Livres - Bibliographie

Skylar est habitué à ce que les autres le trouvent effrayant, mesquin, dangereux, voire même malveillant. De tous les garous, les serpents ne sont pas les mieux vus, et le fait qu'il ait grandi dans la nature ne joue pas en sa faveur. Il sait que la vie qu'il s'est choisie, isolé dans les bois, ne fait qu'aggraver la situation, mais il n'aurait jamais cru que cela en viendrait à ce que ses pairs le croient capable d'assassiner deux louveteaux.

Déterminé à trouver le vrai monstre qui les a abandonnés, Skylar appelle le seul loup-garou qu'il connaisse, un homme qui, à son grand regret, n'a jamais vu en lui qu'un vulgaire serpent...

Neuf dieux gouvernaient jadis le monde, jusqu’à ce qu’une ultime trahison ne les mène à leur perte. Depuis, le monde se meurt et seul le retour des Dieux disparus pourra le sauver.

Il y a de cela neuf cents ans, les Dragons des Trois Tempêtes, divinités du Chaos, tentèrent d'anéantir l'archipel de la Kundou. La seule solution pour sauver le pays fut de s’opposer aux Dragons, de les terrasser et de s'emparer de leurs pouvoirs. Depuis, cette puissance confère à la famille royale le droit de suzeraineté.

Mais cette magie a un terrible prix, et le prince Nankyokukai est bien décidé à être le dernier à devoir le payer… même si pour cela il doit renoncer à tout espoir d’être avec l’homme qu'il a attendu toute sa vie.

Prince Allen has trained his entire life to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious mother, who has made their kingdom one of the wealthiest and most influential in the empire. For the past few years he has trained to become the new consort of the High King. The only thing no one prepared him for was the stubborn, arrogant High King himself, who declares Allen useless and throws him out of court.

High King Sarrica is ruling an empire at war, and that war will grow exponentially worse if his carefully laid plans do not come to fruition. He's overwhelmed and needs help, as much as he hates to admit it, but it must be someone like his late consort: a soldier, someone who understands war, who is not unfamiliar with or afraid of the harsher elements of rule. What he doesn't need is the delicate, pretty little politician foisted on him right as everything goes wrong.

Publisher note: this is a highly expanded, completely re-written version of the free short that was previously available under the same title.

Kaeck is a poor, shy, mage, barely able to keep attending University. His life is work and school, leaving him too busy to make friends. Then one day, fetching his mail from his school post box, Kaeck finds a letter from a secret admirer. The letters and subsequent gifts do much to brighten Kaeck’s lonely days, but even as he longs to know the identity of his admirer, he finds his own admiration growing for fellow student Bellamy... who in turn is enamored of someone else entirely.

Jordan a l'habitude d'être au cœur de toutes les blagues sur les sorciers herboristes, et il est douloureusement conscient d'être un parfait exemple de tous les clichés associés à sa profession. Il s'est depuis longtemps résigné à ne jamais avoir autant de succès que les sorciers élémentalistes, bien plus favorisés. Jusqu'au jour où une prestigieuse compagnie de magie lance une recherche pour des sorciers herboristes, et la chance de prouver sa valeur et d'être autre chose que la risée de tous lui est impossible à résister... même s'il doit pour cela mettre toutes les choses qu'il aime sur le côté pendant un temps. Ce n'est que temporaire, les honoraires sont géniaux, et le jeu en vaudra la chandelle au final.

All Rath wants is a quiet, peaceful life. Unfortunately, his father brings him too much trouble—and too many debts to pay—for that to ever be possible. When the local crime lord drags Rath out of bed and tells him he has three days to pay his father's latest debt, Rath doesn't know what to do. There's no way to come up with so much money in so little time.

Then a friend poses an idea just ridiculous enough to work: enter the Tournament of Losers, where every seventy-five years, peasants compete for the chance to marry into the noble and royal houses. All competitors are given a stipend to live on for the duration of the tournament—funds enough to cover his father's debt.

All he has to do is win the first few rounds, collect his stipend, and then it's back to trying to live a quiet life...

Castle Rehm is a forgotten corner of the kingdom, where the locals spend most of their time drinking and avoiding the snow that plagues them most of the year. It's quiet, boring, and nothing at all like the bustling city where Kohar grew up.

He has no problem with that, however, and in fact mostly enjoys his job as Mage-in-Residence for the most boring territory in the world. What he does have problems with are the resident Captain of the Guard, who drives him crazy on a daily basis, and Solla, whom Kohar desperately wishes would notice him but has always remained oblivious.

But then people start turning up dead, and all thoughts of aggravating soldiers and oblivious mercenaries must be set aside in the face of demonic attack and a traitor in their midst…

In a world of demons, goblins, witches, sirens, werewolves, vampires, and so much more, it can be difficult to determine who is guilty of what and why. Chris White is a detective who fearlessly investigates this supernatural world, himself a unique product of it. He will take any case brought to him, but has a particular affinity for helping those who inhabit the poor districts of his city. From strange rituals and runaway vampires, to fighting sorcerers and confronting a demon lord, this paranormal detective will face any challenge—even a dance with the devil.

