And fight back or die trying. At his sister’s suggestion, he tries self-defense courses. Little does he know when he asks the man to teach him, he'll be guarding more than his body, he'll be guarding his heart. Aspiring MMA trainer Benjamin is on his last leg, literally. As a wounded warrior, he's scarred from a broken heart that has nearly broken his spirit. So when Jake approaches him for lessons and tells him his story, it touches his heart. The more time Jake and Benjamin spend together, the more they realize they’re becoming best friends. The more time they spend together, the more they realize they can't live without each other. The more time they spend together, the more they realize they’re falling in love. But Jake has a secret, one that could change everything.... They’re step-brothers.

    Growing up in the rural Georgia town of Magnolia Ridge, he's only ever let one person truly know him: his best friend, Chloe. To the rest of the world, they're the perfect couple, but just between them, she's helping John hide in plain sight. Matt Kinsley, a cop from San Francisco, moves to town looking for a slower pace and to reconnect with his Southern roots. Starting over in Magnolia Ridge means taking a step into the closet, but Matt finds that with John for company, he doesn’t mind so much. As the two start to explore a possible relationship, a horrific murder rips the town apart but brings John and Matt together in ways neither could've imagined. Matt must decide where his loyalties lie while John resists the urge to run again. Together, they have to discover who the real devil is before another life is destroyed.

    Can these college roommates fall in love without going out of bounds? Beaten and heartbroken, Jesse Cole is placed in a new dorm room after his last roommate attacked him. Just wanting to be left alone to heal in peace, he's shocked when tall, dark and dangerous-looking Nick Moretti walks in.Nick doesn't have time to tiptoe around his new roommate—he's too busy working in order to pay for school. But something about Jesse brings out his protective instincts. As their cautious friendship grows and becomes loaded with sexual tension, he wants to make Jesse comfortable.Enter the perfect plan: a line of tape down the center of the room. Boundaries established.But as innocent movie nights become hours-long temptation marathons, and whispered chats from across the room delve into straight-up dirty territory, crossing the line has never been so satisfying.

    His father, CEO of HayesOil, passes control of the corporation to his two sons; but a stipulation is attached to Riley's portion. Concerned about Riley's lack of maturity, his father requires that Riley 'marry and stay married for one year to someone he loves'. Angered by the requirement, Riley seeks a means of bypassing his father's stipulation. Blackmailing Jack Campbell into marrying him "for love" suits Riley's purpose. There is no mention in his father's documents that the marriage had to be with a woman and Jack Campbell is the son of Riley Senior's arch rival. Win win.Riley marries Jack and abruptly his entire world is turned inside out. Riley hadn't counted on the fact that Jack Campbell, quiet and unassuming rancher, is a force of nature in his own right. This is a story of murder, deceit, the struggle for power, lust and love, the sprawling life of a rancher and the whirlwind existence of a playboy. But under and through it all, as Riley learns over the months, this is a tale about family and everything that that word means.

    Quinn, however, has apparently decided to make an exception to his usual open-bed policy. He may be an unrepentant connoisseur of one-night stands, but he's not going to disappoint a sweet kid like Aaron by giving him a hot night and then leaving while the sheets are still warm.After Quinn takes a job at Aaron's family horse farm, Aaron spots both the demons and the decency that drive Quinn's frequent brush-offs, and it makes Aaron want him even more. But Quinn is determined that Aaron won't go home with a man who doesn't deserve him, so he starts sending likely candidates Aaron's way. It takes a grim act of sacrifice for Aaron to realize exactly why Quinn's been so skittish, and he’ll have to keep a firm grip on the man of his dreams to keep Quinn from shying away.

    He craves friendship but his self-destructive tendencies cause problems and he pushes people away. Every day he collects glass for the sculptures he makes and every day he dies a little more inside. Until he meets Thomas. Thomas is shy but sure of himself in a way Sasha doesn’t understand. He makes it his mission to prove to Sasha that everyone deserves to be loved, and doesn't give up even when Sasha hurts him. Their friendship becomes more than Sasha ever thought possible. And when Sasha is forced to confront his past he realizes that accepting he is worthy of the love Thomas gives him is the only way to obliterate the darkness.

