Books Tagged With what - emotion - pride

Word Count: Click here to reveal21534 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Josh has stepped back into the closet for a guy, but how long can he stay there? Life in a college town suits Josh Cassidy. He has good friends and neighbors, and the bookshop café he runs with his family is thriving. As the winter holidays begin, Josh finds himself enamored with police officer Alex Curiel, an old friend who has recently moved back to town. The trouble is, Alex isn’t ready for the world to know he’s attracted to men. At Alex’s request, Josh agrees to closet their relationship, though the secrecy quickly becomes a burden. When Josh realizes he is falling for Alex, his ability to hide his feelings from the world begins to slip, and he’s forced to decide if love is enough to keep him hiding behind closed doors. A Hometown Holiday is a 21.5K sex-buddies-to-lovers MM novella. It features a bookshop owner with a fondness for jazz music, a closeted cop who could be Mr. Right if only he’d give himself a chance, and the warm, fuzzy HEA that both guys deserve.

Word Count: Click here to reveal12000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: ~~a short story~~ April 1185 Stephan l’Aigle is the third son of a Yorkshire baron with no hopes of inheriting land or titles, probably a good thing as he has no interest in women, nor any desire to marry or produce heirs. He finds pleasure in the arms of other men. At eighteen years old, Stephan has recently been knighted and must make his living on the tournament circuit or become a soldier for hire. His fortunes change when Richard, Duke of Aquitaine & son of King Henry II, sees his skills in battle. Stephan will hone his sword arm against Richard’s enemies, and learn about comradeship, duty, and honor. Will his relationship with one of Richard’s knights crack his hard-hearted armor? NOTE: this is not an HEA. It’s rather bittersweet.

Word Count: Click here to reveal7,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: What would the Earth look like if the very atoms that compose the planet were suffused with magical aether? How would our lives in the modern world be different if this aether was discovered last year, or last decade, or last century, or last millennia? How might the people who inhabit this oh-so-different but still modern Earth explore their gender identities? These are the questions we posed to the 17 authors chosen to contribute to Duck Prints Press's newest anthology Aether Beyond the Binary. Their diverse answers are bound together in this must-not-miss collection of stories about magical worlds, adventures and mysteries, new chances and well-earned endings, and characters as gender-diverse as the worlds they inhabit.

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: It is 1969 when Dewey Snodgress, high school theater star, meets irrepressible hippie Jeep Brickthorn, who quickly inserts himself into Dewey’s life—and eventually, into his heart. Meanwhile, Dewey prepares to appear in a production across town, a play about protestors of the Vietnam War, where he befriends the wild and wonderful Lucretia “LuLu” Belton, who is also determined to follow her dreams and become an actress—whether her parents approve or not. The show has a profound effect, especially on Dewey’s father, who reconsiders his approval of the war after his son’s performance. But Dewey knows his dad won’t be so accepting if he reveals the love he’s developing for Jeep, so he fights to push his feelings away and keep the peace in his family. Still, Dewey can’t ignore the ripples moving through society—from the impending Woodstock Festival to the Stonewall Riots—and he begins to see that the road to happiness and acceptance for him and Jeep might lead them away from conservative Fort Worth, Texas—and Dewey’s dad.

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Every story has more than one point of view. As the mate to the dark mage Morgorth, Aishe has learned a lot about magick, love, and himself. He tries to find a home with Morgorth, to be accepted into his world; to survive in a world full of magick, treachery, and deception. But all the while he struggles to keep a secret about his past and their intertwined destinies. Despite all the obstacles thrown at both of them, Aishe is determined to stay by Morgorth’s side, no matter what the future brings—even if that future turns dark with death should Morgorth embrace his grim destiny. But when Morgorth leaves with his mentor to collect another stone of power, Aishe is left behind. It is then a surprise attack comes and Aishe, determined to protect and defend his new home, decides to take the invaders on by himself. It might prove too much for him to handle...especially when he learns the one who leads the invaders is a mage. This book allows us a glimpse inside the mind of Lord Morgorth’s better half, a dialen named Aishe: his motivations, his personal sorrows, and his struggle to find a place to call home.

