Book picks similar to
Opening Worlds by Cari Z.
science-fiction
m-m
mm
sci-fi
Shackled
Victoria Vallo - 2016
If he doesn’t get an offer to work off his sentence outside the prison’s walls, he’ll be sent deeper into the hellish place and left at the mercy of the other prisoners. Varan only wants someone to do his grunt work for him, but when he sees Matthew, something from his past takes hold of him again. He wants to make the man submit in every way, and the prison warden’s greed makes it possible for him to buy the chance to do exactly that. So Matthew is saved at the last possible moment … only to find himself bound to a man who seems determined to break and possess him, body and soul.
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.
Gyrfalcon
Anna Butler - 2015
In the first of the Taking Shield series, Shield Captain Bennet is dropped behind the lines to steal priceless intelligence. A dangerous job, and Bennet doesn't need the distractions of changing relationships with his long-term partner, Joss, or with his father-and with Flynn, the new lover who will turn his world upside-down. He expects to risk his life. He expects the data will alter the course of the war. What he doesn't expect is that it will change his life or that Flynn will be impossible to forget.
The Tide of War
Lori A. Witt - 2015
Every day, he leads his squadron into battle over Earth’s cities in a seemingly endless war against a vicious alien race, defending his home and his loved ones.Millions of miles away, the Fleet’s Elite Squadron attacks from another angle, engaging the enemy on its home turf. Casualties are high, and the Squadron needs more of the Fleet’s very best. But joining the Elite is a death sentence—a surety Kyle isn’t willing to face. Until a devastating attack wipes out the family he refused to leave.Commander Andrei Dezhnyov, an Elite Squadron gunner, isn’t sure what to make of the cocky new American pilot. Kyle is equally uncertain about the snarly Russian, but as they warm up to each other, their tentative alliance becomes a deep bond—one that endangers them both when a daring and disobedient rescue reveals secrets that call into question everything they’ve ever believed about their enemy. Secrets that their superiors would kill to protect.
Wishbone
Lauren P. Burka - 2010
He's desperately short of money the night a well-dressed shih-aan offers to take him home. While Wishbone has heard that shih-aan are dangerous, he doesn't expect to find one of them so dangerously seductive. Rumored to be demonic, shih-aan fought humans to a bloody standstill in a war a decade past. Though peace between the two races is profitable, humans avoid and fear the shih-aan merchants living in Bronlyn Harbor. Wishbone allows himself to be drawn closer to the sophisticated alien whose only name is given as Sir. Wishbone learns the shih-aan's secrets as he uncovers the mysteries of the alien's body, hidden beneath layers of exquisitely tailored clothing. Sir seethes with sexual desires that his human hosts consider blasphemous. And he is a spy.
Gift of the Goddess
Kaje Harper - 2012
Garvin’s worst fear is realized when he runs home from the fields to find his lover’s forge empty, his tools scattered, and the ground trampled by a band of soldiers. Nyle has been kidnapped and conscripted into the King’s army—a death sentence even for a big smith like Nyle. Garvin is untrained, unarmed, and nowhere near strong enough to take on one soldier, let alone a whole army. His household skills and a way with horses aren't much to work with, but he can't let that stop him. For the first time in his life, he prays to the Goddess for the help he desperately needs. He’s not expecting an answer. Particularly the one he gets. This is a rerelease of the 2012 Storm Moon Press story. It has been edited and polished, but there are no substantial changes. Content warning - contains a brief on-page episode of dubious to non-consensual sex.
Strange Charm
A. Phallus Si - 2017
One last hurrah before the responsibilities of adulthood draw these littermates apart. Galacticaching their way through star systems they encounter more than they bargained for during their stopover at Space Portal Vector 7Z-218. This unassuming station at the edge of the galaxy holds a key, and the space hijinks and absurdities exponentially increase as they try to find the elusive token and solve its mystery. Ajax has always counted on Igor and vice versa, but he never imagined what he discovers. Will either of their futures ever be the same after the games?
When You Were Pixels
Julio Alexi Genao - 2013
Antho is no murderer, but in watching the killer stumble he recognizes something that links them together.When he rescues the assassin in secret, he finds the monster on his screen is only a young man, cursed with the effects of a trauma as outsized as his deadly skill—and somehow linked to the stirring of a terrifying power. Unable to walk away, Antho makes a choice that could cost them both their lives:He takes the assassin home.Revised Second Edition
Solid as Stone
Amylea Lyn - 2012
As a child he was experimented on and turned into something more than human. Now the leader of The Brotherhood, an elite group of soldier assassins, he is given the task of eradicating the man who possibly holds the key to his freedom. When Dr Wesley Folcomb finds himself targeted by the government group that killed his father, he is forced to seek safety from the very assassin sent to eliminate him. On the run for their lives, Wesley and Stone grow close but with such different pasts, can they find love? Or will the danger hunting them cause their relationship to crumble before it has a chance to become as solid as stone?
