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

    He's flat broke, his dead lover's parents are suing him again and his asshat landlord A.J. Boyd is evicting him from his bike shop, the one constant in Tate's life. He's starting to think things will never look up when sees an ad in the paper for a night and weekend nanny. So what if the guy who's doing the hiring is none other than A.J. himself, or if A.J. makes Tate's blood heat with something other than anger? After having his wife dump him because she claimed a bisexual man could never be faithful, A.J. Boyd has stopped being surprised when life throws him curve balls. Stopped being surprised, that is, until he finds out his ex-wife has died and left him with a six-week old daughter he didn't even know he had. Now he's sleep-deprived, scared stiff, and ready to do something really stupid, like hire the stubborn, infuriating, cocky Tate. And if the tension between them's hot enough to restart the Chicago fire, well, so be it.

    It was deeper now, a bit more gravelly, but it most definitely belonged to the guy I’d spent most of my early teenage years pining after. My first—and unrequited—love. 
 “Troy?” I exclaimed, blinking my confusion as he helped pull my sweater the rest of the way off. 
Troy Jacobs’ gorgeous lips twitched in amusement. “You remember me. Didn’t know if you would.” 
 “Oh, I remember you,” I mumbled. Hard to forget your first kiss—or the first guy you ever loved. A 9,600 word short story about first love, second chances, and family.

    He lost his job, his boyfriend, and his church after one horrifying accident a few months ago. Now it's Christmas Eve, and he's reminded of each of those loses in a heart-breaking confrontation with his abusive father. As Dain is driving aimlessly, he meets Jake, the local sheriff. Despite the circumstances of their meeting, Jake is very interested in Dain, but can Dain let go of the past and learn to believe in love again?

     Building a future… Knee deep in wedding preparations, Hawke and Tate are celebrating something even more important – Matty’s final round of chemotherapy treatment. As they anxiously await confirmation that their son is finally in remission, both men strive to give their little boy a normal life including a new house, playdates with Matty’s new best friend, Leo, and a new support system of men and women who are starting to seem a lot like family. An important question to ask… Meanwhile, Mav is looking to make things official with Eli despite the young man’s busy schedule with medical school. But before he can ask the man of his dreams that very important question, he has to get past Eli’s family first, including a posse of two overprotective fathers, several intrusive uncles and a little girl who just wants to brush Mav’s hair! Figuring it all out… With Memphis, Brennan and Tristan settling into their newfound relationship and our favorite threesome from New York visiting for the wedding, there are plenty of chances for old friends to connect and new bonds to be formed. The best kind of chaos… And of course, what wedding wouldn’t be complete without a little drama including some white hot sexual tension between a not so old grandfather and a certain cocky bodyguard? Add in some more Barrettis, a couple of precocious kids, several dogs, one spoiled cat and a gaggle of new, hot alpha men and you’ve got the perfect storm for a holiday that only the Protectors could pull off! *Includes a special bonus scene at the end of the book! **NOTE: THIS IS NOT A STANDALONE STORY - It features previous characters from all of the "Protectors" series books.*** Book 1 - Absolution (M/M/M) Book 2 - Salvation (M/M) Book 3 - Retribution (M/M) Book 4 - Forsaken (M/M) Book 5 - Vengeance (M/M/M)

    He's desperate but time, like his options, is running out.Rory Kincaid is scared he won't last another night sleeping rough on London's frozen, snowbound streets. With all the homeless shelters full, Rory seeks refuge in the first empty doorway he stumbles across.Finding Rory shivering in the sub-zero temperatures, Jack can no more send him away than kick a puppy out into the cold. A shower, shave and hot drink later, the grubby street kid is transformed into a beautiful young man.As the attraction between them grows, so does a plan that will get Jack out of the mess he's in and give Rory a warm, safe home for Christmas. Sweet and adorable, Rory will make a great fake boyfriend for the festive season - the problem is, neither Jack nor Rory is sure where make-believe ends and truth begins.Warning: this 37k novella contains a camp Christmas tree, a drag queen Christmas fairy called Doris, way too many jugs of eggnog, a closet posh boy, and the sweetest Kiss Before Christmas ever.

    But ten years after high school, he’s still just as miserable and just as in love with the boy who lived down the street as he ever was. Now on a trip home for Christmas he finds out that running away from your problems isn’t always the best way to deal with them, and that for mending a broken heart, sometimes there’s no place like home.

    He spends all season creating magic for others, and for himself, he’s resigned to another lonely winter. There’s a reason he’s known as the Devil in Fairfield Resort’s high-end kitchen, and he has no plans to change that. What most people don’t realize, however, is that Chef Garcia has a soft spot for one man—a half-blind, Russian dishwasher who is the first person in years to make Mario feel. Viktor Popov's life is full of secrets and lies. He showed up in Fairfield with a handful of suspicious papers, no past, and secured a job in the bowels of a resort kitchen. He spends his waking hours washing dishes and trying his best to manage his failing eyesight without anyone taking notice. Once upon a time, he was a man of wealth and reputation, and now he’s living day-to-day, hoping no one will ever take notice. It's been forever since Vitya believed in anything, and these long years of loneliness only proved to him that miracles didn’t exist. At least, until the night when warm hands pulled him out of the cold, and a soft voice whispered in his ear that he mattered. Life isn’t easy, and both men have never expected any different. But maybe, by the soft light of the menorah, both men will finally be able to see that for each other, they’re exactly what they need. To Touch the Light is a 43,000 word holiday novel set in the Irons and Works Universe. This book contains no cheating and an HEA.