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: He never wanted a sexy vampire for a fated mate, but that doesn’t stop him from falling in love. There’s only two things Tim knows for sure. One is farming. The other is how to be a bigot. But he only wants to hang on to one of those things. Just when he thinks he has let go of the past and opened his heart and mind to other people, along comes a vampire who will rock his new lease on life on its foundation. What do you do when your life changes in the blink of an eye? That’s the question Keaton had been asking himself, and he still hadn’t found an answer to it. He has yet to figure out if the change is good or bad. It seems good when the Alpha of Saint Lakes gets him a job working with animals on a farm. Even better when he meets his fated mate. He finds out his fated mate doesn’t like him because he’s a vampire. And Keaton has an even bigger problem. One in the form of a senator’s henchman. He has two choices: Become a kidnapped experiment or betray the Saint Lakes clan.

Word Count: Click here to reveal75000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Rory Graeble returns to college determined to reinvent himself. Too many years have been wasted with masks, but becoming a student leader is a step Rory isn’t sure he’s ready for. A new identity takes more than just a new nickname, and Rory knows he has to take the chances that his old self would never risk. When that chance is a party that ends with an anonymous hot skater’s tongue down his throat and a phone number in his pocket, Rory knows what he has to do. Danny Smits never expected to see stuffy lit geek Rory Graeble trying to be out, trying to be proud, trying to be… Rory. It’s damned sexy, and too much for the entrepreneurial skater to resist. When Rory calls him back the day after the party, Danny knows Rory has changed. But will Danny’s haunted past deter Rory? Or will Rory embrace the chance to experience everything the closet had stolen away? Danny believes in keeping things real, in a brutal honesty he knows means Rory will run screaming. But this time Rory isn’t running.

Word Count: Click here to reveal22000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Catch up with Kirkby residents Scott and Davis as they navigate through the ups and downs of fatherhood, relationships, and juggling... balls. In two years, it's clear love can last, just as it can grow. Davis's business remains successful, Scott's clinic is going strong, and Libby is happy and content. But that doesn't mean real life is always perfect, nor does it mean fatherhood isn't as exhausting as it is wonderful. Needing a break from their daily routines, Davis and Scott head away for a weekend of uninhibited fun. With lots of laughter and dancing, Davis has never seen Scott so relaxed and comfortable in public. And he's not quite sure how to handle that. Worried that life in Kirkby is holding Scott back, Davis nearly makes the biggest mistake of his life. But Scott has other ideas. He doesn't need saving. What he needs is his man to step up and fight for their family and their future. And he has just the plan to do it. A True-Blue novella. I've Got You MUST be read prior to reading this story.

Word Count: Click here to reveal97,046 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Love, served behind the stick. Kyle McKee lives a charmed life. He co-owns Under, an uptown speakeasy, where he is chief mixologist. Friends poke fun at Kyle’s tiny one-bed apartment in Chelsea, but they’re the best support system a man could ask for. Unfortunately, Kyle’s lackluster love life has led him to take a break from dating. Harlem resident Luka Clarke is a lieutenant with Engine 47, the Pride of Morningside, where he carries on his father’s legacy with the FDNY. Luka, who is mixed race and bisexual, has his eye on Kyle, whom he met at a local burger joint and he just needs to make time to visit Kyle’s bar. Before work one evening, Kyle is trapped inside the luncheonette when a fire breaks out. Luka’s firehouse answers the call and he connects with Kyle again under the most unexpected of circumstances. When Kyle gratefully invites Luka and the firehouse squad to Under, the flirting between the two men leads to a date. Kyle and Luka quickly grow close, but Luka’s mother and sister distrust Kyle for being both white and gay. Luka believes his family will come around and accept Kyle in the end, but Kyle is not optimistic and hides his disquiet as attraction blossoms into love. Kyle and Luka’s near-idyllic bubble is shattered one evening after a hate crime leaves them scarred, inside and out. Shaken, they put on a strong front but struggle inwardly against fear and personal demons. As the emotions seething beneath the surface finally come to a head, both men must decide if they have the strength to find love enough to conquer hate.

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Lesbian, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: Toni At thirty-three, I was hopelessly in love with my best friend and roommate, Aisling Butcher. She was everything I wanted but could never have because I wouldn’t break that barrier. My fear of losing her was too much to transcend. That didn’t mean I didn’t live for every adoring expression when she looked at me. Yet how much longer could I remain strong before I revealed my secret? Butcher My baby sister’s best friend, Toni, was flawless. She was everything I’d always wanted but knew I couldn’t possess. She was always my Babygirl. Her happiness and safety my only concern in life. That’s why I wouldn’t make my feelings known. I wasn’t good enough. I wouldn’t let my demons touch her perfection. But when teasing kisses turn to more, am I brave enough to claim what’s mine?

