Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage


C.S. Poe - 2016
    In San Diego. At a convention. For penguin shifters. WaddleCon is the go-to event of the year when looking for your life partner, but Theodore isn’t comfortable with the game they’ve turned dating into, nor does the convention provide for the gay community. A mistake in speed dating table assignments puts Theodore in front of Wesley O’Neill, a handsome and confident model who lets it slip that he’s definitely noticed the spark of attraction between them.A perfect date ends prematurely when Theodore finds an abandoned egg in a bathroom trash can. Unable to leave it behind, Theodore and Wesley play a mad game of cat and mouse across the resort trying to keep it safe, all while growing closer to one another. Wesley may be the forever partner Theodore came looking for, but their relationship won’t work if they don’t make room for a little addition to the family.A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2016 Daily Dose package "A Walk on the Wild Side."

Sympathy


Jordan Castillo Price - 2009
    He proved them wrong. Now he's back at the landscaping business, Potosi and Sons, he shares with his two older brothers—but they seem more interested in getting Anthony to sell out his share than in celebrating his recovery.The oil-and-water relationship between Anthony and his brothers is hardly new. Even when they were kids, Sal and Chip delighted in terrorizing their baby brother with stories like "The Hook," complete with visits to the abandoned Victorian a half mile down the two-lane.Now Anthony towers over his brothers...but he's still the youngest. When the new owner of the Hook House calls an order in, they take a little too much satisfaction in sending him to face his old fears. And learning to open up again to trust, desire—and maybe even love—is far scarier than The Hook.

Eight Nights in December


Keira Andrews - 2007
    He ends up sharing a room again, this time with his roommate’s brother. Quiet photographer Nate isn’t at all what Lucas expects.In fact, he’s incredibly sexy—especially when he invites Lucas into his darkroom...They hide their attraction during Hanukkah celebrations, but behind closed doors, Lucas and Nate can’t keep their hands (or mouths) off each other. Nate’s only looking for a bit of holiday diversion, and introducing inexperienced Lucas to all the fun they can have definitely fits the bill. No feelings. No romance. No promises.Yet they're falling for each other...Eight Nights in December is a gay holiday romance from Keira Andrews features secret trysts, forced proximity, first times, spinning the dreidel, and of course a happy ending.

Stuffed


K. Sterling - 2020
    Nicholas soon would be there.Our heroes are troubled; restless in their beds;While taxes, deadlines and arguments swirled in their heads;A widower-depressed, two teachers-repressed, one couple-distressed,Settle into a cold evening; little hope for relief or rest,When in the living room there arose an almighty ruckus,They sprang from their beds to see what the fuss was.There by the tree stood a man like a tower,He’d come bearing gifts and a whole lot of swagger.The moon caught in his beard and his eyes twinkled like new-fallen snow,And sent a tingle and warmth to their nethers below,When what to their boggling eyes did appear,A gent as swift and randy as his eight reindeer,With a feisty old driver so lively and thick,They knew in a moment they’d be banging St. Nick.More rapid than eagles to his thrusts they came,And he licked, and shouted, and called them by name.

A Warlock's Best Friend


Erin M. Leaf - 2016
    He gets to live with his best friend Leo, far from the machinations of his mother and the witches who want his genes. Unfortunately, his new boss keeps hitting on him. Is there nowhere a nice guy can hide from women who want his body? Leo thinks pretending to be his best friend’s lover will be hilarious. He loves a good joke, and he’s delighted that Dakota finally lives close enough for them to hang out again like they did as kids. So what if they’re not gay? It’s all for a good cause: keep Dakota out of the clutches of a crazy woman. Neither of them expects their charade to feel so real. How were they supposed to know that one kiss would lead to sex, or that true power comes from love?

Counting Fence Posts


Kelly Jensen - 2016
    Henry Auttenberg likes numbers—it’s his job—but he isn’t going to count them all, even if the view outside the rental car is less confounding than the driver, his attractive but oh so obnoxious colleague, Marcus Winnamore. It’s Christmas Eve, and Henry would much rather be home with his family. When the blizzard that grounded their flight forces them off the road, however, he’s stuck with Marc until the storm passes—or a plow digs them out.As the temperature outside plummets, the atmosphere inside the car slowly heats up. Henry learns the true reason for Marc’s chilly distance—he’s not exactly straight… maybe… and he’s been fantasizing about Henry’s mouth, among other things. Confession laid out, Marc is all for sharing body heat… and more. Henry isn’t interested in being an experiment, but as the night and cold deepen, he could be convinced to balance certain risk against uncertain reward.

Introducing Mr. Winterbourne


Joanna Chambers - 2014
    Handsome, amiable, and a renowned sportsman, he is the darling of London society. As far as Adam Freeman is concerned though, Lysander is just another spoiled aristocrat.A wealthy mill owner, Adam has no time for the frivolous world of the ton, but when his younger brother becomes engaged to Althea Winterbourne, he reluctantly agrees to be introduced to society–with the Winterbourne clan’s golden boy as his guide.Resigning himself to a few days of boredom, Adam is surprised to learn that there is much more to Lysander than his perfect surface. But will Adam have the courage to introduce Lysander Winterbourne to his own secret self?Originally published in Another Place in Time anthology.

The Peppermint Schnapps Predicament


Clare London - 2017
    Bill Mason is his boss, the son of the store’s founder, and the object of Frankie’s long-suffering, deeply devoted crush. Bill is steady and sober; Frankie is frivolous and flaky. Or so they seem to each other, until the night of the annual inventory, when they’re trapped together in the Seasonal Gifts storeroom, with nothing but candy and peppermint schnapps to sustain them until they’re rescued. And then the real truths—and something definitely more intimate—emerge!