Five stories of men and the secrets and lies that shape their lives…

Deceived – The hatred between Prince Benedict and his secretary Rae is well-known, and the source of much gossip at court. Each one too stubborn to walk away, determined to make the other one the first to break, they spend their days fighting or ruthlessly ignoring one another. Determined to put an end to the matter once and for all, and to give the notoriously rakish Benedict a taste of his own medicine, Rae sets upon a deception only to realize that there is more than one deception afoot…

Scandalous – Gideon has led a very strict life since the death of his parents, determined not to live the scandalous life that led to their untimely demise and to bring up his little brother in a more stable home. Journeying home to settle the matter of a new tutor for his brother, Gideon is waylaid overnight by foul weather at an inn. He encounters a beautiful young man who is more temptation than he is able to resist, and Gideon impulsively decides that one night, with a complete stranger, cannot possibly come to any harm…

From Afar – Pierce has all that anyone could want in life—an adoring brother who raised him when their parents died, the fame and adoration from being an accomplished fencer, and the best friend a man could have. What he wants, however, is to know the identity of the person who leaves him ardent love letters and why his admirer will not step forward…

Lessons – There is very little that Jude has not tried or seen, and his shameless behavior has earned him the reputation as the most notorious rake in the city. The one thing he does not do, however, is innocents. Then he chances upon a young man late at night in the park, amused to learn the man is attempting to write a love letter of all things. When he learns that Crispin despairs of ever catching the eye of his love because he is too innocent to be appealing, Jude impulsively offers to teach him all that he needs to know…

The Highwayman – When he receives word that his home is being plagued by a highwayman, Bartholomew immediately sets off for the family estate to see to the matter. When he arrives home, however, he learns that very little is as he remembers it. Instead of one problem to solve, Bartholomew finds himself contending with a highwayman, a murderer, strangers, and an old friend who is nothing like the boy he grew up with…

A homeless werewolf travels to the town of Midsummer's Night, following a rumor that a doctor there has developed a cure for the lycanthropy that has always been the bane of his existence. But the cure he discovers is the very thing he ever expected to find...

Esen has spent his entire life an outcast, and he threw out his last chance at fitting in when he broke the engagement his family worked so hard to arrange. Sent to the royal palace to fulfill one last duty, he counts the hours until he is literally left homeless and destitute.

But hiding away in the royal garden, he accidentally overhears a private conversation and meets the mysterious Queen’s Man…

Four tales of men who refuse to be molded... Swordwick is the story of a prince who dares to wield both blade and wick—until he must pretend to be something else for the sake of his sister. Odd Wick tells the tale of a wick of extraordinary genius who wants nothing more than the ordinary Captain serving as his escort. Songwick is the tale of a wick of incredibly rare ability, desperate to escape a miserable past and find a bright future... Flamewick relates the story of a man as fierce as the flames he controls, until that which he holds most dear is stolen from him, and one man alone is not enough to get it back.

Rain is on spring break with his friends and bored out of his mind—when he's not pining after his best friend Whitney, anyway.

Then a storm knocks him overboard and he winds up trapped on an island with an ominous reputation…

Karl leads a quiet life—quieter than he wants, especially since getting into a fight with one of the most powerful men in the city—but it could be worse. In a city where super heroes and villains can level a city block in a moment, it's a good day when nothing is destroyed, especially for the man who sells super hero insurance.

After yet another date stands him up, Karl heads home for another night spent reading with only his cats for company. But a strange sound at the bus stop leads him to a shocking discovery: Trick of the Light, a notorious villain in possession of an impossible power, and currently the intense focus of a man hunt by the Grand Order of Defenders.

But Karl has never had much respect for the Order and its arrogant, cavalier super heroes. Whatever the risks, he'd much rather spend the night helping a villain, especially since once Trick is well enough to move Karl will probably never see him again…

When High Paladin Sorin discovers the brutally dismembered body of his cousin Alfrey, a much loved priest in the royal palace, he is left baffled as to who would do so terrible a thing to so good a man. But to find the answer to that question, he must cooperate with one of the highly despised necromancers, men who practice black magic, sleep in graveyards and feed upon souls …

The necromancer Koray, however, is far from what he expected. He is beautiful, stubborn, and possessed of a tongue sharp enough to cut down even the High Paladin himself. Koray is also possessed of a strength like nothing Sorin has ever encountered, and the power of the Goddess herself.

It does not take them long to realize that solving a murder is the easiest challenge they must face, and in order to save a kingdom they must first unravel centuries of lies and misunderstandings.

