Julia strikes out on her own to gain independence, traveling to the Midwest to marry an aging shopkeeper and care for his mother. Julia finds her new home rough and uncivilized after the sophistication of a big city, while closely held secrets threaten to ruin Julia’s one chance at love. Jake Shelling was sixteen and grew up quick when his parents died from influenza on the South Dakota prairie. Left with a half-cleared farm and two young sisters, he spent little time on his own needs . .till now. At thirty-five, he figured it was high time to have some sons and a mail order bride would suit him just fine. No expectations of love, just a helpmate from sturdy stock, ready for farm life. Will fate and chance play a trick on Julia and Jake?

    Left widowed, pregnant and penniless, Willa's last hope is the stranger who answers her ad for a husband.Austin Dermot, a hardworking Montana blacksmith, doesn't know what to expect from a mail-order bride. It certainly isn't the brave, beautiful but scarred young woman who cautiously steps off the train….Trust won't come easily for Willa—it's hard for her to believe she's worthy of true love. But she doesn't need to worry about that, because this is just a marriage of convenience…isn't it?

     A man of his word, Jackston never forgot that promise. Through the years of experience and growth, Jackston has become a powerful warrior, now returning to his home in the highlands to assume his place as his father's heir. But along the way he meets a young woman who will test the strength of his vow to marry Lizelle, and when he discovers the brutal and petty woman Lizelle has become, it becomes a difficult choice for him - will he remain true to a childhood vow or will he follow his heart? (Note: Originally published in The Forbidden Highlands collection 4/2017, this is an extended version never before published.)

    The coffee's good, but it's not the rich flavor that lures him to drive blocks out of his way each morning, and it's not an addiction to caffeine either. He's half-embarrassed to admit it, but it's the man who keeps him coming back. The long-legged, painted-on-jeans-wearing, dark-haired, edgy sex god with the teasing eyes. He's everything Riley--who has a history of geekdom and being flustered around hot men--is not. Riley knows he should put a stop to the daily forays because nothing can ever come of it. Guys like that aren't interested in men like him. Yet every time the hunk meets his gaze across the crowded shop and aims a sizzling grin at him, Riley gives in and comes back to participate in the silent, sexy flirtation another day. Needless to say, the last thing he's expecting when he goes to question a witness about a murder at a local gay strip joint is to discover the witness is his coffeehouse hottie. Dane Scott works as a stripper strictly for fun. He doesn't need the money--he's got plenty in the bank from his other career. He just likes to have something to keep him busy a few nights a week. When one of his fellow dancers turns up murdered outside the strip club, the police detective who shows up on Dane's doorstep asking questions is none other than the sexy, blond cutie he's been flirting with at the coffeehouse for weeks. Riley Ellison's a fascinating contradiction--rugged, strong, serious-eyed hero and bashful boy next door. A combination Dane finds all too appealing and a refreshing change from the selfish, shallow men he's known and dated in the past. From the moment Riley flashes his badge, Dane's determined to show the skittish cop they can make magic together. The heat between them quickly soars to the boiling point and not even a murder investigation can cool the passion they share. That is, until new information on Riley's case implies Dane may not be all he seems... Genres: Gay / Contemporary

    His pants are down around the tops of his thighs, giving us a view of his tighty-whitey encased backside.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

    She flies to Venice to beg forgiveness, only to discover brooding Alex Falconeri is a widower…and he has no idea she is expecting his baby!Alex can’t throw away this chance to know his surprise heir. But Rosalie is torturously sweet temptation… After his cold, loveless marriage, Alex has sworn he will not marry again. But he’s starting to think he’ll do anything to make Rosalie his!

