It was all he ever wanted in his life until…An incident on the job landed him a twenty-year sentence for manslaughter in the San Quentin penitentiary. Rod did ten of his twenty year term and was released from prison to pick up the pieces of his life. While incarcerated Rod earned a reputation as 'Hot Rod', as he traded favors inside. Making allies was something nearly impossible for an ex-agent who worked the streets turning in drug dealers. But he did what he had to do to stay alive.Dr. Foley Russell did his time in the Iraq War with the troops as a reservist, volunteering to be on the front line with a medic unit. Now, back in the States, Dr. Russell worked at Good Samaritan Hospital. He too, was trying to readjust to life as a civilian. The men meet when Rod's sister, Serena, a nurse for the same hospital, intentionally brings the two men together.Both men with nightmarish personal experiences, attempting to regain what they once had. Sanity and a normal life. Will the conflict behind them be too much for them to overcome? Or will Foley's desire for 'Hot' Rod be the driving force in getting Rod back on his feet.In the end it's about betrayal and trust and whether it's possible to let go of your fear and lay it all on the line. Again.

    Budding Navajo cartoonist Lorenzo Maryboy is a hard-working former Marine: staunch, brave, and honorable. Chance brings them together on the road to Marathon, Texas, and passion flares.Just as always, Jesse puts his art ahead of everything. He betrays their growing trust, and that Lorenzo can’t forgive. But Jesse’s found something he loves more than his art, and what he does to win Lorenzo’s forgiveness is far more dangerous than either man understands.

    To do that, he needs a co-driver he can trust. If only he could find one….At the end of a disastrous season, Daniel’s manager replaces his incompetent co-driver with Frank Dufour, a young Canadian whose rally team let him go because he was gay. Daniel’s in heaven, thinking he might find more than just a teammate, but his manager puts the brakes on, declaring Frank firmly off limits. Frank isn’t any more ready to risk his second—and last—chance at making it in the WRC, no matter how attractive he finds Daniel. Sex and cars don’t mix.Amidst a bitter rivalry with another driver, sabotage attempts, extreme weather conditions, and the stress of racing, Daniel and Frank forge a partnership that defies the odds, but just as things start to heat up between them, a family emergency calls Frank away. Will they find their way back together or will the separation and the spotlight be too much for their fledgling love to survive?

    Now, existing in a new life as Jacob Somerville, he’s again running from fear and memories, only to end up where he started. As Jacob struggles to reconnect with his father and brothers, he realizes that his lover, Craig Zhao, was the only thing filling his empty heart and standing between him and ghosts of the past. It will take the power of love—from his family, from Craig, and from himself—for Jacob to see that his life truly is filled with the promise of what can be.

    Still, a man has to eat, and the escort biz pays well, and the sex isn't bad. Actually, Craig enjoys his new job and benefits. That is, until a client called Dee hires him. Dee is a mystery. He keeps his face hidden and prohibits touching, even when touching his mouthwatering body becomes Craig's fantasy.Falling for a customer was never in Craig's plans. But wrapped inside Dee's peculiar requirements, there's a sense of loneliness and pain that strikes deep within Craig, awakening his own need for something more-something with a future beyond one-night stands.

    Kyle hopes returning to the familiar territory of his hometown will do him good, but meeting Emory Brenner at a club changes everything.Anything but familiar, Emory leaves Kyle breathless from the start. There’s just one problem: Kyle wants more than a one-night stand, Emory doesn’t do relationships, and neither man can resist the other. Luckily for Emory, he never has to see Kyle again. Or so Emory thinks until he runs into him while volunteering at the GLBT Center.Kyle makes Emory want things he never thought he could have and chips away at secrets Emory has kept locked away for years. On the surface, Emory’s recovered from his past: he has a job at a record store and a roof over his head. But putting his trust in another person, having a relationship, means opening himself to more pain—and that is a risk he can’t take.

    Their worlds couldn’t be further apart. Cade is quiet, serious, and determined to succeed; Aiden's a party-loving frat boy. Cade comes from a rough home and worked hard to get the scholarships that make it possible for him to attend college; Aiden's had it all thrown in his lap by supportive, kind, and wealthy parents. Cade wants nothing to do with Aiden, but from the moment they meet, Aiden is determined to find a way to bring their different worlds together. Aiden manages to persuade Cade he’s a decent guy, and a tentative friendship becomes much more. But a trip to Aiden's family cottage puts Cade in the path of a ghost from his past, and a dark secret he never expected to face again. Cade did what he had to do to escape his dead-end life, but now he sees he didn’t leave it as far behind him as he thought.

