Two days after his birthday, a momentous first date with the man of his dreams convinces Aaron he's in love and ready for marriage. However, Aaron must first address the damage he suffered from a difficult childhood. “You aren’t super macho. More like…sweet and hot.” That‘s how Aaron’s friend and neighbor Michelle, the smartest girl in the class, describes him. She promises he’ll meet someone soon.Aaron is skilled at ignoring an unhappy childhood that left him serene on the outside and insecure, vulnerable and anxious on the inside. From middle school on, he concentrated on getting good grades and running faster but also gained more than enough experience with hopeless crushes on really nice straight classmates. Now, at the start of his last semester of high school, he’s ready for a real romance. With help from Michelle and a pooch named Daisy, he meets three seriously good-looking guys who invite him to join their running club. Daniel, Justin and Matthew are a few years older than Aaron but they quickly accept him into their social group. Life has programmed Aaron to be pessimistic but he gets his hopes up and for the first time he makes a connection with another gay guy. Aaron knows “the course of true love never did run smooth,” but he lets himself forget and believe that it will for him. Naturally, when it doesn’t he blames himself. There Was a Boy recounts a pivotal time when a teenager enters adulthood sooner than he’s ready, meets the man of his dreams and falls in love. Aaron has a lot to learn about sex and love. He’s positive he’s found the right teacher but an additional lesson awaits him and he must confront the wounds of his childhood before he can graduate to his new life.

    He's starting to make it as a graphic artist at last and has a job he really likes at a local café that pays the bills. When a night out clubbing leads to an awkward morning after, he's embarrassed and more than ready to forget all about it. When Talani Enforcers show up at the café, he doesn't know what to make of it all as he's led away in restraints. Standing accused of crimes he struggles to understand, he finds he has an unexpected champion: the Talani warrior and war hero J'nah Quislin. J'nah knows that Matty is his. All J'nah has to do is keep Matty safe from those who engineered Matty's charges and sentencing. That, and get Matty to accept that universe always intended them to be together as one. All it requires is for Matty to return J'nah's devotion and offer his willing submission. Can Matty do it, with all that it will mean for his future? Warning: Contains scenes of consensual sexual acts between two males, in a dominant/submissive relationship Story length: 64,070 words

    Little does he know there's more to the job than meets the eye.Vlatko's trying to find a way to survive. When Rue arrives in his life, Vlatko knows the thief has ulterior motives, but he's willing to risk everything for a taste of Rue's lips.

    So when he goes into deep cover as a male prostitute named Ty, he intends to do everything in his power to see his case to an arrest. He seduces his mark, Demetrius Prado, the second most powerful man in Las Vegas and a human trafficker, but the man is nothing like he expected.The more Gabriel learns about Demetrius, the more twists and turns are thrown his way in the convoluted case leading to Demetrius’s rival, Arden, and beyond. It’s a case of mistaken identities and layer after layer of trumped-up cover stories, and Gabriel is sure there’s no way he’ll ever be able to trust Demetrius with his life… much less with his heart.

    Sterne: Future Bright, Past Imperfect. Albert Sterne, forensics expert with the FBI, is so obnoxious on the surface that no-one bothers digging deeper. When he's sent to Colorado to investigate what turns out to be the work of a serial killer he encounters Special Agent Fletcher Ash and they end up reluctantly joining forces to unravel the case. It's only a matter of duty, though; it can't be more, because Albert doesn't do friendship - and he certainly doesn't do love!

    But Lilith has an artist’s eye, and a gift for seeing what lies beneath the skin. She soon discovers that Blaine is more gaoler than lover, and if the price is right, depravity has no limits.As the weeks pass, Lilith finds that she too is drawn into the malign web that her patron has spun, yet against the odds she forges a strong friendship with the damaged, dysfunctional Finn. In a dark, modern twist to an age-old story, Lilith Bresson proves that sometimes it’s the princess who needs to become the rescuer.Please note that this storyline contains depictions of drug abuse, violence and non-consensual sexual activity.

    When Stefan returns for the funeral of his best friend, he is confronted by painful memories, Chet's recriminations, and a hunky Secret Service agent who seems determined to make Stefan's business his business.

    When She took his parents in a car crash, Chris narrowly escaped the grief with his life, and he has the scars on his wrists to prove it. Seven years later, just as his life is finally turning around, Fate smashes his universe once again, taking his partner and two-year-old daughter and leaving behind a bloodbath.After nearly a year of investigation, with no bodies, no motive, and no clues, the police are giving up. Enter Jason Kingsley, a wickedly handsome private investigator with a troubled past and a disconnected puzzle piece he could never find a place for. Jason has his work cut out for him: his search leads down a road that was never meant to be traveled, where a ruthless and hidden enemy lurks and dark secrets await. With passion drawing them together and sinister forces threatening to tear them apart, Chris and Jason race against time to unravel the mystery and get to the shocking truth that lies behind it all: The Heart of the Jungle.