    Since he was fifteen years old, he's managed to keep the children fed and out of foster care. It takes up every ounce of his energy and the last thing he needs is romance complicating his life further. Rookie cop Bobby McAlister doesn't belong in Tommy’s harsh world, but Tommy can’t push him out. As their unlikely friendship turns into a tentative relationship, they weather the daily storm of Tommy’s life with a lot of laughs and more than a few arguments. Tommy isn't used to trusting outsiders, and he's never asked for help in his life. But when a tragedy strikes the O'Shea family and threatens everything he's fought for, he'll have to learn to do both to recover from the brutal hit.

    A failed writer on food stamps, Wiley works a minimum wage job and barely manages to keep himself and his deaf son, Noah, more than a stone’s throw away from Dumpster-diving.Noah was a meth baby and has the birth defects to prove it. He sees how lonely his father is and tries to help him find a boyfriend while Wiley struggles to help Noah have a relationship with his incarcerated mother, who believes the best way to feed a child is with a slingshot. No wonder Noah becomes Wiley’s biggest supporter when Boston nurse Jackson Ledbetter walks past Wiley’s cash register and sets his sugar tree on fire.Jackson falls like a wet mule wearing concrete boots for Wiley’s sense of humor. And while Wiley represents much of the best of the South, Jackson is hiding a secret that could threaten this new family in the making.When North meets South, the cultural misunderstandings are many, but so are the laughs, and the tears, but, as they say down in Dixie, it’s all good.

    No collateral damage. No unvetted targets.These are the rules Hawes Madigan lives by. Rules that make being Fog City’s Prince of Killers bearable. Soon, he’ll be king—of an organization of assassins— and the crown has never felt heavier. Until the mysterious Dante Perry swaggers into his life.Dante looks like a rock god and carries himself like one too, all loose-limbed and casually confident. He also carries a concealed weapon, a private investigator’s license, and a message for the prince. Someone inside Hawes’s organization is out to kill the future king.In the chaos that follows the timely warning, Hawes comes to depend on Dante. On his skills as an investigator, on the steadiness he offers, and on their moments alone when Hawes lets Dante take control. As alliances are tested and traitors exposed, Hawes needs Dante at his back and in his bed. But if the PI ever learns Hawes’s darkest secret, Hawes is sure to get a knife to the heart—and a bullet to the brain—instead. There’s no shortage of twists and turns in this new romantic suspense trilogy from Layla Reyne. Prince of Killers is book one of three. Fair warning: buckle up, cliffhangers ahead!

    The old gas station isn’t the same one you bought candybars at anymore. Your school doesn’t look familiar. The streets are cracked and broken—and you realize you are, too. Breakaway Ranch isn’t for sale, but the bankers disagree. Like everyone else in the community, Jacob was practically born riding a horse. As a child, his mount fell into a hole and left both of them with shattered bones. He lost his horse that day as well as most of his range of motion below the waist. He left his childhood crush and his home behind shortly after, growing into a powerful entrepreneur who wants nothing more than to never see the city’s sign again. When Dan’s ex outed his sexual preferences to his family, he lost everything. It’s only through Breakaway Ranch that he’s found healing. So when bills start to mount and the loan sharks swim in, he knows he’s got a limited amount of time before he’s out on the street with too many mouths to feed. When they bring in a young man with more money than sense, Dan can’t believe who it turns out to be. Will Jacob confront his past and find comfort in the arms of a long-lost friend? Or will Dan find himself with nowhere to go once again? Find out in Ride On, a gay romance novel intended for adults only. As always, we guarantee a happily ever after—but at what cost?

    He even has a pair with more paint splatters than metal. After his family’s rejection and abuse from a man he thought loved him, James only just gets through the day by painting. He lives in constant fear that he’s not worthy of anything, let alone love.As CEO of his company, Carrington Enterprises, Seth Burns is a take-charge kind of guy, and he is instantly smitten by the artist helping with his newest project. When he witnesses James suffer a panic attack, a protective instinct he never knew he had kicks in. He truly believes nothing is unobtainable—including James—if he’s willing to put in the time and effort.James is shy and confused by Seth’s interest in him as a person. With Seth’s support, can he work through his fears to finally find the true love he deserves, or will someone finally land the crushing blow he won’t survive?

