Short Stories

A Companion to Desires' Guardian

When Chase Manning wakes up on the first morning of PrideFest, the last thing he expects to find is his lover and life partner, Rhys Sayer, on bended knee. But the news that marriage has been legalized in the state is a game changer for both of them.

After a mad dash to the courts, all they want is to find their friends at PrideFest to celebrate. However, what happens when they arrive will bond them together forever—if their friends don’t have a collective meltdown about their sudden disappearance first.

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A Tales from Foster High Story

Matt Wallace returns to Foster to be with his high school crush, Tyler. They're finally together, but Tyler's past is still a mystery to Matt. When the truth comes out, Matt is forced to decide if he can handle learning about what Tyler did, or if he'd be better off to cut ties and run.

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Can a lonely, aging farmer and a loveless artist whose creativity has gone missing find happiness on the prairies?

Life would be perfect for fifty-two-year-old farmer Finn Garrity if he just had someone to snuggle with by the fireplace. But single gay men aren’t exactly thick on the ground in Eagle Tree, Alberta.

Successful artist Philip Connaway wonders if his creative dry spell has anything to do with his dried-up love life. When Philip takes his nephew into farm country in search of a snowy owl to photograph, he meets Finn, who offers assistance. Together, they find the elusive bird—and much more.

Despite the attraction between them, differences, misunderstandings, and self-doubt threaten to end Finn and Philip’s romance. For a future together, Finn must take a risk, and Philip must find a way to bring love to Finn’s fallow heart.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2015 Daily Dose package "Never Too Late."

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First a soldier and then a diplomat, Juberi now spends his solitary days on a single ambition: trying to resurrect the phoenix, which has been extinct for centuries. He’s not pleased when he is obligated to attend a public ceremony in memory of an elderly friend and former colleague. But at the ceremony, Juberi meets the friend’s beguiling son, Desen. Despite being from a markedly different culture, Desen has much to offer. But after decades of denying his own desires, Juberi fears there is no alchemy that will reopen him to love.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2015 Daily Dose package "Never Too Late."

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Approaching fifty, Graham is tired of the gay club scene. He dreams of a venue where he won’t be judged on his age and looks. He and his friend Mike decide to fill the gap in the market by opening the Midnight Lounge, a gay-friendly piano bar in the heart of London’s Soho. After several unsuccessful auditions, Graham finds the perfect pianist for the bar. Adam Turner is young, handsome, and talented, and there’s a spark of attraction between him and Graham, but Graham’s split with his ex has left him feeling old and unattractive. He believes Adam is just stringing him along—a belief that seems validated when Adam kisses him, then claims he’s made a big mistake. Adam wants Graham, but first he’ll have to prove to Graham that age is no barrier to finding love.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2015 Daily Dose package "Never Too Late."

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Prequel to Final Encore

Tires flying over the interstate, college student Ian Dillon can’t get out of Greenville, SC quickly enough. As he watches his entire life fading away in his rearview mirror, his thoughts are only of his lover, Todd, and the memories of their time together, now completely shattered by Todd’s incomprehensible betrayal. His mind still reeling, Ian drives through the night until a split second decision guides him to Nashville, Tennessee. Everything will be better there. It has to be!

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After a one night whirlwind romance, Braylon returns to Toronto on the first of December every year in the hopes of seeing the man of his dreams again. Instead Braylon meets a strange man who tells him Christmas is a magical time, and one never knows what unexpected gifts he’ll receive. Braylon takes a chance and makes a Christmas wish, but instead of getting what he wants, he contracts an infection, leaving him dependent on dialysis and unable to make the journey the following year. But the stranger just might be right; an unexpected gift may be the miracle Braylon needs most of all.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package "Celebrate!".

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Akiyoshi ‘Aero’ Kurokuma, author of the wildly popular manga, Ecos, lost his assistant when his best friend retired. After Aero collapses from exhaustion four years later, he is forced to run a contest for an assistant. Placing impossible rules on the contest, Aero is sure no one can win. But a winner emerges: a young man from America, Daniel Beck. The first time he lays eyes on Daniel, Aero realizes he’ll have a hard time hiding his attraction. Daniel is a perfect assistant, but it doesn’t help Aero see past the twenty-year age difference between them. It will take all of Daniel's charm and the prayers offered at the shrine to make Aero take a chance on the romance they both want.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package "Celebrate!".

