To Hate and To Hold


Dakota Rebel - 2009
    And to be fair, he hates me right back. We do our best to avoid each other at all costs, except when we feel the overwhelming urge to kick each other’s asses.Which is exactly what happened one clichéd dark and stormy night. Fists flying, thunder rumbling, and lightning flashing were apparently the magic combination to set off a bonding curse someone had set on us.Now we’re stuck in closer proximity than either of us have ever wanted. The fighting is getting worse, but the bond is eager for that energy to change to something way hotter and a lot more dangerous.I don’t want to be anywhere near Ethan, and I don’t want to sleep with him, and I certainly don’t want to be married to him for the rest of eternity…do I?

Laying a Ghost


Jane Davitt - 2006
    When John McIntyre sees Nick Kelley step off the island ferry, he's instantly attracted, and fairly certain that he knows what Nick is keeping secret, because he's been doing it himself for years. When he discovers Nick's real secret he's drawn into a world he never knew existed, one haunted by grief and guilt and ghosts. In the shadowed world of the spirits, Nick's power is all that the ghosts have to help them. But Nick is still mourning the death of his lover in an accident he believes he caused, and John's determined to keep their relationship secret.It's going to take a lot more than attraction and really good sex to solve their problems but will they be lucky? Or will one week be all they have before they're left alone again?

King of the Dark


Ariana Nash - 2020
    "Your love is worthless, it's your hate I need." ~Prince Vasili CavilleWhen King Talos Caville surrendered the war to the elves, soldier Nikolas Yazdan vowed never to serve the royals again. He said the same to the prince who tried to buy his loyalty, and learned the Cavilles don’t take no for an answer. Whipped for his insolence, Nikolas is forced into slavery in a palace full of vicious, brutal royals. And Prince Vasili Caville is the worst of all. Malicious and cruel, the prince is more viper than man, and someone inside the palace wants him dead. Nikolas would kill the prince himself if not for one thing: Julian, the prince’s personal guard and Niko’s light in the dark. If Nikolas doesn’t submit to Prince Vasili and discover who is plotting against him, Julian will suffer. But there’s more wrong in the palace than just the prince. The king is on his deathbed, the ferocious elves are creeping closer to the great city of Loreen, and madness stalks the hallways. There’s poison in the Caville court, and if Nikolas doesn’t discover the real reason Prince Vasili tried to buy him with a bag of coin, the palace, the city, and everything he loves, will be lost forever. King of the Dark is the first book in the slow burn, enemies-to-lovers Prince’s Assassin series. A gay Game of Thrones with a hint of Witcher thrown in, there are triggers, including but not limited to: reference to past abuse, attempted rape, dubious consent, reference to incest, torture, drug use and PTSD. High heat sexual content. The Prince’s Assassin is for 18+ only. Reading order:King of the DarkReign of DarknessCurse of the Dark PrinceThe Cottage (novella)

Forever in One Second


Finn Marlowe - 2012
    Nothing would please him more than to share those stolen moments with the man who, literally, held his life in his hands. First, though, he has to find him. Then convince him it’s safe to come out of his self-imposed shadows.Even if it means playing dirty.Court has no regrets about manipulating that one second of fate to save Dane’s life, but having this accursed power to cheat death isn’t the only thing darkening his lonely existence. The last thing he needs is an eternal optimist shining a cheery light on the dark, tortured corners of his past. Except now that Dane has found him, there’s no shaking him...and the longer Court basks in Dane’s relentless warmth, the more he begins to believe that maybe, just maybe, happiness can at last be his.Distracted by the devilish sparkle in Dane’s eyes, Court begins to forget that there are those who would kill to control his stunning power. And that Dane is the perfect bait…Warning: Beware—features a man with absolutely no scruples about resorting to seduction and cheap tricks to get what he wants. Plus a skittish, supernaturally gifted paramedic who’s about to discover that it’s okay to go along for the ride.

Stone Sentinel


Jex Lane - 2017
    At least that’s the plan. First, they have to convince Warlord Tarrick that Krampus is not only real, but the reason incubi children have gone missing… Note: This novella is told from the point of view of Jet, a gargoyle who sometimes takes the form of a Rottweiler. This is not a standalone story. It is meant to be read after Broken: Beautiful Monsters Vol. 3. 25k words

Amaranth & Ash


Jessica Freely - 2010
    But a vasai’s services are only for the Elai, and they demand sexual satisfaction as well as healing from their beautiful servants. Frustrated with these constraints, Amaranth wants to use his talent to help those who really need it.Ash is a chel. Considered devoid of souls, chel are the lowest of the low. Not content with his lot, Ash steals from the middle class pel. One night he’s caught and brutally punished.A soul in agony calls out to Amaranth from across the city. When he discovers that it belongs to a chel, it only confirms his worst suspicions about the lies of the Elai. Amaranth takes Ash home and heals him, an act of rebellion that could cost both their lives.Amaranth's compassion for Ash soon turns to passion. Ash treats him like a person, not an instrument of sexual gratification. Neither of them have much experience with mutual pleasure but together they embark on an exploration of intimacy and desire that carries them to the heights of passion and love -- and shakes the very foundation of their world. Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations some readers may find objectionable: Intersex relationships, violence.

