Especially after a filthy postgame kiss leaves me wanting all the things I can’t have.What's the risk in playing dirty just one time?**A Note from Lauren to Readers,When I finished reading KD Casey's debut novel Unwritten Rules I was so impressed that I asked her to co-write a fun little scene with me between two baseball players. We'd both written baseball romances so this made perfect sense. We had such a great time with these characters that a short scene turned into a sexy, flirty, dirty standalone novella that we love. I hope you enjoy reading Dirty Slide as much as we enjoyed writing it!XoxoLaurenA Note from KD Casey to Readers,I was ecstatic when Lauren reached out to me about potentially collaborating on a story. I loved the Men of Summer series, and jumped at the opportunity to create a new baseball romance. What started as a short story soon grew with the characters (which is one of the joys of writing!). We truly had a blast writing this and hope you have the same reading!Play ball!KD

    The Honourable Aubrey Fanshawe, second son of an earl, is Society. They have nothing in common, until a casual encounter leads to a crisis.  Aubrey isn’t looking for love. He already has it, in his long-term clandestine relationship with Lord and Lady Hernedale. And Lucien is the last man Aubrey should want. He’s a commoner, raised in service, socially unacceptable. Worse, he writes for a disreputable, gossip-hungry newspaper. Aubrey can’t afford to trust him when arrest and disgrace are just a breath away. Lucien doesn’t trust nobs. Painful experience has taught him that working people simply don’t count to them. Years ago, he turned his back on a life of luxury so his future wouldn’t depend on an aristocrat’s whim. Now, thanks to Aubrey, he’s becoming entangled in the risky affairs of the upper classes, antagonising people who could destroy him with a word. Aubrey and Lucien have too much to hide—and too much between them to ignore. Rejecting the strict rules and closed doors of Edwardian society might lead them both to ruin… but happiness and integrity alike demand it.  An Edwardian Romance.

    But Nathan was apparently straight, and Owen was too busy with other guys to take his crush seriously. When Nathan moves back to Bristol after a year away, Owen hears that Nathan has come out of the closet, and he propositions him. Nathan doesn’t want to be just another notch on Owen’s bedpost, though, so he challenges Owen to prove he can be serious: five dates before they have sex.Owen doesn’t think that sounds too difficult. He’s expecting Nathan to find his charms irresistible anyway. But as they grow closer, Owen begins to care more about proving himself to Nathan than he does about getting him into bed.Word count: 31,000 approx

    It’s the kinda town that keeps Buck Baxter, private detective, in business.For despite his fondness for a cold gin and a pipe stuffed with cannabis, Buck is the best gumshoe in Wilde City. Why? Because he has rules: never make friends, never make enemies, and never ever fall in love. That is until the day playboy nightclub owner Holden Hart swings into town. He’s suave, he’s charming, he’s chivalrous… and he’s exactly the kinda man that Buck will break all the rules for.From the romance of the Rainbow Palace atop the Wilde City Tower, to the dazzling debauchery of the gentlemen’s parlor The Velvet Viper—from the history surrounding the sinister convent on the hill better known Hell’s Bells, to the lantern-lit opium barge, The Peking Empress, run by the mystical Madame Chang—could Buck be about to unravel the greatest mystery of them all…The mystery of love?

    Roman, captured slave to Wulfgar, is less than pleased with the thane's acquiring of a new pet, the prideful Aron. Bound to Wulfgar in payment for his father's debt, Aron has never been with a man and has no wish to be now...though his choice in the matter is lost the moment he is bound to Wulfgar. Captured from Roman-held Londinium four years prior, Roman has learned in his time as Wulfgar's bedslave that life can still be sweet, even as a slave. He is intrigued, threatened and ultimately terrified of Aron and the things the beautiful young man makes him feel. The two form a bond greater than any hold another could claim on them and determine, whatever the cost, they will find a way to be happy...together.

    When he tracks a non-sentient construct across the dimensional barrier, he’s sure he’s about to confront Gorvenath again. But the person who bursts onto the porch in a swirl of tuxedo coattails is a monster of a very different sort—but is he Gorvenath’s accomplice or his victim?Monster Till Midnight is an 11,000-word gay romance featuring a hopeful samhainophile, a suspicious LEO, gratuitous candy corn, and a relationship that threatens to be really, really, really long distance.

    Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads.When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.

    When someone dies, how are you supposed to behave? Josh Roberts has no idea. Losing his dad has left him deeply confused. He loved his dad, so why isn't he crying? All Josh can think about is spending time with his boyfriend, Bradley. He can't wait to go to Uni, when he and Bradley will finally get to be alone.Bradley wants nothing more than to give love and support to his grieving boyfriend. But Josh's expectations of a life together next year are putting a lot of pressure on him. He's not going to get good enough grades for Uni, especially if whenever they are in Josh's room they don't get round to any real studying. Why can't Josh understand that?