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A Nick and Ben Story

Nick, a bartender, and Ben, a hotel reviewer, have been together two years. Though he hates the paperwork involved, Nick agrees to accompany Ben to a beautiful lodge on the Mozambican side of Lake Malawi. Over a bottle of wine, they trade Christmas horror stories from their pasts. But memories of hurt and loss only serve to remind them how lucky they are to have found each other. It might be time to try out the showerhead built into the tree outside….

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package "Celebrate!".

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Five years ago, Neno Kovač fled California, graduate school, and his lover, Toby Cowan, to return to his native Croatia. Since then, he’s led a quiet life as a librarian—until one November afternoon when Toby, who has never stopped loving Neno, shows up in Zagreb. When he left the United States, Neno wasn’t ready to give up his home and family to take a chance on a long-distance relationship. But Saint Martin’s Day has arrived, the day pressed grapes turn to wine and autumn turns to winter. Perhaps it will be a day when other changes are possible as well.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package "Celebrate!".

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College friends Joon, Tae, and Sangsun parted ways after an aborted attempt at a threesome. Ten years later, life has carried them down very different paths, but Joon misses his friends and decides to invite them to his home in South Korea for Christmas. He believes they belong together, but convincing the others to defy tradition and try again will take faith, hope, and a lot of talking—especially since all three of them are still in the closet.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package "Celebrate!".

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A spin-off of Temptations of Desire
Desires Entwined: Book 3.5

When Alexander James Noble looks in the mirror, he sees a freak looking back at him. Despite his high grades and plans for culinary arts school after graduation, his parents would hate him if they really knew him.

Forced on a shopping trip with his twin sister, Lyric, and her friends, Alex eyes the girls jealously, longing to be able to dress like them—to be them. The constant struggle of being “gender fluid,” wrestling with an identity that seems to change daily, begins to wear on Alex. But all those questions and fears seem more manageable when his sister gives him his first skirt and lace panties.

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A Companion to the Partnership in Blood series

For two years, Thierry has wanted the one thing Sebastien's past denies him: an Aveu de Sang. With the help of friends new and old, he has finally assembled a ritual that will give him a close approximation of the ultimate bond between vampire and mortal... if it succeeds.

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Dealing, or rather not dealing, with a recent breakup, Ari Melrose, CPA, nearly takes his car over a cliff. Instead, he is rescued by Brandt Steuben, a big, burly ex-firefighter who pulls him to safety and into his arms. Near-death experiences can make normally careful, rational people grab life by the horns, or men by the biceps, and hop on for a wild ride, so Ari figures what better way to get over his problems than to work them out with his super-hot savior? But a fateful afternoon soon leads to more than physical passion, and Ari finds he might not want to let go of Brandt.

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Sequel to The Applicant
Busted Labs: Book Two

Ten years ago, roboticist Forbes Pohle received a visit from time-traveler Oliver Lennox. “Wait for me,” Oliver said. Now a decade has come and gone, and Oliver has returned. However, Forbes never dreamed Oliver would reappear as the point man for a gang of technology thieves breaking into his lab. He finds the younger Oliver just as sexy and even more annoying; still, he must convince him their happily-ever-after is meant to be—but he only has the time it takes his robotic cat Jeepers to thwart the thieves to do it. After waiting so long, he could lose everything in the span of seconds.

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In an effort to help a boy who lost his mother, schoolteacher Rob Cooper offers to tutor him. He doesn’t expect to fall for Sam’s father, Ken Reid. Ken’s grief has led him to bury his needs and emotions in work, but he can’t deny the new feelings Rob awakens. Wanting to see his father happy again, Sam encourages a relationship, leading Rob and Ken to explore a seduction that might become true romance.

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When a would-be assassin sneaks into the citadel disguised as a servant, the king requires that all servants who work in the castle be branded with the royal crest for easy identification. Prince Coren is powerless to fight the edict, but he refuses to allow his personal advisor and secret lover Brannir to suffer alone. Coren shows his devotion by wielding the brand to mark Brannir himself, even though he fears it will change their relationship. He's prepared for resentment, hurt, and anger--every outcome but the one he receives: unconditional love.

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Sam Crowe lives a quiet life. He's a freelance journalist and sometimes fiction writer. His world is turned upside down when love lands on his doorstep—literally, while cursing up a G-rated storm. Son of a fish, indeed. Casey Sanders doesn't know whether it’s good luck or bad when he slips and falls on the icy steps of his apartment building, but the hero who comes to his rescue is worth the discomfort.

Their attraction is instant, but Sam is certain Casey's flirtation and kind words are a result of the pain medication. But Casey is persistent and won't give up until he has what he wants. And what he wants is Sam.

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