Who Knows the Storm


Tere Michaels - 2014
    And underneath? Crime, fueled by "Dead Bolt," a destructive designer drug. This New City is where Nox Boyet leads a double life. At night, he is the Vigilante, struggling to keep the streets safe for citizens abandoned by the corrupt government and police. During the day, he works in construction and does his best to raise his adopted teenaged son, Sam.A mysterious letter addressed to Sam brings Nox in direct contact with "model" Cade Creel, a high-end prostitute working at the Iron Butterfly Casino. Suspicion gives way to an intense attraction as dark figures from Nox's past and the mysterious peddlers of Dead Bolt begin to descend--and put all their lives in danger. When things spin out of control, Cade is the only person Nox can trust to help him save Sam.

Fireflies


Ally Blue - 2007
    A young man with powers he's only beginning to understand. In their hands, the fate of two worlds. A childhood encounter with one of the Sidhe sets Joseph Vines' life on a fateful course. Unable to forget the beautiful creature who promised to one day return for him, Joey spends the next twenty years learning, dreaming and waiting. Braeden Shay, a warrior of the Sidhe, has spent those same twenty years watching Joey from a distance, waiting for Joey's heritage to make itself known. When the time is ripe, Braeden steps in to protect Joey from those trying to kill him, and to help him deal with the changes turning his life inside out. During the days that follow, as Braeden teaches Joey to harness and control his newfound power over the natural world, Joey finds himself falling for the gentle, patient Braeden. Braeden, who has watched over Joey for most of his life, is already deeply in love with him. When the forces targeting Joey for death catch up with them, it will take all their magic-and the power of their love for each other-to survive, and to save both their worlds. Warning, this title contains the following: explicit male/male sex, graphic language, violence, and inappropriate use of plants.

Zenith


Arshad Ahsanuddin - 2014
    Despite his misgivings, the chance to get back in the pilot’s seat is too much to pass up, and he convinces his best friend and crewmate, Charles Davenport, to leave the military temporarily and join him as part of the crew of the Zenith, humanity’s first starship.Edward Harlen is a brilliant young engineer, and a key player in the construction of the Zenith to take advantage of the untested technology of foldspace drive. But Edward has his own agenda in joining the project, and a bitterly personal score to settle with his boss, Trevor Sutton, a vendetta of which Trevor is entirely ignorant. When Edward’s sister Stella enters the picture and manages to secure a position on the project, all of Edward’s careful plotting is upset, and she might spell the downfall not only of his plans for revenge, but of the entire Zenith mission.The spark of attraction between Edward and Martin is a complication that Edward can’t afford, but of which he can’t let go. For Edward knows the secret at the heart of the Interscission Project, the hidden potential of the technology that in the wrong hands could become the ultimate assassin’s weapon: the ability to rewrite history, not just once, but many times. As an unseen enemy moves to destroy them, and the body count multiplies in their wake, Martin and Edward must choose whether they will allow the possibility of love to challenge their destinies, or will they instead take up arms in a war to control the most ancient and terrible power in the universe.Time, itself.

Smash & Grab


Maz MaddoxMaz Maddox - 2020
    My standard issued lab badge reads 'Simon' but it really should say 'unexciting nerd with no social life'Don't get me wrong -- I love what I do with a passion, but it doesn't leave a lot of time for much else.Especially romance.While chipping away at my work, I'm suddenly the person between hired cartel muscle and the fossil that will define my career.Which isn't the most insane part of the story.My savior is a chaotic, bat-wielding punk with a bubble gum pink mohawk and a killer smile.In a mad dash to escape the thieves, my knight in studded armor sweeps me across the country while hitting every tourist trap along the way.While smuggling a fossil, might I add.Oh, and did I mention this pink punk can shift into a dinosaur?