    When his diving partner suffers a nearly fatal injury, Blake is devastated and walks away from everything he’d worked so hard for. Two months later, though, his coach finds him a replacement partner in an attempt to coax him back into the water. The only problem? His new partner is Nick Freeman. Despite his reputation for being cocky and impossible to work with, their coach thinks Nick would be the perfect match for Blake. Too bad the two can’t seem to get it together long enough to find out. Desperate, their coach hatches a plan that leaves them handcuffed together for a full week. Will the scheme to get them in sync take them to Rio, or will they be riding the board on their own?

    Now, Morgan has a new life. He is engaged to Jase, a tempestuous and passionate Hollywood actor, and his career as an assistant movie director is thriving. Then Shae walks back into his life. It is clear that he is still deeply attracted to Shae and that feeling is returned. Unfortunately everyone else can see it, including his fianc . As Morgan and Shae get to know each other again, they discover the extent that friends meddled in their lives to keep them apart. Morgan finds he cannot deny he is still in love with Shae, but he is engaged. Shae has secrets of his own he's not prepared to share. Morgan has some hard decisions to make as he struggles not to hurt the men he cares about.

    He’s never seen this man in his life, and he’s not prepared when he finds out what they have in common—their boyfriend, Jake. Make that ex-boyfriend. With the jerk out of the picture, Zach hurries after the stranger to apologize… which quickly leads to some sizzling hot revenge sex.Despite starting on the wrong foot, Nathan Forrester can’t get enough of the sexy movie theater owner. Still, he’s jaded and distrustful—especially when Jake keeps materializing in Zach’s presence despite Zach insisting that relationship is over.With a devious ex-boyfriend trying to sabotage their fledgling relationship, Zach and Nathan need to learn to trust each other, or they’ll both wind up with nothing.This 61,000 word novel was previously published, and has been revised to include an extended ending.

    But Brian has spent his whole life being the invisible man, and he's used to looking below the surface. What he sees in Talker is a fragile and lovable human being. Brian is outwardly straight, but Talker is desperate for love, and when Talker's behavior leads to some painful consequences, Brian is forced to come out of his closet-in dramatic fashion. He'll do anything to make sure Talker sees that he's the Prince Charming Talker has always needed.

    He feels even more guilty when he finds Peter has prepared a special dinner for him, complete with a Sweetest Day cake – and David doesn’t even consider Sweetest Day a real holiday. But after nearly twenty years together, David knows just how to make things up to Peter…

    One setback after another has slowly whittled away any hope he’d been harboring to turn the tides. Having time for little else in life, Cain’s guilt over his failure to protect the home of those who reside within the walls of La Terraza has crippled his spirit. On the partnership fast-track at the flashy architectural firm of Hamilton-Bach, Henry Abrams is new in town, a little lonely and looking for inspiration. Tired of games and longing for something real, Henry discovers the road to happiness could lie in the arms of the sad, uncomplicated Cain Elliott. Discovering that Hamilton-Bach represents the mysterious entrepreneur attempting to purchase La Terraza, combined with the self-doubt and mistrust over a love that develops too fast, leave both men struggling to decide whether or not they can truly find…Love in La Terraza.

    He no longer has the energy to deal with mean classmates, inner doubt, and fear of familial rejection, so he takes a razor to his wrist. When he wakes up in the hospital, Shiloh meets Travis Kahn, the EMT who saved him and didn’t leave his side.Travis is handsome, smart, and funny—the type of guy Shiloh would never be brave enough to approach. But his near-death experience has an unusual side effect: the life that flashed before his eyes wasn’t the one he had already lived, but rather the one he could live. With visions of a future by Travis’s side, Shiloh will find the strength to confront his fears and build a life worth fighting for.Word Count: 18,388Edition: 2ndA story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar collection Heartwarming.

    After his initial consult, therapist Tom Langois believes he’ll never see Kevin again—but Kevin turns up three years later to make repairs on Tom’s new house.Kevin and Tom become fast friends, and Tom begins to suspect Kevin may be interested in more than friendship. However, Kevin remains haunted by something from his childhood—something so terrible he blocked it from his mind. These suppressed memories make it impossible for Kevin to get close to anyone without panicking and lashing out, sometimes violently. But as his past begins to surface, it becomes apparent that Kevin may hold the key to a twenty-five-year-old mystery: what happened to Billy?