    With nothing left but each other, they run contraband and smuggle fugitives from the safety of their ship, the Cormorant—with the occasional clandestine mission for the rival Coalition thrown in. Their heists have not gone unnoticed, though even the bounty on their heads doesn’t prevent them from being a thorn in the enemy’s side at every opportunity.Pissing them off? Big mistake. From the day of his birth Prince Jorvik of Akiak learned duty, wisdom, and honor from his father, leaving him ill-equipped to withstand betrayal by his Federation-puppet uncle. He has no love for the greedy off-worlders who plunder his world’s natural resources and enslave his people. To defeat his foe, he needs the cunning, fearlessness, and touch of treachery only outlaws can offer. Two off-world mercenaries make unlikely partners in Jorvik’s quest for vengeance, but the more he learns of them, the more common ground he discovers. In each other’s arms they find passion, heat, and maybe, a reason for living—until their common enemy threatens to tear them apart. To survive, they must take on the corrupt Federation. And win.

    Pip Valentine craves excitement, drama, anything that'll get him away from his family, especially because the ransom is going to hit them where it hurts - right in the bank account. The gang leader who grabs him round the waist as a human shield between himself and the police, holding a gun to his head and hissing threats and promises in his ear and telling him to hold still and behave, is all part of the crazy new Hollywood gangster-film thrill.Lindsay Brown's secret life as a criminal is worlds away from his sensible day job and quiet seaside home. Things never usually go wrong, he's too careful about his plans. This kid wasn't part of any plan, but now he's here making things difficult and Lindsay can't make himself get rid of him - especially not when he realises what kind of reaction the kid has to his gun, his temper, and his issues with control. When love starts to creep up on him, it's unexpected and unwelcome and he fights it as much as he can stand, but it doesn't work. He's hooked. The alternative is domesticity, then - sharing his house with a kid fifteen years his junior who thinks it's okay to leave nailpaint bottles scattered around the bedroom and eat Haribo for a main meal. This is a thousand times harder than robbing banks.Stockholm Syndrome is an unconventional love story where opposites attract like bullets, Russian Roulette is foreplay, and a hand closed tight round your wrist is as good as an "I love you". Sometimes you find your missing jigsaw piece in the weirdest circumstances. And sometimes you've got to really force it into place through sheer stubborn will...

    Then ex-con Kabe Varghese lands in town on parole. When a tourist falls off the mountain, Joe finds he needs the help of this cliff climbing adrenaline junky to solve the case. Will Kabe tear him apart or does Joe need to fall hard before he can start living?

    But even though everyone is living in peace, at least for the time being, Connall isn’t content. Sloan has been keeping him away from business meetings, and Conall begins to wonder if Sloan is growing bored of him already. As a peace offering, Sloan decides to take Conall to Miami for Christmas. Getting away from the cold winter weather is the perfect way to relax and help Connall forget everything that’s happened. He wants to treat his pet, but Conall seems to be slipping further away, and Sloan fears his pet blames him for his kidnapping. Can they find a way to communicate? Or will their first Christmas be their last? A Killough Company novella.

    Space has been colonized, the wealthy fly to work rather than drive, and slavery is legal.Jason’s family has been ripped apart by tragedy. The only way he can save the ones left is to offer himself up as a bondmate. The more he’s willing to give, the higher the price he can command. And Jason is willing to give a lot.Devin is wealthy and heartbroken after the wife he adored walked out on him. He isn’t looking for love. All he wants is a relationship he can control. Buying a bondmate seems like the perfect solution.Yet when he purchases Jason’s contract, Devin gets more than he bargained for.

    Detective Sergeant John Billings is a Quaker. He sees God in everyone and takes other people's suffering to heart. He is an honest and hard working man who has risen swiftly through the ranks to become one of Scotland Yard's youngest detectives. But in his private life he struggles with the demons of loneliness, morphine addiction and homosexuality. While Scotland Yard is in the midst of foiling a Russian counterfeiting operation, Billings is asked to investigate the cold blooded murder of Lord Palmer. The main suspect is a rough looking vagrant called Brendan Lochrane who was employed by Lord Palmer to live as an 'ornamental hermit' in a grotto in his estate. When Billings visits Lochrane in his holding cell, he is moved by the look in the man's eyes. This is not the 'Wild Man' the press have made him out to be. Lochrane is mute, docile and unresponsive. A gut feeling leads Billings to suspect that the man is being framed. But who is framing him? And why? Billings travels the length and breadth of Britain investigating the case. As he pieces together the fragments of Lochrane's extraordinary life, he slowly finds himself becoming embroiled in a web of corruption and deceit which goes right to the heart of Scotland Yard. 'The Ornamental Hermit' is a thrilling mystery which leads the reader on a colourful journey into Victorian England. This is the 2nd book in the D.S.Billings Victorian Mysteries series, but it can be enjoyed as a stand alone story.

    Lake Harmaa.P.I. Lake Harmaa escaped the darkness and intense gravity of Sisu Space Station’s Maze Sector by turning traitor and spying for the Feds during the war.He has no intention of risking his neck by going back down into those depths, where there’s a price on his head and more than a few souls who wouldn’t mind him turning up dead.But when he’s framed for a brutal murder, Lake realizes he must return to the Maze and settle old scores.