Though privately he’s come to terms with his sexuality, publicly Dell’s had to build a façade. When his beloved horse Buttermilk dies, Dell finds himself at loose ends so he decides to pick himself up by his boot straps and do what he’s always wanted to do… open an environmentally friendly organic vegetarian café. Pace Avila, well known music critic, has been drawn to Austin by the live music scene. When friends invite him to check out a fresh new dinner experience, Pace reluctantly agrees to push the deadline on his national column. He isn’t interested in vegetarian food or a restaurant with the cheesy name of Buttermilk Ranch Café, but the moment Pace lays eyes on the stunning cowboy chef, things begin looking up. When openly gay Pace walks into his cafe and his life, Dell realizes he’s tired of living a lie and tired of being alone. When Mother Nature throws an unprecedented storm at Austin, the muddy waters threaten to wipe out everything Dell’s worked so hard to build. He soon realizes that with a man like Pace by his side, love really can conquer all.

    The kid is reeling from his mother's death, and Dare wants to help. He wants to help Ryan out, too. Their chemistry is immediate, but Dare knows he cares for Ryan, too. Dare thinks they'll fit right into his quiet life, but he should know better than to think everything will go smoothly. Suddenly, Dare is involved in a violent domestic violence dispute, a life-threatening situation with a client, and terrible problems with an old employee. Add in a newspaper reporter who makes him headline news, and makes a big deal out of Dare being gay, and all of a sudden, Dare is the one who needs help. Can he and Ryan face all of their problems and make it through together?

    Devastated by Greg's abandonment, Randy runs, taking on a new name and starting over. Randy never gets over losing Greg even when he finds a new partner, Mike. Tragedy strikes on September 11 and the world seems to be falling apart around him as Randy learns Mike is HIV positive. As war rages around Greg, he vows to find Randy to prove that "forever yours" doesn't come with an expiration date.

    A late summer snowstorm is the perfect chance to send his customers down to lower altitude and enjoy a few days of solo strolls and fireside naps. Tanner’s not staying at a high-altitude hut to admire the scenery. He’s got a date to keep with the sort of person you don’t want to disappoint, a date that’ll result in him earning some much-needed cash in exchange for what’s left of his self-respect. But that’s OK. He gave up on self-respect when he picked up the needle anyway. Pyotr didn’t drop into a blizzard to rescue Tanner or to drag Joe back down to the real world. His mission is a lot colder than that. People are only pawns, and spies are only heroes to those who don’t know them. Hermit, addict, spy. Three men, one snowstorm, zero reason to trust. And someone’s coming … Content warning: this book contains on-page heroin use and detox. A brief argument follows the reveal of a character’s HIV status.

    Sterling invites you to Lake Cliff to meet her most beloved heroes in this anthology of her Lake Cliff books.Detective Lane West doesn't do complicated. Especially when it comes to his personal life. Dr. Aiden Sharp is complicated. Complicated in ways Lane can barely get his mind around when he's forced to babysit Aiden as a favor for the District Attorney. After that, things get very complicated.Sage Bradley wants to make the world a better place. He's handsome, smart, wealthy, a talented artist and always follows his heart. Unfortunately, someone wants him dead. Fate brings a mysterious man to Sage's door and a romantic night turns into a tangled web of passion and danger.Can you domesticate an international assassin? Can a criminal be reformed and play well with others?Happily Ever After doesn't always happen right away or as easily as you might imagine. Lavender must decide how much he's willing to sacrifice for love and if he can make peace with his past.Despite his hopes, fate isn't ready to let Lane West settle into his own Happily Ever After peacefully. A new threat comes to Lake Cliff and he's forced to team up with his worst nightmare.K. Sterling's Lake Cliff series is gritty, intense, emotional and at times hysterical. Always sensual, Lake Cliff is K. Sterling at her darkest and dirtiest. If you're already a fan of Lane, Aiden, Sage and Lavender, she's gathered them all for you, so they're right at your fingertips. If you're new to Lake Cliff, you're going to love it here.This series begins with Aiden and Lane then switches briefly to Sage and Lavender before merging into the Lake Cliff books with all four characters.

    When Leon Fisher finds his lover butchered in their bed, he does what any good assassin would do: he gets revenge. But killing the murderer doesn't make the pain go away. Instead, it sends him on a vicious downward spiral into alcoholism and depression. In a bid to force Leon to sober up and regain his edge, his mysterious employers known only as "the organization"send him to a private property in the wilds of Alaska. In the lush and remote Tongass National Forest, Leon encounters Grim, a strange but alluring young man who saves Leon's life after a bear attack, then brings him to a cabin in the depths of the woods to recover. Leon doesn't expect to fall in love with this odd, subservient person, yet he can't deny what he comes to feel for Grim. But Grim has a past he doesn't talk about. A past just as dark and ugly as Leon's. And both pasts are about to catch up with them.

    Now, existing in a new life as Jacob Somerville, he’s again running from fear and memories, only to end up where he started. As Jacob struggles to reconnect with his father and brothers, he realizes that his lover, Craig Zhao, was the only thing filling his empty heart and standing between him and ghosts of the past. It will take the power of love—from his family, from Craig, and from himself—for Jacob to see that his life truly is filled with the promise of what can be.

