They're best friends through thick and thin until a practical joke leads Nate to a surprise revelation: If I had known just how thoroughly it would turn my world upside down, I would never have kissed Andy in that damned banquet room. I would have kissed him a hell of a lot sooner. Part of the Dreamspinner Press 'To Have and To Hold' daily romance series

    When he stumbles upon a convenience store, he breaks in to steal food. A young store clerk, Jake, confronts him, and they get into a fight that ends with Cal being knocked unconscious. He wakes in the home of Jake’s Uncle Gary, the owner of the convenience store. Realizing Cal needs help, Gary tries to communicate with him, but despite Cal’s efforts, he can’t bring himself to speak. Instead, he writes down his experiences. Horrified by the perverse cruelty Cal endured, Gary takes him to the police, who track down his tormentor.Abandoned by his parents before his abduction, Cal doesn’t have anywhere to go, so Gary and his wife eagerly welcome him into their home. He feels fortunate to be with such caring people—something he’s never had before. Despite their help, he still can’t find his voice, and he wonders if he ever will. And Jake certainly isn’t making things any easier. It’s clear he doesn’t want Cal to be part of their family. But the more Cal gets to know him, the more he realizes Jake might be the very person who can heal the deep wounds left by his horrifying past.

    Clumsy, socially inept, and a lot tongue-tied around cute guys, he just doesn't get out much. Meeting people on the Internet is much easier, especially when it's someone like "Wheels," who's really fun to talk to. Meeting Brian, aka Wheels, in person is a lot more intimidating at first, but Gordy soon sees past the wheelchair Brian is bound to and finds the most wonderful match, someone who really likes him, insecurities and all. With a good dose of heat and a lot of heartwarming fun, Gordy finds out through Brian that maybe he's not such a disaster after all. At least not when it comes to love.

    Having taken New York by storm in his late teens as a hot-shot visual artist, he single-handedly partied away all his success by his mid-twenties. Now, with one last chance to salvage his art career, Caleb has to get away from the glamorous, cultured world he knows and move to the New England coast to find inspiration. Mason Sinclair lives by his parents’ rules. At twenty-one and counting, he might be a little too well-behaved. His father wants to pull strings and get him a cushy corporate job, but Mason wants to travel the world and write. When Caleb rents the room in the attic of the Sinclair house, Mason sees him as a window to the places he’ll never get to go. Mason's parents see the effect that the new house guest is having on their son, and they ask Mason to stay away from Caleb. There’s just one problem: They keep winding up alone, and they can’t keep their hands off each other. Stealing away in the night to engage in sticky encounters, hidden away from prying eyes, they express their growing passion for one another in some VERY naughty ways. However, Caleb wants to see Mason take control of his own destiny as a writer, even if it means sacrificing the greatest love he has ever known. Can two determined dreamers shed their old lives and old expectations in order to find ultimate bliss together? Room for Rent is a scorching hot MM Gay Romance with explicit scenes, TONS of heart, and an adorable love for the ages!

    Mutilated corpses are showing up across Tampa, and when the team discovers the newest victim was tortured alive, Alex becomes more determined than ever to stop the crazed serial killer before the horrific stabbings escalate further.With the return of Alex’s ex-boyfriend and journalist, Vince, the investigation takes a dangerous twist: the killer starts showing a personal interest in Alex. Can he stop the murders and salvage his relationship with Vince, or does he risk letting both men get away?

    Zach thinks Logan’s been living in that shadow long enough, but can he convince him he deserves to stand in the light?Detectives Zach Gibson and Logan Armstrong are partners, friends, and something more that they’ve never analysed or put a name to. But it works for them. For now.When Zach’s grandfather asks them to investigate the theft of a ring from the finger of his recently deceased friend, it opens a can of worms Logan has been struggling to keep closed for ten years.Secrets, guilt and revelations come tumbling out, and Logan is forced to finally deal with events from his past that have kept him emotionally bound and unable to move on.

    Fighting for his life amongst the dead, he keeps moving until the day he's surrounded and facing his bloody end-and shockingly, another zombie saves him. But not just any zombie... it's Dave, the first man Jay ever loved, and there's something special about him even now, in the midst of the horror around them.

    In the beautifully monstrous realms of his imagination, he is safe from the pain of his losses: his family, his friends, his hope.Until war breaks out, and he is forced to flee the only home he's known since he was thirteen.Captured by an enemy soldier, young Luka is marched across brutal terrain, toward a fate known only by the bearded menace holding him prisoner. Quick with a knife, tireless and strong, Tarik guards the purpose of his mission as he takes Luka deeper and deeper into enemy territory.When the soldier discovers the painful secret he has been hiding since childhood, Luka fears he is about to endure a new kind of cruelty, worse than being abandoned, ostracized or beaten. Or is it possible the soldier holding Luka prisoner is the one person who isn't afraid of the truth behind Luka's silence and lies?