Calder is the Huntsman of the Royal Forest of Blodwen, a job he loves more than anything else in the world. Well, almost anything. But the greatest love of his life took a different path ten years ago, and so Calder focuses on his forest and friends.

Then the king returns home early—and married to a beautiful woman who proves to be a terrible witch. Though Calder manages to not fall under her spell, it's only a matter of time before she realizes he's not bewitched, and Calder joins the other rapidly accumulating dead.

The kingdom's only hope lies in finding a sorcerer of equal power, but the only one Calder knows of is the man he hasn't seen in ten years, and lives in a kingdom too far away to reach in time…

A man whom all men fear...

General Dieter von Adolwulf has led the Scarlet Army of Kria to victory for the past decade, holding the infamous field known as the Regenbogen against Kria's hated enemies—the deceptive Illussor and the ruthless Salharans. War has waged between the three nations for longer than anyone can remember, but no one has held the Regenbogen as well as the notorious Wolf of Kria and his fearsome army.

A man who fears nothing...

Returning home at the end of the year, the Scarlet Army is attacked in the dead of night by a single man who manages to kill hundreds before he is finally captured. A Salharan soldier with no name, no purpose but to kill, he refuses to bend to the Wolf who takes him prisoner and forces upon him a despicable Krian name.

A man with nothing to lose...

When the rest of his army is slaughtered by Illussor soldiers desperately seeking his prisoner, Dieter determines to hold fast—both for answers and in revenge for the men he lost. But answers and revenge are hard to come by when surrounded by secrets and treachery, and the man least likely to kill him is the prisoner who most wants him dead.

Two years ago, while he was away on a diplomatic mission, Davrin's best friend was murdered in cold blood. Finally home, with the mourning period ended, Davrin is determined to have justice—but as a noble, the law forbids him from fighting Lord Tekker directly. Instead, he must have a champion to face off against Tekker's champion. When he issues the challenge, however, no one steps forward to be his champion, leaving Davrin humiliated and despairing.

Cimar may only be an archivist now, but he earned his spurs the same as any knight, and he hasn't allowed his skills to lapse over the years. Though he did not arrive in time to answer as champion at dinner, he does see Davrin in the dark hours of the night—and infuriates the king, Tekker, and his slimy champion Grayne when he arrives in the morning to make the challenge official.

Though Cimar and Grayne are matched in skill and their rare ability to shift, Grayne and Tekker have the king's favor, and Grayne's hellhound form is nigh unbeatable. If Cimar is going to win the challenge to avenge an old friend on behalf of a man he's always secretly loved, it's going to take every skill and trick at his disposal—and a whole lot of luck.

Jack worked hard to obtain a normal life. He might not love it, but it's better than the criminal life he left behind—even if it cost literally everything, and he really does hate being a damned delivery man. On the bright side, his route includes a friendly old lady who makes the world's best cookies and regales him with tales of her hot, jet-setting son. Normalcy definitely has perks.

Then he walks in on her and her son arguing with men at gunpoint.

This free ebook is volume one in a collection of short stories celebrating love, sex and romance between men.

Note: These stories contain sexually explicit content and are intended for adult readers only.

Jade Archer – CUPID‘S BEAU (Fantasy/Friends to Lovers)

Ismal Alrays – PUBLISHER (College/First-time)

J.P. Barnaby – END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (First Love)*

Sarah Black – SUCKER-PUNCH (Athlete/Hurt-Comfort)

Scarlet Blackwell – BREAKING WAVES (Surfing/Angst)

Penny Brandon – WANTING JACK (Cowboys/Mild BDSM)

Lee Brazil – BE A BAD BOY (First-Time/Family Drama)

Cardeno C. – WOMAN WITH A DILDO (Friends to Lovers)

L.C. Chase – OPEN TACKLE (Friends to Lovers)*

Kim Dare – MASOCHISM 101 (BDSM/Friends to Lovers)

S.J. Frost – A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY (Musicians/Rivals to Lovers)

Jeanette Grey – HEART AND SOUL (Friends to Lovers)

Jambrea Jo Jones – WILD BLUE YONDER (Military)*

Pender Mackie - DOG DAYS OF SUMMER (Blue Collar/First Date)

KM Mahoney - SHOW & TELL (College/First-time)

JL Merrow – BEAR NAKED (First-time/Bears)

M.J. O'Shea – BRIDGES (First Love)*

Neil S. Plakcy – PHOTO BOOTH (Cowboys/FBI)

D.A. Rhodes – STORM OF PASSION (Friends to Lovers)

Jaime Samms – MOURNING (Hurt/Comfort)*

Justin South – REFLECTIONS (First Love/Hurt-Comfort)

Zach Sweets – LUSCIOUS LOVE (Coming out/Food Kinky)

Piper Vaughn – WANTING (First Love)*

Silvia Violet – TIME TO TELL (Military/Friends to Lover)

Deanna Wadsworth – UNSCHEDULED MAINTENANCE (Office Sex)

Stuart Wakefield – THE ELEMENTS OF LOVE (Sci-Fi/Ménage)

Alex Whitehall – HOLD ME TIGHT (Hurt-Comfort/BDSM Light)

Lisa Worrall – JUST ONE KISS (Gay-for-You/Cops)

Connor Wright – GONE TO PIECES (Sci-Fi/Mild BDSM)

Najlah is on the hunt for the traitorous coward who attempted to assassinate the king and nearly killed Najlah's brother in the process. But the hunt has taken his team deep into the Shide, the treacherous, freezing mountains controlled by the mysterious Lukos, feral wolf shifters who do not tolerate trespassers.