Marked Yours
Elizabeth Noble - 2011
Protectorates were divided by beliefs and distance. Slavery was accepted and threats both natural and supernatural were commonplace. This became a world where sentries were needed. Trained almost from infanthood, these tough men and women lived in a society within a society. They were warriors and protectors, ferreting out evil and defending the citizens of New Colorado Protectorate from inhuman terrors and, on occasion, human ones. Todd Ruger was born into life as a sentry. Raised by a hard father into a hard life, Todd becomes the consummate sentry, tough, dangerous, and good at what he does. When he wasn't quite into his teen years, he was bonded to a special young slave named Nick. For years their only interaction was through letters. Friendship turned to a sort of courtship between them. Todd lived for the day Nick became of age and Todd's ownership would take effect. That was the day Nick would leave the village with Todd. They'd begin a life together. They'd make a difference. Raised as a slave, Nick never wanted to be special, but nature had other ideas for him. He grew up in a village with other slave children and was taught to be useful to his future master because he a gift ... or curse. The tutors responsible for his upbringing didn't understand what Nick could do, what he was; they were afraid of him. If sentries hadn't bought him, it was likely he'd never have lived to see the age of five. All that changes the day Nick leaves the village with Todd. He's cared for and shown a new, better life with a man who loves him honestly and wholly. But after being together barely a day, Nick is brutally attacked and injured. Though he recovers without incident, Todd's heart fills with revenge. The guardian in him turns into a dangerous, driven assassin, a wolf on the hunt. Todd's obsession with tracking down the men who hurt Nick and making them pay could very well get them both killed. Can they survive and build the life together they've both dreamed of for years? NOTE: This is the third edition of Marked Yours. The first and second editions were released by another publishing house. This story has been revised and re-edited with the end result being a better, stronger story.
Enslaved by a Warrior
Anitra Lynn McLeod - 2012
Tyler is willing to a point, but he’s nobody’s doormat.Blessed Despair has conquered five worlds, but when he retires he finds his biggest opponent is mind-numbing boredom. When Tyler manages to engage him fully, Blessed is pleased with his purchase, but soon he discovers that Tyler’s alien ways push him well beyond sexual gratification.In a desperate attempt to keep their relationship strictly sexual, Blessed uses pleasure as a source of punishment, but all he’s done is dig himself in deeper. Will they be able to overcome their physical and psychological differences, or will Tyler be thrust onto the auction block once more?
Bone Rider
J. Fally - 2013
Misha Tokarev, the love of his life, turned out to be an assassin for the Russian mob, and when it comes to character flaws, Riley draws the line at premeditated murder. Alien armor system McClane is also on the run, for reasons that include accidentally crashing a space ship into Earth and evading U.S. military custody. A failed prototype, McClane was scheduled for destruction. Sabotaging the ship put an end to that, but McClane is dubbed a bone rider for good reason—he can’t live without a host body. That’s why he first stows away in Riley's truck and then in Riley himself. Their reluctant partnership soon evolves into something much more powerful—and personal—than either of them could have imagined.Together, they embark on a road trip from hell, made all the more exciting by the government troops and mob enforcers hot on their trail. Misha is determined to win Riley back and willing to do whatever it takes to keep him safe. When hitman and alien join forces, they discover their impressive combined potential for death and destruction. It will take everything Riley has to steer them through the mess they create.
Only For You
Chad Lane - 2014
David's sheltered upbringing has left him socially awkward, a 80s fashion sense and a stick-thin physique. Matt decides to look out for the daydreaming student and teaches about some of the things he has missed out on. They quickly become best friends. However, David's feelings for Matt grow deeper than just friendship. After a awkward encounter with a girl Matt sets him up with, David knows he only wants on thing. But will David convince Matt to succumb to their desires? Or will it all end in disaster?
Knight Errant
K.D. Sarge - 2010
His new sister, former Marine Eve Marcori, promised his dead mother she'd look after him. To her that means family, home--her interstellar freighter--and a solid future. In four years she has trained Taro extensively; the next step is college. Taro would rather be shot, but he never forgets his debt to Eve, so he means to honor her plans or die in the attempt. When Eve rescues former joy-boy and current layabout Rafe Ballard, death seems the likely outcome. Rafe is so apparently useless that Eve calls him 'the baggage' and appoints Taro his custodian. Irritated into disobedience by his carefree charge, Taro tries to get rid of Rafe. Instead he gets them both kidnapped by the jealous husband Rafe was fleeing. Though they are off-planet before Taro can act, his training may be enough to bring them safely through--but now he has bigger problems. Forced into partnership--and freedom--with Rafe, Taro begins to see him differently. Kind, funny, and caring, Rafe is everything Taro never knew he wanted. And all he can't have. Eve's plans leave no room for a playboy boyfriend who can never measure up, and Taro can't let her down. Caught between the sister he'd die for and the man he's beginning to live for, Taro decides it's time to start making his own plans. And if the new skills aren't enough, he'll give the old ones a try.
Persistence of Memory
J.M. Snyder - 2007
In the process, they erased his memory, destroying his past, his dreams, everything but his name. Armed with that alone, Joah escapes from the facility in search of someone to help him recall the man he used to be. That person is Tobin, Joah's husband, who never gave up hope of finding him again. He refuses to believe that the strength of his love alone won't be enough to bring back Joah's memories of their shared lives, and he's determined to bring back the man beneath the soldier, the man he knows has to love him. But an alarm in the chip blocking Joah's memories was triggered at his escape, and if the chip isn't removed soon, it will shriek his life away. Removing it won't bring back his past, and may destroy the present that Tobin has tried so hard to build between them. Can the love they once shared possibly survive? [Genres: Gay / Science Fiction / Futuristic ]