 (Previously published in Dirty Daddies Pride Anthology. This doesn't contain any new content.)

Word Count: Click here to reveal59,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Twenty-one-year-old Noah Jeffries has a secret. He’s putting himself through college under the rent boy name Max Wilde. He doesn’t mind the sex, most of the time, and he sure doesn’t mind the money. But when he falls hard for Carlos, a hot student activist, he’s clobbered by a tough decision. Can he give up making big money for a chance at love? Will Carlos even want to be with him when he knows his secret? Meanwhile, being Max Wilde is getting complicated. A high paying client who’s the provost of Noah’s university wants Noah all for himself. There’s danger as the guy gets more obsessive, and now it could spill out and impact Carlos as well. The first title in Romeo Preminger's Guilty Pleasures imprint of erotic thrillers.

Word Count: Click here to reveal42000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealDemisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Henry knows what he likes—and what he doesn't.  He likes Christmas far more than one is supposed to, and gets started with his decorations far sooner, too.  He likes quiet days, and he gets annoyed with his coworkers and their idea of humor.  Unfortunately, he also likes Alfie—short, chipper, insecure Alfie. Having  a crush on a coworker is not ideal.  But Alfie is now seeking him out, spending time with him, and...wanting to be his friend?  Henry knows better than to get his hopes up, but his days are certainly brightened by Alfie's presence. Alfie's life is messier than Henry's, even though most people consider him more normal.  He really needs a friend right now.  And possibly something more than a friend?   Heat: very low

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: What happens when you choose to throw fear aside and live unapologetically? I did just that and never looked back. Although, I’d thought I was content until my best friend asked for a favor, and it brought me face-to-face with a big, bearded bear of a man. It wasn’t love at first sight, but it was something. I hadn’t realized how overwhelming that feeling was until Anderson Mara wanted me to be his. This book was previously published in Dirty Daddies Anniversary Anthology 2020. This version only contains about 5k additional words.

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: When your only goal is to save the world who's there when you need to be rescued? Boss Most of my life I'd been the savior and sought when anyone found themselves in trouble. It could be to atone for sins of my past or because I was a natural caregiver. Whatever it was I didn't understand how to do anything else. My Outreach Program cared for everyone in the city who needed help and I wouldn't say I hadn't made enemies, but when the protector needed protection I wasn't prepared for Dolan Sharp. Dolan No one did anything for free or out of the kindness of their hearts. That wasn't how the world worked and it was always survival of the fittest. I didn't care what anyone said about the man named Boss. When I witness Boss in action, what I thought I'd believed shattered and I didn't know how to handle that. There's always threats at every turn, it's just a matter of when they catch up with you, but when one jaded man and another with a seemingly deep death wish have to work together who's going to survive the aftermath? (TW: Mentions of childhood sexual, physical and mental abuses. Passive Suicidal Ideation, self-harm and mental illness. These are mainly off-page, but there are details flashbacks and conversations of said acts. Yet if these are triggering for you, please feel free not to read the story. Your self-care and mental health are more important. Thank you.)

Word Count: Click here to reveal106000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: When two broken men find redemption together, will one survive to accept it?
 Chance 
Everyone assumed I was a magnet for trouble, or maybe I searched it out on my own. By the age of forty, I almost destroyed my life. The tragic event that changed my entire perception of myself is haunting me. When a friend is in danger, I volunteer to keep them safe and momentarily distract myself from my problems. Yet my demons keep hunting me down.
 Bart
 For twenty years since my divorce, I'd completely cut myself off from all physical connection with another person. PTSD has taken everything from me, and a time bomb lives in my head—ready to go off at any moment. For the most part, I've learned to control it. When Chance needs help learning a healthier coping mechanism, I offer my assistance, but when he’s healed, will I be able to let him go like I'd promised? 
Nothing had prepared two traumatized men for each other. Can they heal and find redemption, or will the danger around them take one from the other before they realize they have more than their demons? 
(TW: Mentions of childhood sexual, physical, and mental abuses. Passive Suicidal Ideation, self-harm, eating disorders, and mental illness. These are mainly off-page, but there are detailed flashbacks and conversations of said acts. Yet if these are triggering for you, please feel free not to read the story. Your self-care and mental health are more important. Thank you.)