When the Lukos come upon them, Najlah is reluctantly intrigued. The Lukos, especially the one called Barkus, are nothing like the soft humans he spends most of his time around. They thrive in the brutal cold the way he thrives in volcanic fire. For the first time, it feels like Najlah may have found someone who can equal the fierceness of dragons, and see them as more than demons.

But if he hopes to explore the bond forming with the Lukos, he must first survive the enemy—and the Shide.

The youngest son in a large family, easily overlooked by busy parents and siblings all significantly older than him, Remira has worked hard to get to where he is, though most would consider it little enough. A soldier at the local garrison, he spends his days protecting the village and surrounding land from encroaching beasts, and his nights assisting his parents with the family business.

It's a better life than anyone expected for him, but still Remira longs for more, to visit places he only hears about, to see the stars through telescopes he's only ever seen in catalogues. Opportunities like that don't go to the youngest son of furriers, however, and so he makes do with ogre-slaying and stargazing.

Then, in the aftermath of a traumatic event, he learns some surprising news: his parents have arranged a marriage for him, and not to the local he'd been dreading, but to a merchant couple they've recently contracted with who live in a city several days away and are seeking a spouse with both martial experience and mercantile knowledge.

It's not the opportunity he ever expected, but it's certainly one he's determined to meet and exceed—until he arrives to meet his future spouses and learns they never really wanted the marriage at all and fully intend to send him away the very moment the trial period is over.

Shanna has spent her whole life waiting—waiting to be old enough, waiting for the day she must pick a consort, waiting for a chance to finally overcome her despicable stepfather… and waiting for someone to finally banish the loneliness that comes with being a queen-in-waiting one step away from being murdered.

On the eve of the two-week event during which she must pick a consort from a bevy of suitors, two strangers arrive claiming to have been invited—though she knows full well they did not receive any such invitation. But the handsome, mischievous Prince Kallaar is too intriguing to resist, and his quiet bodyguard too compelling to ignore…

But she’s learned the hard way never to let anyone get too close, and on the verge of gaining true independence her stepfather will stop at nothing to see she never gets it.

Cassidy Monarch had dreams to sing, to be famous, to tour the world at the head of his own rock band. Then his parents were killed in a tragic accident, leaving him to raise his two siblings. Determined to hold on to what remained of his family, Cassidy settled into an ordinary life, his dreams of fame reduced to occasional nights of singing at karaoke dives. But his careful, ordinary life began to fray with his new job, and the beautiful, charming boss who reminds him of all the things he tried to stop wanting.

Malcolm Osborne is a classic rags to riches story, a foster child who wound up with the perfect family and more money than he knows what to do with. He's wealthy, beautiful, successful, and completely miserable. Then he hires a new worker for his office, a young, hard-working man with a sadness in his eyes that Malcolm aches to banish, hoping that in doing so he will be rid of his own loneliness as well.

A story I wrote for my roommate. A runescribe meets with disaster on his way to a job interview.

-

Near-blind without his glasses, regarded as a burden to his family, Tyri left his clan to attempt a career as a runescribe in the city. But finding a job proves more difficult than anticipated, and his last hope to avoid being thrown out on the streets depends on the interview he has that morning. A morning immediately ruined by way of a storm and a stranger who accidentally breaks his glasses.

The country of Tavamara is renowned for its famous Market, its decadent wines, the harsh climate in which it manages to flourish—and the infamous concubines kept by the members of the royal family. King Shahjahan’s harem is especially well known, for the men who comprise his harem come from all walks of life—a jaded court musician, a shameless pirate, a quiet monk, a prisoner of war, and a young horse trainer, all brought together by the devotion and love they share for their King.

This volume also contains three additional stories:

Knight to Rook

Displaced by war, Rook makes a home in the Great Desert where his cousin Cordelia has become Princess. Once a strategist of unmatched ability, famous in the armies of his homeland, he spends his days in the Desert adrift and alone. With no way to use his skills, and held in contempt for his inability to use a sword, Rook can only watch and wait for a chance to prove he belongs amongst the Sons of the Sands.

