Beneath that, in a lazy scrawl, was the addendum Mr Acklebury, be so good as to wait on me tomorrow, number 10, Half Moon Street. Yours, &c., Penrith. Mr Acklebury was not sure how he felt about being thus summarily commanded to paint his lordship's portrait.Words:233014 completeArt by owzers

    Afterward, they even attended the same business school so they could be together. Then Chase left Mathias alone and heartbroken in Italy. But all of that is ancient history by the time Chase thunders back into Mathias’s safe, settled life with a business deal.There’s no way Mathias is going to do business with Chase. He spent nine years picking up the pieces and has moved on in life—-and love. But Chase won’t give up without a fight: he concocts a scheme to manipulate the market and take over the Tobler family business. If Mathias wants to save it, he’ll have to face off against Chase over crossed sabers. Chase has a reputation as an unscrupulous corporate raider, but the Tobler business holds little interest for him. In reality, he wants Mathias. Chase must win him back—-by any means necessary—-before Mathias gives his heart to someone else. But how does a cold-blooded corporate raider convince the man he loves that his heart really isn’t made of stone?

    As a pro athlete, I have one unbreakable rule when it comes to men -- Don't date another baseball player. Good thing I haven't been tempted once in four years in the majors. Until the day a rising star walks into my locker room. Outgoing, affable, and sexy-as-sin, Grant has confidence and talent for miles. He seems to get me too, maybe because we each have our fair share of secrets and scars -- ones we'll both fight to protect. But, I've got far too much trouble in my past to want to bring any into my present. All the more reason to resist the kind of dirty deeds his lips and eyes promise. Even after I plant a scorching, hot kiss on the rookie one night after a game. Even after he sends me the world's sexiest selfie. But when Grant reveals his biggest secret, I'm so damn ready to rip up the rulebook. Turns out he's a virgin and he wants me to help him get around all the bases. The only rule? Don't fall in love with him as we go. Scoring with Him is book one in the utterly addictive Men of Summer series. This romance between two professional athletes spans five epic years and continues in Winning With Him.

    Just when their relationship reaches breaking point, someone enters their lives, unknowingly helping the confused couple work through their differences.Falling in love with the man Daniel rescued and who Milo is investigating as a potential arson suspect isn’t a conventional start to any relationship, especially one which includes a mysterious blond who’s afraid to stop running. But they both see what didn’t work out as a couple, could work out as a ménage.Daniel and Milo unite to help save Samuel, but quickly realise he’s not the only one being saved.With so many obstacles in their way threatening to destroy the future they desire, all three have to fight to create a bond too strong for anyone or anything to break.Meet the first three men in my Manchester Ménage Collection.

    He drinks it, pays, then leaves. One night he orders two and Connor finally gets him to talk. Little by little, week by week, Connor coaxes Lucas to open up - and falls in love with him along the way. But is love enough to help Lucas overcome the physical and emotional pain of what he's been through? And can Connor really understand the horror of what happened? The first novella in the Recovery trilogy.

    He lived the perfect life with the perfect family before the dark truth came spilling out. Now his dad’s in prison, and after Hunter explodes at school, accidentally hitting a teacher, his mom has him committed. Hunter doesn’t belong at Better Days. He needs to be stronger, not sent to a well-dressed loony bin. If he’d been better, less selfish, he would have realized something was going on under his own roof. No amount of psychoanalyzing and group therapy can change the past.But among the bullies, fights, and bad cafeteria food, Hunter meets a group of friends: anxiety-ridden Casey, wild and exciting Rosie, recovering bulimic Bethany, and Stray, a self-harmer who doesn’t think he belongs anywhere. Around this group of misfits, Hunter doesn’t feel so alone and angry anymore.Still, as he’s making friends and falling in love with Stray, the guilt is always there. If Hunter can’t open up and find a way to deal with what happened, he might fall victim to his mental illness—and he won’t be the only casualty.

    But trading his body for food in his belly is always a risky undertaking. After he’s found injured in an alleyway, his new friends take him to Moon Flower apothecary, where the madam in charge offers him the proposition of a lifetime.Little does he know that the Moon Flower flourishes at night—in more ways than one. Gentlemen gather in secret, yearning for an evening with Galen and the others, where they offer pleasure willingly while exploring their desires.But Galen’s eye is continually drawn to the most unassuming man in the room—Azriel, the resident healer, who has the most unusual aura Galen has ever seen. There’s an understated melancholy in him that Galen longs to soothe, and the more time they spend together, the more he craves to know Azriel’s touch.But security is only a threadbare veneer for those like him, and soon danger is upon their doorstep. Galen has only ever needed to protect himself, but now he belongs to an ensemble of unlikely characters who’ve become the family he never had. So he’ll put himself on the line, along with his heart, if it means keeping them safe—especially Azriel, the man who quiets his restless soul.*Please note: Moon Flower is set in an imaginary world reminiscent of our nineteenth century, with some fantastical elements, such as potions and fated mates, but without explicit rules. Some liberties were taken for the sake of fiction—and, of course, romance.*TW: Discussions and depictions of assault which are physical and sexual in nature, as well as a background characterization that some might find unconventional.TAGS: found family, auras, potions, healers, fated mates, soft boys, brothel, twins, voyeurism, hurt/comfort, pining, swoon

