Find out how Owen and Declan from the Taking Care Trilogy spend their first Christmas together. Experience the warmth, steam, and love of their budding relationship. See your favorite secondary cast in brief appearances. This novelette is best enjoyed after reading the Taking Care Trilogy. Chronologically the first of the three Taking Care Specials.

    It's not that Nate doesn't appreciate the view...he'd just prefer he knew the man in question.Kyle Harper has come to Lake Tahoe to escape the memories of his former life -- one where he was a star hockey player until a career-ending injury shattered his dreams forever. All Kyle wants is peace, and he certainly isn't going to get it with a prickly, stubborn man waking him up, insisting that Kyle is in his cabin.An accidental double-booking and a wary compromise puts the two in close quarters. Attraction heats things up, but Nate's not about to let his libido lead him into making the mistake of getting involved with his unexpected roommate. Kyle, however, seems determined to get under his skin at every turn. Both men soon learn that they can't outrun desire. But lust is easy; it's opening their hearts that's hard. Each will have to let go of the past before they can take advantage of the future the two of them could have together.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Male/male sexual practices.

    When Jace is hired to watch the precocious Rebecca and her adorable little brother Max, this sunshine manny can’t help noticing the dark cloud hanging over their lonely dad. Bringing love, happiness, and cheer, Jace sprinkles so much joy and glitter into their lives, that even the workaholic father gets caught up in his spell. Will one holiday season be enough time for Jace to turn Mitch’s house into a home again? And with the magic of Christmas, will they fall in love along the way, making their family complete?

    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.

    An outrageous suggestion to meet Everett Remington at his family’s home in upstate New York irrevocably changes Mitch’s life. The idea is crazy, right? The last place he belongs is in the family home of the famous chef, but if he wants to meet his deadline and convince his boss he’s right for the online column, At Home With…, he really has no other options.Delayed snow plows, a treacherous covered bridge, and Mitch’s boss finding out he’s snowed in with the Remingtons, creates the perfect storm. When the gorgeous chef invites Mitch to stay for Christmas and document their family traditions for next year’s printed holiday issue, Mitch finds himself in a very unknown place. For one week, he allows himself to experience something he’s never had:A taste of a real Christmas—and a taste of the sexy man who makes Mitch realize how amazing this time of year can be.

    Despite the cold weather outside, things get plenty steamy inside when sparks fly between Hay and his celebrity sports crush. But Hay's been down this road before, and he knows from experience hot connections never turn into the real deal for him. After all, everyone he's ever been interested in has left him for their childhood love. So when Christian's on-again, off-again childhood love shows up at the ranch hoping to reconcile, Hayworth knows he a decision to make. Does he hand over the ball and slink off the field, or does he step up and try to make the winning play? While Hay is set in the Made Marian world, this story stands completely on its own.

    The only real relationship he's ever been in was with the subject of his best-selling book, "Caged," a young man held hostage for five years. Unfortunately, it was entirely one-sided, since Zach was already involved with someone else.So the last thing Brian expects when he goes in for treatment for an injured knee is to develop feelings for his physical therapist. But Jerry seems intent on either avoiding Brian or demanding more than he is willing to give, and Brian doesn’t know if he has the courage to face his past to forge a future.

    Locey - Dressed In Holiday StyleCan the spirit of Christmas save this budding love affair?Clare London - Five Gold BlingsWhere Christmas sparkle leads two lonely hearts.Posy Roberts - Sojourn with YouThis year, a place to stay is the best Christmas gift Sawyer could ask for.Felice Stevens - The Gift of ForeverWhat do you get the man who has everything?AE Via - An Unworthy GiftWhat do the lonely do at Christmas?Word Count: 157,000

    The resulting turmoil is not caused by a bullet but by a blast from the past: Evan’s first lover has returned to visit him in the hospital and deliver some big news.Ten years ago, Dixon Bain walked out of Evan’s life because he thought his family didn’t approve of him having a male lover. But Dixon has discovered that what he thought he knew could not be further from the truth, and now he’s returned to claim the only man he’s ever loved... if he can melt the ice around the edges of Evan’s still-wounded heart.

