True Calling by Tallulah Scott
Part of the elite Mountain Ranger Rescue Corps, he was one of the best ever. High altitude, rugged terrain, heavily-forested mountains – it didn’t matter, he became a legend among the Rangers.
Then tragedy struck. Labeled a hero for saving that family, the rescue had been far too costly. His partner died on that cold mountainside five years ago, his life slipping through Daniel’s fingers.
Fiery and impulsive, young Trey Obenshain joins the Mountain Rangers determined to become one of the best. Marginalized by his family for his sexuality, Trey is driven to excel.
Sparks fly when they cross paths. For Daniel, long-dead emotions surface. Trey is in awe of his hero, but soon discovers Daniel is a tortured soul, with a soft, lonely tenderness buried inside.
Trey’s growing affection is battered when he learns a dark secret from Daniel’s past, and Daniel struggles to overcome that ever-present fear of loss. Both are soon tested, forced into an emergency rescue operation together that may claim not only their trust in one another, but their very lives.
A former Seattle Police Officer, Lachlan has spent the time since he left the force trying to piece his life together after being abandoned by his partner: Detective Vector Clanahan. But with a dead neighbor downstairs, his carefully constructed solitude is soon to be invaded on all fronts.
Meanwhile, Vector Clanahan’s about to return to his old stomping grounds as the West Coast serial killer he's been tracking leads him right to his ex-partner’s front door.
26.2 miles is nothing to army veteran Mark Riordan. Struggling with PTSD, Mark moved to bucolic Rosebridge, New Hampshire to clear his head – not to fill it with thoughts of a wise-cracking bartender. But there’s something about Jesse that’s drawing Mark in, making him wonder if he might not be quite so super straight after all.
A caught-in-the-moment kiss turns just friends into something miles more complicated. Jesse can’t deny that he’s attracted to Mark, but Mark could break his heart instead of healing it. And Mark has to decide if he’s ready to open up about a past he’d rather forget. Will fear keep this pair on the starting line, or will they follow their runaway hearts?
I always hoped I’d run into Jackson again. I didn’t think it was ever going to happen, but I always hoped. So the day I found his lost kitten felt like fate. I didn’t even know he was in town, and now I was going to be seeing him again so that I could return his adorable cat.
But it’s been years since we last spoke and things didn’t exactly end well. I used to be in love with him, and I still have so many feelings, but can I forgive him? He’s been wonderful to me in the past but he also hurt me deeply. I can’t deny, though, that the bond between us is still strong. At least, it is for me. I can’t be sure how he feels. Especially considering how he left…
“I was such a fool to ever let him go.”
I haven’t been the best person, I will fully admit to that. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but leaving Grant behind was by far the biggest. He was my best friend, I’ve never been closer to anyone else.
And that’s the scary part for me. My biggest fear about returning to my hometown to help out my family was that I’d run into him again. I don’t want to get close to him again because it might mean losing him. And I already feel crushed from losing him the first time.
Alex MacElhaney doesn’t know what to do with children. He’s satisfied with his two English Setters and his fledgling bakery business. But when an emergency with his sister in law’s family leaves him in charge of his two nephews in the weeks leading up to Christmas, Alex buckles in for a crash course in parenting.
“A second chance with the one man who unintentionally broke my heart?”
Police officer Kellen Walker’s deepest wish is a husband and children. The happy families he sees all around him at Christmastime leave him feeling cold and alone. Coming out as gay would break his ailing father’s heart, so to combat his loneliness, he throws himself even further into his work, burying his needs in service to others.
“Is their love strong enough to risk everything?”
When Kellen investigates a break-in at Alex’s bakery, he comes face to face with the one man who almost tempted him into defying his father and coming out. Kellen resolves to do his job and be the friend that Alex wanted all along. When Alex suggests a Christmas fling, can they both love the other without their hearts getting attached?
Fit to be Married by Declan Rhodes
Maybe it was just a passing comment from his brother-in-law, but for Thomas the comment cut to the core. It also lit a spark that would soon turn into a flame of action. Thomas sets out to play his part in ensuring marriage equality becomes the law of the land, but he still longs for a special man at his side.
“Everyone deserves the right to marry, but I can’t put my professional reputation on the line.”
Landon is a teacher in an affluent, conservative community, and he feels fortunate that his colleagues have accepted him as an out gay man. However, any further public steps in promoting legal rights for his community would not be so well received. Keeping his opinions in his heart but absent from his sleeve works well until he meets Thomas.
“We can be partners…but does it have to be marriage?”
Thomas and Landon agree on one thing. They want their relationship to be permanent, but what should it look like to the rest of the world?
Shane Dixon knows about the pain and trauma of returning veterans. He runs a soup kitchen to help them in their time of need.
But when Archer and Shane meet and find themselves in a makeshift friendship, they fall for one another much deeper than either of them suspect. Can Shane help Archer overcome his flashbacks? Can Archer show Shane an honest love that he’s never had before?
By the final page in their story, they’ll both realize that despite what life deals them, they are unshakeable.
Dragon’s Love Song by Ann-Katrin Byrde
Zed used to believe fated mates only existed in fairy tales. When his overbearing mother arranges a mating for him, he doesn’t mind. One dragon’s as good as another. To sweeten the pot, his show-biz parents have offered to help his band hit the big time.
Everything looks good until Zed runs into Roger—and the attraction between them is undeniable.
Could the stories be true? If so, he needs to get out of his arranged mating and keep Roger around long enough to give them a shot. His solution–hire Roger to play his boyfriend and convince his mother that he’s found his true mate.
Because that couldn’t possibly go wrong.
Courage by Cait Forester and Brian C Palmer
Austin Freeman isn’t exactly a free man. Oh, he’s able to be open about his sexuality – but he hides behind the mask of an average college guy, unwilling to embrace his fem side in public. He just wants to fit in, and that’s part of why he’s pledging Delta Tau Ro.
When Austin and Dex are paired up as part of the campus’ new Rush initiative, they aren’t prepared to recognize each other from a disastrous encounter they’d shared years ago – or to admit that in the case of dating, opposites really do attract.