Tourists flock to the cities within the city: the Magic City of the World’s Fair on an island created of artifice and illusion; the forbidden city of Chinatown, a separate, alien world of exotic food and nightclubs that offer “authentic” experiences, straight from the pages of the pulps; and the twilight world of forbidden love, where outcasts from conventional society can meet.Six women find their lives as tangled with each other’s as they are with the city they call home. They discover love and danger on the borders where mystery, science, and art intersect.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    Nothing rivals the sensation of being bound for Vincent’s pleasure…or so he thought. Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Domination/submission, male/male sexual practices.

    We also brought our demons. In Burning Girls and Other Stories, Veronica Schanoes crosses borders and genres with stories of fierce women at the margins of society burning their way toward the center. This debut collection introduces readers to a fantasist in the vein of Karen Russell and Kelly Link, with a voice all her own.Emma Goldman--yes, that Emma Goldman--takes tea with the Baba Yaga and truths unfold inside of exquisitely crafted lies. In Among the Thorns, a young woman in seventeenth century Germany is intent on avenging the brutal murder of her peddler father, but discovers that vengeance may consume all that it touches. In the showstopping, awards finalist title story, Burning Girls, Schanoes invests the immigrant narrative with a fearsome fairytale quality that tells a story about America we may not want--but need--to hear.Dreamy, dangerous, and precise, with the weight of the very oldest tales we tell, Burning Girls and Other Stories introduces a writer pushing the boundaries of both fantasy and contemporary fiction.With a foreword by Jane Yolen

    He's carrying a torch for a fellow pirate with the sexual awareness of a teaspoon. Rumors say the man has killed hundreds. He's determined to knock some sense into the work-a-holic that captains the Midnight Sun, but damned if he knows how.Eric Deumont has more pressing concerns than the treasure-obsessed Kyros. There's a creature inked into his chest that no witch in the seas will lay hands on for all the gold in the world. He knows it gives the Midnight Sun a cursed reputation and that doesn't make living any easier. He has heard stories of spirits trapped for lifetimes inside spelled puzzle jars. Eric tracked down three of the pieces for such a jar with a lead number four. The fifth is still out there.Even then, the spirit of vengeance that lives in Eric's skin has no intention of giving up such easy access to the mortal realm. It craves blood and the light of the moon allows it to wreak unchecked havoc. Cursed is an insult. This is madness.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" 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. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

    Ripped away from the only home she has ever known, Ellie is forced to live at Baxstresse Manor with her two new stepsisters, Luciana and Belladonna. Luciana is sadistic, but Belladonna is the woman who truly haunts her. When her father dies and her new stepmother goes suddenly mad, Ellie is cheated out of her inheritance and forced to become a servant. With the help of a shy maid, a friendly cook, a talking cat, and her mysterious second stepsister, Ellie must stop Luciana from using an ancient sorcerer’s chain to bewitch the handsome Prince Brendan and take over the entire kingdom of Seria.

    When Frank, Shelley and their two young children move into the home of their dreams, they discover a problem with the cellar.It doesn't take them long to find out why the house was sold at a knock-down price.

    He's been captured by an evil vampire queen who wants to use him as her newest blood slave. But Brynn doesn't have a submissive bone in his body, and he intends to fight her every step of the way.Can Brynn's willpower remain intact when pitted against Sorla's superior vampire strength, seductive skills, and underhanded cruelty, or will she ultimately take possession of both his mind…and body?CONTENT WARNING: This is a VERY graphic erotic horror/fantasy novella. Expect blood, sex, some M/M content, and bad, bad words.

    She has more important things on her mind, like maintaining her perfect GPA. No matter how much she can't stand the idea of the cliques and the matching colors, there's something about the girls of Alpha Beta Omega—their beauty, confidence, and unapologetic sexuality—that draws Ginger in. But once initiation begins, Ginger finds that her pledge is more than a bond of sisterhood, it’s a lifelong pact to serve six bloodthirsty demons with a lot more than nutritional needs.Despite her fears, Ginger falls hard for the immortal queen of this nest, and as the semester draws to a close, she sees that protecting her family from the secret of her forbidden love is much harder than studying for finals.