    He can't reconcile his faith with his attraction to boys, so he turns his back on Judaism. A college scholarship is Jonah's ticket to freedom from his disapproving parents. Next step: losing his virginity to Christian, the blue-eyed blond man of his dreams. Instead, Jonah has a fateful meeting with Aaron Blumberg and ends up celebrating Hanukkah. Aaron tells him they're bashert—meant to be. But Jonah has doubts. He believes his lack of faith will create a wedge between them. It's up to Aaron to bridge the gap and convince Jonah to take a leap of faith.

     But what happens when the ugly Christmas sweaters come off? When his gorgeous friend Nick invites him to an ugly Christmas sweater party, Joel can't say no. Even though going on a non-date with the guy he's been crushing on forever is officially a Bad Idea. But who'd have thought Nick could look so hot in a Christmas tree sweater with actual blinking lights? When the sweater Nick lends Joel turns out to be baby blue with flying bunny reindeer, Joel feels like a total dork. In fact, he's ready to spend the whole party hiding in the bathroom. But something in Nick's eyes gives him a sudden surge of confidence. If things go Joel's way, he might end up on Santa's naughty list this year. This sweet bit of holiday fluff is for a mature audience. It has a happy ending, no cliffhanger, and a deliciously gooey center.

    Tabloid reports about Hollywood It couple, Devin Delaney and Cristina Marino, breaking up in spectacular fashion keep Andy sane. And then Devin Delaney himself turns up at the gate Andy is working. Against all odds—and because there’s nothing else to do—Andy and Devin begin to talk, immediately connect, and, after Devin confesses the real reason he broke up with Cristina, have a magical night together snowed in at the airport. But the magic ends when Devin boards his flight home the next morning, and Andy assumes it’s over.Then Devin turns up on his doorstep. Andy is game for a clandestine affair at first—who could turn down one of the hottest men on the planet? But he soon grows tired of being shoved in Devin’s closet. As Christmas approaches, it’s clear that this will never work unless Devin is willing to make some big changes. Devin has a holiday surprise in store—but will it be enough?

    Nick Compton owns a small but mighty fashion magazine. He already has enough on his plate, between work and, well, work. There’s no room for a kid in his life but when his sister drops her seven-year-old daughter for an extended stay, he has to figure it out. Just before his niece arrives, Nick meets a blazing hot firefighter. They get on like a house a fire and the sex—scorching. Too bad the he disappeared in the morning. Like smoke. Now Nick’s stuck with a kid he doesn’t know how to manage and without the man he’d love to get his hands on again. Dylan Gil wishes like hell he hadn’t taken his roommates advice and lied about who he was. He’s finally met someone he really likes and can’t stop thinking about. But now he’s too embarrassed to confess that he’s just a second-grade teacher, not a manly firefighter. Good thing that work gets distracting, particularly when one of his brightest students goes to stay with her uncle and all hell breaks loose. Some people shouldn’t be allowed to have kids. If the term “dad pants” means anything it’s that taking care of children and fashion aren’t compatible. Does that mean these two doomed? Or is this the beginning of forever? A contemporary gay romantic comedy by Dev Bentham, Temporary Dad features mistaken identity, opposites attracting, a one night stand and some steamy mm romance. Temporary Dad is part of the Bad Valentine collection, along with Hidden Hearts by Clare London, Quill Me Now by Jordan Castillo Price and Love Magic by Jesi Lea Ryan

    It doesn’t pick up after the end of Book 2, but is a story of what happened to Dom and Seth on Christmas Eve in Paris.--- Midnight Mass might have to wait ---All Seth wants is a Christmas Eve to remember, with the man he loves. When Dom invites him to Paris, his dreams are about to come true. But the man waiting in the apartment they are to stay at changes the course of the trip. To Seth’s surprise, religion is a bigger issue for Dom than he’d thought, and it’s on a collision course with Seth’s atheism.Their first Christmas together might end up memorable for all the wrong reasons.POSSIBLE SPOILERS:Themes: Religion, blasphemy, complicated relationships, Paris, ChristmasGenre: contemporary gay erotic romanceLength: ~ 12,000 words

    Dickens must be twirling in his grave.When E.B. Scrudge, putz extraordinaire and all-around numbnuts, is visited by his dead ex on Christmas Eve, he can’t imagine how his life could sink any lower. But the three ghostly spirits that come along after are even worse! Good lord, a dyke, a drag queen, and rounding out the trio, a big, hunky bear with nipple rings and a butt plug! What’s next?What’s next is a good deal of soul-searching and some hard lessons learned with a dash of redemption thrown in for good measure.And love too, believe it or not. Love that had been simmering all along at the heart of Scrudge’s miserable existence, although he was too selfish to see it—until a trio of holiday beasties pointed his sorry ass in the right direction.

    But just five days before Christmas, his unorthodox methods catch up with him and his world comes crashing down.McBride tries to concentrate on his new day job as security for the visiting Israeli ambassador. He even starts to feel a renewed sense of self-worth when the leader of the Israeli team, the aristocratic Tobias Leitner, takes a bullet for him in the line of duty. But he can't forget the trafficking case, especially when his investigations result in the kidnapping of his own daughter! McBride has no one to turn to for help—no one, except Toby.Can these two very different men work together to bring about a holiday miracle—and heal one another's heart in the process?42,000 words