Stockholm Syndrome


Richard Rider - 2009
    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...

Uneven


Anah Crow - 2008
    Since his father's death, Rase has been living like the old man was still alive, keeping up appearances with his trophy wife and appropriately luxurious house. Which is when Rase meets Gabriel. Gabriel loses his temper during his first meeting with Rase and lashes out, which unleashes Rase's carefully hidden submissive and masochistic tendencies. His encounter with Gabriel snaps Rase out of his sleepwalking life, and he sets about remaking his world in his own way. Rase isn't the only one shaken by their encounter, though. Can he convince Gabriel to give their relationship a chance?

Zero at the Bone


Jane Seville - 2009
    A hitman known only as D is blackmailed into killing Jack, but when he tracks him down, his weary conscience won't allow him to murder an innocent man. Finding in each other an unlikely ally, Jack and D are soon on the run from shadowy enemies. Forced to work together to survive, the two men forge a bond that ripens into unexpected passion. Jack sees the wounded soul beneath D's cold, detached exterior, and D finds in Jack the person who can help him reclaim the man he once was. As the day of Jack's testimony approaches, he and D find themselves not only fighting for their lives... but also fighting for their future. A future together.

Love Is a Stranger


John Wiltshire - 2014
    A lie so profound that when the shadows are lifted, Ben realises he's in love with a very dangerous stranger. Ben has to choose between Nikolas and safety, but sometimes danger comes in a very seductive package.

Taken


J.C. Owens - 2011
    If only it had stayed that simple.It had all gone wrong. Sent as a mercenary to kidnap Kirith Martinelli from his tropical island home, Landon finds himself on the wrong end of a job gone bad. But there's more to Kirith than meets the eye - he's the brother of feared mob boss Enzo Martinelli, and he's taken Landon as his captive. Kirith makes Landon an offer he can't refuse: stay with him for three months - until he tires of Landon's body - and then Landon may go free.Landon, fearing his own criminal family more than the man before him, quickly agrees. Three months will buy him enough time for his brothers to lose his scent, and then freedom will be his. But that freedom has a steeper price than Landon bargained for as he's drawn into the secrets of Kirith's past. He can't ignore the sadness and loss behind his captor's beautiful eyes, and Landon finds himself wondering if three months will be enough - for either of them...

(Watch Me) Break You


Avril Ashton - 2014
    Women. Drugs. Dima Zhirkov’s favorite things. Add in the element of danger and he should be right as rain. But not today. It’s not working, hasn’t for a long time. He’s grasping at the flimsiest of straws to prove he’s indeed strong enough to run his streets. Until he sets eyes on him. In the midst of a room full of strangers, Dima is drawn to a man as cold and dangerous as he’s beautiful. Captivated, Dima embarks on a ruthless campaign to get his new toy into bed.Here comes the danger…Xavier "X" Storm is content to pull the strings while someone else handles the day to day dealings of his gang, The Rude Boys. He’s after what Dima holds closest—the Coney Island streets. He contracts out the job of killing the Russian, except Dima isn’t that easy to kill. When he suddenly shows up in X’s path, tempting him to indulge in the dirtiest play, he finds Dima isn’t all that easy to shake, either. His cocky attitude and rough submission tempts X to go where he’d vowed to never return, and they plunge head first into an affair fueled by possessive obsession.Run for cover. Sex and pain Dima can handle, and X delivers the most depraved kind. Their connection is explosive, their games addictive, but Dima can end it whenever he wishes. He doesn’t see that X is breaking him down, giving Dima everything he wants and even more than he ever thought to need. By the time he realizes who X is and what he wants, Dima is raw and bullet riddled. It’s run or fight. And Dima doesn’t back down. Neither does X.

A Strong Hand


Catt Ford - 2009
    It's just taking pictures, right? Wrong. While Nick has never questioned what kind of man he is or what he truly wants in life, working for Damian during a BDSM photo shoot opens his eyes to all sorts of sexual possibilities, and many of them include the handsome Mr. Wolfe.Damian has serious doubts about getting involved with a younger man who knows nothing about the BDSM lifestyle, but Nick's adventurous and humorous approach to new experiences is far too alluring to resist. Although he knows it might be a mistake, Damian takes Nick into his life.Flirting on the edges of control, submission, and pain excites Nick more than he would have ever dreamed possible. With Damian, Nick learns about his own deeply hidden desires and finds out that relinquishing control doesn't make him weak, having someone else in control of his sexual pleasure simply heightens it. And the reverse is true for Damian: Control turns him on. So they set out to explore these sensual boundaries together, neither expecting to find love along the way.

Shattered Glass


Dani Alexander - 2012
    Nothing is going as planned for Austin Glass.Austin—seems to have it all. At least on the surface. A loving fiancee. A future with the FBI and a healthy sized trust fund. He also has a grin and a wisecrack for every situation. But the smile he presents to everyone hides a painful past he’s buried too deeply to remember. And his quips mask bitterness and insecurity. Austin has himself and most of the whole world fooled. Until he meets someone who immediately sees him better than he sees himself.As events unfold and Austin’s world unravels, he finds himself pushed into making quick life-changing decisions. But can he trust Peter or what’s happening between them when each meeting seems to be just a series of volatile reactions?