    Being homeless, Darren isn't used to anyone caring, especially cops. He's seen the worst in people, and trusting Andy isn't easy.To Andy, homeless means addictions, overdoses, and panhandling. It's a world he doesn't understand, and isn't sure he wants to. Yet, when it comes to life and death, he can't just walk away and let someone die.Their worlds couldn't be more different, but the more they get to know each other, they find that, inside, where it matters the most, they really aren't so opposite. Trust comes hard for both men, but when a murderer starts hunting homeless boys, the two work together, showing them that no matter where you come from, dreams really can come true.

    Fortified by a little liquid bravery on a work night out, Jake makes his move and finds out that Cal is interested too. To Jake's dismay, Cal makes it clear that nothing is going to happen as long as they work together. Fortunately for both of them, this is just a temp job and there's only a week left in the contract.Cal admonishes Jake to behave while he waits, but as the week drags on, Jake can't resist flirting and teasing. When Friday finally arrives, Cal shows Jake what happens to people who can't follow his rules. Jake learns a surprisingly enjoyable lesson over Cal's knee--one that he won't forget in a hurry.Length: 5870 wordsThis short story was originally published in the Juicy Bits anthology from Dreamspinner Press. It has been re-edited but no major changes have been made.

    Everyone flees from the outbreak—except for the terrorists intent on weaponizing the catastrophe. Lieutenant Elliot Davis, US Navy SEAL, is sent to rescue CIA officers from their clandestine base in Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and evacuate them out of the country. What they’ve uncovered sends Elliot back to the Congo, trying to prevent an attack that could spark a global pandemic. Dr. Ikolo Ngondu runs a refugee hospital caught between the advancing rebels intent on slaughtering everyone in their path and Elliot’s mission to find and capture their leader. In the chaos of a surprise attack, Elliot’s target slips away, and the only way to find him is to plunge into the Congo’s dark, dangerous, and fevered forest with Ikolo as his guide. Together they track a burning shadow through Africa’s broken heart, and Elliot struggles to reconcile the world he finds with the life he’s lived as a black man in the West. He looks to Ikolo for answers and finds a man with a core so bright and fierce he scorches Elliot’s soul. Even as they race against time, Elliot and Ikolo have no idea what’s been set in motion with their mission: a dark secret lies at the center, one that leaves billions of lives hovering between life and death. And through it all, a question burns inside Elliot, one that only Ikolo may hold the answer to.

    I think I want that to change tonight. I want someone to fuck me, but I also want to be shown what to do. I want to be taught. I might get nervous, and I need someone who won’t get angry if I say stop. ... No names. No feelings. When it’s over, we say goodbye and never see each other again. We both get something out of the deal.

    Venturing into the Hidden Asteroid bookstore in London—the temple of geekdom itself—Jez is bowled over by the guy behind the counter.Rhys is the poster boy for hot geeks: tall, gorgeous, and totally cool. Jez is desperate to impress him, so he bluffs his way through comic book jargon . . . and then dashes back to the hospital to beg Tel to teach him how to speak Geek.Tel’s happy to oblige, and Jez is over the moon when Rhys asks him out. He’s even more thrilled when they discover a shared love of rugby, something he won’t have to fake for Rhys. The question is, how long can Jez keep up the deception, and what will happen when Rhys realizes he’s going out with a Fake Geek Guy?

    Is seeing really believing? Hank would never dream of coming on to the most striking guy at the bar—but it’s his lucky night since Thomas, the burgundy-haired vision in black lipstick and mirrored shades, takes it upon himself to make the first move.While the encounter itself is mind-blowing, the hot-and-heavy grapple in the janitor’s closet isn’t the only way in which Thomas blows Hank’s mind.

    Jonesey sits with Michael, reads to him, and encourages Michael to wake up. Jonesy may not be the smartest guy in the world, but he knows Michael needs him. And if he also thinks Michael is the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, well, Jonesy knows better than to hope for things that can never happen.Michael is lost in a dungeon, a dark and terrifying place. His only comfort is the sound of a man's voice. Can Michael come back? Does he want to? Maybe Jonesy can convince him that some things are worth living for.THIS IS A SECOND EDITION, published by the author. It has a new epilogue, new formatting, and a new edit.