Book picks similar to
Teddy’s Truth by K.D. Ellis
mm
m-m
hurt-comfort
trans
Chrysalis
S.E. Harmon - 2021
Waking up with amnesia is far worse. I learn that the hard way when I wake up in the hospital, my memory practically wiped. I don’t know why someone wants me dead. Hell, I don’t even know my name. They say my name is Christian Cross. Too bad that name means nothing to me.I haven’t forgotten everything, though. Grayson Laurie has always been my kryptonite, and it would take more than a bullet to the brain to forget him. He assures me that I’m imagining the distance between us, but I know better. I just don’t know how to fix it. I console myself that at least I've reached rock bottom and things can’t get worse…until they do.My life is a tangled mess of lies and deceit. The more I learn about myself, the less I want to know. I want nothing more than an honest future with Gray, but the past isn't about to let me go without a fight.Fortunately, I’m starting to realize that fighting is my specialty.
Born for Leaving
Jude Munro - 2020
Too bad distractions, like the hot little convertible he has his eye on, cost megabucks. And Oliver is flat broke. Renting the spare bedroom in his rundown beachfront cottage is his only option to pick up the cash he needs--a risky proposition, as Oliver is the polar opposite of a people-person. When he responds to a bizarre ad in the Waterfront Gazette seeking summer housing, he gets more than he bargained for. But Oliver can cope... After all, how much harm can a single quirky tenant do to his tightly guarded life in three short months?Where Oliver is a loner by design, urban cowboy Bodie is a loner by necessity. A family dispute long ago dropkicked him onto the path of a lifelong wanderer. This changes when Bodie moves into the tiny beachfront cottage and starts working the door at Oliver's bar.Despite Oliver and Bodie's nearly paralyzing instinct to avoid commitment, they fall into a wary romance. And to their surprise, life as a couple is sweetly satisfying; that is, until their jealous boss devises a cruel plan to destroy the tentative bond they've built. True to form, Bodie hits the road, leaving Oliver to lick his wounds alone.Can these wounded souls defy their urge to flee and fight for love?**Trigger Warning: discussion of childhood sexual molestation of adult character, graphic physical violence, off-page coerced sexual relationship
Kept in the Dark
Charlie Cochet - 2019
Now Caiden is riding a desk at Langley after his cover is blown. And Álvaro—who was “killed”—has a new identity and purpose as Delta/D, an operative for the Locke and Keyes Agency, under the leadership of the mysterious Alpha Orion. When D and Caiden team up in a deadly black ops mission, the urge to kill each other will have to take a back seat to the desire for revenge against the man who betrayed them both. Surviving the mission won’t be easy. Resisting the passion between them—that might be impossible.
Watch Me
Sloane Kennedy - 2020
Protect the client’s life, not their feelings.2. Don’t put hands on a client unless you’re getting them out of harm’s way.3. For God’s sake, don’t do something stupid like fall in love.Twenty-four hours after meeting Jude Archer, rules 1 and 2 are already out the window.Thankfully there’s no chance of falling for the callous businessman who cares more about his next deal than he does his own safety.Jude may have managed to make fools of all the guys his wealthy boss and rumored lover has hired to watch him, but he’s playing in the big leagues now. The son of a bitch might not value his life, but I’m pretty fond of mine.Time to teach the clueless Jude Archer a few hard lessons…JudeMy rules for success aren’t for everyone, but they should be.1. Work hard.2. When you’re on the verge of giving up, work harder. Life owes you nothing. You have to take what you want.3. For God’s sake, don’t do something stupid like get distracted by feelings.With just weeks between me and the closing of the deal that will give me everything I want, I don’t have time to worry about a supposed stalker who hasn’t had the balls to do anything more than send a few threatening letters to my wealthy boss.Sure, I sent a few so-called bodyguards packing. Even if I thought I was in serious danger, I can’t have someone watching me 24/7. My life works the way it does for a reason and no one, not even the gorgeous Russian ex-soldier who thinks he can scare me into submission, is going to change that.Nikolai Falkov thinks he has something to teach me? Yeah, good luck with that.
Bad Judgment
Sidney Bell - 2016
Now he's living under the radar, desperate to hide his identity and determined to learn the truth behind what happened. Even if that means working for—and bedding—a man he loathes.As a bodyguard to a shadowy arms dealer, Brogan Smith knows distractions can kill as easily as a bullet. But when he sets his eyes on his client's sexy assistant, he can't get him out of his mind. Even more unnerving: the closer he gets to Embry, the more Brogan starts to suspect he might be protecting the wrong man.Embry was sure nothing but vengeance would satisfy him—until Brogan offers him something far more tempting. Now Embry must choose: punish the people who nearly destroyed him or fight for a future with the man who has become his entire world.