Everything You Need

Though he left the Desert years ago and is set to become the next Advisor to the King of Tavamara, Ikram spends most of his days feeling slightly out of place, living a life of civility and calm that is hard to accept after a lifetime in the brutal, blood-soaked Sands. Eager to get away from the palace for a time, he braves the famous Market and finds far more than the soap which he had been seeking.

The Jewel of Tavamara

Fahima has always been the lesser sister; younger, plainer, too smart, too independent, and interested solely in the temples. She wants nothing more than to see her beautiful, popular, older sister married off to King Shahjahan so that she might return to her temples and be left in peace. But then her sister commits the ultimate taboo, and in order to save the lives of her family, Fahima must take her sister’s place—though she was never meant to be Queen, and could never hope to truly catch the notice of the handsome and compelling Shahjahan.

Ulrich is tired of being far from home. He misses the high mountains of his homeland, the familiarity and comfort of living amongst Pack. The thin, weak wolves of the lowlands grate, and he is ready to be done with his duty to the King and return home. Sent on assignment to find the reason behind the death of a fellow wolf, he hopes that by fulfilling the mission, he will have paid his dues and be permitted to return home.

The very last thing he expects to encounter in the wild woods of the lowlands is a wild mage who on the surface seems to hate wolves and everything associated with them. But as Ulrich digs deeper, and danger forces them closer, he realizes that the mage is so much more than he seems—and too much for Ulrich.

Infinitum Government Code 3.18.21.512: Genetic Experimentation Shall Be Strictly Forbidden

No job is more arduous than that of Rehab Guard—those appointed to guard the many and varied prisoners within the Infinitum Government, the ruling power of a vast interplanetary alliance. To be a Rehab Guard requires very specific qualifications and years of specialized training. It is brutal, dangerous, and often thankless job—and there is nowhere else Sean would rather be. It keeps him safe, his deadly secret safely buried, and gives him a life as close to normal as he will ever come.

Until the day new prisoner arrives, a genetically-engineered Draconis with the ability to ‘match’ to a suitable magics-capable individual and boost his power. Convicted of murder, he is sentenced to Rehab for life, and no one has ever escaped from Rehab. But no one counted on the prisoner matching with Sean, who as a human should not be capable of magics…

Kasumi is an elite warrior, trained in skills that very little of the world even knows exists. The price for his skills is high, and they are not sold lightly. Given into the service of a famous scholar, Kasumi travels the world at his side, a secretive, deadly shadow, his only defining trait a mask that no one can remember in detail the very moment they have looked away...

When Kasumi and his Master board a ship, Kasumi is certain he will be facing nothing more than a very long, very boring trip. But the companion his Master is travelling with proves to be the most idiotic, most infuriating man that Kasumi has ever met, and the trip proves to be frustrating rather than boring.

Then everything goes wrong...

It's just another day at the candy shop for Sherlock: a quiet afternoon spent more on reading his latest fantasy novel than on selling candy. The kind of day he loves, even if the looming New Year's Eve leaves him feeling nostalgic and a little lonely. But then the last person he ever expected to see walks through the door of his shop, and Sherlock realizes that some things don't fade with time, but grow stronger.

Chanda is the Lord of Honey Flower House, which caters to those who have a taste for the paranormal between the sheets. Being an incubus makes him all the better at the job, even if it also leaves him lonely.

Then a demon appears on his doorstep in search of a missing person, and Chanda is quickly reminded why he prefers the relatively quiet life as master of a pleasure house—but also reminds him of a bitter past he's tried to leave behind, and dreams he gave up on a long time ago.

Lord Vellem is desperate to escape. His father hides from his problems in alcohol, his mother hides from her misery in drugs, and his brother fled to the relative safety of the royal palace. Vellem found solace in the Royal Army Corp of Engineers, but true escape from a life of violence remains out of reach.

Then his brother provides him with an unexpected chance: marriage to a prince of their country's oldest enemy to help bring about peace once and for all. The marriage promises Vellem not just a fresh start in a new land, but a challenge to his famed skills in building roads and bridges.

But before he can settle into his new life, tragedy strikes, and Vellem isn't certain he's up to rebuilding the ruin left in its wake.

Gene has been dragged by his mother to an historical tourist spot to finally meet his new stepbrother. But his stepbrother proves to be the very last person he expected to encounter. On top of that, the long-ago residents of the tourist hot spot, a tower dating back to the revolution, are not quite as dead as Gene would have liked..

My sister has always been of the romantic sort. She fell in love with a prince and made a deal with the sea witch that she could make him fall in love with her as well. But it's been a month and so far she has failed. Unable to see her broken hearted and knowing that she would soon be claimed by the sea witch, the three eldest sisters presented her with a knife to kill him.

She loves him too much to do so and now the task falls to me. If I can kill the prince, my sister will be safe to mend her broken heart. And what does it matter, he is only human. The human that rejected my sister and put her in the situation.

But I'm beginning to realize that the prince is far more than simply human to me. And I think I'm losing my heart to him as well.