    Between his severe Learning Disabilities, ADHD and past trauma, every day is a struggle. Three years ago, Aaron's world got a whole lot brighter thanks to his new best friend, Ryan Foster and his family. The Fosters have taken him into the fold. That is, everyone except for Ryan's Uncle TJ. When Aaron and TJ meet, sparks fly. TJ, 31, can't stand his nephew's flamboyant, in your face, blue-haired, rainbow loving, best friend. He knows he shouldn't be so judgmental but after spending five years in Iraq and Afghanistan, his patience is buried under a mountain of guilt and loss. TJ's animosity toward Aaron always stresses Aaron out going home to the Foster's for the holidays but they are the only family he has. He just needs to put up with TJ. He can do that, right? When something happens that neither one wants to acknowledge, it may just be the catalyst needed for the sparks to explode. What happens when TJ lets himself see the real Aaron? And, can Aaron let TJ past his defenses, when he's barely holding on. ~ 33,000 words – gay romance, heat level low.

    I never imagined the protector I longed for would be a mob boss who demanded complete control.I shouldn’t have gone to Lucien’s office.Once I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t leave.He commanded me to kneel.Beg.Obey.I couldn’t help myself.One taste, and I craved more.Lucien vowed to protect me from his enemies…But who’s going to protect my heart from him?This MM Mafia Romance is the first book in The Marchesi Family series.

    Cayden. Fearing his love would be considered forbidden and rejected, he ran away to college, determined to move on and forget. Three years later, he is summoned home and comes face to face with the man he tried to leave in the past. The same man he never stopped loving. Samuel Cayden was looking for a fresh start and an escape. What he was not expecting was to develop feelings for his student, Joshua. Yet when the boy returns home a man, Samuel can no longer pretend the pull between them doesn’t exist. Will the student become the teacher, showing Samuel how to open his heart? Will Samuel be able to prove to Joshua that things are not always what they appear? Or will the spark fizzle before it has a chance to ignite? It’s time they got a lesson in love and temptation.

    That’s the plot of a porn, not a romance.” Morton Harper--Harp for short--is 44, divorced, hated by most of his picturesque Colorado town, and more than happy to spend the rest of his life holed up in the cabin he built on Storm Mountain. But when Harp seeks out a massage therapist to help him heal after a car accident, his whole world is turned upside down. Parker is almost two decades younger than Harp, handsome, and full of life--he should be the kind of person Harp hates. Instead, Harp finds himself reluctantly charmed by Parker’s bubbly personality, his patience for all of Harp’s quirks… and Parker’s six-pack doesn’t hurt either. "I know I can trust you. And I know you’re being kind. But I’m rusty at having a friend." Parker James is a miracle worker, both with muscles and with picky clients. But with Harp, he may have met his match. From the moment he sees Harp--axe in hand, glaring at him from the front yard, Parker knows he has his work cut out for him. But though Harp is moody, ornery, and closed off, Parker keeps catching a glimpse of someone who is funny and compassionate... and wounded. As they strike up an unlikely friendship, Parker longs for more--and though Harp has hurts of his own, he’s helping Parker heal his, too. “I’ve never had someone like you before. Someone who wanted to take care of me. Someone who made me feel like I was the most important thing in the universe.” As their sessions progress, both men find themselves falling for the other. But Parker’s confidence was shattered by a cruel ex and Harp is still reeling from a painful divorce and dramatic outing--and their own families and past hurts prove difficult to navigate, even as they come together. It’s undeniable that Parker and Harp make each other stronger and better--but can Parker really reach someone so untouchable? Untouchable is a 275,000 word contemporary slow burn m/m romance with enemies-to-lovers, hurt/comfort, and May/December themes. Please see the copyright page in the "Look Inside" preview to read this work's content warnings (contains minor spoilers).