In the Red
Kari Gregg - 2012
His nine days of captivity broke him. Brian retreats to the mountains of western Maryland where he amasses enough weaponry to declare himself an independent nation and enough lamps to pinpoint his location from the International Space Station. He's losing the battle against paranoia. Too bad TFOS needs him. Brian stumbled onto something big when he vanished last year and TFOS needs that case resolved. Now.The FBI tasks Special Agent Zachary Murdock with gluing Brian together and returning him to TFOS. Brian will steady once he focuses on work instead of his neuroses. As Zachary nudges Brian back into the career that cost him dearly, Brian's paranoia escalates. Personal and professional lines blur. Zachary isn't sure which presents the biggest complication anymore: Brian's peculiar brand of crazy, the case they're working, or the closeted submissive's surprising -- and enthralling -- kink.Zachary and Brian both know, when the case heats up and they're forced to run, they're operating at a loss, though: they are in the red.
Too Like the Lightning
Travis Beaudoin - 2022
A stable relationship with a successful man. A beautiful home in a quiet suburb. And best of all, a job where he spent his days talking about literature.Then his tenure was denied and, too quickly for him to stop it, everything crumbled.Now, with his dreams in the dust and his confidence shattered, Andrew has one summer to figure out his next move.Bulbs, Florida, is like no place Andrew’s ever known. It’s small and provincial. It’s hot as hell. Storms roll through every single day. But Andrew just has to keep his head down. Finish his book, find a new job, put things back on track. Easy-peasy.He didn’t plan on making a friend.Coley Brandt has a green thumb and an easy smile. He’s much younger than Andrew, but he puts Andrew at ease, makes him feel at home. Their time together reminds Andrew what having a purpose feels like.Suddenly, this long, lonely summer feels too short.But Coley has dreams of his own, and they’re a million miles away from the life Andrew’s trying to get back.Maybe this is just a summer fling. Maybe, like the lightning, it’s only meant to be glorious for a moment before it disappears.Or maybe it’s something more.Too Like the Lightning is a steamy small-town, age-gap romance. It’s perfect for lovers of second chances, coffee on the back porch, thunderstorms, poetry, and happily ever afters. 85,000 words.
Cold Hard Cash
K.L. Hiers - 2019
Cold agrees to give Jimmy a chance to have his debt cancelled, but it will mean surrendering his body to Cold's rough, ruthless demands every night until the very last penny has been repaid.Over the coming days, Jimmy learns what it means to be truly mastered, and Cold's stern dominance arouses him far more intensely than he would have thought possible. But as their business arrangement grows into a romance, can Cold keep Jimmy safe in his dangerous world?Publisher's Note: Cold Hard Cash includes spankings and rough, intense sexual scenes. If such material offends you, please don't buy this book. A Dark Mafia Romance.
The Fall
May Archer - 2018
He’s earned the love and respect of its citizens, though living under the small-town microscope grates on him. But though he’s good at his job, there’s one thing he’s not good at: commitments… Until Everett. Widower Everett Maior, O’Leary’s newest citizen, came to the small town kicking and screaming. He never wanted to become primary caretaker for his grandfather and has no interest in living the provincial life. Snarky and superstitious, he’s proficient at keeping people at a distance... Until he lays eyes on Silas. Strange disappearances are plaguing O’Leary, though, even as Silas and Everett find their growing attraction undeniable. Can they find their way to a future together, even as ghosts from the past threaten to tear them apart?
Shades of Gray
Brooke McKinley - 2009
He comes face-to-face with his doubts in the person of Danny Butler, a mid-level drug runner Miller hopes to use to catch a much larger fish: Roberto Hinestroza, a drug lord Miller has pursued for years. Danny has no interest in being a witness against his boss, both out of a sense of twisted loyalty and because he knows double-crossing Hinestroza is a sure death sentence. But he reluctantly agrees to cooperate, and as he suspects, it doesn't take long for Hinestroza to figure out the betrayal. Miller is surprised to discover Danny's not the career-criminal lowlife he expected; at the same time, Danny finds himself helplessly attracted to Miller's innate goodness. They barely begin to explore the sparking attraction between them when Hinestroza's hitman tracks them down, and then they're on the run, both for their lives and for any kind of love.