Last Stop


Lou Harper - 2012
    Quiet, uneventful, safe from his shadowy past. The breezy young drifter who answers his help-wanted ad makes him uneasy in ways he dare not examine too closely. Except he can't help but be pulled in by Jay Colby's spunky attitude, endless stories, and undeniable sex appeal.Fresh off yet another romantic disaster, Jay doesn't understand his attraction to the taciturn line cook, but there's no fighting the chemistry that lands them in bed together. Where Sam's subtly dominant streak takes command, and Jay delights in discovering the pleasures of his submissive side.Safe in the assumption their relationship is temporary, neither lover holds back when the heat is on. Until Sam's deadly past catches up with them with a vengeance, forcing him to drop the life he's built, pick up his lover, and run. As danger cuts closer to the bone, Sam and Jay are forced to face the truth. About themselves, about the depth of their love-and the newly forged bonds that are about to be tested to the limit.Warning: Contains enough sparks to ignite a sexual fire, ably fanned by the judicious use of some interesting props, as well as some butt-warming spanking. Sizzzzle.

Arrows Through Archer


Nash Summers - 2017
    Each day, he struggles his way through classes, parties, and trying to put on a good front for the sake of his best friend. But at night, he falls asleep to the sound of gunshots ringing in his ears.Mallory is a man fighting a war of emotions all his own. When his son invites his best friend back home to Banff over a college break, he’s happy for the company.Some time during the late-night talks, subtle smiles, and long, long silences, the two men begin to find solace in one another.But love isn’t always easy, especially when it strikes you straight through the heart.

Not His Kiss to Take


Finn Marlowe - 2012
    Evan Harrison has become a recluse, a prisoner inside his own house, felled in his prime by a migraine headache without end. All he'd ever wanted was to be a doctor, and now he's nothing - until chance delivers a beaten and battered Jamie into his care. Fourteen years his junior, gorgeous, mouthy, stubborn and...completely and unquestionably straight. Maybe. Or maybe not...Jamie doesn't know what hit him, other than there were three of them, and that he's broken and in pain and he doesn't know the identity of the kind stranger with the cold stethoscope and warm eyes taking care of him. And he sure as hell doesn't know why he likes his bossiness or finds him sexy....Chance may have brought them together, but a shared attraction keeps them together long after Jamie’s bruises have faded. As Evan enjoys the longest pain-free stretch he’s known in two years, they begin to explore their attraction, the caresses of a kind Jamie’s never known. But even as Evan revels in his young lover’s first, tentative touches, the guilt is never far from his mind. Jamie’s never looked at another man romantically and Evan’s never looked at anything but. And Jamie won’t kiss him. That would be… gay. Evan wants Jamie’s kiss more than he’s ever wanted anything before in his life, but it’s not his kiss to take, its Jamie’s to give. Evan knows wanting Jamie is wrong, their relationship unethical, a relationship forbidden with just cause. He swore an oath to do no harm. And it’s not only his oaths that are going to get broken--he’s never given his heart away before…

He Is Poison


K.A. Merikan - 2014
    ---Domenico Acerbi. The Villani Family’s best assassin. Ruthless. Vicious. With no patience for weakness.Seth Villani. The Don’s son. Clueless. Stubborn. In dire need of someone to keep him in line.Domenico Acerbi grew up ready to give his life for the Family. Ready to follow orders and exceed expectations. A proud man of honor.The last thing he wants to deal with is training the Don’s son for his future role within the organization. Lazy, annoying, spoiled, and as hot as a Sicilian summer, Seth Villani is no mafia material. But a man who could never become a threat might just be what Domenico needs. Seth Villani wants nothing to do with the mafia. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get a say when he’s pulled back into the fold. Thrown into a den of serpents otherwise known as the Villani Family, Seth has to find a way to navigate the maze of lies. But when Domenico Acerbi, the most vicious snake of them all, sinks his fangs into Seth, letting go becomes impossible. If Seth is doomed to follow in his father's footsteps, he might as well enjoy himself with the most intoxicating man he’s ever met. Maybe he can even fool himself into believing that Domenico isn’t a handsome sociopath who kills for a living. POSSIBLE SPOILERS:Themes: Enemies to lovers, mafia, homophobia, assassin, organized crime, forced proximityWARNING: Adult content. Sizzling hot scenes. If you are easily offended, this book is not for you. ‘Guns n’ Boys’ is a gritty story of extreme violence, offensive language, abuse, and morally ambiguous protagonists. Behind the morbid facade, there is a splash of inappropriate dark humor, and a love story that will crawl under your skin.

Aftermath


Cara Dee - 2013
    One is a family man, works in a nice office, drives an expensive car, and is content to be content. The other one is an antisocial car mechanic with a short fuse.Some things don’t change. Others definitely do.After surviving a five-months long kidnapping together, they struggle to return to normalcy, all while realizing that they're more drawn to each other than they ever could've imagined."I know I'm not normal, but I'm not fucking stupid.""Define normal," Austin countered quietly, meeting Cam in the doorway. "And for not being normal, you're the only person in the world who makes sense right now. What does that say about me?"Warning: This story contains violence and scenes of an explicit, erotic nature between two men and is intended for adults, 18+.

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.

Yakuza Pride


H.J. Brues - 2011
    Shigure is even more pleased when he discovers Ken not only speaks Japanese fluently, but is fluent in Japan's ways, even the more violent of the martial arts. Ken’s expertise at kendo is not his most striking quality—it’s the passion beneath his quiet, almost fragile exterior that ignites Shigure's lust, and the two come together as explosively as they spar. Shigure is a dangerous man in a dangerous position. He’s been trying to keep the peace with the Daito-kai—his hated rivals—but the danger on the streets is escalating, threatening those Shigure most wants to protect. He may claim to love his gaijin, but before he can keep Ken safe, Shigure will have to overcome hostility from his people, a hidden enemy, and, the most insidious opponent of all, his own hard-won pride.