    When he attempted to escape his abusive, zealot father, he found himself on the streets, making a living the only way he knew how, the victim of more violent men—one of whom orchestrates a series of vicious attacks that leave Jeb deaf. Now that he’s aged beyond his latest client’s interest, Jeb knows he needs to escape his risky lifestyle before it’s too late. Seeing one last chance for himself, he earns a GED and enrolls in college. Freddy Williams enjoys a life that couldn’t be more different from what Jeb has survived. He loves sports, being a personal trainer, and hanging out with friends. The son of deaf parents, Freddy is an outspoken advocate of the Deaf community and works as an interpreter at his college. When he meets Jeb at the bookstore, he’s struck by how attractive he is, and as they get to know each other, he finds Jeb’s good heart just as appealing. By the time he learns of Jeb’s past, it’s only a few steps behind them, and Freddy must make a choice between school and his familiar routine and protecting the man he’s falling in love with.Content warning: Child prostitution, pedophilia, on-page rape, physical abuse and mental trauma.

    They’ve always had each other’s back, but when one walks in on the other with another man, everything changes. How do you explain to your best friend that he’s the one you’ve always wanted, that until now your life has been a lie? Desperation and shame are two dirty words that run through Jason’s veins. He carries the scars from a wayward priest who stole his innocence and left him shattered. Meanwhile for years he’s watched Dean pursuing woman after woman, as his own heart slowly breaks.When their world blows apart, they learn the powerful bond between them has more fire than either understood. Can two broken souls find the light in their darkness and come together to make a whole, or will sins of the past be forever unforgiven?This standalone is a M/M love story with graphic sex. Trigger warning.

    But he doesn’t get far into their first conversation before he realizes what he’s feeling is attraction, which brings him up short. Jaxon has always been a womanizer.Despite his reservations, Jaxon makes a play for Liam, but Liam has his own issues. Unlucky in love and orphaned at sixteen, he is reluctant to open his heart to anyone, and dismisses Jaxon out of hand.Driven by a need he doesn’t understand, Jaxon organizes a return to Sydney to film his next project. If he can’t be with Liam, maybe they can be friends. Of course, that creates a whole new problem. Now Jaxon is falling in love for the first time. How can he move their relationship from friends to lovers without destroying the trust he’s worked so hard for?

    Fearful of being overrun, Prince Cray, who is acting as regent for his fourteen-year-old sister, Queen Shian, appeals to their powerful neighbor, the kingdom of Veldi, for military aid. The Veldins agree, but on a condition that places Cray at the mercy of the handsome and charismatic Prince Reston. But is Cray’s sexual compliance the only demand the Veldins intend to place on Shendar?

    "I'm not a cop. I'm someone who wants to exchange my money for your sexual services. I was told you were in that line of work." "I, uh, yeah, sorry," Stiles said. He glanced around again and then up--the full moon was almost directly overhead. Just one of those nights, maybe. "Yeah, I am. I do that."Completed - Words: 121,553Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Prostitution, Sexual Assault, Car Sex, Barebacking, Comeplay, Fisting, Watersports, Scent Marking, Secrets

    Literally.Words:27890 complete

    Maybe it started when he was six, hiding beneath his blankets as the wild animal noises of one of mom’s parties echoed in his head. Maybe it began the first time an adult plied him with drinks just to watch him stumble about. Or, maybe, it was that he couldn’t even imagine what being loved should feel like. Drugs washed all that away. It didn’t cure the ache, but it made him forget it for a while. Anything was better than being conscious. Than being himself. But life had another hard lesson for him: With drugs, the only way is down. Dominic hits rock bottom when he’s twenty-three. Turns out, rock bottom looks a lot like the bars of a jail cell. With little left but his own thoughts, Dominic has to decide: Is this what I want for the rest of my life? The world has never been kind to Dominic, but when he meets the Romeros, he wonders if that is about to change. Officer Catalina Romero seems to see something in Dominic that he is sure isn’t there. The more she pulls him towards her family, however, the harder it is not to go. All his resistance disappears under the force that is Flor Romero. Spitfire, stubborn Flor—even at sixteen, he refuses to be taken lightly. As he grows older, putting a stop to what Flor obviously wants to happen between them is harder than Dominic would ever want to admit. Dominic knows that he has too many demons to let anybody get too close. But life doesn’t prepare him for Flor, who just might be ready to fight tooth and nail for a place in Dominic’s life—and his heart. The question is, will Dominic’s past keep him from his future?