Without a Net
Lyn Gala - 2015
He has never engaged in the sort of edge play found in those places, preferring the BDSM in the more mainstream control clubs. However, to find the criminals behind a series of kidnappings, he must go in undercover as a shade sub. The mission becomes more complicated when his captain asks him to collect evidence against a lieutenant who might be a dirty cop.The case quickly gets out of hand, and Ollie finds himself caught between wanting to do his job and not knowing who to trust. That confusion grows worse when a number of sexy and dominant men challenge his assumption that he prefers safe, contractually negotiated sex. It turns out he has more of a wild side than he expected, and given that he’s surrounded by dangerous men, and he can’t distinguish the good guys from the bad, that’s terrifying.When Ollie gives his trust to Travis Goode, a dominant who appears to be a federal agent, he might be making the connection of a lifetime or dooming himself forever.Publisher's Note: Contains dark BDSM elements.Copyright © Lyn Gala
The Rebuilding Year
Kaje Harper - 2012
A few excruciating minutes pinned under a burning beam cost Ryan Ward his job as a firefighter, the easy camaraderie of his coworkers, his current girlfriend, and damn near cost him his left leg. Giving up, though, wasn’t an option. He fought and won the battle back to health, over a painful year. Now, choosing a new profession, going back to school, and renting a room from the college groundskeeper should be simple. Until he realizes he’s falling in love with his housemate, and things take a turn for the complicated. John Barrett knows about loss. After moving twice to stay in touch with his kids, he could only watch as his ex-wife whisked them away to California. Offering Ryan a room seems better than rattling around his empty house alone. But as casual friendship moves to something more, and emotions heat up, the big old house feels like tight quarters. It’s nothing they can't learn to navigate, until life adds in unhappy teen kids, difficult family members, and mysterious deaths on campus. Rebuilding will be far from easy, even for two guys willing to open their minds, and hearts. (This is a rerelease of the 2012 Samhain novel, with only minor editing.)
Silver & Black
Tyler May - 2015
But when a tragic health event leaves him vulnerable, he realizes those things are worthless. He is on a mission to fill the void in his life when he first meets the young, gorgeous Greyson Black, who is working his way through school as a barista at one of his coffee shops.Silver wants Greyson, and he’s used to getting what he wants. Greyson Black is determined to make the best out of his life, but despite his best efforts, life hasn’t played fair, and neither has love. He is nursing a broken heart when Brian Silver walks into his life, and for once, Greyson thinks fate has finally granted him the opportunity for happiness. But fate can be manmade, and Greyson soon discovers that a relationship with Brian Silver comes at a cost. Silver and Greyson emerge on a hot and passionate journey, but danger lurks in the darkness, threatening to destroy everything they’ve worked for. When the mind games make Greyson question Silver’s motives, he will have to determine if their love is worth the risk. Shots are fired, leaving all trust dead. They say love is blind, but Greyson would say, suspicion is the real killer. And sometimes, secrets are worse than bullets. Silver & Black is a gay mystery romance and is intended for readers 18 years of age or older for sexual content, language, and mild violence.Second edition includes: New cover, updated blurb, a chapter added, updated and added scenes, change of tense, added dialogue, new editing and formatting.There is SIGNIFICANT changes to the book, but the plot is the same. First edition, published May 2016; Second edition, published July 2018.
The Enchanter's Flame
Michele Notaro - 2018
Things that remind me of a piece of my past I’d rather forget. Girls are being killed, drained of blood, and left with strange markings on their bodies. When I finally connect the cases together, a specialist is called in—though, what he’s a specialist of is beyond me. When the chief assigns him as my new partner for the case, I can’t help but groan on the inside. Why of all people would I be assigned to Ailin Ellwood? The man is a disaster waiting to happen and a jerk to boot. A sexy jerk, but a jerk nonetheless. What will Sebastian think when he discovers Ailin’s specialty? Will he make a run for it or will he stick around and discover a world of magic hidden beneath the city’s surface? ***The Enchanter’s Flame is the first book in the Ellwood Chronicles. It’s a paranormal romance that contains explicit material and is intended for mature adults 18 and over.***
In the Absence of Light
Adrienne Wilder - 2015
When business turns in a direction Grant isn’t willing to follow he decides to retire and by all appearances he settles down in a nowhere town called Durstrand. But his real plan is to wait a few years and let the FBI lose interest, then move on to the distant coastal life he’s always dreamed of. Severely autistic, Morgan cannot look people in the eye, tell left from right, and has uncontrolled tics. Yet he’s beaten every obstacle life has thrown his way. And when Grant Kessler moves into town Morgan isn’t a bit shy in letting the man know how much he wants him. While the attraction is mutual, Grant pushes Morgan away. Like the rest of the world he can’t see past Morgan’s odd behaviors Then Morgan shows Grant how light lets you see but it also leaves you blind. And once Grant opens his eyes, he loses his heart to the beautiful enigma of a man who changes the course of his life.