On a journey to meet his fiancé and begin wedding preparations, Prince Diggory is betrayed by his bodyguard, who intends to steal Diggory's life. Left for dead in a river, the last thing Diggory expects is to live.

But surviving is only half the battle, and Diggory will have to figure out how to work around the constraints of a terrible curse if he hopes to stop the man who betrayed him and gain back his life.

Encre et papier est une adaptation du conte de Cendrillon.

Enitan n'est qu'un simple employé à la papeterie qui est désormais la propriété de son parâtre. Il passe ses journées à nettoyer et à s'occuper de l'inventaire, regrettant de ne pouvoir être plus présent dans la boutique, ou pourquoi pas partir et bâtir la sienne. Lorsqu'un étranger entre dans le magasin, à la recherche d'encre, Enitan est emporté dans un monde qui n'est pas le sien, et se retrouve à espérer des choses encore plus inimaginables que d'avoir son propre établissement.

(12500 mots)

Shimari is a centuries old demon, steeped in knowledge and experience. He has been summoned in ages past to assist great wizards and topple kingdoms. Apprentices do not dare to summon him, and even wise men hesitate. He has seen everything; nothing surprises him... until a young man, practicing magic illegally, summons him by mistake.

Homoerotic stories involving griffons, demons, dragons, wizards, and thieves. In The Dragon's Treasure, a dragon obsessed with cleanliness quietly pines over a regular customer to his shop. In The Selkie No One Wanted, a selkie who is nothing like his beautiful siblings winds up helping the fisherman he has long admired. A demon finds himself dealing with two troublesome humans in The Spawn, and in Mad Finnegan, a mad wizard reunites with the person who first drove him into the 'madness' that has made him infamous. A young chef winds up with an unusual assistant in Dragon Stew and a man finds that life has not quite yet passed him by in The Innkeeper's Story. The Quest sends a loud-mouthed demon to earn the affections of a mate who does not want him, and in Spellbound a talented thief longs to find a way to steal the heart of his latest client.

THE KNIGHT AND…

THE DRAGON

Bran is tired of living a life of blood and violence. After decades of serving his king on the battlefield, he wants the peaceful, violence-free life he has earned. When the king refuses to grant him freedom, Bran volunteers to go slay a deadly dragon—with every intention of dying alongside it.

THE STATUE

Grey has always kept to himself, so solitary and strange he is named after the mist-filled valley where he was found as a child. But he longs for things he cannot have – like Dunstan, a beautiful, young mage far out of reach. Then he learns Dunstan's family is being tormented by mercenaries, and Dunstan himself turned to stone—and Grey and his strange past are their only hope for rescue.

THE PRINCE

All Victor wants is to be taken seriously by his so-called peers, who constantly bully him for his fussy ways and his close relationship to the throne. Then he rescues a foreign prince being chased by assassins, and finds himself swept into a strange world that feels more like home than anywhere he's ever been…

Lynn is a kraken shifter in every way: detailed, tenacious, resilient, and hard-working. Also possessive, vain, arrogant, and demanding. It makes him an excellent agent for the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Security and Investigation—and impossible to work with, as the long list of partners who have transferred away from him will attest.

His newest partner is a unicorn, possibly the worst type of paranormal for work that often turns ugly and violent. Everyone knows unicorns are too delicate for such things. Then Anderson proves to be a unicorn like no other, the kind of partner Lynn has always wanted—the kind of partner he wishes was more. But if there's one thing he's learned, it's that the only thing harder to keep than a partner is a lover.

Lazzaro has a talent for catching criminals, a talent that has gained him as much trouble as it has acclaim in the years since he arrived at the royal palace to attend his mother, infamous concubine to the King.

Increasingly frustrated that the man who murdered his mother continues to elude him, Lazzaro takes the advice of his half-brother and goes to obtain information from the notorious Crown Jewel--the most successful courtesan in the city.

But the man he encounters is nothing like what he expected, and Lazzaro finds himself coveting a Jewel that vows never to belong to just one man.

Tales of knights bound by duty, honor, and each other...

Always There — When the princess they are sworn to protect is kidnapped, two knights are separated in their efforts to save her, and in being part realize what they always had together...

Tournament — A young man attends accepts an offer to attend Tournament in the hopes that by winning it, he will finally gain the affections of the man he has loved his entire life.

Vow Unto Me — Two men, divided by tragedy and grief, are ordered to a remote monastery to unravel a mystery, and finally overcome the problems keeping them apart.

Centuries ago, humans and vampires lived alongside one another, sometimes hostile, sometimes peaceful—but always tense. Eventually, that tension tipped too far, and now vampires are few in number and known only as Pets, kept by the wealthy as intimate companions, most of their history lost, the rest shrouded in mystery.

Aubrey has returned home after spending many years away, though he is reluctant to live once more with his estranged father, his mercurial cousin, and the memories of his murdered mother.