    The Ugly Duckling seduces her high school crush at her ten-year reunion. Cinderella transforms for one night into a dominatrix. And Goldilocks tries out many things before finding what feels “just right.” Clever, flirtatious, and always naughty, these titillating tales will have readers yearning for more.

    There will be begging and there will be bruises, but all leading to an obliterating climax. The fifteen lesbian stories of dominance and submission contained within the pages of From Top To Bottom will make you flinch like the characters do, will make you squirm and want to turn the pages faster and faster. You will find first-time players and long-term couples. A plethora of paddles and the occasional flogger—and a great number of sore backsides. Be warned.With stories from experienced writers at the top of their game and thrilling new talents alike, all of them exploring power dynamics from top to bottom, this collection is kinky, daring and, at times, deliciously violent. Read at your own risk.Chasing the Dragon by S.E. HillDance for Me by Janelle RestonSerious Swimmer by J. Belle LambCall for Submission by Elna HolstTell Me by Robyn NyxTaking the Lead by Lauren JadeThe Antisocial Sister by Lucy FelthouseOne Hundred Strokes by Sinclair SexsmithThe Encounter by Eden DarrySecretly Submissive by Brooke WintersInside by Leandra VaneVegas Mistress by Samantha LuceHit The Top by Robin WatergroveNot Yet by Harper BlissLatin Lessons by Lise MacTagueFifteen truly exceptional stories that WILL make you squirm in your seat

    Though the Beast cannot take Amarantha's virginity unless she begs him to, he can and does take her in every other way. From the moment they are alone together, the Beast relentlessly strips Amarantha of all her resistance. If Amarantha can resist her cloaked and terrifying husband, she gains his entire fortune and will be allowed to return to her family and a normal life. But the Beast seduces her at every turn, exposing, binding, tormenting, and pleasuring Amarantha until she no longer knows her own deepest desires. Increasingly desperate to break the curse that chains his humanity, the Beast drives Amarantha past every boundary. But her desire for a normal life may jeopardize the love that will save them both. Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play, BDSM theme and elements, dubious consent.

    They have to—he’s cursed. Every man must respect him. Every woman must desire him. One look, and all is lost.Ember would rather carve out a piece of her soul than be enslaved by passions not her own. She turns to the dark arts to save her heart and becomes the one woman in the kingdom able to resist the Prince’s Charm.Poor girl. If Ember had spent less time studying magic and more time studying human nature, she might have guessed that a man who gets everything and everyone he wants will come to want the one woman he cannot have.Novella / 32,000 wordsWarning: This story contains sex, violence, and naughty words.It’s based on a fairytale, but it isn’t for kids.

    Evocative. Romantic. Enter the sensual world of modern day fairy tales with three novellas by USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone.Music Box GirlA Twelve Dancing Princesses StoryEvery night they dance. Every night he follows.Ex-soldier private investigator Cal Dugan has been hired to follow Tamsin and her ballerinas to find out where they go at night. He didn’t count on Tamsin’s courage or her passion. He didn’t count on the way she twists him up inside.He solves the riddle of their disappearing act, but he’ll never reveal Tamsin’s secrets, no matter the cost.American WitchA Princess and the Pea StoryMorgan wants to start fresh, but a mystery man at the masked ball lights her up from the inside. His hands, his touch, his scent--they're all too familiar, all too real. He’s always been her weakness, but can she deny him when every part of her is on fire for him and only him?Red & WhiteA Snow-White and Rose-Red StoryAll that art student Scarlett wants to do is wait out a howling snowstorm and kiss her best friend senseless, but all her careful plans fall apart the minute a near-frozen bear stumbles through the door.Except he's not a bear—he's very much a man—and there's only one way to warm him up from the cold...