    But his sister coerces him into standing in line overnight for this year's must-have toy. Supplies prove smaller than expected, and Reece gets trampled in the resulting stampede. Toy store manager Angel tends to Reece's wounds. When Angel discovers Reece's cynical attitude, he invites Reece to spend Christmas Eve with him. Over the course of the day, Angel shows Reece what Christmas means to him. With Angel's guidance, maybe Reece can finally understand the joy of the holiday—and maybe even find love as well.

    A brand-new contract with an NHL team, a nice apartment, the life he’s dreamed about since he was a little boy. He has everything, except the name of the man he shared a drunken, blistering hot night with. Etienne Brideau can’t stop thinking about the night he spent with Adam, but he knows better than to think Adam will want him sober. People don’t fall in love with gawky, rawboned, awkward Etienne, especially not men like Adam Caron, rising hockey star, with his stunning good looks and charismatic personality. When Adam gets back in contact with him, Etienne doesn't let himself hope that they'll ever be more than friends. But the more entangled he becomes in Adam's life, the more he can't imagine letting him go, and when an injury threatens Adam’s career, Etienne knows he’s in too deep to walk away. But Adam has secrets of his own, and more than just their life as a couple may be at stake.

    But now the rich and unscrupulous Mr. Stephanopoulos has a proposition. A previously unpublished Christmas book by Charles Dickens has turned up in the hands of an English chemistry professor by the name of Sedgwick Crisparkle. Mr. S. wants that book at any price, and he needs James to get it for him. There’s just one catch. James can’t tell the nutty professor who the buyer is. Actually, two catches. The nutty Professor Crisparkle turns out to be totally gorgeous—and on the prowl. Faster than you can say, “Old Saint Nick,” James is mixing business with pleasure…and in real danger of forgetting that this is just a holiday romance. Just as they’re well on the way to having their peppermint sticks and eating them too, Sedgwick discovers the truth. James has been a very bad boy. And any chance Santa will bring him what he wants most is disappearing quicker than the Jolly Old Elf’s sleigh.

    Can Otto and Ajax help him find the joy of Christmas again?After tragedy strikes, famous news reporter, Hunter Wiley, flees his London home and his successful career in television. In the hills outside a small Welsh town, he finds his refuge. Building his house helps him grieve, and for two years, he hides from everyone. He’ll be spending another Christmas on his own.Until he finds a puppy, dumped in his woodshed.Otto Markham used to be a player, but not anymore. He longs for a boyfriend, but they aren’t prepared for his long hours as the town vet. He’s resigned himself to being alone.Until he gets a call about a bruised and battered puppy.Not only Ajax heals under the vet’s loving care. Hunter feels safe with the man with the soft Welsh accent and the skilled, kind hands. Otto gives him the strength to let go of the guilt and the courage to move on.The greatest love stories aren’t always easy, but they are the ones worth waiting for.Not Just for Christmas isn’t a story full of tinsel and mistletoe, roaring fires, and sweet kisses. It contains lots of snow, hurt/comfort, a broken news reporter, a hard-working vet, and an adorable puppy with the heart of a warrior.Please read the author’s note at the front of the book for TW.

    You’d be wrong. I don’t have any friends, and Christmas is a lousy time of year. All I wanted was to get away from it all, to the middle of nowhere, and hide. Then the crash happened. Ethan - I’ve always lived surrounded by the woods and nature. I’m happy here. It’s lonely, but I have plenty to do, and it’s nearly Christmas. I love Christmas. People don’t come out this way much, so it was a shock to find a crashed truck near my house, and even more of a shock to find my favorite author in the wreckage. The blizzard gave me no choice, and I brought him to the safety of my home. I wasn’t expecting the grumpy man to find his way into my heart. With Christmas fast approaching can Ethan change Ty’s mind about the festive season, and more importantly about love?

    He definitely didn’t mean to take a nap and get caught by the new owner. But when Alex asks for help Brandon finds it hard to refuse… it’s the season of goodwill to attractive men, or something like that.