The very last thing he wants is the Pet given to him as a welcome home gift, a practice he has long despised and wants no part of. But Ruthven is like no Pet he's ever encountered, and only the beginning of the secrets Aubrey slowly begins to uncover...

Alcor has it all: wealth, popularity, power. Whatever he wants, he has only to snap his fingers. He spends his days doped on dragonweed and enjoying the latest person seduced into his bed. He is cold, selfish, and cruel.

Then a dark faerie shows up at his birthday party, and a night of drugs and debauchery turns into a nightmare of fire and blood, killing everyone—except Alcor.

Instead of death, Alcor is left disfigured and cursed, unable to die, forced into a life of solitude, and his only hope for salvation is that someone can learn to love a beast…

Tallant is an elf astray—he's been disowned by his family, has dared to battle bond with a human, and has no desire to ever see his homeland again. He is, in fact, vastly more excited to finally be seeing the home his battle-bonded, Milton, is finally returning to after twelve years of exile.

But instead of the joyful place Milton spoke endlessly of, they find a land rife with deadly dragons, where fifteen women have gone missing, including Irene, the woman Milton loves.

Even Milton's brother, Cecil, is not what he used to be. Instead of the scholar Milton talked about, Cecil is a hardened soldier who keeps company with thieves. He is also beautiful and intriguing—but contemptuous of Milton and Tallant. Worse, he's also married to Irene, making it clear that Milton and Tallant have arrived far too late to matter.

Author's Note: This story was first published by Less Than Three Press in Fairytales Slashed Volume Three. It has not been significantly changed for re-release.

WAITING FOR YOU

Shanna has spent her whole life waiting—waiting to be old enough, waiting for the day she must pick a consort, waiting for a chance to finally overcome her despicable stepfather… and waiting for someone to finally banish the loneliness that comes with being a queen-in-waiting one step away from being murdered.On the eve of the two-week event during which she must pick a consort from a bevy of suitors, two strangers arrive claiming to have been invited—though she knows full well they did not receive any such invitation. But the handsome, mischievous Prince Kallaar is too intriguing to resist, and his quiet bodyguard too compelling to ignore…But she’s learned the hard way never to let anyone get too close, and on the verge of gaining true independence her stepfather will stop at nothing to see she never gets it.

FIGHTING FOR YOU

All Penli wants to be is left alone. After nearly a decade of blood, violence, and killing; and a lifetime of enduring his cold, ambitious family, it's almost a relief to be practically alone in the middle of a desert kingdom with no way to return home because of the warrant out for his arrest.The very last thing he needs is to be consumed by a fit of honor and nobility—but he would much rather die than ever see the two sweet, intriguing men who cross his path forced apart, one to be thrown to the streets, the other to marry a malicious bully Penli has hated all his life.Though he means only to free them, having no desire to marry after barely escaping one unwanted marriage, with each passing day Penli fears the only thing more difficult than throwing his life away will be resisting the urge to build a new one with two men he barely knows.

LOOKING FOR YOU

It is the duty of the lifesworn to devote their lives to protecting, serving, and guiding those to whom they're sworn. The best of them serve one master for their entire lives. Though Omar has only ever wanted to be listed amongst those greats, he instead loses his first master to illness, his second to age, and is rejected by subsequent potentials.When a beautiful, captivating foreign woman, Lady Astira, arrives unexpectedly in Morentia, she brings dire news: her betrothed, Lord Symaia, has been kidnapped. Without him and the soldiers who follow him, Princess Shanna will be missing a significant part of her army in the coming war against her stepfather.Symaia is also an old friend of Omar's, and so Omar is assigned the task of finding, rescuing, and protecting him. If Omar fails in his mission, lives and kingdoms will be lost. If he succeeds, he must watch as the man he's always loved marries the woman he's quickly falling in love with.

Tales of brothers, swords, and the men they most desire...

Main Gauche — Though he was born to nobility, the loss of first his father, and then his mother, has left Dagger a peasant. His stepfather is cruel and greedy, and refuses to claim Dagger as his own. Instead of living the life for which he was meant, Dagger spends his days as the apprentice to a blacksmith, and pining for the handsome lord who frequents the smithy.

Then the king calls for a royal tournament for his son the crown prince The chance to be a duelist again, to see the lord he so admires but can never have, is more than Dagger can resist...

1000 Victories — Epee loathes the noble life; his heartless father, his overbearing brother, the hypocrites he must call peers. He wants the simpler, ordinary life of a peasant. It is a life he is slowly working toward, and soon to hold in his grasp, no matter the consequences.

All that holds him back is Lord Sharp, the man he has long loved but never been able to win. But, he is very close to winning his thousandth victory over Lord Sharp in the dueling ring. With that 1000th victory, Epee hopes to win at last the man he loves more than even freedom...