    Explicit language warning but little erotic content. (11,000 words ~ 43 pages) First published in The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 (2010).WARNINGContains confused lovelorn werewolves and very pretty ex-Goth mermen who are exclusively interested in each other. May also contain fish, Irish mafia, and a shocking lack of tea.

    Years later, he still feels as if he left half of himself on the battlefield. When a new schoolmaster comes to Sleepy Hollow, a spark and a whiskey-flavored kiss ignite feelings he thought were long dead. But in order to be with John, he’ll have to let the past be the past, or risk letting it destroy his opportunity to start over. And even then, loving another man is a dangerous endeavor.Book 1 in the Sleepy Hollow Series (serves as a prequel to the novel Haunted Passions.)

    Best read as a continuation of that story rather than a standalone. Follows HOMECOMING, also starring Pike and Zack and available for free on Instafreebie. No spoilers for other books in the Out of Uniform series or other shorts besides OFF BASE & HOMECOMING!

    When his twin sister, Bronwyn, reneges on the arrangement to marry Anthony Redbourn, Earl of Crofton, Sebastian reluctantly takes her place. At nineteen, Sebastian knows he is getting too old for the female leads, and the male ones are hard to come by. He might feel like he’s in one of Master Shakespeare’s plays, but with his performance as Lady Crofton, he hopes to pay off his late father’s debts. Never mind the danger of losing his head should he be discovered. Sebastian didn’t expect Anthony to be so attractive and alluring—not to mention shrewd. Anthony sees through the ruse, but not being the type of man to care if his lovers wear a gown or a doublet, he is charmed by Sebastian, and offers a mutually beneficial alternative. Fool Anthony’s fellow nobles and court in an extravagant wedding, then retire to Crofton Hall to play Anthony’s beloved wife for a year or two, after which the young, but sickly, Lady Crofton will succumb to a fever, and Sebastian can return to his normal life. Sebastian will need every drop of his acting talents to survive with both his head and his heart intact. Third edition – previous editions published by Dreamspinner Press

    Alistair befriends Brandon, one of his prodigy new recruits, whose smart-ass personality drives him to the brink of insanity when he shows him up at every turn. Through an unexpected bit of witty manipulation, Alistair finds himself drawn down a forbidden path where he shares more than just a similar past with this man. Terrified at the idea of loving another man, but unable to tear himself away, Alistair is faced with the trials of secrecy, jealousy, and the law.

    But wait — Edward “Mitch” Mitchell is no Hercule Poirot, and The Back Passage is no Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Mitch is a handsome, insatiable 22-year-old hunk who never lets a clue stand in the way of a steamy encounter, whether it’s with the local constabulary, the house secretary, or his school chum and fellow athlete Boy Morgan, who becomes his Watson when they’re not busy boffing each other. When Reg Walworth is found dead in a cabinet, Sir James Eagle has his servant Weeks immediately arrested as the killer. But Mitch’s observant eye pegs more plausible possibilities: polysexual chauffeur Hibbert, queenly pervert Leonard Eagle, missing scion Rex, sadistic copper Kennington, even Sir James Eagle himself. Blackmail, police corruption, a dizzying network of spyholes and secret passages, watersports, and a nonstop queer orgy backstairs and everyplace else mark this hilariously hard-core mystery by a major new talent.

    Lt. David Archer is an officer in His Majesty's Navy and a gentleman of Regency Society. He is also hopelessly in love with his shipmate, Lt. William Marshall. David is certain that his feelings, if expressed, would be met with revulsion. Afraid of losing the strong friendship that he has forged with William, he vows to never speak of or act on his desire, promising himself to take the secret to his grave. Although William is young, his innate talent has allowed him to quickly rise above his humble background and gain a reputation as a promising officer. The Royal Navy is his world, and in that world there is no room for anything as frivolous as romance. Then, in a twist of fate, the two men are abducted by a ruthless pirate who finds pleasure in toying with his captives. Thrown together in close quarters and wondering if they will survive, they're are faced with some difficult choices. William struggles with his growing feelings for David and, try as he might to dismiss them, he can't. When David makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect the man he loves, the reason for it is clear and the passion that the men have denied for so long is realized for the first time. Before the lovers can have any sort of life together, they must first escape. After that, they face an even greater challenge is their love strong enough to survive a clandestine life under the ever-present threat of the Navy's implacable Articles of War?