    Originally designed for teaching English as a foreign language, the series' combination of high interest level and low reading age makes it suitable for both English-speaking teenagers with limited reading skills and students of English as a second language. Many titles in the series also provide access to the pre-20th century literature strands of the National Curriculum English Orders. "Penguin Readers" are graded at seven levels of difficulty, from "Easystarts" with a 200-word vocabulary, to Level 6 (Advanced) with a 3000-word vocabulary. In addition, titles fall into one of three sub-categories: "Contemporary", "Classics" or "Originals". At the end of each book there is a section of enjoyable exercises focusing on vocabulary building, comprehension, discussion and writing. Some titles in the series are available with an accompanying audio cassette, or in a book and cassette pack. Additionally, selected titles have free accompanying "Penguin Readers Factsheets" which provide stimulating exercise material for students, as well as suggestions for teachers on how to exploit the Readers in class.

    With time to reconnect, Max shows him a new way to love. Now at a crossroads and facing a new life, Jed must listen to his friends and family to learn how to move forward.

    She started seeing them when she got on the bus that morning. She didn't know what they meant...until she saw them run out...

    She is looking for adventure and love…not an arranged marriage to a man she hasn’t seen in years. She travels to America to join her betrothed and quickly realizes that the boy she met and wrote letters to is not the man she is committed to marry. Thanks to a chance meeting with a local matchmaker, Lorraine gets the opportunity for a second chance in the woods of Northern Pennsylvania. Milo Murphy moved to America to pick up where his parents left off…farming the land and building a home in Montrose, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, he spends more time mining coal in nearby Scranton than he does tending his property. A looming strike at the mine offers Milo the chance to move to his farm full time. However, he quickly learns that creating a future is a lonely job, so he sends a letter to a mail order bride agency, hoping they’ll send him the girl of his dreams. The moment they meet, their connection is undeniable. But will it be enough to keep them together as they try to carve out a place on their new land?

    Perhaps he'd even struck a devil's bargain to assure his warrior prowess. Yet Aisley sensed that Pier's shadows veiled a deeper secret.Aisley de LaciLike a whirlwind, Aisley descended on Dunmurrow castle to claim the Red Knight as her husband. And Piers knew his world was forever changed. But could a creature so full of joy and sunlight ever accept a life of passions draped in darkness?

    But meeting the parents of said warlord would make anyone take a step back... Rocked by the events of their chase for the Condor and the subsequent victory, Cora thinks life should be all sunshine and butterflies after it. But she's neglected to consider one thing. While she's captured the heart of her husband Brocke, the Guardian, then the hearts of his parents are a whole different matter... Nadar Brenger and Mara James might just be the scariest in-laws a woman could expect to have. And it's time for her to meet them. With only a few short months spent together, Brocke already knows that Cora is his mate for life. He feels it as surely as he feels the weight of his swords in his hands. Yet introducing her to his parents, one of them being the Chieftain of the Corgan race, well... Even a fierce warlord is allowed a little bit of trepidation, right? When Nadar Brenger meets him with a challenge, Brocke knows that his life is nowhere near changing. His only hope is that it'll continue changing with his mate by his side. Brocke: Meeting the Parents is a short story happening after the events of Brocke: Alien Warlord's Conquest. It is best read after the novel. Expect Corgan brutality, heat and the ever-present touch of fate when reading this juicy short!

    

    He was taking the farm. Wasn't it enough she'd been widowed 2 years ago. Worse, good meaning townspeople wanted her to disperse her ten children to families who needed them. She had to keep her family together. The letter from the judge in Montana. Her only hope of keeping her family together was to go west to Montana as a mail order bride. Judge Solomon Taggart groaned at having to referee a dispute between the two feuding families. That even their children were at each other made him doubt the wisdom of sending that letter to the widow in Minnesota. She had children. She didn't say how many, and he hadn't asked. He grabbed his rifle and swung up in the saddle, praying there'd be no bloodshed. And then he prayed he'd been wise to send that letter.

    The wind tries first, but however hard it blows it fails to make any progress because the traveller simply buttons his coat even tighter than before. Only when the sun shines brightly does he finally remove it, and the wind roars away in a bad temper.