeze, Cal finds himself locked onto the handsome man who enters. With the Christmas cheer surrounding them, Cal lets his walls down enough to give into the lure of the perfect stranger.

    But with his partner, Dr. Vaughn Bennett, working crazy hours in the ER, it’s difficult to make any kind of plans. Easter was an appendectomy. Thanksgiving, a ruptured spleen. And Christmas had called Vaughn away to work for Doctors Without Borders. So when the calendar hits February 14th, Carter expects it will be just another day when he kisses his man goodbye so he can go and save the world. Little does he know that Vaughn has a huge surprise up his sleeve—one that will change their lives forever.

    The problem? I’m not sure I’m ready for the rest of the world to know I’ve fallen for my best friend. Everyone knows Max is gay. Me? They think I’m straight as an arrow. So did I, until Max and I shared a kiss three months ago that blew that theory right out of the water.Now, by the ocean in Florida, thousands of miles away from prying eyes, I’m finally ready to admit to myself that Max and I have something special. Max has been ready for a long time—and he’s been waiting for me. Really waiting. As in…he’s still a virgin.There’s nothing I want more than to be Max’s first lover. But I know when Max gives away that part of himself, it won’t be just a summer fling. It’ll be for keeps. Max deserves the best. I’m just not sure, when it comes right down to it, that I won’t break his heart.Did I mention I’m scared as hell?Product Warnings: This title features summer lovin’ between two hot men, a secret romance between best friends—one of whom doesn’t think he’s actually gay, and enough heat to set any beach vacation on fire. Be sure to keep the extinguisher handy!

    They have a great relationship with only one minor bone of contention: while Fran is very much a member of Jay's extended family, to Fran's family, Jay is just "his business partner." It's not that Fran doesn’t want to come out to his family; it's more that they don't want to hear it.When Fran's father, an evangelical minister, dies, Fran hopes the rest of his family will be more accepting. This hope is nipped in the bud by his very conservative older brother, so Jay's mother steps in and invites Fran's mother over for Christmas... but will joining Fran’s happy-go-lucky in-laws be too much for Fran's mother, or will they help her see the truth of just how much Jay means to Fran?

     Although a boyfriend wouldn’t go amiss. Someone to share his beautiful B&B with, even if it is in the middle of nowhere and he’s long past the wrong side of thirty. Problem is, Nathaniel’s living with a ghost who thinks he’s cupid, and whose arrows fly a little too straight. Gabriel Wickfield had the unfortunate luck of dying before his time, and now he’s stuck trying to make romance happen to earn his right to move along. Not that he’s bored in the meantime—Nathaniel is just too easy to tease. And also a little bit scrumptious… With the curse reaching its expiration date, Gabriel needs to make a final match this Christmas. Without it, nothing but darkness awaits. Love can conquer all, but can it beat death?