Word Count: Click here to reveal125,090 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: In 2002, Mark Vincent, onetime senior special agent, ran into John, a troubled little boy, at a local McDonald’s. Concerned, although it wasn’t his business, he gave the kid his business card and left. Three years later, Mark is director of his department at the WBIS and married to Quinton Mann, the former CIA spook who now writes spy novels. They’ve settled into a life of quiet domesticity and are even considering adopting a cat. All this changes when John, now using another name, barrels into Mark’s life with a secret no one expects and on the run from an organization that wants him despite the collateral damage. What will Mark, the man known as “the best” in the intelligence community, do when he learns what this secret is? Will it affect his relationship with Quinn? And how complicated are things going to get when they decide to get involved?

Word Count: Click here to reveal61923 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: At Pearl’s Hair and Nails, no one questions Tate Robinson about his high heels, crop tops, and lipstick, because he’s the boss and he can wear what he damn well pleases. The shop is his life, and he doesn’t need anything more. Until a man walks in with his adorable daughter, and Tate has to untangle her helmet-hair…and his growing feelings for the single dad. Reece Evans has been on his job for years, has his own place, and now has custody of his eight-year-old daughter. But he doesn’t trust himself to avoid screwing up. Adulting is not his strong suit—or so he’s been told. And now a sexy beautician, who also happens to be his new downstairs neighbor, has Reece wanting and reaching for more than he thinks he’s capable of. As Tate and Reece move past their own fears about relationships, Reece’s ex issues a threat that could destroy everything. Will Reece’s worries about other people judging him undermine his budding romance? And will Tate’s fear of rejection make him push Reece away? Or have the sweet single dad and his precocious daughter curled too tightly around his heart to give them up? ***Please be aware that this book contains references to drug addiction.***

Word Count: Click here to reveal67000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: WAR IS COMING… the angels of Osestra and the demons of Exilum are preparing for the final battle to be played out in Manna, the human realm, and one young man is caught in the middle. Vern Swain may be the key to everything… Vern is a country boy dreaming of seeing his name up in lights. He runs away to become a star. His journey is just beginning, but it takes him in unusual directions…right in the path of his guardian demon. Teague, son of Xaphan is a demon of Exilum charged with ruining Vern's life, but he just can't do it. He's confronted by his family, and forced to choose sides. War is coming, but who's fighting for Manna?

Word Count: Click here to reveal67880 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: Vic Onelasa is a half-black, half-Cherokee ex-gang member with a rap sheet long and varied enough to make his juvie officers shake their heads in dismay. He was heading for either prison or an early grave until he washed up at Diamond Bar Alpha Ranch's home for troubled LGBT youth and found a new purpose in life. Angel Rathbone-DeBartolio is an up-and-coming young corporate exec, heir to one of the largest fortunes in the country. His world of helicopters, sports cars, fast women, and posh parties couldn't be further removed from Vic's life of dust, sweat, horses, and cattle. When the two meet, neither one is prepared for the immediate attraction between them. Vic's terrible life choices are largely a matter of public record. With Angel's past full of corporate scandal, parties, and one night stands, you'd expect him to be the one with skeletons hidden in his closet. But you'd be wrong. Vic has one secret left. A secret that has sent every romantic partner he's ever had running for the hills. And when Angel stumbles across it by accident, Vic knows with complete certainty that he's about to lose the fragile new connection he's only just allowed himself to want. * * * Diamond Bar Alpha 2: Vic and Angel is an LGBT romance with a “happy ever after” ending and no cliffhanger. While it takes place in the same setting as Diamond Bar Alpha Ranch, both books can be read as standalone novels.

Word Count: Click here to reveal82000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Steel, one of the last Dire Wolves on earth, has searched more than 100 years for the special mate promised by the Fates. Discouraged after meeting his latest prospect, he sees a naked hitchhiker on his way home who's everything he'd envisioned the man of his dreams would be. His wolf and body tell him he's found his fated mate but why can't he pick up his scent? Robbed of his car, clothes and money, Jackson, Alpha of the Blackwood Pack has no choice but to thumb a lift, frantic to get home to his six brothers. He's been protecting them from a rival pack who massacred most of his family and wants to finish off the rest. When Steel rolls down his window, Jackson knows he also has found his fated mate but it would be too dangerous to claim him with his pack under attack. After the intervention of an Oracle and a Witch, Jackson discovers why the Fates made him unique-just for Steel. Navigating the mine field this revelation brings, Jackson and Steel must figure out how to make their relationship work while dealing with forces determined to kill the Blackwood pack - and them. M/M, Shifters, Fated Mates, MPREG, HEA