    R. Martin’s Westross. The Guild of the Cowry Catchers is a dark, nautical fantasy for anyone who loves Robin Hobb, Stephen R. Donaldson, Pirates of the Caribbean, or any high seas fantasy adventure with complex, morally ambiguous characters.These characters inhabit a chain of island kingdoms called Wefrivain. The kingdoms’ querulous lords are united only by religion, a wyvern cult ruled by an eccentric High Priestess. The Temple is under attack by a gang of pirates, known as the Guild of the Cowry Catchers. They’ve been preying on Temple treasure ships. The Temple Police charged with eradicating this menace keep disappearing.Enter Gerard, a young prince, exiled from his small island kingdom for marrying the court minstrel. Chosen by the High Priestess as the new Captain of Police, Gerard is smart, honorable, and a little naïve. To break the pirate ring, he must cooperate with a wily, amoral admiral, who has already tried to kill him twice.As Gerard struggles to protect his talented wife, obey his seductive employer, and forge a complicated friendship with his dangerous coworker, he becomes increasingly aware that the pirates have a legitimate quarrel with the wyverns. Dark secrets lurk in the Temple dungeons, and solving them will cost Gerard far more than his honor.This download includes all 5 books in the Guild of the Cowry Catchers series. This 300,000-word series is DRM-free and carefully formatted. The books are:EmbersFlamesAshesOut of the AshesShores Beyond the WorldThese books are also available in individual illustrated versions. The illustrated version of Book 4 should be done around the end of 2011/beginning of 2012, and Book 5 will appear around fall of 2012. The single-volume download of the complete series is *not* illustrated (file size would be enormous).Learn more about the series on the author's website at cowrycatchers.com.

    In a single tragic moment, he goes from an artist with a loving partner and a future to an uninspired comic book store owner who barely exists. He hides behind a shield of grief, refusing to let Aaron go. He feels guilty for even trying to imagine a life apart from what he’d had.The charming party planner Quinn’s best friend insists he meet on a blind date isn’t someone he’s ready for. Brady Banner walks into Quinn’s small frozen world and turns everything upside down. For years, Quinn has focused on endings, but as Brady begins to thaw his existence, Quinn realizes that one moment can do more than stop a life—it can also start a new one.

    By moving to London, he hopes to find peace and a fresh start. While shopping with a friend on a busy London street, he sees his chance, embodied in a mysterious young man with soulful blue eyes and a bad leg. Eli Burke is broken in his own way, haunted by memories of his lover’s murder and physically scarred from the same fatal assault. He, too, plans to run away—to Africa and a new life working with children. But when he meets Alec, his choice isn't so easy. He and Alec see the real possibility of new love and a brighter future, but they'll both have to face their fears of past pain and find a way to heal.

    That secret led him to develop his professional alter-ego, a sensual, androgynous dancer. When Dare begins his second (and considerably more wholesome) job playing clarinet in a polka band, he meets a young man who takes his grandmother out dancing. But Dare knows the man has his own secret. Jonah Day immediately recognizes the clarinetist. Three years earlier they crossed paths in a therapist's office, but they both abandoned that route to mental health. Neither was ready then to open up about the psychological traumas that haunted them. In an attempt to heal their wounds, Dare and Jonah turn to each other. Understanding and empathy come instantly, accompanied by ambivalence about their growing attraction. But the repercussions of victimization are many. Soon, the very experiences Dare and Jonah share threaten to drive them apart.

    So Seb isn’t really surprised to hear the voice of his dead partner in his head…Do something, love…When Honey won’t leave Phillip’s side, Seb does the only thing he can think of – invites Phillip to come home with him for breakfast. Something in the quiet man touches him, and he wants to know more.And leaving Phillip standing on that cliff is not an option.Originally published in the Burning First Kiss Anthology.

    But when the weekend is over, he walks away, reminding himself that he lives a deeply closeted life for painful, compelling reasons. He keeps his secrets, his heart, and the cause of his crippled arm to himself, but almost immediately he bitterly regrets leaving Kevin. Months later, while Tom serves as reluctant assistant director for his school's production of Rent, he fears that the show's same-sex love angle will somehow out him. Protests against the play begin, one of the student actors is harassed, and during a parents' meeting, Tom encounters Kevin again. This time Tom can't fight the attraction between them, and he and Kevin begin a tentative relationship. Within Rent's message of acceptance and support, and as local churches oppose the play, Tom struggles to find the strength to admit one man into his heart.

     Aspiring television writer Evan Walker has been in love with his best friend since high school, but Kyle doesn't do boyfriends. Never has. Never will. Evan knows it's a bad idea to give in to desire when he wants more than a friend with benefits. He has a new dream job. Now all he needs is the dream partner. Kyle Bennett is a mystery novelist with a severe case of writer's block. He needs a change. He has three days on their cross-country train trip home for the holidays to figure out how to tell Evan he's staying there for good. He also has to write the overdue pages for his editor. Only, he's a little too distracted by the close quarters in their sleeper compartment--and Evan's ass--to get much done. The sparks that fly between them are hotter than ever. Good thing they have a real-life mystery to focus on: why people all around them, including Evan's new boss, want to get their hands on a journal that once belonged to Kyle's grandfather. When a blizzard traps them in the mountains, Kyle and Evan steam up the train's windows and must finally face their true desires. This book contains explicit sexual content and graphic language.

    His every desire is within arm's reach, except the one person Devin has always wished would be his in the end. All it takes is one conversation to open his eyes to a new possibility, one moment to change what Devin believes about friendship and love and one person to change the rules of the game.Sam Marshall has been fighting his feelings for his friend and roommate for two years. When an opportunity presents itself, he makes his move, only to be faced with the very real fear that what he sees in Devin, the potential waiting to be realized, may be more than their friendship can handle.