Quinn's Gambit


Bellora Quinn - 2015
    As New York explodes with dangerous creatures, their passion goes nuclear.After a terrible magical accident at Berkeley created unpredictable holes between realities—all manner of non-human creatures started popping into our world. These displacements, called RARE—Random Anomalous Reality Events—have taken magic out of fiction and relocated it firmly in reality, resulting in a great deal of chaos and confusion. Displaced elf Valerian works with AURA—the Agency of Unnatural Resettlement and Assimilation—to intercept these beings as they appear in the human world, helping the peaceful ones and subduing the violent, malevolent ones. It’s good, satisfying work, and Val would be happy if he wasn’t so lonely.Quinten is a young mage just trying to get by, but New York isn't the easiest city to make a living. If his methods are sometimes morally dubious, his heart is still in the right place. Of course for Quinn, the right place means firmly locked away, protected at all costs. Living by his wits and sometimes magically-induced luck, he works as a ‘free-lance magic user’, or unregistered mage and small time con—according to the authorities. The last thing Quinn wants is to draw the cops’ attention, but when an Event happens right on top of him, he’s forced to turn to AURA for help. Valerian isn’t at all what he’d expected in an AURA cop, and he certainly wasn't expecting to join forces with the sexy elf, a snarky drow and a bitter incubus when certain individuals in power try to stop the RARE by any means necessary.Things are not all what they seem at AURA headquarters, and a greater evil lurks at the top than anyone could have imagined.

Starfighter Chapter 1


Hamlet Machine - 2010
    One person is the fighter who pilots the spacecraft and his partner is the navigator who directs the way.Navigators come from higher society and are mostly seen as privileged and intelligent. Fighters are men that are known for their violent tendancies, skills in combat, and anger issues.Abel didn't want to follow his politican father into his world and instead chose his own path as a navigator. He's gay and has always had strong desires that he's hidden... until he's partnered with his fighter, Cain.Cain is unpredictable, violent, possessive, and very skilled at what he does. He goes through navigators faster then any other fighter so he's developed the reputation that he's impossible to work with.When Cain meets Abel, he marks him and possessives him in every way possible unknowingly giving Abel exactly what he's been craving for years. Now the only question is, will their relationship grow to benefit them both in this time of war or with Cain's reputation and violent tendancies end up destroying Abel?

Sursein Judgment


Jet Mykles - 2009
    It was supposed to be the ultimate sexual high, except that you have to sleep with the one you desire most. If you don't, your body won't be satisfied and you'll die. Rynn lived, Lynnette didn't, and now her parents want someone to pay. Either luck or Surseine, the god of justice Himself, takes pity on Rynn by putting his trial in front of one of His judges. Sursei are graced by the god they represent with the power to see truth and Sursei Shasertai finds Rynn innocent of murder.But the drug is still out there and Shasertai and the people who travel with him are determined to root out the drug lord responsible for its existence. Shas invites Rynn to join them. He goes willingly, fascinated by the judge who gave him a second chance at life.Rynn might be innocent and straight, but Shas isn't. He's gay, happily so, and very much drawn to the farm boy whose simple innocence is a balm to one who can hear through the lies. What he hears is that Rynn's not gay, so he vows not to get involved. Until another drug, another time, gets in the way...and then he and Rynn will have to deal with the each other's truths and their growing attraction.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices.

Hajiri's Pet


Auburnimp - 2008
    She is has officially retired from writing and the series will be finished by the setting's creator, Michael Barnette, following the story arc the authors originally created. It will be changing publishers. Watch for an update regarding this series on Michael's domain at: http://www.michaelbarnette.comHajiri is a zonewarrior. A former gunwhore who once sold his body for money, he’s looking for the job that will let him move up in the live and die world of the Shinjuku Containment Area.A chance meeting outside a popular Shinjuku club leaves Hajiri in the possession of a corporate high roller’s battlepet. A young human/snow leopard cross genetically engineered to be the perfect sexual partner and bodyguard.The last thing Hajiri needs is a complication in his life. But how can he turn away a person who had been tossed out like so much trash, especially when that man just saved his life?Hajiri doesn’t want responsibility. What Hajiri gets is a lot more than he bargained for when the young man shows him what it means to be a battlepet’s Master.Contains graphic sexual encounters between men, strong D/s themes, toys, spanking and violence.

Kick at the Darkness


Keira Andrews - 2015
    He humiliated himself trying to pick up a cute guy, he hasn’t made any friends at school, and his stupidly hot jerk of a TA gave him a crappy grade on his paper. He’s going to drop Adam Hawkins’ film class and start fresh tomorrow after he’s had a good sulk.But Parker’s about to find out what a bad day really looks like—if he can survive the night.A virus is unleashed, transforming infected people into zombie-like killers. After these quick and deadly creepers swarm campus, Parker only escapes thanks to Adam swooping him onto the back of his trusty motorcycle. Now they're on the run—and stuck with each other.When they’re not bickering, they’re fighting off the infected in a bloody battle for survival. Their only hope is to head east to Parker's family, but orphaned Adam has a secret he’s not sure Parker will accept: he’s a werewolf. Can they trust each other enough to find some light in these dark days?