My Beck Valentine


Andria Large - 2016
    Whoever thought it was a good idea to let Sebastian loose in there has lost their minds. After some craziness ensues, each brother leaves with a black plastic bag of goodies, including Christian. He has never brought toys into the bedroom before, but when Christian brings one home, he and Shea are eager to try them out.

Dare You To


Riley Hart - 2017
    A Wild Side Series prequel novella. Austin Thompson spends most of his spare time reading or logging in extra hours at the LGBTQ youth center where he works. His only standing “night out,” if you can call it that, is his weekly movie night with his best friend, Dare Nichols. Between work and Dare, it’s hard to find time for much else, so when he does try to date, it ends in disaster. Dare thrives on living life on the wild side—surfing, mountain biking, sky diving. If it’s extreme, he’s game. Between sports and spending his evenings at his West Hollywood bar, Dare never sees a dull moment. Still, with all that excitement, most of his favorite times are when he’s tucked away in Austin’s apartment. Probably because he’s the best friend Dare’s ever had. Then the kiss happens and the men realize they don’t want to stop there. As they explore this new adventure in their relationship, Austin realizes the excitement he’s been looking for has been right there all along, and Dare must decide if he can conquer his only fear by risking his heart.

Dylan


A.M. Snead - 2018
     After a drunken night in which he makes out with his gay best friend, Hal -- Dylan is struck with the sobering reality that he may not be as straight as he thought. When Hal convinces him to sign up for Gideon's "Curious Boys" segment, Dylan is both nervous and excited. Until he arrives and finds himself surrounded by the lusty gay porn stars, each of them eager to be the one to usher him across that line that can't be uncrossed. But will it be one of the sexy porn boys who push him past the point of no return—or someone closer to home? **Contains explicit M/M sexual scenes and strong language. 18+ readers only.

Baby, it's Cold


Josh Lanyon - 2014
    Instead, it turned out to be a disaster. But Christmas is the season of love, and someone’s cooking up a sweet surprise…(This story is also available in the COMFORT AND JOY anthology)

Santa Bear


L. Luther - 2020
    It’s loud and bright and just too much. I’ve been trying for years to put a stop to it, but like the failure my dad always said I was, I can’t seem to pull it off. This year though, I have the perfect plan. Then Santa Bear himself makes it his mission to compel me to fall in love with the disgusting holiday.Christmas might not be the only thing that steals my heart this season. Nicolas ‘Santa’ ClausAs long as I’ve been doing my job, Jamie has been one step behind me, trying to tear it all down. He’s destructive, angry, and so fucking adorable. He’s got a past—don’t we all?—and I’m determined to break down the icy walls around his heart and show him what Christmas is all about. I didn’t plan on him teaching me about true love along the way.

Cowboy Up


C.J. Bishop - 2019
    With many of the family members along for the ride, the birthday surprise is sure to excite and entertain. **To learn more about these characters, check out the full Phoenix Club / Cowboy Gangster saga - available in the following bundles: - The Phoenix Club (5-Book bundle) - The Phoenix Chronicles (3-Book trilogy) - The Cowboy Gangster (5-Book bundle) - The Phoenix Wedding (6-Book bundle) - The Cowboy Gangster: Badass Collection (4-Book bundle) *Contains M/M sexual situations. 18+ readers only.

Red Dirt Christmas


N.R. Walker - 2015
    We were technically engaged, not that we’d told anyone. He was happy just knowin’ I’d said yes, and I had some head-clearin’ stuff to work through. Knowing I was good enough for Trav was one thing, but knowing if I was good enough to be a husband and father was somethin’ else entirely.Life at Sutton Station had never been better. Business was strong, Trudy and Bacon’s little baby, Gracie, was a few weeks old now and as cute as a button, Ma’s health was good, and my relationship with Laura and Sam was in a pretty good place. And Travis? Well, life with him was still all kinds of perfect.But, to Travis’s dismay, Christmas at the Station was just another day. Another day of getting up before the sun, feeding animals, fixin’ what needed fixin’, and checking water troughs all while tryin’ to keep out of the blistering heat.And this year weren’t much different. Only that it was Travis’s first Sutton Station Christmas. The fact we didn’t go all out with decorations and celebrations baffled him, and if I was bein’ truthful, it disappointed him too.Which was why I had to make it a special kind of Christmas…NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:This book uses Australian English spelling and grammar. There will be words like brumbies (wild horses) Macca’s (McDonald’s) and a serious lack of g’s on most ing words. There are also run-on hyphenated sentences. It’s just how Charlie speaks.TIMELINE ACKNOWLEDGMENT:(beware of spoilers for book 4 below!)Anyone familiar with the Red Dirt Heart series, will know it spans the seasons. In RDH1 when Travis arrives, it’s summer, RDH2 is autumn/winter, RDH3 is spring and RDH4, being Trav’s pov, is back to summer and spans another year. Christmas in Australia is in summer, so according to the actual timeline of the series, Travis’ first Christmas falls between RDH3 and RDH4, though it is not mentioned.So, like a small snippet of something that didn’t technically happen, this Christmas story is of Travis’ first Christmas at Sutton Station, therefore falls between books 3 and 4. They’re not married, there’s no Milly.A small reminder of where the storyline was up to… Travis has asked Charlie to marry him, but they’ve not told anyone yet. Trudy and Bacon have just had their first baby, Gracie, and Nugget still steals every scene he’s in.