The Perfect Son — Sabre has always lived according to the wishes and desires of his father, to the exclusion of everyone and everything else. His father's eldest son, he strives to be what his father wants. He is affluent, educated, a talented duelist, respected, and feared. He is everything he is supposed to be. Except happy.

Three tales of hunters, vampires, and the colorful lives they lead...

Locke and his partner Key hunt broken vampires—those who did not take well to the changes inflicted upon them, and feast wildly upon the living. They live the life of wanderers, traveling from place to place, putting an end to broken vampires. They rely on each other, partners through and through—until a secret rips them apart.

Preston is a hunter of top vampires, those who have lived for decades, even centuries. It is Preston's duty to keep an eye on these older vampires and ensure they do not break the strict rules by which they live. This duty is easier said than done, when his days are predominantly spent settling the disputes between two vampires with a vehement dislike of each other—but who share a particular fondness Preston.

Trevor has faithfully served top vampire Richard as housekeeper for years, watching from afar as the man he loves notices everyone but the man right in front of him. But then Richard, recovering from a stinging rejection, begins to spend more time with his housekeeper in an effort to get over his heartbreak, and Trevor begins to hope that he might finally get the chance at the vampire he's always wanted.

Summoned to the royal palace by the King, Alaith spends his days either handling the dragons that plague the kingdom, or holed up in his lonely tower. Unusual in appearance, manner, and his method of taming dragons rather than slaying them, his only distractions from his painfully outcast state are caring for the tamed dragon who resides with him, and admiring the handsome Lord Trey—and arguing with the infuriating Prince Rythe.

Four strangers. A shared moment long forgotten. A bond forged in desperation.

On the first day of the Festival of Counting, the beginning of the royal census that takes place every ten years, the royal city is filled to overflowing. Everyone is happy, excited, and proud to be counted amongst those who live in the glorious kingdom of Orhanis.

Then a demon strikes, killing thousands in mere seconds and leveling the city. As the royal castle burns, only four men remain to drive the demon away—and in their desperation, accidentally bind themselves together in a legendary Oath, unable to part ways until they find and kill the demon once and for all.

Mahzan, the King's Jester, an orphan who clawed his way to the top and hides a fearsome magic... Sule, the notorious North Captain, who sacrificed everything to live as a strong, capable, highly respected man... Cemal, a priest who traveled the continent bent on revenge and now lives lost... and Binhadi, the mercurial shadow mage with a dark history and bloody ties to the throne...

Four men used to standing apart, standing alone, who must learn to stand together if they hope to save themselves and all of Orhanis.

Iosif guards the Eastern Gate of the Empire of Rowlen. It is a quiet, boring snow ridden place where nothing ever happens. The only good thing about his posting is Yegor, the sweet, handsome schoolteacher he's been flirting with the past few months.

Then Yegor fails to show on time, and when he does finally show, it's with rumors of strange men hunting an imperial tsarevich said to be traveling in that area…

After months away, attending to family matters in a distant city, Olaf is grateful to at last be returning home. Rochdale is a small village, and life as a ropemaker is simple and unexciting, but it's a life Olaf deeply treasures—especially his son, Lukas.

Instead of a warm welcome, however, he's greeted by screams and nightmares, people who are clearly dead walking around feeding ravenously on the living, and nothing remains of the home he loves so dearly. Fleeing for their lives, Olaf, his son, and their few companions make for the next village over, praying for the nightmare to end.

Stopping the Risen Dead is not a simple matter, however. Even the might of holy magic wielded by priests is not enough to do more than hold them back. To end the nightmare once and for all, Olaf will have to travel through dangerous territory to find a nigh-legendary necromancer, who gain their power over death by consuming their masters…

The Kingdom of Rinaha is all that stands between the violent, greedy Boorna and the rest of the continent, and they do so by way of their immense and heavily guarded Wall of Gamala, an enormous undertaking that runs the length of the southern end of the continent, standing strong for more than two hundred years.

Maintaining the Wall and the forces that guard it is an expensive undertaking, one that other countries are reluctant to contribute significantly to, despite the fact they benefit greatly from its existence. In an effort to change that, the king of Rinaha arranges a marriage between the powerful Takahara family and a royal relation of the neighboring kingdom of Aaran.

Hideki, better known as Warhammer, is playing escort for his brother Saburo, the chosen candidate being sent off to marry the nephew of the king of Aaran and bridge political divides once and for all. Shortly after arrival, though, Saburo runs away, with only a letter of apology left to explain what he's done. Now it is Hideki, ill-suited to political games, who must keep anger and wounded pride from erupting into war.

Meanwhile, back on the Wall, his twin brother Daisuke discovers the enemy is using children to do what their soldiers cannot, and in rescuing them, finds himself in exactly the sort of situation he prefers to avoid. On top of that, his brother Jiro, General of the Wall, expects him to entertain foreign guests, despite the fact everyone knows not to trust delicate situations to the man known as Gunpowder.