    This is the story of how we became lovers, after a tipsy conversation in which I revealed a little too much about my bedroom habits - but that's not the interesting part.I should tell you that Samantha is the only real, actual, no-kidding-around genius that I've ever known. She's an electronics engineer by day, mad tinkerer and occasional inventor by night - a bespectacled, crazy-haired, absent-minded scatterbrain whose house smells of solder and stray voltage. She is beautiful, intimidatingly intelligent, unnervingly strong, and perhaps more than a little eccentric. She is in love with me, and wants to do whatever will make me happy.I know, right? Lucky Nina, smug and grinning. But wait - it gets better. And a good bit weirder, too.What makes me happy is physical and psychological torture. I love to be scared, bared, smitten, bitten, stripped, whipped, deprived, depraved and degraded - but what I love most of all is to be frightened. I mean serious, bone-deep, fight-or-flight terrified. My biggest erogenous zones are my adrenal glands, and Sam sure as hell knows how to make them squirt.So, what happens to poor, frightened little Nina, when she has a full-time mad scientist constantly figuring out wonderfully twisted and inventive punishments?Mad things. Scary things. Things I wouldn't have thought of in a thousand years. Things that would never have crossed the minds of anyone but Sam.Things that are wickedly, deliciously cruel.Things that make me ecstatic just to be alive.Things involving mittens.

    This collection of short stories was birthed because a sworn "I don't like historicals" reader fell in love with what have become some of her favorite books by most of her favorite writers. Surprisingly, they were all historicals. Determined to make others feel the love, these authors were asked to contribute small tastes of how amazing historical storytelling can be. Along with a foreword written by Alex Beecroft, enjoy these original short stories that make up "Another Place in Time". Office Romance by Tamara AllenThe post-war economy is at a standstill, much like Foster Wetherly’s life until he’s forced to do battle with irritatingly confident—and competent—fellow ex-doughboy Casey Gladwin for a position in their shrinking department at Manhattan Security Mutual.Introducing Mr. Winterbourne by Joanna ChambersLysander Winterbourne appears to lead a charmed life. Handsome, amiable, and a renowned sportsman, he is the darling of London society. As far as Adam Freeman is concerned though, Lysander is just another spoiled aristocrat.A wealthy mill owner, Adam has no time for the frivolous world of the ton, but when his younger brother becomes engaged to Althea Winterbourne, he reluctantly agrees to be introduced to society–with the Winterbourne clan’s golden boy as his guide.Resigning himself to a few days of boredom, Adam is surprised to learn that there is much more to Lysander than his perfect surface. But will Adam have the courage to introduce Lysander Winterbourne to his own secret self?The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh by KJ CharlesLord Gabriel Ashleigh is a ruined man. Last night he lost everything at the card tables to his brother’s worst enemy, notorious gambler Francis Webster. Tonight, he’s going back for one more game. Ash thinks he has nothing left to lose. But Francis sets the stakes, and they’re higher than Ash could have imagined… Two Regency bucks. One game of cards. Everything to play for.Unfair in Love and War by Kaje HarperMany men lost brothers overseas in the summer of 1944. Warren Burch was one of them. For months he still clung to his big city life in Philadelphia, but finally he's made the difficult choice to return to his home town. Warren's polio-stricken leg won't let him serve, so the least he can do is be there for his mother, when brother Charlie never again will. Arriving home means a whole new life, constrained by the rhythms and prejudices of a small town. Fortunately, it's made more interesting by the mysterious and attractive young man next door.Carousel by Jordan L. HawkWhen a child goes missing, is it a simple case of a young runaway, or are more sinister forces at work?“Carousel” is part of the Whyborne & Griffin series and takes place between the events of Stormhaven and Necropolis. It can be read as a standalone.Deliverance by Aleksandr VoinovThis is a re-vamped, re-edited, improved version of "Deliverance". It's about William Raven, a templar, who thought he'd escaped his past. (Same character as in "The Lion of Kent".)